While this is not exactly new stuff, I still found it very relevant.
Showing posts with label society. Show all posts
Showing posts with label society. Show all posts
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
The snowball effect
Technically, it's a positive feedback loop. Say A acts on B and likewise, B acts on A. So, if A goes up, B does, which in loops back, increasing A. The cycle keeps continuing until either A or B max out or an external force quells both.
This is the opposite of the negative feedback loop, where A goes up if B goes down and vice versa. Whereas negative loops are self-correcting and are stable, positive loops go out of control. This is important because small changes in this type of system has massive impacts as even small fluctuations are magnified.
This has many implications:
Snowball Earth:
If a natural disaster such as a volcanic eruption or a meteor impact released a large cloud of obscuring ash, it would block sunlight and lower the temperature of the Earth. Fluctuations in the Sun's energy output or changes in methane and carbon dioxide levels would also have had the same effect.
This is believed to have actually happened, roughly 750 million years ago.
Ice, normally contained at the poles, then advanced towards the equator. As more area froze over, it was changed from dark earth and water to white ice. Since white ice reflects heat better than dark earth and water, the more the ice advanced, the less heat the earth would get. This would make even more ice form, and the cycle continued. This eventually spiraled out of control until the entire earth was frozen in a snowball.
Explained by this BBC video, the second of the series Horizon:
Butterfly Effect: Commonly known as the chaos theory, whose most commonly-known example is how a butterfly flapping its wings above the Atlantic could, after a series of magnifying events, trigger a
Cascading Failure: This was the cause of the Great Lakes-Northeast American Blackout of 2003. Because of a power flow monitoring failure and a human operator problem, a generating plant was shut down. This increased the load put on other transforming stations, transmission lines, and plants. As more and more failed, even the best-maintained plants could not handle the load, resulting in the failure of the entire system and the blackout.
Public Panics: The Salem Witch trials, for example, were started by a small group of accusing girls. The accused, in order to save their own hides, accuse others. This spreads until nobody feels safe and is in a constant state of panic.
Disparity in Wealth: Once someone reaches a certain wealth threshold where all basic needs are fulfilled, he can begin investing. Once he begins investing and trading stocks, he can make even more money, depending on the profits. With this, he will invest even more and earn even more to continue the cycle. Now, roughly the top 10% of the world controls 85% of the world's wealth.
Traffic: A traffic jam sometimes begins not with a physical obstruction like a crash, but just because of normal driving behavior. If there is a moderate stream of cars on the road, then the act of one person suddenly swerving can trigger a shockwave that ripples backwards to the other drivers. The car immediately behind the swerver slows down to avoid hitting the swerver. In turn, the next car does the same, and so on.
Economic Fluctuation: Mass sellings such as the Black Tuesday one that was the precursor to the Great Depression are often triggered by chain-reaction selling. As prices drop, people see that they're losing money and sell to cut losses. This drops the price further, which causes others to sell. Paradoxically, this is a positive feedback loop although it works in a negative manner.
This is the opposite of the negative feedback loop, where A goes up if B goes down and vice versa. Whereas negative loops are self-correcting and are stable, positive loops go out of control. This is important because small changes in this type of system has massive impacts as even small fluctuations are magnified.
This has many implications:
Snowball Earth:
If a natural disaster such as a volcanic eruption or a meteor impact released a large cloud of obscuring ash, it would block sunlight and lower the temperature of the Earth. Fluctuations in the Sun's energy output or changes in methane and carbon dioxide levels would also have had the same effect.
This is believed to have actually happened, roughly 750 million years ago.
Ice, normally contained at the poles, then advanced towards the equator. As more area froze over, it was changed from dark earth and water to white ice. Since white ice reflects heat better than dark earth and water, the more the ice advanced, the less heat the earth would get. This would make even more ice form, and the cycle continued. This eventually spiraled out of control until the entire earth was frozen in a snowball.
Explained by this BBC video, the second of the series Horizon:
Butterfly Effect: Commonly known as the chaos theory, whose most commonly-known example is how a butterfly flapping its wings above the Atlantic could, after a series of magnifying events, trigger a
Cascading Failure: This was the cause of the Great Lakes-Northeast American Blackout of 2003. Because of a power flow monitoring failure and a human operator problem, a generating plant was shut down. This increased the load put on other transforming stations, transmission lines, and plants. As more and more failed, even the best-maintained plants could not handle the load, resulting in the failure of the entire system and the blackout.
Public Panics: The Salem Witch trials, for example, were started by a small group of accusing girls. The accused, in order to save their own hides, accuse others. This spreads until nobody feels safe and is in a constant state of panic.
Disparity in Wealth: Once someone reaches a certain wealth threshold where all basic needs are fulfilled, he can begin investing. Once he begins investing and trading stocks, he can make even more money, depending on the profits. With this, he will invest even more and earn even more to continue the cycle. Now, roughly the top 10% of the world controls 85% of the world's wealth.
Traffic: A traffic jam sometimes begins not with a physical obstruction like a crash, but just because of normal driving behavior. If there is a moderate stream of cars on the road, then the act of one person suddenly swerving can trigger a shockwave that ripples backwards to the other drivers. The car immediately behind the swerver slows down to avoid hitting the swerver. In turn, the next car does the same, and so on.
Economic Fluctuation: Mass sellings such as the Black Tuesday one that was the precursor to the Great Depression are often triggered by chain-reaction selling. As prices drop, people see that they're losing money and sell to cut losses. This drops the price further, which causes others to sell. Paradoxically, this is a positive feedback loop although it works in a negative manner.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Spheres of exclusivity
I've noticed is that academic groups tend to segregate. They form spheres of exclusivity where their idiomic expressions, vocabulary, and humor is directly tied to their study. Not only are these exclusionary against newbies who must learn the verbiage in order to feel a part of the group, but it puts off people who may have interest in the subject but are put off by the isolation of the people in the subject.
The best way to become a part of more spheres is to try more activities. Also, taking varied classes helps--this is easy for me to do, as a high school student. Reading more books helps, though it is hard to find good reads that introduce you to topics. The Internet is a good way to browse and pick up knowledge. I personally enjoy surfing Wikipedia surfing because the articles are linked to one another.
It is good to be part of more spheres. It benefits you by allowing you to connect to more people and have larger social networks to tap into. The best leaders and communicators understand their followers and audience and adapt their message, and by tailoring your language to the spheres, you can understand and connect to people better.
Some spheres I can recognize:
Running: PRs, splits, and paces are common phrases here. There is, unlike the other spheres below, less vocabulary to learn. However, there are certain practices, such as stretching, warming up, interval training, and on-off cycles that have to be learned.
Music: Music, with its Italian phrases, notation, and specific way it is read, is a daunting language to learn. What is interesting is that even within music, there are conflicting branches of modern music and classical music, each with their own focus, purpose, and mindset. Of all the spheres, the musical one is probably one of the largest-encompassing.
Robotics: This is techspeak. It takes time getting used to people telling you to "jig up the piece so I can Tig it" or to "broach the hub with the three sixteenth." In addition, it takes time to learn to operate the machinery.
Chemistry: Lots of notation. Stannous hydroxide, ferric oxide, 2-dimethyl propane, cuppric-tetraphenylporphine, etc. Chemistry also introduces an abstract mindset that many are not used to.
Physics: The subject of equations. Only to a person familiar with them do the variables make sense. Below, the equation for potential energy:
Biology: Anatomy is a pain to learn. Even though human anatomy is generally more accessible because people can correlate to their own body, a lot of the time the nomenclature does not make sense.
Math: Take this expression for the formal definition of a limit:
In English, it reads that "for each real ε > 0 there exists a real δ > 0 such that for all x with 0 < |x − c| < δ, we have |f(x) − L| < ε." Only in certain branches of math is this sort of complicated defining and variable manipulation common. However, in all the others there is an exactness--the answer has to be exactly on the spot or it is wrong-- that puts people off.
Programming: Not only does it consists mostly of mathematical operators, but the "sentence" structure is completely foreign. Also, to many, programming poses a completely new way of thinking that people are just not used to with its symbolic manipulation.
Literature: The vocabulary for analyzing literature isn't used widely. Words such as pastiche, deus ex machina, metonymy, enjambmen, aysndeton, and other literary devices. However, what makes literature different from the other spheres is that it appeals to the common person and that this vocabulary is not necessary for fully appreciating the prose.
The best way to become a part of more spheres is to try more activities. Also, taking varied classes helps--this is easy for me to do, as a high school student. Reading more books helps, though it is hard to find good reads that introduce you to topics. The Internet is a good way to browse and pick up knowledge. I personally enjoy surfing Wikipedia surfing because the articles are linked to one another.
It is good to be part of more spheres. It benefits you by allowing you to connect to more people and have larger social networks to tap into. The best leaders and communicators understand their followers and audience and adapt their message, and by tailoring your language to the spheres, you can understand and connect to people better.
Some spheres I can recognize:
Running: PRs, splits, and paces are common phrases here. There is, unlike the other spheres below, less vocabulary to learn. However, there are certain practices, such as stretching, warming up, interval training, and on-off cycles that have to be learned.
Music: Music, with its Italian phrases, notation, and specific way it is read, is a daunting language to learn. What is interesting is that even within music, there are conflicting branches of modern music and classical music, each with their own focus, purpose, and mindset. Of all the spheres, the musical one is probably one of the largest-encompassing.
Robotics: This is techspeak. It takes time getting used to people telling you to "jig up the piece so I can Tig it" or to "broach the hub with the three sixteenth." In addition, it takes time to learn to operate the machinery.
Chemistry: Lots of notation. Stannous hydroxide, ferric oxide, 2-dimethyl propane, cuppric-tetraphenylporphine, etc. Chemistry also introduces an abstract mindset that many are not used to.
Physics: The subject of equations. Only to a person familiar with them do the variables make sense. Below, the equation for potential energy:
Biology: Anatomy is a pain to learn. Even though human anatomy is generally more accessible because people can correlate to their own body, a lot of the time the nomenclature does not make sense.Math: Take this expression for the formal definition of a limit:
In English, it reads that "for each real ε > 0 there exists a real δ > 0 such that for all x with 0 < |x − c| < δ, we have |f(x) − L| < ε." Only in certain branches of math is this sort of complicated defining and variable manipulation common. However, in all the others there is an exactness--the answer has to be exactly on the spot or it is wrong-- that puts people off.Programming: Not only does it consists mostly of mathematical operators, but the "sentence" structure is completely foreign. Also, to many, programming poses a completely new way of thinking that people are just not used to with its symbolic manipulation.
Literature: The vocabulary for analyzing literature isn't used widely. Words such as pastiche, deus ex machina, metonymy, enjambmen, aysndeton, and other literary devices. However, what makes literature different from the other spheres is that it appeals to the common person and that this vocabulary is not necessary for fully appreciating the prose.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Pope: Condoms don't help stop the spread of AIDS
As reported by a BBC piece, Pope Benedict XVI has said that
This is essentially a power struggle between church and science. Clearly, science triumphs in trully saving souls and lives. Religion, in this case represented by the Pope, is reluctant to let go of the masses that it has held in unquestioning loyalty for so long. Now, with the advent of more open usage of science against traditional dogma, religion is striking back, tieing science to social ills such as divorce, abortion, and prostitution which itself can not solve. It is pointing the finger at science instead of confronting its own deficiencies in solving these problems.
What's at stake here is not the lives of those currently of age. The children and those too young to understand the battle between modernism and traditionalism are going to be affected the most. As they are brainwashed by church and anti-science propoganda, they develop a mindset against using science to prevent disease and unwanted pregnancies. Instead of moving into the future, they return to the past. The past decades of HIV and other STD prevention and treatment will have gone to waste as the people forsake science for doctrine.
Instead of acting on behalf of the people, the Pope is acting for himself and his church only.
The traditional teaching of the church has proven to be the only failsafe way to prevent the spread of HIV/Aids.and that
It is of great concern that the fabric of African life, its very source of hope and stability, is threatened by divorce, abortion, prostitution, human trafficking and a contraception mentality.Here lies the most obvious difference between science and religion: the intoleration and unwillingness to change that traditionalists teach. In keeping populations healthy and in check, science has proven itself more than able with its extensive health care and birth control. Contraception too has proven itself in preventing unwanted children and stopping much STD transmission.
This is essentially a power struggle between church and science. Clearly, science triumphs in trully saving souls and lives. Religion, in this case represented by the Pope, is reluctant to let go of the masses that it has held in unquestioning loyalty for so long. Now, with the advent of more open usage of science against traditional dogma, religion is striking back, tieing science to social ills such as divorce, abortion, and prostitution which itself can not solve. It is pointing the finger at science instead of confronting its own deficiencies in solving these problems.
What's at stake here is not the lives of those currently of age. The children and those too young to understand the battle between modernism and traditionalism are going to be affected the most. As they are brainwashed by church and anti-science propoganda, they develop a mindset against using science to prevent disease and unwanted pregnancies. Instead of moving into the future, they return to the past. The past decades of HIV and other STD prevention and treatment will have gone to waste as the people forsake science for doctrine.
Instead of acting on behalf of the people, the Pope is acting for himself and his church only.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Time for decriminalization?
Marijuana is only minimally bad for health: it is nonaddictive, has roughly the same amount of carcinogens as tobacco, leaves few lasting effects on brain function, and even has medicinal value. That it is used recreationally, only occasionally and in small doses makes it even safer. THC itself is a less potent drug than many other legal ones such as caffeine or alcohol, and as such it is nearly impossible to overdose on marijuana.
Marijuana has many medicinal uses, such as reducing nausea, helping people with glaucoma, and reducing muscle spasticity. Although it is possible to get THC in a pill form, it is less effective than just smoking marijuana. California has legalized medicinal marijuana, but its use is still done in secrecy because federal agents can still seize the marijuana.
By creating a blanket ban on seemingly arbitrarily-defined (see pic below) "bad" drugs, the War on Drugs alienates recreational users of marijuana who hurt nobody with their use and do little to keep drug bosses in power. By making marijuana use illegal, the War on Drugs creates an underground market for it that increases prices and fosters other illegal activities, as was the case during the Prohibition of the early 1900's. If marijuana use was legalized, the drug dealers would be replaced by legal shops that could distribute cheaper and safer fare. Since marijuana can be easily grown in the US, legalization would produce a new crop to farm akin to tobacco or tea. While now, some of the money spent funnels away to Mexico or Canada, from where it is smuggled into the States. If production were legalized, it would produce a new sector in agriculture that could provide jobs and income and keep money within the US.
In the Netherlands, marijuana is legalized and freely available to those of age. Unlike here in the US where drug use is shrouded in secrecy and rarely discussed, there is a culture of transparency and openness. More frank and realistic discussion of this over the complete ban posed by the War on Drugs would help to instill societal norms that would probably work to self-regulate marijuana usage. By this I mean that if marijuana use becomes typical, there is no hype associated with taking it; it would be just as uneventful drug-wise as drinking coffee.
As indicated by the election of a president who has admitted to his fondness for the drug and favors decriminalization and by the proposal of legalization to legalize marijuana in New Jersey, attitudes towards marijuana use are changing. Although there still a stigma associated to smoking marijuana, there is less of one than before. Part of this stems from increased knowledge about marijuana's potency. Now, although children are educated to not take drugs, peer-to-peer contact spreads information widely available on the Internet that marijuana is actually not as dangerous as it is made out to be and that it is not very addictive. Each successive generation becomes more friendly towards the cause of decriminalization and legalization.
Legalization and regulation would provide a taxable and regulated commodity that could be used to pull in money for government. According to Assemblyman Tom Ammiano of California, a tax of $50 per ounce could bring in around $1 billion. Legalization too would make medicinal marijuana more available to those who actually need it. This moral dilemma alone should be enough to warrant legalization: Why deny peace and comfort to those who are suffering just to keep a scientifically-proven generally safe drug out of the hands of people?
Marijuana has many medicinal uses, such as reducing nausea, helping people with glaucoma, and reducing muscle spasticity. Although it is possible to get THC in a pill form, it is less effective than just smoking marijuana. California has legalized medicinal marijuana, but its use is still done in secrecy because federal agents can still seize the marijuana.
By creating a blanket ban on seemingly arbitrarily-defined (see pic below) "bad" drugs, the War on Drugs alienates recreational users of marijuana who hurt nobody with their use and do little to keep drug bosses in power. By making marijuana use illegal, the War on Drugs creates an underground market for it that increases prices and fosters other illegal activities, as was the case during the Prohibition of the early 1900's. If marijuana use was legalized, the drug dealers would be replaced by legal shops that could distribute cheaper and safer fare. Since marijuana can be easily grown in the US, legalization would produce a new crop to farm akin to tobacco or tea. While now, some of the money spent funnels away to Mexico or Canada, from where it is smuggled into the States. If production were legalized, it would produce a new sector in agriculture that could provide jobs and income and keep money within the US.
In the Netherlands, marijuana is legalized and freely available to those of age. Unlike here in the US where drug use is shrouded in secrecy and rarely discussed, there is a culture of transparency and openness. More frank and realistic discussion of this over the complete ban posed by the War on Drugs would help to instill societal norms that would probably work to self-regulate marijuana usage. By this I mean that if marijuana use becomes typical, there is no hype associated with taking it; it would be just as uneventful drug-wise as drinking coffee.As indicated by the election of a president who has admitted to his fondness for the drug and favors decriminalization and by the proposal of legalization to legalize marijuana in New Jersey, attitudes towards marijuana use are changing. Although there still a stigma associated to smoking marijuana, there is less of one than before. Part of this stems from increased knowledge about marijuana's potency. Now, although children are educated to not take drugs, peer-to-peer contact spreads information widely available on the Internet that marijuana is actually not as dangerous as it is made out to be and that it is not very addictive. Each successive generation becomes more friendly towards the cause of decriminalization and legalization.
Legalization and regulation would provide a taxable and regulated commodity that could be used to pull in money for government. According to Assemblyman Tom Ammiano of California, a tax of $50 per ounce could bring in around $1 billion. Legalization too would make medicinal marijuana more available to those who actually need it. This moral dilemma alone should be enough to warrant legalization: Why deny peace and comfort to those who are suffering just to keep a scientifically-proven generally safe drug out of the hands of people?