Monday, September 12, 2016

Relax, the Scientists Will Get Here Later

There's usually some science-y material at about noon Eastern on weekdays so you won't have to endure the Rat Patrol News for much longer.

Note:  Matt Damon used 'science' as a verb in "The Martian" and since then the word can be used in any type of application one likes.


The release of the science-y material is sci-fi Christmas because we have no idea whether the things they're reporting today will be interesting and many times they're not.  Unknown if you're interested in how sticking this element to that element makes this magic thing but materials science is sexy to me like something involving amphibians.  Sorry if that gets too personal for anyone so engaged with such species.


There's lots of fortune-telling on the Rat Patrol News and there hasn't been such a crop of clairvoyance since the last gypsy caravan came through town but, man, you didn't even get Django with their music while they were around.


For Ithaka fortune-telling, we want a foundation because then we can pass it off as sci fi instead of the usual Rat Patrol hogwash hurling and hound dog barking contests.  That's because we want to get better at hanging out.

Lewis Black said there's no-one so good at hanging out as Baby Boomers since we can shoot the shit about just anything and we are such dayum experts on everything.

(Ed:  you're guilty as charged!)

Fair enough but I like to think there's a difference when there's some BSF (i.e. Bullshit Foundation) and, hence, the science articles.  It's the same principle intelligence agencies use in relating something which is true so they can deliver with it a whole load of hogwash which isn't.


For today's hanging out or at least this part of it, there's still the fascination with the apparent flexibility of the genome for 'dogness' in which that genome features animals not much larger than barking mice up to dogs so large they eat more than visiting relatives.

So, as we're hanging out, we wonder why we don't see such variation in us.  All humans seem to offer is some difference in skin color and minor physical differences so we wonder why is one genome seemingly so flexible and ours is not, despite claims to the contrary by people who often howl at a Full Moon, chase cars, and get really, really violent.

(Ed:  well, there's some variability!)

We're talkin' useful variability, Jethro.  They're kind of the genomic 'scratch pool' for humans which just didn't quite work out.


We don't believe the human genome is bereft of variability but rather finding the extents of it are somewhat inhibited by the wild abuse of ethical boundaries in any kind of thoroughbred breeding program which involves humans.  Nevertheless, it should be possible because humans must have at least as many junk genes (i.e. genes which were used somewhere along the evolutionary trail but aren't used any more or so) and the existence of junk genes in the human gene pool is proven by the existence of Scientologists.

Barring any disagreement, I'll rest my case.


But, since we're just hanging out anyway, what is the ethical consideration when humans practice eugenics on ourselves rather than something administered by an evil government or corporate entity (i.e. the only kind extant in either).  Maybe humans decide, man, we're going to make a better farmer before they're all replaced by robots.  This Better Farmer won't even need the Farmer's Almanac because he has re-discovered his senses which can anticipate the weather so he already knows.

The crew decides, well, Farmer John is damn good like that and he can even find water without a divining rod.  How does he do it.  Hook him up with Witchy Wanda because she always knows when it's going to rain and, presto, you've got a human meteorology station.  Breed them for a few generations and they will be able to forecast hurricanes.

And, if'n this ain't possible, Huckleberry, how do birds do it since they're always gone before the storm arrives.  They know when earthquakes are coming.  Maybe that's from vibrations they feel in the Earth but how is it humans in our oh-so-evolved state can't feel them.

The contention here, for the sake of hanging out, is we do know how to feel them but we forgot.  Moreover, we have forgotten many things of this nature but perhaps we could bring them back out again.


(Ed:  are you seriously talking about a Socialist Eugenics program?)

Hey, we can talk about anything we like when we're hanging out because, well, we can and, of course, we're experts on any subject.  In short, yes, this is the Socialist Eugenics program.

(Ed:  you're leaving out the boobies!)

Fair enough as a nice set of boobies can wreck a eugenics program any old time.

(Ed:  do you imply farmers are stupid like that?)

No, in fact, I'm saying directly all men are stupid like that.  Shall we ask a Representative Unbiased Female on the Street for confirmation?

I'm listening but I only hear Crickets.   I shall therefore rest my case.

No comments: