dream_weaver

Like it or not, Easy Truth, intelligence and even information are held to be part of nature as well as part of the human psyche. There has been discussion on both terms here at OO. A lot rests on establishing the context to frame the understanding within. Once a usage of a term enters the language it can be difficult to withdraw it.

From a religious standpoint (my rearing), the notion of God is portrayed as an omniscient super-spirit of the universe. Between this and the paragraph addressing Original Sin, provide insight that might not otherwise be encountered as articulately as Miss Rand put it. Granted, religion may be only a primitive form of philosophy, but the Prager's and Petterson'sof the world still maintain modern variations of it.

The act of isolating one's own consciousness to be the object of what one is conscious of, differs from the notion of a consciousness being conscious of itself and itself, the consciousness, being the sum total of all that there is.

The term "data of sense" is used in both Rand's and Piekoff's writings. I'm looking to connect it to the omnipresent data of the universe. Is it synonymous? Or is there a distinction to data as a part of consciousness that to be distinguished here?

I see the parallel, but it reminded me of when Russia used to tell their farmers what to plant, and when to plant it, resulting in crop failures.

... meanwhile, the world population expected to hit 8 billion, 2022. If not scorn, perhaps a measure of disbelief?

It struck me as a conspiracy piece, and I did not read it in depth, just to the extent that the Ivermectin was not being allowed for CoViD treatment, then queried the drug along with the disease for some studies. If it strengthens your views, that is fine. The multiple conflicting stories on different aspects of CoViD floating about reveal more about the epistemological disintegration. Also this is not the first time I've heard of a conspiracy of CoViD being a vehicle used to depopulate the world.

Effect of Early Treatment with Ivermectin among Patients with Covid-19 CONCLUSIONS Treatment with ivermectin did not result in a lower incidence of medical admission to a hospital due to progression of Covid-19 or of prolonged emergency department observation among outpatients with an early diagnosis of Covid-19. (Funded by FastGrants and the Rainwater Charitable Foundation; TOGETHER ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04727424. opens in new tab.)

The feature to create your own custom member title used to be available based on the number of posts. This is no longer the case. It has now been enabled for all users. (4.6: How to restore custom member titles) <-- Invision membership may be required to view. I've toggled it on and off a couple of times and done a refresh. I see a line for Member Title: with toggle set to on or off. The joys of software updates. About a year ago, Invision has held pretty well to their stated commitment of rolling an update out every month.

Invision Software updated (v4.7.0, 7/5/2022) Invision Software updated (v4.7.1) recently (8/9/2022). I'm looking at the section regarding ranking. This question had been asked earlier Forum Rank (2005) The rank values appear to be the same, so why ranks have changed recently does not appear to be related to this off hand. Under the heading Achievement Rules there are: Comment/Reply Posted, 1 point. Comment/Reply Posted, 1 point. Content Item Posted, 1 point. Ranks have the following entries. Newbie, 0 points. Novice, 5 points. Junior Member, 25 points. Member, 100 points. Advance Member, 500 points. Senior Member, 1000 points. Senior Partner, 5000 points. There is a Badges section too, which would require setup for such categories as: Great Support Helpful Superstar Great Content

I think the question was: "Who is the audience the lame attacks on the misspoke "China is one of the freest societies in the world..." directed at?"

The initial gut reaction would be to ask if Yuval Noah Harari is in cahoots with folks the likes of Daniel Schmachtenberger and Alexander Bard. In her essay, For The New Intellectual, Miss Rand put forth: "If America perishes, it will perish by intellectual default. There is no diabolical conspiracy to destroy it: no conspiracy could be big enough and strong enough." Yet, I've run across individuals who declare that it is not a conspiracy, that the attack on America is an open assault (by the descendants of Frankfurt School, for instance), that the power of philosophy is recognized by the enemies of philosophy and being harnessed produce a concentrated impact, dedicated to bringing down any supporters of an alternative view of existence. In other words, it is not a conspiracy being done behind the scenes, but an open assault with no need to remain hidden behind the scenes, in order to escape detection. Is this how the Chinese curse, "May you live in interesting times" be brought about?

@Easy Truth, you introduced him to me here. My assessment is based on about five minutes of the two audio segments and your analysis in the OP. As to the second part, I do not have particulars in mind. Alex Epstein would certainly qualify. There is a couple I met a decade ago that formed the Objectivists of Southeast Michigan, that began doing podcasts as an alternative to get together's at the onset of the hoopla over CoViD-19. Five Minutes with Robert kicked it off. Robert and Amy are still producing that weekly podcast, and also one hosted by the Ayn Rand Centre, UK dubbed "Life On Earth". Another, James Valliant, co-auther of the book "Creating Christ" has his own podcasts has been a frequent guest on Life on Earth, as well as Gena Gorlin, who is currently fielding a project she called "Building the Builders" over on Substack. She has been interviewed by the ARC team, been on Robert and Amy's podcast as a guest. As to pointers about enhancing capacity, it is a byproduct of intellectual growth. Alex investigated fossil fuels. Robert and Amy teamed up and made Objectivism an integral part of their day to day lives. James delved into the origins of Christianity. Gina is exploring the psychology of the builders (producers?). These examples all share what Joseph Campbell advocated, "Follow your bliss.", or Andrew Bernstein's advocation of Objectivist's becoming "value intoxicated". Yes, the "conspiracy without leader" still goes on. To the degree Galt's Speech is the essence of Objectivism, it has always gone on, and will likely continue long after you and I have finished acting out the roles we have chosen for ourselves. In that sense, if Israel, or Judaism, are considered as "the chosen ones", why not Objectivism be comprised of the choosing ones, openly recognizing the "secret" so many dread to name, i.e.; "the fact that man is a being of Volitional Consciousness." His concrete bound approach to human rights is an end run attempt around the development of an understanding of individual rights, what they are, and how they came to be recognized by those who advocate and uphold them.

What to do, then? You've quickly added context that sets the tenor of your OP. As a diverse community, each member here has their values that frame what they find of value to focus on. In a world of nearly 8 billion folks, there are many influencers on a variety of different platforms. Setting aside the differences of the participants on groups such as Objectivism Online, Objectivist Living, Galt's Gultch, The Objective Standard, The John Galt Line, The Prometheus Foundation, ... Is it reasonable to take the fight to the Jordon Peterson's, Dennis Prager's and Yuval Noah Harari's of the world, or might it be more productive to hone and develop the capacity to become the influencers, taking a foundation of morality and reason that a Steven Pinker can't quite put his finger on, and use where they go right and where they go wrong to help concretize a position better?

It's not the use of a "new form of democracy" that came across as "off" to me. Many folk use democracy in the 2nd sense offered at Webster's 1913 Dictionary. In order to "know people better than they know themselves", suggests a knowledge of the nature of human beings. Turn it around and to use such knowledge to manipulate people, and it's back to the snake-oil salesmen, or con-artist's availing themselves to technological advances. Even in technological advances, ways to ward against hacking, viruses, etc., are continually evolving as well. The tools can be used for good or for evil, depending on the hands wielding them.

Should be fixed now. Thanks.

Not all his graphs flow consistently downward. This could be aberration that won't show up without putting it under a future microscope examining the past. C Bradley Thompson offers the following clip aimed at the educational sector for consideration: Our Killing Schools Part 1 Progressive Education and Our Killing Schools Part 2 Nihilism and Our Killing Schools Part 3

Sakkijarvin Polka a cappella (The Swingle Singers) https://youtu.be/q98Y86jfXaY

No animals were harmed during it's creation. (Didn't mean to omit that juicy tidbit.)

https://www.rt.com/russia/559728-ukraine-escalation-rand-report/ RT Article: The US and its NATO allies need to take a series of steps to avoid a direct conflict with Russia over Ukraine, the Pentagon’s foremost think-tank advised in a report published on Tuesday. 1.) Sanctions against Russia have created conditions for one of the escalation pathways already, while the continuing flow of weapons and volunteers to Ukraine may trigger others, the RAND Corporation warned. The other three possibilities involve 2.) Moscow coming to believe a direct NATO involvement is imminent; 3.) that weapons delivered to Ukraine are making a major difference on the battlefield; 4.) or that unrest within Russia is threatening the government. https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/perspectives/PEA1900/PEA1971-1/RAND_PEA1971-1.pdf Pathway 0 - Escalation spiral that could have already begun Preconditions for Escalation [Preconditions for this pathway, such as comprehensive sanctions on Russia and extensive military assistance to Ukraine, already exist.] Steps to Escalation • Russia eventually decides to retaliate for U.S. and NATO measures that are already being implemented. • Moscow’s preoccupation with war in Ukraine might have delayed the response. • Such an escalation would likely begin with non-kinetic attacks Pathway 1 - Preemption against perceived NATO intervention in Ukraine Preconditions for Escalation • Political pressure for intervention in Ukraine intensifies in NATO member states. • New NATO long-range strike capabilities are deployed in eastern flank member states. • Volunteers from NATO member states participate in Ukraine war. • Russian conventional capabilities are significantly degraded. Steps to Escalation • Russia perceives imminent risk of NATO intervention in Ukraine. • Escalation could begin with an immediate move to kinetic strikes on NATO forces or territory. • Nuclear use is plausible. Pathway 2 - Interdiction of NATO allies’ military assistance to Ukraine Preconditions for Escalation • NATO members transfer more-powerful capabilities to Ukrainian military. • Moscow is convinced that halting allies’ assistance to Ukraine is necessary to avoid defeat. Pathway 3 - Domestic instability in Russia sparks aggression Preconditions for Escalation • Domestic instability in Russia increases dramatically. • The Kremlin perceives a Western role in fomenting the unrest. Steps to Escalation • Escalation could begin with non-kinetic attacks. • If NATO retaliates, eventual kinetic conflict is possible.

A couple of more quips from The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined (2011) from the subsection Where Angels Fear To Tread out of Chapter 6, The New Peace With a slight hat-tip to Karl Popper, who would have been 120 today except for an event he participated in back in 1994, Per the BBC news on July 1, an underestimate has already reached over 10,000 folk. Granted, the decade would have been over 2021 as the book was published 2011, still ideas matter, and Steven makes a good point in the first citation that the question missing the point. He then succumbs to Popper's error in the second by acquiescing to the notion that the essence of science is to make falsifiable predictions. <sigh>

Perhaps the FDA could provide you with a succinct summary why they have not approved the treatment. From there, pick the essential element you consider yourself able to speak well to. Oft times, picking the right issue to zero in on can damage the foundation that superlative issues are resting upon.

I also looked up propaganda. The 1913 Webster is provided a more positive application of the term from a once upon a time perspective. Since I reference Steven Pinker's book The Angels Of Our Nature, a quick search came back with a twitter tweet about a recent editorial by him published via The Boston Globe. In the doublespeak of some of the intellectuals he opens with: The longer version of the above is below. Is Russia’s war with Ukraine the end of the Long Peace? It provides a brief plug to his book relative to current events. I've found it an insightful look at the history of violence of mankind. I have to remind myself that he is a psychologist now and again. *edit to add: The Long Peace is a chapter in the book that I am currently in the middle of right now. (The stuff serendipity is made of.)