tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5592542.post842243105967460201..comments2024-03-18T17:28:44.693-07:00Comments on Rondam Ramblings: Science 103: The virtue of simplicityRonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11752242624438232184noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5592542.post-85385707307929158662007-11-09T00:10:00.000-08:002007-11-09T00:10:00.000-08:00to enrich this discussion, check out feynman's dis...to enrich this discussion, check out feynman's <A HREF="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CaL5NslOxE" REL="nofollow">discussion (starting at 3:18)</A> on how difficult it is to *know* something, how easy is to make mistakes and fool yourself.asdfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04300268293562759791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5592542.post-48563554925391380592007-11-08T07:44:00.000-08:002007-11-08T07:44:00.000-08:00Sorry, I got carried away. Again, not meant to be ...Sorry, I got carried away. Again, not meant to be an attack, but rather an observation. It seemed compelling when I wrote it. :)<BR/><BR/>In retrospect it does appear that I got carried away and concluded in a manner that, at best, seems to have a tenuous relationship with what you had written.denis biderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02662743799740973736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5592542.post-75987354502271932272007-11-07T23:02:00.000-08:002007-11-07T23:02:00.000-08:00I find it amusing that you can have these beliefs ...<I>I find it amusing that you can have these beliefs and yet simultaneously call yourself liberal.</I><BR/><BR/>I find it amusing that you don't seem to know the meaning of the word "simultaneously." It has been quite a while since I last called myself a liberal.<BR/><BR/>And not that I really want to dignify this latest ad hominem attack with a response, but just because I think that a certain Ronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14719368822663798864noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5592542.post-62835234283169658072007-11-07T19:44:00.000-08:002007-11-07T19:44:00.000-08:00Damn, man - to think about it, you really sound li...Damn, man - to think about it, you really sound like a medieval Catholic preacher. "Thou shalt not read from the Holy book unless you read it in Latin! And if you cannot read it in Latin, thou shalt ask the preacher to interpret it for you!" The holy book is human knowledge, and preacher are "enlightened" people who are qualified to "interpret" it, like you. Among the holloi polloi are the "whitedenis biderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02662743799740973736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5592542.post-49041910427435587302007-11-07T19:34:00.000-08:002007-11-07T19:34:00.000-08:00But our resources are finite so we have to priorit...<B>But our resources are finite so we have to prioritize the inquiries we make anyway. I'm just saying that taking the potential consequences of having answers ought to be taken into account when we make those choices.</B><BR/><BR/>In the absence of totalitarianism, the way resources are prioritized is dictated by decisions of individuals. I believe it is incorrect to say that "the potential denis biderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02662743799740973736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5592542.post-83758608323752849452007-11-07T19:08:00.000-08:002007-11-07T19:08:00.000-08:00The choice is either more knowledge or stagnation....<I>The choice is either more knowledge or stagnation.</I><BR/><BR/>I agree. But our resources are finite so we have to prioritize the inquiries we make anyway. I'm just saying that taking the potential consequences of having answers ought to be taken into account when we make those choices.Ronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14719368822663798864noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5592542.post-2276284717611293512007-11-07T17:51:00.000-08:002007-11-07T17:51:00.000-08:00"Besides the pursuit of knowledge and power"This c...<B>"Besides the pursuit of knowledge and power"</B><BR/><BR/>This could be misread. "Power" here does not necessarily mean power over other people, but the ability to manipulate reality, the kind of power that derives more or less directly from knowledge; the ability to get more bang for the same buck, more effect for the same input; initially to have to work less and have more time to eat, sleepdenis biderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02662743799740973736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5592542.post-23564275452588641632007-11-07T17:41:00.000-08:002007-11-07T17:41:00.000-08:00"This is a serious problem for the theory that win...<B>"This is a serious problem for the theory that winter survival is what drives the evolution of intelligence, because if that were the case then one would expect arctic peoples to be the smartest on earth, and yet they are not by a wide margin (a full standard deviation). Lynn acknowledges this problem and dispenses with it"</B><BR/><BR/>I too find his speculation in this instance somewhat denis biderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02662743799740973736noreply@blogger.com