“In some respects, science has far surpassed religion in delivering awe. How is it that hardly any major religion has looked at science and concluded, “This is better than we thought! The Universe is much bigger than our prophets said, grander, more subtle, more elegant. God must be even greater than we dreamed”? Instead they say, “No, no, no! My god is a little god, and I want him to stay that way.”
| — | Car Sagan, Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space |
This is pretty mind blowing. Just start watching the first one. 5-8 will be out later this week.
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Currently at hofstra university in upstate new york (or maybe staten island?) trying to sneak into the live debate between mccain and obama. secret service agents everywhere, lots of motorcades and shitty internet access. Everyone’s calls are getting dropped.
I have no idea why I came here. The debates embody nearly everything I detest about politics, the meaningless soundbites, the trivial format that prevents any solid exposition of issues, the savagely inept media talking head moderators who let even the most blatant of lies slip through. I wouldn’t watch this on television but for some reason decided it would be worth it to see a bullshit trumpeting competition live. Let me also add that there is a triumphant bannerism suffused into every interaction. Indeed, the candidate who’s supporters wave the largest placard is ideologically superior!! sigh, this is a massive step back from even the bumpersticker politics which I so deplore.
However, I am seriously considering a sweet moment of media reform activism by slashing the tires on a poorly attended cnn media RV control center. if there’s no blogging for a few days, it’s because I’ve been arrested.
we only use 10% of our brains gets slapped.
There are many myths about our brains, such as we use only 10 percent of our brain — and many other amazing facts, as revealed in a fascinating new book by Sandra Aamodt and Sam Wang, two leading neuroscientists.
They write in their book that not only that we don’t use just 10 percent of our brain, but also that even simple tasks actually produce activity throughout the entire brain. Many people like this old myth because it gives them a hope that they could do so much more if they could use even a tiny bit of that other 90 percent.
:: via Dues ex Machine ::
Sensory deprivation, as CIA research and other agency interrogation materials demonstrate, is a remarkably simple concept. It can be inflicted by immobilizing individuals in small, soundproof rooms and fitting them with blacked-out goggles and earmuffs. “The first thing that happens is extraordinary hallucinations akin to mescaline,” explained McCoy. “I mean extreme hallucinations” of sight and sound. It is followed, in some cases within just two days, by what McCoy called a “breakdown akin to psychosis.”
This is from an okay article in salon (a surprisingly common occurence), I think it would be easier to just let the empire subside. I am at least reasonably happy that waterboarding is no longer considered reasonable. Long time readers of voodoo knickers will recall that I’ve been railing against that and strappado for years. although not like i can really claim “i told you so” props for hating on torture techniques….