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Richard Feynman - The Pleasure Of Finding Things Out

Jack — Mon, 13 May 2013 00:44:23 GMT

In this candid interview Feynman touches on a wide array of topics from the beauty of nature to particle physics. He explains things that are hard to grasp in layman's terms much like Carl Sagan did in the cosmos series. His explanation of the scientific method covers what we know, why we know it and most importantly, what we don't know and the pleasure of figuring it out.

"Omelette"

Jack — Fri, 03 May 2013 22:07:12 GMT

The incompetent god

Jack — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:13:21 GMT

You see, the religious people -- most of them -- really think this planet is an experiment. That's what their beliefs come down to.

Some god or other is always fixing and poking, messing around with tradesmen's wives, giving tablets on mountains, commanding you to mutilate your children, telling people what words they can say and what words they can't say, making people feel guilty about enjoying themselves, and like that. Why can't the gods leave well enough alone? All this intervention speaks of incompetence.

If God didn't want Lot's wife to look back, why didn't he make her obedient, so she'd do what her husband told her? Or if he hadn't made Lot such a shithead, maybe she would've listened to him more. If God is omnipotent and omniscient, why didn't he start the universe out in the first place so it would come out the way he wants? Why's he constantly repairing and complaining?

No, there's one thing the Bible makes clear: The biblical God is a sloppy manufacturer. He's not good at design, he's not good at execution. He'd be out of business if there was any competition. [Sol Hadden in Carl Sagan's Contact (New York: Pocket Books, 1985), p. 285.]

A discussion about nothing

Jack — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 13:28:31 GMT

The concept of nothing is as old as zero itself. How do we grapple with the concept of nothing? From the best laboratory vacuums on Earth to the vacuum of space to what lies beyond, the idea of nothing continues to intrigue professionals and the public alike.

Join moderator and Hayden Planetarium Director Neil deGrasse Tyson as he leads a spirited discussion with a group of physicists, philosophers and journalists about the existence of nothing. The event, which was streamed live to the web, took place at the American Museum of Natural History on March 20, 2013.

PANELISTS:

J. Richard Gott, professor of astrophysical sciences, Princeton University, and author of Sizing Up the Universe: The Cosmos in Perspective

Jim Holt, science journalist and author of Why Does the World Exist? An Existential Detective Story

Lawrence Krauss, professor of physics, Arizona State University and author of A Universe from Nothing: Why There is Something Rather Than Nothing

Charles Seife, professor of journalism, New York University, and author of Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea

Eve Silverstein, professor of physics, Stanford University, and co-editor of Strings, Branes and Gravity

Dog wants a kitten

Jack — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 10:27:18 GMT

Spacebound, a short film

Jack — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 23:44:08 GMT

George Carlin on environmentalism

Jack — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 16:09:52 GMT

"We�re so self-important. So self-important. Everybody�s going to save something now. �Save the trees, save the bees, save the whales, save those snails.� And the greatest arrogance of all: save the planet. What? Are these fucking people kidding me? Save the planet, we don�t even know how to take care of ourselves yet. We haven�t learned how to care for one another, we�re gonna save the fucking planet?

I�m getting tired of that shit. Tired of that shit. I�m tired of fucking Earth Day, I�m tired of these self-righteous environmentalists, these white, bourgeois liberals who think the only thing wrong with this country is there aren�t enough bicycle paths. People trying to make the world safe for their Volvos. Besides, environmentalists don�t give a shit about the planet. They don�t care about the planet. Not in the abstract they don�t. You know what they�re interested in? A clean place to live. Their own habitat. They�re worried that some day in the future, they might be personally inconvenienced. Narrow, unenlightened self-interest doesn�t impress me.

Besides, there is nothing wrong with the planet. Nothing wrong with the planet. The planet is fine. The PEOPLE are fucked. Difference. Difference. The planet is fine. Compared to the people, the planet is doing great. Been here four and a half billion years. Did you ever think about the arithmetic? The planet has been here four and a half billion years. We�ve been here, what, a hundred thousand? Maybe two hundred thousand? And we�ve only been engaged in heavy industry for a little over two hundred years. Two hundred years versus four and a half billion. And we have the CONCEIT to think that somehow we�re a threat? That somehow we�re gonna put in jeopardy this beautiful little blue-green ball that�s just a-floatin� around the sun?

The planet has been through a lot worse than us. Been through all kinds of things worse than us. Been through earthquakes, volcanoes, plate tectonics, continental drift, solar flares, sun spots, magnetic storms, the magnetic reversal of the poles�hundreds of thousands of years of bombardment by comets and asteroids and meteors, worlwide floods, tidal waves, worldwide fires, erosion, cosmic rays, recurring ice ages�And we think some plastic bags, and some aluminum cans are going to make a difference? The planet�the planet�the planet isn�t going anywhere. WE ARE!

We�re going away. Pack your shit, folks. We�re going away. And we won�t leave much of a trace, either. Thank God for that. Maybe a little styrofoam. Maybe. A little styrofoam. The planet�ll be here and we�ll be long gone. Just another failed mutation. Just another closed-end biological mistake. An evolutionary cul-de-sac. The planet�ll shake us off like a bad case of fleas. A surface nuisance.

You wanna know how the planet�s doing? Ask those people at Pompeii, who are frozen into position from volcanic ash, how the planet�s doing. You wanna know if the planet�s all right, ask those people in Mexico City or Armenia or a hundred other places buried under thousands of tons of earthquake rubble, if they feel like a threat to the planet this week. Or how about those people in Kilauea, Hawaii, who built their homes right next to an active volcano, and then wonder why they have lava in the living room.

The planet will be here for a long, long, LONG time after we�re gone, and it will heal itself, it will cleanse itself, �cause that�s what it does. It�s a self-correcting system. The air and the water will recover, the earth will be renewed, and if it�s true that plastic is not degradable, well, the planet will simply incorporate plastic into a new pardigm: the earth plus plastic. The earth doesn�t share our prejudice towards plastic. Plastic came out of the earth. The earth probably sees plastic as just another one of its children. Could be the only reason the earth allowed us to be spawned from it in the first place. It wanted plastic for itself. Didn�t know how to make it. Needed us. Could be the answer to our age-old egocentric philosophical question, �Why are we here?� Plastic�asshole.

So, the plastic is here, our job is done, we can be phased out now. And I think that�s begun. Don�t you think that�s already started? I think, to be fair, the planet sees us as a mild threat. Something to be dealt with. And the planet can defend itself in an organized, collective way, the way a beehive or an ant colony can. A collective defense mechanism. The planet will think of something. What would you do if you were the planet? How would you defend yourself against this troublesome, pesky species? Let�s see� Viruses. Viruses might be good. They seem vulnerable to viruses. And, uh�viruses are tricky, always mutating and forming new strains whenever a vaccine is developed. Perhaps, this first virus could be one that compromises the immune system of these creatures. Perhaps a human immunodeficiency virus, making them vulnerable to all sorts of other diseases and infections that might come along. And maybe it could be spread sexually, making them a little reluctant to engage in the act of reproduction.

Well, that�s a poetic note. And it�s a start. And I can dream, can�t I? See I don�t worry about the little things: bees, trees, whales, snails. I think we�re part of a greater wisdom than we will ever understand. A higher order. Call it what you want. Know what I call it? The Big Electron. The Big Electron�whoooa. Whoooa. Whoooa. It doesn�t punish, it doesn�t reward, it doesn�t judge at all. It just is. And so are we. For a little while."

Word for the day: Sonder

Jack — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:46:17 GMT

sonder

n. the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own�populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness�an epic story that continues invisibly around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passageways to thousands of other lives that you�ll never know existed, in which you might appear only once, as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lighted window at dusk.

http://www.dictionaryofobscuresorrow...6922667/sonder

The Science of Cats

Jack — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:33:32 GMT

I've been in the company of cats for decades and I didn't know some of this.

Suicide prevention...Emo Phillips style

Jack — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 03:29:02 GMT

I was walking across a bridge one day, and I saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump off.

So I ran over and said "Stop! don't do it!"

"Why shouldn't I?" he said. I said, "Well, there's so much to live for!"

He said, "Like what?" I said, "Well... are you religious or atheist?"He said, "Religious." I said, "Me too!

Are you Christian or Buddhist?"He said, "Christian." I said, "Me too!

Are you Catholic or Protestant?"He said, "Protestant." I said, "Me too!

Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?"He said, "Baptist!" I said, "Wow! Me too!

Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?" He said, "Baptist Church of God!" I said,"Me too!

Are you original Baptist Church of God, or are you reformed Baptist Church of God?" He said, "Reformed Baptist Church of God!" Isaid, "Me too!

Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915?" He said,"Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915!"

I said, "Die, heretic scum", and pushed him off.

The Great Debate - What is Life?

Jack — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 00:22:09 GMT

Richard Dawkins, J. Craig Venter, Nobel laureates Sidney Altman and Leland Hartwell, Chris McKay, Paul Davies, Lawrence Krauss, and The Science Network's Roger Bingham discuss the origins of life, the possibility of finding life elsewhere, and the latest development in synthetic biology.

Punoff 2012 Jerzy Gwiazdowski

Jack — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 17:27:36 GMT

First time competitor Jerzy Gwiazdowski wins Punniest of Show at the 2012 O. Henry Pun-Off.

Kindle ad removed from and now returned to YouTube

Jack — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 03:23:39 GMT

I'm not advertising for the Kindle Paperwhite. I use an iPad to read ebooks. But I do love the premise of the ad.

The difference between dogs and cats

Jack — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 15:15:48 GMT

Christianity Debate

Jack — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 13:41:35 GMT

The way I see it, this debate ended a few decades ago. Everything that had been brought to the table then is what we're still seeing being brought to the table now. What we "new" or "affirmative" atheists are doing is trying to knock some nails into the coffin so that this whole thing can be put to rest in what Sam Harris so eloquently calls "the vast graveyard of mythology".