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laodan

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laodan is a guy from Milford, Pennsylvania, USA

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THE WAY THINGS ARE: The meaning of life is to be found in thinking about what is reality and the beauty of reality is to be found in our DNA's memorization of all forms that have been successfully retained along the four billion years of evolution of the principle of life on Gaia our earth. In the end what I mean to say is that beauty is something objective and what we call ugliness is then simply our unconscientious feel of something evolution did not retain.
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  • Technology Review: Our Past Within Us

    Rated Jan 08 2009 • 2 reviews • history, humanity, change, science • technologyreview.com

    Our Past Within Us
    in Technology Review by Mark Williams

    ... if archaic Homo sapiens emerged as long as 200,000 years ago, why did our species need so many millennia before its transition, 12,000 to 10,000 years ago, from the hunter-"gatherer nomadism that characterized all previous hominids to permanent, year-round settlement", which then allowed the elaboration of humankind's cultural efforts?

    Archaeogenetics Emerges. ... a grand synthesis of three approaches: scientific archaeology, which collects hard data through radiocarbon dating and similar technologies; linguistic study aimed at constructing clear histories of the world's languages; and molecular genetic analysis.

    ... we tend to be species-centric about the concept of humanity, the reality is that all organisms are temporary receptacles into which DNA pours itself, and inter-species boundaries are more fluid and tenuous than we've thought. In a sense, the idea of Homo sapiens as a distinct species is one more racial myth.

    Our Past Within Us. The new field known as archeogenetics is illuminating prehistory.
    Prehistory: The Making of the Human Mind a book by Colin Renfrew. Modern Library, 2008

    The idea that "organisms are temporary receptacles into which DNA pours itself" is kind of consecrating this larger idea of "evolutionary direction forward." This concept does not imply "progress". "Not only did Cro-Magnons have larger brains than we do, for example, but the difference was big. "In the last 10,000 years, our brains have shrunk about 200 cubic centimeters," Hawks explains. "If we shrunk another 200, we'd be the equivalent of Homo erectus. One possibility is this represents greater efficiency--our brains using less energy, needing less developmental time, and signaling faster. Alternatively, of course, we're getting dumber." "




    174 views
    Technology Review: Our Past Within Us

  • Humans have pushed planet into a new geological era,...

    Rated Jan 26 2008 • 1 review • history • canada.com

    The Anthropocene
    In The Vancouver Sun, by Randy Boswell, Canwest News Service

    All of recorded human history has taken place within the Holocene. But now, a distinguished group of British geologists has provocatively proposed that the Holocene is over and that we have entered a new geological era -- the Anthropocene -- in which humans have left such a distinctive footprint on the Earth's surface through carbon pollution, nuclear fallout, urbanization and other traces of our immense technological power that it should be officially recognized by international scientific bodies as "a formal epoch."

    "Since the start of the Industrial Revolution, Earth has endured changes sufficient to leave a global stratigraphic signature distinct from that of the Holocene . . . encompassing novel biotic, sedimentary and geochemical change," the scientists state in February's cover story of GSA Today, a publication of the Geological Society of America.

    "These changes, although likely only in their initial phases, are sufficiently distinct and robustly established for suggestions of a Holocene-Anthropocene boundary in the recent historical past to be geologically reasonable."

    Humans have pushed planet into a new geological era, experts say

    You could think that there is nothing wrong with change but are you conscientious that change is not neutral? Change impacts our very daily lives. We thus better know what kind of a change our actions, as a specie, are going to inflict upon our descendants.

    Force is to observe that the consciousness of our actions spurning change is only now starting to set in but many still refuse to admit the evidence of our impact on the systemic complexity of our Mother Earth.




    14 views
    Humans have pushed planet into a new geological era, experts say

  • Evidence for an extraterrestrial impact 12,900 years ago...

    Rated Oct 31 2007 • 2 reviews • environment, history, paleontology • pnas.org

    North American Comet Catastrophe 10,900 BC
    via stbalbach / Metafilter, in pnas by R. B. Firestone, A. West, J. P. Kennett, L. Becker, T. E. Bunch, Z. S. Revay, P. H. Schultz, T. Belgya, D. J. Kennett, J. M. Erlandson, . J. Dickenson, A. C. Goodyear, R. S. Harris, G. A. Howard, J. B. Kloosterman, P. Lechler, P. A. Mayewski, J. Montgomery, R. Poreda, T. Darrah, S. S. Que Hee, A. R. Smith, A. Stich, W. Topping, J. H. Wittke, and W. S. Wolbach

    On May 23, 2007 a multi-disciplinary team of scientists announced (YouTube, 70mins, 7-parts, part1-1 is a summary) the finding of physical evidence strongly suggesting that, around 12,900 years ago (10,900 BC), a massive Shoemaker-Levy type comet hit the atmosphere, air burst over the Great Lakes region of North America and probably engulfed much of the continent in a fireball and subsequent firestorm with catastrophic effects for life and climate.

    The extraterrestrial event coincides with the mass extinction or depopulation of many of North America's largest mammals (including camels, mammoths, the short-faced bear and numerous other species); coincides with the end of the Clovis culture; and coincides with the start of a global climatic shift known as the Younger Dryas, a sudden return of Ice Age conditions. The "Younger Dryas impact event", as it is banally being called, now competes with some well known and hotly debated theories, such as human hunters killed the mammals; or the Younger Dryas was caused by a slow down in the Gulf Stream (which has implications for current Global Warming predictions). On September 27, 2007 the team officially published their findings as "Evidence for an extraterrestrial impact 12,900 years ago that contributed to the megafaunal extinctions and the Younger Dryas cooling" (PNAS open access).

    North American Comet Catastrophe 10,900 BC

    The authors note that "The shock wave, thermal pulse, and event-related environmental effects (e.g., extensive biomass burning and food limitations) contributed to end-Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions and adaptive shifts among PaleoAmericans in North America."

    I always found that our understanding, of the emergence of agriculture that sprouted its roots some 10-12,000 years ago, was very poor; speculative at best. This article is throwing one set of supplemental data in the cauldron of known facts.




    18 views
    Evidence for an extraterrestrial impact 12,900 years ago that contributed to the megafaunal extinctions and the Younger Dryas cooling — PNAS

  • The Historical Setting of the Austrian School of...

    Rated Sep 01 2007 • 1 review • economics, history • mises.org

    The Historical Setting of the Austrian School of Economics
    in Ludwig von Mises Institute Online. By Ludwig von Mises

    "If one tries to refute the devastating criticism leveled by economics against the suitability of all these interventionist schemes, one is forced to deny the very existence of a science of economics."
    ...
    "An anticipation of the effects to be expected from a definite event can be made only on the basis of a theory that claims general validity and not merely validity for what happened in the past in a definite country."

    The Historical Setting of the Austrian School of Economics The essay was first published in 1969. It was one of the last pieces Mises wrote. FREE online.



    Mises and the Austrian School of economics "maintained that there is a body of economic theorems that are valid for all human action irrespective of time and place..."

    But nowhere has economic development taken the road of their prescriptions. In other words trying to impose non-interventionism and letting the market do has nowhere succeeded. Even the most pro-market countries of the West (let's say the US under G. W. Bush) are plentifully using the state to direct the economy.

    In other words, economics is not really a science. It is a discipline that tries to capture the complexity of national economies and their interactions. But it is far from mastering that complexity. There's where Mises went wrong and that's why his "rationalism" is less science than ideology.




    29 views
    The Historical Setting of the Austrian School of Economics - Ludwig von Mises - Mises Institute

  • Cyranos Journal Online | Thomas Paines Corner has moved

    Rated Aug 08 2007 • 1 review • history, civilization, collapse • bestcyrano.org

    About Catastrophes and Cooperation
    in Thomas Paine's Corner by Emily Spence

    In the end, it matters not that, as a species, we are not programmed to react to danger unless it is immediate (rather than slowly evolving), dramatic and concrete (such as is a flood or fire), and in close proximity. It matters not that we deny the existence of global warming and would prefer to think about pleasant topics rather than those that cause discomfort and dismay. This is because, like it or not, the changes that humankind have created for the planet are happening, anyway, due to most people wanting ever more affluence and grander lifestyles, ever more progeny, and ever more personal wealth largely obtained from turning other species into wares. As such, Toba Tuff and other catastrophes give us a little glimpse (and warning) about just how bad life can get when climates radically alter.

    This in mind, whoever is left a hundred or so years from now will wonder about the reason that our generation amused themselves with such questions as, "Should I buy Gucci or Prada shoes?" They, certainly, won't be trying to select between taking an overseas vacation in Madrid or Tokyo. They might not even know what a jet or cruise liner is unless they go to a museum (that is, if there is any museum left and a way to get to it).

    About Catastrophes and Cooperation
    Emily Spence's article archive on Countercurrents

    Well written. This piece reads like a good fiction. But it is not fiction, it is about the reality of the human condition and its long history.

    This piece sheds light on what might be the reality of the fast coming demise of our societal ways. Does it matter that we know or not about what awaits us? I don't think so, for, it simply will happen. But the knowledge about what we are preparing for ourselves and our children, in the end, is what makes us conscientious about the possibility to act differently now.




    118 views
    Cyranos Journal Online | Thomas Paines Corner has moved

  • Kenyan Fossils May Add New Branch to Human Family Tree

    Rated Aug 08 2007 • 1 review • anthropology, history • nationalgeographic.com

    New Branch to Human Family Tree
    in National Geographic.com

    A pair of fossils recently discovered in Kenya is challenging the straight-line story of human evolution.


    Kenyan Fossils May Add New Branch to Human Family Tree
    First Europeans Came From Asia, Not Africa, Tooth Study Suggests

    Anthropology has since long given a straight line story of human evolution starting somewhere in Kenya.

    This article puts in doubt what was long thought of as the starting point on this line. That is bringing me to think about an article that I read a few days ago that puts the origin of the first Europeans, not in Africa, but in Asia...

    Anthropology is decidedly not an exact science and its theories would gain much in respectability if they were presented as hypothesis that are still not verified.




    3 views
    Kenyan Fossils May Add New Branch to Human Family Tree

  • The Archdruid Report: A Depopulation Explosion?

    Rated Jun 13 2007 • 1 review • history, change, civilization, collapse • blogspot.com

    A Depopulation Explosion?
    in The Archdruid Report by John Michael Greer

    The old men say their fathers told them that soon after the fields were left to themselves a change began to be visible. It became green everywhere in the first spring, after London ended, so that all the country looked alike. The meadows were green, and so was the rising wheat which had been sown, but neither had nor would receive any further care...

    With this brilliant image, Richard Jefferies began the harrowing prologue to his 1885 novel After London, or Wild England, one of the first works in the modern genre of apocalypse fiction.

    Itu2019s a vision that has seen quite a bit of play in recent discussions about the future of industrial society, especially among those who like to frame those in terms of one apocalyptic narrative or another. In some circles these days, global depopulation in the near future is treated as a given, and the only point of debate seems to be what mechanism will tip six billion superfluous lives into historyu2019s dumpster. A certain amount of millennarian machismo seems to creep into these debates, as though believing in a catastrophe more dire and more imminent than anyone elseu2019s is a sign of toughness. All this has a good deal to say about the way social narratives are shaped, but arguably much less about the shape of the future ahead of us.

    A Depopulation Explosion?

    John Michael Greer presents a refreshing sense of the long haul history in a debate about systemic collapse and its following de-industrialization that is taking place in so many blogs.
    - Save the World by Dave Pollaerd,
    - Energy Intelligence by Jeff Vail,
    - The Anthropik Network by Jason Godesky,
    - Casaubon's Book by JewishFarmer,
    - Clusterfuck Nation by james howard kunstler
    - and so many others...

    Yes those apocalyptic views have "... a good deal to say about the way social narratives are shaped, but arguably much less about the shape of the future ahead of us". This is well said indeed.




    53 views
    The Archdruid Report: A Depopulation Explosion?

  • Resource: The Western Tradition

    Rated May 31 2007 • 3 reviews • history, freetools • learner.org

    History of Western Civilization Video Series
    via Metafilter / Chinese Jet Pilot, in Teacher Resources

    The Western Tradition, an outstanding 52-part instructional video series about the history of western civilization, is available as free streaming video.

    Covering the ancient world through the age of technology, this illustrated lecture by Eugen Weber presents a tapestry of political and social events woven with many strands \u2014 religion, industry, agriculture, demography, government, economics, and art.

    History of Western Civilization Video Series

    Great FREE resource.




    1,354 views
    Resource: The Western Tradition

  • High-Achieving Genes - Forbes.com

    Rated Mar 03 2007 • 2 reviews • evolution, history • forbes.com

    High-Achieving Genes
    in Forbes Online by Carl Zimmer

    You make partner. You get tenure. You conquer the known world. You achieve greatness in your lifetime. But in the great scheme of things, how much does any of that really matter? After you die, they come to empty your desk. They take down your plaques from the wall. The grand statues you had built for yourself crumble in the desert winds.

    One way to overcome your own mortality is to produce a dynasty. A thriving flock of descendants can sustain themselves, generation after generation, passing down your name ... or at least your DNA. That's what Genghis Khan did, and did with astonishing success. An estimated 16 million men today, plus an uncounted number of women, are his direct descendants.

    High-Achieving Genes

    In the comments section, on The Loom Carl Zimmer's blog, BC notes "I have to wonder if it was really Genghis Khan's Y-chromosome, or the Y-chromosome of one of his ancestors. If, for example, Genghis Khan's grandfather had the mutation, and Genghis Khan's empire had a lot of nepotism, then he would've helped his brothers and cousins (who had the same allele) become more successful reproductively speaking. The dates would also allow for that scenario (Genghis Khan was born in 1162, the allele is estimated to have appeared around 1000 AD plus or minus 300 years)."




    120 views
    High-Achieving Genes - Forbes.com

  • Econbrowser: The distribution of world income

    Rated Jan 14 2007 • 17 reviews • economics, economy, history, politics • econbrowser.com

    The distribution of world income
    via jonson / Metafilter, in Econbrowser by James Hamilton

    One of the most profound questions in economics is why are some countries rich and others poor?

    A paper by John Gallup, Jeffrey Sachs and Andrew Mellinger in the International Regional Science Review in 1999 introduced the concept of "GDP density", calculated by multiplying GDP per capita by the number of people per square kilometer. Basically GDP density is a measure of the total amount of economic activity that takes place at different spots on our globe. I found the map they produced quite fascinating:

    The distribution of world income
    A paper by John Gallup, Jeffrey Sachs and Andrew Mellinger in the International Regional Science Review 56 pages PDF.
    how much of a difference institutions can make
    A conceptual framework 64 pages PDF.




    Not surprisingly, it looks a whole lot like those satellite pictures of the earth at night


    This subject is of the utmost interest and the graphs are enlightening. But I think that the studies mentioned here above are not the best material available. Better see Fernand Braudel and his seminal work on the emergence of capitalism.




    16K views
    Econbrowser: The distribution of world income