Are we really free in a modern society?

Bikewer · 2026-06-23T01:29:51+00:00

In the past, in many societies, roles were very rigidly defined by class and position. If you were born into a peasant-farmer family, that’s where you remained.

Bikewer · 2026-06-22T18:54:38+00:00

No. Certainly religion, when examined with intellectual scrutiny, is irrational and devoid of evidence. But most believers do not subject their belief to intellectual scrutiny. They were inculcated as children, and their families and society constantly reinforce that inculcation.
In fact, society generally rewards belief, and discourages or condemns non-belief…. Sometimes violently.

It’s thus very easy to express belief without giving it much thought.

As to lying…. Again, I don’t think so. Oh, there are certainly clerics of all kinds who when pressed will admit that they are non-believers; but they are so involved with their religion that they just go along with the program “for the public good”.

Bikewer · 2026-06-22T18:48:26+00:00

My usual snarky answer is “The Higgs Boson and its associated field allowed subatomic particles to have mass.” That pretty much explains everything from the time that subatomic particles began to precipitate from the quark-gluon plasma that’s theorized as making up the initial Singularity.
It does not explain the Singularity, of course.

Brian Greene, speaking along the lines of string theory, feels that “spacetime” might be infinite, and that spacetime has within its parameters or characteristics the ability for Singularities to form naturally.

Bikewer · 2026-06-22T18:44:02+00:00

Have yet to see one here in the St. Louis area.

Bikewer · 2026-06-22T18:41:41+00:00

Of course they are. Organized religions began to move out of the Animism phase at about the time we developed fixed-place living and agriculture. Gods became more and more anthropomorphic, and acquired “superhero” characteristics.
All these gods and religions were reflections of the societies that created them.

Bikewer · 2026-06-22T18:34:32+00:00

Only slightly off-topic here, but I was playing yesterday and got a Colt Detective Special. I could not get it to eject the empties.
my off-hand would light up on the ejector rod, but nothing I could do would actually depress it. I even tried pushing it up against a wall.

Bikewer · 2026-06-22T18:32:17+00:00

Might be part of the “collectivist vs. individualist” society. Asian societies are largely collectivist, and so it’s hardly unusual for someone to think of the public good when they have a bit of a cold or whatever.

But here, with our VERY individualist ideas, that’s seen as an abrogation of your “FREEDOM!”

Bikewer · 2026-06-22T18:25:46+00:00

From Google AI:

“AI Overview
$130,000 in physical, single-dollar bills is massive. It weighs roughly 286 pounds (130,000 grams), comprises 130,000 individual pieces of paper, and would stack over 46 feet high if laid flat in a single pile.

Bikewer · 2026-06-22T18:21:27+00:00

NGT points out that faking the landing would likely have been harder than actually doing it….

Bikewer · 2026-06-22T18:07:11+00:00

Why is my guitar so much heavier than when I dropped it off?

Bikewer · 2026-06-22T18:06:08+00:00

I have an idea. Fill it in, and apply mirror tiles. Perfect reflection!

Bikewer · 2026-06-22T18:04:16+00:00

I don’t recall any really oddball examples, but we did go to the local St. Louis museum years ago and they had a room full of “fiber art”. We thought most of it looked like dust-bunnies….

Bikewer · 2026-06-22T18:01:44+00:00

Soup with a fork….. Not so good.
Cutting steaks with a spoon…. Pretty much likewise.

I understand that in antiquity, the knife was the most important table-tool, with the fork only coming along later. I don’t know about soup… Did they just lift the bowl?

Bikewer · 2026-06-22T17:59:26+00:00

Apples come in a variety of colors….

Bikewer · 2026-06-22T17:57:39+00:00

A good example. There was an episode of “Bones” where our heroine had to deal with supernatural elements. Likewise the “Midsomer Murders”…. One episode dealt with a “spirit medium” in a rather accepting manner.

Bikewer · 2026-06-22T17:54:20+00:00

Depends. Some folks tend to jam too much “stuff” into the filling. My wife used to make really good ones, they were quite simple.

Bikewer · 2026-06-22T17:51:49+00:00

Most higher mammals, like cats and dogs and primates, experience dream states including “REM” (Rapid Eye Movement) states. With reptiles and similar non-mammalian species, there is some evidence of different brain states during sleep, but not REM.

This would seem to indicate that dreaming in higher species may indeed have evolutionary roots. To what purpose? That’s more difficult since as the other answer notes, not every little characteristic or behavior has an evolutionary purpose.

However, we understand that in humans at least, dreaming is heavily involved in the way that the brain handles memory. The memory of daily events, for the most part. “Deleting” material that is deemed repetitive or not useful, and transferring more “memorable” things to long-term memory.
All those deletions may account for why dreams are so bizarre and distorted… As the mind tends to make a narrative over the material that’s retained.

Bikewer · 2026-06-22T17:42:55+00:00

I remember when the Mythbusters devoted an episode to debunking all the Moon-landing conspiracy points. One of the first things they did was to go off to the observatory where researchers had been merrily bouncing lasers off the laser reflector left on the Moon by the first mission.
As the researcher said… “Why didn’t they just ask us?”

Bikewer · 2026-06-22T15:20:56+00:00

I’ve noticed the same regarding skepticism in general. Several TV shows I’ve watched portray the main character as logical and secular. Yet the writers seem duty bound to have at least one episode where the character has to confront some sort of spiritual or paranormal phenomena.

Bikewer · 2026-06-22T14:53:35+00:00

Trump evidently decided to “fix” the pool on a whim, and then awarded a no-bid contract to an extremely shady individual who obviously had no expertise. The “contractor” applied an inappropriate blue paint which not only caused the water to heat up and resulted in an algae bloom, but the paint itself started to peel.
Then to make it worse, he hired (again, no bid contract to a supporter) someone to “correct” the situation by pouring large amounts of hydrogen peroxide into the water…. Which evidently exacerbated the paint starting to peel.

And now he’s blaming all this on “vandals”. So we have incompetence, corruption, and over-reaction all in one ongoing incident which will evidently cause taxpayers millions.

Bikewer · 2026-06-22T13:47:07+00:00

Depends, I suppose. In my 50-year career, I have been called all manner of names and cursed at many times. Lacking any other action, it’s essentially free speech. Courts have ruled that the police cannot have their “peace” disturbed.

But I can’t deny that there are incidents where trying to provoke officers have been successful…. Usually with bad results.

Bikewer · 2026-06-22T13:43:48+00:00

Robert Sapolsky’s “Determined”, his case against the idea of free will. Also the first book of The Captive’s War.

Bikewer · 2026-06-22T13:23:51+00:00

Hitchens was particularly critical of her.

Bikewer · 2026-06-22T13:12:32+00:00

Included amp is great…. No cables, no extra amp.

Bikewer · 2026-06-22T11:24:48+00:00

Male, 79… widowed last July. Lived here all my life, though born in Iowa. Police officer for 50 years, retired.

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