U.S. Independence Day General Discussion ("Technology and Politics" Edition)
A happy Independence day to those in the U.S.
This holiday I'm thinking of the relation of technology to freedom and politics: does technology make us freer, or less free?
A variety of views seem to exist, from authoritarians viewing technology as helping them to enforce views of an authority, to authoritarian views that technologies are dangerous to authority and they wish to suppress them [1], to views that technology takes away freedom, to views that technology enhances the freedom of the individual.
What are your views of technology and the relation it has to politics?
- https://infogalactic.com/info/Internet_kill_switch
Questions About Covid Versus Flu
Someone shared this:
https://apnews.com/article/covid19-vaccines-deaths-hospitalizations-3258cacee8d5d2d08ddaf4341470a7de
> About 300 COVID-19-associated deaths were occurring weekly in May, according to the most recent provisional CDC data.
So I looked up for comparison CDC's flu stats, for 2023-2024 season:
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/preliminary-in-season-estimates.htm
> according to this CDC page there was a lower limit of about 25,000 deaths to flu per year (2023-2024) which comes out to about 480 / week on average
I suppose then multiple questions are asked, like do we have a flu pandemic if there are worse deaths? Do we not take flu seriously? Do we take "covid" too seriously? Are covid deaths just flu deaths? etc.
Chime in on your thoughts of the data
Pause / Break Key: What is a "Break"?
Computer dictionary definition of what break means, including related links, information, and terms.
> The Break key is a keyboard key whose original purpose was to immediately halt execution of a running a program. On modern computers, it has no default function. It is not commonly used, although any software may use it for its own purpose. The Break key may also be remapped with a program like AutoHotkey.
Tongue Typing With a Mouth Mouse: The Makey Makey board has undoubtedly opened up many possibilities for interacting with a PC or Laptop. Whilst piano playing bananas and silver foil triggers are fun and educational I wanted to find an application that was different and hopefully co…
> We will all have seen disabled people who do not have the use of their hands, attempting to communicate using 'unicorn sticks' or even eye-tracking technology. I considered this and wondered if the simple Makey Makey board could be pressed into service to provide a quicker and lower-cost way to replace a mouse and thus facilitate a whole host of ways to communicate.
> We all know how sensitive and controllable our tongues are. We can easily send our tongue to any tooth and the tip can easily determine items as small as a piece of trapped food or even a human hair.
> Since many disabled people still have the full use of their tongue, it occurred to me that it may be possible to put together a mouth controller using the Makey Makey interface to connect to an onscreen keyboard.
Was brainstorming some ideas like this and found something that already exists that I thought was interesting to share
State of the Tau 2024
For millennia, the circle has been considered the most perfect of shapes, and the circle constant π captured the geometry of the circle in a single number. But π is wrong, and it’s time to set things right.
Faces made of living skin make robots smile (#TechnoDystopia)
Scientists find a way to attach living skin to robot faces for more realistic smiles and expressions.
postmarketOS release: v24.06 - The One With Over 250 Devices
Aiming for a 10 year life-cycle for smartphones
Honestly I think you agree with him a bit more than you realize, if we reframe the discussion a bit. Presumably you think "big corporations" are out to get you, right? Wealthy people are the same as "globalists" in this discussion... so do you agree "globalists" ARE out to get you? Or do you think rich people who are "exploiting" workers are "on your side"? You don't have to agree with everyone Jones says here, as I think he is mixing things that aren't true with those that are, but you do like understand he's correct on some of these things, right? Like, do you believe in "corporate conspiracy theories" if I reframe it that way? Companies make people sick so they can profit off giving them a cure? Companies messing up the environment so they can make money cleaning it up? So I guess is there any possibility of recognizing disagreements while also identifying points of agreement?
zero hard evidence
Well with Sandy Hook, there were videos like of one of the alleged fathers laughing and then suddenly turning serious for a camera, which led to speculation that these people were acting and not true victims. It was bizarre behavior for someone whose child just died. I get some people saying that everyone handles "trauma" differently.
like this video: https://inv.tux.pizza/watch?v=s-ZfxxPc0r0 (you could substitute youtube.com/ for inv.tux.pizza if you want, it's just an adless proxy)
Other anomalies were detected like this. Certainly you can connect the dots and understand where these people are coming from in having a theory they may not have absolute proof for? Like evidence of a crime without the absolute surveillance tape that shows the crime happening? A person at the wrong place at the wrong time that a jury could convict, that kind of thing? At least do you understand the perspective such adherents of the theory have? They didn't have "no reason" to ask questions about facts that didn't add up, right?
what do you think has substance in contrast?
sometimes there's metaphors, sometimes literal descriptions
like for example Christ is spoken of as something like a "New Adam" I think, implying a literal Adam and Eve existed and that that story was not purely a tale from a Christian perspective
The OP comment may be thought to have done something like this, arguing for subjectivity of claims of truth and yet argued my views of religion were false; I suppose if we allow subjectivity of value to dominate, then we would simply have mutual disagreement
Do you have some of the main points? His role was / is basically to tell certain truths and then misdirect from more important ones. I'm trying to think of what a good analogy is on the left... a lot of the left criticizes big corporations, but doesn't realize the big government they want to come in and regulate those same corporations is run by the same people? AJ was like a person criticizing big corporations... and then saying, here, let the government (which is run by these corporations) solve these problems... (not going to work out)
there were a lot of strange things that happened with the incident in question, I'd encourage you to do more research on the topic to see what truly happened
Watermelon Rind Is Edible
The possible benefits of watermelon rind include better heart health, and even a better time in bed.
as well as the rinds of many other fruits or foods
Actually there is evidence for a literal flood
The earth is carbon dated; again it could have been created as such, or the theistic evolutionists are fine with it being old (not reakky proven one way or the other)
"young man not resurrected after being crucified"
again just an assertion with mutual disagreement (not dealing with science)
Indeed Sodom and Gemorrah could have been destroyed by "fiery meteors", again not a conflict with science (surely it's logically understood an all-powerful God can arrange such a thing?)
" young man did not transmite wine"
again nothing to do with science, you simply don't believe supernatural miracles can happen, which is understood.
Yes, the disagreement about the existence of objective morality is different from claiming Christian morals are the "objectively correct" morals.
Stretch Goals
So this concept is about setting goals that challenge you, "stretching" you perhaps a little beyond your current limits. I was curious what your experiences have been with this idea?
It seems some businesses do a bad job with these, perhaps stressing people out with unrealistic aspirations. Yet this is probably just a problem with setting the appropriate amount of difficulty and not inherent in the concept of stretch goals themselves.
Have you had any good experiences with the concept of stretch goals or any ideas on how to make them work better or any you're working on you want to discuss?
pretty biased and ridiculous witchhunt, but also Jones is probably not a "conservative" and is just playing a part of being tarred and feathered for the other side's pleasure. He was just hired to try to make his positions look "ridiculous". He was kind of funny and pushed some true views though
I think you may be thinking of someone else; Galileo seems to have simply been a first kind of modern "rebel scientist" who pitted science against religion unnecessarily
true science can and very often does contradict religious belief
It does not, which again is part of the fallout of this conflict Galileo was party to, as he gave the impression that there is a contradiction, where there is not. I guess, do you have examples in mind of where there are apparent contradictions? Galileo comes to mind firstly, and it's pretty easy to see how the scientific findings involved with that are compatible with religion, or how religion has been able to be explained in light of them.
Darwin and evolution come to mind next; some of us simply reject the evolutionary theory of the past, which is not scientific or provable (science is repeatable experiments, and the past is not open for us to experiment with, so while we could model evolutionary processes now, there is no way to prove they were responsible for the creation of the world). Others note that since God is all-powerful, evolutionary theory is not necessary for the creation of the world (a totally powerful God can just create the world "as-is", even looking like it had been evolved, rather than actually evolving it, if that makes sense). The other route is some embrace "theistic evolution" views where evolution has been accepted as having existed in the distant past and yet it is asserted such evolutionary process has been guided by God.
Whether the earth is the “moral center” of the universe is both unprovable and unproven
Well this gets in to religious discussion probably; it may be "heretical" to claim this. Hence you are arguing from a non-Christian perspective perhaps. Your claim would be subject to the same skepticism you assert.
there are no truths about morality
"It is absolutely true there are no truths about morality" is itself a contradictory assertion. Likewise, many people accept things like stealing to be objectively wrong, and not subjective. Subjectivism opens itself up to many logical problems.
Our view is basically Vatican 2 was a modernist heretical attack on Catholicism; Lefebvre was the "fake traditionalist" setting up a controlled reaction to this attack, so that the enemy controls both the main attack (Vatican institution) and the "traditional resistance" to it. Vigano strikes me as merely continuing this project for a modern audience, distracting from a logical solution that works.
Lefebvre did commit a "schismatic act" by consecrating bishops without papal permission, in the 80s. Catholics are to obey the pope, and the Vatican's "popes" are anti-traditional, so he requested permission to consecrate such bishops, and was denied permission. Thus, the situation looked like the false dilemma with the two options of: either you accept a Vatican that was going to destroy the organization he set up to be traditional (so the Vatican is anti-Catholic), or you in some sense recognize the Vatican's claims to authority while resisting them (arguably not a traditional Catholic view) which is the route Lefebvre went in by both saying he recognizes a certain man as pope (who he is supposed to obey) and disobeys him by consecrating without papal permission (an act of schism in Canon Law I believe, all else equal).
We have argued in contrast Lefebvre's view is logically contradictory, but that if the Vatican cannot be obeyed, this is an implication it is not Catholic; hence we do not recognize the Vatican as having Catholic legitimacy (like Lefebvre or Vigano do) and also disobey it like they do (but this is because we do not believe them to have any Catholic authority, so they are not to be obeyed).
So while we like Lefebvre's and Vigano's traditional-leaning views, they still are not consistent. They seemingly promote rebellion against authority and this creates more confusion and problems. Also, Lefebvre's SSPX was in many ways only "half traditional", as they accepted some of the modern reforms that have been made while rejecting others (such as using the 1962 missal, and not requiring the traditional Lenten fast of 40 days which was reduced to 2 days)
"Galileo Was Wrong": Thoughts on Geocentrism?
https://infogalactic.com/info/Geocentrism
Well there's this site
https://galileowaswrong.blogspot.com/p/summary.html
> Galileo Was Wrong is a detailed and comprehensive treatment of the scientific evidence supporting Geocentrism, the academic belief that the Earth is immobile in the center of the universe. Garnering scientific information from physics, astrophysics, astronomy and other sciences, Galileo Was Wrong shows that the debate between Galileo and the Catholic Church was much more than a difference of opinion about the interpretation of Scripture.
> Scientific evidence available to us within the last 100 years that was not available during Galileo's confrontation shows that the Church's position on the immobility of the Earth is not only scientifically supportable, but it is the most stable model of the universe and the one which best answers all the evidence we see in the cosmos.
But also, as far as I understand it, Galileo was thought to be in the wrong not necessarily for scientific views, but for implied theological arguments based on those views.
For example, scientifically and theologically I thought geocentrism was the prevailing view at that time among scientists (God created the earth as a kind of "moral center" of the universe of God's Creation?); today acentrism (universe has no center) seems to be a prevailing scientific view. So by this logic, Galileo was wrong by modern scientific standards, and theologically some still argue for a kind of geocentrism or other such views (such as "galileowaswrong.com" or other such sites) against Galileo's theological views.
Hence Galileo was rightly criticized for lacking religious caution; his rebellious attitude against religion (again, not necessarily for supporting a speculative scientific view) indeed has caused centuries of harm, pitting science against religion, whereas true science can never contradict religious truth.
Why Draw or Doodle in an Age of Photography?
There are some articles that answer my question, but I guess I will pose this question as a post: if you do, why do you like to draw or doodle, if you can just take pictures of things today?
Presumably before photography was invented within the last few centuries, people relied more on drawing to communicate pictures that couldn't be made with a camera (or AI program...). Naturally today we have this option, and I've found it convenient for a lot of communication.
I suppose I find drawing could be useful for translating more pictures that form in my head that don't exist, like a new "invention hack" build or something.
Anyway, what are your thoughts on the value of drawing today when photography's available (or I guess even when words can be used to describe things too)?
Starting July 1, Greece will implement a six-day work week, becoming the first EU country with a 41-hour work week. The new regulation aims to address scheduling challenges in businesses with continuous operations and offers additional pay incentives for employees working on the sixth day.
Sounds like it might make their economic problems worse
dunno the ss answer but you could clean your room
"Archbishop" Vigano to be "Excommunciated"
Guest post by Joe Hoft at JoeHoft.com – republished with permission Breaking News – Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano has been summoned to the Vatican to be Excommunicated by Red Pope Francis.
In my view, this sounds like part of the show, I think Vigano is probably in on. Just like Lefebvre and SSPX. They set up "conservatives" they can ban as "schismatic". Our position is rather the Vatican is in schism and Francis is neither a Catholic nor a pope. The Vatican's legitimacy must be undermined and tradition promoted instead, so that a traditional Catholic pope is elected who rejects Vatican 2 and believes and practices the Catholic faith.
(Also why it seemed like a waste of time for me to try to do anything under the Vatican only to be "excommunicated". Catholicism is "excommunicated" under the Vatican... meaning that the Vatican itself is not Catholic, and itself excommunicated, rather instead.)
Summer Plans?
With the arrival of summer, does anyone have any interesting summer plans to share?
I have some loosely organized family "reunions" or gatherings planned or in mind, but I suppose for the short term besides that a lot is up in the air and life is like a "rolling release" (by analogy to software) of a bunch of tasks that are being incrementally worked on.
There's also various local events and festivals going on that I might check out.
What's summer looking like for you?
As noted elsewhere, skin cancer rates have increased with the introduction of sunscreen, perhaps due to carcinogenic sunscreens: https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/sunscreen-makers-withdraw-products-found-to-contain-cancer-causing-substance
Juneteenth General Discussion
What does "Juneteenth", this new federal holiday in recent years (based on celebrations that have existed for much longer), mean to you?
A celebration of freedom and the responsible use thereof?
A day to highlight ongoing illegal chattel slavery that still exists today, or "legal" wage slavery problems that still are to be fought?
Something else?
"Sunscreen Lies EXPOSED!"
Sorry about the clickbait title but I thought it was funny and an appropriate reaction to this propaganda piece reminding people to wear sunscreen:
https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/06/17/nx-s1-5002030/sunscreen-tiktok-misinformation-melanoma
The article "lies" by omission, if you want to accuse it of doing so, but here are some omissions to consider:
*Sunscreen isn't needed for one, because you can just wear clothes to cover up. A lot of people who work outside would just wear long pants and sleeves. Or in the middle east there is the common image of people wearing clothes that cover the whole body. The fact this is seldom mentioned always strikes me as curious as it's a viable alternative to sunscreen, even assuming one must avoid sun on the skin. There are even clothes that have SPF ratings like sunscreen.
*Article says "any sunscreen is better than no sunscreen"... which is a pretty dramatic claim as I could envision there being toxic sunscreens you should avoid.
*Article fails to mention concerns of proven toxic additives to sunscreens (naturally these aren't in all sunscreens): https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-24/many-sunscreens-still-have-potentially-dangerous-chemicals
*Article fails to mention a little direct contact with sunlight, which sunscreen blocks or disrupts, is important for Vitamin D production; vitamin D being important for general health and well-being.
*Article fails to mention a prevailing theory that diet influences one's susceptibility to being sunburned (particularly "seed oils" have been thought to increase one's ability to be burned; this may indeed be incorrect, but the broad idea of diet relating to possible sunburns sounds worth considering).
This would be a good example of why people struggle to take seriously articles that strongly denounce "misinformation" as well as various "authorities" who seem to peddle "misinformation" they purport to be combating.
Any other thoughts on avoiding toxic sunscreens and the like?
Would be curious if anyone has any more info but I think it was kind of an anonymous network that was deanonymized so maybe abandoned? So they changed some things (anonymity not a goal by default but is opt-in) and are trying to relaunch as something a little different.
Freenet Relaunching
https://freenet.org
> The centralization of the internet poses a fundamental threat to individual freedom. In 2024, a few corporations control most internet services and infrastructure. These corporations wield immense power over most of us with little accountability, enabling them to censor content, exploit our data, and exclude users from services they depend on —all with profound implications for democracy. We need a solution urgently.
> Introducing Freenet — a decentralized replacement for the world wide web. Acting as a global, shared, decentralized computing platform, Freenet can either be accessed via a standard web browser or integrated into third-party applications.
The Beauty of the Vision of God (Four Last Things Book)
> St. Bonaventure bears witness to this, when he says: "The most terrible penalty of the damned is being shut out forever from the blissful and joyous contemplation of the Blessed Trinity." Again, St. John Chrysostom says: "I know many persons only fear Hell because of its pains, but I assert that the loss of the celestial glory is a source of more bitter pain than all the torments of Hell."
> The evil one himself was made to acknowledge this, as we read in the legends of Blessed Jordan, at one time General of the Dominican Order. For when Jordan asked Satan, in the person of one who was possessed, what was the principal torment of Hell, he answered: "Being excluded from the presence of God." "Is God then so beautiful to look upon?" Jordan inquired. And on the devil replying that He was indeed most beautiful, he asked further: "How great is His beauty?" "Fool that thou art," was the rejoinder, "to put such a question to me! Dost thou not know that His beauty is beyond compare?" "Canst thou not suggest any similitude," Jordan continued, "which may give me to some extent at least an idea of the Divine beauty?" Then Satan said: "Imagine a crystal sphere a thousand times more brilliant than the sun, in which the loveliness of all the colors of the rainbow, the fragrance of every flower, the sweetness of every delicious flavour, the costliness of every precious stone, the kindliness of men and the attractiveness of all the Angels combined; fair and precious as this crystal would be, in comparison with the Divine beauty, it would be unsightly and impure."
> "And pray," the good monk inquired, "what wouldst thou give to be admitted to the vision of God?" And the devil replied: "If there were a pillar reaching from earth to Heaven, beset with sharp points and nails and hooks, I would gladly consent to be dragged up and down that pillar from now until the Day of Judgment, if I could only be permitted to gaze on the Divine countenance for a few brief moments."
from: http://www.catholictradition.org/Classics/4last-things3f.htm
http://www.catholictradition.org/Classics/4last-things.htm
The 95-year-old famed linguist has not been seen in public since June last year
Well-Rounded Living From Taking an Inventory of all the "Stuff" in Your Life
Something I was experimenting with, making a list or "inventory" of all the "stuff" (physical or non-physical / digital) in your life, in order to make better use of it
Some "stuff" has been haphazardly acquired in my life, as gifts or things I've gotten without a plan on how to use them, or digital files I'll get to "one day"... having a list of these things makes it easier to actively manage them (get rid of unused / unwanted stuff, make more regular use of things I have that I may not use much that I want to use, etc.)
Anyone gained any insights from making an inventory of "stuff" in their lives?