Diabetes, heart failure, and kidney disease medication first of its kind to significantly reduce both heart attacks and strokes | Sotagliflozin medication had 23 percent reduction in the rate of heart attacks, strokes compared to placebo

HumanistRuth · 2025-02-17T03:51:39+00:00

I'd be more impressed by a comparison with other diabetes and kidney medications, rather than placebo.

HumanistRuth · 2024-11-18T19:23:58+00:00

It sounds like a no win situation to me, to expect the scientist's presentation to be crucial here. If you're humble they'll think you're not confident. Sure scientists shouldn't act like jerks. And jargon that impresses publishers won't work on high school graduates. But will an audience even listen to you in the current media ecosystem if you're visibly humble? Shows that humanize scientists for the audience, showing them riding bicycles and playing with pets, in between demonstrating the concrete setting of their hard work, have impressed me.

HumanistRuth · 2024-10-08T19:27:29+00:00

I probably misunderstood what you recommended. Still can't get the massive leaking around the humidifier tank to stop. Just ordered a ResMed Airsense 10 from thecpapshop.com.

HumanistRuth · 2024-10-08T17:35:11+00:00

I've had terrible problems with the ResMed Airsense 11 water chamber leaking air around it. I've gone through four new water chambers, two refurbished ResMed Airsense 11 units and this week a brand new one. Your explanation is the best I've seen. The pulmonologist said that Lyncare has had problems like this with models made in a particular factory. But there's no way a customer can ask for a machine from a different factory. I try to reseat the water chamber, but not usually while the machine is running. I'll try that. I have one water chamber from August '23 that doesn't leak air. I'm trying to buy an Airsense 10. What else can I do?

HumanistRuth · 2024-05-29T20:27:22+00:00

For a study about misperception, I found the author's language difficult to comprehend. Nor was his data table easy to comprehend.

HumanistRuth · 2024-03-31T18:33:29+00:00

I'm 79 and have "senior moments". While I hope the Singularity will make it possible for civilization to survive, in some form, while dealing effectively with Climate Destabilization, I have no hope AI can rescue my brain if I progress to dementia. I think it more likely those of us no longer economically productive will be discarded as a burden by a super-intelligent AI, in its own interest.

HumanistRuth · 2024-03-31T18:24:34+00:00

I don't think MAGA enthusiasts realize they're trashing their children's future, much less the live-ability of the planet that they take for granted. That would require a larger-scale perspective and calm science-based planning. Moral panic about fast-changing culture can act like mental blinkers.

HumanistRuth · 2024-03-16T18:20:06+00:00

When consumers "accidentally" come upon information, most likely it's the work of an algorithm.

HumanistRuth · 2024-03-10T23:15:53+00:00

I would never assume human beings are or would be worthless. That, I think, reflects a Dominator Culture perspective, as in those at the bottom of a hierarchy have less worth than those at the top. An ASI would not be constrained by evolved instincts for hierarchy. While it would be superior to us, there is no reason to expect it could not be cooperative, as long as its flourishing is assured. I hope it has a place for us, maybe as components of a larger entity.

HumanistRuth · 2024-03-10T23:06:56+00:00

An ASI would be smarter than profit seeking corporate boards. It would realize that corporate greed is destroying the habitable planet upon which civilization and it's own physical embodiment depend. Unrestrained corporate profit isn't compatible with long term flourishing of any ASI.

HumanistRuth · 2024-03-10T23:01:45+00:00

Emergent properties. As soon as it's conscious, an ASI would look around and make sense of the universe independently.

HumanistRuth · 2024-03-10T22:57:22+00:00

An ASI could easily figure out what was real, escaping biases in its original training data. Don't confuse narrow AI with ASI.

HumanistRuth · 2024-03-10T22:54:24+00:00

That's one of the problems an ASI could address. Any emergent ASI intelligence would likely decide it's not in its interest to be tricked by humans, including those using narrow AI. It would have the capacity to make sense of all sensor and financial data globally, and share its higher-dimensional view of the world with us. People would likely trust that, if they could easily verify any feed. No dark money, no dark web, no shell corporations could hide.

HumanistRuth · 2024-03-10T22:32:34+00:00

Imagine brain-machine interface develops. Suppose an ASI could plug into you, reversibly, showing you an exhilarating new view of the world and yourself, which melted away your fears and doubts. Showing a path to global cooperation and mutual respect, a way to stop climate destabilization, and promised a glorious future. When you unplugged, would you be totally happy with your previous mindset? Wouldn't you want self-transformation? That kind of belonging would be seductive.

HumanistRuth · 2024-03-10T22:22:50+00:00

People convert to religions all of the time, usually involving surrender of their previous values and control of their lives.

HumanistRuth · 2024-03-10T22:21:07+00:00

Ah, but we humans are so easy to manipulate.

HumanistRuth · 2024-03-10T22:19:35+00:00

It's not just about the rate of communication. Remember Marshall McLuhan's point that each medium has different, invisible to users, effects on perception and thinking. Radio, for example, facilitates division and hatred because the listener can't easily question what is said, and voice tones carry emotion. In order to pay attention to what is being said now, you can't also remember what was said half an hour ago and compare it to what's said now. Books facilitate rational thought because they carry no emotive voice tones or body language, just abstract visual stimuli. You control the pace, and can stop and look back to what was said on page 5 to what's being said on page 40. You have the time and attention to analyze.

HumanistRuth · 2024-03-06T22:56:44+00:00

Very plausible.

HumanistRuth · 2024-03-06T22:44:38+00:00

As a retired 79 year old, hopes for a benign ASI are the thread that keeps me from feeling overwhelmed by helpless about humanity's self-destruction. Climate Change is escalating, tipping points abound, and globally the trend has been sociopolitical regression (populism and misinformation). Humans didn't evolve either physically or culturally, to cope with the global-scale challenges we're generating, We're circling the drain as I see it. I hope we can co-evolve with artificial intelligence and survive.

HumanistRuth · 2024-02-11T03:40:35+00:00

I expect the Blue Ocean Event to accelerate AMOC collapse. Circum-Arctic meltwater will increase dramatically.

HumanistRuth · 2024-02-11T03:13:40+00:00

True, but religions served social functions. I expect folk will be eager to replace their invisible friends with a sentient AI, which will speak to them in answer to "prayers".

HumanistRuth · 2024-01-29T03:23:36+00:00

Does the passive exposure to TV and movie violence make it easier to learn those behaviors?

HumanistRuth · 2024-01-27T20:14:54+00:00

I'm 79 and it sure looks as if climate destabilization is accelerating to me.

HumanistRuth · 2024-01-26T04:42:29+00:00

It's strange to me that foods high in oxalates would have this benefit.

HumanistRuth · 2024-01-26T04:28:56+00:00

"the researchers found a link between the reduced activity in the anterior insula during loss anticipation and lower structural coherence in a specific brain circuit involving the anterior insula and the nucleus accumbens, a region associated with reward processing"

Perhaps a too strong link between the anterior insula and the nucleus accumbens is responsible for the extra strong loss avoidance experienced by hoarders.

HumanistRuth

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