<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000">As to what is going to happen in November. I just dunno. Blank.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000">I used to think that my mama lived through the most changes in our world - born in 1907. Died in 1980. Now I think I have experienced the most - 1942 to present. How long is this positively accelerated curve of scientific and tech discoveries going to take to slow down?</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000">There is a theory the Repubs like called 'trickle down' - which of course you know. It doesn't work, as we know. Apply the idea to these discoveries and ask yourself if they have trickled down to our lowest class. As far as electronic equipment, yes they have. As far as helping life people out of poverty nothing science and technology has discovered seems to have made a dent.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000">However, I do see, in Nigeria I think, a geneered bean is going to really help the famines they have. I read previously that many African countries have banned GMO crops. Talk about - I just can't think of a good metaphor for the terrible decisions those are.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000">When I think about particle accelerators (they want another one!) and the enormous cost of the things, I think that if you have so many people dying of diseases, starving, dying of dehydration because of water availability, you cannot justify pure research to the extent we are doing now. Genetic modification is going to save hundreds of millions of lives and make many more more enjoyable. billw</div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Sat, Jun 20, 2020 at 2:10 PM spike jones via extropy-chat <<a href="mailto:extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org">extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div lang="EN-US"><div class="gmail-m_-7751785693717798014WordSection1"><p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p><p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p><div style="border-right:none;border-bottom:none;border-left:none;border-top:1pt solid rgb(225,225,225);padding:3pt 0in 0in"><p class="MsoNormal">> <b>On Behalf Of </b>William Flynn Wallace via extropy-chat<br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [ExI] kiwis keeping it real<u></u><u></u></p></div><p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p><div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS""><u></u> <u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p><p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS"">>…<span style="color:black">Yes, a few men get addicted, but overall I am in favor of </span>…<span style="color:black">bill w<u></u><u></u></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p><p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p><p class="MsoNormal">BillW, I have a another take on this for yas. <u></u><u></u></p><p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p><p class="MsoNormal">Picture in your mind the “resources” available for a curious adolescent 1960s or early 70s era nerd, math geek. Normal girls won’t talk to him of course (that was before Bill Gates when being a nerd was actually a bad thing (Bill made nerdiness cool, geek chic.) The hapless adolescent has no access to the theoretical Playboy magazine, even though he has seen one (briefly (before losing consciousness.)) Adults will not talk about these sensitive matters, because they assume he needs to be 17 or so (which is years away (so it really is National Geographic (it’s all we had.)))<u></u><u></u></p><p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p><p class="MsoNormal">OK now, picture the contrast between that, which is the best or perhaps the only resources available, to the very most titillating images or video available free on the internet today.<u></u><u></u></p><p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p><p class="MsoNormal">OK you can stop imagining that now. Pay attention please. Eyes up here youse guys. <u></u><u></u></p><p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p><p class="MsoNormal">Compare those two imaginary scenarios for… titillation-ness. Titillability? (What is the noun form of that term?) Call it titillation factor, K sub t. If your mind works the way mine does, those two K sub t factors are at least a couple of orders of magnitude from each other. The titality of old NatGeos vs now really is that big, two orders of magnitude.<u></u><u></u></p><p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p><p class="MsoNormal">Here’s my fun thought for the day. If you take the availability of good music or funny entertaining video now compared to what we had in my misspent childhood, that too is at least a coupla orders of magnitude better now than then, but I would estimate way more than that, perhaps three orders of magnitude compared to 50 yrs ago. <u></u><u></u></p><p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p><p class="MsoNormal">If you take the availability of educational materials from those benighted times and compare to free resources today, I would estimate those at four full orders of magnitude better now compared to then. Even poor people can get to it in most places: our local public school is loaning Chrome Books and the library is offering free WiFi.<u></u><u></u></p><p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p><p class="MsoNormal">I do think we have collectively achieved a full four orders, a factor of ten-thousand in quality and availability in useful, interesting compelling, free educational resources, as we have seen a factor of a thousand improvement in entertainment, a factor of a hundred in… hey, eyes up here guys, focus, pay attention. <u></u><u></u></p><p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p><p class="MsoNormal">In our current challenging times with the pandemic and the lawlessness, do keep in mind:<u></u><u></u></p><p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p><p class="MsoNormal">Life… Is…. Goooooooood…<u></u><u></u></p><p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p><p class="MsoNormal">spike<u></u><u></u></p><p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p><p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p><p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p></div></div></div></div>_______________________________________________<br>
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