Jim

Ok, some critique then my thoughts on the subject.

I like the way you right and bring your ideas into focus. This blog is a little easier to read for someone like myself. I have trouble with the articles that go deep into numbers. The blog is a good reminder about something that I would like to think most know, but for whatever reasons decide to forget when it comes to themselves and their ideas.

My opinion on what's happening, regarding people not excepting ideas that in their time seem to radical, but over time become truths or clues.

I think for as large as things are getting. It almost seems that if we see each human as a cell inside a large mass human growth. Then I think we can look for balance issues and saftey mechanizisms.

First off these people that find and develop these ideas. Do they not have to first break off and away from the mass and venture into the unknown to find these new concepts in the first place? I just feel there is something inherent to going outside the norm and then being rejected as a result. Even if you come back with new fruits. If we go to our hunter\gatherer buddies, it was totally unsafe to bring new things into the cave. I would imagine early on we had to develop some set rules and superstitions. At that early stage I would think every new object brought into the cave, would be be breaking a rule the first time it was brought in.

With that in mind, if the whole mass of humans jumped on whatever new idea some guy has, that could be silly and dangerous. Even though what we have naturally might seem slow and petty or inhibited by human politics right now. It might be the safest means in which to introduce new concepts. Imagine one of our cavemen bringing in some new mushrooms he discovered and throwing them in tribal stew. Best to let only a few try the new ingredients to the stew, rather then the whole clan.

Superb post there, Jim. You're right about certain people fearing change and fearing the unknown. People's religions/beliefs can also interfere with progress.

I personally find it hard to believe that some scientists are still like this. With all this profound technology and weird discoveries being made (eg. dark matter, dark energy) and everything accelerating towards a possible singularity, it appears (to me anyway) that anything is possible.

The universe seems to be very hospitable towards us humans. It's as if there is a law in the universe that lets us imagine something and voila, it becomes a reality (as long as we put in the hard work). Could be Biocentrism...

You're absolutely right, Techne. We can't accept every new idea that comes along. But, one would think that simply applying the scientific method should allow the unfounded ideas to get weeded out pretty quickly.


You make it sound like some of the more fringe ideas are easily tested by the scientific method. It seems to me when you start getting into some of the more wild stuff, you need to spend more money to test it. Like the hadron collider. With it one would hope that science could prove theories with tech. But something like precogs, while it might be cheaper to test money wise. Now your getting into hard to reproduce results.

Think about psycodelics, they very well may have been with us from the start. May have inspired religions, civilizations, art, music, ect..... At times in history they may have been the main focus of civilizations. And yet, if you ask someone today to try one out, more often then not you end up with someone that is 'scared' and has any number of bullshit reasons why they can't try one. Hell, a lot of the pioneer scientist through out time will even admit to using psycodelics as well as the experience itself being of the most meaningful of their lives. I'm talking about the very superstar guys that young scientist look up to now, but yet most won't even touch the subject. People want to talk about how open they are, but are they really?

On a side note, is there something specific you feel is being neglected by main stream science?

It also reminded me of that bit from history,
Philipp von Jolly, "You don't want to study physics Max, there's nothing else to learn."
Golly, was he ever wrong.