DEEP SCRATCH

Tag: Science

  • Spaceship Earth: Buckminster Fuller at MIT

    Spaceship Earth: Buckminster Fuller at MIT

    The earliest known use of the term[1] is a passage in Henry George‘s best known work, Progress and Poverty[2] (1879). From book IV, chapter 2:

    It is a well-provisioned ship, this on which we sail through space. If the bread and beef above decks seem to grow scarce, we but open a hatch and there is a new supply, of which before we never dreamed. And very great command over the services of others comes to those who as the hatches are opened are permitted to say, “This is mine!”

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaceship_Earth

    First, I’d like to explore a few thoughts about the vital data confronting us right now — such as the fact that more than half of humanity as yet exists in miserable poverty, prematurely doomed, unless we alter our comprehensive physical circumstances. It is certainly no solution to evict the poor, replacing their squalid housing with much more expensive buildings which the original tenants can’t afford to reoccupy. Our society adopts many such superficial palliatives.

    https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Operating_Manual_for_Spaceship_Earth
  • Transcript From The Film – Maybe Logic

    Transcript From The Film – Maybe Logic

    And I think the joy of art is trying to convey what you perceive so that other people will perceive it more or less the same way. Art is a form of seduction. I mean, there are rapists in the intellectual world.  They become politicians. The seducers become honest. We try to seduce people into our reality tunnels instead of leading them there with a gun. But we are trying to get them into our our reality tunnel, or our reality labyrinth, or whichever it is. In my case, it’s a reality labyrinth.

    When I call the universe infinite, I do not assume it is infinite in space-time. But it has infinite aspects.  Which means that anybody who looks out will see something different, but anybody else who looks out will come back a day later and look at it again and it will still be different. William Blake said, “I see infinity in a grain of sand.”  And you can, if you’re open enough.

    Robert Anton Wilson (Maybe Logic) https://antilogicalism.com/2016/05/06/maybe-logic/

  • RAW Science / Obedience / Covid – RAW Semantics

    This dazzling blog by RAW Semantics gets to the nitty-gritty of the current wave of misunderstanding and false equivalence concerning Robert Anton Wilson memes and Covid-19. Thanks for the clarity and multiple pronged analysis of the facts.

    There you have scientific progress framed by RAW as anti-obedience, anti-authority. And I feel sure the development of vaccines falls under Bob’s perspective of science as a progressive, liberating force. In fact, he appears quite explicit on this point – eg when he mentions the smallpox vaccine. Here’s one example:

    ‘a great deal of what I admire and appreciate in existence has been the result of human invention and ingenuity, such as pure mathematics and certain music and a few dozen paintings and poems and “cold inhuman technology” (as ecology mystics call it) that abolished bubonic plague in the last century and allowed me to walk again after I had polio twice and recently (in 1976) abolished smallpox’ – RAW, Natural Law.

    https://rawsemantics.home.blog/2022/01/06/raw-science-obedience-covid/

  • Response Ability – An Open Letter To Thinkers

    For myself, I am interested in science and in philosophy only because I want to learn something about the riddle of the world in which we live, and the riddle of man’s knowledge of that world. And I believe that only a revival of interest in these riddles can save the sciences and philosophy from an obscurantist faith in the expert’s special skill and in his personal knowledge and authority.–Karl Popper, The Logic of Scientific Discovery. 

    As a musician, DJ and writer I wish to project my voice and state my case for responsible artists who may feel similar sentiments concerning the easing of Covid restrictions in the face of rising Covid infections, unknown mutations, long Covid complications and the possible damage to our chances of properly opening up again gradually, returning to an open culture of packed dancefloors, busy festivals and care-free events due to the virus being eradicated, not just temporarily suppressed at manageable levels, completely eradicated! #CoronaSlayer        

    The ability to respond is a measure of responsibility in some sense. I’ve responded to the Covid-19 global pandemic to the best of my abilities, through poems, prose, raps, video and music, while physically maintaining a masked-up, socially distanced and clean-hands regime. I could have done more, but what I have done is mostly available at my blog, free to browse. I’ve a Patreon project, exchanging creativity in the form of books, albums, radio shows, video, for some financial support. Most of what I create is shared freely with no expectation of reward. That’s what we do. 

    I’ve been unwavering in my support for the national lockdowns, Fire-breakers and vaccination programs, for Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology as opposed to ideology. I’ve openly shared my contempt for Q-anon conspiracies, dullard claims that “Covid is a hoax”, and those critters I lovingly call Branch Covidians, a term I borrowed from the author Bruno Argento. I’ve posted searing critiques of the Trump/Johnson/Balsanaro axis of Branch Govidians and conclude that right leaning governments care for profit and power, not the health and safety of their subjects. They have proven to be irresponsible, repeatedly, unable to respond adequately in the interest of public health and safety. This lack of responsibility reaches beyond the left/right paradigm and predates Covid-19, which amplified and highlighted the problems and injustices facing most social democracies.

    Yes, I agree that large international pharmaceutical corporations have been profiting off other people’s misery for decades, much like other sectors: finance, banking, military and fossil fuel companies, benefiting from unrestricted international finance capitalism (the free market). However, profits aside, I don’t believe the Covid-19 vaccines are intended to do anything but give humans a stronger immunity to the Coronavirus. I’ve seen no evidence for hostile activities besides those associated with pandemic capitalism and the underground chumocracy network, led by Boris Johnson, Matt Hancock and David Cameron.  

    One way to help distinguish Branch Covidians and Govidians from response-able measures is to consider if the information under review is faith-based or research based. Not to mean that an atheist can’t be a Branch Covidian, it’s not about belief in god but about absolute certainty or absolute belief in anything. Any research based scientist working in the 21st century works in the language of probabilities and with luck communicates likewise, avoiding absolute pronouncements, leaving that to the political, religious and cult leaders. Research based science and thinking is open to new data, progressive, plural, inclusive, and we can all agree that uncertainty is on the increase. We desperately require research based scientists and a nuanced language of communication, cautiously optimistic, to move forwards together safely. Riddle me this, what happened to baby steps? 

    You’re welcome, naturally, to practice as much faith-based activity as you like, but please don’t inflict the results of your faith-based activity on all of us, in particular during a global health crisis as we tackle a novel mutating virus that cares little for faith. If estimates are correct, more than 85% of the world’s population believe in some almighty divine power, so it follows that they’re in dire need of updating techniques of prayer? Covid-19 has not gone away, as many faith-based political leaders have claimed over and over again, on the contrary the virus has mutated and strengthened, feeding off the general stupidity of for-profit governments and broken health care systems overseen by unfit faith-based nervous systems. Centralized government, centralized power and selfish objectives have led to a much worse pandemic across the planet, there’s countless examples of too little too late, opening up too soon, and our faith based leaders seem unable to learn from their mistakes, while sadly, voters continue to support their faith-based leaders, it appears that currently faith and shoddy belief win elections. 

    If critical thinking, the philosophy of science, scientific methodology and the hard sciences were deemed vital for a healthy, secure and well informed society, why would the government cut spending and access to programs that teach these skills and systems of research based knowledge? In the UK, Brexit has already encouraged the exodus of countless research scientists and health professionals. Nations with faith-based, opposed to research based systems of government are doomed to repeat their dumb mistakes with their fingers crossed [insert prayer emoji]     

    As the disunited Kingdom approaches July 19th and the removal of any mandated Covid restrictions, I must hammer out my opposition to this policy and make it known why I object to a sudden, all-at-once dropping of social protections, and extend these sentiments to Holland and other countries who may pay the price of yet another full lockdown due to opening up too fast while also miss-reading the cultural landscape so as to be wholly ineffective at communication with their subjects, youth in particular. Where’s the world beating advertising geni and behavioural science whizz kids, with their superpowers of persuasion and coercion, where’s the influential secret agents or influencers? At least Mark Rutte can apologise to the Dutch people for his mistakes, Boris Johnson, like Donald Trump is completely incapable of admitting mistakes, impervious to the shame and guilt most human beings feel when they’ve made a mistake that’s led to suffering. This is what happens when you invite liars and sycophants into the highest positions of power. I object to the herd immunity (mass infection) strategy and I always have done, since I noticed the tendency of those who promote it to be leaning right and leaning faith-based thinking. “Let it rip” is the catchy slogan that succinctly sums up irresponsibility in 2021.

    So what is to be done? Like many of you out there reading this, I suspect you’ve also encountered entrenched views and opinions, frustrated by the inability to get through to friends and family, let alone representatives and government officials. The spectrum is wide and growing, from flat earther’s and 5G mast burners to Yogi’s and MCs there’s seemingly, to me, no walk of life not touched by this schism between faith and research concerning Covid and how to respond. I think you’ll agree, the majority of those with vaccine hesitancy and a slightly wonky view of biology are not bad people carrying malice intent, they are our friends and loved ones. It seems to me that a small but wide reaching network of dedicated faith-based thinkers are being encouraged and assisted in propagating their alternative views by political forces interested in destabilization and populism. I’d hope that the anti-vaccine groups and those on the fence also notice the subtle differences between those who support restrictions, lockdowns, masks, social distancing due to care for vulnerable people (not for profit) from the minority of oligarchs who dream of a totalitarian system of government and wish to keep the population in quarantine indefinitely.

    Yes, I admit, I’m guilty of losing my center at times, especially when writing as Squintin Quarantino, serving up Covid punks, plague DJs and MCs cold. But this is a purposeful antagonism, aiming to set the scene for an open debate/battle between poets, rappers, preachers and politicians, all in the spirit of sporting competition and intellectual, witty combat. This is what all governments refuse to acknowledge, that art and creativity is a forum for democracy, a furtive ground where the gloves can come off and the language can explode in all directions, for the sporting entertainment and enlightenment of the society. That said, I regret some of the bombastic and mocking tone of some rhymes and aspire to a clearer, research based form of verse, able to hold history, scientific facts, statistics and epic drama. The work continues. Stay tuned.  

    Here today, in this letter I’m drawing attention to the fact that I’ve puffed and huffed and pouted and made weird noises to encourage feedback, opened myself up for critique and stood my ground when it comes to the goal of slaying coronavirus with eternal vigilance. The reckless decision to remove all Covid restrictions in the UK (and Holland) is another kick in the teeth to research based, science based thinking. The government is overriding the scientific consensus, demonstrating they are in league with Branch Covidians by way of their faith-based approach to public health. So it goes. 

    Be responsible around others, it might rub off.

    An additional problem that needs to be addressed is that of the growing gap between the rich and the poor. Tackling these difficult circumstances will require that we work together–14th Dali Lama.

    –Steve Fly a.k.a Squnitin Quarantino
    Amsterdam
    https://www.patreon.com/stevefly         

               

  • The Fat Emperor Wears No Mask


    Emperor – the sovereign or supreme male monarch of an empire. Tsar, Czar, Kaiser, Fuhrer. a.k.a: Unscientific delusion of divine authority.

    Chief Covid skeptic, Ivor “Fat Czar” Cummins replied to me on twitter with: “go back to your drums, unscientific steve,” which is funny and helped me to better clarify my position and criticism.

    I, Steve Fly, a.k.a Unscientific Steve, do not make claims of the real absolute truth, or to know about the only real reality. I do not…claim empirical truth in my work and I don’t claim supreme sovereign power, I’m no Bloated Kaiser and hope to distinguish myself–right here–from that gang, or those in support of his cult of personality. After playing some killer’ chops in ⅞ time and my usual warm up paradiddles, ruffs, diddles, doubles, singles, triples and konnakol rhythmic exercises I powered-up my senses, and I now sense well marketed faith-based ideology, cloaked in the language of critical thinking, ala’ some threads of Qanonsense: do your own research, followed by….”meanwhile, I have the only truth, Ive’ all the keys to reality, follow me, subscribe! Check my book if you wanna’ live.” 

    To my tobacco stained taste buds, Ivor Cummins and his devout devotees and followers are tripped up by the promotional and marketing campaigns that surf on trumpeting claims to practice science, yet communicate in a language of faith-based, superstition, leaning toward medieval dull platitudes. Cummins repeatedly claims the “Real Truth, Real Data and Real Reality.” Why is he shouting so much, his background in corporate marketing coming through? Scientists with integrity don’t have to shout like the Fat Emperor, or shouldn’t have too either. They progress through corroborated evidence, e.g: masks work, social distancing and lockdowns work and vaccines work. This reflects the status quo according to the science. Masks, lockdowns and vaccines are true in a practical sense because they work, demonstrably, it’s foundational physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics. The big T Truth Cummins claims is weak, his Emperor status is untestable, alike the majority of dogmatic conclusions garnered from selected works, that in themselves hold merit. A popular corporate marketing technique used by populists in 2020.

    I’m with Karl Popper on this, “Hypotheses cannot be proven to be true, they can only be falsified.” And here’s Ivor, claiming big T Truth and big R Reality, with worrying wafts of the great awakening and reset tumbling up my sensitive nostrils. Ivor(y) Tower Ivor, claims to know all about the thousands of experiments and papers and studies to conveniently fit his consistent general premise: masks don’t work, anti-lockdown doesn’t make a difference, and vaccines are not to be trusted. He’s cherry picking his guests like how an Emperor packs his court, to support his public puzzlement, putting the juicy pieces together on his podcast, spouting unfounded conclusions.

    My advice is, if he wants his followers and critics and the scientific worldwide community to take him seriously, then he should drop the messiah complex and consistent dogmatic faith-based claims of supreme sovereignty. If Ivor were a satirist I’d give the Fat Emperor brand a thumbs up, pretty funny joke, but he’s not, he claims empirical absolute truth and sells his brand, based on a logical fallacy, to his devout followers. He’s right about fats and sugar though. Oh, I get it, Fat Emperor, to mean he’s the sovereign supreme white male monarch of Fatburgs?  

    Burp….Kisht-ti-coo / kisht-ti-coo / kisht-ti-con

    –Unscientific Steve.  

    p.s In the tradition of Popper, in some sense I’m strengthening the opposing arguments above, if the devout believers could get down off their high horse and look the facts in the face. Please, take a peek at this paper on Science and Pseudo Science, get up in the game. 
    https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2015/entries/pseudo-science/

  • The Mother Of The Mother Of Tobacco Is A Snake

    A research study conducted in France has found that inpatients and outpatients who smoke tobacco are 80 and 75 % less likely to develop symptomatic and severe Covid-19 infections. My instincts tell me these findings are worthy of investigation, new consideration. Their methodology and experimental conditions are detailed and published HERE.

    To embolden the general idea I ask… what can we scrutinize about this study? How do we make their findings more robust and further expand the study, cross-examine other such studies? 

    My hunch starts with research conducted by Jeremy Narby and published in his book The Cosmic Serpent

    Below I’ve included screenshots of these two sources, together forming a balanced picture (a roughly left-brain and right-brain stereo mix) of what I have previously mused upon: indigenous shamanic practice using Ayahuasca and Tabacco and its role in our fight, as a interconnected global species, with novel airborne Coronaviruses.

    I’d like to encourage you to refocus (defocus using stereoscopic thinking) on the recent rigorous scientific study on Tobacco / Nicotine and Covid-19.

    Please let me know if you have any feedback in the comments.

    Much love, steve fly.

    https://www.qeios.com/read/WPP19W.3