David Icke Interview: Aliens among us
Oi... another idiot who doesn't know how to translate Hebrew.
I love his talk about "bloodlines"... what appears not to have taken into account is that everyone, everywhere has royal ancestry... does that mean we're all aliens?
Dumbass.
Friday, July 07, 2006
Skiers Get d3o-Based 'Impact Suits': Science Fiction in the News
Skiers Get d3o-Based 'Impact Suits': Science Fiction in the News
Yeah baby! I need one of these for Paintball!
Yeah baby! I need one of these for Paintball!
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Pride
This is a subject that seems to recur regularly on the Mensa mailing list.
Why is it socially acceptable to brag about certain things, but not about others?
If I were a talented athlete with a preference for rugby, it would be practically expected that I engage in a career of professional sport. My aptitude for the sport would make me a shoe-in, and no-one would think it at all strange or unfair that I got to play for a professional team.
Meeting people socially, it would be expected that I talk about rugby, and share my experiences and knowledge of the professional rugby scene with anyone I met. People would read magazine articles about me and fanatics would memorise statistics detailing my performance.
Being a professional musician is much the same. Or even an amateur one. It doesn’t seem at all arrogant when musicians discuss their artistic achievements or innovations. We buy their CDs and marvel at their genius with as much enthusiasm as sports-fans watch game after game after game.
So why is it that intelligent people aren’t able to talk about their intelligence without coming off as pompous?
Look at these examples:
“I can bench-press 150kg.”
“I have an IQ of 150.”
The usual response to the first one of these is “Wow, where do you train?” or something to that effect. The usual response to the second is silence and an unspoken “Oooo… big deal! You think you’re so smart!”
Another set of examples: in a workplace situation it’s not unusual for a co-worker to ask “What are you doing tonight?” Below are three responses to that question.
1. “I’m going to hit the gym… tonight it’s back and shoulders with a bit of cardio. I’m on this new program I got from Fitness magazine. I’ve improved my BMI significantly.”
2. “I’ve got band-practice. We’re getting ready for a gig next Saturday. You should come check it out. It’s at that new club on Smith street.”
3. “Tonight is our monthly Mensa meeting. There’s a guest speaker from the Astronomy department at Wits University coming to give us a talk on Extrasolar Planets.”
Is it my imagination, but does only the third one come off as arrogant?
I understand that as soon as you mention a quantifiable fact that indicates that you might be more intelligent than the person you’re talking to, they get intimidated and envious. I certainly experience that.
But why do we experience that when it comes to intelligence, but not sports ability?
I don’t see any difference in the two: your genes determine whether you have an aptitude for either one or not. Either one can be worked on and improved, or neglected and allowed to stagnate.
I don’t have the physique of an athlete… it’s a simple fact. My arms and legs are hopelessly out of proportion with my body – I’m just not built for running, lifting, jumping, swimming or anything like that. It’s a fact I came to terms with at a very young age. That doesn’t mean I can’t do those things at all, it just means that it’s more difficult for me to do them than someone who is a natural athlete.
With discipline and a lot of hard work I could probably achieve a level of mediocrity in some or other sport, but I’d probably never be considered good at it.
Because of that, I’d probably be perfectly justified in being envious of professional athletes – they can do something with ease that I would struggle to do, if at all. But I’m not.
Yet I (and other Mensans) frequently encounter envy from people we deal with. For that reason, many Mensans choose not to disclose the fact that they are such. A pity.
The irony is that most of the people I work and socialise with (and whose envy I have to put up with) would easily pass the Mensa exam if they tried. It makes sense: because I am so intelligent, I tend to gravitate towards jobs that require intelligence and circles of people who are also intelligent.
Perhaps as a result of low self esteem, my brainy compatriots don’t believe they could pass the test, or are too afraid to try in case they fail.
Perhaps the negative stigma comes from ignorance: everyone knows you can improve your physical performance through exercise, but maybe people just don’t know that it’s just as easy to improve your mental performance (called “cognitive reserve”) through exercise as well.
Of course, as with physical exercise, your maximum potential is limited by your brain’s capacity, which varies from person to person. But there’s no reason why each of us can’t exceed our current capability.
Why is it socially acceptable to brag about certain things, but not about others?
If I were a talented athlete with a preference for rugby, it would be practically expected that I engage in a career of professional sport. My aptitude for the sport would make me a shoe-in, and no-one would think it at all strange or unfair that I got to play for a professional team.
Meeting people socially, it would be expected that I talk about rugby, and share my experiences and knowledge of the professional rugby scene with anyone I met. People would read magazine articles about me and fanatics would memorise statistics detailing my performance.
Being a professional musician is much the same. Or even an amateur one. It doesn’t seem at all arrogant when musicians discuss their artistic achievements or innovations. We buy their CDs and marvel at their genius with as much enthusiasm as sports-fans watch game after game after game.
So why is it that intelligent people aren’t able to talk about their intelligence without coming off as pompous?
Look at these examples:
“I can bench-press 150kg.”
“I have an IQ of 150.”
The usual response to the first one of these is “Wow, where do you train?” or something to that effect. The usual response to the second is silence and an unspoken “Oooo… big deal! You think you’re so smart!”
Another set of examples: in a workplace situation it’s not unusual for a co-worker to ask “What are you doing tonight?” Below are three responses to that question.
1. “I’m going to hit the gym… tonight it’s back and shoulders with a bit of cardio. I’m on this new program I got from Fitness magazine. I’ve improved my BMI significantly.”
2. “I’ve got band-practice. We’re getting ready for a gig next Saturday. You should come check it out. It’s at that new club on Smith street.”
3. “Tonight is our monthly Mensa meeting. There’s a guest speaker from the Astronomy department at Wits University coming to give us a talk on Extrasolar Planets.”
Is it my imagination, but does only the third one come off as arrogant?
I understand that as soon as you mention a quantifiable fact that indicates that you might be more intelligent than the person you’re talking to, they get intimidated and envious. I certainly experience that.
But why do we experience that when it comes to intelligence, but not sports ability?
I don’t see any difference in the two: your genes determine whether you have an aptitude for either one or not. Either one can be worked on and improved, or neglected and allowed to stagnate.
I don’t have the physique of an athlete… it’s a simple fact. My arms and legs are hopelessly out of proportion with my body – I’m just not built for running, lifting, jumping, swimming or anything like that. It’s a fact I came to terms with at a very young age. That doesn’t mean I can’t do those things at all, it just means that it’s more difficult for me to do them than someone who is a natural athlete.
With discipline and a lot of hard work I could probably achieve a level of mediocrity in some or other sport, but I’d probably never be considered good at it.
Because of that, I’d probably be perfectly justified in being envious of professional athletes – they can do something with ease that I would struggle to do, if at all. But I’m not.
Yet I (and other Mensans) frequently encounter envy from people we deal with. For that reason, many Mensans choose not to disclose the fact that they are such. A pity.
The irony is that most of the people I work and socialise with (and whose envy I have to put up with) would easily pass the Mensa exam if they tried. It makes sense: because I am so intelligent, I tend to gravitate towards jobs that require intelligence and circles of people who are also intelligent.
Perhaps as a result of low self esteem, my brainy compatriots don’t believe they could pass the test, or are too afraid to try in case they fail.
Perhaps the negative stigma comes from ignorance: everyone knows you can improve your physical performance through exercise, but maybe people just don’t know that it’s just as easy to improve your mental performance (called “cognitive reserve”) through exercise as well.
Of course, as with physical exercise, your maximum potential is limited by your brain’s capacity, which varies from person to person. But there’s no reason why each of us can’t exceed our current capability.
WorldWide Religious News-Welcome to real world, judge tells head Raelian
WorldWide Religious News-Welcome to real world, judge tells head Raelian
Bwahaha! This guy wielding a special kind of crazy who stole some ideas from Sitchin and started a cult has been put in his place by a Canadian judge.
(I have blogged about him before here.)
Bwahaha! This guy wielding a special kind of crazy who stole some ideas from Sitchin and started a cult has been put in his place by a Canadian judge.
(I have blogged about him before here.)
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Heidi's Hideout: Finally, it's here!
Heidi's Hideout: Finally, it's here!
The Most Amazing Girlfriend in the Universe just got more amazing... she's now also a published poet!
The Most Amazing Girlfriend in the Universe just got more amazing... she's now also a published poet!
Monday, July 03, 2006
The world's biggest meteor crater - SouthAfrica.info
The world's biggest meteor crater - SouthAfrica.info
This country never ceases to amaze me. When someone told me about this the other day I dismissed it as a fiction or an error... there was no way it could be true without me knowing about it.
I was wrong.
Today, while playing with Google Earth, I happened to notice a clear and distinct crater ring around the town of Parys... so I Googled "Parys crater" and lo and behold... the Free State Province is indeed home to the oldest and largest clearly visible meteor impact crater in the world!
And I thought Tswaing was cool!
This country never ceases to amaze me. When someone told me about this the other day I dismissed it as a fiction or an error... there was no way it could be true without me knowing about it.
I was wrong.
Today, while playing with Google Earth, I happened to notice a clear and distinct crater ring around the town of Parys... so I Googled "Parys crater" and lo and behold... the Free State Province is indeed home to the oldest and largest clearly visible meteor impact crater in the world!
And I thought Tswaing was cool!
Thursday, June 29, 2006
It's up!
Ok, it took me the better part of two weeks, but I've finally finished the transcript of my presentation.
If you have half an hour to kill and want to learn more about Star Trek technology, cruise along to the Dauntless website and take a look. I haven't included any of the visual aids I used in the original presentation... if you think I need to put those in (some of the concepts I cover are pretty complex), lemme know.
Enjoy!
If you have half an hour to kill and want to learn more about Star Trek technology, cruise along to the Dauntless website and take a look. I haven't included any of the visual aids I used in the original presentation... if you think I need to put those in (some of the concepts I cover are pretty complex), lemme know.
Enjoy!
Friday, June 23, 2006
Xmen: The Last Stand - Ultra-condensed version
Ian McKellan
The humans have developed a weapon against us. We will have a WAR.
Morlocks
Yeah!
(There is a WAR and it is AWESOME)
(There is a WAR and it is AWESOME)
THE END
Monday, June 19, 2006
Trek Minicon report
Well, the con went pretty well.
The gamer hordes who were supposed to show up for our CCG tournament and Role-Playing afterwards didn’t pitch… leaving my associate Tournament Director alone in the gaming hall for most of the day and leaving myself and my associate Role Playing Narrator with a bunch of newbies for the RPG session that evening.
Also the quiz questions I had devised were not used, for some reason… the quiz was cancelled.
Other than that, it was frikken cool.
My presentation was well received and I was inundated with questions about it for the rest of the day (as usual). The other speaker also delivered some fascinating insights, as I knew he would. I just hope his (somewhat obscure) episode references weren’t lost on everyone else… even I battled to keep up with him sometimes.
I even walked away with some free stuff… a pair of SFSA tumblers (to add to my collection of SFSA tumblers); a fantasy novel of intimidating length that I might get up the courage to read someday; and a gift from one of the local gaming retailers: a t-shirt, rules disk and demo-decks for the new Battlestar Galactica card game – a thinly veiled gesture designed to lure me into becoming a volunteer representative for the game which, since I have yet to see a single episode of the new BG series, is unlikely.
All in all it was a good day. I got to feel like an expert in something important for a day, and my uniform was much admired… it always goes down well at these things. Hopefully next year they’ll be less indecisive about the arrangements and I’ll have enough time to make a real effort in marketing the event.
For those of you who missed my talk and are waiting for the transcript, you’ll have to be patient. It took me a few days to write up the last one, so you can expect this one to take just as long. I’ll try to have it up on the Dauntless website by the end of the week, but no promises.
The gamer hordes who were supposed to show up for our CCG tournament and Role-Playing afterwards didn’t pitch… leaving my associate Tournament Director alone in the gaming hall for most of the day and leaving myself and my associate Role Playing Narrator with a bunch of newbies for the RPG session that evening.
Also the quiz questions I had devised were not used, for some reason… the quiz was cancelled.
Other than that, it was frikken cool.
My presentation was well received and I was inundated with questions about it for the rest of the day (as usual). The other speaker also delivered some fascinating insights, as I knew he would. I just hope his (somewhat obscure) episode references weren’t lost on everyone else… even I battled to keep up with him sometimes.
I even walked away with some free stuff… a pair of SFSA tumblers (to add to my collection of SFSA tumblers); a fantasy novel of intimidating length that I might get up the courage to read someday; and a gift from one of the local gaming retailers: a t-shirt, rules disk and demo-decks for the new Battlestar Galactica card game – a thinly veiled gesture designed to lure me into becoming a volunteer representative for the game which, since I have yet to see a single episode of the new BG series, is unlikely.
All in all it was a good day. I got to feel like an expert in something important for a day, and my uniform was much admired… it always goes down well at these things. Hopefully next year they’ll be less indecisive about the arrangements and I’ll have enough time to make a real effort in marketing the event.
For those of you who missed my talk and are waiting for the transcript, you’ll have to be patient. It took me a few days to write up the last one, so you can expect this one to take just as long. I’ll try to have it up on the Dauntless website by the end of the week, but no promises.
Thursday, June 08, 2006
The Dilbert Blog: Relativity
The Dilbert Blog: Relativity
I'm becoming more and more of a Scott Adams fan.
I still disagree with a lot of what he has to say (and he says a lot of things with the express intent that people like me will disagree with him), but he seems to have an uncanny knack of expressing extremely complicated scientific and philosophical concepts in very clear and manageable ways.
I'm becoming more and more of a Scott Adams fan.
I still disagree with a lot of what he has to say (and he says a lot of things with the express intent that people like me will disagree with him), but he seems to have an uncanny knack of expressing extremely complicated scientific and philosophical concepts in very clear and manageable ways.
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