Source: Nature.

Recommended by Tyler Cowen, this story is a follow-on to a couple of recent posts, one on human progress and one on scientific groupthink.

We tend to think that human progress is defined by innovation and discovery, but the instant report clearly shows that it is possible for progress of that kind to simply end. Groupthink may be a cause, but the cause might otherwise be that Nature herself offers only a finite number of basic problems to solve. Or perhaps Nature is infinite, but the human mind is only capable of conceiving a finite problem set.

Another possibility is that scientific disruptions ebb and flow according to some rhythm we have yet to detect or understand.

A final possibility is that the disruptive science of the past has been erroneous to the point that new innovations will be impossible until we correct our mistakes.

Spectator Freedom Caucus demands

Democrats are taking great joy in the GOP’s difficulties in electing a Speaker, but the demands of the holdouts are largely reasonable attempts to reform how the House works for the better.

They don’t quite go to a single purpose rule, as we have in Virginia, but they do go a long way in that direction. If they can end the practice of dumping a huge pork filled appropriations bill at the last moment with no amendments allowed and must pass inclusions, it would go a long way to regaining control of spending.

To much power has concentrated in the Speaker’s hands under Pelosi, so it is time to make the House less of a dictatorship. Democrats might snicker, but this is something they should have done themselves if they believe their own rhetoric.

The Diet-Heart Hypothesis

For 50 years, the consensus among physicians was that saturated fats in the diet caused high cholesterol and heart disease. Peer reviewed studies backed the hypothesis. Government set limits to recommended diets and required reporting on content. To this day, the government’s Food Pyramid is largely based on that hypothesis.

But it was never true.

Continue reading “Consensus and Peer Review” →

https://tinyurl.com/5t42xzv3

MAGA-Republicans may be disappointed but for most of us, this is good news.

Absurd Trolley Problems.

Source: Wall Street Journal (free link).

This may be a nature vs. nurture story. The question is whether the Covid virus as we now know it is following a natural or a nurtured pattern of evolution.

Might we have been better off letting the virus run its course through humanity instead of trying to stop it with mass vaccination?

Source: Wikipedia.

I have sometimes contended that the standard view of history is wrong. That view can be summarized: Intelligent apes in tiny clans learned to use tools, then they learned agriculture which necessitated the development of cities which in turn fostered civilizations which became empires that produced a complex global society.

The overall pattern is one of primitive humans evolving into an advanced or sophisticated species. As an alternative, I have proposed that there has been no essential human progress at all for at least 200,000 years.

Continue reading “The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity” →

Just an honest, heartfelt greeting to ease us into 2023. When I was young, I wondered if I’d see the millennium change. I did and so did everyone here, obviously. Now I am working to hang on to my “dust” as long as I can without creating havoc for my family. The last few years have been interesting… in many ways. Glad to be here and hope to stick around.

No matter the verbal combat, we are all so fortunate for the luxury of being able to joust. Most in the world are not nearly as well off, in fact often suffering terribly. I try to keep that in mind when I sweat the small stuff. Take care and see you next year I hope.

Gott Nytt År (Swedish, my native tongue and homeland before I became a U.S. citizen.)

Eleven minutes of video cannot capture anything close to comprehensive truths but can — as in this case — remind us to be skeptical of stories we hear.

“On the whole, members of Russia’s economic elite “understand this isn’t going to end well,” the Russian billionaire said. Prokopenko, the former Central Bank official, said the Russian elite, including many under sanctions, are watching the situation in horror: “Everything they built collapsed for no reason.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/putin-unaccustomed-to-losing-is-increasingly-isolated-as-war-falters/ar-AA15NItw