Hi bangers,
The solution to last week's Hallowe'en spooky quiz:
'Solution: Halloween Mystery - Ghost Flame'
http://youtu.be/w8pmu0lh3XY
The key is that the area of combustion (where you see the flame) can be disconnected from the fuel source.
With a match, the combustion can only occur where the match is, and so immersing it in the CO2 also extinguishes the flame.
Butane from the lighter, however, can flow through the CO2, and combust as it reaches already-combusting butane, at the flame.
Notice that, if the flame were ever allowed to go out, the experimenter would have to start over, by withdrawing and hitting the sparker again.
Combusting butane emits enough energy to ignite more butane, as it comes through the CO2 fog, but warm butane is not.
Also notice that the distance of the flame from the lighter is inversely correlated with the size of the flame (it's smaller).
This is because the butane disperses as it travels away from the lighter nozzle, and so there is less available for combustion in the specific spot where the flame is.
Cool experiment. Spooky science!
And this week's quiz: Which trees are helping us to fight cancer?
{Hint: It's not Willow - aspirin is derived from Willow}
There have, unfortunately, been at least two disasters, this week:
'YouTube comment changes ruined my life'
http://youtu.be/1od3CCAAsOw
...and seriously:
{Even more seriously than Greg's grass}
'One of strongest typhoons in history hits Philippines'
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn24549-one-of-strongest-typhoons-in-history-hits-philippines.html
Due to lack of data available, atm, it's difficult to tell where has been worst affected, and how many people are involved.
'The Unbelievable Truth' now has a book:
Written by Graeme Garden and Jon Naismith, with a foreword by David Mitchell
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Unbelievable-Truth-David-Mitchell/dp/1848094191/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1382608911&sr=1-1&keywords=unbelievable+truth+the
Not-quite-on-this-days:
The 8th of November marks the 48th anniversary of The Race Relations Act coming into effect, banning racial discrimination in public places in Britain. Half a century later, and it's pretty much only quacks and religionists who consider this advancement to not apply to them.
The 10th of November marks the 220th anniversary of the The French Republic's abolishment of worship of the Christian god, establishing a 'cult of reason' in its place. I know - a cult of non-cultiness - we'd never make that mistake, in the 21st century! [coughs: "Atheism+"]
And in contrast, the 15th of November marks the 72nd anniversary of the Nazi movement in Germany's declaration that homosexual members of the SS and police shall be executed.
What nice people.
Here, in the UK, the beginning of November is most strongly associated with bonfires and fireworks (see 'How they do fireworks in Scotland' in 'contemporary stuff'), to celebrate the time a bunch of Catholics tried to kill a bunch of politicians, by blowing up the Houses of Parliament.
For British Protestants, that pretty much seems a win-win situation. I'm still not sure exactly what we celebrate - their attempt to kill pollies, or their failure and subsequent executions?!
I expect people do it just for the bangs, nowadays... I hope :-/
#britishbloodlust
------------------------------------------------------ contemporary stuff
'Miss Ping Debunk'
http://youtu.be/W8sGTh7ZpoY
'ATP Tennis: Top 10 Hot Shots Of The Year'
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Media/Video-Landing/*/Tennis/Media/Videos/Uploaded/2013/11/6/Holding-Court-Live-Presented-By-Barclays-Top-10-Hot-Shots.aspx
'Barclays ATP World Tour Finals 2013 Thursday Highlights: Federer and Gasquet'
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Media/Video-Landing/*/Tennis/Media/Videos/Uploaded/2013/11/7/Barclays-ATP-World-Tour-Finals-2013-Thursday-Highlights.aspx
'Snoopybabe: Flat-Faced Feline Sensation'
http://www.ripleys.com/weird/daily-dose-of-weird-wtf-blog/crazy-animals/snoopybabe-flat-faced-feline-sensation/
'Macro photographs of Nikon Small World contest 2013'
http://www.nikonsmallworld.com/
http://tapejarascience.tumblr.com/post/66561507138/100cias-macro-fotografias-del-concurso-nikon
The British monarchy welcome a new 'little soldier' to their ranks:
http://privateeyenews.tumblr.com/post/65783472236/from-eye-1352
'How they do fireworks in Scotland'
I dearly hope this isn't fake. But it probably is. Captain Disillusion - you have a new mission, almost immediately :-D
http://goldspandexleggings.tumblr.com/post/65883559665
More cock-related humour :-P
'Sexy "Orthodox Priests" calendar features men of the cloth sans cloth' via Johann Hari on Facebook
Actually, none of the models are priests, or even clergy - just affiliates of the RC Church - but don't let that stop them. It's blasphemous enough for me :-D
http://www.nextmagazine.com/content/sexy-orthodox-priests-calendar-features-men-cloth-sans-cloth
Does this count as topical? It does? Here you go, then:
'11 terrifying kids from vintage adverts who will freeze the very marrow in your bones' via Sunday Driver
http://usvsth3m.com/post/66372953934/11-terrifying-kids-from-vintage-adverts-who-will-freeze
{"Eating out gives life a lift!" ...but you should still ask her permission, first :-P }
{{Sunday Driver is a steampunk band that features Kat Arney, of the Naked Scientists}}
------------------------------------------------------ of the weeks
Word Of The Week: labile -- liable to change, easily changed; sometimes used in the context of emotional state
Expression Of The Week: "no holds barred" -- from wrestling, meaning no holds... barred. It now means 'free from limitations' in any context
Misplaced Metaphor Of The Week: "A good book should do exactly what it says on the tin" - Judy Finnigan, on The One Show
Science Article Of The Week: 'University physicists study urine splash-back and offer best tactics for men'
Sporting Event Of The Week: The 'Man versus Horse Marathon' run in Llanwrtyd Wells. In 33 events, a man has won only twice!
------------------------------------------------------ non-contemporary stuff
'Dolls'
http://tapejarascience.tumblr.com/post/66561719440/dolls-this-is-mindnumbing-aaaaargh-why-do
'Inspiration Night - Animation'
http://youtu.be/EatL6gdS9M8
'The Delectable Spaghetti Trees of Switzerland'
Ripley's looks back to BBC Panorama's April Fools' Day hoax, back in 1957. I'm not sure why. It's six months 'til April Fools' Day. Is the Ripley's calendar hanging back to front?
http://www.ripleys.com/weird/daily-dose-of-weird-wtf-blog/unbelievable-but-true/the-delectable-spaghetti-trees-of-switzerland/
Feline sleeping places - then and now
http://micro.cibermitanios.com.ar/post/66410594339
'3D Latte Art by Kazuki Yamamoto'
http://tapejarascience.tumblr.com/post/66561779113/3d-latte-art-by-kazuki-yamamoto-see-more-here
Modern... um... art? :-P
http://goldspandexleggings.tumblr.com/post/65226901521
Don't laugh! I find it difficult to get proportions right, too :-D
http://goldspandexleggings.tumblr.com/post/65226986750
Minecraft: what can you do with just blocks? Well...
http://goldspandexleggings.tumblr.com/post/65484860285
'The best of Ken M'
http://goldspandexleggings.tumblr.com/post/65875211333
'Self checkout'
http://goldspandexleggings.tumblr.com/post/66449908069
A compilation from clientsfromhell.net:
http://goldspandexleggings.tumblr.com/post/66044737548
'Russians on facebook'
Loving the girl with the fish :-D
http://9gag.com/gag/adN5oPD?ref=fb.s
What the hell are "fushing" and "dinking"?
http://tapejarascience.tumblr.com/post/66561861040/what-the-hell-are-fushing-and-dinking
Feedback updates:
Jim Jobe was intrigued by an offer in Morrisons supermarket for "Mini Man-Sized Tissues": "These were for mini-men, no doubt... and of course they were offered at a reduced price."
28 Sep
HOPING to go for a walk along the coast of Northumberland in north-east England, Alan Robinson checked out the "Walking Britain" website. The description of the scenic Dunstanburgh Castle walk there gives the starting point of the walk as "OS grid reference NU256197 Lat 55.4704199170077 + Long -1.59455186840724 Postcode NE 66 3TW".
Alan reckons this corresponds to a precision of something like ±0.1 micrometres – but the site adds that this is the "approx. location only". Alan wants to know: "What would they regard as sufficiently precise?"
28 Sep
SEVERAL Australian readers have gleefully told us about what Neil Speirs calls "a major attempt to boost your catalogue of unusual units". A press release from the country's Clean Energy Council on 3 September celebrates record levels of energy produced by wind farms in four Australian states. It tells us: "Australia's wind farms generated 1024 gigawatt-hours in August, enough to make more than 6 billion (6,144,000,000) toasted sandwiches using an average sandwich press."
A stack of these sandwiches, the press release goes on, "would go around the Earth more than three times". What's that in blue whales?
28 Sep
Rachel Burton sends us a screenshot of a BBC weather page during the first week of August. The forecast for the night ahead on the first day of the week reads: "UK overnight. Very warm and sunny for many. Cloudier in northern Scotland."
"Do they know something we don't?" asks Rachel.
28 Sep
AMERICAN fondness for guns never ceases to amaze. Barry Cash alerts us to a report in USA Today at bit.ly/gunsfortheblind stating that blind people in the state of Iowa are being granted permits that allow them to purchase guns and carry them in public.
The report explains: "State law does not allow sheriffs to deny an Iowan the right to carry a weapon based on physical ability."
According to the article, officials in Iowa's Polk County say they have already issued weapons permits "to at least three people who can't legally drive and were unable to read the application forms or had difficulty doing so because of visual impairments".
"No one [in Iowa] questions the legality of the permits," USA Today says, "but some officials worry about public safety." Indeed.
Meanwhile, officials in Deer Trail, Colorado, have received 983 applications, each with a cheque worth $25, for a licence to shoot down any government drones that fly over the town.
No such licences exist at present, but thanks to a Deer Trail citizen's initiative, a citywide referendum on the idea is to take place on 8 October. Enthusiastic would-be drone hunters are putting in their orders early – see bit.ly/droneshooters.
5 Oct
{I feel compelled to point out, in the context of Iowan law that refuses to deny access to lethal weaponry on the grounds of ability, the congruence with laws around the world, that do not deny anyone the right to run a country, on the grounds of mental ability. At least in this respect, the USA is not so out of touch!}
FEEDBACK'S eye was caught recently by a report in the Süddeutsche Zeitung that fluoride compounds exported from Germany to Syria were declared as being destined for toothpaste manufacture – not for chemical weapons, oh no. It was the amount that struck us: "more than 97 tonnes" of various fluoride compounds during 2005 and 2006.
We reached for a calculator and headed for the bathroom. Its cabinet reveals toothpastes with fluoride doses of 1450 and 1100 parts per million by weight. We don't have a breakdown of the exact quantities of the different compounds that were shipped from Germany, but the one containing least fluoride is sodium fluoride at 45 per cent fluoride by weight – so in round numbers we can say that the compounds contained around 25 tonnes of fluoride per year (roughly half of 45 per cent of 97 tonnes). That's enough for 25,000 tonnes of toothpaste.
The CIA estimates Syria's population at 22.5 million and does not report toothpaste as one of the country's major exports. So every child, woman and man in the country could be supplied with 1.1 kilograms of fluoride-containing toothpaste per year; maybe more.
Surely Germany's reputedly meticulous bureaucrats could have spotted how unlikely these amounts were?
5 Oct
{I get through a few hundred grams per year. Syrians must have beautiful teeth!}
[While] searching for other peoples' translations of the Süddeutsche Zeitung story [] above, Feedback was saddened but not surprised to find that fruitloops were instantly on the case. First up was a YouTube video with the description "Fluoride is used to make Sarin gas, yet they say it is okay for your drinking water and toothpaste?"
Yes, yes, but both of these contain much more of the notoriously dangerous substance "dihydrogen monoxide" (chemical name H2O), the vicious trade in which Feedback has oft exposed since 18 May 1996.
2 Nov
AUCTION site ebay now lists its fees to the nearest 0.000001 penny. Martyn Ellis sends a screenshot showing a charge of £1.878252 to include a photo of the item he's selling.
5 Oct
{I smell exchange rates..... :D }
Jeff Dickens was provoked by our proposition that a written notice apparently intended to be read by rabbits and hares – "Rabbits and Hares this gate must be kept shut" – indicates that these furry animals must be very intelligent (7 September).
Jeff responds with scorn: "These rabbits and hares can't be that intelligent if they need signs to remind them not to leave gates open in sheep country. Tsk!"
5 Oct
Stephen Stent sends us a photo of a sign by the road in Whangarei, New Zealand, offering "DRY T-TREE FIREWOOD $100 CM2". What can that possibly mean?
12 Oct
Des Mahon was struck by a notice to drivers in the bus station in the UK city of Dundee: "Engines must be switched off at all times"
19 Oct
{THEN HOW ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO LEAVE THE STATION?!?!?}
ELEPHANTS, says Steve Carper, are "fast becoming the premier unit of all work. Not only are they used for mass, they are also a unit of volume."
Steve cites an article from the 12 August issue of The New Yorker, in which Ben McGrath writes about the construction of the new Second Avenue Subway in New York. He quotes Michael Horodniceanu of MTA Capital Construction, who was standing about 30 metres below Eighty-fourth Street, "in a cavern so vast that he said it could hold fifty-five thousand elephants".
"Maybe," says Steve, "we should redefine density in terms of elephants per elephant."
19 Oct
READER David Curl had to go to the vet to get some Indigo, an anti-inflammatory medication needed by his daughter's guinea pig. The receptionist handed him the bottle and, repeating the printed instructions, told him to "give Indigo 3 kilograms once a day".
"Shouldn't that be 3 grams or 3 millilitres or something?" David asked. "Three kilograms sounds like rather a lot."
"Oh, that's OK," replied the receptionist. "Guinea pigs have very fast metabolisms."
19 Oct
The Domino's Pizza leaflet that dropped through Charlie Wartnaby's letter box defies logic by promising "Savings of up to and over £350"
26 Oct
WHAT on earth could an "alcohol shot gun" be?
Richard Lucas sends us a scan of an ad he saw in the CPC catalogue promoting the "Shootndrink" gun, describing it as a "high speed spirit delivery system" to "take drinking games to another level".
The gun comes with a cartridge – you "fill the cartridge with the spirit of your choice", which is then "shot out at high speed into the drinker's mouth". It is, says the ad, "ideal for stag and hen nights".
Feedback was greatly taken by the whistle-in-the-wind statement concluding the promotion: "NB. Please enjoy Alcohol Shot Gun by drinking responsibly."
26 Oct
THE photo of a charming little hedgehog sniffing a bowl of food in Rachel Cave's recent CJ Wildlife catalogue carries a caption stating that the bowl contains "Organic Paté for Hedgehogs".
"This easily digestible food is akin to their natural diet, so our prickly friends are sure to enjoy this meaty feast," the brochure explains. It continues with the product's composition, starting with "meat and animal derivatives from organic chicken and turkey".
Rachel says she is now afraid to go into the garden at night for fear of encountering hedgehogs that snack on chickens and turkeys – considering how large they would have to be.
26 Oct
{Hogzilla!!!}
"Tapioca must be a hitherto unknown superfood," says Terjei Jensen. According to nutritiondata.self.com, a 28-gram serving provides 728 grams of carbohydrates and 3033 calories – a day-and-a-half's worth
2 Nov
{A handy rule of thumb: dietitians are the ones who know what they're doing; nutritionists are just quacks}
From New Zealand, Rosemary Fineman sends a document awarding a Pressure Sewerage Equipment Supply contract to Ecoflow Ltd of Auckland – giving as contact person at Ecoflow one Karl Stench.
2 Nov
{I thought nominative determinism had been abolished from Feedback's inches? They do seem to be creeping back in...}
FINALLY, the International Journal of Latest Research in Science and Technology told Andrew Kirk in an email soliciting papers that it is an "academic Online Open 'Right to Use' Pear Reviewed International Journal".
Andrew wonders how the pear review process is conducted – and whether it makes the journal more likely to accept fruitloopery.
26 Oct
{Haha - someone give that man a medal :-D }
{On a more serious note, though -- i do hope this isn't indicative of some nefarious body-shape-ism, where people with figures other than 'pear-shaped' are subjugated by the Journal, and condemned to live in self-loathing, shame and ignominy! I do hope not.... :-P }
And the answer to this week's quiz is:
It's Yew trees that are helping us to fight cancer. Docetaxel is from the needles of the European Yew, and paclitaxel is from the bark of the Pacific Yew.
'Yew clippings to make chemotherapy'
http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-help/about-cancer/cancer-questions/yew-clippings-to-make-chemotherapy
.
Inspired by this article. Date Started: 7/11/13 Date Completed: 8/11/13 Date First Published: 8/11/13
The basics of anonymity
Economists say there are three incentives to any man, woman or child: moral, social, and financial.
- A moral incentive is one that evokes judgements of how to transpire the most happy and/or suffering-free result for oneself or for a friend.
- A social incentive is one that evokes judgments of how to transpire the most socially convenient result for oneself, in consideration of the perceptions of others, and of consequent popularity.
- A financial incentive is one that evokes judgments of how to transpire the greatest material or financial wealth, for oneself.
When we are anonymous, social incentives evaporate away (much faster in some contexts than others) because we realise that we cannot be held accountable for our actions - associations might be made with a hastily-formulated profile, or a proxy IP address, or a pseudonym in a 'paper, but we can walk through a busy marketplace and nobody will be able to link our actions with ourself. [1]
The causation behind onymity (and therefore an-onymity) is one that works through social responsibility – effectively, peer pressure (a term that i replace with ‘peer affirmation’ for favourable behaviours, although it’s basically the same thing). [2]
The extremes of onymity
In an ideally liberal world, where all laws are just and moral, peer pressure always helps less-morally-advanced individuals to get their moral judgements right. When someone asks “what should i do?” the answer they get back is always the right one.
Peer affirmation. Always helps. Brilliant.
In an inideally conservative world, where laws are sloppily formulated and are frequently unjust and amoral, if not explicitly immoral (e.g. a blasphemy law), peer pressure always hinders less-morally-advanced individuals to get their moral judgements right. When someone asks “what should i do?” the answer they get back is a terribly bigoted one. [3]
Peer pressure. Always hurts. Awful.
So being identifiable and accountable to your peers is not an intrinsically moral thing – it merely exacerbates the prevalent culture of the time. If you exist in a moral culture, then your peers will pressure you to do a moral thing, and if you live in an immoral culture, then they will pressure you to do an immoral thing. [4]
Onymity and control
The social incentive, in the context of open surveillance e.g. CCTV (as opposed to covert surveillance e.g. NSA/GCHQ) works in an authoritarian way. The ‘rules’ are decided by the most powerful entity – be it a State, a Church, a Corporation, etc – and everyone just tows the metaphorical line, because they know they’ll get in trouble if they breach ‘the rules’.
This, of course, is not morality. Rules can be arbitrary, and morality cannot – morality is rooted in objective appreciations of experience.
But as we saw in our thought-experiments of idealised worlds, a truly moral rule-setter can act as a tool of pragmatism – clearing up situations until the entities involved understand what they did wrongly, and determine not to do so again. On the other hand, they can act as a tool to the selfish – crushing dissent, and inhibiting good-doers from making the changes that would be necessary to make the world more moral.
Whether this surveillance benefits or harms a society, depends on the pre-existing cultural infrastructure of that society.
When onymity is essential
States do not do malevolent things if the governments who occupy them have no interest in doing those things. And governments have no interest in doing those things when they are selected to represent electorates who have no interest in doing those things... unless the candidates can con their electorate.
This is all part of the culture of the country. Without openness - 'open government' - an MP can get away with exploiting their position for personal gain, that would otherwise anger their electorate, and lead to them forfeiting any ability to win a future election.
This alone is not enough to create a democratic eutopia, because for that to happen, the electorate would have to be infinitely wise - the sociological equivalent of capitalism's 'free market hypothesis'. "The economy is always right because it knows everything..." except it doesn't. In fact, in current culture, both the economy and the electorate know very little. All rein-holding parties are benefited by leaking as little information as possible.
The consequence is, at least as this quote says: "In a democracy, people get the government they deserve"
If people don't put extensive effort in to see through the propaganda, then they get their decisions wrong. But the fog is thick. This is not pragmatic democracy.
To get anywhere near the former scenario - the liberal ideal - we must not have anonymous power - we must have freedom of information - we must know what governments are thinking, discussing, and doing; we must know what corporations are thinking, discussing, and doing; we must know what cult leaders are thinking, discussing, and doing.
Knowing
their every move can be seen and interrogated, without them having any
ability to resist the truth getting out, makes people a lot more
cautious when thinking about what to do. This is generic sociology -
it applies to more than governments.
Bullies don't like to be found out. Teachers can be spiteful to classes, and sweeter than pie at Parents' Evening. Litter-bugs think twice if they know they're being watched. Industry representatives plead and paw for financial support to governments and councillors, then boast of their achievements to clients and shareholders. Trade mags boast of massive mark-ups, while consumer-targeted adverts claim low prices! Stationery disappears from offices if they think their colleagues won't notice. Would you do that in someone else's home?
The Media plays a massive role in informing us of these inconsistencies in behaviour. We can not be informed to any substantial extent, without them. But because they are usually sidetracked by profit, journalistic standards fall, and they become complicit in the deception - ignoring important information, and distracting us with cheap, shallow sensationalism.
It is the latter scenario - the conservative inideal - that libertarian conspiracy ‘theorists’ find easy to believe is already the case, because they pessimistically concentrate on the threats that anonymous powers might pose to one or more of their own behaviours, and ignore the benefits that might be afforded them.
In the USA, for example, libertarianism tends to align with gun-wielding, the anti-GM superstition, various conspiracy ‘theories’ such as alien visitation cover-up, the magical properties of hemp, and the Creationist Christian Bush Administration employing their sworn enemies - Islamic terrorists – to fly an aeroplane into one of their own landmarks, but then blow it up themselves anyway, along with another building just up the road, and part of the Pentagon that they were working in at the time, etc etc etc.
This kind of absurd rambling is typical of ‘conspiracy theorists’ because they lack the ability to trust entities that are much more powerful than themselves.
And so ensues a torrent of nonsense, in an attempt to demonise those entities, and justify the loathing of them. The anti-GM movement, too, has nothing to do with any real technique employed to genetically engineer crops – its root motivator is fear of the profit-motivated Monsanto.
But why have i permitted myself to ramble on about libertarianism, rather than anonymity?
Because libertarians fear scientific organisations as well as superstitious ones – they fear the honest, as well as the devious – whenever they are powerful.
It’s when the rule-makers are unaccountably powerful, that the fears of libertarians seem justified. If they seemed to earnestly enforce genuinely pro-social, moral precedents, then we wouldn’t need anonymity.
But we do need it. Precisely because they do not do so.
When anonymity is essential
Libertarianism is strong in the USA, where they waste $7 billion per year on the TSA (the people who grope travellers, at airports) and $12 billion per year on the NSA (the people who listen into your phone calls, just in case you say something interesting).
Federal, capitalist America is a land where little men have negligible power against the might of Monsanto/Coca-Cola/Exxon... a long list of wealthy organisations, with well-paid, well-fed, in-house legal teams.
They also have access to the more corrupt accountancies, who are willing to administrate attempts to evade the paying of tax (they being accountants, of course, know the legislature and all its loopholes) and also to manipulate governments (as has happened extensively in the UK) to manifest legislature that they and only they can understand (thereby creating their own niche world of corruption) with built-in loopholes for them to exploit on their clients’ behalves. [5]
These services, of course, are only accessibly to those who can afford to pay these firms for the privilege. Thousands go to the accountants who shame their profession as financial regulators, and millions... don’t go back to the Revenue, and the public coffers.
These rules are made through selfishness – not through quasi-moral pragmatism. I shall remind you of this sentence:
“a truly moral rule-setter can act as a tool of pragmatism... On the other hand, they can act as a tool to the selfish”
In my perception, we do not exist in a world grounded firmly into the conservative inideal. We have made progress, over the centuries and decades, toward the liberal ideal, but we are still nowhere near close enough to abandon our need for anonymity. We are hovering around the mid-ground.
In any war, it is the best-armed side that wins. The side with the greatest technological advancements holds a massive advantage against their foe. It is no different when that war is waged with words and pictures.
It is foolish to think that organisations whose profit-margins, for example, were threatened by criticism, would be willing to play on a level playing field:
Quacks are notoriously litigious because they know they cannot, and never have, won an argument about the efficacy of the claims they employ, in order to convince others to give them their money! The weaponry of a lawsuit is enough to scare many people away, especially if they are a less-than-rich blogger (for example, me), who exposes charlatans merely because they can, and feel they should, as part of a social responsibility to the quack’s potential victims.
The piss-as-a-cancer-cure centre, run by Stanislas Burzysnki, in Houston, has even gone as far as threatening a 17-year-old boy with the threat ‘we know where you live’. And i’m not exaggerating!
{Bad Pharma tends to be less litigious, because they know that legal cases make them look bad.}
The Oil Industry, with its Cold War outlook on the world’s economic and social state, seems to have no qualms about the deaths that occur on their behalf.
Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, and pretty much any company that deals in your personal information, seems to have no qualms about keeping that information on file, indefinitely. MPs are notorious for leaving documents on trains – but they’re not alone in losing documents that contain the personal details of millions of people.
Scarily, they also seem quite happy to sell your personal data to other organisations, that wish to use them to target advertising at you – to exploit your every weakness – to manipulate you into buying their product. The control over decisions about your life will be wrested from your hands, into those whose interests are their own – and not yours! I’d rather have my life run by a truly-independent computer algorithm, than a marketing department. [6]
And then there is the libertarian’s biggest nightmare – State surveillance. Big Brother is watching. They’re erratic and feckless, but they have the power to create records you don’t even know exist, list all of your friends who are already on other lists, and maybe even arrest you, if you make a mistake that you instantly regretted.We have not yet seen what might be done with this data, as the situation progresses, although it will probably run along familiar lines, but on a much larger scale.
We need Wikileaks. We need whistleblowers. We need genuine openness of government
Only then will we have moral accountability in these organisations – States that regulate Corporations – Medias that regulate States – and laws that truly enact justice, executed by legal eagles, without being bought by expensive, enthusiastic, legal vultures.
We need the Web – and we need the ability to be anonymous on it – because only there can criticism truly be free and open. Whenever an organisation condemns ‘trolls’ on the web – whether they’re a politician, or a priest, or a newspaper editor, they’re often fearing that freedom of criticism.
Let's face it - criticism on the Web is relentless. If you say anything wrong, someone can spot it. They can send you a hyperlink that proves you wrong, and leave you feeling embarrassed. That can’t happen in print, or in a face-to-face conversation, or even in some courts of law. And that’s scary to anyone who’s used to getting away with mistakes, or deceits.
This is why thunderf00t described the internet as a place “where religions come to die” – antitheism is strong on the Web because knowledge is easily accessed, and there’s nothing the religionists can do to prevent independents or each other from finding it, without separating themselves from the Web entirely.
Don’t let fear of trolls convince you that this freedom should be suspended. It is worth too much. How else would we know of Hamza Kashgari – the man who faced the death sentence for three utterly-inoffensive tweets that did no more than advocate basic humanitarian respect. Arrested and imprisoned in February 2012, he made his first tweet for two years, one week ago.
It’s not callous to say that on-line bullying is a lesser evil, because the evils that we (including those bullied) face without the anonymity of those who do us massive and personally-dangerous favours, are far greater threats. [7]
In the war against selfishness, corruption, and bullying in all its forms, the freedom that anonymity permits people, on the Web, is crucial.
There will, hopefully, be a time when we can afford to collectively dispose of our anonymity, but now is not that time. We should savour it, for those who use it wisely are doing us great favours.
And those of us who use it unwisely should certainly abandon it - bad habits are sore, and shed with difficulty.
---------------------------------------------------
Notes:
[1] Whistleblowers, who reveal the nefarious machinations of organisations they work in, act with very strong social and moral incentives - they wouldn’t do it if they weren’t thinking of responsibility to other people. ‘Internet trolls’ however – or even the corrupted management that runs the whistleblowers’ organisation – revel in anonymity, and exploit it for opposite purpose. Naming and shaming corporate oligarchs can actually be quite successful, because they value their reputation quite highly. Absolute anonymity is actually becoming harder to maintain, for whistleblowers, activists, and entrepreneurs alike, however, as information-hunters become more skilled at recognising patterns in behaviour and linking them to material individuals.
[2] Peer affirmation can help people lose health-threatening excess weight, stop smoking, or anything more minor – learn to dance/sing, go to a club, or trek across the Pyrenees. All of these things are much easier to do when we have a peer, holding our hand... metaphorically speaking, of course. But when our peers are trying to discourage us, rather than encourage us, that makes it much more difficult. Of course, the context of what would be done is the important thing – harmful things should be discouraged, i’m sure you’ll agree – and beneficial things encouraged. “If she doesn’t give me sex, i’m going to make her” [scornful glares, all around]. “I’m thinking of going for that job i’ve always wanted” [cries of “yeah – you go, girl!”].
[3] And, of course, the more morally advanced are hindered to get their decisions put into practice. Blasphemy laws are perfect examples of stupid laws that prohibit genuine leadership from taking place – they lead to the condemnation of anyone who might reveal the truth to anyone else, and scapegoat that person as the perpetrator of a nonsense crime. This is why totalitarian regimes, that seek ultimate power, lead to silenced populations – if anyone gripes about anything, wisdom might spread, and that could lead to the regime’s downfall. A socialistic regime, however, is benefitted by this openness, because without communication, no constructive behaviour can ensue – no collaboration can occur – and collaboration is the very essence of socialism. It’s such a shame that fascists have blurred so many people’s perceptions of socialism and communism into one. They couldn’t be much more different.
[4] Of course, in reality, culture is far more complex than this. Cultures are comprised of a multitude of opinions, attitudes, behaviours and beliefs, with memes clumping to each other, through association with the individuals that possess them. This means that a culture can transpire moral decisions of the highest order in one context, but fail monstrously in the next. Religious superstition is famously compartmentalised, in many so-called 'advanced' cultures, where otherwise-intelligent people claim affiliation, simply through received habit that they don't think about much. And then the truly enthusiastic superstitionists claim them as advocates, which is disappointing. The clumping of memes is known to Rationalists under the term 'authority fallacy' - if celebrity A thinks it's cruel to cull badgers, then celebrity A must also be right when they speak on another subject that the fan knows nothing about. Not necessarily so! Friends, too, will mimic each other in belief, as well as behaviour. In a strict, scientific sense, the Ocean Dilemma should be invoked, here (search for it on my blog) -- a person's actions are not necessarily determined by a particular belief they have - it might be a different and contradictory belief that they inherited from a peer, that caused their actions.
[5] There is a special report on the extent of this corruption in Private Eye issue number 1349, pages 19-22. You can see my upload of scans of the article, by following the link here: 'Private Eye’s report on corruption in Accountancy, from issue 1349'
[6] There is evidence that advertising really does manipulate people into making poorer choices. Unfortunately, this is a poorly studied area (at least, those who study it do not release the information i.e. corporate marketing departments). Here are two examples: advertising alcohol to children; and advertising pharmaceuticals to adults. The latter (a very strong study) found that Pharma's advertising was worryingly successful in persuading patients to request the company's inferior drugs. Scary stuff, indeed.
[7] In my opinion, this is a problem that should be resolved through improvements in parenting. We teach our children how to do everything else - why not how to stay safe on the Web? Any bullying should be quickly condemned and dealt with, but Rationalists are well aware that their intellectual foes are quick to hurl obscenities their way. The same has happened to me. Oh yes - i've had death threats! Fatuous ones, of course - they didn't bother me, because i knew they were just trying to crush dissent from their bigotry, but to a kid who doesn't know whether a threat's serious or not, that would be very scary! That knowledge is all-important. The knowledge that peers will protect them is also important - that is why all organisations must have an anti-bullying policy.
Hi trickers,
Apparently, it's Hallowe'en, around-and-about now, so here's some gratuitous pumpkin:
'Halloween Special - Exploding (or Self-Carving) Pumpkin'
http://youtu.be/aTEqpooVlPo
And cyriak's Hallowe'en costume:
'My halloween costume'
http://youtu.be/4poDtn73-h4
And here's your spooky quiz, for the week. Work out how this is done:
'Halloween Mystery - Ghost Flame!'
http://youtu.be/0WWjh9nHKvE
A film, coming in 2014:
'The LEGO movie'
http://micro.cibermitanios.com.ar/post/65708927583/the-lego-movie
...i mean, come on. It's in LEGO!!! :-D
'The Waitrose Effect (The Now Show 1st November 2013)' (my upload)
http://youtu.be/N4kdp3ddl4U
This year, there have been claims, presumably somehow determined by Waitrose themselves (oh yes - PR puff pieces are gullibly swallowed up by journalists) that the presence of a Waitrose increases house prices, and that the mere presence of a Waitrose is enough to cause rainbows and joy, and everything that's impossibly wonderful in the world!
Last year, Waitrose - a frightfully-posh supermarket in the UK - exercised a devious scheme twitter campaign to persaude people that it's OK if a supermarket destroys their high street... as long as it's a Waitrose.
The scheme campaign (is that really a more complimentary word?) failed, as it was hijacked by people making fun of Waitrose's poshness. I can't resist :o)
"I shop at Waitrose because..."
You say "Ten items or fewer" not "Ten items or less"
Because wine is arranged on the shelves by region rather than colour
It makes me feel important and I absolutely detest being surrounded by poor people
I simply can't turn my nose up far enough, in other stores. How am i supposed to know where i'm going?
I was once in the Holloway Road branch and heard a dad say "Put the papaya down, Orlando!"
I think food must automatically be better if it costs three times as much
My handmaid doesn't like touching Sainsbury's food. She feels it's beneath her
The toilet paper is made from 24ct gold thread
Darling, Harrods is just too much of a trek, mid-week!
My chauffeur won't park anywhere else
It's the best place for picking up my shipments of 17th century Epoisses cheese
It's nice to see someone else holding a riding crop, every now and again
I heard Pippa Middleton, Hugh Grant, and the Duchess of Buxton shop there
I have no intention of being served by some scruffy little oik, doing a 'summer job'
Their colour scheme matches my Range Rover
It's the only place where my kids' tantrums are classed as 'splendidly Montessori, darling'
If you buy a full tank of helicopter fuel, you get 10% off champagne. It is a recession, after all!
Tabitha and Tarquin will only eat correctly branded produce. I tried to push some of Booths' at them once. Never again!
My Mercedes fits perfectly into their car parking spaces
Jocasta simply won't eat any other supermarket's sun-ripened guava
------------------------------------------------------ contemporary stuff
'Mitch Benn - Cat Wee Laptops (The Now Show 1st November 2013)' (my upload)
http://youtu.be/KP-weWcFnQ0
'Cyclic Numbers - Numberphile'
I noticed the sevenths thing yonks ago. It certainly makes mental arithmetic easier, when you have those kinds of shortcuts ;-)
http://youtu.be/WUlaUalgxqI
'Morphing face becomes invisible'
It gets harder to see the faces morph when the background's flashing
http://youtu.be/-wKGabXTvHI
'Face flipping reveals odd features'
http://youtu.be/PiEUeTXHk0M
'Amazing Secret Monitor! (How To)'
http://youtu.be/zL_HAmWQTgA
'Origami Dragon'
http://youtu.be/pS_2tPGwLJk
{I feel compelled to remind you that, despite what you might have seen in films... tapejaras never flew with dragons. Dragons, you see, lived at a completely different time in history... :-P }
'Flying sphere exploits collisions to move around'
A robot that can get home while drunk has, at last, been invented. Futurama, here we come :-D
http://youtu.be/g4Phzzc8wh0
'Pi and Four Fingers - Numberphile'
If you're wondering why Simon Singh's on Numberphile, talking about The Simpsons -- he's got a book out about Maths in The Simpsons. So wonder about that, instead :-P
http://youtu.be/K305Vu7hFg0
'The Witness' - Richard Wiseman
http://youtu.be/j3iCBPU_ZP0
'Loving this illusion ad' via Richard Wiseman
http://richardwiseman.wordpress.com/2013/10/30/loving-this-illusion-ad/
{There's more 3D street art, in the non-contemporary section}
'Can you find the cookie monster?'
http://richardwiseman.wordpress.com/2013/10/31/can-you-find-the-cookie-monster/
{Pareidolia, still making me chuckle :) }
'Huge Building Explosion at 2500fps - The Slow Mo Guys' Via cibertimanios
http://youtu.be/bTUu4ZLtDSs
'How to make a paper aeroplane fly forever'
http://micro.cibermitanios.com.ar/post/65656782668/vuelo-infinito-de-avion-de-papel
'The Great CVS Duck Invasion'
http://www.ripleys.com/weird/daily-dose-of-weird-wtf-blog/crazy-animals/the-great-cvs-duck-invasion/
'The Incredible Pumpkin Creations of Villafane Studios' via Ripley's
“The Largest Display of Pickled Pumpkin Sculptures Ever Produced!”
http://tapejarascience.tumblr.com/post/65883201072/the-incredible-pumpkin-creations-of-villafane
'Paris 2013 Saturday Hot Shot Djokovic, Federer'
An epic point!
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Media/Video-Landing/*/Tennis/Media/Videos/Uploaded/2013/11/2/Paris-2013-Saturday-Hot-Shot-Djokovic.aspx
------------------------------------------------------ of the weeks
Word Of The Week: vexatious -- tending to cause frustration or annoyance
Etymology Of The Week: velcro -- from french - velour (velvet) and crochet (hook) - the company that patented it insists that "velcro" is purely a registered trademark, and that misusing it in place of the generic name - "hook and loop fastener" - is an atrocity of abuse!
Capitalist Absurdity Of The Week: 100% - the proportion of punctuality targets missed by Network Rail, last year. 160% - the proportion of salary NR bosses will receive (including 60% annual bonus), despite not achieving any of their punctuality targets
Quote Of The Week: "Why should anyone bother to study at least a little logic? To sharpen the mind in a world saturated by streams of propaganda and advertising. To know when a pitchman is conning you, when some "expert" or pundit is propounding a dubious doctrine, when someone is making an apocryphal claim about miracles or divinity or the afterlife. To chasten one's own thinking, to develop an appreciation for tenable arguments and a respect for good reasoning. To become more adept at solving problems, whether they're encountered in business, science, politics, or the law." - Philosophical Society
Fact Of The Week: There is no connection between sugar consumption and hyperactivity. Not even in children. Also, the link between colourants and preservatives and hyperactivity is tenuous, and seen only in some people. Known causes of hyperactivity are genetics, brain damage while in the womb (from maternal alcohol, nicotine and hydrocarbon exposure) and sleep deprivation.
Acronym Of The Week: David Mitchell -- camel hid TV lid
------------------------------------------------------ non-contemporary stuff
I think someone's finally beaten Kryten's ambivalence face for comic value :-D
http://en.reddit.com/r/InterestingGifs/comments/1p5l5n/uh_yeah_man_whats_up/
'Psychiatric counsellor - Red Dwarf'
http://youtu.be/poMWgGC82bw
'The origin of creatures'
Judging by the thumbnail, i thought this would be a cyriak production. But it is not.
http://micro.cibermitanios.com.ar/post/65389807711/el-origen-de-las-criaturas
'Droplet Collisions at 5000fps - The Slow Mo Guys'
http://youtu.be/cNI-LIVs-to
3D Street Artwork
http://streets-united.com/blog/how-is-3d-street-artwork-done/
The hovering cube illusion:
http://tapejarascience.tumblr.com/post/65883196914/fine-gifs-another-illusion-via-cibertimanios
'Hope'
Look - the light at the end of the tunnel! :-D
http://micro.cibermitanios.com.ar/post/65727277834/esperanza
Pulling 'an Ariel' with a beard:
http://im9.eu/picture/pics-my-so-pulling-an-ariel-with-his-beard
Having discovered Private Eye's tumblr column, i've decided some of the cartoons really need posting :-D
'One from the archives, a cartoon by Kevin Woodcock, from the 1970s'
http://tapejarascience.tumblr.com/post/65772928664/privateeyenews-one-from-the-archives-a-cartoon
'Twerking Men's Club'
http://privateeyenews.tumblr.com/post/60443648629/from-eye-1348-by-robert-thompson
'Our tap's been phoned'
http://privateeyenews.tumblr.com/post/61662613692/cartoon-by-neil-bennett-from-the-1980s
'Earl Wonga = John Humphrys'
http://privateeyenews.tumblr.com/post/51795854155/sir-i-knew-that-nicholas-parsons-had-sold-his
You can see more funniness in Private Eye cartoons, in this video:
'Private Eye: A Cartoon History with Ian Hislop and Nick Newman'
http://youtu.be/z51iMZen-jg
The real dry cleaners' that inspired the 'touching cloth' sketch!
'Touching Cloth - Brick Lane'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/xtinalamb/410694994/
'That Mitchell and Webb Look S01E04 P03'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_5yXkZKQA0&feature=youtu.be&t=3m10s
'Captain Todger: General Drayfox'
http://youtu.be/NZOmH3SsyKc
'DVD Easter Egg: Beating Boredom With CrossWords'
http://youtu.be/UHkX5NB94cM
'Spraying David With Gunge'
http://youtu.be/DsDO1ujvBgY
'David and Robert's Wigs'
http://youtu.be/vz83ci1heI0.
