Messages

1

Techmology and Scientism / Re: Cold fusion?

« on: Yesterday at 06:07:30 pm »

I did some googling on this. Apparently, the scientists were actual scientists but they only observed and measured an experimental system built by Rossi in his own lab. They don't know exactly what's going on inside. Another google link indicated that some scientists last year reviewed it and believed that it may be a working system with excellent energy generation, but isn't technically cold fusion. According to some of the stuff I read, Rossi even stated that he doesn't completely understand what's happening. The consensus seems to be that he may have an interesting system, but without knowing the details, and without peer review, the jury is hung.

2

Aneristic Illusions / Re: So, RWHN, it appears your predictions of doom are contradicted

« on: May 10, 2013, 02:40:09 pm »

Lies.

Russian speaking people aren't allowed to smile.  Ever.  They get exiled if they look like they might be doing anything but staring moodily and in a vaugely hostile manner at everyone around them,

It was on the southern shore, a couple hours from Istanbul.

3

Aneristic Illusions / Re: So, RWHN, it appears your predictions of doom are contradicted

« on: May 10, 2013, 01:36:17 pm »

I had a similar experience last weekend, jamming with some good friends for four solid hours in the twilight hours of night.  It was a magical evening.  Completely sober.

4 hours? From Friday to Sunday I slept for four hours.

Seriously though, the Black Sea was breathtaking, the sky at night was astounding, the DJ's were fantastic and though everyone was on drugs, they were happy, friendly, healthy, and smiling when they went home.

4

Aneristic Illusions / Re: So, RWHN, it appears your predictions of doom are contradicted

« on: May 10, 2013, 01:20:37 pm »

I spent the weekend tripping on the shore of the Black Sea at an amazing Dark Psy event, live dj's amazing visuals, a fantastic view... good LSD and nice hash. That was an amazing experience I never expected to have.

I hope RWHN gets the same pleasure out of sitting in legislator meetings.

5

Or Kill Me / Re: I R STOOPID

« on: May 02, 2013, 09:18:46 am »

According to the Fish head documentary I linked to elsewhere, people with psychopathic tendencies tend to rise to positions of leadership and then make decisions without the ability to have empathy for those that their decision affects adversely. They point to examples in both business and politics... they also draw some interesting conclusions about the effects of SSRI's and how they create symptoms that are similar to psychopathy, then parallels between the increased use of SSRI's among leaders and the increase in bad/poor/self-interested decisions due to the fact that their emotions are muted by the drugs.

Interesting stuff, though of course, its all theory/supposition/belief/agenda etc.

Sounds similar, but not quite the same, im pretty sure it was on the Less Wrong Wiki.

Yeah, I've read a couple different articles about leadership becoming detached and underlings being in fear of contradicting the leader ("communication occurs only between equals". - RAW)  The "I am Fishead" movie takes the same concept to the next level... that is not only do some leaders become detached, but some leaders become leaders because they are already completely detached emotionally and without conscience (i.e. psychopathic at some level, or too whacked on SSRI's to feel the emotional impact of their decisions and the risks they choose).

I would imagine that there's probably truth in both of those ideas and taken together it results in the madness we see in leadership. Some leaders become detached, some leaders start out detached (which makes it easier for them to rise to the position of leader).

Either way, they end up lacking the ability to realize that they're Cosmic Schmucks

6

Aneristic Illusions / Re: So, RWHN, it appears your predictions of doom are contradicted

« on: May 02, 2013, 09:08:49 am »

By the way, am I the only person here who thinks that anyone who is against legalizing recreational marijuana use for adults but is also pro-choice when it comes to abortion is a HUGE FLAMING HYPOCRITE?

No! Because being pro-choice is about people having control over their own bodies and health! And legalizing recreational use of drugs would mean people having control of... no, it would mean enabling... uh... would mean hurting children and...

OH WAIT-

Hey! People should have control of their own bodies, unless they're doing something that I don't approve of with them.
   \
 

7

Or Kill Me / Re: I R STOOPID

« on: May 02, 2013, 08:56:55 am »

According to the Fish head documentary I linked to elsewhere, people with psychopathic tendencies tend to rise to positions of leadership and then make decisions without the ability to have empathy for those that their decision affects adversely. They point to examples in both business and politics... they also draw some interesting conclusions about the effects of SSRI's and how they create symptoms that are similar to psychopathy, then parallels between the increased use of SSRI's among leaders and the increase in bad/poor/self-interested decisions due to the fact that their emotions are muted by the drugs.

Interesting stuff, though of course, its all theory/supposition/belief/agenda etc.

8

Aneristic Illusions / Re: So, RWHN, it appears your predictions of doom are contradicted

« on: May 02, 2013, 08:49:34 am »

By the way, am I the only person here who thinks that anyone who is against legalizing recreational marijuana use for adults but is also pro-choice when it comes to abortion is a HUGE FLAMING HYPOCRITE?

That's a seriously correct bong fueled motorcycle you're riding there!

9

Apple Zone / Re: hundreds of jugs of piss...

« on: April 30, 2013, 09:05:06 pm »

I heard they contacted the owner and said "Urine a lot of trouble!"

10

Aneristic Illusions / Re: ATTN, Von Zwietracht & other libertariantards

« on: April 30, 2013, 04:51:38 pm »

I used to roll with the idea of Libertarianism as the least awful form of government, these days I've decided they're all equally crappy in one way or another. A non-crappy government would be one thata focused on maximum personal freedom and on providing a support structure for citizens that needed assistance. Sadly, I doubt something like thata would ever be implemented usefully in the US.

However, I have found a glimmer of hope. Some Psychologists/Psychiatrist claim that through their studies they find that most people are Good but passive, rather than Evil, Selfish etc. Additionally, through the study of 'social networks' (not Facebook, the actual human social network) an individuals behavior influences the behavior of their friends, their friends friends and their friends friends friends (3 degrees of influence). If we behave in a Good-Active way, it influences 3 degrees of the social network to behave in a more Good-Active way. So while there may never be a government that is actively good, if these theories and observations are correct, humans could influence each other so that society becomes more actively good.

Hell, its better than voting for the psychopaths at the top and hoping they fix something, or ranting about obviously failed political belief systems.

ETA: There an interesting documentary on the topic: http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/i-am-fishead-are-corporate-leaders-psychopaths/

Psychologists (psychiatrists don't typically do behavioral research, as they are clinical doctors), and primarily the fellow who has been doing this research for over 40 years is Philip Zimbardo, who gave the TED talk I posted in another thread. He wrote an excellent book called The Lucifer Effect, and is now studying heroism, which he defines simply as resisting the influence of evil. Zimbardo, Milgram, Sapolsky, Cacioppo, and Cialdini are all great people to read up on if you're interested in that sort of thing.

Zimbardo has done a lot of work studying the situation at Abu Ghraib, and his conclusions are pretty chilling; essentially, he is convinced that evil isn't "a few bad apples" or "a bad barrel", but "bad-barrel-makers". Now he's working on understanding how we can influence the whole social-political-military system to mitigate the "bad-barrel-maker" effect.

Thanks for the clarification, I thought a few of the people involved were psychiatrists  since they were discussing people they had done assessments of. One interesting thing on the Milgram experiment I had not known was that when people were shown videos of previous testers refusing to continue the electrical shock, the majority of subjects also refused to continue the shock, and that when people were shown videos of previous testers going all the way, they were more likely to go all the way. Says a lot about the examples we set in its effect of the 'social network'.

11

Aneristic Illusions / Re: ATTN, Von Zwietracht & other libertariantards

« on: April 30, 2013, 04:34:08 pm »

A non-crappy government would be one thata focused on maximum personal freedom and on providing a support structure for citizens that needed assistance.

The big disconnect is the mistaken notion that these are mutually exclusive.

Of course, they're not mutually exclusive as soon as we rid ourselves of the absurd notion that personal freedom somehow equals "I GET TO KEEP ALL MY MONEY!!!"

12

Aneristic Illusions / Re: ATTN, Von Zwietracht & other libertariantards

« on: April 30, 2013, 04:07:52 pm »

I used to roll with the idea of Libertarianism as the least awful form of government, these days I've decided they're all equally crappy in one way or another. A non-crappy government would be one thata focused on maximum personal freedom and on providing a support structure for citizens that needed assistance. Sadly, I doubt something like thata would ever be implemented usefully in the US.

However, I have found a glimmer of hope. Some Psychologists/Psychiatrist claim that through their studies they find that most people are Good but passive, rather than Evil, Selfish etc. Additionally, through the study of 'social networks' (not Facebook, the actual human social network) an individuals behavior influences the behavior of their friends, their friends friends and their friends friends friends (3 degrees of influence). If we behave in a Good-Active way, it influences 3 degrees of the social network to behave in a more Good-Active way. So while there may never be a government that is actively good, if these theories and observations are correct, humans could influence each other so that society becomes more actively good.

Hell, its better than voting for the psychopaths at the top and hoping they fix something, or ranting about obviously failed political belief systems.

ETA: There an interesting documentary on the topic: http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/i-am-fishead-are-corporate-leaders-psychopaths/

13

Think for Yourself, Schmuck! / Re: Redemption

« on: April 20, 2013, 04:18:41 pm »

If we go with the BiP metaphor, people behave the way they do, because of their life experience, education, beliefs, etc etc etc. If we think that its possible to change our BiP, then it must be possible to change the ick/squick/bad behavior as well. Forgiveness, however, seems to me like a very personal thing. If someone raped a woman, even if they changed, I don't know if that woman should or even could truly forgive them (probably depends on their own BiP). However, as someone not connected to the rapist or the victim, I may be able to see the change and not judge the rest of their life based on that previous behavior.

I might be able to say "Hey, George Wallace changed, I can have a conversation with him and not presume he's a racist fuck." However, if I was the individual he was blocking from entry in front of everyone, maybe I'd say "Nah, fuck that guy".

I don't think there's anything wrong with either of those positions, and I don't think they're in conflict. The conflict, IMO, wuld be the victim, or the non-connected person, trying to enforce their position on the other person. It pisses me off to no end to hear someone try to convince someone else that they 'must' forgive someone who has done them wrong... or for someone to try to make everyone damn someone, no matter what has changed.

forgiveness isn't done by society, its done by humans.

I think...

14

Aneristic Illusions / Re: So, RWHN, it appears your predictions of doom are contradicted

« on: April 13, 2013, 04:02:11 pm »

Silly government... stupid rules... this is one reason I would be OK with simple decriminalization. Let people grow a few plants, let them have a personal stash and get on with life. I mean, hell, lots of people have personal grow boxes and no one is bothering them, why not just get rid of those penalties... Keep the nutty laws about big sellers and OMGZ TEH KIDZ etc.

In the end though, I think its like I said in another thread, the government just continues to try to impose order on reality and it makes a mess for everyone. I like clove cigerettes when I smoke (very rarely)... but for the kids, I can't buy them... yet smokeless tobacco and cigars can still be sold with that shitty apple/grape/pinapple flavor?!

15

Aneristic Illusions / Re: So, RWHN, it appears your predictions of doom are contradicted

« on: April 13, 2013, 03:42:09 pm »

https://wikispooks.com/wiki/ALEC#How_do_corporations_benefit.3F

Although ALEC claims to take an ideological stance (of supposedly "Jeffersonian principles of free markets, limited government, federalism, and individual liberty"), many of the model bills benefit the corporations whose agents write them, shape them, and/or vote to approve them. These are just a few such measures:

    Altria/Philip Morris USA benefits from ALEC’s newest tobacco legislation -- an extremely narrow tax break for moist tobacco that would make fruit flavored tobacco products cheaper and more attractive to youngsters.
    Health insurance companies such as Humana and Golden Rule Insurance (United Healthcare), benefit directly from ALEC model bills, such as the Health Savings Account bill that just passed in Wisconsin.
    Tobacco firms such as Reynolds and pharmaceutical firms such as Bayer benefit directly from ALEC tort reform measures that make it harder for Americans to sue when injured by dangerous products.
    Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) benefits directly from the anti-immigrant legislation introduced in Arizona and other states that requires expanded incarceration and housing of immigrants, along with other bills from ALEC’s crime task force.
    Connections Academy, a large online education corporation and co-chair of the Education Task Force, benefits from ALEC measures to privatize public education and promote private on-line schools.

I wanted to address this here so as to not derail the other thread.
So, ALEC is working with Big Tobacco, who, if/when marijuana is legalized federally, will be jumping in whole hog into the marijuana market.


So, you can talk all you want about the (phony) connection to Prevention, but it looks like ALEC will also be connected to the Green Machine when it gets up and running.


Some food for thought.

Isn't fruit flavored tobacco illegal in the states now? Last time I was in the States, I couldn't even get cloves (yeah, there a little goth hiding in this hippie).

No, it isn't.  It's perfectly legal, and is an example of the kind of marketing CLEARLY aimed at kids that we'll see when marijuana is legal.

Well that's bizarre, I wonder if the FDA changed the regulations?

http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm183211.htm

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today a ban on cigarettes with flavors characterizing fruit, candy, or clove. The ban, authorized by the new Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, is part of a national effort by the FDA to reduce smoking in America. Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in America.

The FDA's ban on candy and fruit-flavored cigarettes, effective today, highlights the importance of reducing the number of children who start to smoke, and who become addicted to dangerous tobacco products. The FDA is also examining options for regulating both menthol cigarettes and flavored tobacco products other than cigarettes.

"Almost 90 percent of adult smokers start smoking as teenagers. These flavored cigarettes are a gateway for many children and young adults to become regular smokers," said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. "The FDA will utilize regulatory authority to reduce the burden of illness and death caused by tobacco products to enhance our Nation's public health."