News Briefs 7-09-2009
Posted by Kat at 14:25, 07 Sep 2009I'm convinced the universe is working on a new and improved Murphy's Law, and my life is the beta version.
- NASA research reveals major insight into evolution of life on Earth.
- The adventures of Dyzio the feathered Dilophosaurus.
- Where did you get that hat? Secrets of the Easter Island statues.
- New finds shed light on Mayan city of El Mirador.
- New study shows fairy tales are much older than previously thought.
- Ancient black hole dates from early universe.
- China filmed UFO for 40 minutes.
- Unexplained phenomenon: Why we are captivated by UFOs.
- Mystery haunts Mexico: What happened to Bermeja, an island off the Yucatan coast that appears to have vanished without a trace?
- 40 new species discovered in crater of giant extinct volcano, including a rat the size of a cat.
- The world may have to turn to God to save itself from climate change, claims one of Britain’s most eminent scientists.
- Biologists have figured out the most efficient way to destroy an ecosystem — based on Google's search algorithm. Or to put it another way, who eats whom.
- Facebook could enhance a key element of intelligence that is vital to success in life, a psychologist has claimed, but using Twitter may have the opposite effect.
- Jurors find it hard to tell right from wrong: Researchers say new legal definitions needed after study finds huge variations in what people view as dishonest.
- Older people have a much stronger sense of morality than the young, the world’s biggest study into dishonesty suggests.
- UK Home Secretary Alan Johnson accused of cover-up over Gary McKinnon's legal battle.
- Obama adviser on environmentally friendly jobs resigns after being tied to suggestions of a governmental role in 9-11.
- Virtual blockade: Thousands of Chinese video gamers used their characters to block entry to a virtual world, in a protest against the over-commercialisation of a classic fantasy game.
- Rebellion-B-Gone: Chemical Neurowarfare.
- Telegraphs ran on electric air in crazy 1895 magnetic storm.
- Panels of light fascinate designers.
Quote of the Day:
You can give people money or food and help them for a while. You can give them an education and help them for one life. But if you give them an opportunity to really meet with their mind - to understand that their mind is indestructible space - you help them for life, for death, what comes after death and for all future lives.
Kalu Rinpoche
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Comments
14 July 2008
20 min 31 sec
In Re: Older people have a much stronger sense of morality than the young, the world’s biggest study into dishonesty suggests.
A nation (or society) of petty criminals?
No more than has always been the human potential for such behavior. But today, with parenting skills having become an anachronism and liberal social concepts that forbid most forms of punishment, that old potential is again there to be tapped at whim by the young immortal.
In so many instances of youthful crime, it is the parent and the state who should bear at least some portion of the responsibility.
"Action speaks louder than words but... not nearly as often."
-Mark Twain
(____/|\____)
22 November 2004
2 min 10 sec
Indeed some sociological questions are asked the wrong way.
We ask, what makes kids violent, or careless of other's feelings or wellbeing.
That is the wrong question - normal children are that way to start with. Behaving in a cooperative way is learned behaviour. Parenting is an essential part of teaching children, schools can't do much for good personality development. The environment in schools is too competitive for that, and it needs to be competitive. Children need to learn and understand both compassion and competition.
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We are the cat.
12 April 2007
9 min 15 sec
I'm convinced the universe is working on a new and improved Murphy's Law, and my life is the beta version.
I'm using this as Quote of the Day next Thursday! :-P
It's not the depth of the rabbit hole that bugs me...
It's all the rabbit SH*T you stumble over on your way down!!!
Red Pill Junkie
1 May 2004
18 hours 5 min
>> I'm using this as Quote of the Day next Thursday! :-P
I didn't have time to look for the little 'C in a circle' symbol, but I definitely claim copyright on that one! ;-)
Kat
1 May 2004
2 hours 55 min
A quick look at Google Earth shows the location to be quite close to the edge of the continental shelf. Perhaps an earthquake did in Bermeja? The article quotes maps, however maps are often compiled from earlier maps. When was the last time someone took a picture of the island or set foot on it? That's what we need to know.
12 April 2007
9 min 15 sec
Some have scented skulduggery on an epic scale and conspiratorially minded Mexican nationalists have seized on the mystery as an opportunity to bludgeon America, a standard reflex when things go wrong south of the Rio Grande.
They accuse the great behemoth in the north of destroying the island – described in some accounts as a sand bar or coral clump and in others as a volcanic rock rising out of the sea – to undermine Mexico’s oil claims. Others argue that natural causes, from rising sea levels to earthquakes, may have brought about the demise of Bermeja, which means bright red in Spanish.
Hmmm... first time I heard of this —and every day I read Reforma, one of the most important newspapers in Mexico.
It's an interesting mystery. Reminds me of the accounts of "vanishing islands" in ancient times, when mariners thought these temporal landmarks were patches of land stuck on the back of great sea monsters.
My first thought was that the island was sunk beneath the ocean because of the rise of water levels; but that wouldn't explain why explorers and prospectors failed to locate a single trace of it.
What was the island composed of primarily? If it was a coral reef, maybe it suffered from erosion?
Maybe our friend daydreamer, who is a trained geologist, could throw some light on this issue.
It's not the depth of the rabbit hole that bugs me...
It's all the rabbit SH*T you stumble over on your way down!!!
Red Pill Junkie
25 November 2004
1 day 9 hours
Kat, thanks for the heads up on the fairy tales/cultural evolution lecture. It's just down the road, and right up my street! I'm going to try to catch it tomorrow.
I don't believe in belief!
Perceval
@grailseeker
12 April 2007
9 min 15 sec
Re. Ancient Black Hole:
Maybe they are immigrants from a previous Universe, ancestor to our own.
It's not the depth of the rabbit hole that bugs me...
It's all the rabbit SH*T you stumble over on your way down!!!
Red Pill Junkie
12 April 2007
9 min 15 sec
Re. The world may have to turn to God to save itself from climate change, claims one of Britain’s most eminent scientists:
To me is sad to see again and again that atheists seem only to focus on the negative aspects of religion. It's not really God who Lord May seems to wish to enlist in the enviromental campaign, but the Devil! :-/
We don't need a punisher. What we need is to inflame a sense of compassion that prompts us to embark in the kind of sacrifices that will be needed to overcome the most drastic outcomes of climate change.
Because, unlike George Michael, I don't think God ever bothered with keeping score. We're the ones who keep our own.
It's not the depth of the rabbit hole that bugs me...
It's all the rabbit SH*T you stumble over on your way down!!!
Red Pill Junkie
22 November 2004
2 min 10 sec
Look at past history, when things were better, when everyone was religious, the punisher in chief made sure the world was in good order.
When the fear of God prevented wars, and encouraged clean living. There was no violence, no pestilence, no thievery, no dishonesty of any kind.
Yes in history, as recently as ... oh wait a sec, when was that again?
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We are the cat.
12 April 2007
9 min 15 sec
Re. Telegraphs ran on electric air in crazy 1895 magnetic storm:
Yeah, but that would have made a more boring blockbuster ;-)
It's not the depth of the rabbit hole that bugs me...
It's all the rabbit SH*T you stumble over on your way down!!!
Red Pill Junkie
23 December 2008
40 weeks 1 day
Questions . . . I have questions . . .
Is this something that's generalizable to generations throughout history?
Is this evidence of ethical evolution taking place over the lifespan, that is an artifact of time and experience?
If the older gneration is more moral, does this indicate it failed to effectively pass on its values to its offspring (lousy, but moral parents)?
Is this evidence of real shift in moral values or are younger people just more honest about dishonesty (hence, actually more moral)?
I could go on like this for hours. Interesing, but it's greatest value may be spurring future research.
12 April 2007
9 min 15 sec
IMO the researchers failed to realize the outcome of their results could also be interpreted as proof that the younger generations are more tolerant than the older ones, who tend to have a more manicheistic (black/white) view of the world.
It would have been interesting if they had asked questions regarding the interviewees' views on religion and sexual orientation.
It's not the depth of the rabbit hole that bugs me...
It's all the rabbit SH*T you stumble over on your way down!!!
Red Pill Junkie