04 NOV 2018 by ideonexus
Dice Rolls are Suspect
It is true that every aspect of the role of dice may be suspect: the dice themselves, the form and texture of the
surface, the person throwing them. If we push the analysis to its extreme, we may even wonder what chance
has to do with it at all. Neither the course of the dice nor their rebounds rely on chance; they are governed by
the strict determinism of rational mechanics. Billiards is based on the same principles, and it has never been
considered a game of chance. So in the final analysis...Folksonomies: games randomness
Folksonomies: games randomness
1 
notes
notes27 JUL 2018 by ideonexus
The Enlightenment Needs Vigorous Defense
The ideals of the Enlightenment are products of human reason, but they always struggle with other strands of human nature: loyalty to tribe, deference to authority, magical thinking, the blaming of misfortune on evildoers. The second decade of the 21st century has seen the rise of political movements that depict their countries as being pulled into a hellish dystopia by malign factions that can be resisted only by a strong leader who wrenches the country backward to make it “great again.”... 1 notes
notes06 MAR 2016 by ideonexus
Iron and Fever
Warm-blooded animals have an elaborate physiological control
system to maintain a constant body temperature. In man, this temperature
is about 37°C. Any significant deviation from this temperature puts
stress on the body and makes it difficult to maintain metabolic processes
at their normal rates. Why then, during sickness, should the temperature
rise? It would seem that development of fever would cause things to go
from bad to worse, and make it more difficult for the body to recuperate.
Fe...
1 Fever prevents bacteria from obtaining iron in the from the blood stream,
24 DEC 2013 by ideonexus
We All Experiment
Experimentation is something done by everyone all the time. Babies experiment with what might be good to put in their mouths. Toddlers experiment with various behaviors to see what they can get away with. Teenagers experiment with sex, drugs, and rock and roll. But because people don’t really see these things as experiments or as ways of collecting evidence in support or refutation of hypotheses, they don’t learn to think about experimentation as something they do constantly and thus need...Roger Schank describes a world where we are all collecting evidence to test various hypotheses.
29 NOV 2013 by ideonexus
Propagating Genes VS Memes
I have been a bit negative about memes, but they have their cheerful side
as well. When we die there are two things we can leave behind us: genes
and memes. We were built as gene machines, created to pass on our
genes. But that aspect of us will be forgotten in three generations. Your
child, even your grandchild, may bear a resemblance to you, perhaps in
facial features, in a talent for music, in the colour of her hair. But as
each generation passes, the contribution of your genes is halved. ... 1 notes
notesOur genes will only last in recognizable form for three generations or so, being halved with each generation; our memes, however, have the potential to live far beyond our lifetimes and have greater influence.
31 JUL 2013 by ideonexus
The Difference in How the Public and Scientists Use "Theory"
The formal scientific definition of theory is quite different from the everyday meaning of the word. It refers to a comprehensive explanation of some aspect of nature that is supported by a vast body of evidence. Many scientific theories are so well established that no new evidence is likely to alter them substantially. For example, no new evidence will demonstrate that the Earth does not orbit around the sun (heliocentric theory), or that living things are not made of cells (cell theory), th...
1 In common usage, it is the equivalent of an educated guess, in science, it is nearly synonymous with the facts it is built on.
22 JUN 2012 by ideonexus
Spirituality from Science
There have, however, always been men of high and disciplined spirituality who have insisted on their direct experience of something greater than themselves. Their conviction of the reality of a spiritual life apart from and transcending the life of the body may not lend itself to scientific proof or disproof; nevertheless the remarkable transformation in personality seen in those who rightfully lay claim to such experience is as objective as tomorrow's sunrise. Millions of lesser men draw str...Folksonomies: science spirituality
Folksonomies: science spirituality
1 notes
notesA belief in something greater than oneself is not necessarily belief in the supernatural.
28 APR 2012 by ideonexus
Science Civilizes
Scientific modes of thought cannot be developed and become generally accepted unless people renounce their primary, unreflecting, and spontaneous attempt to understand all their experience in terms of its purpose and meaning for themselves. The development that led to more adequate knowledge and increasing control of nature was therefore, considered from one aspect, also a development toward greater self-control by men. People must renounce their need to understand everything as it relates to themselves. This virtue increase human self-control.
08 JAN 2011 by ideonexus
Samurai Hold a Personal Relationship with God
Just as they will have escaped that delusive unification of every species under its specific definition that has dominated earthly reasoning, so they will have escaped the delusive simplification of God that vitiates all terrestrial theology. They will hold God to be complex and of an endless variety of aspects, to be expressed by no universal formula nor approved in any uniform manner. Just as the language of Utopia will be a synthesis, even so will its God be. The aspect of God is differen...Folksonomies: voluntary nobility
Folksonomies: voluntary nobility
1 notes
notesThey do not interact with god through a priest.
