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PARADIGM SHIFT

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Your Deceptive Mind: A Scientific Guide to Critical Thinking Skills

Recorded by: Professor Steven Novella

Produced by: The Great Courses

STEVEN NOVELLA (AMERICAN CLINICAL NEUROLOGIST, ASST. PROFESSOR AT YALE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE)

“Your Deceptive Mind” offers lessons for two paradigm shifts occurring in America today. One is gun control; the other is sex discrimination. Professor Steven Novella’s lessons apply to other important issues, but none seem to have the same political momentum for change.

Novella begins by inferring we all deceive ourselves. Novella explains it is caused by the nature of human consciousness. Novella argues that human brains are designed to make coherent sense of remembered experience; not to necessarily recount accurate details of events. We often add facts and change details to improve coherence of our memories.

Memory does not work like a film clip. It is not caste on celluloid that can be replayed as a memory. Memory is re-invented by reconstruction of facts to fit a story that makes sense to the person who remembers.

AR-15 (Type of semi-automatic rifle used in Florida High School shooting.)

As of April 15, 2021 there have been 148 people murdered and 485 injured in mass shootings. The most recent is at the Indianapolis FedEx facility that killed eight people. One is reminded of William Butler Yeats:

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

The 17-people murdered in a Florida high school in 2018 raises the issue of gun control in America one more time. Americans see this incident from three views. One, from the perspective of people who heard it on the news; two from the perspective of people who responded to the event; and three from the perspective of victims. Based on Novella’s assessment of critical thinking, all three views distort reality.

The 17-people murdered in a Florida high school 2018 raised the issue of gun control in America one more time.

JOHN F. KENNEDY ASSASSINATION – Memory does not work like a film clip. It is not caste on celluloid that can be replayed as a memory. Memory is re-invented by reconstruction of facts to fit a story that makes sense to the person who remembers.

Novella tells a story of a woman accompanying the John F. Kennedy trip to Dallas, Texas. Soon after Kennedy’s death, she explains that she did not see anything that happened. As the years pass, she recalls seeing smoke from a grassy knoll near the shooting. Novella explains that each time she tells the story more details are revealed. No evidence is ever found to suggest a shot is fired from anywhere but the Dallas, Texas book-depository. What she is doing is creating facts to improve the coherence of a memory.

Facts of Florida’s murders and other gun-related incidents are remembered differently. All who heard of, responded to, or are victimized by guns tell different stories. There is no singular consensus on what caused it to happen, who is responsible, or what can be done. Facts seem not to matter. In Florida, seventeen human beings are dead. One person killed them. One automatic weapon is used by a troubled high school student who used a gun designed ONLY to kill people.

Victims of the school shooting ask why America cannot protect their children. A flood of responses is given but each person at the school is influenced by a subjective recollection of events. In many cases, facts are ignored because they do not fit the narrative of the person telling his/her story. It has little to do with facts; i.e. except as those facts fit the re-created memory of a horrific event. Like the woman seeing smoke coming from a grassy knoll, some facts just fit a reconstructed story; not the truth.

Critical thinking skills mean addressing facts, using those facts to create a constructive analysis, a plan of action, and implementation. Seventeen people are dead in Florida from one shooter. They are dead at the hand of a troubled teen. The weapon used is only designed to kill people. Everything else is irrelevant. Those are the facts. That is the truth. What is needed now is constructive analysis, a plan of action, and implementation.

As far back as the oldest laws of government written by a Sumerian King in 2,050 BC, women have been singled out with human rights’ violations.

The same can be said of sex discrimination. An example is the King’s law that particularly applies to women who speak insolently. They are to have their mouths scoured with salt; i.e. a law applying only to women slaves. Of course, the law begs the question of why women are slaves.

Novella’s argument that every memory is a subjective recollection may mean testimony of women who are abused and/or discriminated against are misreading the facts of their recollection. However, many facts are independent of recollection.

There is overwhelming evidence; i.e. fact-based films, recordings, physical examination records, and statistical studies that show women are abused and discriminated against all over the world. Those are the facts. That is the truth. What is needed is constructive analysis, a plan of action, and implementation.

Gun control and women’s rights: Has America reached the tipping point for acting on critical thinking? Have we finally reached the threshold for a paradigm shift in gun control and women’s rights? Doubtful.

WHEN CIVILIZATIONS COLLIDE

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Things Fall Apart

By Chinua Achebe

Narrated by Peter Francis James

NIGERIAN NOVELIST, POET, AND CRITIC (1930-2013)

Chinua Achebe explains what happens when civilizations collide in “Things Fall Apart”. Achebe lived a life that reinforces hope. He was born in Nigeria but educated in English at the University of Ibadan, the oldest university in Nigeria (founded in 1948). Achebe wrote “Things Fall Apart” in the 1950s (published in 1958). It sold more than 12 million copies and was translated into more than 50 languages. Sadly, Achebe died on March 21, 2013.

african society — Two thirds of “Things Fall Apart” explains life in an African village that is untouched by a white man’s world or any civilization outside of its clan and their related communities.

Without knowing Achebe’s background, a first reading of “Things Fall Apart” begins in confusion but as the story progresses its meaning becomes clear. The listener is being offered an understanding of a 1950s African village’s culture.

V0016256 An African shaman or medicine man dressed in ritual mask and

AFRICAN SHAMAN: This clan’s insular existence creates an independent patriarchal culture that believes in many gods, supernatural forces, and rigid rules for life. Being a man means following rules of the culture. Any transgression is considered womanly, a cultural euphemism for cowardice.

Women are respected but only within the context of their duty as the source of tribal growth. Women have restricted roles in this society as maternal caregivers. In all respects women become property of men. They may be beaten and treated with near impunity. Boys are raised to be tough, outwardly unemotional, and obedient. They are expected to revere and emulate their fathers. Wrestling prowess is a measure of male respect in the tribe. Farming productivity and honor of tribal tradition are measures of value to the tribe.

War among the villages is rare because negotiated peace and village interdependence make war too wasteful. Violation of communal laws can be mortal offenses. A story is told of a father murdering his adopted son because he is told it is necessary to please the Clan’s gods. Though this murder troubled the adoptive father, he accepts the Clan’s admonition and rationalizes his grief by knowing he has other sons.

OLDEST HUMAN SACRIFICE DISCOVERED IN CENTRAL AFRICA (A negotiated peace between clans may mean the sacrifice of children to nearby tribes for transgressions of communal laws but overt war between tribes of the same clan is rare.

The most serious consequence to a violator of Clan’ law is banishment from the community. Banishment can be either permanent or for a number of years, depending upon the gravity of the violation. Murder out of anger means permanent banishment. Murder by accident means 7 years banishment.

Achebe explains women having twins are ordered to kill them at birth because twins are unnatural and a curse of the gods. One woman has twins three times; all are murdered.

1950S JEEP (Achebe explains the fear that causes natives of one tribe to murder a white missionary and tie his iron horse to a tree.)

As Achebe explains these local customs, he describes how an intruding civilization is introduced to his village. The intruders are Christian missionaries. The first intruder is a white man riding an iron horse. This is the first white man who native villagers have ever seen. The engendered fear causes natives of one of the tribes to murder the white man and tie his iron horse to a tree. The murder is revenged by returning outsiders that destroy the population of the village. Neighboring villages hear of the massacre. They choose to respond to the next intruder more circumspectly.

New intruders come with plans to build a church on tribal property. They ask for permission and tribal leaders meet to discuss the request. The decision of the tribal leaders is to offer land in the worst part of the village; i.e. land that is used to bury evil shamans, tribal criminals, and diseased bodies. The tribal leaders believe the Christians will die from their location in this forbidden human and mystical dumping ground.

The irony of the tribal leader’s decision is that it strengthens the Christian movement. The Christians do not die and the church begins to attract tribal followers that begin to believe Christian’ beliefs are stronger than Shaman’ beliefs. The woman who had been told to kill her twins joins the church.

One culture is replaced by another culture; first with small steps, and then with generational leaps. The good and bad of one culture is replaced by the good and bad of another. One guardedly hopes cultural change moves humanity toward a better life; not just cosmetic change.

Over many generations, some tribal members have become outcasts from the tribe. Their outcast position draws them to the Christian movement because they wish to become part of a community again. Some women turn to Christianity because it offers a refuge from the violence of their husbands. Some sons turn to Christianity because it offers escape from the iron rule of their fathers and the tribes’ cultural laws.

Donald Trump is a rule breaker, a main stream outsider.

From the perspective of any individuated culture “Things Fall Apart” when change comes from the outside. Has Trump changed America into two tribes–one Republican and another Democrat?

THE PRICE OF OBSESSION

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

The Kid

Written by: Ben Bradlee, Jr.

Narration by: Dave Mallow

BEN BRADLEE, JR. (AUTHOR, WRITER-EDITOR FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE)

Nearly two-thirds of “The Kid” is about Ted Williams as an extraordinary ballplayer, fisherman, and sports spokesman; the remaining third details Williams’ failure as a husband and father. Ted Williams marries three times, and divorces three times; he philanders as a husband, and ignores the early lives of his three children; i.e. the first from wife number one; the two others from wife number three.

Ben Bradlee, Jr. pulls no punches in recounting parts of Williams’ life that Ted Williams would possibly regret; that is, if the psychological picture painted by Bradlee is correct. After finishing Bradlee’s book, one believes Williams would lament mistakes made in his family life. Williams’ drive for perfection and fragile self-confidence left little time for a wife’s needs, or a child’s parenting.

The price of Williams’ obsession for “being the best” is three divorces, an older daughter that rebels against convention, a son that feels entitled, and a daughter who idolizes, fears, and desires her father’s attention. All of Williams’ wives are beautiful but a handsome husband with a beautiful wife is shown by Bradlee’s story to be a small part of a happy marriage. Bradlee suggests infidelity, anger, and single-minded focus destined Ted Williams for divorce.

TED WILLIAMS & LOUIS KAUFMAN (MS. KAUFMAN DIED 1993)

Williams seems only able to maintain a relationship with a woman who tolerates his imperfections; not as a sycophant, but as an ally; i.e. a woman who complements his strengths and accepts his weaknesses. Only one woman, whom he does not marry, fulfills that description; i.e. his lifelong admirer, Louise Kaufman.

Bradlee exposes raw facts about Williams’ children. His oldest child, Bobby-Jo, is committed to a psychiatric ward for mental instability, is released, gets married, philanders, becomes an alcoholic, has two children, divorces, and is disowned by Williams.

BOBBY-JO WILLIAMS FERRELL AND HUSBAND MARK (TED WILLIAMS DAUGHTER FROM HIS FIRST MARRIAGE)

BOBBY-JO WILLIAMS FERRELL AND THEN HUSBAND MARK IN 2002. (As his first child, Bobby Jo, flirts with insanity, Williams provides financial support but very little personal attention. At the end of his life, Williams removes Bobby Jo from his will, except for a $200,000 life insurance annuity. )

Williams only boy, John-Henry, is characterized as a thief that steals his mother’s paintings, borrows money against Ted Williams’ name (without his knowledge), fails to pay it back, and lies about it. John-Henry trades on his father’s reputation as though he is entitled.

Bradlee tells a story of John-Henry’s selling Ted Williams’ signed memorabilia and then brag about his ability to forge his father’s name. Claudia, John-Henry’s sister, refuses to believe John-Henry forges their father’s signature. She chooses to make her own way in life by living abroad, learning French and German, and establishing her own identity without the influence of her father’s reputation.

CLAUDIA WILLIAMS (WROTE A MEMOIR-MY FATHER-ABOUT TED WILLIAMS)

Late in Williams’ life, Bradlee shows Williams expresses love for John-Henry and Claudia but, in the progress of their maturity, they assert their independence either in self-interested affection or rebellion. Fatherly influence in his children’s early life seems limited. William’s way of living life and his acquired wealth seem his most pronounced paternal influences.

Bradlee infers Williams had little time for his children until retired from baseball. Even then, professional fishing took the place of fatherhood; at least, until much later in Williams’ life. As an example of William’s love for his children, Bradlee notes Williams proudly attends a college graduation ceremony for his son and sheds prideful tears for John-Henry’s accomplishment. Later, it becomes known that John-Henry did not really graduate. He is 3 credits short; e.g. one of several deceptions by John-Henry that are forgiven or discounted by Williams.

Bradlee savages John-Henry’s reputation by inferring that, though he loves his father, he reeks of dishonesty, feels entitled by paternity, and tarnishes Ted Williams’ fame and name.

Bradlee’s biography of Ted Williams ends sadly with the picture of a ravaged legend that appears to have sacrificed too much to become the greatest hitter in baseball. Bradlee shows Ted Williams as a towering sports figure but a tiny, unimpressive husband and father.

OTHER WORLDS

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Beyond: Our Future in Space

Written by: Chris Impey

Narration by: Julie McKay

CHRIS IMPEY (BRITISH ASTRONOMER, EDUCATOR, AND AUTHOR)

After listening to Chris David Impey’s book, “Beyond: Our Future in Space”, traveling to other worlds seems distant and unachievable. Impey cleverly begins his story about space travel as though the first human to permanently leave earth is born in the 21^st century. That novelistic beginning is revisited twice, but the true subject of “Beyond: Our Future in Space” is the physics, astronomy, and observational cosmology of the present day.

One presumes Impey’s purpose is to encourage the possibility of reaching the stars but, by the end of the audiobook, little optimism is left to the listener. The daunting task of overcoming gravity, surviving an inhospitable environment, and leaving the only home humans have ever known, warrants some pessimism. Some minor relief from pessimism is offered with world history’s comparison of human migration across the continents. Impey implies history’s adventurers on earth have something in common with adventurers in space.

SPACE SHIP EARTH FROM THE MOON — One presumes Impey’s purpose is to encourage the possibility of reaching the stars but, by the end of the audio book, little optimism is left to the listener.

The literal common characteristic of adventurers is a gene called DRD4. Impey suggests DRD4 alleles have evolved in 39 population groups that have historically migrated over long distances. These population cohorts are loosely classified as risk takers but, with a 7R variant of this gene, they have a higher incidence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and addictive behavior. This observation seems unlikely to inspire confidence in “…Our Future in Space.”

The next difficulty of space exploration noted by Impey is escaping gravity. Current science shows fuel propellant is 80% of the weight of a rocket launch. Without a more efficient source of propulsion, sending thousands of people on earth to another planet is a pipe dream. Escape Velocity Impey notes that science is exploring alternatives like sail power, nuclear fission, radiation collection systems, and the physics of teleportation, via spooky action at a distance, but the evidence of success is either solely theoretical or miniscule.

Political will for space exploration has dwindled since the 1960s. American government financing has dropped from nearly 4.5% to well below 1% of the Federal Budget.

Elon Musk's Space Exploration (Launching a Tesla into space.) — Elon Musk’s Space Exploration (Launching a Tesla into space.)

NASA has nearly been dismantled. Most research and development is being done by one-off entrepreneurs like Elon Musk, Burt Rutan, and Robert Bigelow. Part of the reason for the loss of political support is its cost. Current science shows it costs more than $1,000 per kilogram for human and/or cargo delivery to the space station.

It is encouraging that reusable launch vehicles have potential for reducing that cost but space tourism seems a long way off. Until humans experience space flight, it seems unlikely a Columbus or Matt Damon is waiting in the wings to set sail for Mars.

Elon Musk's Successful Return of Rockets Launched into Space — Elon Musk’s Successful Return of Rockets Launched into Space. It is encouraging that reusable launch vehicles have potential for reducing that cost but space tourism seems a long way off.

Impey makes the case for habitable planets in the cosmos based on current robotic, radio signal, and telescope explorations. He argues there is growing evidence of many planets orbiting stars outside earth’s solar system. From year 2000, the number of exoplanets (those orbiting stars) increased by more than 775 planets.

CURIOSITY-Impey makes the case for habitable planets in the cosmos based on current robotic, radio signal, and telescope explorations.

Impey goes on to explain space voyage and exoplanet living’s physiological effect on any human that chooses to leave earth. There is the detrimental effect of radiation, extreme temperature, lack of water, lack of oxygen, and reduced gravity. All of these space voyage and planetary differences discourage optimism about “…Our Future in Space”.

SPACE WALK — Quote from astronaut Andrew Feustel– “I don’t think we’ve solved the radiation problem yet and that’s really a function of how fast we can get there. So the faster we can there, the less radiation exposure we have. At the moment it would take a year but we need it to be three months there and three months back.”

However, Impey soldiers on. He revisits the novelistic idea of the first space explorers by noting extensive sociological training, refinement of suspended animation, and psychological profiling to create ideal space voyager teams. Impey notes that several animals have been put in a state of suspended animation and revived; i.e. implying that humans could be put in the same state of suspension for long space voyages.

NANO-ROBOTICS SPACE EXPLORATION As a fall back to the difficulty of human space travel, Impey suggests an alternative to human exploration of exoplanets. He writes about advances in nanorobotics; i.e. miniscule components that can function as human substitutes for exploration of exoplanets.

As a fall back, Impey suggests an alternative to human exploration of exoplanets. He writes about advances in nanorobotics; i.e. miniscule components that can function as human substitutes for exploration of exoplanets. The reduced size of nanorobotics decreases payload weights and increase the speed and distance that can be traveled for space exploration. This still leaves propulsion for great distances an issue but it mitigates human risk. The presumption is, with more information about exoplanets, political will for space exploration will increase. With better funding, the science to support human beings “…Future in Space” will be expanded.

RAY KURZWEIL (AUTHOR,SCIENTIST,INVENTOR,DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING AT GOOGLE)

Finally, Impey touches on Kurzweil’s singularity and the advance of Artificial Intelligence, where computers equal and/or exceed the capabilities of human beings. In Kurzweil’s world, either AI will explore other planets on its own, and/or AI will meld into the human race to mitigate all the negative consequences of space travel.

Who would have thought that human beings would set sail for a new world when many thought sailing from land meant you would fall off the edge of earth? Maybe that is where space exploration is today. Impey’s fictional character arrives at an exoplanet with her team at the end of “Beyond: Our Future in Space”. Now that is optimism.

CREATIVE ADULT

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Words without Music: A Memoir

Written by: Philip Glass

Narration by: Lloyd James

“Words without Music” is a memoir of Philip Glass’s transformation to creative adult. This is a journey taken by every child–with greater and lesser degrees of actualized creativity.

Glass explains how love by others transforms his life and why self-actualization is the fountain of creativity. This is certainly not a new revelation. Socrates, through the words of Plato, characterizes self-actualization in the dictum of “know thy self”. Self-actualization is explained as the penultimate goal of life by Abraham Maslow.

Glass recounts his childhood with a description of his ex-Marine father, and school teacher mother. Glass’s father is a small business entrepreneur who raises his children in a rough New York neighborhood. Strength, determination, and adventurousness come from Glass’s father.

Glass explains how his father feared little in a neighborhood of gangs; while managing his record business with an iron hand. Glass learns how to overcome fear in working in his father’s record shop and taking the proceeds of the day to the bank at the end of the day. Glass sees himself, as though in a mirror, when he chooses not to tell his father of a customer’s theft of a record. Glass knows his father will act reflexively by over-zealously punishing the thief.

Glass describes the soul of his family as his mother. She is the conservator, the method-of-living key to Glass’s growth as an artist.

Glass strives to be a good student and is accepted by the University of Chicago based on academic tests rather than high school graduation. He chooses to become a musician based on early experience as a flutist, and later as a pianist. He finds from counseling with a Julliard alumnus that composing rather than playing music is more conducive to his innate ability. In these pursuits, Glass’s mother is his rock, his supporter and adviser.

After graduating, Glass chooses to travel to Paris in pursuit of a composer’s education. He is mentored by an older woman who provides the technical skill and stern loving support he needs to continue his journey toward actualization. Glass chooses to leave his mentor with a woman of his own age and travel to India. Glass sees himself in a way that requires reinforcement from others. “Others” are teachers of the ancient practice of yoga.

Glass returns to America with a wife, with whom he has two children. He lives in New York and works as a furniture mover and taxi driver while pursuing his education as a composer. Glass is approaching thirty. He begins to have serendipitous success. The first big break is an opera called “Einstein on the Beac

Jean Cocteau (1889-1963, Novelist, Poet, Artist, Film Maker

Glass’s journey is symbolized by his dissection of the works of Jean Cocteau; i.e. particularly La_Belle_et_la_Bête (Beauty and the Beast). Glass argues that Cocteau’s works are about human creativity and transformation. The symbolism in La_Belle_et_la_Bête is the story of Glass’s life. The rose in Cocteau’s movie symbolizes beauty (Glass’s body of work). The key is the method (Glass’s mother). The horse is strength, determination, and speed (Glass’s father). The glove is nobility (Glass’s renown as a composer). The castle is a prison that can only be escaped with love from another (Glass’s three wives, his children, his mentors, and friends). The Mirror symbolizes who you truly are (this memoir of Glass’s life).

This is a nicely written and narrated memoir of Philip Glass; considered by many as the most influential composer of the late twentieth century.

SPACE AND TIME

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Spooky Action at a Distance (The Phenomenon That Reimagines Space and Time and What It Means for Black Holes, the Big Bang, and the Theory of Everything)

Written by: George Musser

Narration by: William Hughes

GEORGE MUSSER (AUTHOR, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN)

“Spooky Action at a Distance” (also called entanglement) collapses the theory of space just as Einstein’s theory of relativity collapsed time. George Musser argues that experimental evidence suggests neither space nor time have form or matter in an Aristotelian sense.

Aristotle explains the nature of things by suggesting an object perceived by the senses has form and matter. By Aristotle’s definition, both space and time are perceived by the senses; therefore, they have form and matter.

Einstein’s theory (experimentally confirmed) shows that time is relative which denies precise form or matter. Time changes based on an observer’s relative location, and the speed of observer and observed.

JOHN STEWART BELL (1928-1990) John Stewart Bell and David Bohm note how elemental particles, separated by wide distances, can be manipulated to mimic or oppose each other’s spin.

SIR ISAAC NEWTON (1642-1727) With Newton, all action is presumed to be based on locality with gravitation of the earth causing an apple to fall to the ground

Musser notes that with the advent of quantum theory, in Einstein’s view, the same holds true for space because of the experimental proof of “Spooky Action at a Distance”. John Stewart Bell and David Bohm note how elemental particles, separated by wide distances, can be manipulated to mimic or oppose each other’s spin. It is as though there is no space between two particles because the action occurs simultaneously: in other words, faster than the speed of light. The ramification of this “Spooky Action at a Distance” is that space has no inherent meaning. Both space and time are a fiction created by the senses.

DAVID BOHM (1917-1992, AMERICAN PHYSICIST) With Bell and Bohm, the apple still falls to the ground but it may have nothing to do with gravity but because of an unseen phenomenon; i.e. something that is non-local and unrelated to Newtonian locality’s cause and effect (maybe dark energy or dark matter that connects everything to everything).

Musser broadly explains this phenomenon as the difference between locality and non-locality in the cause-and-effect relationship of existence. With Newton, all action is presumed to be based on locality with gravitation of the earth causing an apple to fall to the ground. With Bell and Bohm, the apple still falls to the ground but it may have nothing to do with gravity but because of an unseen phenomenon; i.e. something that is non-local and unrelated to Newtonian locality’s cause and effect (maybe dark energy or dark matter that connects everything to everything).“Spooky Action at a Distance” calls into question the need of space or proximity. It also raises questions about the speed of light as a limitation in the area of cause and effect; i.e. if “Spooky Action at a Distance” reflects instantaneous change; then cause and effect have no speed limitations. Parenthetically, the idea of inflation at the big bang is replaced by principle of spooky action.

Black holes are also re-imagined with the principle of “Spooky Action at a Distance”. Maybe black holes are the source of new galaxies being formed in other universes. It may be that this is still a cause-and-effect universe but a theory of everything escapes us at the moment because of its undiscovered nature.

LEE SMOLIN (AMERICAN PHYSICIST, GRADUATE OF HAMPSHIRE COLLEGE AND HARVARD UNIVERSITY) Smolin suggested too much research and investment is committed to string theory at the expense of other “theory of everything” ideas.

One of many things that are interesting in Musser’s book is that Einstein may have been ahead of Niels Bohr in appreciating Quantum Theory even though the idea set Einstein on edge. There is hope for an undiscovered truth that will bring the nature of things into a theory of everything that is more predictable than the probabilities of quantum mechanics. This may still be a “cause and effect” universe. Maybe Smollin is right, and too much research and investment is committed to string theory at the expense of other “theory of everything” ideas.

Musser’s story reminds one of research done on Einstein’s brain. The size and number of dendrites and synapses of Einstein’s brain were found to be the same as in normal human brains. However, every human has glia cells in their brain that have a function that does not comport with normal electrical connections but still transmit information to the autonomic and cognitive functions of the brain. Neuroscientists found that the glia cell-count in Einstein’s brain is higher than the average for most human beings. The glia cells were found to be the source of a different mind/body connection that transmitted information in a different way. One wonders, is that why Einstein could see what others could not? Re-imagining is what Musser infers is needed in today’s physics’ departments.

MADOFF’S PERPETRATORS

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Ponzi Supernova—Madoff Speaks

Recorded by: Audible Original

Produced by: Steve Fishman

STEVE FISHMAN (NEW YORK MAGAZINE REPORTER)

In “Ponzi Supernova”, Audible offers recorded interviews with Bernie Madoff and other perpetrators of the largest Ponzi scheme in history. Steve Fishman conducts several telephone interviews with Madoff while he serves a life sentence for fraud. Steve Fishman gets the telephone interviews after wheedling his way into Madoff’s confidence through a fellow prisoner. To round out Fishman’s story, he captures telephone conversations with several other crooks, investigators, and victims of Madoff’s crime.

BERNARD MADOFF (AGE 74) SERVING 150 YEAR PRISON SENTENCE (Madoff died in prison on 4/14/21 at the age of 82).

Fishman shows how a sixty billion-dollar Ponzi scheme is created and how it escapes detection for over twenty years. Supplemented by audio books like “The Big Short”, and “No One Would Listen”, Fisher amplifies Madoff’s unconscionable crime with recordings of victims who lost their life savings. Fisher explores the perfidy of banks and investment companies that mindfully ignored Madoff’s impossible investment returns; all the while, being financially benefited from Madoff’s lies.

“Ponzi Supernova” reveals how Madoff created an empire of greed. Madoff comes off as an average intellect with a big ego, meager technological skill, and zero empathy. He hid behind the shadow of prestige.

Madoff refuses to take responsibility for his crimes and exhibits no remorse for the grief and death of others effected by his crimes. As a person, Madoff reminds one of a sociopath

Madoff manages to appeal to the greed of human beings and blames others for their greed. He manufactures investment data that hides the truth of his investment skill and his organizations’ portfolio. He takes investor’s money and uses new investor’s money to pay earlier investor’s returns. Few real trades support Madoff’s extraordinary portfolio performance.

“Ponzi Supernova” implies most of the investment firms; investment firms that knew of Madoff’s firm should have and could have exposed his lies. However, they were paid a fee for their service. Rather than investigate Madoff’s investment methodology, most investment firms gathered fees and left investors to fend for themselves.

Fisher notes how one analyst is sidelined by his investment company because he asked too many questions. The questions would have exposed Madoff’s scheme. Fisher also interviews an independent analyst that tells a client not to invest in Madoff’s company because she saw too many red flags. For instance, Madoff would not provide examples of his past investments to show how he made such remarkably steady returns; even in a falling market. Madoff’s standard refrain was “trust me”.

Like stories in “The Big Short” and “No One Would Listen”, Fisher’s recordings show institutional incompetence by government regulators, and greed from the private sector.

The SEC interviews Madoff on numerous occasions. Often the SEC representative is young and inexperienced. When reports are requested, Madoff’s back-office team manufactures whatever information is requested. The reports have no basis in truth. The reports are manufactured to satisfy whatever question is asked. If the SEC had called to confirm whether the trades had really been made, they would have exposed Madoff for fraud. Rather than check specific trade transactions, the SEC settled for a simple report that said Madoff had a trade account.

Nearly eleven billion dollars of the sixty billion-dollar Ponzi scheme is recovered. However, the recovery is largely limited to American investors by what are called “claw backs”. The “claw back” is from investors who had taken their money out before Madoff’s collapse in 2008. Other countries had no “claw back” provisions which meant many non-Americans lost everything.

Madoff and a few of his employees went to jail, but many escaped with fines and admonishment. “Ponzi Supernova” clearly implies both the government and private sector were guilty for losses by many small investors. These investors relied on government regulation and private sector financial advice.

If there is a lesson in this story, it is that every person should closely monitor their own investments. Most, if not all, human beings are seduced by money, power, and/or prestige. It is every investor’s responsibility to know how their investment adviser is benefited by your investments in their recommendations. Better to make your own investment mistakes, rather than rely on others who have a financial interest in your trading decisions.

Psychological Unease

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

The Cosmic Serpent

Written by: Jeremy Narby

Narration by: James Patrick Cronin

JEREMY NARBY (AUTHOR, PHD ANTHROPOLOGY FROM STANFORD) — JEREMY NARBY (AUTHOR, PhD ANTHROPOLOGY FROM STANFORD)

Psychological unease accompanies Jeremy Narby’s erudite speculation about the meaning and origin of life in “The Cosmic Serpent”. The unease comes in two forms. One, is Narby’s seduction by hallucinatory experience. Young people in America are choosing to overdose rather than face today’s perceived reality. The other is Narby’s patterning of observations to create either a true or false belief. It reminds one of the potential of Einstein’s discovery of matter and energy equivalence. Einstein discovered falsifiable evidence of nuclear fission that holds a key to sustainable energy. He also opened the door to Armageddon.

Narby, like Timothy Leary, is educated at some of the best universities in the world (Leary at Harvard; Narby at Yale). Both have PhDs. Narby has a PhD in anthropology; Leary in Psychology. Few, if any, believe LSD (Leary’s hallucinatory drug of choice) offers insight to the origin and meaning of life. However, like Leary, Narby suggests hallucinatory drugs may be a pathway to understanding.

Regarding hallucinatory experience, Narby does not appear to have slipped into the bizarre behavior of a Timothy Leary; at least not yet. Narby is 59 years old. When Narby did his research, he was in his late 20s and early 30s. “The Cosmic Serpent is published when Narby is still in his 30s. Leary lived to be 76. Each passing year exaggerated Leary’s belief in the therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs.

MIND PATTERNING Patterning is the human ability to see structure in disparate facts and events. Some say this is the sign of genius. Einstein is said to have formulated a theory of time by riding a train. Einstein’s insight came from thinking (patterning) how time is relative based on a person riding a train and a stationary observer watching the train pass. However, patterning also leads to incorrect conclusions like a person’s recollection of a crime. Human brains are shown to manufacture events and facts to make stories complete rather than necessarily accurate.

Narby’s articulate presentation of Peruvian shamanism tempts seekers of knowledge and experience to try something new. The temptation comes from different sources. One is genuine interest in understanding more about the world and our place and purpose in it. Another is the desire to believe that there is something more important in life than wealth, power, or position.

“The Cosmic Serpent” suggests that native cultures around the world offer insight to the origin and meaning of life because of common hallucinatory experiences. Narby suggests the hallucinatory symbol of a winding serpent is evidence of the configuration and importance of DNA; long before Watson’s and Crick’s discovery. The inference is that shamanistic hallucinations are not mere symbols but a truth of life. Narby’s inference is that seekers of life’s truth should listen to the experience of shamans and pursue shamanistic experience through the studied use of their methods.

SNAKE-DNA IMAGE — Narby suggests the hallucinatory symbol of a winding serpent is evidence of the configuration and importance of DNA; long before Watson’s and Crick’s discovery.

Narby argues that the scientific community needs to widen its view of the world. He believes DNA holds the secrets of nature’s existence. The question is whether youth and science should accept the risk of Narby’s patterned belief?

At the least, Narby makes one appreciate the importance of native culture. He may be opening a worthy field of scientific research. On the other hand, Narby may be creating false expectations that offer ignorance and escapism, rather than research and science.

INFORMATION MONITIZATION

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Who Owns the Future?

Written by: Jaron Lanier

Narration by: Pete Simoneilli

JARON LANIER (AUTHOR, INFORMATION AGE PHILOSOPHER,FUTURIST)

Society is at the threshold of change. Jaron Lanier writes about the information age in “Who Owns the Future”. Just as the industrial revolution, and two world wars mechanized human production, the computer and internet “informationizes” mechanical production. Lanier bluntly explains that human employment will decline in proportion to computerization of production.

Lanier is neither posturing as a Luddite nor abandoning the principles of capitalism. He suggests human beings need to understand their changing role in society. Lanier infers a failure to understand human’ role-change will compel disastrous reactions; i.e. reactions like the Luddites of the Industrial Revolution or socialist, fascist, and communist sympathizers of the post-industrial world.

Luddites during the Industrial Revolution–Workmen take out their anger on the machines.

Lanier argues that automation is replacing jobs at a faster rate today than in the 20^th century. Human nature does not change. Money, power, and prestige remain the motive force of human achievement.

Achievement in the past is based on productivity from the work of human hands with the assistance of mechanization. The days of human assistance in mechanization are steadily being reduced by computerization.

Lanier forecasts a future of abundance where the goods of life will be available upon request; without the assistance of human hands. No one knows how far into the future humans must travel to arrive at that age of abundance but Lanier suggests it will happen.

Lanier has an abiding faith in human beings’ ability to adapt and control technological change.

Lanier infers human initiated technology will continue to eradicate disease, and manipulate the atomized world to manufacture the necessities and desires of life. Replication machines will become common household appliances to manufacture diverse products, ranging from food to toothbrushes, to “goop” machines that extrude finished product.

HIGH SPEED GOO KNITTING MACHINE MANUFACTURED BY SONY–PRICED AT $30,000.

Industries will become more automated and less dependent on human employment. Lanier suggests now is the time for society to understand the change. As means of production reduces the need of human hands, the contribution humans make to society will increasingly become information based.

Lanier begins to explain the concept of information monetization. This is something that exists today but is mistakenly understood as something that is free.

Examples are Facebook, Google Search, Amazon.com, Microsoft Windows 10, Apple ITunes, governments, and other organizations that Lanier calls Siren Servers.

Nothing is free. The price humans pay is information about themselves, their needs, desires, habits, interests, etc. Every phone call, every web search, every email, every purchase made tells Siren Servers what product they can sell, what price they can sell it at, and how much money, power, and prestige they can accumulate.

Lanier suggests that the concept of Siren Servers should be expanded to include defined populations, common-interest groups, and individuals. Lanier argues that information humans now give for free be monetized. Every person that produces information that increases another’s money, power, or prestige should be compensated.

Employment continues to be an integral part of living life. Compensation is proportioned based on others’ use of provided information. It does not eliminate unemployment but it offers a more broadly applicable potential for employment. It does not eliminate poverty or extreme wealth, but it offers potential for broadening the middle class. More significantly, it does not demand the impossible; i.e. a change in human nature.

Though not addressed in this book, Lanier does believe there is a circumstance where information should be provided for free.

He argues the experience of Taiwan, in the Covid19′ pandemic, offers an example of free information that helps society. Taiwan created an open platform for Covid19 to allow the general public to enter information about their infection, masks that they are wearing, and where they are located. Of course, a key to their success is testing kits to determine infection. American can learn from this. It offers a pragmatic way of safely returning to work.

There is a slippery slope aspect to Lanier’s idea. The slippery slope is the intrusive requirement of government regulation inherent in any system based on information contribution.

In the case of the Covid19 pandemic, the idea would be for the platform to inform the public; not to be used by a central government to direct people’s decisions. It remains an opened Pandora’s box that only leaves hope.

Congress is asking how far down the road of “1984” should a nation go before becoming a creature of totalitarianism?

If the government is in control, numerous questions rise. Who decides what information is being used by another and what the rate of pay should be? One may argue that is a fault of any economic system but how far down the road of “1984” would a nation go before becoming a creature of totalitarianism?

The point is that human nature does not change. Though Lanier may be absolutely correct in societies’ transition from industrialization to computerization, people remain greedy, power-hungry, and hubristic.

Can democratic capitalism resist totalitarianism in an Information Age? America’s two most current Presidents suggest otherwise.

Both Obama and Trump expanded the potential of “executive action” that bypasses congressional oversight.

Also, Lanier’s age of abundance presumes technology will keep pace with human needs, desires, and habits. Global warming, rare earth monopolies, and population increases suggest otherwise.

“Who Owns the Future” is an insightful view of the modern world. Unlike those who revile modernity and pine for a return to an idealized past, Lanier offers an alternative. Lanier strikes one as a Socratic seer of modernity.

Link below is a synopsis of Jaron Lanier’s history: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2001/dec/29/games.academicexperts

SOJOURN TO NORTHERN INDIA

TRAVEL-INDIA
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Sojourn to Northern India

Written by: Chet Yarbrough

World Travel

Chet Yarbrough

Sixteen days in Northern India vivified life. This sojourn into the world’s most populated Democracy is at once astonishingly beautiful and terribly disheartening. Northern India is beautiful for its millennial accomplishments and disheartening for its seemingly insurmountable social, economic, and political challenges. (This personal view is supplemented by authors, Arundhati Roy, Katherine Boo, Aravind Adiga, Raghu Karnad, and a smattering of Great Courses’ audio books on ancient cultures.)

India contains some of the greatest monuments of ancient history. Managed by Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists, India has prospered, crumbled, and reappeared as one of the most powerful countries in the world. The great challenges of the past occur and recur with a resilient response by India’s people. Their ability to adapt to foreign occupation by disparate cultures is a tribute to their longevity as an independent nation.

INDIA FEB 2018_2132 — Alai-Darwaza, built in 1311 AD. It is the first building employing wholly Islamic principles of arcuate (beams and arches) construction and geometric ornamentation. Located in Delhi, the capital of India.

One of the main attractions in the so called ‘Pink’ city of Jaipur is the World Heritage Site of Jantar Mantar astronomical observatory. This impressive collection of astronomical instruments were built by Sawai Jai Singh, a Mughal commander, dated 1728.

INDIA FEB 2018_1599 — *Sukh Mandir : Amber Fort in Jaipur (the pink city), Built by Mughal King, a refuge for sultans in 1599 AD.*

The Sukh Mandir palace was kept cool in the summer by covering its arched openings with screens woven with the roots of the aromatic grass called khas. The screens were moistened periodically with water, air passing through the screens was thus cooled, and carried also the fragrance of the grass into the palace-chambers.

INDIA FEB 2018_1557 — *The Diwan-i-Aarm was the court where the Raja gave audience to his subjects.*

Vehicle for entrance to the Raja’s fortress.

INDIA FEB 2018_1226 — Taj Mahal–The dome is covered with sand to clean it to become as white as the remaining structure which has already been cleaned. The Taj Mahal was built as a tribute to the Mughal Emperor’s favorite wife.

Like a cobra preparing to strike, India seems over-matched by environmental and societal challenges.

Today, India’s adaptability seems over-matched by environmental and societal challenges. Air and water pollution is ubiquitous in Northern India. India’s primary source of energy comes from fossil fuels, particularly coal. Over 65% of India’s energy is non-renewable while electricity is supplied to only 81% of the population (based on 2013 records). Today’s Covid19 pandemic accelerates India’s environmental and societal challenges.

In a 2011 report, Hindus represent 79 percent of the population. The Ganges river is sacred to Hindus. It is a major source of water for agriculture and life in Northern India. However, the Ganges is highly polluted. In today’s news, (May 11, 2021) scores of bodies are reported to be floating in the Ganges.

In Varanasi, it is reported that fecal coli-form bacteria from human waste is 100 times the Indian government’s official limit.

Hindu religious practices in India compound Ganges’ Pollution. Because of the Ganges religious importance, cremation occurs daily with human remains discharged into the river in Varanasi. This cremation ceremony occurs on the banks of the Ganges. Though cremation removes most organic material, there are circumstances under which un-cremated bodies are placed in the river.

INDIA FEB 2018_0836 — *Cows, which are sacred animals in India, also pollute the waters.*

Every night, (7 days a week–Human bodies are prepared for cremation on the Ganges’ bank. Fire in the background obscures a wrapped body that is lain atop a wood fire to reduce a deceased person to ash.

INDIA FEB 2018_0768 — *Two young people in the middle being married at the edge of the Ganges in Varanasi*.

A societal challenge facing India is its history of caste and religious belief. Caste and Modi’s reification and emphasis on Hinduism conflicts with Islamism. Just under 80% of India is Hindu with Muslimism over 14%. Border disputes with the largely Islamic state of Pakistan continue to roil India’s culture.

Despite diligent effort by the government to eliminate caste, it remains a source of underlying societal friction. Arranged marriages are extremely important in India because the joining of husband and wife are a marriage of families, not just individuals. Though there are exceptions, many of the young appreciate their father’s effort to screen potential marriage partners. Not that this may not be a better way of ensuring a long marriage than America’s happenstance conjugality, it diminishes cultural diversity. Cultural diversity opens a world of opportunity to all people, regardless of caste.

Upper classes object to affirmative action for the castes, particularly the untouchables, because of tradition. Indians are often able to determine the caste of residents by just knowing their names. It reminds one of Americans and their recognition of race by color. Discrimination seems as prevalent in India as in America. The arc of justice may be bending toward equality but both countries are far from achievement.

Equally concerning challenges for India are the two faces of democracy. On the one hand democracy offers more freedom than other forms of government. On the other, unregulated freedom leads to abuse of power.

“White Tiger” by Aravind Adiga tells a story of the consequence of unregulated freedom in India. Katherine Boo, in “Behind the Beautiful Forevers” tells a story of the consequence of regulated freedom in India that does not work.

India’s effort to regulate freedom faces the same obstacles as America. Knowing where to draw the line on individual freedom is problematic. Too much government denies opportunity to succeed. Too little government leads to the Bernie Madoff’s of the world.

Our personal guide in India proudly noted that his family is from the warrior caste. He wishes to become rich and have his daughter marry into his caste. That is his ideal, but he recognizes his daughter lives in a different world. He is unsure of how his life will evolve. However, he is not optimistic. India has a young population, growing at 1,000,000 people per month. He believes Prime Minister Modi is a good leader but that he will not succeed in modernizing India because of the challenges facing India. He argues that diminishing natural resources and India’s increased population will defeat economic growth and social stability.

A May 2022 “Economist” article on India suggests Prime Minister Modi’s government reforms may substantially improve India’s economy in the 21st century. Our guide in 2018 was quite skeptical.

Our trip to India was astonishingly beautiful but terribly disheartening. One hopes our guide underestimates India’s ability to overcome environmental deterioration and achieves its potential for continued economic growth.

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