This i-Squared event is also a Google+ debate on the Balotelli quote “Football has been too tolerant of racism“. I’m going to disagree. It’s not racism, it’s culturally engrained “otherism”. The lack of respect engendered by seeing the rest of your world as other. Rival football fans are simply an ideal place to see the [...]
Entries from June 2012
Otherism
1
June 29, 2012 at 11:45am
by Psybertron
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Barclays Manipulated Rates
1
June 28, 2012 at 10:49am
by Psybertron
Huh ? Isn’t that what banks do ? Surely the Libor is an “offered” rate – surely the point is to negotiate around your strengths and weaknesses. I can see why people might be jealous of their success, and shocked by their risk-taking with hindsight, but what have they actually done wrong ? Broken some [...]
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Financial Complexity
2
June 26, 2012 at 8:44am
by Psybertron
Financial markets, their regulation and the politics around them are so complex, that changes of regulatory input produce practically indeterminate, unpredictable outcomes. The most complex system of systems that humans have ever engineered. More misguided regulation can make the system more fragile, not less. Less is in fact more. More local failures – bonfires – [...]
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Psychological Distance
0
June 26, 2012 at 7:19am
by Psybertron
A “Mind Hack” from PsyBlog. From Shawn Callahan at Anecdote, via Twitter.
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A Partnership Between the Generations
1
June 25, 2012 at 2:25pm
by Psybertron
Edmund Burke’s words quoted by Niall Ferguson in the first of his 2012 Reith Lectures “The Rule of Law and its Enemies – #1Â The Human Hive“. Glorious vs inglorious revolutions in the light of the Arab Spring. Revolution against “extractive” rule, but for what ? Representative democracies that allow the current generation to vote for [...]
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True to ZMM
0
June 24, 2012 at 9:33am
by Psybertron
Good to hear James Purefoy in the role of Bob / Phaedrus in Peter Flannery’s dramatisation of Robert Pirsig‘s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance on BBC Radio4′s Saturday Drama. It’s there to listen again in BBC Radio4 iPlayer’s “Most Popular” . [Only available until next Saturday 30th June 2012.] The characterizations, tone and atmosphere were [...]
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Moderation
0
June 20, 2012 at 9:52am
by Psybertron
Not a fan of Louise Mensch, and I doubt her microblogging venture will rival Twitter, but she’s right. No useful discussion ever made progress without on-topic content moderation (or more than 40 words). And good moderation is a time consuming skill. What was it Einstein said about editors? Oh, and the new site name “menshn.com” [...]
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Latest #Breivik Debates
0
June 18, 2012 at 12:38pm
by Psybertron
Peter Beaumont plus comments at Guardian “Comment is Free”. [Post Note : At last this pm the 2nd psyche team now confirming their diagnosis does include serious mental disorder(s) but not psychotically "insane". The common sense "criminally guilty AND nuts" outcome now looking more likely.] [And Lars Bevanger's round-up from the end of the day.]
ZMM Dramatization on the Beeb
0
June 17, 2012 at 10:29am
by Psybertron
Robert Pirsig‘s 1974 “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” is a special interest of Psybertron, and is the favourite book of Peter Flannery. So, he’s created a dramatization to be be broadcast next Saturday 23rd June at 2:30pm as BBC R4 Saturday Drama. (Mentioned earlier.)
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Stapp & Mersini-Houghton
0
June 17, 2012 at 9:54am
by Psybertron
Interesting. Reading Henry Stapp’s Mindful Universe – too early to review, but it is excellent so far. Scientism based on 300 years of engrained classical physics has simply not learned the the role of human consciousness in quantum mechanics – to the detriment of of all human endeavours, not just science generally and science of [...]
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Corner of a Foreign Field
0
June 15, 2012 at 12:19pm
by Psybertron
Roy’s Corner in Malmo.
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The End of Coryton
0
June 15, 2012 at 11:07am
by Psybertron
It’s been on the cards for a while since Petroplus went bust – but a sad day for refining in the UK. Remember some interesting projects at Coryton. The cost-effectiveness and over-capacity arguments leave me wondering about strategic dependency on wherever the cost-effective capacity remains – what is that, just 4 or 5 liquid fuel [...]
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Fine Example
0
June 14, 2012 at 5:27pm
by Psybertron
A marvellous episode of Melvyn Bragg’s BBC R4 In Our Time; in this case discussing James Joyce Ulysses. Bloomsday this coming Saturday, 16th June. (*) Not just the content of the programme – Ulysses itself and the life and work of Joyce contributing to it – but the enthusiastic scholarly interaction of the participants. (Yes, [...]
Accountable Psychopath #Breivik @lbevanger
0
June 14, 2012 at 4:41pm
by Psybertron
Whole day of psych witnesses (authors of the first “insane” report) describing their investigation, report and conclusions. Will be cross-questioned tomorrow about current / changed views. As well as those two witnesses, Lars Bevanger also has quotes from other psych experts in the court. “His speech is logical and coherent;Â He has shown no sign of [...]
Henry Stapp
1
June 14, 2012 at 8:13am
by Psybertron
Henry Stapp’s words quoted by Brian Josephson, were one of the first occasions I was turned on to considering that (eastern) mysticism might have something real to add to science. Both serious physicists, the latter a Nobel prizewinner, both interestingly, present at the 2003 Science of Consciousness event in Tucson. At the time (noted in [...]
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#Breivik Game
0
June 13, 2012 at 8:06am
by Psybertron
Mentioned this earlier, and see that today one of the psych witnesses suggesting #Breivik’s behaviour is a dynamic game of fit between his actual / apparent objectives and perceived / expected / actual responses of the authorities. Question is though; How may levels of double bluff? Odd or even?
#Breivik – Rationality of Belief
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June 12, 2012 at 11:10am
by Psybertron
I see the #Breivik psycho-analysis debate brings in religion as cases of bizarre belief. #Breivik is sick (end of) but the real agenda is a widely unrecognised sickness – as in widely prevalent and largely unrecognised. Go on Norway, you could score a world class gold here. It’s about what makes “rational” bases of belief “unreasonable”.
Wisdom of Age
14
June 12, 2012 at 10:38am
by Psybertron
A recurring theme that age is part of wisdom (yes I would say that) but here a great example. Ayn Rand always was atrocious, but it’s often necessary to grow up to appreciate the fact. I was already mid-40′s before coming across her, so I was OK [Victoria Bekiempis, as a college freshman] was very [...]
Outage Apologies
0
June 12, 2012 at 10:25am
by Psybertron
Due to work-related installs and reconfigurations of our server, I lost visibility of all my normal WordPress and other static content for a few days. But after a reset it looks like everything is up and back to normal. No damage done. Sorry for any inconvenience.
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Classy
1
June 12, 2012 at 8:48am
by Psybertron
To repay our debt to Greece.
Asperger’s #Breivik
4
June 8, 2012 at 4:35pm
by Psybertron
Hmm, trial by Powerpoint. Not sure the clinical descriptions (with my limited Norwegian) stack up as conclusive, but Apserger’s Syndrome, as one of three possible diagnoses, is getting close to the mark. Total rationality is autism, as I’ve already suggested several times, and Asperger’s is one form of that. Ill but not psychotic (Reuters in English). [...]
