Of course, first, a happy new year! However, as we ponder the cultural consequences of inherently amoral evolutionary materialistic scientism, the following clip should give us pause: >>More human beings died in abortions than any other cause of death in 2019, a new report indicates. A heartbreaking reminder about the prevalence of abortion, statistics compiled Read More…
Author: kairosfocus
A Caribbean-based Christian thinker with a background in physics and a focus on strategic thinking towards truly sustainable development.
Stephen Meyer interview with Ben Shapiro
Today [oops –> recent], here: Starts with Wikipedia’s “pseudoscience” accusation. And, Creationism [in a cheap tuxedo]. END PS: Here is the smoking gun letter by Sir Francis Crick to his son, March 19, 1953, i.e. as he informed his son about his breakthrough:
High Impulse Nuclear rocket engines — Mars in 40 days?
As we continue to rethink the way forward (with Solar system colonisation and Earth transformation in mind as we exorcise the cheerless ghost of Malthus), the possibilities posed by nuke rockets are well worth pondering: >>By Jeremy Hsu [Space dot com] March 05, 2010 Future Mars outposts or colonies may seem more distant than ever Read More…
How can we make low-energy concrete for the Moon or Mars — or, Earth?
The C18 rediscovery/ re-invention of concrete . . . it had apparently been made by the Romans, Greeks and Egyptians [–> earlier, the Nabataeans] (and many natural, volcanic or sedimentary rocks are concrete-like) . . . opened up a world of new building possibilities; especially, when it is reinforced by steel. As, we can see Read More…
drc466 exposes the argument from incredulity fallacy
Here at UD, we will headline particularly noteworthy comments spotted in discussion threads. Today, drc466 has a gem, in the Show a Natural OoL for $10 mn prize thread,: drc466 , no. 21:] “there is nothing more irritating than the constant (invalid) refrain from evolutionists of “argument from incredulity”. And the variant “God of the Read More…
A note on technology-driven economic long waves (aka, the ghost of “Kondratiev” roars)
Nikolai Kondratiev was a Russian economist in the 1930’s who was shot by Stalin on September 17, 1938, because he had the integrity and courage to say the economic crisis of that decade, on statistical evidence, was largely a generation(s) length cyclical oscillation; not the Crisis of Capitalism leading to global Socialist Revolution that Marxist Read More…
Energy transformation vs. the ghost of Malthus
Our civilisation is haunted by the ghost of the Rev. Thomas Malthus. His core vision of resource exhaustion and population crashes haunts our imaginations. As BBC profiles in brief: Malthus’ most well known work ‘An Essay on the Principle of Population’ was published in 1798, although he was the author of many pamphlets and other Read More…
The FFC -Cambridge (Metalysis) Metal . . . esp. Ti . . . reduction process
This video summarises a direct, molten salt based electro-reduction process for metals, especially Titanium: (Titanium, of course, is a rather abundant but hard to win “super-metal.” See Wiki here for a more detailed summary. The process extends to other metals and of course turns on having abundant electrical energy.) Let me add an illustration of Read More…
Logic and First Principles: Summarising first principles and duties of reason
As we continue to ponder the core of responsible rationality, it is helpful to ponder a summary of what we have won: I recall, way back, being taught how the seventeen first equations of Boolean Algebra [which can all be verified as equivalence relations through truth tables] were of equally axiomatic status. But then, I Read More…
The issue of epistemic rights and duties
Back in 2007, “todangst ” of the “rational response squad” atheistical site wrote: To say that I am within my ‘epistemic rights’ to hold to a claim, I am saying that I violate no epistemic responsibilities or obligations in believing in my claim. (Rights and responsibilities go hand-in-hand.) An epistemic obligation is an intellectual responsibility Read More…
VIDEO: Digital unwrapping and reading of the En Gedi OT scroll
News has posted on this recent technological development. It is worth taking a couple of minutes to watch the video describing and imaging what was done using AI technologies: Fascinating, what 3-d scanning can do. It also of course corroborates the known result from the main Dead Sea Scroll finds, that the OT text was Read More…
EG vs objective reality (pivoting on distinct identity)
In a current thread frequent objector EG comments — and yes, I am catching up: KF and others talk about “objective” as being something that is unchangeable. For example, homosexuality is objectively wrong. Always was, always will be. This doesn’t change with the times. But you argue that my preference of ice cream flavor is Read More…
JCW on the need to face inescapable, necessary first truths
Famously, Epictetus had an exchange with someone on the necessity, credibility and utility of logic: DISCOURSESCHAPTER XXV How is logic necessary? When someone in [Epictetus’] audience said, Convince me that logic is necessary, he answered: Do you wish me to demonstrate this to you?—Yes.—Well, then, must I use a demonstrative argument?—And when the questioner had Read More…
Sci Fi Writer John C Wright on self-evidence, honesty and reason
Mr Wright observes: From time to time it is useful for sane men in an insane world to remind themselves of basic truths.The first truth is that truth is true. A statement that there is no truth, if true, is false. We know this truth is basic because without it, no question can be answered, Read More…
Guest Post, Dr YS: “Intelligent Design and arguments against it”
Dr YS, contribtes thoughts again that are well worth pondering: >>I’d like to present a summary of the arguments against the design hypothesis that I have come across either as a reader or as an author of a pro-design blog over the past 8 years since I became interested in intelligent design. The Design Hypothesis Read More…