I still miss Hobbes- the lab/shepherd. His base loves him and the market needs him so truth doesn't matter, unfortunately. I am determined not to let this ruin my health...or dreams, darling Archy.
On Jan 23, 7:09 am, archytas <[email protected]> wrote: > He's also as stubborn as a mule Allan - makes him even better really. > > Your pros and cons (plus margins) had me thinking rigs - I've been > asked for a book chapter on 'why economics isn't a science' and saw a > set of scales as I read your comments. Coincidentally, Obama was > doing his inauguration speech on tv and I remembered you don't like > him - he changed to a lying toad in front of my eyes (literally in my > head - though I always know I'm seeing an illusion). It was the > 'bringing democracy to all nations of the world' bit. Stuff lies to > us in science - mass is the classic - we treat it as creating > gravitational force (yet gravity is an illusion in general relativity) > and also treat it in terms of inertia - experimental results > coincidentally 'prove' both. US (and all other) imperialism should > make a statement like Obama's impossible to perceive other than as a > lie (the historical evidence is that we have subverted democracy > almost everywhere). I know from my own experience as an experimenter > that it is very difficult to set up measurement. Thinking of this > woolly mix I went to bed and dreamed of politicians as cheating > alchemists. The dream turned sour at that point when I sensed I was > on to something. > > I can see a machine able to flag up (say) US foreign policy effects as > politicians make their promises - clanking up pros and cons to make > lying in performance management more obvious. Science is aware that > it still gets caught up in myths (like creation and big bang - can we > think without origin) but essentially works hard on making factual > databases 'anyone' can use in terms of knowing what and knowing how. > The economic-political system generally prevents this altogether. > Don't really know what I'm on about - but I'm not scared by the > machine possibilities and suspect somewhere in this I don;t believe we > are human yet - and might only become so with machine help. > > Time to unleash the hound! > On Jan 23, 6:56 am, Allan H <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > sounds like a great dog Neil > > > On Wed, Jan 23, 2013 at 5:58 AM, archytas <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Maxwell is a stubby-legged Labrador and a bit of a wimp. He's a > > > sweetie. > > > > On Jan 22, 1:40 pm, rigs <[email protected]> wrote: > > >> My last was a lab-shepherd with high energy till he grew old- age 13. > > >> Also had a Chesapeake Bay retriever- another large dog that loves > > >> water. I have a large backyard but he really needed a field- stream- > > >> woods,etc. This cold is hard on paws- some fit their dogs with > > >> sweaters and booties.//Yes- it does seem the Brits collapse in snow > > >> and unusual weather but it's a strange year- even Jerusalem could make > > >> snowmen this year. Anyway- happy travels today. > > > >> On Jan 22, 12:56 am, archytas <[email protected]> wrote: > > > >> > Max loves the snow - though we rarely drop much below freezing here > > >> > even with wind-chill. I'm off into Manchester today, assuming out > > >> > trains run on a quarter of an inch of snow, > > > >> > On Jan 22, 1:07 am, Molly <[email protected]> wrote: > > > >> > > brrr. We might be there overnight. The deep freeze. Wonderful > > >> > > world. We move through it regardless. > > > >> > > On Jan 21, 10:24 am, rigs <[email protected]> wrote: > > > >> > > > My earlier post has been diverted to outer space, it seems. > > > >> > > > That loneliness may be a cover, you know. > > > >> > > > Saul Bellow was a rascal. > > > >> > > > The speed of information leads to surprise and a protean miss, > > >> > > > often. > > >> > > > I look for patterns in history/culture and try to keep two columns- > > >> > > > pro and con with hope for the margins. The top tiers of government > > >> > > > are > > >> > > > usually the culprits rather than their off-spring- and it's true of > > >> > > > tribes as well as complicated systems- the buck really does stop- > > >> > > > even > > >> > > > in suitcases of cash and packets of Viagra. > > > >> > > > My "dog" would need diapers- we're at -30 wind chill factor. > > > >> > > > On Jan 21, 6:10 am, archytas <[email protected]> wrote: > > > >> > > > > Of course, I don't expect anything tangled-up with government and > > >> > > > > academic bureaucracy to produce much practical. The gist was > > >> > > > > once > > >> > > > > that we should aim for praxis, a form of rational action. For > > >> > > > > some > > >> > > > > the guide was marxism, but most of us grew up with a form of > > >> > > > > Keynesian > > >> > > > > guide - the economics of full employment and FDR's never > > >> > > > > completed > > >> > > > > second Bill of Rights. More recently we have reverted to the > > >> > > > > control > > >> > > > > fraud of banksters and neo-classical economics. I was never much > > >> > > > > interested in the 'grand theory' - as a cop I was more > > >> > > > > interested in > > >> > > > > what people were hiding and lying about, as scientist the grand > > >> > > > > was > > >> > > > > excluded as rigorously as possible a the laboratory door and as a > > >> > > > > university teacher I was more interested in developing > > >> > > > > resourceful > > >> > > > > humans than daft, religious managerial theories. As a kid, my > > >> > > > > elder > > >> > > > > brother and sister always claimed I changed the goalposts in > > >> > > > > argument > > >> > > > > and as I grew up I discovered this was what argument was > > >> > > > > generally > > >> > > > > about - the goalposts changing name to root metaphor and > > >> > > > > paradigm. > > >> > > > > Experts in argument are bought like lawyers and have about the > > >> > > > > same > > >> > > > > ethics. When Socrates gestures at the Sophists claiming 'I know > > >> > > > > nothing, but even this is to know more than they' he is just > > >> > > > > being the > > >> > > > > smartest guy in the room. > > >> > > > > We say 'jaw-jaw' is better than 'war-war' - but there is no > > >> > > > > crucial > > >> > > > > experiment to decide in 'jaw-jaw'. The problem with argument is > > >> > > > > that > > >> > > > > it needs arbitration if human beings are involved in it and the > > >> > > > > seeds > > >> > > > > of its own destruction are laid in most people having no > > >> > > > > training in > > >> > > > > how it is constructed. If you get some training in this you can > > >> > > > > be > > >> > > > > bought like a lawyer as a mouthpiece. Machine knowledge bases > > >> > > > > and > > >> > > > > reasoning capacity potentially offer a democratisation of > > >> > > > > argument > > >> > > > > expertise, manufacturing capability, medicine, finance and much > > >> > > > > more - > > >> > > > > evidence-based practice for all. In practice, doing management > > >> > > > > information systems, one soon learns those currently in the know > > >> > > > > want > > >> > > > > to keep things that way. I believe the professions are currently > > >> > > > > preventing this as surely as those smashing machines in the > > >> > > > > industrial > > >> > > > > revolution. I believe this is the central issue of the moment - > > >> > > > > and > > >> > > > > my reasons concern the dream I have of the precipice of > > >> > > > > disgusting > > >> > > > > war,the dullness of politics, religion and literature. Economic > > >> > > > > growth is nearly all uninteresting - FlopBook and so on - and > > >> > > > > rarely > > >> > > > > about the growth of capital I would value. Would we could dream > > >> > > > > up > > >> > > > > something else - and why we cannot when 2% of labour can provide > > >> > > > > our > > >> > > > > food. I miss any sense of collective dreaming and find only the > > >> > > > > loneliness more 'primitive' people I've met would comment on in > > >> > > > > the > > >> > > > > first blush of their experience amongst us. > > > >> > > > > On Jan 21, 9:18 am, archytas <[email protected]> wrote: > > > >> > > > > > Those who have contributed to the thread have shown me there > > >> > > > > > isn't > > >> > > > > > much general awareness of the 'technology'. There are already > > >> > > > > > intelligent systems like Watson (IBM) doing a fair job on > > >> > > > > > embodied > > >> > > > > > expert knowledge (medical in this case). The general idea is > > >> > > > > > in this > > >> > > > > > from New Scientist: > > > >> > > > > > In your wildest dreams, could you imagine a government that > > >> > > > > > builds its > > >> > > > > > policies on carefully gathered scientific evidence? One that > > >> > > > > > publishes > > >> > > > > > the rationale behind its decisions, complete with data, > > >> > > > > > analysis and > > >> > > > > > supporting arguments? Well, dream no longer: that's where the > > >> > > > > > UK is > > >> > > > > > heading. > > > >> > > > > > It has been a long time coming, according to Chris Wormald, > > >> > > > > > permanent > > >> > > > > > secretary at the Department for Education. The civil service > > >> > > > > > is not > > >> > > > > > short of clever people, he points out, and there is no lack of > > >> > > > > > desire > > >> > > > > > to use evidence properly. More than 20 years as a serving > > >> > > > > > politician > > >> > > > > > has convinced him that they are as keen as anyone to create > > >> > > > > > effective > > >> > > > > > policies. "I've never met a minister who didn't want to know > > >> > > > > > what > > >> > > > > > worked," he says. What has changed now is that informed > > >> > > > > > policy-making > > >> > > > > > is at last becoming a practical possibility. > > > >> > > > > > That is largely thanks to the abundance of accessible data and > > >> > > > > > the > > >> > > > > > ease with which new, relevant data can be created. This has > > >> > > > > > supported > > >> > > > > > a desire to move away from hunch-based politics. > > > >> > > > > > Last week, for instance, Rebecca Endean, chief scientific > > >> > > > > > advisor and > > >> > > > > > director of analytical services at the Ministry of Justice, > > >> > > > > > announced > > >> > > > > > that the UK government is planning to open up its data for > > >> > > > > > analysis by > > >> > > > > > academics, accelerating the potential for use in policy > > >> > > > > > planning. > > > >> > > > > > At the same meeting, hosted by innovation-promoting charity > > >> > > > > > NESTA, > > >> > > > > > Wormald announced a plan to create teaching schools based on > > >> > > > > > the model > > >> > > > > > of teaching hospitals. In education, he said, the biggest > > >> > > > > > single > > >> > > > > > problem is a culture that often relies on anecdotal experience > > >> > > > > > rather > > >> > > > > > than systematically reported data from practitioners, as > > >> > > > > > happens in > > >> > > > > > medicine. "We want to move teacher training and research and > > >> > > > > > practice > > >> > > > > > much more onto the health model," Wormald said. > > ... > > read more »- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --
