A semantic argument means literally having an argument about the precise meaning of a word or phrase. For communication to effectively occur between any two people, there must be some common understanding about the definitions of the words being used. For example, "mostly peaceful" protestors could also be described as "occasionally violent" rioters, depending on one's own perspective. Some people like to watch grown men put on boxing gloves and beat each other into a bloody pulp, but my idea of great entertainment is to watch a verbal jousting match between two intellectuals about a subject that ought to interest all of us, the origin of life. So, as I watched the debate between organic chemist Lee Cronin and synthetic chemist James Tour on the Unbelievable podcast hosted by Justin Brierly, I naturally expected to hear technical jargon and terminology used in their discussion that would sound foreign to me. While I was worried a phrase like “self-assembly of a nanoscale transition metal cluster” would baffle me, it honestly never occurred to me that these two brilliant scientists would be using words like "life" and "information" in a context that I didn't quite understand. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DHvNRK452c After Dr. Tour provided the "textbook" definition of life according to Google (composed of cells, can reproduce, metabolize, etc.), and then said, “Information itself is not life. Would you agree with that? Life has information, but information itself is not life. I can have a piece of paper and write on that piece of paper. That piece of paper … [Read more...]
Why you should NEVER buy Nike products
To be fair, you've probably already got your own reasons for not buying Nike products. Their open support for Colin Kaepernick and his modus operandi of causing racial divisiveness might be one reason people have openly called for boycotting Nike, for example. Their reputation for allegedly using sweatshops and abusing child labor to produce their products, if true, is another excellent reason. But do you want to know the very best reason not to spend $100 on a pair of horribly overpriced and crappy Nike tennis shoes? They can literally fall apart on you during a match. Here's the evidence. Notice that other than the sole coming completely unglued, the shoes don't look like they are in bad shape. That's because they sat in my closet for a couple of years after I bought them because I needed surgical repairs on my elbow. Sitting in a closet unused does not qualify as normal wear and tear on the product, in my opinion. Yet as you can see in the photo below, the soles are still in very good, "almost new" shape, except for one little problem...they literally came unglued, when my partner and I were in the middle of an intensely competitive playoff doubles match. [Note: The stuff that looks like fuzz on the outside of the shoes is actually dog hair that stuck in the glue residue. The fur babies have been shedding like crazy in this heat, and I accidentally stepped in some dog hair when the soles were not in place.] Notice that the heel pads are also detached. I didn't even realize it until I got home. I had four different, moving surfaces under my feet … [Read more...]
Literally touched by an angel
If you've never heard of Derald Cochran before reading this article about him, don't feel bad. He isn't famous. But if Derald Cochran's story is true, his life was literally saved by an angel. Derald had been racing full speed down the path to his own destruction, abusing both alcohol and drugs after his younger brother Mike was murdered and set on fire in a drug deal gone bad. He was raging out of control. "I had a lot of hate," Derald says. "I reeked in hate. It radiated from me. My eyes were black, from what I've been told by people who knew me." After a five day non-stop binge of partying, Derald found himself "on my hands and knees on the floor puking up blood. Then all of a sudden I felt a warmth, an incredible warmth all over me." From an incredibly bright light, Derald claimed that he saw the figure of an ethereal being emerge. Then he heard a voice say, "You have been chosen to be a light unto others." Derald's reaction was fairly typical for a nonbeliever of the supernatural or spiritual phenomena. "I knew then I'd finally flipped," he said. "I'd lost it. Gone right over the edge. The next thing I remember was this incredible feeling of peace." Once upon a time, Derald Cochran had lost his own biological children to children's services. After his transformative experience, he became a foster parent and even adopted a child. Once an alcoholic and drug addict, Derald Cochran eventually served on the board of directors for BARN, the Bangor Area Recovery Network. Police officer James Owen, who knew Derald before his life changed, said, "He was a … [Read more...]
Do All Black Lives Matter?
Do all black lives matter, according to the protestors? Or only some? Do white lives ever matter? Asking for a friend…which happens to be me. My life matters to me. Call me selfish if you want, but it's true. Nobody wants to be a victim. Though I've accepted the idea that I'm going to die one day, all things being equal, I'd rather not die today. Several decades from now, preferably in my sleep, would be my preference, but we don't always get to choose when and how we die. I think it's safe to say nobody would choose to die lying on a street with someone's knee on their neck. With the possible exception of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin and his three fellow officers on the scene, it would appear safe to say we can all agree that George Floyd’s life mattered. His life ended much too quickly and violently for an overwhelming majority of Americans. Most of us have seen the video; we’ve felt helpless outrage from seeing the life of a human being so perniciously ended by law enforcement for no justifiable reason. It was awful. Outrageous. Way beyond the pale. It's like Selma all over again, if you believe the movies (I'm not old enough to remember the news coverage of Selma.) It's like looking at a picture of Emmett Till's mutilated body and realizing that's the butchered corpse of a child. If you could watch a video of George Floyd's "arrest" and think what was happening was perfectly all right, I'm going to offend you by saying there is something really wrong with you. While it may be debatable whether or not the suspicion of … [Read more...]
Selfish genes
According to the scientific definition, a gene is a distinct unit of information, in the form of a specific pattern of nucleotides that comprise part of a chromosome. Roughly translated into English, genes are packets or sequences of DNA (information) that specifically code for one protein, whereas a genome is the full genetic code, or set of rules, for a given organism. For example, the genome of a primate will have specific genes that define the development of fur, arms, and legs, while the genome of a bird will have certain genes that cause development of beaks, feathers, and wings. Both organisms will have genes responsible for developing heart, lungs, eyes, and other internal organs that almost all animals share in common, while also having enough genetic material that a single individual can be uniquely identified out of millions of other people. Only identical twins share the same DNA, but even they can be uniquely identified through their fingerprints. DNA is basically a recipe for how to create an organism from scratch. The average layperson may not be able to recognize an individual gene under a microscope, but any two experts in genetics should be able to identify the specific pattern of a known gene. Most of us have seen enough TV shows like NCIS and CSI delving into forensic police investigative work to know that leaving DNA evidence at the scene of a crime is just about as damning as a voluntary confession—unless the perpetrator can convince the jury that the evidence was planted in an attempt to frame them, the … [Read more...]
