Beth

As a bit of an aside, have you ever considered how difficult English is to learn vs. most other languages?

Yes. When I am in America I speak Hinglish with my extended family. At home I am currently learning Tamil. Soon I will try to only speak Tamil in my house so it’s now a case of “Hindi theriyathu poda” and I will have to get the t-shirt for t…[Read more]

Reg the Fronkey Farmer wrote:
Many U.S. students will very likely start going to Chinese Universities soon.

Might be a good idea for all American schools to start teaching Chinese.

When I was young (I’m 79 now, so a long time ago), the choices were French, German, and Spanish. French was recommended as the language of diplomacy, German for kids…[Read more]

Many U.S. students will very likely start going to Chinese Universities soon.

@Simon, – The coordinated flight of birds or the efficiency of an ant colony are examples of true emergence. It is complex order arising from simple, local rules. Each agent behaves independently, yet their interactions create a collective intelligence without any central plan or higher consciousness.

It’s legitimate emergence because the…[Read more]

Thanks for the comment Jake. I was also thinking that old age is wasted on the not-so-young, to twist G.B. Shaw’s line for when people mistake religiosity for wisdom. Needing a comfort blanket against existential fear doesn’t make you wise; it just means you’re still afraid.

Real wisdom comes from remembering what it felt like to be young — cur…[Read more]

Re the second long read post above; The word “emergence,” when used uncritically, inherits the same intellectual vice as theism. It offers comfort where explanation is difficult. It sounds plausible, even scientific, but it doesn’t predict, measure, or model anything. It stops being a descriptor and starts being a substitute for under…[Read more]

Thanks Reg!

Have a great week!!

I was jogging in the park recently. I passed an older man on a bench for the 3rd time in a row (I do 6 laps – 5k). He quipped….’you are in 4th place’. No, I replied, “I am winning because I am still in the race”. On the next pass he was still grinning. It got me thinking……

Atheism, when treated not as mere disbelief but…[Read more]

was414x736 = viewed on an iphone.

PopeBeanie wrote:
I’ve been experimenting with youtube shorts, which is why you’ll see the “was#x#” underneath each of my video shorts, in case I need to change the dimensions to fit on different screens.

I looked underneath the video and didn’t see that code. Am I missing something?

The original video won’t give me an embed code, so I’m trying the code it offered me to use for sharing. Let’s see if it works any better:
https://youtube.com/shorts/lVpaaTCAetw?si=tvUc_p27IUIlBFys

Well, not for me.

I’m running ChromeOS, but since links I put up (normal ones, not shorts or verticals) tend to work okay, the issue seems…[Read more]

@Jakelafort – the ‘stopped clock’  cartoon in the current edition of the satirical Private Eye would agree with you 🙂

I am not great at website dev. but I did a little digging.

To include a thumbnail, you have to use the embed code instead of the standard YouTube link, since only the HTML embed triggers the thumbnail preview. Unfortunately, WordPress restricts HTML for non-moderators, so only moderators can post embeds that actually render the video.

For…[Read more]

Simon and Unseen – I can view the link without any problems. I am viewing on a Windows 11 laptop (Winver 25H2) and using Firefox. The Frog protest against ICE in Portland.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/lVpaaTCAetw

Why won’t this display? Any ideas?

Ah yes, of course Jake, how could I have been so blind? The benevolent freedom fighters of Hamas, guardians of justice, protectors of women’s rights, LGBTQ+ citizens, and interfaith harmony everywhere. Their tireless work in turning Gaza into a beacon of pluralism and technological innovation over the last 20 years with no help from Israel c…[Read more]

Ceasefires depend on both sides believing the other will abide by what they agreed to. The  track record isn’t great here. If Hamas remains in power and still armed, that undermines the logic of the ceasefire. They still don’t accept Israel’s right to exist. The Hamas Covenant of 1988 endorses an armed struggle until Israel is obliterated. It sof…[Read more]

Yes, they always do it publicly. How else can they win a free and fair election every 20 years.  Their god is great and their fan clubs in the West will continue to justify their support for them.

I am trying to explain to an Irish-American MAGA supporter that it is not the fault of the Democrats that there is a government shutdown. I explained it along the lines of the following:

“That’s not how it works. The House — which the Republicans control — is where all spending bills start. If the House GOP can’t agree among themselves on a budg…[Read more]