14 September 2010 PM

Are facebook users mostly, well, dumb?

Mark Zuckerberg admits in a New Yorker profile that he mocked early Facebook users for trusting him with their personal information. A youthful indiscretion, the Facebook founder says he’s much more mature now, at the ripe age of 26.

“They trust me — dumb fucks,” says Zuckerberg in one of the instant messages, first published by former Valleywag Nicholas Carlson at Silicon Alley Insider, and now confirmed by Zuckerberg himself in Jose Antonio Vargas’s New Yorker piece. Zuckerberg now tells Vargas, “I think I’ve grown and learned a lot” since those instant messages.

Yes, he’s learned to not always say what he thinks.

Creationism and woo
If you think that creationists are idiots…well, these people are just as bad. Yep, these people adhere to geocentric astronomy…and not as a joke either. They believe that because, well, my guess is because the Bible is a geocentric book. So, while they are being stupid, they ARE being consistent.

There are those who wish to “marry science and religion” by, well, watering down religion. They do this by talking about “spirituality”; basically if you get emotional about stuff (e. g., get moved to tears by the beauty of, say, an insight), that is a form of “spirituality” which is taken to be, well, a religion of some sort? I have to admit that these people irritate me even more than the fundies and woos.

Civil liberties and snark
Randazza praises a school district that gives students an opt-out from the Pledge of Allegiance but goes a bit further:

I, for one, will be instructing my children that they will neither stand, nor recite, the pledge unless “under god” is taken back out of it. Even then, I don’t want my kids pledging allegiance to a piece of cloth. You pledge allegiance to a person, a group, or an idea. Fetishizing a piece of cloth is for uneducated zombies.

14 September 2010 Rehabilitation

Last night: I slept well. But I took Naproxyn at 7 pm, two extra strength Tylenol PM at 9:30, and iced my shoulder twice during the evening.

This morning: heavy legged from yesterday’s squats, run and Sunday’s race. The knee was a tad “hot”. So I strolled my 10K (6.3 mile) hill course in 1:35; 8 minutes slower than last time.

I am still catching up on sleep.

PT: one more appointment prior to the doctor. He dug into my muscle and got the pressure points. We did some tests; if I have a tear it isn’t a major one as I have strength; it is just painful.

Bill Maher Mosque Opinion

Bill Maher tells Jay Leno his opinion on Mosque by 9/11 Ground Zero.

Bill Maher Mosque Opinion, posted with vodpod

Atheism, Science and Koran Burning (or: Why I am not a UU)

Politics and the teaching of evolution
Larry Moran alerted the readers of his blog to this article in Salon. Here are highlights:

Why do you call yourself an atheist? Why not an agnostic?

Well, technically, you cannot be any more than an agnostic. But I am as agnostic about God as I am about fairies and the Flying Spaghetti Monster. You cannot actually disprove the existence of God. Therefore, to be a positive atheist is not technically possible. But you can be as atheist about God as you can be atheist about Thor or Apollo. Everybody nowadays is an atheist about Thor and Apollo. Some of us just go one god further.

[....]

It’s interesting that you link those two words — intelligent and atheistic. Are you saying the more intelligent you are, the more likely you are to be an atheist?

There’s a fair bit of evidence in favor of that equation, yes.

That sounds like an elitist argument. Do you want to cite that evidence?

It’s certainly elitist. What’s wrong with being elitist, if you are trying to encourage people to join the elite rather than being exclusive? I’m very, very keen that people should raise their game rather than the other way around. As for citing the evidence, a number of studies have been done. The one meta-analysis of this that I know of was published in Mensa Magazine. It looked at 43 studies on the relationship between educational level or IQ and religion. And in 39 out of 43 — that’s all but four — there is a correlation between IQ/education and atheism. The more educated you are, the more likely you are to be an atheist. Or the more intelligent you are, the more likely you are to be an atheist. [...]

What about the old adage that science deals with the “how” questions and religion deals with the “why” questions?

I think that’s remarkably stupid, if I may say so. What on earth is a “why” question? There are “why” questions that mean something in a Darwinian world. We say, why do birds have wings? To fly with. And that’s a Darwinian translation of the evolutionary process whereby the birds that had wings survived better than the birds without. They don’t mean that, though. They mean “why” in a deliberate, purposeful sense. So when you say religion deals with “why” questions, that begs the entire question that we’re arguing about. Those of us who don’t believe in religion — supernatural religion — would say there is no such thing as a “why” question in that sense. Now, the mere fact that you can frame an English sentence beginning with the word “why” does not mean that English sentence should receive an answer. I could say, why are unicorns hollow? That appears to mean something, but it doesn’t deserve an answer.

But it seems to me the big “why” questions are, why are we here? And what is our purpose in life?

It’s not a question that deserves an answer.

Note that Professor Moran highlights different things. Dawkins goes on to say that “yes, evolution lead him to atheism” and such an answer would hurt the case of teaching evolution in the public schools. Nevertheless, he feels the need to answer honestly. I am glad that he does.

Frankly, I see science and religion as being incompatible. Sure, there are outstanding scientists who are religious (though I think that many suffer from cognitive dissonance) and some who marry the two by making religion into a bunch of metaphors.

Speaking of religion: I was raised Catholic, eventually became a Unitarian and am now an atheist. My wife it thinking about going back to the UU church but I am not even tempted. Here is why.

They favor:

I am more of:

Another aspect can be seen here. Basically, a fundie preacher was going to burn a Koran in public. The UU’s protested (ok, so far) but then a skateboarder stole the Koran to keep the fundie from burning it. This guy was viewed as a hero.

Well, I see it this way: yeah, I’ll say it: there is really no good reason for this fundie to burn a Koran in Amarillo, TX. That is just sticking a stick in the eye of a disliked group. And I don’t care for book burnings in general; it reminds me a bit of this:

I am for opposing bad ideas loudly and vigorously. Burning a book means that you’ve lost the intellectual battle.

Nevertheless, I find the following types of statements to be off-putting:

Let us leave aside the religious dimension, most of us live in a secular society; thus, let us examine the secular arguments of free speech which underpins this issue. This has resurfaced the old debate of the right of freedom of speech against ‘selective’ curbing of it, to prevent incitement to hate and violence. In defence of Terry Jones, the issue of freedom of expression is pointed out, along with the example of the Muslims burning the Satanic Verses of Salman Rushdie, in the past. The obliging media selectively pushes the arguments of incitement to hate and violence to the back, and the argument of the right of free speech for Terry Jones is brought to the front. It works in reverse for the Muslim action and reaction, as it is always measured against the principle of incitement to hate and violence, rather than a right to express their viewpoint.

Both, the Satanic Verses and the actions of Terry Jones are provocation, and not a reaction; one can also include the Danish Cartoon in this category. Rather, the Muslims will point out, if the media opposed the book burning of Satanic Verses, why did they not demonstrate the same level of opposition to the burning of the Quran. Moreover, the ‘Satanic Verses’ is not a sacred scripture with millions of followers around the world. Thus, if anything, the response to curtail free speech of Terry Jones should have been greater. This merely confirms that media consistency is the exception, and media-hypocrisy is the norm.

Wrong. I had no problem with people destroying The Satanic Verses so long as they were destroying their own property. It was the death threats that were out of line. Neither Muslims, Christians or Jews have a “right” to not be offended. Those who think that they have this right don’t belong in the United States.

This is even dumber:

Burning the Quran is not freedom of expression. It is a violation of the rights of one billion and 570 million Muslims

Dr. Diaa Rashwan

Wrong.

Simply put, I am not going to say that I respect an idea that I don’t respect, and I am not going to let some religious idiot tell me what ideas I can oppose and what ideas I must stay silent about.

Yes, build your mosque, church of synagogue where ever you have the land and permits to do so. Worship the way you see fit. But don’t ask me to say something nice and respectful about it and if opinions are being voiced, I’ll voice mine. And I am not going to stick up for a dumb religion just because it has minority status in this country. This is one reason I wouldn’t fit in at a UU church.

13 September 2010 Rehabilitation

Last night my shoulder just plain killed me. Part of it was my not icing it.

Also, the side of the knees were slightly sore.

Workout notes:
squats: 10 x 135, 10 x 175
one legged squats: 10 x 95
Leg presses 15 x 270, 15 x 360, 15 x 360
Sit ups: 4 sets of 25 on the incline
Legs: extensions, curls, toe raises (3 sets of 10 each)
leg lifts (30), twist crunches (20), crunches (10)

Run: 2 miles in 18:50 (9:50 mile 1) on the treadmill; increased speed very .1
Walk: 1 mile in 14:30.
rotator cuff with stretch band (got tired)

13 September 2010 posts

Last night: I went to bed relatively early but my shoulder killed me; I forgot to ice it. I need to take ice bags with me when I travel.

Stephen Hawking’s TED talk

Some truth here.

Editorial: there is some truth here, but he got one at least one thing wrong:

The second piece, which could have been called “Why We’re No. 11,” was by the Washington Post economics columnist Robert Samuelson. Why, he asked, have we spent so much money on school reform in America and have so little to show for it in terms of scalable solutions that produce better student test scores? Maybe, he answered, it is not just because of bad teachers, weak principals or selfish unions.

“The larger cause of failure is almost unmentionable: shrunken student motivation,” wrote Samuelson. “Students, after all, have to do the work. If they aren’t motivated, even capable teachers may fail. Motivation comes from many sources: curiosity and ambition; parental expectations; the desire to get into a ‘good’ college; inspiring or intimidating teachers; peer pressure. The unstated assumption of much school ‘reform’ is that if students aren’t motivated, it’s mainly the fault of schools and teachers.” Wrong, he said. “Motivation is weak because more students (of all races and economic classes, let it be added) don’t like school, don’t work hard and don’t do well. In a 2008 survey of public high school teachers, 21 percent judged student absenteeism a serious problem; 29 percent cited ‘student apathy.’ ”

True…and

Ask yourself: What made our Greatest Generation great? First, the problems they faced were huge, merciless and inescapable: the Depression, Nazism and Soviet Communism. Second, the Greatest Generation’s leaders were never afraid to ask Americans to sacrifice. Third, that generation was ready to sacrifice, and pull together, for the good of the country. And fourth, because they were ready to do hard things, they earned global leadership the only way you can, by saying: “Follow me.”

Contrast that with the Baby Boomer Generation. Our big problems are unfolding incrementally — the decline in U.S. education, competitiveness and infrastructure, as well as oil addiction and climate change. Our generation’s leaders never dare utter the word “sacrifice.” All solutions must be painless. Which drug would you like? A stimulus from Democrats or a tax cut from Republicans? A national energy policy? Too hard. For a decade we sent our best minds not to make computer chips in Silicon Valley but to make poker chips on Wall Street, while telling ourselves we could have the American dream — a home — without saving and investing, for nothing down and nothing to pay for two years. Our leadership message to the world (except for our brave soldiers): “After you.”

Ok, fair enough.
But when they discuss the debate over the best economic policies, they did discuss the problem of people living beyond their means. Ok, I hear that. But when it came down to stimulus spending vs. tax cuts, the author acts as if stimulus spending is a give-away. In fact, it is supposed to open up jobs to help people find work (e. g., build infrastructure) and this is exactly what helped our “greatest generation” (New Deal plus war spending).

12 September 2010 posts

NFL football: I got to see the second half of the Rams-Cardinals game. The Cardinals pulled it out 17-13, going ahead in with 6:10 left in the game and then stopping the Rams on downs with 1:47 left (inside the Cardinal 25) and then stopping the Rams on a Hail Mary after the Cardinals “fumbled” the ball back (the back looked down).

But the Rams made a game of it.

Speaking of NFL football: this “no catch” is calling some buzz.

More NFL: a sometime reader of this blog recommended that I keep “abreast” of this breaking story.

I forgot what the story was about…

Science
Saturn’s moons show off. Here is one of the NASA photos:

Evolution: a NOVA story on human evolution is now available online.

Religion
What is going on here?

In fact, this country stands for our right to burn the sacred texts of any religion we choose, and to criticize faith as strongly as we wish. Obama went on:

And I will do everything that I can as long as I am President of the United States to remind the American people that we are one nation under God, and we may call that God different names but we remain one nation. And as somebody who relies heavily on my Christian faith in my job, I understand the passions that religious faith can raise. But I’m also respectful that people of different faiths can practice their religion, even if they don’t subscribe to the exact same notions that I do, and that they are still good people, and they are my neighbors and they are my friends, and they are fighting alongside us in our battles.

Yes, that’s a noble sentiment—in the last sentence. The rest is pandering to religious America. Shades of George W. Bush!

Remember when Obama said this during his inaugural address, which got us heathens all excited?:

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and non-believers.

Apparently Obama forgot not only about freedom of speech, but also about those non-believers. If we’re one nation under God, I’m not part of it.

Yeah, the President is pandering to the religious. This isn’t the first time he has done this; but at least he did give us a shout out in past times. I hope that he does again. But I wonder if Jerry Coyne wants to reconsider this.

Politics

Speaking of President Obama: the Republicans continue to try to paint the President as un-American:

Citing a recent Forbes article by Dinesh D’Souza, former House speaker Newt Gingrich tells National Review Online that President Obama may follow a “Kenyan, anti-colonial” worldview.

Gingrich says that D’Souza has made a “stunning insight” into Obama’s behavior — the “most profound insight I have read in the last six years about Barack Obama.”

“What if [Obama] is so outside our comprehension, that only if you understand Kenyan, anti-colonial behavior, can you begin to piece together [his actions]?” Gingrich asks. “That is the most accurate, predictive model for his behavior.”

“This is a person who is fundamentally out of touch with how the world works, who happened to have played a wonderful con, as a result of which he is now president,” Gingrich tells us.

“I think he worked very hard at being a person who is normal, reasonable, moderate, bipartisan, transparent, accommodating — none of which was true,” Gingrich continues. “In the Alinksy tradition, he was being the person he needed to be in order to achieve the position he needed to achieve . . . He was authentically dishonest.”

“[Obama] is in the great tradition of Edison, Ford, the Wright Brothers, Bill Gates — he saw his opportunity and he took it,” Gingrich says. Will Gingrich take it back in 2012? “The American people may take it back, in which case I may or may not be the recipient of that, but I have zero doubt that the American people will take it back. Unlike Ford, the Wright Brothers, et cetera, this guy’s invention did not work.”

Chicago Half Marathon 5K

A bit unbelievable; walking a 5K places me in the upper third of the field, of my age group and the upper half among all males.

I took the metro train from our hotel to the Chicago Half Marathon 5K. The Half started at 7 and the 5K at 7:50.
There were 20,000 in the half, 1500 in the 5K. It took about 20 minutes for the field to leave the chute for the half and about 1 minute for the 5K.

I walked with a “quick, slightly bent kneed” gait as I wasn’t ready to run (knee felt the pavement) nor was I ready for legal race walking.
Total mileage from the train, warm up, race and cool down was about 6 miles.

My splits: 11:05 (1.1), 9:45, 9:36 for 30:27. Note: to make up for the extra, we started .1 miles behind the start of the half marathon so the first mile split was about 1.1.

I have to admit that I had missed these sort of events.

My knee felt ok, but my legs were stiff before and afterward. My shoulder hurt a little last night but not enough to blast me out of bed.

Note: on the train back, some Chicago Bear fans were already getting ready; they were on beer 2 or 3 by 8:50 am (game was at noon). They looked like they were from the cast of a Saturday Night Live spoof on “Da Bears”.

Oh, From the Mouth of Babes…

Get your blog writing style analyzed here.
Yes, I write like an old woman.

blueollie.wordpress.com is probably written by a female somewhere between 66-100 years old. The writing style is personal and upset most of the time.

Other blog:

collegemathteaching.wordpress.com is probably written by a male somewhere between 66-100 years old. The writing style is academic and happy most of the time.

11 September 2010 posts

I am in Chicago. The afternoon has seen pretty weather but my feet were frozen from this morning; hence I’ve been taking it easy.

I’ve watched the first half of the Michigan-Notre Dame game. Right now it is a rout; ND scored on the first series and then their quarterback got hurt. Since then, all Michigan; 21 straight points. The Wolverine quarterback is something else; he lead them on a 96 yard touchdown drive and broke open a 70 plus yard scoring run. As an ND fan I hope that he goes pro very quickly. He is just a freshman and is already one of the best college football players I’ve seen in my life.

Posts
This was a recommended Wodrpess post; I see why. It is called “Five Reasons Why Astronomy is So Cool”. Read it.

Speaking of astronomy and cosmology: Sean Carroll reviews the new Stephen Hawking-Leonard Mlodinow book called The Grand Design. It is on my reading list.

Of course, some have their underwear in a bind over Hawking saying that no deity is required for the universe to exist. What is interesting is the cry from the clergy about scientists not being humble. How is this lack of humility manifested? Well, it appears that it shows up every time a scientists asks a theologian for evidence to support their claims (for the existence of their deity or the existence of a deity at all). In other words, when you demand evidence, you are being arrogant.

Economics
Paul Krugman lays out the economic benefits for the HCR bill.