Robopocalypse, see also here on Boing Boing, is a novel by roboticist Daniel Wilson, who foretells a global apocalypse brought on by artificial Intelligence (AI) that hijacks automation systems globally and uses them to wipe out humanity.

Computers and now also robots make amazing progress these years and out-compete humans in everything but snakes and ladders. Many fear that humans will soon be the robot overlords’ Neanderthals.

The news of the world are filled again with anti-Chinese propaganda. I am appalled at how simplistic anti-Chinese bickering is allowed to be, because it hides the real problems and dangers of China, and there are also positive aspects, like that China has done much for secularism and science.

Franz Hörmann, professor at the Vienna University for Economics (Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien), distinguishes between Expert-Knowledge (Fachwissen) and Experience-Knowledge (Erlebniswissen). The latter rests on memories formed by personal involvement. He has not personally experienced the Nazi-Jew holocaust; he has no Experience-Knowledge of it. He is not an expert on history, so he claims no Expert-Knowledge on the holocaust either. Nice – somebody who is humble. Hörmann states that:

In China, drinking alcohol is often still a vital part of doing business. Science is important in China, which has become the scientific leader in several ways, but science is business of course. At times, alcohol belongs to science here.

“The vacuum is empty” Richard Feynman

According to Dick himself, this was his catchiest motto, but eventually he abandoned it for being as wrong as it sounds right.

 

As discussed in Part 1, analyzing “precognition” discredits everything but the in the eyes of pseudo-skeptic scientism worst: The influence of belief on the quantum probability of finding oneself inside a future world. Pseudo-skeptics warn that the mere mentioning of such lends support to all kinds of nonsense like prayer healing. Well, if you want to ensure that nobody can misquote you in support of nonsense, have fun never saying anything anymore ever. I hold that we should not leave some issues entirely to the kooks.

 

2) Belief and Experimenter Effect