tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9111303718232102418.post5712046127301360851..comments2024-03-28T03:15:43.015-04:00Comments on Spasms of Accommodation: Smart-blindBeachtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13792937145012547220noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9111303718232102418.post-70081014280618195252011-01-13T21:29:27.932-05:002011-01-13T21:29:27.932-05:00"Why would you take instruction from somebody..."Why would you take instruction from somebody you didn’t think was smarter than you?!"<br /><br />Good point, but they need not be smart to give us instructions. Even a fool can teach us something about life... Like how not to be one.<br /><br />Exposing children to scientists, like you say, may be a be the best way to get around this problem. A life without aspirations or good role models (even if it's just from TV) is fairly meaningless IMO. And I think we're starting to confuse "intelligence" with "wisdom". While we can be smart, that doesn't necessarily mean we'll be wise enough to know we still don't know jack... despite the degree. A smart role model early on can do just that and help us earn a sense of humility that keeps open to new knowledge.<br /><br />Of course that means the current masses would still be the equivalent of a cluster of degree-holding jellyfish. Aimlessly floating, consuming and deficating with the currents of pop culture.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9111303718232102418.post-14622627405833929122011-01-11T12:13:07.031-05:002011-01-11T12:13:07.031-05:00Never underestimate the stupidity of people! One o...Never underestimate the stupidity of people! One of my many life mottos.I'm So Fancyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11186039627894811361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9111303718232102418.post-17238374887999925882010-10-23T13:33:37.157-04:002010-10-23T13:33:37.157-04:00Wow, that smiley face attempt just sucked! :-)Wow, that smiley face attempt just sucked! :-)The Defiant Marshmallowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17679459676978114160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9111303718232102418.post-85786226306999177792010-10-23T13:32:39.976-04:002010-10-23T13:32:39.976-04:00I found my way here via a tweet from Phil Plait, a...I found my way here via a tweet from Phil Plait, and am so glad I did. Brilliant post, Barbara! I want to hug it. :-)<br /><br />Glenn M.<br />Lititz, PA<br /><br />Twitter: @GlennMcQThe Defiant Marshmallowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17679459676978114160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9111303718232102418.post-4237531646242168742010-10-23T12:46:44.801-04:002010-10-23T12:46:44.801-04:00@Rob Carr The YouTube link is in the text now. I p...@Rob Carr The YouTube link is in the text now. I put that video on Vimeo too, where I put a lot more of my stuff. http://vimeo.com/9410195 It has about 60,000 views. So I'm over 2 million all together. My math is off for the parrot video comparison as I was thinking 1 million views compared to 14 million.<br /><br />The original post about the sonic boom/sky ripple/refraction phenomenon is this one back in February. http://www.spasmsofaccommodation.com/2010/02/sonic-boom-meets-sun-dog.html That's how I got to be friends with Phil Plait -- trying to figure out what the hell that was. Neither one of us was up to it, by the way. I collected opinions from 3 PhDs I know, but it was a weather expert commenting on a link to my video on a weather website that clued me in that the difference in index of refraction of two air masses at a cirrus cloud interface is large enough to create that effect.Beachtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13792937145012547220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9111303718232102418.post-74616361699242061272010-10-23T12:35:58.051-04:002010-10-23T12:35:58.051-04:00Come to think of it, why are you favourably quotin...Come to think of it, why are you favourably quoting Bill Hicks in this context? He was (although, again, a truly gifted comedian,) a conspiracy enthusiast who arrogantly clung to personal incredulity in the face of expert consensus. "Back and to the left...?" Honestly.Evan Harperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17060685312972092478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9111303718232102418.post-76951992035184797012010-10-23T12:32:45.633-04:002010-10-23T12:32:45.633-04:00@Brian
Bill Hicks was a funny guy sometimes, but ...@Brian<br /><br />Bill Hicks was a funny guy sometimes, but he was also an ignorant asshole sometimes. Low-wage service jobs are not some kind of deserved punishment for the stupid and lazy. (This is particularly true for women, and even moreso for American women, for reasons that ought to be obvious.)<br /><br />Also, the OP addressed people who were literate and, after a fashion, well-read. The disengaged and apathetic are not found among the ranks of conspiracy nuts.Evan Harperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17060685312972092478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9111303718232102418.post-53481905959073918452010-10-23T12:27:50.937-04:002010-10-23T12:27:50.937-04:00For the record, a dancing parrot video lead to res...For the record, a dancing parrot video lead to research showing the parrot has a sense of rhythm (unlike cats and dogs). This relates to research on the vocal and communication abilities of parrots, why they evolved and what it can tell us about humans and language.<br /><br />(Yes, I'm a fan of Dr. Pepperberg and the late Alex, and I've got two companion African grey parrots. I'll cop to some bias, but it's a scientifically-based bias.)<br /><br />So don't complain about the dancing parrot video. It's science-worthy, just like the rocket video.<br /><br />PS: Can you post a link to the rocket video?Rob Carrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00406341000633606756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9111303718232102418.post-41793993001663861342010-10-22T22:13:11.236-04:002010-10-22T22:13:11.236-04:00I was thinking of the Star Trek one. It did sound ...I was thinking of the Star Trek one. It did sound baby doc-ish when I re-read it. I should have looked it up! It was Mr. Spock and Dr. McCoy! Derr. He wasn't even Dr. Spock in 2009, he was Ambassador Spock and Spock Prime. Kinda like that one. I'm gonna start calling my mama Barbara Prime.Beachtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13792937145012547220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9111303718232102418.post-35660162154314517372010-10-22T21:48:24.078-04:002010-10-22T21:48:24.078-04:00Did Dr. Spock (the baby doc) have a TV show, or ar...Did Dr. Spock (the baby doc) have a TV show, or are you thinking of Mr. Spock from Star Trek? Mr. Spock is the one who usually used the "Fascinating" line.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07006322790320961016noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9111303718232102418.post-32718610969207824232010-10-22T17:07:30.039-04:002010-10-22T17:07:30.039-04:00See, that's why smart-blind people believe the...See, that's why smart-blind people believe the lies they hear on TV but don't believe us scientists! We know that there are things we don't know and we hedge. The more a reporter tries to pin down a scientist in a press conference the more he qualifies his statements. That NEVER happens with somebody who actually doesn't know what he doesn't know.<br /><br />Maybe it would be easier to train scientists to lie about what they don't know and apologize when their secretly predicted worst-case scenario happens after all than to train smart-blind people to accept, "Yes. Well, maybe. It's highly probable, but if this happens there is a chance it won't," as an answer to a Yes/No question.<br /><br />I think you did the right thing to call it Jupiter with no hesitation though, Phil. It's not like the Norwegian spiral light thing that took some research. <br /><br />To me the story wasn't really what the thing was, but just the way the woman ACTED about it. I'm considering changing my hair color.Beachtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13792937145012547220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9111303718232102418.post-83673589443794348122010-10-22T16:38:43.021-04:002010-10-22T16:38:43.021-04:00Heh. Nice post. Thanks for the kudos, but y'kn...Heh. Nice post. Thanks for the kudos, but y'know, I *could* be wrong when I say something is Jupiter. <br /><br />I wasn't in this case, and I know Jupiter when I see it, and it matches the software I used to map the moons, and I know cameras can zoom in on Jupiter well enough to see the moons, and I know Jupiter was visible and up in NYC when the video was shot, and I've observed Jupiter probably upwards of a thousand times using binoculars and telescopes ranging from a department store piece of junk up to one-meter class professional observatories and written tens of thousands of words about it.<br /><br />But it's *possible* some random UFO believer on the internet knows more about it than I do.Phil Plait, The Bad Astronomerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10139376979625076530noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9111303718232102418.post-568878930929114342010-10-22T14:57:09.738-04:002010-10-22T14:57:09.738-04:00"Smart-Blind" is not a new phenomena, bu..."Smart-Blind" is not a new phenomena, but rather one in which we are bombarded with now. We can give thanks to our "Social Media", which is obviously saturated with the "S-B". Before the infrastructure was laid out for the "S-B" to choke out with their brain farts, these people were primarily considered "crazies" on the transit bus of our lives. Always talking nonsense out loud to themselves until someone accidentally tried to answer a question. Or they were that neighbor who you always seemed to surprise you by not running themselves over with their lawnmower. Anyway, if they were reading a book or paying attention in class, they would not have time to blather nonsense. Nonsense that makes "US" angry. They would realize that they are just angry because they themselves do not know or understand something. The phrase "Well, this/that is news to me." is no longer a statement paired with epiphany, but rather synonymous with stupidity. ie: Fox is news to me.<br /><br />Phew, I guess I am a little angry too. But is it because i am smart enough to be frustrated with the "Smart-Blind Blow-Hards" or to dumb to understand.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09639309459445922124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9111303718232102418.post-10995529549844783342010-10-22T11:25:28.982-04:002010-10-22T11:25:28.982-04:00Great post! These are the kind of stories, though,...Great post! These are the kind of stories, though, that put me in a despair for the future of our civilization. I can only hope it's a small scale problem, though, and that enough smart people will be able to keep pushing us forward.<br /><br />I'll close with a Bill Hicks line...<br /><br />"A dimwitted waffle house waitress came up to my table, saw me reading a book, and asked, <br />"What are you reading for?" Not "what are you reading?", but "what are you reading for?"<br /><br />"Well, I read for a lot of reasons, but one of them is so I don't end up a fucking waffle waitress."<br /><br />Bill HicksBrianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13747055386430398635noreply@blogger.com