Tag Archives: science

Not all voices are equal

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I love the Bill Nye analogy about the climate debate. He says that if the debate were authentic, rather than having two talking heads debating, it would be hundreds of scientists on one side versus one climate denier on the other.

I saw a social media clip yesterday where a microbiologist was debunking a self declared holistic practitioner on the consumption of unpasteurized milk. The microbiologist wrote his master’s thesis on bacterial infections in cow’s mammary glands.

The self-declared expert espousing unscientific and incorrect information on social media is not an equal voice to an expert. Do they have a right to share their views? Sure. Do they deserve an audience? No.

I wish that I knew how to make the situation better but I don’t have answers. I’m extremely pro ‘free speech’. I think people are entitled to share their views. However, when I see misinformation and disinformation being shared by people with large audiences, I shudder. I worry about how their messages are consumed, by how many people they lead down a bad path.

In 2024 no one, and I mean NO ONE, should believe the earth is flat and yet the group of flat earth believers is getting larger. Imagine being able to own a telescope and see images from the James Webb telescope and still believing something that societies 5,000+ years ago already knew was wrong.

Not all voices are equal, and some voices deserve a larger voice than others. Who decides? Who polices? I don’t know, but I do know that we are entering (have entered) an era where false information gets shared significantly faster than correct information. Corrected information and updated facts don’t get the same play time on social media. So we are essentially living in an era of disinformation.

This doesn’t feel like progress, and as AI models continue to learn from the inputs we are providing, this scares me. I saw a stat that as much as 80% of the internet could be AI generated by the end of 2026. How much of that generated information will be based on incorrect assumptions and conclusions? How much of it will be intentionally misguided? Who is deciding which voices the AI models listen to?

We can’t continue to let ill-informed people have equal voices to those that have more informed perspectives… But I’m not informed enough to know how to change this.

Fringe science versus science at the fringe

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I’ve started watching Ancient Apocalypse on Netflix by Graham Hancock. Hancock is a journalist that believes that civilizations have bern around since the last ice age. To some up a few of his premises:

  • There were full civilizations around 11-12 thousand years ago, at the end of the ice age.
  • The ice age end ended abruptly with meteor(s) causing a mass melting which caused massive flooding.
  • That flooding destroyed a lot of the early civilizations that nestled themselves on shorelines and coastal areas.
  • There was a significant loss of knowledge during this mass flood, a flood which almost all ancient cultures have stories about.
  • The Sphinx by the Egyptian pyramids are far older than the civilization that built the pyramids close to 5 thousand years ago. So that was not the birth of great civilizations as many believe.

I am not an archeologist, but I think there is something to these claims. The discovery of Göbekli Tepe in Turkey, believed to have been built around 11,500 years ago, throws conventional beliefs about early civilizations out of whack. And this isn’t the only ancient sight doing this. More and more evidence suggests that perhaps there were civilizations far older than previously thought possible.

This is science that’s definitely on the fringe, challenging what’s known, and creating very plausible hypothesis. I think in the next 50 years we will consider a very different agreed upon history of civilizations than what we have today.

The challenge is that many people like Graham Hancock tend to be the same people who believe in fringe science. I heard a podcast with Hancock where in addition to ancient civilizations he was also talking about telepathy and moving Egyptian pyramid stones using mind power. The extrapolations seem far fetched and more based on pseudoscience than actual science.

It’s hard to sieve through a lot fringe science to find the science on the fringe… the science that isn’t necessarily conventionally believed, but has significant evidence and merit based on growing bodies of knowledge, as opposed to crazy speculation. This is challenging with people like Graham Hancock, as well as others like Deepak Chopra.

But I think when it comes to ancient civilizations lost to an ancient apocalypse, Hancock really is on to something, and we are going to see this science on the fringe make it into conventional science fairly soon. Our textbooks of tomorrow will tell a very different story about the birth of civilization compared to the history books of today.

Secret Origin of the Enneagram

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The Enneagram.

A shape that has been around for hundreds of years. It has esoteric significance and it has been used as a model for personality types for years.

But something is missing… and that’s the origin of this unique shape.

Not anymore. Joe Truss discovered, or rather uncovered, the following unique origin story of the Enneagram. Perhaps the Sufis of the past knew, but this knowledge was lost: The 2-Dimensional Enneagram has 3-Dimensional roots. Enjoy this short video to learn more: Secret Origins of the Enneagram.

“The Enneagram is a 3-Dimensional structure which manifests through the vertices of the icosahedron.” ~ Joseph Truss

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And if you think this is interesting, Joe has also uncovered the tetrahedral structure of our universe… if you know a physicist who can challenge these ideas, both Joe and I invite them to break this theory apart: We Live in a Tetraverse.

Please share with people whom you think might be interested.
Thank you.

Anti-science stupidity

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I was scrolling TikTok yesterday and I came across a live stream that was run by a flat earther talking about the firmament. I stopped to watch for a bit with a voyeuristic, macabre eye… the same way people slow down on a highway to take a better look at a car accident. It was painful to listen to. It baffles me to think that there has actually been an increase in the size of the flat earth community since 2015, as shared in a BBC report. This report puts the blame on the YouTube algorithm that focused more on engagement than on factual information.

I’ve already shared a fair bit about the flat earth conspiracy including “Flat earth and flight times”, “Not even wrong”, and “Understanding QAnon”, but I came across this next video today and it reminded me of just how long ago humans had already figured out that the earth was a globe.

Over 2,200 years ago Eratosthenes did some calculations based on simple observations, and was able to not just determine the earth was round, but he was also able to calculate its circumference. Carl Sagan shares the story of Eratosthenes’ discovery in this video:

We can split atoms, view the planets in our solar system and beyond, and even see photos of the earth from space, yet because we can’t see the curve of the earth from our own vantage point people are convinced it is flat. They will negate and dismiss overwhelming evidence while conspiratorially justifying impossible coverups to ‘fool the masses’, (with no logical/apparent reason to really do so). ‘They’ are keeping the truth from us. ‘They’ faked the moon landing. ‘They’ want us to believe that the earth is round. ‘They’ are afraid of us knowing the truth.

Imagine believing that every pilot, NASA employee, physicist, and for that matter scientist, is lying to you. Imagine disregarding 100’s, or rather 1,000’s of years of knowledge and following unscientific morons producing YouTube videos that just feed you validating evidence. Imagine being that stupid.

Yes, I called them stupid. The irony is that no one that is a flat earther will read this, and if they did, they would consider me stupid. Personally I’d rather be a stupid guy learning about the globe from Eratosthenes and Carl Sagan than a stupid guy learning about a flat earth from YouTuber Mark Sargent, who himself probably no longer believes, but is too greedy to give up his lucrative YouTube channel.

I hope the phrase “You can’t fix stupid,” is wrong, but in all honesty, the growth of flat earth believers makes me think this statement very true.

New Podcast: Joseph Truss – “The Tetraverse… It’s all about resolution!”

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After a 4 year hiatus, I’ve just published another podcast. Unfortunately, my link isn’t updating to my podcast hosting app or to Apple iTunes right now, and so the best place to listen is on my podcasting blog.

Description: 

Join me on a trip in to Haliburton, Ontario, where Joseph Truss and I discuss the building blocks of the universe. This conversation assumes the conjecture that “We Live in a Tetraverse,” (the first video in a series called, “Book of Codes”). Watch this video first, to appreciate the premise of our conversation.

A conjecture is defined as: “an opinion or conclusion formed on the basis of incomplete information.” Joe is challenging the way Mathematicians and Physicists look at the universe today. Most perspectives put us in a three dimensional world based on three axis: X, Y, and Z. Joe says these are “necessary but not sufficient“, and that while we can do calculations based on this model of the universe, it will always require us to work with irrational numbers and rounding errors… but it’s all a question of resolution. Go deeper than the perspective of X,Y, Z and you encounter a universe built on triangles, or more specifically tetrahedrons. In a way, his premise is that working in a cube-based, X, Y, Z, universe is conjecture… it is working ‘on the basis of incomplete information.’

If we recognize that the smallest possible object in the universe (at the Planck length) is a tetrahedron and not a cube, (again see We Live in a Tetraverse to gain this insight), this doesn’t dismiss any calculations done in a cube universe, it simply allows greater resolution… and maybe eliminates the need to work with irrational numbers and rounding of decimals.

A simple metaphor for this would be moving from the imperial system of measurement to the metric system… measuring in millimetres instead of 16th’s of an inch.

Admittedly, this is a bit of a challenging conversation to follow, first because we start talking about waves as seen drawn in 2 dimensions on paper, and so the conversation is lacking some visual descriptions we discuss. Secondly because we have discussed these ideas at length previously, we are quite comfortable describing shapes and making connections that are not so easy to visualize when you haven’t had the same background conversations we’ve had. And yet, I felt the need to share this conversation, to bring to light some of the brilliant insights of Joseph Truss. One specific topic we discuss, that I haven’t seen anywhere else, is the idea that infinity is a fractal. The infinity conversation begins at 21:08 of the podcast and if you only listen to one segment, that’s the one to listen to. If you want to follow the full conversation, I’d suggest watching the video first.

 

Joe and I had walked down to a slow-moving river that adjoins his back yard. Joe, a musician as well as geometer, brought a drum with him and after playing a bit we started this conversation. I realized that this was worth recording and so I went back to to the house to get my phone. The podcast starts and ends with Joe playing the drums, and there is a drum interlude in the middle as well. So, pull up a seat next to us and enjoy this riverside conversation.

Show Notes: [Listen Now: Joseph Truss on Podcasting Pair-a-Dimes – Slower loading here than on my podcasting blog.]

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Please subscribe to Podcasting Pair-a-Dimes with iTunes, Android, Email, or get the  RSS feed. And if you like what you hear, please rate and comment on iTunes or leave a comment below.

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Opening Music: Solar Flares by Silent Partner
Drums by Joseph Truss

Flight Time Machine

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Yesterday I wrote ‘Flight time’ and said, “Planes are time machines. I can spend 10 days visiting Toronto from Vancouver after a 4.5 hour flight, or I could spend 8-9 days days travelling there and back and less than 2 days in Toronto. Planes don’t just save time, they create it.”

In a conversation with Joe Truss this morning he mentioned that according to Albert Einstein I was speaking literally as well as metaphorically. The faster I move, the slower time goes for me, and so airplanes are actually time machines.

To me this exaggerates the point, it makes the point more poignant. Every time we speed things up, or whenever we ‘save time’, we are essentially creating little time machines… although we can’t actually travel back in time, we can only speed up and slow down our experience of time.

So, airplanes really are time machines, and I just got in one. I’ll see you 5 hours into my future… though I can’t tell you how long that will be for you. 😆

Certainty Versus Evidence

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We are living through an epidemic of certainly at the expense of evidence.

Selectively chosen facts are sprinkled on emboldened ideas that sit like concrete, embedded deep in the minds of people who are certain they are right. Contrary evidence is tossed aside. If it doesn’t fit my truth or my world view then, it’s wrong, it’s misinterpreted, it’s fake news.

When scientists discover galaxies that are too large for the age that they are, considering when they were born, early in the development of the universe… it makes them ponder the theories they hold. Scientists are excited by this puzzle. What’s at play here? Is it a challenge of our evidence collection or are there other theories that may be better? This is the thrill of being at the forefront of science. It’s the idea that we continue to learn and reformulate our theories and make them better.

But to certainty focused, evidence lacking, non-scientific ‘experts’ (in their own minds), this new data is a chance to mock scientists; To emphasize that ‘they don’t know anything’ about the universe. This new evidence isn’t scientific evidence but rather proof that all science is wrong. These new galaxies are evidence of a higher power, or worse, a flat world.

We have people selling water bottles that make hydrogen water that’s somehow supposed to be better than just drinking water. Every commercial for supplements or diets or exercise plans tell you how the evidence is clear and this is the product that will transform your life.

I recently saw this fascinating video about a bug that shoots acid from its butt as a defensive mechanism. It was a totally interesting and engaging video for over 2 minutes, then it started into an unexpected conclusion of Intelligent Design and became an anti-evolution propaganda video that I had to stop watching. But I did wonder how many people bought into this, and I peeked at the comments which were filled with comments like, ‘God is amazing’.

‘Follow your own Truth’, with a capital ‘T’. Cherry pick your evidence and strengthen your certainty. That’s what it seems more and more people are doing these days. The certainty epidemic is growing and it’s getting harder and harder to sift through the BS, and actually know what evidence to follow.

The only anecdote is to stay curious and ask questions. Seek out wise people who are smart enough to be humble, and uncertain, and as curious as you are… And don’t let yourself get stuck in concrete thinking.

Ancient Wisdom

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Watch this video about tomorrow’s solar eclipse.

@welchlabs

How rare is the April 2024 #eclipse?

♬ original sound – Welch Labs

Predicting the next total eclipse is not a simple math problem, having several independent factors. Yet as the video mentions, an ancient Babylonian tablet tracked all the solar eclipses from 347 to 258 BCE.

It makes me wonder about the wisdom of some ancient civilizations. What did they know, that has been lost to us? From medicines to space to science, what intelligence was previously discovered and has since needed to be rediscovered, relearned.

And what did the ancients know that we still don’t know?

The sci-fi try

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I don’t usually listen to fictional books during the school year. I usually wait for the breaks, in summer, winter, and March, to pick up a ‘fun’ book. But I started a sci-fi that is about the moon breaking up from a mysterious and sudden catastrophic event. The earth then has roughly 2 years to get as large a community into space before being destroyed by moon debris crashing into earth at a rate that makes earth a fiery hell.

The technical aspects of the book are great. It’s easy to nerd out on the science and to imagine the challenges the survivors must face. The only issue I’m having with the book is that it doesn’t share the loss of life in a compassionate way. The story lacks heart.

It tries, but fails to put loss of life in a way that lets the reader feel grief over the loss. The author is more interested in the science than the humanity. He makes attempts but they aren’t great. Yet the book is still good. I’m only 1/3 of the way through and it will be the Christmas break before I get through it. I’ll let the shortcomings go and enjoy nerding out on the science and the idea of the future of humanity and civilization resting on an ad hoc space colony.

Not all stories need to be perfect to be enjoyable. Sometimes you have to make choices. This book lets me geek out without getting too heavy into the devastation of the entire earth… and I’m just one generation in. From what I understand the story spans a few thousand years. I won’t be putting the story down just because it feels a little clinical in how it deals with death. Because ultimately (so far) it’s a story about survival in desperate times, and under dire circumstances, and I’m hooked on finding out what this dystopian future holds.

I chose a science fiction, not a romance novel, and I’m getting a good dose of both science and fiction. For those interested, the book is Neil Stephenson’s Seveneves.

Geology, Astrology, and Prophecy

There are some major geological disturbances and volcano eruptions in Italy, Japan, and at any moment potentially Iceland. We live on a volatile planet with harsh weather conditions, earthquakes, and occasionally tsunamis and volcanic eruptions. Right now there is a lot of geologic activity. This happens in cycles, and it seems that we are on a very active cycle right now. That’s geology. That’s science.

What it’s not is ‘the end of times’, it’s not the end of the world as we know it as a human race, although it may feel like so to anyone living near one of these eruptions. And I don’t mean to downplay worst case scenarios. One of the volcanoes in Italy that is active is what’s known as a super volcano, like the one under Yellowstone National Park. A large eruption of a super volcano can devastate vast areas of land and upset the weather of the world for years.

It could get really ugly.

But this isn’t some biblical prophecy. It’s not an angry God upset with the failings of humanity, and it’s not the coming of the apocalypse.

It’s science. It’s Mother Earth doing what Mother Earth has done for millions of years. It’s cyclical, but on a geological scale that spans chunks of time that extend far longer than civilizations tend to survive.

Tying these geological events to ancient scripture is like tying your dating life to tarot cards, or waiting for the alignment of stars to make a career move… foolish. The earth isn’t angry, it’s seismically active. It isn’t punishing mankind, it is going through natural processes.

We build houses and cities on flood plains, and in tornado zones, and on the sides, and potential lava flows, of volcanoes. If harsh weather systems or major geological disturbances happen in these danger zones, it is disruptive to the lives of those living close by. If a super volcano erupts the whole world could be affected. Again, that’s science.

This could end up being a series of small eruptions, and it could be a massive global disruption… What it’s not is written in scriptures, holy texts, or the result of the alignment of stars. I’d hope that we have evolved past superstitious caveman and can recognize the difference.