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Phil's probably laughing his head off right now. And Michael, I have no reason to entertain your misguided criticisms of my style, any more than John does. And I find this elevation of style above content perverse. Shayne

I'm quite aware of why I would watch something or not, thank you very much. I am also aware of the value of production value, and wasn't trying to say he couldn't use some friendly advice. My only point is that I don't see why it makes sense to ignore the substance and spend all your time berating the man's unconsidered style. This isn't "America's Got Talent" and you're not Simon Cowell. Shayne

In quantum mechanics you have to give up the speed of light or you have to give up causality in one form or another. I say keep causality. Dennis May I think you may be pushing the theories too hard. Under Newtonian physics, gravity travels instantaneously, but that's merely an artifact of abstraction, not a metaphysical statement, or at least that's how I view it. Shayne

I'm fine with that, so long as that's how it's advertised. Shayne

I'm friendly to Objectivism where Objectivism is friendly to reason, and unfriendly where it is not. Of course, that doesn't tell you a whole lot. Perhaps the way I'd sum up Rand is that her heart was in the right place, but she wasn't very good when it came to philosophical details. As she herself wrote something along the lines of, she was not a theorist who liked to justify and explain her fundamental ideas, she preferred "middle-range" work where she could apply what she already decided was correct. This is a religious posture, not the posture of a philosopher, and it showed. Shayne

There's nothing in the predictions of QM or relativity that are contrary to informed common sense. Dark matter and faster than light interactions on the other hand do defy informed common sense, because they go into territory where they are just patching a problem with the most convenient fix, without a wider integration with other things. Shayne

Excellent suggestion. Shayne

I think attacking him for his mannerisms is below the belt. Criticism should be about the ideas not the person or their mannerisms. As an engineer I've bumped into plenty of "geek" types, some with some very odd mannerisms (e.g., not looking you in the eye but rather always staring at the floor), which are not only very difficult for them to correct but also beside the point. A friend might give helpful pointers about mannerisms, but I think it's not civil for strangers to rub someone's nose in them. Shayne

It's safer to go with informed common sense when physicists go into wacky territory. Another example was this alleged "faster than light neutrino" thing that came out a while back. Shayne

I didn't watch the video very far, but I don't see how he's earned any bashing. Shayne

Not good: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-2533 Shayne

John, The problem I have with the video method is that it doesn't let me determine the pacing, and it's hard to skip forward and backward. I'd prefer an article or a post. Shayne

It's a folly to pretend to know exactly what the voters will do with Ron Paul. He should press ahead and you should support him if you think he's a good candidate. Shayne

His position is that it's a "state's right" issue. I disagree -- I think the Feds should come down on states for violating the woman's rights -- but he is so radically better than other candidates in other respects that no, it doesn't disqualify him for me. Shayne

See, this is why his position is disingenuous. Just because a woman is raped does not mean that murder should be sanctioned. If he really thinks that abortion is murder then he should be consistent. Actually I'm glad he's not. Shayne

It seemed to me that the implication of your question was that since I support Ron Paul, then maybe I support pro-raping-the-woman-a-second-time (I won't call it "pro-life" because it is anti-life and anti-rights to coerce a woman into having a child, she's not a farm animal). Shayne

"To admit to the honest, shameful, embarrassing truth, I have a certain kind of what's-the-use depression+cynicism+hopelessness that tells me no one will read it, appreciate it, and I'll end up feeling even worse." Rand gave the best reason I've heard of for writing a book: to create something you'd want to read. That is what my book on rights is. (it has imperfections that I can't afford to work on at the moment, but I don't regard them to be of fundamental significance). It is disappointing when people you think should be interested have no interest in your work. However, this does not fundamentally detract from the value of your honest effort. And the effort itself makes you a better writer and thinker. The only thing I would advise is the same thing many writers advise: don't count on making a lot of money. If it's not a labor of love, don't do it. Shayne

Troll.

But Selene, I also find your bringing the matter up in this context disingenuous. Shayne

No, and I find his arguments regarding that disingenuous. Shayne

Thanks for taking the time to look at it Roger. Shayne

It was quite interesting that he explicitly referred to allowing volunteers to help out in situations like Libya. One of my criticisms of his foreign policy just fell. Shayne

Excellent interview: If anything he's even more lucid 4 years after his first run. Shayne

As if anyone here did that. I thought you never graduated from college, looks to me like you're a doctor of spin. ShayneWolf got the police response that she wanted to get, you dummy. That's what you don't seem to understand. Her action was SOP for nonviolent protesters. Ghs I'm less interested in whether she wanted to get arrested than in why she got arrested. Again, I'm sure the particulars will be forthcoming, and if they are not in her favor, I'm sure there will be plenty of fascists chomping at the bit to point them out. Shayne

As if anyone here did that. I thought you never graduated from college, looks to me like you're a doctor of spin. Shayne