aristotlejones

First, you need the comprehend the scale of the issue. It would be like trying to affect a hurricane with a firecracker. Second, it assumes that the sun actually operates by means of fusion. We have so much to learn about our sun and solar system and galaxy, if we'd only follow the observations, and not erect castles out of computer models. Regards, <*>aj See a world in a grain of sand, A heaven in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, Eternity in an hour. We are led to believe a lie, When we see with and not through the eye, That was born in a night, To perish in a night, When the soul slept in beams of light. William Blake

I used to like "Happy Lightbulb Day" as an alternative to saying Merry "Son of a Religious Delusion" Birthday (Ech-mas). There was talk about how much Edison and like inventors brought to the world. But I also learned how much Edison used government pull to sabotage Tesla's work, the inventor or Alternating Current. If it wasn't for Tesla, we'd still be living in small towns using morse code. So, I'm not as excited about connecting Edison to Rand. I sure wish we could make Ech-mas time a period where we could celebrate objectivism with friends. Regularize it. I mean, the only reason I like the Ech-mas season is for Boxing Day, the day when all small business owners purchase their tax writeoffs for the next year. I guess "Happy Acheiver's Benevolence Day" has just too many syllables. But there was a time when I would reread Atlas every year, between Ech-mas & New Years, or at least read the Anthem "i" chapter in place of "Twas the night before Ech-mas". If we want to get objectivism to seep into the culture, we need to start thinking about replacing or revising the existing holidaze. Take the best, and leave the rest. Keep the capitalistic celebration part and throw out the religious part. Keep the recognition of earthly dieties, and scrap the mythical ones. Celebrate with friends who share your values, instead of feeling one must endure the dysfunctional monkey customs of your particular genetic lottery. Rand was right that the sacred is important. We need a holiday that celebrates the best within us, among those who truly care. I don't know what we should call it, but I know we should start doing it. Be seeing you... <*>aj

Count me in for the Scots book. Actually, anything with the "invent" in the title. I am picking it up next week and hope to read it during holidays if I can only bash my way through to the end of this darned tedious second Goodkind novel. Also, I can't predict how much time I'll have to participate since I can't predict how much work my inventive clients will dump on me. Be seeing you... <*>aj

Wow, I'm never going to go look something up without sending my current reply. I lost everything, and now have to recall what I wrote from memory: I had heard about the Prisoner in the past, and walked into a video room at a scifi con one night where they were playing the last two eps. Before the ending, I correctly called how it would resolve (don't remember the details anymore). People in the room delared that I must have watched the entire series, but I just have that kind of mind. I tend to pick up on clues people miss, like typos leap out at me from the page, and really that is just a sign of good writing which in my opinion is more like reality when it both allows the important clues to be just part of the background noise, and sometimes allows others to conceal them for their own vested interests. That is why I like shows like B5, 24, Sandbaggers, and House. By watching them, you train yourself to be more objective by seeing if you can both find the clues seeded in the story, and whether you can figure out their relevance before the resolution is revealed. I really enjoyed Patrick MacGoohan as number 6, but what threw me for a loop was that I never recognized him as the King in Braveheart. (hiding behind his beard and his acting) Here's a list of the titles of Sandbagger eps to give you an idea of their content: (once you see an episode, you'll realize that each title is moral lesson and a punchline to a very bad joke) Series 1 First Principles A Proper Function of Government Is Your Journey Really Necessary? The Most Suitable Person Always Glad to Help A Feasible Solution Special Relationship Series 2 At All Costs Enough of Ghosts Decision by Committee A Question of Loyalty It Couldn't Happen Here Operation Kingmaker Series 3 All in a Good Cause To Hell With Justice Unusual Approach My Name is Anna Wiseman Sometimes We Play Dirty Too Who Needs Enemies Opposite Numbers Be seeing you... <*>aj

Here, here. RD is clever and funny. A good time was had by all. (especially those last few seasons) I primarily watch scifi, but it is hit and miss right now. I've started to follow the current seasons of Dr. Who, but what is even better by many magnitudes is its spinoff: Torchwood. British actors, plots, and it seems like the writers have actually read some of the great old scifi stories. BSG: cuz it's shot locally, and cuz I'm waiting to find out who's who and what's what. Long time fan and supporter of Babylon5 and all things related. I tape & watch Sarah Connor, but only for the character development, not the Frankensteinian plot-theme. I didn't like Fringe to start with, but it is exploring areas that I have some knowledge of, and they are doing their homework, which I respect given most of the crap out there. I wish there were more hard science shows available, as Nova seems to be about the current quaint environmental context now, or supporting mainstream tenured government "science". I think they've lost their way. Guilty Pleasures: 2.5 Men - so sue me. The funniest eps are when the entire family gets into the act. Lipstick Jungle - Smart, strong, passionate, hot women. What's not to like. News: Charlie Rose Jon Stewart & Stephen Colbert News Hour - MacNeil Lehrer 60 Minutes Sunday interview shows CSPAN Drama & related: House, cuz, well, he's House. (and if people get pissed at or object to the truth as being cruel, well then chose the alternative. He cares about the lifesaving answer, not the patient - get over it, and live to whine another day) 24: Because if we are to believe people like Jack should exist, then they should be held to the Spiderman standard of being obligated to make the right moral choices. He usually does, given how many corrupt people are trying to tie him down and make him fail for their own petty blindnesses, and I'm not even talking about the terrorists. New Tricks: Retired UK cops recalled to work old cases, interesting because it often illuminates how things have changed across the generations, and how basic decency wins in the end. NCIS/The Unit, when I have time and the story revolves around moral questions and not just proby abuse. I left the best for last: The Sandbaggers The best espionage drama ever, and one that poses a moral conflict in each ep that is resolved often by exposing some bureacrats hypocricy or finding a clever mole or somesuch. It has been called a cross between Yes Minister and James Bond (Connery). The show was shot in the late 70's, and broadcast in the UK and Canada, and NZ/Oz soon thereafter, but due to a grassroots fandom, was finally cut to DVD in the 90s. Only twenty episodes, but every one a gem. And for those who think House is abrasive and hard to take, you haven't met Neil Burnside. For more info, go to The Ops Room (www.opsroom.org) Here's a clip from their FAQ: What is The Sandbaggers? It’s the best damned show most people never saw. The Sandbaggers is a supremely entertaining and intelligent British TV series about the Cold War. Its central character is a ruthless, duplicitous, acid-tongued, lovelorn but often funny spy master named Neil Burnside. He is one of the most fascinating and complex antiheroes ever to have graced the small screen. He is the Director of Operations (D-Ops) of Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service. Among his other duties, Burnside oversees a small group of officers who are to be are sent abroad on politically sensitive or dangerous missions: escorting defectors to the West, retrieving secret papers and photographs, or anything too hazardous for the officers the UK has posted to that locale. Burnside’s greatest opposition, however, often comes from the bureaucrats and politicians in his own country, not from the Soviets. The Sandbaggers is remarkable for the many ways in which it inverts espionage genre conventions: Burnside doesn’t drink and is about as far from charming as you can get, his top Sandbagger hates violence, no one has any flashy cars or gadgets or sexual liaisons, and the whole series features very few action scenes. A typical 50-minute episode consists of men and women having intelligent conversations and heated arguments in government offices, in London parks, and in the Ops Room, where missions are planned and controlled. Praised for its unflinching honesty, passionate acting, witty dialogue and shocking plot twists, The Sandbaggers has a worldwide fan following. The 20 episodes were first broadcast in 1978 and 1980 on Britain’s ITV network (not the BBC). Canada’s CBC, Australia's ABC and many American PBS stations aired the series in the late 1980s and the early 1990s. You’ll probably like The Sandbaggers if you like John Le Carré’s spy novels, or anything acknowledging its audience’s intelligence. -------------------------------------- Be seeing you... <*>aj

Sounds like we're back to the "bingbang singularity". BTW, thanks for providing the opening for my favorite retrogeek phrase: Fighting Entropy with Integrity since 1959! <*>aj

I wouldn't have asked if I hadn't already tried the usual suspects. Seems like movietickets, and other generic theatre sites are pretty cagey about which theatres are actually equiped to play 3D. So, I searched for just "3D movie theatres in the Vancouver area" and found a press release that spilled the beans: Scotiabank Theatre Vancouver, SilverCity Metropolis Cinemas, SilverCity Coquitlam Cinemas and at Colossus Langley Cinemas <*>aj

he continues on his noble mission with the same determination. When I used to live in Vancouver, before we had movie theatres in our computers, I would go to the annual Vancouver Animation Festival at the Ridge. I would purposely go on a Saturday afternoon, when parents would bring their kids, and have a grand old time because the kids were not as inhibited as the adults. This was the era of Wallace & Gromit, a claymation by Nick Park about a English Inventor and his heroic dog Gromit. A Grand Day Out was the first of many thirty minute stories, that took two years to make and every time would win an Oscar. Pure Fun. BTW, Sophia, do you know if any theatres in the Vancouver area are playing Bolt in 3D? <*>aj

more like "scientific creationism"... <*>aj When the search for truth is confused with political advocacy the pursuit of knowledge is reduced to the quest for power. Alston Chase

Many years ago, I was walking down Hastings Street in downtown Vancouver one sunny afternoon, probably just coming from a library, and thinking deep thoughts. A gal in a pantsuit with a clipboard appeared at my 11 oclock from the entrance to our local Scientology storefront and said, "Excuse me, would you like a free personality test"? I sidestepped and tossed over my shoulder, "No thank you, I already have one". Continuing to walk, I waited a beat, then looked back, and it seems that I momentarily broke her programming because she was smiling. Somedays the bear gets you, and somedays you get the bear. <*>aj

Context. Besides, I wasn't talking about the Indian Government, but the Indian People, and more specifically those who work in Mumbai and support what it stands for. I remember watching on TV the second tower coming down, from the staffroom of the aerospace campus at Vancouver International Airport, and as soon as they said, World TRADE Center, a chill went up my neck. These bastards are attacking the best within us, and in this case, in Mumbai, the best within India stood their ground. Revolutions are always made by the poor slob on the ground who's tired of being pushed around, and because the corrupted hypocrites are too cowardly to do their duty. (and making sure the security forces had a plane fueled and on the runway at all times, fits that category) Don't belittle the courage and honor of the common man, for they bled and died to make America a reality. Now it is India's turn, if, as the previous poster said, they don't turn back to irrationalism founded on fear. They should turn towards reason and justice founded on a justified anger over and a respect for those who died. If something similar happened in a US hotel, how many bellhops, or cooks, or hotel managers would have reacted so calmly, and would have given their lives to save others? Mercy for the guilty is treason to the innocent. (Especially the government, but not the people who did the best they could, and better than most.)

This is slightly off topic, but there is no other thread available. I just watched the Charlie Rose interview with two survivors of a 12 hour ordeal in Mumbai. They described where they were helped by the Taj hotel staff to find a safe room in the basement (?) and when they were guided to this room the staffed lined both sides of the hallways intent on protecting them with their lives if the terrorists should appear. I immediately envisioned the line of workers on protecting the John Galt line. They spent seven hours (?) hiding in this room, and one of the staff members guarded the door, and at one point a terrorist asked they how to get to another hotel, and then demanded that the staff member open the door. He calmly assured the terrorist, "Don't worry, there's nobody in there." and the terrorist ran off. While the husband and wife of the interview were waiting in this room, this staff member kept assuring them that things would be ok, and at one point said, "Don't worry, they will kill me before they kill you". Now, the common, and maybe even objectivist response to this might be that these staff members were being selfless. And the husband and wife felt that way about them, and the many staff members who protected their guests with their lives. But I just couldn't buy this. They gave their lives for others, yes. And yes, some of them would be following a religious code that told them to do this. But given how far India has grown up in the past decades, I could not buy this. What made me cry is the probability that some of these men and women who died protecting their guests did so because on some subconsciously ethical level, they realized were fighting for a value, and against those who would take that value away. They were not police, firemen or emergency personnel, who are trained to respond this way, and chose this line of work, as in 911. These are people just making a living, who stood up to the plate, and in my opinion, made their lives stand for something. I don't see this as selfless, but the most selfish act a person can make with their very lives. They made a statement, with their very lives, "this far, and no farther". India, you have come a long way baby. <*>aj

Peikoff's Induction in Physics & Philosophy lectures teach one how to contextually delimit and validate the most basic concepts all the way up to the broadest universals. He does this by tracing how famous scientists did it in their researches. If you are seriously interested in this question, I highly recommend these lectures. They even helped me understand how to do better patent searches. Stay Focused, <*>aj

Thank you for this, however I'm still trying to answer your question of how plasma cosmology explains the universe, in light (sic) of the mainstream big bang hypothesis. There is a set of five ten minute youtube clips from a show called Cosmology Quest2 - Plasma Cosmology that takes a pretty good stab at answering not only what is wrong with big bang theory, but details what is more comprehensive* and scientifically credible about plasma cosmology. (*when comparing any two theories, assuming they are actually trying to explain the same set of observations, the prize goes to that theory that rationally explains the greatest number of observations) http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=UEbatH0ssYE&...feature=related In the fifth clip, the comment is made by Peratt that Plasma Cosmology is well beyond the Hypothesis stage and is well into the Analysis stage. Since Electric Universe effects have been proven to be scaleable from the lab to the galactic, the next step is to the Experimental stage. (OK, everyone get out their Levitrons...) Stay Focused, <*>aj Wizards First Rule: We have learned from much experience, that all philosophical intuitions about what nature is going to do, fail. R. P. Feynman

I'm three quarters through the first ebook, and I'm thinking he gets paid by the pound. I write for a living, just not fiction, although some cards may label patents as fiction. I think Goodkind, based on what I've read so far, really really needs an editor. Too bad there are even fewer good editors than there are good writers anymore. I'm hanging on to the end of the book to see if it was all worth it. And to see how much his avowed objectivism gets into the book. Puleeeze, no Goodkind spoilers. Stay Focused, <*>aj

I truly wish I had more time to unpack this for you, but party due to work overload, and prepping for an aikido seminar next week, I'm just too busy right now. But I'm also trying to understand all the implications and manifestations of a plasma universe myself. From the way I understand it, space is filled with charged particles, electromagnetic fields, and ionized gases. These seem like pretty inconsequential stuff to take the place of gravity, but the idea behind a plasma pinch focus generator is the same principle that operates the center of our galaxy and possibly our sun. Plasma and EM effects do not replace gravity, they just compliment it, and they explain the universe more comprehensively with than without it. One of the manifestations of a plasma universe is that rotating high energy z-pinches generate polar jets that are the brightest objects in our skies: i.e. quasars. Another implication is that one may think of our sun as an anode, and the electrons from surrounding space as a distributed cathode, and the ensuing ion flow forms our "solar" wind. In other words, is the plasma energy from surrounding space that creates each star we see. (ask Coperincus) But I'm just a part-time student of this, so I suggest you hunt around the thunderbolts site, and ask some questions on their forum. Here's a soupdragon video to start you off: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=RPYz3iWmyLo&...feature=related <*>aj

The two issues are co-dependent: if there is no big bang, then the universe is unmeasurably old, as the data supports. Professor Lerner (who is an expert in this, and may become as respected as Faraday and Edison someday for his fusion work) rationally substantiates the theory that there is insufficient evidence for a big bang, by means of his book that I mentioned previously . He also offers a more complete contextual explanation of the observational evidence available to all scientists, namely that if you ignore electromagnetic effects in describing how the universe works, you are blind in both eyes. (BTW, EM is 10^47 more powerful over time than gravity, and is a much more plausible mechanism to explain how the sun, our planets, the galaxy and surrounding space is formed and interacts) The establishment scientists are unable to account for the many anomalies in their theories, and for the continual surprises they find in the universe, which doesn't care to behave in the way their multidimensional quarky stringlike black holed contradictions demand. This comes down to epistemology, and how basic science is done nowadays, and if you toss out the basic observations in favor of computer models in order to collect citations and gain tenure, then you are building a house of cards. Real science is currently done by outcasts like Eric Lerner, as it was by John Galt in Atlas. Below are links to his book site, and his research sites. http://www.bigbangneverhappened.org/ http://www.focusfusion.org/ http://www.lawrencevilleplasmaphysics.com/ Stay Focused, <*>aj What are the facts? Again and again and again - what are the facts? Shun wishful thinking, ignore divine revelation, forget what "the stars fortell," avoid opinion, care not what the neighbors think, never mind the unguessable "verdict of history" - what are the facts, and to how many decimal places? You pilot always into an unknown future; facts are your single clue. Get the facts! RA Heinlein

There is a wonderful book on this topic by the scientist currently developing a plasma fusion focus generator: Eric J. Lerner - The Big Bang Never Happened. For all the gory details on the massive (sic) contradictions a "bingbang" universe implies, and the contextually valid observations that supports AMAI's more complete explanation, check this book out. I can also recommend anyone interested in the massive fraud perpetrated by "government scientists" (by tenure or funding or vested interests or NIMBY), and how plasma and electrical effects do explain many of the "surprises" and "contradictions" these "scientists" continue to find with telescopes and space probes, go to www.thunderbolts.info. Stay Focused, <*>aj

Always glad to meet another Lurker. <*>aj

On this basis, I offer the following essentialist definition of politics: Poly = many Tics = blood sucking parasites Cheers, aj Tim Calhoun for President 2012 (Objectivist Contract Party)

I highly recommend "Three Questions" a life affirming objectivist cabaret act by Robin Field that has been recorded several times. He calls it his philosophical oratorio, and it covers in witty rhyme and verse the history of "philosophy", and answers elegantly those time worn questions: "What do we know, how do we know it, and what do we do?" Warning: all recordings are not the same. I made a tape copy of an early version I had borrowed, with the intention to buy it later if I liked it, but when I did, the version I bought seemed like it was held at a convention of marxists, since the crowd didn't seem to get the jokes, and there wasn't the same energy or joy between the artist and the audience as there was at the original taping. Here's a Rebirth of Reason article on the show and the creator, which includes clips: http://rebirthofreason.com/Articles/Rawlin...of_Reason.shtml Enjoy!

Check the wiki on Stove...it lends some context to the claims about him. I have a religious half-brother in CO who bought IPP for me last Xmas. (as penance I suppose...I thought it was an elegant way to balance the scales) IPP actually helped me better understand how I search patents. Even the best of modern philosophers (excluding AR), are unable to consistently essentialize. Stove's theory of female intelligence is statistical, not causal. (at least as far as I can remember) But being against the modern feminist movement is not sexist, because the movement is sexist. Sounds like Stove understands the concept of induction, but not how to correctly apply it to volitional actors, only physical elements. Causality gets all screwed up when people have free will. They do the darndest things for the stupidest of "reasons". <*>aj A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. RA Heinlein

Hi, Lovely job you're doing here. Thanks to everyone who is making this Forum possible. I'm wondering if you can help fix something that is annoying. When I do a search for, say Stove, the famous anti-Popperian philosopher, I get a list of links to search results (hits). If the thread has only a few pages, or only one page, then I can quickly find the highlighted text and thereby the reference I'm seeking. However, when a thread has say ten pages, the only options are clicking on the link to the title of the thread, which takes me to the first page, which is not necessarily the page where the reference is located, or clicking on the last post link, which takes me to the end of the thread, and with the same lack of specificity. I've never been involved in search engine design, but is it possible to index the actual page locations of each hit, say by a series of numbers (linked to each page) for sequential hits, just below the title of the thread, then a searcher can directly find what the search engine has generated without wading through a multiplicity of non-relevant pages? Thanx ahead, <*>aj

Wow! It's like one shouldn't try to meet their heroes, lest they suffer disillusionment. Sure glad I know how to essentialize and contextualize, or I'd just have to slit my wrists. Anything you can point to to substantiate these claims of racism & sexism? Given that he's from Oz, and given that statistically these flaws are more endemic there, I guess it shouldn't surprise anyone if it's true. But, yes, I have read and enjoyed some of Stove's works, which I found buried in the campus stacks. I've always been interested in the epistemology of science, and how to do induction properly. Since I was very young, and before I even knew about philosophy, two questions have always haunted me deeply: If the universe is not infinite, then where does the big bang go?; and, How can one achieve certainty? Since there are so many false alternatives and overcomplicated rationalizations proffered as answers to, or evasions of the second question, and not just from dead white guys like Kant or Plato or Hume, but contemporary whackjobs like "Sir" Popper and his falsification raindance. I was sure glad to read Stove tear these posers apart. But that is only one half of the battle; taking down the preachers of deceit and fear and uncertainty. Whatever you think about Peikoff, I was sure happy when he finally finished his lectures on "Induction in Physics and Philosophy" with David Harriman. They provide a proper and complete answer to the "problem" of induction, and if LP is known for anything to "posterity", it should be for this groundbreaking work. Here's the ARI link: http://www.aynrandbookstore2.com/prodinfo.asp?number=LP82M Stay Focused, <*>aj

Um, the "reason Betsy gave" seems to have slipped through the cracks... Anyone remember what her first reason was for not liking Heinlein? <*>aj A generation that ignores history has no past and no future. When any government, or any church for that matter, undertakes to say to its subjects, "This you may not read, this you must not see, this you are forbidden to know,"the end result is tyranny and oppression, no matter how holy the motives. Mighty little force is needed to control a man whose mind has been hoodwinked;contrawise, no amount of force can control a free man, a man whose mind is free. No, not the rack, not fission bombs, not anything - you can't conquer a free man; the most you can do is kill him. Always listen to experts. They'll tell you what can't be done, and why. Then do it. It may be better to be a live jackal than a dead lion, but it is better still to be a live lion. And usually easier. To stay young requires unceasing cultivation of the ability to unlearn old falsehoods. The greatest productive force is human selfishness. Anything free is worth what you pay for it. What are the facts? Again and again and again - what are the facts? Shun wishful thinking, ignore divine revelation, forget what "the stars fortell," avoid opinion, care not what the neighbors think, never mind the unguessable "verdict of history" - what are the facts, and to how many decimal places? You pilot always into an unknown future; facts are your single clue. Get the facts!