Jim

Jake,

Is it a stretch or bigotry to wonder whether century after century of Islam has caused a dumbing of the general population? If animals living underground or in caves generation after generation have in many cases lost their eyesight does generation after generation of Islamic life make epigentic changes both through the failure to…

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Robert,

Yes…Humans are no longer subject to the normal genetic screening processes. In many cases the least-fittest humans can propagate as much as anyone. It seems the struggle is changing to the situation where we somehow force our environment to adapt to us. We will fail, of course. Elon Musk can’t even build a decent electric truck, let alo…

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There are all kinds of people who shouldn’t be here if Mother Nature had anything to do with it.  For humans, it’s not so much survival of the fittest, it’s the survival of the most cooperative.  That’s why young children are born knowing how to cooperate.

How long before we wipe ourselves out?

Vegas has over/under at 22 yrs & 6 months?

If you take the under it may be a little problematic to collect.

_Robert_ wrote:
In many cases the least-fittest humans can propagate as much as anyone.

Yes, millions of years of evolution have resulted in … me.  How did that happen?

I think we’re extremely strongly shaped by evolution, biologically and psychologically.  That’s both a curse and a benefit.  How long before we wipe ourselves out?

Yes…Humans are no longer subject to the normal genetic screening processes. In many cases the least-fittest humans can propagate as much as anyone. It seems the struggle is changing to the situation where we somehow force our environment to adapt to us. We will fail, of course. Elon Musk can’t even build a decent electric truck, let alone gui…[Read more]

Simon Paynton wrote:

Reg the Fronkey Farmer wrote:
Ancient human evolution is “unparalleled” in nature.

I too have read it was climate change that drove the evolution of new human species, because it opened up new niches. Every new niche means a new species. But

the pattern in Homo species suggests that technology played a far greater role in…

[Read more]

Reg the Fronkey Farmer wrote:
Ancient human evolution is “unparalleled” in nature.

I too have read it was climate change that drove the evolution of new human species, because it opened up new niches.  Every new niche means a new species.  But

the pattern in Homo species suggests that technology played a far greater role in speci…

[Read more]

Reg,

There’s “a realistic possibility” that insects, octopuses, crustaceans, fish and other overlooked animals experience consciousness.

I should say so. They all have eyes, antennae, feelers, and in the case of catfish, taste buds on the skin. Still looking for their Tigris-Euphrates, Alexandria, Wall Street, and Houston Launch Pad, though.

Reg,

Lots of wise thoughts from Dennett on epistemology and metaphysics, but economic history shows that In Gold We Trust is more solid monetary footing than “In God We Trust” on paper.

We wouldn’t have the present Inflation, Stagflation and Shrinkflation if the amount of Dollars hinged on the amount of Gold for which a Dollar is exchangeable.…[Read more]

So long as he walks the talk 🙂

First, thanks to Simon for alerting us on the death of Daniel Dennett. Kindest thoughts. He was the more low-key of The Four Horsemen. I really need to read more of him.

Now, Reg,

If I had known that the Jezebel Spirit was going to make an appearance, then I would have too.

I heard Rev. Joe Chambers from Charlotte, NC preaching 20 years ago about…[Read more]

Thanks Reg!

I have been to some of his talks over the years. I was fortunate to have an opportunity to speak with him on my own for about 10 minutes once. We discussed the nature of religious belief and the benefits to society of understanding Evolution, which means educating the “primate change deniers”.  It was after this talk.

No death bed conv…[Read more]

Daniel Dennett…..truely a great gentleman/philosopher/magician. What? No last- minute, deathbed conversion to faith from the horseman?

Have a great week!

Some quotes from Daniel Dennett:

I am confident that those who believe in belief are wrong. That is, we no more need to preserve the myth of God in order to preserve a just and stable society than we needed to cling to the Gold Standard to keep our currency sound. It was a useful crutch, but we’ve outgrown it. Denmark,…[Read more]

You want beat poetry?

Alan Ginsberg, Howl

Amiri Baraka, Black Dada Nihilismus

Unseen, I’ve always thought JREF should produce a reality TV show based on the Million Doller Challenge.

Unapologetic,

If it was 10 years ago, it was Social Justice Warrior-Speak, which was a precursor to Wokeism.

And whatever the term is, the whole phenomenon of anyone thinking they have the lock on language and culture and that language and culture cannot be dynamic or shared by all just oozes with an entitlement mentality, so Fundamentalist…[Read more]

Reg,

The bonny Scots accent of Elaine Miller was bloody thick, and I initially didn’t know what a merkin was except that it wasn’t ‘Murikun 🇺🇲, but I got the jist of it anyway and liked it even more when I looked it up. 😁😆😅😂🤣

The idea of pregger women having a little male left in them after they give birth was a genius reply to Frank N. Furters…[Read more]