Sketicblog posting.

I think I am a skeptic, therefore I am. 

I never understood why Descartes gets the credit for something so basic as 'Cogito ergo sum'. I speculate that the idea has been around for some time. To me, it is like any particular faith taking credit for the golden rule. I would argue that cogito ergo sum is an endless sequence anyways. I think I am, I think? Therefore I think I am, I think so, yes I think that I do think that I am thinking I think, which presumes that I was thinking I think therefore yes I certainly am that which is thinking it is thinking that it is thought... I think.  Not to say there is no purpose in the exercise. Like calculating Pi, it is worth doing for the exercise. Speaking of pi, have you heard this one? The formula for calculating the volume of  dinner is pi times the radius of 'z' twice, times the depth of 'a' equals...

 Pi*z*z*a.

That is one of only math jokes I know.
Which brings me to the point of this post. I have been following a thread on Skepticblog (find link below) that is basically tearing a new one for the author Michael Shermer. In this blog, one finds a well known professional skeptic apparently coming to the defence of Bjorn Lomborg and his work.

Lomborg is likely to enter the pop culture for obvious reasons. He is youngish, good looking and charismatic, and is talking about climate and polar bears and stuff in a nice sciency way. It all looks good on the surface, and that is the issue. Lomborg is superficial and lacks any credibility. It takes very little effort to find evidence that confirms that assertion. Bjorn Lomborg is a straw man. Presented as somebody worth listening to, his type of obfuscation is very effective.

For the benefit of those who do not do their own research (or google shit like me), in a nutshell here is the problem;

Guys like Lomborg and Shermer think that economics has some magic formulas that when applied properly, solve all of our problems. Then people who use economics to rationalise environmental destruction pay them, and they state, "see, proves my point!".  I know that doesn't make sense, and that is the point.

The fact that Bjorn is getting paid does prove something, but it has nothing to do with climate science or rational thought and skepticism at all. Just like saying I think therefore I am proves nothing except that you are thinking. What you are thinking is a whole other matter. Regardless, please keep thinking, and  whatever Bjorn Lomborg has to say, please be critical.

Make your own decision; here's the link.
http://skepticblog.org/2010/11/16/throwing-cold-water-on-a-hot-topic/#comment-31585

Movember

O.K. it's like this; My mustache is the most annoying itchy thing, so it is a pleasure to shave most days. And I admit to being challenged in the beard department. Nothing better than a goofy soul patch goatee has been seen on my kisser. And to top it off, I really like kissing girls, and thus all my ducks are lined up in a row. I should invest in Gillette.

Now to the point. For most guys, growing facial hair is as ordinary as farts and acne. So how did the ability to grow hair become charity worthy? Seriously guys, get a grip. Most of you are just in the grip of this ridiculous pop culture 'ironic t-shirts and haircuts' thingy. I think it started with the Beastie Boys about ten years ago...Maybe it was sooner, but whatev.

Man up boys, and actually do something, maybe this cause will be taken seriously. Otherwise, you're just not shaving, and acting kinda vain... gay even. Think Freddy Mercury, or the guy from Frankie goes to Hollywood who just danced. Or Hitler, and that's pretty gay.

To those who don't shave for personal reasons, fine. This is only about this silly Movember thing, pretending to be doing something for charity ironic hipster fad. Fail.

Clever Muslims

I think I can tell you why everyone is so angry at Muslims. It is because they have invented a religion that is smarter than theirs. It is newer and it is fresher, and it is smarter. Here follows the reasons why, and there are two. The first reason is because of the rule that any image of Allah is forbidden. It is God after all, and it is so down right ridiculous, so absolutely silly to try and have an image of a being so vast and all powerful as he. To make an image of Allah forbidden is actually overkill, mostly so the simple minded get it. Simple and effective - no image of Allah because obviously he is much bigger than you can imagine, so don't even bother.

The second reason that Islam is smarter than the other guys is the rule of keeping the holy book in one language only. Translations are frowned upon. This is so simple as well- who doesn't want to belong to a secret club? The fact that only those literate in Arabic can truly get it, reinforces the kind of arrogance and insider status that appeals to a power seeker. Imagine George H.W. Bush and his Skull and Boner buddies speaking Arabic, and you get the picture.

So its like this; the Jews are pissed off as they reckon that they invented the whole all powerful God thing, Ten Commandments and all that. It was a good idea, but not good enough to fend off the living gods, the Caesars.

Along comes this Jesus fella, and he gets the Romans all riled up, so they staple him onto a couple boards up a hill. This gets some of the Jews riled up, and doesn't blow over so easily. However, they soon realise that Serendipity is on their side. "Hey guys, remember that crazy Jew we nailed up a few years ago there, the one with the followers? Well it turns out that that kind of crazy really works for some people. If we mix it together with the solstice and equinox celebrations already going on around the countryside, should be a winner." So it is written, and so it shall be. The Jesus cult gets mashed-up with paganism like a daft punk jam.

A few years go by, and another dessert dweller, a fella named Mohamed has been reading up on the whole Jewish thingy, and then learns about the Jesus fella. He figures he could do one better. After a few trial runs, he cooks up a winner formula. A mysterious central figure with an exclusive language requirement.

It seems to be working. Mohamed pushed the limits of crazy, and just like Jesus and the Jews before him, it is working. Really, it is almost fool-proof, as once the central insanity of an all powerful, omniscient creator being is accepted, just about anything is possible. Talking snakes, no problem. Pillars of salt, easy. Virgin birth, sure I believe that is possible, no chance that Mary would lie about who the father of her baby was. And along comes DJ Mo Ham daddy, who spins a tale of his god being so big, so mighty, well, like duh... of course you can't take a picture. That kind of fish-eye lens ain't been invented yet. So you wanna know more, well you really have to learn the language, and really dig the poetry of hacking up phlegm into the back of your throat because of all the damn sand and time spent hitting the hookah-bong.

I know a couple guys like that. Swear to the unknowable one they were talking Arabic...

Rememberance Day

Here in Canada we observe Remembrance Day on November 11. It has become our custom, besides having a national holiday, to act in silence and reflect upon the tragedy of war. In the eleventh month, on the eleventh day, at the eleventh hour, we collectively think "Lest We Forget".

And as usual, my mom forwards a bunch of stuff to my email in support of the cause. I suspect she does not know how much I respect this tradition; I do wear the poppy, I do attend the services, and I do observe the silence. Just as I always vote, I always observe Remembrance day.

One of the emails she has forwarded again, as I have seen it before, has images of various flag-draped coffins and armed forces personnel from recent times. That is to say, the recent conflicts in West Asia, or Persian Gulf region. As I do respect the Armed Forces and the intention of Remembrance Day, I felt compelled to reply with the following statement:

"As usual, I will observe November 11 publicly. I agree that it is important, as I feel that this is our most important and relevant public ceremony. I feel obligated to remind you my dear that we are not part of the United States, nor the U.K.

It is true that we are allied with these nations. However, I have no doubts that many of the images of U.S. and U.K. soldiers are taken from the illegal war in Iraq, which Canada is not participating in. We are not engaged in that war as before the Harper conservatives were in power, we had a cautious government that did not want to offend that region.

Canada has recently lost our position on the security council of the U.N. because of the politics of the current government. It is not acceptable to blame the political opposition for this. If there was no political opposition, we would not be a Democracy. Therefore, to blame the opposition for losing our position on the security council is equivalent to blaming democracy for that loss.

For our current government to be allied with the political agendas of the United States and the United Kingdom is to ally us with aggression.

The reason we have Remembrance Day in this country is to remember how terrible the war in Europe was, and to make it our personal and our public policy to act in such a way that is will not happen again. `Lest We Forget`is to be accompanied with `Never Again`. That is the point of our observation of November 11.

When I find images in my email that attempts to suggest that all soldiers have fallen for a good cause, that is offensive.

The war in Iraq is an illegal war. Always was, always will be. It was started by the Bush family to gain control in that region of the world for their friends in Saudi Arabia. It was not a result of 9/11. England is playing along for the same reasons.

Canadians choose wisely not to play along. We have more oil than we need.

And to quote your buddy Jesus,

But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
Psalm 37:11

When Jesus said love thine enemy as you love thine self, I am certain he did not mean bomb their countries."

That's what I sent to my mom, and I mean it. As Canadians, we can be proud that we do not start wars, and we can be proud that we are willing to help end them.

LEST WE FORGET

Radical running and radical reels.

Around lunch time today when I have the shared space to myself and it is my intention to get some work done, I hit the typical writers block. I started the morning with best intentions. What I wanted to write about was the discussion that we had last night on the walk to the Eric Harvey theatre. What had been flowing out of my head was a rather convoluted connection that I was attempting to make between the evolution of social insects and their 'selfish genes' with the behaviour of modern, generally non-reproducing types like ourselves, and the general subject of the up-coming evening presentation. That is to say, an assumption of mine is that many people in a mountain town like Banff are not likely to have children, and this assumption applies to 'extreme sport' athletes as well. That is what many of us have in common. We follow a passion for sports and adventure to the promised lands of Banff, Jasper, Tofino, Whistler, Squamish, Nelson, and Revelstoke. The list of course is longer than the former, however the towns mentioned are the ones I am personally most familiar with.
The point is, I doubt people like me, or the typical athletes in any Radical Reels presentation have many children. So my connection is a sociobiological one. Evolution results in species of ants and bees that have most individuals in a population born sterile. This is of apparent benefit to the species fitness in general as the populations of ants and bees seem to do well overall. Modern human populations often have castes that are not considered available for the future gene pool. High achieving athletes for example, who are likely to be excellent models of genetic fitness, are least likely to reproduce themselves in any abundance.

The connection is difficult to make I admit. Perhaps a bit of apples and oranges. The non-sequitor of comparing ants to people. (Comments welcome.)

So there I was this morning feeling some blockage. Since the sun was shining and the temperature was rising well above freezing, which is a treat for this time of year, I felt I should go for a run. Sure, my back has been sore lately, and some joints have been protesting the abuse of the seasons gone by. However I refuse to let those little voices dominate the discussion. I, in every sense I have of myself, love running. My heaven includes the almost endless sand of Long Beach at low tide, with the sun warming the air through a thin veil of fog. With few sheeple about, I can run barefoot as long as the chemical energy is available to my cells. To be fair, the last time I was there, I crippled myself this way, however with no regrets. Here in the Rockies, some of the most gorgeous trails exist for what I feel is that purpose as well; for me to run upon.

Off I go, and it hits me about the time I emerge from the shady side of Sulfur Mountain into the sunshine down by the river. I should write about running, and the show last night. There happens to be an excellent connection there as last nights show was introduced by a short film starring the MC Timmy Oneil as an aspiring ultra-marathon runner. Although cheeky, I sincerely believe that of all the so-called 'extreme' sports, nothing surpasses those simplest activities which requires only what one is born with. Walking, running, climbing, and swimming are the real sports. An extension of that logic would include combat as well. Thus, to introduce the show Radical Reels show with a bit on running, however intended as comic relief, resonates well with me.

That said, the first 'official' film of the night was a perfect example of how marketing and images drives much of the adventure sport industry. The short film was called Oseven, whatever that means, and it was garbage. A superficial collection of images presented for the benefit of the sponsors. It was advertising plain and simple. One would have to be a total armchair athlete to miss that. I wish I had.

Now for the good news; except for that short waste of film and the audiences time, the remainder of the films were excellent. The quality of the sports-porn was up to the promise of the Mountain Film fest. Confirmed for our viewing pleasure is that there are still a number of people out there, mostly young adult males, that are willing to risk the future for thrills, accomplishment, and sponsorships. There is big money to be made in exchange for your genetic potential. Trust me on this one; ain't got no kids that I know of.

It is not my intention to review the films except to repeat that overall, with few exceptions, the evening was as expected and delivered as promised. Tonight is the Snow Show, which is winter themed obviously. I like the idea that snow gets its own night now. Around here, its only like, six months of the year you know. So like ants perhaps, we will wander up to the theatre again tonite, and bask in the glow of winter sport and adventures, as if with one thousand others we are cozy around the fire after a day of excitement and survival. I wonder if any babies will get made afterwards? Not likely. We have been sterilised by mountain culture.

This brings me back to the question I arrived at the theatre with last night. The question was 'how did hymenoptera evolve in the first place?' The answer will somehow be part of the answer to our own question; how will we evolve so as to not destroy ourselves and life on this gorgeous planet?
Sterile female workers for the ants and bees seems to work for them. What is going to work for us?