Sunday, April 30, 2023

Leaks

 

We’re Gonna Move

Well there's a leak in this old building
Yes, there's a leak in this old building
Well there's a leak in this old building
We're gonna move to a better home

Amen Elvis!  But wouldn't it be easier to just stop that leak.

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito says he has a “pretty good idea” who leaked the draft of his ruling that overturned abortion rights.

“I personally have a pretty good idea who is responsible, but that’s different from the level of proof that is needed to name somebody,” Alito said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Friday.

Alito was referring to the leak of a draft of his opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization last May.  https://news.yahoo.com/sam-alito-says-criticism-supreme-161500730.html

“Strip Search Sammy”, I have watched enough episodes of Scooby Doo to know that the villain is usually the one who benefits the most from the villainy.  Before the leak, Chief Justice Roberts was making an effort to get you, “Long Dong Silver” Thomas, “Not Merrick Garland“ Gorsuch, “I Like Beer ” Kavanaugh and “Handmaiden” Barrett to not screw the pooch.  Those efforts ended with the leak.  Dare I say that you know who the leaker is because YOU ARE the leaker. (and I am the Walrus. Goo goo g' joob.)

Art

 

The Lady In Red

Say have you ever met the girl who's the toast of the town
A work of art without a question
You better write her number down, you fools

Is the work of art the artist?

I have some moves I would like you to see.

·        Annie Hall,

·        Rosemary’s Baby,

·        Braveheart,

·        American Beauty. 

Works of Art each one.  But by flawed Artists.

·        Woody Allen,

·        Roman Polanski,

·        Mel Gibson,

·        Kevin Spacey 

And there is a lesson here.  Would I hire any of these artists as a baby sitter?  Would I want to work for or with any of them without sufficient protection?  Would I fawn over them as celebrities?  Surely you jest.

Would I turn away, throw out their art because it was their art?  That is a more difficult question.  I do not want to reward the artists for bad behavior, but I also don’t want to deprive myself of that art. The Artist is not the Art. Just as you can love the sinner and hate the sin, you can love the art and hate the artist, by admiring the art, not necessarily the artist.

And maybe there is something good to take away from this.  No matter our flaws, and we all have them, we are capable of so much.  Go and make some art.

Thursday, April 27, 2023

Betting

 

Luck Be A Lady Tonight

Luck, let a gentleman see
How nice a dame you can be
I know the way you've treated other guys you've been with
Luck, be a lady with me

Betting on WWE matches? Really? Really?

World Wrestling Entertainment , “WWE is in talks with state gambling regulators to legalize betting on high-profile matches, according to people familiar with the matter.

WWE is working with the accounting firm EY to secure scripted match results in hopes it will convince regulators there’s no chance of results leaking to the public, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. Accounting firms PwC and EY, also known as Ernst & Young, have historically worked with award shows, including the Academy Awards and the Emmys, to keep results a secret.”https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/08/wwe-betting-scripted-match-results.html

Betting is on random events.  The outcome of random events is…doh….random, in other  words the outcome is not known to anyone but the Absolute in advance.  In the case of sporting contests, the outcome of the event can be influenced.  That those outcomes can be influenced has been demonstrated numerous times,  e.g. the 1919 baseball World Series Black Sox scandal or the numerous point shaving scandals in basketball such as

the CCNY point-shaving scandal in 1950–51; the Dixie Classic scandal of 1961; the Boston College basketball point-shaving scandal of 1978–79, which was perpetrated by gangsters Henry Hill and Jimmy Burke; and the Tulane men's basketball point-shaving scandal of 1984–85, which led the university to disband its program for four seasons.

On 15 August 2007, NBA referee Tim Donaghy pleaded guilty to two felonies related to wagering on games that he officiated in a scheme somewhat related to point shaving. The difference in this case was that Donaghy sought to affect the outcome of over-under bets by changing calls so that both teams would score more than predicted, thus seeking to give the impression that at worst that he was merely strictly calling fouls as opposed to being outright biased. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_shaving

And for those of you who are not sports fans, see Funny Girl which documents Fanny Brice’s romance with Nicky Arnstein.  

Nicky" was short for nickel plate, a sobriquet bestowed in the 1890s when, as a boy, Arnstein rode a gleaming nickel-plated bicycle in the then-popular bike racing craze. However, he spent more time throwing races than winning them. He graduated to gambling on transatlantic liners and in European casinos, and eventually fell in with Arnold Rothstein, a loan shark, bookmaker, fence, Wall Street swindler, real estate speculator, and labor racketeer, who was best known for fixing the 1919 World Series.

In 1915, Arnstein was convicted of swindling, and the following year he entered Sing Sing to serve out his term. Fanny Brice visited him every week while he was there, and in 1918 Arnstein's wife Carrie sued her for alienation of his affection. She subsequently divorced him, leaving him free to marry Brice in October of that year. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicky_Arnstein. 

The outcome of the Academy Awards and Emmys are votes that are announced at a ceremony. It may be fancier than the ceremony on the Federal Election Day and there is also  controversy about the candidates, the voters, and the votes, but the accounting firm only tabulates and ensures the secrecy of the ballots.  By contrast, the winner of a WWE match is known, maybe not by the wrestlers until 30 minutes before the event, but by someone.  If betting is allowed on WWE matches, why not let betting before the staging of every scripted event.  I’ve got five bucks that says in the play Peter Pan, Tinker Bell lives, any takers? 😉 Spoilers are so passé anyway.  I guess there is no such thing as luck, if your name is Vince McMahon, Mark Burnett, or Donald Trump.  I guess then there is no such thing as insider trading either!

Wednesday, April 26, 2023

Income Taxes III

 

As Time Goes By

You must remember this A kiss is just a kiss A sigh is just a sigh The fundamental things apply As time goes by

Is Sam from Casablanca a System Optimizer?

The odds of becoming a professional basketball player (Pick your sport. I chose basketball because my eldest son was on his high school basketball team), if you are on your high school team is 1 in 1,920. It may be a mix of skill and luck, but humor me by saying that it is only luck. (Yes, I know that it is also skill. That same son did not even make an intramural team in college, so I know I am simplifying by saying that it is only luck). If it is luck, then it may make sense for a group say of five friends on an youth basketball team to make a pact. They will each contribute 10% of their salary into a pot if they don’t make an NBA team, but if someone beats the odds and makes it to the NBA that person will contribute 40% of their salary to that pot. The distribution from that pot will be in equal amounts regardless, 1/5 to each member of the group. If no one from the group makes it to the NBA, the payout from the pot is the same as the contribution to the pot. But if any one of the group does makes it to the NBA, the payout to each of the group is considerably more than the contribution from the non-NBA players. The one who did make it to the NBA will get 60% of that NBA salary plus 1/5 of the pot. Yes, the one who made it to the NBA is receiving less than his full salary, but the other members of his group are receiving more.

And on a very large scale this is a simplification of the US income tax system, where making it in any field is a random event. The question is are you for the group, a System Optimizer, or for yourself, a User Optimizer. I'm with Sam, the piano plyer in the movie Casablanca, who, when he was presented with the chance of making more money if took a job at somewhere other than Rick’s place said . “Yeah, but I ain't got time to spend the money I make here.” Sam was clearly a System Optimizer. Play it, Sam. You played it for her, you can play it for me!

Strategy

 

Poker Face

Can't read my, can't read my No, he can't read my poker face (She's got me like nobody) Can't read my, can't read my No, he can't read my poker face (She's got me like nobody)

You shouldn’t need a poker face.

The idea behind a poker face is that you are trying to hide from the other bettors. That is whether you have a good hand or a bad hand.  That way you can more convincing bluff (lie) when betting.  So you only need a poker face if you are going to successfully lie.

If you don’t plan on lying, then you don’t need a poker face. In a two-person game, the optimal strategy is to do anything to win, including lying.  In a three-or-more person game, the optimal strategy is to make your move on each round based on your opponent’s move in the prior round.  Kind of "Do unto others as they did unto you."  Notice this is not vengeance, retribution, the start of a feud.  If your opponent starts being nice, then you start being nice on the next round.  If someone is trying to separate you from your group so that you and they are in a bilateral contest, then expect them to lie.  If people are trying to get you to join their group for a contest, then expect them not to lie.

But wait a minute, aren’t there usually more than two people in a poker game.  Yes but every hand is the luck of the draw, a good hand or a bad hand.  You are playing against the deck, and merely betting against others.  If you drew a Royal Flush on every hand, then you would not need a poker face.

MAGA? III

 

Tomorrow

The sun'll come out tomorrow
Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow, there'll be sun
Just thinking about tomorrow
Clears away the cobwebs and the sorrow, 'til there's none
When I'm stuck with a day that's gray and lonely
I stick out my chin and grin and say
The sun'll come out tomorrow
So you gotta hang on 'til tomorrow, come what may
Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love you, tomorrow
You're always a day away

Live for today, but plan for a better tomorrow.

The Second Law of Thermodynamics says that everything seeks a state of lower energy and in doing so, loses some its  own energy to Entropy.  Kind of depressing isn’t it. 

But since the human life span (not life expectancy, don’t confuse the two) on average is less than 100 years, there are no tomorrows for any of us alive today in 2123.  For the individual there is no tomorrow in 2123, but for the world (neglecting the quality of that world, which is our subjective opinion) there will be a tomorrow in 2123. 

If tomorrow is better than today, then yesterday had to be worse than today, because today is yesterday’s tomorrow.  If you believe that the past, MAGA, is better than today, then you also have to believe that tomorrow will be worse than today.  And you thought that increasing entropy was depressing!

Tuesday, April 25, 2023

Winning V

 

The Winner Takes It All

The winner takes it all The loser's standing small Beside the victory That's her destiny

Winning isn’t everything!

In any choice,   there is a 50% chance that you made one choice then there is a 50% chance that you made the other choice.  The problem is when you think that only your choice is right, i.e. 100%.  Actually it doesn’t work that way.  If you have humility, or tolerance, you are willing to concede that the choice that you did not make might be right.  In that case following the 50 million Frenchmen can’t be wrong, the wisdom of crowds, etc,  then you should want to know the variance of all choices.  You can be sure that 68% of all choices are within the mean choice, the odds, plus the square root of that variance.  This is the 68/95/99 rule of normal distributions.  It is also why the scientific standard is 3 Sigma which means that 99.97% of the observations are within three times the square root of the variance.

This sounds like complex math but it is not.  95% of the travel times have an on-time arrival which means that the mean time plus 2 times one square root of the variance is 95% of the means travel time, which means that there si an on time arrival 95% of the time.  (The idea of Joe Six Pack doing Square Roots in his head without thinking is mind boggling!)  If a verdict is Guilty or Not Guilty, a unanimous jury has only a 0.02% of occurring by accident.  IOW, a unanimous jury has a 99.98% chance of being correct, assuming that it was not lied during the presentation of evidence or that it was not biased to select a Not Guilty or Guilty verdict. IOW a unanimous jury is 3 sigma.

If the jury system follows statistical rules, and travelers follow statistical rules, then shouldn’t important decisions should just be better than the odds,  a simple majority.  The winner might take it all, but the winner does NOT speak for the group, only for himself.  Or, to use a quote from my favorite movie, Casablanca, when resolving the triangle of Rick-Ilsa-Victor, “If that plane leaves the ground and you're not with him, you'll regret it. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life.” The winner in a contest of two, only takes the loser’s share, but unless the rest of the group already gave its share to the loser, that was NOT all.  We’ll always have Paris, and you can't take that away from me!

Social Media

 

Rubberneckin'

Stop, look, and listen baby that's my philosophy
If your rubberneckin' baby well that's all right with me
Stop, look, and listen baby that's my philosophy
It's called rubberneckin' baby but that's all right with me

Freedom of speech has to be balanced by a  freedom to NOT listen

WASHINGTON, April 24 (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court, exploring free speech rights in the social media era, on Monday agreed to consider whether the Constitution’s First Amendment bars government officials from blocking their critics on platforms like Facebook and Twitter. https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-supreme-court-decide-if-public-officials-can-block-critics-social-media-2023-04-24/

What those bringing suit seem to be missing is that freedom of speech means that I tolerate your speech, not that I agree with the point that you are making in that speech. Tolerance is NOT acceptance, it is uh,…tolerance.

Continuing to speak after your point has been heard is NOT speech, it is harassment. The question should not be "Should social media platforms allow public figures to block figures?", it should be "Should social media platforms allow individuals to harass public figures?"

It gets confusing because social media seems like a public forum to those doing the posting, but to those who operate, and advertise on, that social media platform is a private forum. If those operating the social media platforms do NOT allow public figures to block postings, then they are legally, as a private party, participating in that harassment. You can speak, including postings on social media, but public figures, like all figures, have to be free not to listen. If those are elected public figures, then that blocking, not listening, can and should be, an election issue. But if the voters in that election decide that the speech was harassment, e.g. elect the candidate any way, then that should be the end of it.

On Beyond Einstein

 

They All Laughed

They all laughed at Christopher Columbus When he said the world was round They all laughed when Edison recorded sound They all laughed at Wilbur and his brother When they said that man could fly They told Marconi Wireless was a phony

I have sent this to physicists, but just so it is publicly dated.

I have since corrected the relativistic mass formula on a hyperbolic surface

The formulae for momentum, force, and energy are those established by Isaac Newton.

Momentum is mass times velocity, m *∂x/∂t.=mv.

Force is the change in, differential of, momentum, m*∂2x/∂t2 =m ∂v/∂t =ma.

Energy is the integral of the change in momentum, ∫ m ∂2x/∂t2 ∂t.= ∫ m*v*∂v.

If m is a function of v, then this can be solved by integration by parts, and it is, ½*m*v2- ∫ m*∂v.

Classical, Newtonian, physics assumes that mass is a constant at every velocity including zero, m0, such that:

Momentum = m0 ∂x/∂t=mv

Force= m0 *∂2x/∂t2 =m0 * a

Energy = m0 ∫v ∂v = ½ * mv2

Newton’s Law of Gravity is because if a system of two masses experience a change in momentum, then that change is assumed to be due to a force ( gravity).

F=G* (m01 * m02)/d122 , G=6.67×10-11

where d12 is the distance between mass 1 and mass 2, and m0x is the rest mass for mass x. 

Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity assumes that mass is NOT a constant but is instead a function of velocity, and that the frame of reference is important. If the frame of reference is flat Euclidean space, then the Lorentz Transform applies, and this becomes:

Momentum = m0 *(1/√(1-(v/c)2))*v

Force= m0 *(1/√(1-(v/c)2)*v dv = m0 *(1/√(1-(v/c)2))*a

Energy = ∫m0 *(1/√(1-(v/c)2)v dv = m0 *(1/√(1-(v/c)2)) c2

If this is solved by integration by parts, then you get Einstein’s triangle of energy,  mc2½mv2+m0c2

A problem with this interpretation is that it allows v>c where the mass becomes imaginary, and has a paradox at v=c, where the energy has to,  simultaneously, be both infinite and zero.

In a flat space, there is no reason for a system of two or more masses to seek a lower energy system and any change in momentum of these objects would still appear to be accompanied by a force (gravity).

F=G*(m01 (1/√(1-(v1/c)2)))*m02 (1/√(1-(v2/c)2))))/d122 ,G=6.67×10-11

where d12 is the distance between mass 1 and mass 2, and m0x is the rest mass of mass x.

If space is not flat, but is hyperbolic[1], then the equations might instead be

Momentum = m0 * (1/(ln(2*cosh(√(1-(v/c)2))))*v

Force= m0 * (1/(ln(2*cosh(√(1-(v/c)2))))v ∂v = m1/(ln(2*cosh(√(1-(v/c)2)))0 * ()*a

Energy = ∫m0 *(1/(ln(2*cosh(√(1-(v1/c)2)))*v ∂v = m0(1/(ln(2*cosh(√(1-(v/c)2))))* c2

This solution does not create a paradox at v=c , and it is undefined, not imaginary, when v>c.

The Second Law of Thermodynamics requires that the energy of a system of objects will seek the state of lowest energy and any reduction in the energy of the system will be equal to an increase in the entropy of the system. In curved, hyperbolic, space, two masses will each seek to lower their energy and approach a common center along a geodesic. This change in energy will be accompanied by a change in momentum. But while in curved, hyperbolic, space, this could be viewed in flat space as an apparent force, like centrifugal force, and NOT an intrinsic force. The apparent force of gravity is these masses seeking to lower their energy, maximize their entropy, and this is

G*m01*(1/(ln(2*cosh(√(1-(v1/c)2))))*m02*(1/(ln(2*cosh(√(1-(v2/c)2))))/exp(-d12),G=6.67×10-11

where d12 is the distance between mass 1 and mass 2, and m0x is the rest mass of mass x. 

If velocity is less than 10% of the speed of light, then there is less than a 1% difference between assuming that mass is constant or that the mass varies with velocity. In this case classical, Newtonian, physics is used because it is simpler. It is not until the velocity is greater than 82.2% of the speed of light that there is an appreciable difference between the Euclidean, flat, and the hyperbolic functions of relativistic mass.

As shown by Mabkhout[1], assuming that the universe is hyperbolic can explain many apparent paradoxes between the age and the size of the observable universe. If the universe is hyperbolic, but it is viewed from a flat frame of reference, perspective, it would appear to undergo inflation at its beginning. If the universe is hyperbolic, then there is no need to resort to dark energy or dark matter to explain its continued expansion. If the universe is hyperbolic, then the Planck Energy is consistent with the Planck Length. If the universe is hyperbolic, then the paradox of rotating galaxies can be resolved. If the universe is hyperbolic, then gravity is an apparent force, not an intrinsic force,  and no effort should be taken to include gravity as a force in the standard model. If the universe is hyperbolic, then the apparent discrepancy in the Hubble Constant might be merely be the computing of that constant in a flat frame of reference while measuring it in hyperbolic frame of reference, i.e. it is no different that the seeming paradox that a Great Circle Distance on the Earth is not the hypotenuse of the triangle formed by the two points at each end of that Great Circle.

If hyperbolic geometry is used to compute statistics, then every moment, not merely odd moments, about the mean, are zero. The Standard Deviation is then a measurement of Error, not of Variance. Even a system without mean error, or any individual errors, will still have a Variance.

Just as on the surface of the Earth, Euclidean geometry is used unless the distance between two points is large compared to the radius of the earth, ( i.e. the Earth is flat locally but spherical  globally), so too the universe can be assumed to be Euclidean, flat, unless the distances and speeds involved are enormous (i.e. the universe is flat locally, but hyperbolic globally.)

 



[1] Mabkhout SA. Non dark hyperbolic universe. Phys Astron Int J. 2019;3(1):1-12. DOI: 10.15406/paij.2019.03.00148 accessed  at https://medcraveonline.com/PAIJ/non-dark-hyperbolic-universe.html on April 17, 2023

Friday, April 21, 2023

A.I. II

 

A.I.

Artificial intelligence
Way, you love me
Love the way you love me
It's so clear
You make everything inside me feel
Just automatic hurt
Bring me back tonight'
Cause you're intelligent, so real
So real

Artificial Intelligence? Are you kidding?

While Artificial Intelligence, AI, is getting a lot of press these days, it is not really anything new. Only the terms are new. It used to be called Machine Learning. Before machines, it used to be called the Wisdom of the Crowd. When lower animals do it, it is called Neural Networks or Instinct. “Artificial” is because it is done quickly by computer, the artificial part that does not mind processing many, many observations. The “Intelligence” part should more properly be called “Inference”, because there is nothing intelligent about it. If it were intelligent, it would know what caused those inferences. What results are correlations given a multitude of observations  However, the correlations can themselves have problems.

1.      Spurious Correlations            

      Just because there is a strong correlation between an event and something else that is observed at the same time, it does not mean that this correlation has any meaning. There is a book about spurious correlations.  (Virgen, Tyler; Spurious Correlations; Hachette Books; New York; 2015)  My favorite is that there is a strong correlation between drowning deaths in pools and the number of Nicholas Cage film appearances in a given year. No mater how bad people think Nicholas Cage is, I don’t think that is the reason people drown in pools. 

2.     Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.          

      A correlation can only be made of observations that were made. If the sample excludes certain observations, any correlations would be suspect. Famously, the Literary Digest predicted that FDR would lose the 1936 election to Alf Landon because its readers said in a poll that they were overwhelming voting for Mr. Landon. However the  public included many, many voters who were NOT subscribers to Literary Digest. In November, Roosevelt won the election in an unprecedented landslide, winning every state except Maine and Vermont while also winning the popular vote by 24%. If you don’t make an observation, then the correlation to that observation will of course be zero. And therefore your sample will be biased.

    3.      Correlation is not causation        

      Just because there is a correlation it does not mean that the observation was caused by the event. It takes intelligence to make sense of how and why a correlation exists. There were thousands of years of observations of the planets. The popular wisdom was that the planets revolved about the Earth, and that observations of planets were explained by retrograde motion of some planets. In fact it took Copernicus to intelligently propose that all of the solar system planets, including the earth, really revolved about the sun. 

If someone tells you that AI told them so,  remember this. Then you won’t have to be like Galileo when the inference was that all objects in space move around the Earth, and be forced to recant, as he did, of his observations of the moons of Jupiter. But still they move.

Thursday, April 20, 2023

Luicifer

 

It Ain't Necessarily So

Things that you're liable To read in that Bible It ain't necessarily so

Did Lucifer get cast out of heaven?

The Old Testament of the Bible does not include any tale of Lucifer being cast out of heaven by God. Revelations 12 in the New Testament includes a mention of the story of the War in Heaven, but I would like to suggest that Lucifer cast himself out of heaven because he came to close to an absolute, i.e. God. There appears to be two portions of our universe: an orderly portion, e.g. heaven, and a chaotic portion, e.g. h- e- double hockey sticks. 

Our portion, which is NOT heaven, is governed by Entropy. The Second Law of Thermodynamics says that the Entropy of the Universe is increasing and that any action which reduces energy will be accompanied by an equal increase in entropy. The ultimate fate of our universe is when all energy is in its lowest state and every amount above that minimum has been converted to entropy. A trickle of water begins as orderly. If it exceeds the capacity of the stream bed, then it may become white water rapids, but eventually that stream flows into a large body of water (i.e. a lake) where it becomes still.

The size, variance of the chaotic portion of the universe appears to be 0.52Ï€2/3. It is suggested that this is not an accident. 0.5 is the odds of a binary choice. Ï€ is Pi, the mathematical symbol related to a circle, perfection, an absolute. 3 is the minimum size of a stable group,  ( E.g., a trinity). It is also suggested that the size of the chaotic portion of the universe is equal to the size of the orderly portion of the universe.

Order can arise from Chaos, but only as a means of increasing Entropy. That is, two atoms can undergo fusion to become a single atom with lower energy, increasing Entropy, and while this appears to be more orderly, but this is only a temporary waypoint until its eventual further decay, release of energy, and an further increase in entropy.

I would suggest that in casting himself out of heaven, Lucifer, Satan, was trying to become a single member who approached the absolute, exhibited parabolic behavior, not hyperbolic behavior. If there is an example of hyperbolic behavior it is orderly, favors a group, is a System Optimal solution. If there is an example of parabolic behavior, it selfishly favors only the individual, is a User Optimal solution. Observations of hyperbolic behavior in a chaotic domain are examples of orderly behavior. Observations of parabolic behavior in a chaotic domain are exmples of chaotic behavior.

Whether it is “I am the Lord thy God. Thou shall have no God before me” or Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity where objects can not exceed the speed of light, an absolute, you can try to reduce error, but to err is human, to forgive is divine. Don’t try to be something that you are not.  By definition humans will always have error because they are not Divine. Have humility, not hubris, and accept that, or risk also casting  yourself into chaos..

Monday, April 17, 2023

Time Travel

  If I Could Turn Back Time

If I could turn back time
If I could find a way
I'd take back those words that have hurt you
And you'd stay

Unfortunately you can’t turn back time.  What has happened, has happened.

If I could turn back time,  then I would revisit those moments in my life that haunt me even today.   In kindergarten agreeing that I won’t be friends with Robbie Carter any more; berating my son before a Madison Muskies’ game; my behavior at my brother Kevin’s wedding; my attempted suicide, etc. But I have to live with the consequence of these actions.  Or do I?

U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk has turned back time and invalidated the FDA decision in 2000 to tentatively approve  mifepristone; its decision in 2016 when it relaxed restrictions on the medication, citing its safety, efficacy and minuscule rate of adverse incidents; its decision in  2019 to approve a generic version of mifepristone, and its later decisions after easing some requirements during the pandemic, by permanently lifting the in-person dispensing requirement, allowing the medication to be prescribed through telehealth appointments, dispensed at retail pharmacies and sent through the mail.

I did not know you could turn back time.  Excuse me while I go see Judge Kacsmaryk. Then I intend to borrow his Way Back machine and do something about that Hitler fellow.

Ethics

 

You’re A Mean One Mr. Grinch

Just face the music, you're a monster, Mr. Grinch, yes, you are Your heart's an empty hole Your brain is full of spiders You've got garlic in your soul, Mr. Grinch I wouldn't touch you with a thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole

How mean is he, Johnny?

Boy, “ Strip Search Sammy” Alito must be PO. Here he goes and leaks a draft opinion of the Supreme Court. ( I know that the “investigation” did not prove this, but “com’n man”), and that is still not enough to make him the worst member of the Supreme Court. Justice “Long Dong Silver” Thomas has permanently earned that distinction.

ProPublica, proving that government FOR THE PEOPLE has not perished from this earth, has disclosed that Justice Thomas has:

·        Accepted lavish vacations from billionaire, with what is obviously a super villain name, Harlan Crow, collector of Hitler memorabilia, where he associated with Leonard Leo, at that time head of the Federalist society advocating for "conservative" federal judges. But that was not a violation of law because “someone” told Justice Thomas that accepting the hospitality of “friends” was ethical. J;

·        Crow also bought the home that Justice Thomas owned with his mother, a transaction that he did not disclose. Crow then let Justice Thomas’s mother live in that home rent free, and made improvements to that property and surrounding properties, but no ethical violation here. J;

·        Crow donated to the organization founded by Virginia "Ginny" Thomas, Justice Thomas’ wife, she of the January 6th problems, which enabled her to take a large salary, but no ethical violation here. J;

·        Justice Thomas declared income from a defunct real estate trust, but “Nothing to see here, Move on.” J.

In overturning Roe v. Wade, Justice Thomas opined that it was time to revisit Griswold, contraception, and Obergefell, same sex marriage, but he left out Loving, miscegenation, which would have barred his marriage to Ginny.

Sorry “Strip Search Sammy.”  Justice Thomas has set the bar so high I don’t think you can ever clear it. Time to declare Justice Thomas the worst, apologize to Anita Hill, and move on.

Choices II

 

Waist Deep in the Big Muddy 

Well, I'm not going to point any moral,
I'll leave that for yourself
Maybe you're still walking, you're still talking
You'd like to keep your health
But every time I read the papers
That old feeling comes on;
We're, waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on. 

It sure is Muddy, but how Big  is the universe? 

Our universe allows choices. Thus it has to be big enough to accommodate all of those choices. Choices are inherently random. (Well, maybe her hairdresser knows! In a previous blog post I said that the absolute, God, was like Rick Blaine from Casablanca. I guess that I am now suggesting that God is like Clairol. Oh, well, I guess when it comes to blasphemy, "In for a penny, In for a pound".😉 )

An individual  may not like the choices made by others, but that is not the point. “Stuff happens!” A random normal (unbiased)  distribution is the logistics distribution, also known as the
sech-squared distribution. If the median choice is 50% then s, the range parameter of that distribution, must be 0.5.  The odds of a choice ( e.g. a coin flip of heads and tails) is 50%, regardless, if the result,  choice, can only be heads (e.g. 100%) or tails (e.g. 0%). If s is 0.5 then the variance, size, to accommodate all of the choices is  0.52Ï€2/3. 

The fact that it involves squares is important. While any number can be expressed as the sum of two numbers regardless of the surface, a square can also be expressed as the sum of two squares but with different results depending on the surface. (I.e., if the surface is flat, then the answer must satisfy Pythagoras’ theorem). If we are in a flat surface (universe) then also taking Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity into account, the choices should also satisfy E=mc2.  Then a flat, Euclidean, relativistic mass equation, m, would be m0/√(1-(v/c)2), where m0 is the rest mass at a velocity, v, of zero compared to the speed of light, c. However if the universe is hyperbolic, then Pythagoras’ theorem does not apply, and the relativistic mass equation is instead m=ln(cosh(v/c)cosh(m0)±sinh(v/c)sinh(m0)). This does not have the problem of becoming imaginary when the velocity exceeds the speed of light. It becomes undefined, is an acknowledgement that the velocity can NOT exceed the speed of light. However this equation suggests that the mass becomes infinite, an absolute, when v=c. To prevent that, it is suggested that as velocity approaches the speed of light, its relativistic mass transitions from the existing chaotic portion of the universe and enters a non-chaotic, orderly, portion of the universe. ( The division between these two portions is what is called the Big Bang).  The variance, size, of the chaotic portion of universe is equal to the size of the orderly portion of the universe. At the transition,  the relativistic mass equation is rotated by 90 degrees counterclockwise, and becomes a maximum when the speed in the orderly portion decreases to zero. 

Thus the equation of relativistic mass, m, in the orderly universe must satisfy 
XXXX, where the transition occurs when the relativistic mass is mt and the ratio of the velocity to the speed of light is 1. This is a rotation of the chaotic equation by 90° and a translation of the origin from a ratio of velocity to the speed of light of 0 and a mass equal to the rest mass to an origin of (1,mt). Because it was already said the maximum relativistic mass, mm, in the orderly domain occurs when the velocity is zero then 0=XXXX . The variance of the orderly universe must also be equal to the variance of the chaotic universe. This means that mt occurs at mm*.5*Ï€/√3

I would propose that the maximum relativistic mass be called the Warp Factor, which means that in the original  Star Trek, Mr. Scott should have said, “Aye sir. I can give you Warp Factor  ½*Ï€/√3, and maybe a wee bit more!”.

Wednesday, April 12, 2023

Children

 

The Greatest Love

I believe the children are our future Teach them well and let them lead the way Show them all the beauty they possess inside Give them a sense of pride to make it easier Let the children's laughter remind us how we used to be

But do you believe that children are wards, not property?

In a group, e.g. a state,  there are full members and there are wards of the group. A ward is not yet a full member of the group but is in the care of the group until they become a full member. A group also needs a sovereign, a leader. The United States of America was an experiment in that every member of the group has a say in choosing that leader and making sure that the sovereign’s power to make laws, administer laws, and rule on laws, were by separate groups of individuals. This distinguishes it from a hereditary monarchy where the sovereign passes though a hereditary line to a single individual. It is also is distinguished from an electoral monarchy ( e.g. the early Holy Roman Empire) where rather than inheritance,  the sovereign is an elected individual. The sovereign can also be chosen by dominance (i.e. authoritarianism). While the sovereign is typically an individual, the sovereign can be a group, (e.g. the Communist Party of China). A sovereign serves two roles: 1) the ruler of the group; and 2) the personification of the group. It is possible to separate these roles, for example a constitutional monarchy where the group rules, but the personification is inherited.

It possible for both the ruling sovereign and the personification sovereign to be elected as separate individuals (e.g. France). If the ruler is a subgroup of the larger group, the leader of the subgroup typically also serves the personification role  ( e.g. Xi of China). While it is theoretically possible for both the personification and ruling sovereign to be chosen by dominance, practically an authoritarian, dictator, will try to exercise dominance and become the personification sovereign, either directly, or by the personification being a puppet of the ruler.

In the United States of America, according to our constitution, representation is based on members AND wards of the state (which at one point included women, children, and slaves). Children can become full members based on their age ( e.g. age to work, age of marriage, age of voting, age to buy alcohol, etc.). Slaves, who would otherwise have met the age test, became members of the group when slavery was abolished. Women achieved the right to vote, and arguably became full members, but there was still the matter of whether a wife surrendered her group rights, became a ward of her husband upon marriage. (This confusion was attempted to be corrected by the Equal Rights Amendment). Individuals, who are not physically, or mentally, capable of membership in the group, may be long‑term wards of the group.

However a ward is NEVER property. Being a ward means that it is a status which can change. Property can not change its status. Property belongs to an individual. Property can be sold, gifted, transferred, or after the owner has died, can be disposed of according to a will. Upon death, debts are discharged and only the assets, positive property, can be “inherited.”  The heirs are NOT responsible for, do not, can not, inherit, the debts of the deceased. Children and wives can not be sold when the husband is alive, nor can they be disposed of as property in a will. Once upon a time, slaves could be disposed of as property, but as mentioned before, slavery in the USA  was abolished by the 14th Amendment. Thus legally children and women, including wives, can not be property.

Children are wards of their parents. Parents are wardens of their children. The group has conceded that its interest as a warden of the children is inferior to the parent’s role as a warden. However the group has not, can not, acknowledge a position that children are property of their parents. If the parents refuse certain actions to their children, who are only the parent's wards until they reach adulthood, then the parents have abandoned their role as warden of their children and the group can, and should, exercise its role as warden. Children can be proud, or ashamed, of their ancestors, but they are not ever responsible for the actions, positive or negative, of their ancestors. Parents can be wardens of their own children. However they are not the wardens of the children of other parents.

This does not mean that adults can not have a special relationship with those who were once their wardens. However legally they are not, and never were, property of their wardens. The group lives on because those children have become adults, are the future. An individual adult has a finite life span, but a group does not have a definite life span.

Saturday, April 8, 2023

Absolutes?

 

Where Have All The Flowers Gone

Where have all the flowers gone? Long time passing. Where have all the flowers gone? Long time ago. Where have all the flowers gone? The girls have picked them every one. Oh, When will you ever learn? Oh, When will you ever learn?

When will we ever learn?

Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity can, and arguably should, be viewed as an allegory.  Nothing can exceed an absolute ( i.e. the speed of light) .  And we can approach but never equal that absolute ( i.e. the speed of light).  There are different frames of reference for viewing the absolute and each of these frames of refences is correct, but only for that frame of reference.  Other frames of reference are equally valid.  Thus saying that you are absolutely right is an impossibility.  If you were absolutely right you would violate Einstein’s Theory.  (and let’s get the BS that Einstein’s is only a theory out of the way.  EVERYTHING can only be a theory.  It can not be absolute, 100% certain.  There is no such thing as a scientist who is 100% certain about anything).

If you look at any position, it can not be absolutely correct, whether that position is on abortion, same sex marriage, prohibition, religion, immigration, etc. You are  making a choice for yourself, but it is just that, a choice.  It is not, can not, be absolutely correct. 

Quantum Mechanics tell us that reality is random.  Albert Einstein was, paradoxically, a Determinist who despite his theory thought that you could find an absolute.  He famously said that “God does not play dice with the universe”.  He said this because there appears to be a paradox between an absolute who knows everything, including the results of random events, and the fact that there are random events.   How can things be random if God, an absolute, knows the outcome of a random event.

I have proposed an answer that allows an absolute to know the outcome, “God (and only God) plays with Loaded Dice.”   https://dbeagan.blogspot.com/2023/02/loaded-dice.html

The people who oppose the choices made by others, whether it is abortion, prohibition, same sex marriage, LGBTQIA+ rights, immigration, religion, etc. are saying that only their choice is right and should be imposed on others.  They are correct that they are absolute, they are absolutely WRONG. You should make laws that protect the group, but you should make no laws that impose your morality on the group.  You are not, can not, be an absolute.

It is a lesson that unfortunately the ruling classes in Texas, Idaho, Florida, Mississippi, Missouri and far too many places, have yet to learn.