Thursday, November 29, 2007

Two major believe systems fight eagerly for supporters: science and religion. Of course, most supporters of science will deny calling their discipline a believe system and probably start arguing, using terms like objective truth or reality.

These wonderful memes gained a stronger influence to the human mind during the Age of Enlightenment, and enjoy still overwhelming popularity. Yet, reality looks more like a zoom through an fractal landscape than the still life science dares to study.

The mind, the tool that allows awareness of the connectedness of life, suffers from neglect of scientific observations. Even psychology withdrew from William James idea of introspection to the creation of endless scales and methods to measure electric and chemical activity.

Our emotions, modern psychology tells us, sit in the amygdala, which controls our emotion by sending out neurotransmitters. The DNA holds the blueprint for these neurotransmitters, which are composed out of set twenty different amino acids. If we find ways to chemically or electromagnetically influence the brain, we can manipulate behaviour. If we look closely enough we might even identity the genetic origin of undesirable traits.

Unfortunately this implies that psychology has reached a stage of dogmatism, in which dogmas from neighboring disciplines slip through the filter of skepticism. A lot of biologists still adhere to genetic determinism, and have rather strange ideas about evolution. Our genes, however can only yield any influence on your development in the right environment.

Yet the soulless idea of a biochemical automaton fits nicely into lack of concept of the human mind that psychology so desperately evades. The human mind, however, commands a community of about 50 trillion cells, each one organised into labor sharing components.

Each cell reacts on its environment, and functions for the common greater good. In a balanced and resourceful environment each cell can theoretically produce any protein coded in its DNA. Science has no interest in finding out why which protein gets produced, as it lacks interest in exploring evolution without the preposterous assumpting that mankind is its pinnacle.

Genes are a wonderful thing, and without them the world would look differently. But like anything alive, taken on its own, without embedding them into a proper environment, nothing will happen. That inherent limitation of genetic engineering does not stop scientists from conducting experience with our perma-evolving biosphere.

Nature and nurture don't compete about their influence to create another living being with an individual set of patterns of behaviour, they cooperate. We can certainly find competitive elements in the way natural systems interact, but self-organisation and cooperation dominate in the game of life.

We live on a spot of universe that provides an abundant excess of energy. Chlorophyll converts this energy, and makes it available for other life forms. The sun provided enough entropy for the primordial soup to cook up life, and sustained it in an abundant variety for billions of time our planet spun around it.

The dependency on this complex, solar-power driven universal life support system becomes more apparent when we try to escape from it. Although the spherical structure of our planet still makes many minds spin, some people dreamt about living on the moon or even on mars, which unlike our planet, have no atmosphere. Our habit of breathing oxygen depends on the primary solar energy converters, that not only provide the basis for chemical energy conversion but only conveniently produce this gas so important for our metabolism.

This appears only as a lucky coincidence if you haven't understood evolution (or misunderstood Darwin in popular ways). Although the analytic western way of thinking favors to consider systems separately, preferably in the dysfunctional state of being deconstructed to its basic elements.

The species that exist today exist today because they managed to coexist best. The term ecosystem describes this interdependency of species precisely, yet the sanitised nature patches in the crowded cities of this planet make the complexity of ecosystems hard to fathom, especially on a global scale.

The information age provided a power boost for the dichotomy meme. One and zero, the binary division of the world showed its supremacy by the digitization we experience nowadays. If computers operate binary, and can do so many things, maybe life is just black and white? 1 = humanity, 0 = nature?

The way some people treat our planet demonstrates that this mind set exists, and an elaborate set of laws protects their business interests against greedy mother nature. Deliberately destroying parts of our life support system seems foolish, but rationality has not the strongest influence on human behaviour.

The idea that evolution has a winner, like a competition, distracts from the amazing ways of cooperation between species. The "us or them" meme still goes strong. Once we lost the from God appointed position as owner of planet, we might end our siege of nature as well.



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Tuesday, November 27, 2007



A noble gesture of the leader (in the number of civilian killings in this century).

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Television, the drug of the nation. At least Michael Franti claimed this, first with the Beatniggs, then with the Disposable Heroes of HipHopcrisy. Of course I agree, although I enjoyed the tiny bubble of acceptable public TV programs, especially on SBS.

But since the demontage of the Australian mediascape by new legislation has begun, SBS joined the ranks of propaganda channels. Tonights program was about the most disappointing bulk of bullshit I ever saw on that channel.

As part of the Lost Worlds series the miracles of Jesus Christ unfolded again for the disbelieving eyes and minds. In docu-drama style the accounts of the apostels replayed on the screen, not as bloody and violently as in the Passion of Christ, but taken from the interesting question: Did JC really believe he was god?

This way of profiling a celebrity's life was supposed to bring the person Jesus Christ closer to our hearts, humanizing the Übermensch and messiah. And so it's not surprising that all sources used for this piece of junk came directly from the Vatican's most successful PR scam, the Holy Bible.

Why bother with the fact that none of four apostels ever encountered JC, as long as their account of Jesus' fondness with certain prophets explains his selfless death in psychologically compelling terms.

Why bother that Roman historians of JC's lifetime have ignored the man, that created so much unrest, and such a lasting phenomena. Instead, we find out that Jesus received his Godly mission straight while being baptised, went confused in isolation to be tempted by the devil, came back stronger and holier than before, although he used funny methods for exorcisms.

I don't mind that some people believe ancient books to be the literal words of a male threatening metaphysical Überbeing. A lot of people in the Western World believe to life in democracy, so delusional believes seem to reflect the normal functioning of human minds (statistically speaking).

But it's a mystery to me how this advertisement for Christianity made it into a series of archeological documentaries. The attempts to maintain certain myths of society become more and more ludicrous.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

20 cents to save Australia

The elections are getting closer, and so the fear level has to be increased on the expense of tax-payers again. While there was a pleasant break during wintertime in broadcasting and advertising of the "Snitch on your neighbors" campaign, it has become more popular again.

Even though Australia has still not been hit a terrorist attack (which isn't too surprising, as Europe and the US not only have massively more inhabitants, but are way more present in the global media than the funny island down under), Australians are encouraged to be suspicious about their neighbors, and report to their "terror hotline", even anonymous, if desired.

I know someone, who actively works against democracy, meets regularly with foreign terror suspects, and is involved in spreading fear throughout Australia. His name is Philip Ruddock, General Attorney of Australia. His disrespect for democracy is so appalling that I encourage anyone to spend 20 cents to ring up Australia's "terror" hotline from a phone booth and tip him off anonymously.


I would suggest using a public phone, probably in a side road and out of sight of traffic surveillance cameras. Depending on the fun that might arise from fulfilling your duties as a responsible citizen to tip off this brazen enemy of free speech, the rule of law and democracy, it might be still a good idea to vary the locations from which you call 1800 123400 to raise your concern about this terrorist mastermind.

If you like the idea, spread the word. As we can see with the corruption scandal of the Victorian Police, being in an important position doesn't make you morally superior or prevents you from being a crook. Together we can stop Philip Ruddock from spreading terror in Australia, let's do it!

It's free (1800 number), it's fun and it means you care about your community.

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Somehow I started thinking about Australian values. Maybe it's because of the election time, maybe it's because of some remarkable statements by the PM of this country.

Richard Pratt, the Australian billionaire, confessed to price fixing together with the second supplier of the goods Mr. Prick sells. He feels bad about ripping off virtually every Australian, because he got caught. Even thought he used, in the good old drug dealer style, prepaid phones and secret locations for his nefarious negotiations.

Mr. Leader Howard steps in. As PM he is used to screw the Australian population (GST for the high life of dole bludging backbenchers!!!!), so he takes sides. Mr. Pratt is an honarary citizen of this country, even though in most nations he would end up in jail, while Dr. Haneef, who cares about the health of Australians, even though he is none, is chased away.

What do we learn from this? Government without control is tyranny. We screwed you, so what? We make the laws, so that we can screw you as much as like, and you even have to pay for it. Go to China, if you don't like it. Go fast, because if you don't shut up, you're a bloody terrorist and we send you to Christmas Island.

Even though it might change their attitude, I wouldn't want to send Johnny, Peter and Kevin to Guantanamo. Ditch them in the middle of their 'native' country. Their ancestors gloriously survived by living in cities, while committing genocide to the two-legged animals in Australia, so they know how to take the hardship of the land they raped and chose to live in.

If they manage to survive the desert, and have acquired private health care and a private pension while being there, we might welcome them back to the community. If not, they can inspect their investment of tax payers money in Christmas Island for the rest of their time.

But then, most people like being sheep. And so they truly believe things change, when another high-level dole bludger becomes PM. What on earth drove me to this jingoistic country? Anyway, the country that owns me isn't much better, so it doesn't really make a difference where i experience the advent of global tyranny.