Author: polistra
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Will this be on the test?
When I was teaching at DeVry in the 80s, I was constantly frustrated by the pressure toward memorized theory and against job-type experience. Even in an officially job-oriented school, most students just wanted to memorize and get done. From their viewpoint it’s completely understandable. They were only seeking a CREDENTIAL so they could start EARNING.…
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Inflection point
Via GetReligion, a writer asks why religion is not part of the official census. The Census Bureau prepared for the 1960 survey by testing out a question on religious affiliation. The bureau’s director at the time thought a religion question would not violate church-state separation or be any more offensive or intrusive than asking about…
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Visible or not, Paypal is there
Yesterday I donated to Wolf Richter as usual. He’s the only major writer who understands the real meaning of the end of QE. Everyone else, “left” or “right”, is screaming to get the free money going again, maintaining the bizarre fiction that zero interest is normal. The donation process seemed strange this time. I selected…
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Conglobulate
Totally irrelevant. I was running laundry and getting pissed that the load insisted on tangling up. It wouldn’t let me transfer to the dryer piece by piece. I had to wrestle out the whole glob at once. Of course I’m always pissed at cloth. Baseline condition. Me and cloth DO NOT GET ALONG. The word…
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Not strange at all.
Kirn: The double-exponential unpredictability of AI and its potential to amplify evil may have only one workable antidote, logic suggests: moral absolutism. Wouldn’t it be strange indeed if the outcome of our wild tech experiments is a thunderous comeback for the 10 Commandments? Historically it wouldn’t be strange. After the 1789 Terror, France emphatically returned…
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Required listening
Speaking of Entertainment as a Duty, and speaking of the British quick recovery from NAZI OCCUPATION… Tess Lawrie interviews musician Cambel McLaughlin who was touring Britain during the two years of occupation. He focuses correctly on the LOCKDOWNS and the total mental, emotional, and physical effects of the LOCKDOWNS. He never uses the C-word or…
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Here’s what we lost.
When the NYC rich fuckheads separated from the Crown in 1776 in order to achieve ZERO TAX, they intentionally lost everything that made the British system work. They destroyed the adaptability of Parliament. They destroyed honest caste. Above all they destroyed the unifying spirit of the royals. DailyMail shows happy Brits celebrating the new king.…
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Reprint on astrology
Rehashing my hypothesis about astrology. = = = = = START REPRINT: Picking up from previous post on James Ferguson. Previously I showed a couple of science entertainments using static fields to drive gadgets. Ferguson’s main focus was orreries or planet simulators. He began with another static-driven toy: From the top: In action: A simple…
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Astrology
Looking back through my previous interest in those ancient offices, I noticed that my items around that time also included a writer who grasped tenure. Here’s the connecting point, from June 12, 2017. The item about the ancient offices came the next day, triggered by purchasable prestige vs real aristocracy. = = = = =…
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Finally gets it
Finally a conservative writer understands the real purpose of tenure. He still mentions the “deadwood” crap, which is at best a side effect. The real effect of tenure is to select HARD-WORKING and ORTHODOX researchers. Lazy inquisitors wouldn’t be nearly as harmful as industrious inquisitors. He adds a historical fact that I didn’t know: Tenure…
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Ancient offices
BBC is discussing the ancient offices that still exist, with real people ready to perform the duties when required. The King’s Champion, around since 1066, comes into play at every crowning. He is required to don armor and challenge any pretenders who dare to question the authority of the King. The current King’s Champion is…
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Who, what, how
Barrett is discussing Chomsky’s allegiance to Deepstate. Why should such a logical man miss so many logical connections? I understand Chomsky. He’s an academic type, a Howist, naturally inclined to seek the black-box answer to problems. He refuses to see motives behind assassinations and wars unless the event changes policies. I have the same tendency.…
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IOT as seen from 1955
I was looking back through my Aberree theme to find something. Didn’t find it, but ran across this 2017 piece. Nothing has changed since then. = = = = = START REPRINT: Actually Musk doesn’t believe his negative comments about AI; he’s just talking the price down to corner the market. Nevertheless, he’s famous for…
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Y no Metni?
Reading Pat Foster’s history of the Metropolitan again. At one time Pininfarina developed a ‘wagon’ version of the Met which looked both practical and cute: Sort of a Nomadette. In reality this was just a proper coupe with a usable back seat. In a tiny car like the Metro, the two-box plan is the only…
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Why they fail
Small Christian colleges are collapsing. The NAZI TORTURE CAMP was the final blow, but most were already unsalvageable. Returning to the sieve theme. A few college courses are genuine training. The vast majority are selection devices to guarantee that only the most orthodox students get into top status positions. Christians no longer occupy top status…
Polistra's Mill 