tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34288508410464579722024-03-17T05:14:35.759-07:00 Popular Science<br>Collection of my brief articles on popular science. Most have also been published in Spanish. <br>Full list at: <a href="https://sites.google.com/view/manuelalfonseca/home/articd">https://sites.google.com/view/manuelalfonseca/home/articd</a>.<br> <p align="right">Manuel Alfonseca</p>Manuel Alfonsecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12774826547519124306noreply@blogger.comBlogger458125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428850841046457972.post-79722671354628926322024-03-14T01:05:00.000-07:002024-03-14T01:05:00.141-07:00Pope Francis, Technocracy and Artificial Intelligence<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimzZat3x_v_qC-SmBmK3RRfVP2sxXJXZS8kimTjqwMbe8kEA2R65e6wg5Y6W8dUwlYotyh-AqaN_HIQdpEIvybcvJqY74BfKYyMhjeQjD1odhEeciQwI-XhUYteRgfDM5UPzR_nm-MEXNvifL3v3o5I1aj97V_eocVBHyuv1IdGC5d9xcVZx_Y915jYzc/s358/Pope_Francis.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="358" data-original-width="250" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimzZat3x_v_qC-SmBmK3RRfVP2sxXJXZS8kimTjqwMbe8kEA2R65e6wg5Y6W8dUwlYotyh-AqaN_HIQdpEIvybcvJqY74BfKYyMhjeQjD1odhEeciQwI-XhUYteRgfDM5UPzR_nm-MEXNvifL3v3o5I1aj97V_eocVBHyuv1IdGC5d9xcVZx_Y915jYzc/s320/Pope_Francis.jpg" width="223" /></a></b></div>
<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The last Apostolic
Exhortation by Pope Francis, entitled </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Laudate Deum</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> and published
on October 4, 2023, dedicates a chapter to the technocratic paradigm that has
been imposed throughout the world, to which the following definition applies: </span><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: ArialUnicodeMS; mso-fareast-language: ES;">a
certain way of understanding human life and activity [that] has gone awry, to
the serious detriment of the world around us</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">. It refers mainly to the degradation of the environment in relation to
climate change of anthropogenic origin, although the phrase used can be interpreted
broadly, since there are many more ways to degrade the environment, in addition
to releasing gases into the atmosphere.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">But it doesn't
stop there. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The next paragraph says this:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: ArialUnicodeMS; mso-fareast-language: ES;">21.
In recent years, we have been able to confirm this diagnosis, even as we have
witnessed a new advance of the above paradigm. Artificial intelligence and the
latest technological innovations start with the notion of a human being with no
limits, whose abilities and possibilities can be infinitely expanded thanks to
technology. In this way, the technocratic paradigm monstrously feeds upon
itself.<span></span></span></i></b></p><a name='more'></a><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: ArialUnicodeMS; mso-fareast-language: ES;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b><p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: ArialUnicodeMS; mso-fareast-language: ES;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqmwM-zGdybFZ9WKUyJZC8b-qyZ691dy0m2prmjM7do6-Q94MxXS4u1dUQJJRfGpTbxARWvKVM5IO5jq_A-EUbHlJvkBiw1pMtvpa1SaL_4wkt2LRYYCxMoRqK_asmkyBPnhAcMIGhblLWMUiyEE4ycqLEXdgdKshJkTS91fvI9UrLjHE_XiOEhI5nI4g/s200/ACGarridoM.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqmwM-zGdybFZ9WKUyJZC8b-qyZ691dy0m2prmjM7do6-Q94MxXS4u1dUQJJRfGpTbxARWvKVM5IO5jq_A-EUbHlJvkBiw1pMtvpa1SaL_4wkt2LRYYCxMoRqK_asmkyBPnhAcMIGhblLWMUiyEE4ycqLEXdgdKshJkTS91fvI9UrLjHE_XiOEhI5nI4g/s1600/ACGarridoM.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: ArialUnicodeMS; mso-fareast-language: ES;">One could object to the use of the term <b><i><span style="color: #00b050;">artificial intelligence</span></i></b>, as I have pointed
out in these posts, but it is obvious that this is not the Pope’s fault, since
the media, and even a few experts, insist on calling that way the latest
advances in computing, such as those usually called <b><i><span style="color: red;">generative artificial intelligence</span></i></b>. Eduardo
César Garrido Merchán points it out in <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7164288215091294208/">a
note published on LinkedIn</a>:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: ArialUnicodeMS; mso-fareast-language: ES;">Intelligence</span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: ArialUnicodeMS; mso-fareast-language: ES;">
is a huge word. These [programs] are basically huge statistics models. Just
optimizing variables to make some output with respect to data. Nothing more. No
intelligence there.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: ArialUnicodeMS; mso-fareast-language: ES;">Any expert in what has been called <b><i>artificial
intelligence</i></b> agrees with this. It seems unbelievable that some of them have
been fooled by the stupidity of the media and insist that these programs show
consciousness and other human properties.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: ArialUnicodeMS; mso-fareast-language: ES;">But Pope Francis’ use of the term <b><i>artificial
intelligence</i></b> is anecdotal. What is important is what he says in the
rest of the paragraph, where he attacks the <b><i><span style="color: red;">technological
singularity</span></i></b>, so fashionable in our times. In the next two
paragraphs he says this about it:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: ArialUnicodeMS; mso-fareast-language: ES;">22.
…the greater problem is the ideology underlying an obsession: to increase human
power beyond anything imaginable, before which nonhuman reality is a mere
resource at its disposal. Everything that exists ceases to be a gift for which
we should be thankful, esteem and cherish, and instead becomes a slave, prey to
any whim of the human mind and its capacities.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><a name="23"></a><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: ArialUnicodeMS; mso-fareast-language: ES;">23. It is chilling to realize that the
capacities expanded by technology “have given those with the knowledge and
especially the economic resources to use them, an impressive dominance over the
whole of humanity and the entire world. Never has humanity had such power over
itself, yet nothing ensures that it will be used wisely, particularly when we
consider how it is currently being used… In whose hands does all this power
lie, or will it eventually end up? It is extremely risky for a small part of
humanity to have it”.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcuvNjnZiiycMezcBXKcoxhDiuoaAiq-w0ulFh7MpSXf0m45DbjKTy8DDxup9w1uMtubtUva-_3vdag36fJ9TnpaE9dey0cOaU8aggAiB5LZuq_9MngX2kgWGUEo-PwmqeF89jhzSQjVilcajKDP_J-lgRx5xH-1oJYn9h5zogGv52WcTjB7cK_Bqw/s264/1images.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="264" data-original-width="191" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcuvNjnZiiycMezcBXKcoxhDiuoaAiq-w0ulFh7MpSXf0m45DbjKTy8DDxup9w1uMtubtUva-_3vdag36fJ9TnpaE9dey0cOaU8aggAiB5LZuq_9MngX2kgWGUEo-PwmqeF89jhzSQjVilcajKDP_J-lgRx5xH-1oJYn9h5zogGv52WcTjB7cK_Bqw/s1600/1images.jpg" width="191" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>C.S. Lewis</b></td></tr></tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: ArialUnicodeMS; mso-fareast-language: ES;">These words remind me of the book by C.S. Lewis <b><i><span style="color: red;">The Abolition of Man</span></i></b> (1943), about which I published
<a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2022/06/the-abolition-of-man.html">a
post in this blog</a>. In that book, Lewis says that what is often called “man’s
domination of nature” ultimately boils down to “the domination of large numbers
of human beings by a small number of human beings.” I wonder if section 23 of
the Pope’s document has been directly or indirectly influenced by Lewis’s book,
although he does not cite Lewis. I also wonder if these words could be
considered a criticism of the 2030 Agenda, which basically tries to achieve
precisely this accumulation, in a few hands, of a huge power over the rest of
humanity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: ArialUnicodeMS; mso-fareast-language: ES;">In the following paragraphs, Francis elaborates on
this idea:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: ArialUnicodeMS; mso-fareast-language: ES;">24.
Not every increase in power represents progress for humanity. We need only
think of the “admirable” technologies that were employed to decimate
populations, drop atomic bombs and annihilate ethnic groups... It is not
strange that so great a power in such hands is capable of destroying life,
while the mentality proper to the technocratic paradigm blinds us and does not
permit us to see this extremely grave problem of present-day humanity.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><a name="25"></a><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: ArialUnicodeMS; mso-fareast-language: ES;">25. Contrary to this technocratic
paradigm, we say that the world that surrounds us is not an object of
exploitation, unbridled use and unlimited ambition... <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><a name="26"></a><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: ArialUnicodeMS; mso-fareast-language: ES;">26. …Human beings must be recognized as
a part of nature. Human life, intelligence and freedom are elements of the
nature that enriches our planet, part of its internal workings and its
equilibrium.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><a name="27"></a><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: ArialUnicodeMS; mso-fareast-language: ES;">27. …The great present-day problem is
that the technocratic paradigm has destroyed that healthy and harmonious
relationship... <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><a name="28"></a><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: ArialUnicodeMS; mso-fareast-language: ES;">28. We need to rethink among other
things the question of human power, its meaning and its limits. For our power
has frenetically increased in a few decades...</span></i></b><span face=""Tahoma",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: ArialUnicodeMS; mso-fareast-language: ES;">In short: the Pope warns us that unlimited
technological growth towards technological singularity is immoral. One point
remains to be considered: it is almost certain that it will not be
feasible. This is my opinion, which I expressed in <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2024/02/are-cities-and-companies-biological.html">another
post</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><b><a href="https://divulciencia.blogspot.com/2024/03/el-papa-francisco-la-tecnocracia-y-la.html">The same post in Spanish</a></b><div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b>Thematic Thread about What is Man: <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2020/09/to-soylent-green.html">Previous</a> Next</b><b><br /></b></p><p style="text-align: right;"><b>Manuel Alfonseca</b></p></div></div>Manuel Alfonsecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12774826547519124306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428850841046457972.post-57681310814495457392024-03-06T23:35:00.000-08:002024-03-06T23:35:00.253-08:00Chance, design and artificial life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y4pfQ2r6kmg/UzvnCP9Fn7I/AAAAAAAABLc/JQC9pRC6MR8/s1600/Quinto_Nivel_11_1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="147" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y4pfQ2r6kmg/UzvnCP9Fn7I/AAAAAAAABLc/JQC9pRC6MR8/s1600/Quinto_Nivel_11_1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">In </span><a href="http://populscience.blogspot.com/2020/04/what-is-artificial-life.html" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">previous
posts</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> in this blog I have mentioned my experiments on </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: red;">artificial life</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">: the simulation in a computer
of processes similar to those that take place in living beings. Artificial life
should not be confused with </span><a href="http://populscience.blogspot.com/2020/02/synthetic-life-when.html" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">synthetic
life</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">: construction of artificial living beings in the laboratory.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">One of the most used tools in artificial
life (and in other related fields) are <b><i><span style="color: red;">genetic
algorithms</span></i></b>, which simulate biological evolution within the
computer, and make it act on the entities that are the subjects of the research.
In these experiments, a mixture of <b><i><span style="color: red;">chance and
necessity</span></i></b> (the title of Monod’s book mentioned in the previous post)
is used. Chance is usually applied with a pseudo-random number generator that
modifies the operation of the rest of the algorithm, which represents necessity.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">My artificial life experiments are
designed by me. They are a clear example of design. But this design uses
chance; or, if you want, pseudo-chance. But Gregory Chaitin proved in 1975 that
chance and pseudo-chance are indistinguishable (see <a href="http://populscience.blogspot.com/2018/02/chance-or-pseudo-chance.html">this
post</a>). Therefore, we can use both terms interchangeably.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">My situation regarding my artificial life
experiments is special, privileged. While one of them is running, I can stop
it, analyze the state of the system and act accordingly, modifying the conditions.
To do this, I can modify the state of one or more of the simulated entities
(which would be equivalent to a miracle), or I can alter the operation of the
random number generator, skipping one or more of these numbers, forcing a new random
starting point, or carrying out many other actions that modify the evolution of
the system and would be undetectable for the hypothetical thinking beings
within the system (and this would be equivalent to the action of Providence).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Suppose that at some point in the future
intelligent beings would emerge in one of my artificial life experiments. Don’t
be afraid, if that were possible, it’s so far away that I’m sure I won’t be
able to see it, although the idea has helped me to write a science fiction
novel: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33308204-jacob-s-ladder">Jacob’s
Ladder</a>. But let’s do that thought experiment. What would those intelligent
beings think about the world in which they would have emerged? That their world
had been designed, or that it was the result of chance?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">I don’t care what they’d think. From my
privileged position, I know the answer to that question: <b><i><span style="color: red;">their world would have been designed, and chance is one of
the tools of that design</span></i></b>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Let’s now move on to our own world. There
are intelligent beings (us) and we ask ourselves the same question as my
hypothetical simulated intelligent beings. There are only three possible
answers:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The universe is the result of chance</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">.
It remains to explain how something can arise by chance.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The universe has been designed and created by God</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">.
In this case, what we call chance may not be chance for God. Or perhaps yes.
If I can use chance in my designs, why wouldn’t God be able to do it?<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The universe has been designed by intelligent beings other than
God</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">. In other words: we live in a simulation. This
is Nick Bostrom’s idea. I wrote <a href="http://populscience.blogspot.com/2015/10/not-living-in-simulation.html">a
post</a> in this blog about that proposal.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o_yAHXZIozs/X0Tu3951kqI/AAAAAAAAFeY/w3eqmLSobN0rKaXdP8rBKWyVyOHaZiGhACNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Thomas_Nagel.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="311" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o_yAHXZIozs/X0Tu3951kqI/AAAAAAAAFeY/w3eqmLSobN0rKaXdP8rBKWyVyOHaZiGhACNcBGAsYHQ/s200/Thomas_Nagel.jpg" width="177" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Thomas Nagel</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">I don't think my readers will doubt which
solution I defend. In my opinion, the first does not solve anything, and the
third is a simple flight of fancy, impossible to prove. In the cited post I
pointed out that Bostrom’s approach is wrong, because he did not consider a
much more probable possibility than those he did take into account. But there
are those who prefer this alternative, for two reasons: because they like
science fiction; and because they are willing to accept anything rather than
the existence of God. Thomas Nagel said it in his book <b><i><span style="color: red;">The Last Word</span></i></b>: <b><i><span style="background: white; color: #00b050;">I want atheism to be true… It isn’t just that I don’t believe
in God and, naturally, hope that I am right in my belief. It’s that I hope that
there is no God! I don't want there to be a God; I don't want the universe to
be like that.</span></i></b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">It isn’t possible to dialogue and reach
agreements when both parties assume totally contradictory starting premises.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><b><a href="https://divulciencia.blogspot.com/2024/03/azar-diseno-y-vida-artificial.html">The same post in Spanish</a></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><b style="text-align: left;">Thematic thread on synthetic and artificial life: <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2020/08/scientific-facts-historical-facts.html">Previous</a> Next</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: right;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><b>Manuel Alfonseca</b></span></p>Manuel Alfonsecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12774826547519124306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428850841046457972.post-30118271640960396442024-02-29T00:05:00.000-08:002024-02-29T00:05:00.138-08:00Different types of chance<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S0i72iNIPNs/VOxzSW1YMoI/AAAAAAAABzg/jXD5ceIfALw/s1600/descarga.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S0i72iNIPNs/VOxzSW1YMoI/AAAAAAAABzg/jXD5ceIfALw/s1600/descarga.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jacques Monod</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">When we don’t
know why something happens, we usually say that it is due to chance. But this
statement is ambiguous, because there are two different types of chance:</span></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Epistemological chance</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, where the cause of what’s happening is
well-known, but so complex that it remains outside the scope of our
knowledge. Almost all games of chance (dice, roulette, lottery jackpot)
are examples of this type of chance. Rolling dice conforms to the laws of
mechanics, but the conditions are so complex that we cannot predict the
result of each roll. This type of chance is what </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Jacques Monod</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> called </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">operational uncertainty</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> in his book </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Chance and Necessity</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> (1970):<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">This
term is used... in relation to the game of dice, or roulette, and the
calculation of probabilities is used to predict the result of a play. But these
purely mechanical and macroscopic games are not "the result of
chance" except because of the </span></i></b><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">practical impossibility</span></i></b><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> of controlling the throwing of the dice or the ball with
sufficient precision. It is evident that a very high precision launching
mechanism is conceivable, and would make it possible to largely eliminate the
uncertainty of the result... The same thing happens, as will be easily seen,
in... many phenomena where the notion of chance and the calculation of
probabilities are applied for purely methodological reasons. </span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">(My translation into English).<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ontological chance or
physical chance</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, which is
not due to our ignorance, but corresponds to a true indeterminism. Monod
calls it </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">essential
uncertainty</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, and
describes it thus:<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">This
is the case, for example, of what can be called "absolute
coincidences", which result from the intersection of two mutually independent
causal chains. Suppose, for example, that Dr. Dupont is called urgently to
visit a sick person, while the plumber Dubois works on urgent repairs to the
roof of a neighboring building. Just when Dr. Dupont passes under the eaves of
the building, the plumber inadvertently drops his hammer, whose (deterministic)
trajectory is intercepted by that of the doctor, who dies with a broken skull.
We say </span></i></b><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">no luck</span></i></b><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">. What other term can be used for such an event, unpredictable
by its very nature? Chance here must evidently be considered essential,
inherent in the total independence of the two series of events whose meeting
produced the accident.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">According to
the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics, due mainly to </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Niels Bohr</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, the physics of elementary particles is not deterministic, but random,
with physical indeterminism. If this is true (all attempts to discover hidden
variables that would convert physical into epistemological indeterminism have
failed), the cosmos appears to be intrinsically probabilistic, and its
evolution can only be followed statistically.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFZlSySEka1FYXxUPP4iahdkkE14HTUhw6B18AtwY-m2d1ih8CJeKXCBD7oO-bB89V4qqsT4bKIC3mA9va6AqeIcXf7xC_YVEc4OnvLJGYE6zgGGDmM4vfvuEA8WFoYHV5hIVRH77oHDs/s1600/Heisenberg.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFZlSySEka1FYXxUPP4iahdkkE14HTUhw6B18AtwY-m2d1ih8CJeKXCBD7oO-bB89V4qqsT4bKIC3mA9va6AqeIcXf7xC_YVEc4OnvLJGYE6zgGGDmM4vfvuEA8WFoYHV5hIVRH77oHDs/s200/Heisenberg.jpg" width="125" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Werner Heisenberg</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Heisenberg’s </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">uncertainty principle</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> gives us an additional possible source of chance,
by pointing out that it is impossible to know two properties of matter
(energy-time; position-momentum) with absolute precision. Knowing one of them
with huge precision makes the other escape our control automatically. But this
means that chaotic systems, although they may be deterministic, are automatically
subject to chance. Let us see how.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The evolution
of a </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">chaotic
system</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, from two almost identical initial conditions, makes
it move, after a certain time, to two quite different states. I explained it in
this <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2018/02/chaos-and-catastrophes.html">post</a>.
It turns out that many of the physical laws we know give rise to chaotic
behavior. Therefore, if in one of these systems we start from two different
initial conditions, which differ by less than the limit established by the
uncertainty principle, we won’t be able to predict the final state of the
system after a certain time. Is this chance? And if it is, is it
epistemological chance, or physical chance?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Some think it
is a form of </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">epistemological
chance</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, since we do not know how to predict the outcome.
But others think that it is </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">physical
chance</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, because contrary to what Monod explains when
talking about epistemological chance, the impossibility is not </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">practical</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, but </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">theoretical</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">In <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2024/01/three-questions-without-scientific.html">previous
posts</a> I have pointed out that chance might not exist, or at least be
compatible with design. In this case, the word </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">chance</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> usually refers
to what we have called </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">ontological
chance</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">physical
chance</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, or </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">essential
uncertainty</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">. As I indicated above,
epistemological chance is not true chance, but rather makes reference to our
ignorance. In the next post I will elaborate on this idea.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><b><a href="https://divulciencia.blogspot.com/2024/02/distintos-tipos-de-azar.html">The same post in Spanish</a></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><b>Thematic Thread on Evolution: <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2021/09/chance-and-certainty.html">Previous</a> Next</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: right;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><b>Manuel Alfonseca</b></span></p>Manuel Alfonsecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12774826547519124306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428850841046457972.post-62998860157850617862024-02-22T00:05:00.000-08:002024-02-22T00:05:00.142-08:00Sin, Redemption and Extraterrestrial Intelligence<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0vCOeblCowsX7IYztaKQwQhkEqV4yA4Tx7_1-CpOOerg_1gXnvFMiDD43kFoI5sc2zkoS08pMfCQdiPCiJCG6Eu9SScDWa5U85y_h5M4EcsyEmEhnk8PEYZhS6Z-FAZTvII3tzxXgAOM/s1600/220px-Ray_Bradbury_(1975)_-cropped-.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0vCOeblCowsX7IYztaKQwQhkEqV4yA4Tx7_1-CpOOerg_1gXnvFMiDD43kFoI5sc2zkoS08pMfCQdiPCiJCG6Eu9SScDWa5U85y_h5M4EcsyEmEhnk8PEYZhS6Z-FAZTvII3tzxXgAOM/s1600/220px-Ray_Bradbury_(1975)_-cropped-.jpg" width="162" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ray Bradbury</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Ray Bradbury
wrote a story titled </span><b style="text-align: justify;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Man</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> that can be
summarized thus:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">In its
expansion through the galaxy, the human species encounters many
extraterrestrial intelligences. </span></i></b><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The captain of an interstellar Earth ship arrives on a distant
planet and hears about something recently happened there. Little by little he
discovers that God has become man on that planet and has granted them
Redemption, although not in a bloody way. The captain wants to meet him, get in
touch with him, but it’s too late: he has left (at least, he thinks so). </span></i></b><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">Then the captain
decides to dedicate his life to traveling to other planets in the hope of
finding Christ on one of them.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Narciso Ibáñez
Serrador adapted this story for the radio, and in doing so he changed a few things:
the title, which became </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Triangle</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, and the form
of Redemption: they kill the Redeemer by nailing him to a triangle, rather than
a cross.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Although in
Bradbury’s original version it is not clear whether the aliens are subject to
original sin, in the radio adaptation it is assumed that they are. Furthermore,
it is also assumed that every planet needs a Redemption, which is not valid for
all of them at the same time.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The Catholic
Church has not taken an official position on these issues. She doesn’t need to
do it, since we don’t even know if aliens exist. But some theologians have
studied the matter, and their opinions can be classified as follows:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Some believe
that </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">original sin is a
local issue</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, so there could be aliens
who are not subject to it. Others believe that this is </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">a global issue</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, affecting all intelligent inhabitants of the
cosmos.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Some think that
each alien species subject to original sin needs to be redeemed independently
of the others. Others believe that a single Redemption is valid for all, so Christ
doesn’t need to be incarnated on each of these planets, as in the story by Ray
Bradbury. I think this last position tends to be the majority, being based on
the fact that the existence on Earth of races of human beings that remained
isolated for centuries did not prevent the Redemption of Christ, which took
place in the Middle East, to apply to everyone. Of course, perhaps there are several
intelligent species in the galaxy, but the huge distances between stars will keep
them apart forever.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifHxyf8AYN5eK9G0DqSEtwKi4QmiBHTFMU7bGdxEai80CVKBauZfGrGeXcMs6tZ0bCeslt8n6upYp1PUxMXjxq3y_PEPbK11bsE_avz8UJ4-86OALC050RRnIfQXE_eyjkl-zYbBD8VlftDsUjtQ9NC4swzZZO7TlMf2Sw_NL8qBycsGbFHzn4gLjLSt8/s400/InTheBeginning.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="268" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifHxyf8AYN5eK9G0DqSEtwKi4QmiBHTFMU7bGdxEai80CVKBauZfGrGeXcMs6tZ0bCeslt8n6upYp1PUxMXjxq3y_PEPbK11bsE_avz8UJ4-86OALC050RRnIfQXE_eyjkl-zYbBD8VlftDsUjtQ9NC4swzZZO7TlMf2Sw_NL8qBycsGbFHzn4gLjLSt8/s320/InTheBeginning.jpg" width="214" /></a></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Regarding
original sin, the doctrine of the Catholic Church is based above all on chapter
5 of Saint Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, rather than on Genesis chapter 3. In
his book </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">In the Beginning</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> (1996), Joseph Ratzinger (elected Pope in 2005 as
Benedict XVI) says this:</span></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
human being is relational… sin means the damaging or the destruction of
relationality. Sin is a rejection of relationality because it wants to make the
human being a god… Sin is always an offense that touches others, that alters
the world and damages it… When the network of human relationships is damaged
from the very beginning, ten every human being enters into a world that is
marked by relational damage… Each of us enters into a situation in which
relationality has been hurt.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">In his book </span><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Benedict XVI: Defender of the
Faith</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> (2022) Joseph Pearce calls these words by Ratzinger
</span><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">a
brilliant exposition of the practical reality and consequences of Original Sin</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">, and adds: </span><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">It is hard to imagine a better and more penetrating elucidation of
the doctrine and practical presence of Original Sin. </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">It will be
noted that this text by Ratzinger, which compiles four homilies he gave in
1981, when he was archbishop of Munich, does not address any of the
interpretations mentioned above and is compatible with all of them.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">In summary: the
question of how issues such as original sin and Redemption affect hypothetical
extraterrestrials is, for the time being, a topic for </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">science fiction</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, rather than a theological, philosophical or
scientific problem.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><b><a href="https://divulciencia.blogspot.com/2024/02/pecado-redencion-e-inteligencias.html">The same post in Spanish</a></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; text-align: left;">Thematic thread on Life in other Worlds: <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2024/02/extraterrestrial-intelligence-and.html">Preceding</a> Next</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: right;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><b>Manuel Alfonseca</b></span></p><p></p>Manuel Alfonsecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12774826547519124306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428850841046457972.post-8729475887864083472024-02-15T00:05:00.000-08:002024-02-21T23:49:56.024-08:00Extraterrestrial intelligence and original sin<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcuvNjnZiiycMezcBXKcoxhDiuoaAiq-w0ulFh7MpSXf0m45DbjKTy8DDxup9w1uMtubtUva-_3vdag36fJ9TnpaE9dey0cOaU8aggAiB5LZuq_9MngX2kgWGUEo-PwmqeF89jhzSQjVilcajKDP_J-lgRx5xH-1oJYn9h5zogGv52WcTjB7cK_Bqw/s264/1images.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="264" data-original-width="191" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcuvNjnZiiycMezcBXKcoxhDiuoaAiq-w0ulFh7MpSXf0m45DbjKTy8DDxup9w1uMtubtUva-_3vdag36fJ9TnpaE9dey0cOaU8aggAiB5LZuq_9MngX2kgWGUEo-PwmqeF89jhzSQjVilcajKDP_J-lgRx5xH-1oJYn9h5zogGv52WcTjB7cK_Bqw/s1600/1images.jpg" width="191" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>C.S. Lewis</b></td></tr></tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">These
speculations may seem irrelevant, since we do not know if </span><b style="text-align: justify;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">extraterrestrial intelligence</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> exists. In fact, the probability of its existence
is 50%, as I explained in <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2023/10/the-principle-of-indifference.html">a
previous post</a>, by which I mean that we know nothing, that we might as well
flip a coin to decide. However, some serious theologians and science fiction
authors have raised this question, so it may not be absurd to discuss it here.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Jean Jacques
Rousseau asserted that man is good by nature, but society makes him evil. All
the evidence we have refutes him. In every attempt made to correct this
situation by modifying social structures, for example, in the French Revolution
(which introduced the guillotine); in the Russian Revolution (which introduced
the Gulag); and in German National Socialism (which introduced gas chambers);
things have gotten worse. It is clear that we are prone to evil by nature,
although we may also be capable of great heroism. That inclination to evil is a
consequence of what we call </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">original sin</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We are
discussing the following question: Granted that human beings on Earth are
subject to the effects of original sin, what can be said about hypothetical
extraterrestrial intelligences? Are they also subject to original sin? Or are they
exempt from it? In other words, are they naturally good, or are they inclined
to evil, like us?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Two different
answers have been proposed to these questions:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The situation of human beings, here on Earth,
is a purely local phenomenon. Original sin is a consequence of something
that happened a long time ago, among our distant ancestors. For
hypothetical extraterrestrial intelligences, the following three
possibilities could have taken place:<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="a">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHqPwUJ255MwJ3RUTN3oPBhKHSIFPFtEN5nxl1ojYGlx5Tb4gUx1hy6ne3t2EwfMgF_UVL-tvEK0nt8kkttOaOBNL81lJI0N9Ill1s9V8R9JlFPJFZr8Xr3pR2XqbM1PfLLfx48S1Y-a4jCLurRGm0YRRKtQIGFfmTfiZGGAbDonnGrOtjjKx88tKY2P0/s282/Space_trilogy.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="282" data-original-width="185" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHqPwUJ255MwJ3RUTN3oPBhKHSIFPFtEN5nxl1ojYGlx5Tb4gUx1hy6ne3t2EwfMgF_UVL-tvEK0nt8kkttOaOBNL81lJI0N9Ill1s9V8R9JlFPJFZr8Xr3pR2XqbM1PfLLfx48S1Y-a4jCLurRGm0YRRKtQIGFfmTfiZGGAbDonnGrOtjjKx88tKY2P0/s1600/Space_trilogy.jpg" width="185" /></a></div>That their remote ancestors were not subjected
to trial and therefore did not fall, so their descendants would not be
subject to original sin. This is the situation of the intelligent species
populating the planet Mars in the novel </span><b style="text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Out of the silent planet</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; text-align: justify;">, by C.S. Lewis. It also applies to some of my novels <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/249532-sistema-solar">in the solar
system series</a>, which does not mean that I have adopted this solution
to the problem.</span></div></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">That their remote ancestors were subjected to
trial, but did not fall into temptation, so their descendants would not
be subject to original sin. This is the situation of the intelligent
species in the planet Venus in the novel </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Perelandra: a voyage to Venus</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, by C.S. Lewis.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">That their remote ancestors were subjected to
trial and fell into temptation, so their descendants were subject to
original sin. This is the situation of the intelligent species populating
planet Earth, in the novel </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">That hideous strength</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> by C.S. Lewis, which completes the trilogy.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLY4WDJ3Q-7JwgcnuKsF_6dP7NKBYKSG088nje7jhcj0ElrEa9UEIZKIFULbDvK5exjwTqMFKvCoV_QSVafJ3lSHb-JjziZdWA5wENNmarGJKxXUFXGFZZSYPcIWMhuDEcy_J9RM2s9AQ/s1600/Teilhard.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="160" data-original-width="127" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLY4WDJ3Q-7JwgcnuKsF_6dP7NKBYKSG088nje7jhcj0ElrEa9UEIZKIFULbDvK5exjwTqMFKvCoV_QSVafJ3lSHb-JjziZdWA5wENNmarGJKxXUFXGFZZSYPcIWMhuDEcy_J9RM2s9AQ/s200/Teilhard.jpg" width="158" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Pierre Teilhard de Chardin</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The situation of human beings, here on Earth, </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">is the result of a global
phenomenon</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">. Original
sin is a consequence of something that infected the whole universe, which
took place long before there were intelligences inside the universe.
Consequently, human beings on Earth and any hypothetical extraterrestrial
intelligence must be subject to original sin (i.e. we are all prone to
evil). This was the solution adopted by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin in two
notes that were sent to the Superior General of the Jesuits and were not
published until half a century later in the collection </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Comment je crois</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">. These notes probably caused him to be
removed from teaching at the Catholic Institute of Paris and forbidden from
publishing his books, although he was allowed to publish many scientific
articles. According to Teilhard’s proposal, the universe was created in a
state of initial disintegration, and was subject later to a process of
evolution that led to an increase in complexity until it produced
intelligent beings, at least on Earth. Original sin would not have been
the personal fault of one or more individuals, but would consist,
precisely, in the state of original dispersion of the world. This solution
cannot be accepted by Catholic doctrine, since it places the blame for
original sin on the Creator of the universe. However, not all
interpretations of original sin that fit this line of thinking make the
same mistake as Teilhard.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">What does
Catholic doctrine say in this regard? We will get to it in the next post.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><b><a href="https://divulciencia.blogspot.com/2024/02/inteligencias-extraterrestres-y-pecado.html">The same post in Spanish</a></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; text-align: left;">Thematic thread on Life in other Worlds: <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2022/11/is-there-life-in-solar-system-beyond.html">Preceding</a> <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2024/02/sin-redemption-and-extraterrestrial.html">Next</a></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: right;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><b>Manuel Alfonseca</b></span></p>Manuel Alfonsecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12774826547519124306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428850841046457972.post-54656960357765362032024-02-08T00:05:00.000-08:002024-02-08T00:05:00.144-08:00Are cities and companies biological structures?<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS7RexbqA05JA4Sz1sFo5ZRN3E74Jfwy4DlflNhTD2PcK2rEE5tqfiTVuVDAHS9nCdJfxshZ_SgLumYBClTuAtr0yu6l2Bt1hxVX40HU-N00AjVyqOukmx-zvfkiag8mIZ2cmhdmwpHVyiEgerFKBeez3T5qiP-mZt_xj-tG52tFuZgPxACxmHgQGuKs0/s220/Geoffrey_West.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="147" data-original-width="220" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS7RexbqA05JA4Sz1sFo5ZRN3E74Jfwy4DlflNhTD2PcK2rEE5tqfiTVuVDAHS9nCdJfxshZ_SgLumYBClTuAtr0yu6l2Bt1hxVX40HU-N00AjVyqOukmx-zvfkiag8mIZ2cmhdmwpHVyiEgerFKBeez3T5qiP-mZt_xj-tG52tFuZgPxACxmHgQGuKs0/s1600/Geoffrey_West.jpg" width="220" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Geoffrey West</b></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">The book </span><b style="text-align: justify;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Scale: The universal laws of
life and death in organisms, cities and companies</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">, by Geoffrey West, from the </span><b style="text-align: justify;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Santa Fe Institute</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">, which I discussed in <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2024/02/strange-curves-and-biological-structures.html">the
previous post</a>, asserts that cities and companies are subject to laws very
similar to those that apply to living beings. They are general laws, applicable
to all entities of these types, regardless of their origin. West explains it
this way:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Remarkably,
analyses of such data show that, as a function of population size, city
infrastructure—such as the length of roads, electrical cables, water pipes, and
the number of gas stations—scales in the same way whether in the United States,
China, Japan, Europe, or Latin America. As in biology, these quantities scale
sublinearly with size, indicating a systematic economy of scale but with an
exponent of about 0.85 rather than 0.75...[F]ewer roads and electrical cables
are needed per capita the bigger the city. Like organisms, cities are indeed
approximately scaled versions of one another, despite their different
histories, geographies, and cultures, at least as far as their physical
infrastructure is concerned.<span></span></span></i></b></p><a name='more'></a><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">As in the case
of the circulatory system of living beings, in cities there are similar
structures, which must provide water, electricity, gas and communications to
each and every one of the homes in the city. Therefore, it is not surprising
that the effect is also that of an </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">economy
of scale</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, although with an exponent
0.85 instead of 0.75. West does not explain the reason for this difference, nor
why, in the case of companies, the exponent turns out to be a little higher:
approximately equal to 0.90. It is curious that the exponent 0.85 also applies
approximately to issues such as the number of gas stations in each city based
on the number of inhabitants, with very similar slopes regardless of the
country in question, as can be seen in figure 33 of West’s book, which I’m showing
here:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUs7nWhHke08wyIfeXtTPEYIrgH_u8GLwnWqPuTVZEIPMjCwTfa_-CLAsLzFxYa91SY0DZhK52vpb1SGWxBkca2vVFjCekhyphenhyphenzZzAYHVgWXlSsmG7NcKltfhAIkLkRRhqIRmSK_foV5X_gT9UKrViGih5eyUnq-vUG0Y-V84xqwDi4GLX74zBVw3Y8qR1g/s566/Fig33.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="552" data-original-width="566" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUs7nWhHke08wyIfeXtTPEYIrgH_u8GLwnWqPuTVZEIPMjCwTfa_-CLAsLzFxYa91SY0DZhK52vpb1SGWxBkca2vVFjCekhyphenhyphenzZzAYHVgWXlSsmG7NcKltfhAIkLkRRhqIRmSK_foV5X_gT9UKrViGih5eyUnq-vUG0Y-V84xqwDi4GLX74zBVw3Y8qR1g/s320/Fig33.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">On the other
hand, other particularities associated with cities adjust to a different
exponent, approximately equal to 1.15, as in the case of the number of patents
as a function of the number of inhabitants of the city, in figure 3 of the book:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGSbIZsSQdtLxLvZ-B7ItBnHG9qdaTNlmlyonxrWGXmz2FJpFtnp6snziZVEk2Va9oYBnxnErTQB0MG3ZzO9bIYMpydzJN1Sed_EefQz3UmJi68_HoccipmVOfOwM6A3lYzPdCOFfEw0AJ920YGNLLchwPsj1LUk6RTKRF8rVwsyIJNQC6vOUuoZwc6mY/s566/Fig3.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="566" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGSbIZsSQdtLxLvZ-B7ItBnHG9qdaTNlmlyonxrWGXmz2FJpFtnp6snziZVEk2Va9oYBnxnErTQB0MG3ZzO9bIYMpydzJN1Sed_EefQz3UmJi68_HoccipmVOfOwM6A3lYzPdCOFfEw0AJ920YGNLLchwPsj1LUk6RTKRF8rVwsyIJNQC6vOUuoZwc6mY/s320/Fig3.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">West comments
on this:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Perhaps
even more remarkably they are also scaled socioeconomic versions of one
another. Socioeconomic quantities such as wages, wealth, patents, AIDS cases,
crime, and educational institutions, which have no analog in biology and did
not exist on the planet before humans invented cities ten thousand years ago,
also scale with population size but with a superlinear (meaning bigger
than one) exponent of approximately 1.15. An example of this is the number of
patents produced in a city shown in <a href="file:///D:/fat1/articulo/Text/part0004_split_001.html#fig3"><span style="color: #00b050; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Figure 3</span></a>. Thus, on a per
capita basis, all of these quantities systematically increase to the
same degree as city size increases and, at the same time, there are equivalent
savings from economies of scale in all infrastructural quantities. Despite
their amazing diversity and complexity across the globe, and despite localized
urban planning, cities manifest a surprising coarse-grained simplicity,
regularity, and predictability.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The problem
with an exponent greater than 1 is that it gives rise to super-exponential
growth, which tends to infinity in a finite time. Supporters of the
technological singularity (see <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2023/09/transhumanism-is-it-possible.html">this
post</a>) will jump for joy at this possibility, but West is more restrained
and says this:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">This
is obviously impossible, and that’s why something has to change… This kind of
growth behavior is clearly unsustainable because it requires an unlimited,
ever-increasing, and eventually infinite supply of energy and resources at some
finite time in the future in order to maintain it. Left unchecked, the theory
predicts that it triggers a transition to a phase that leads to stagnation and
eventual collapse</span>.<o:p></o:p></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">This forecast
seems much more realistic than the crazy speculations of the supporters of the
technological singularity. It is curious that the curve offered by West to
describe this situation is practically identical to the curve I proposed to
describe the evolution of biological species and civilizations in my two books,
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15213517-human-cultures-and-evolution"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Human cultures and evolution</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> (1978) and </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35338306-evoluci-n-biol-gica-y-evoluci-n-cultural-en-la-historia-de-la-vida-y-del"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Evolución biológica y cultural en la
historia de la vida y del hombre</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> (2017).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0zGtMjXFCRDw3Ztu_31Lx7cTD7CFx4BasKSvqJ3xww_EKQQbnGVT7sz_3mZQ4mSIl3ddO6KTQ1D8RXov7r1WeCjXmpEUTsFfbEG9_7b2k3t1IMc6uQocymoEx5uyEfetxktfDxAPizhrPYbGHT5G7w76HmdSTTVSEWGpxQP3yx-PCctRybR2Ug0nAXvY/s566/Figxx.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="461" data-original-width="566" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0zGtMjXFCRDw3Ztu_31Lx7cTD7CFx4BasKSvqJ3xww_EKQQbnGVT7sz_3mZQ4mSIl3ddO6KTQ1D8RXov7r1WeCjXmpEUTsFfbEG9_7b2k3t1IMc6uQocymoEx5uyEfetxktfDxAPizhrPYbGHT5G7w76HmdSTTVSEWGpxQP3yx-PCctRybR2Ug0nAXvY/s320/Figxx.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><b><a href="https://divulciencia.blogspot.com/2024/02/ciudades-y-empresas-como-estructuras.html">The same post in Spanish</a></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><b>Thematic Thread on Mathematics and Statistics: <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2024/02/strange-curves-and-biological-structures.html">Previous</a> Next</b><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></b></span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: right;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><b>Manuel Alfonseca</b></span></p>Manuel Alfonsecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12774826547519124306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428850841046457972.post-25798091287081660812024-02-01T00:05:00.000-08:002024-02-08T00:02:48.611-08:00Strange curves and biological structures<table align="right" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNdpH5mtAeRz7eDnFfQllI1Cjz89-4LjG0h9TRmjGDwA9TAUOM0QjkQHAG0w5bUsoFmDjhEcGajN7swtVq5FgbHPk7FsAm0nHPx9UT3W2UDblZPyYxpZEqYTVShWs5ARL0uz5Ks336npDhgFjiEUIQ9YM6GxXG87zq_WTOMSWOVe6kBUbcJw2rJeep58Y/s443/Koch.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="443" data-original-width="422" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNdpH5mtAeRz7eDnFfQllI1Cjz89-4LjG0h9TRmjGDwA9TAUOM0QjkQHAG0w5bUsoFmDjhEcGajN7swtVq5FgbHPk7FsAm0nHPx9UT3W2UDblZPyYxpZEqYTVShWs5ARL0uz5Ks336npDhgFjiEUIQ9YM6GxXG87zq_WTOMSWOVe6kBUbcJw2rJeep58Y/s320/Koch.jpg" width="305" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Von Koch's Snowflake Curve</b></td></tr></tbody></table>
<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">In general,
geometric objects are usually classified according to the number of their
dimensions, like this:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Points</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> have zero dimensions.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Lines</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> (straight lines or curves) have one dimension.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Surfaces</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> have two dimensions.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Volumes</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> have three dimensions.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Furthermore,
mathematicians often work with objects that have more than three dimensions,
which are very difficult for us to imagine.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">At the
beginning of the 20th century, the Swedish mathematician Helge von Koch
discovered a strange curve (the von Koch </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">snowflake</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">), which has
the following properties:<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">It is continuous in every point, but has no
derivative at any point.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Although it is a closed curve, its perimeter
is infinite.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Although it is a line, its dimension is not 1.</span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">In 1919, the
mathematician H. Hausdorff proposed a new concept of dimension, which would be applicable
to these strange curves and would distinguish them from ordinary lines and
surfaces. According to his definition, too complicated to detail here, all typical
lines, open or closed, have dimension equal to one; all typical surfaces have
dimension two. But curves similar to von Koch’s snowflake can have fractional
dimensions, between one and two. For example, von Koch’s snowflake has the
following dimension: (log 4)/(log 3) = 1.2618595071429...<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Von Koch’s
curve was not the first strange curve that mathematicians discovered. At the
end of the 19th century, Giuseppe Peano devised another curve, even more
strange, which bears his name, and which is defined as the limit of a set of
successive curves, the sixth of which can be seen in the attached figure. This
curve, like all those preceding and following in the succession, is evidently a
line with a starting point and an ending point, located at two opposite
vertices of a square. A point moving along this line would not have freedom of
movement except in one direction. Therefore, it appears that this is a
one-dimensional object. But it is also evident, if we observe the succession of
the curves, that the line ends up filling the square. We have
here, therefore, a line that completely fills a surface, without ceasing,
apparently, to be a line.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: center;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghNsLundkVLmz4ujqc6nEqNycrZZzM2EnGi-iOUw-dgt7gF5Ixy0vB2EfBywYV77D_YN7-Hhi1QTNPbxLReU3jjPLuRpGy0Qo6X1Q9ziO0RyjlEcYeNjsaO_jbqwFDZy_hzF77Hc3D_GwKMj0vHl2rI8y-scEljqHB2L-Xa2tKXTriWMNgkDO2bdsAosw/s640/Peano.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghNsLundkVLmz4ujqc6nEqNycrZZzM2EnGi-iOUw-dgt7gF5Ixy0vB2EfBywYV77D_YN7-Hhi1QTNPbxLReU3jjPLuRpGy0Qo6X1Q9ziO0RyjlEcYeNjsaO_jbqwFDZy_hzF77Hc3D_GwKMj0vHl2rI8y-scEljqHB2L-Xa2tKXTriWMNgkDO2bdsAosw/s320/Peano.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Sixth approximation to Peano's Curve</b></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">How many
dimensions does </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Peano’s curve</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> have? On the one
hand, it appears <a name="_Hlk155697149">to have one dimension</a>, because it
is the limit of a succession of curves whose dimension is always 1. On the
other hand, it seems to have two dimensions, as the curve in the limit passes
through all the points of a square. And indeed, if we calculate its Hausdorff
dimension, it comes out to be 2. Peano’s curve is also strange for not having a
derivative at any point, but that is another story.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Many years
after Peano and von Koch discovered their curves, the Polish-American
mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot proposed the name </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">fractals</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> for these curves (and for other mathematical
objects).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Just as Peano’s
curve, despite being a curve, fills a surface and therefore has dimension 2,
there are fractal surfaces that fill volumes, and therefore have dimension 3.
And there are fractal volumes that fill all the available space, and therefore can
be said to have dimension 4.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Let's look at
the attached figure, which I've taken from the book </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Scale: The universal laws of life and death in organisms, cities and
companies</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, by Geoffrey West, from
the Santa Fe Institute. It represents the metabolic rate (in watts) of several
species of birds and mammals, depending on their body mass. The two axes of
the figure are logarithmic, which means that the straight line where the
metabolic rates of all those animals are approximately located, is actually a
power curve, whose exponent is the slope of the line, i.e. approximately ¾.
West explains the figure thus:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Elephants
are roughly 10,000 times (four orders of magnitude) heavier than rats;
consequently, they have roughly 10,000 times as many cells. The 3⁄4 power
scaling law says that, despite having 10,000 times as many cells to support,
the metabolic rate of an elephant (that is, the amount of energy needed to keep
it alive) is only 1,000 times (three orders of magnitude) larger than a rat’s.</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTFKpZhLVS-Vi2d9ZSXA9SmUb0Rk6bLC4F57si6VBhlie8eGa4ACUnhi_UbLS6h09eL8fD16_Ig2lBaDCuBIntLc9syD9fFt-2aFyQs0zPBOub06aOklmfvtH_4jcJk-ExuIv01jHXUEedlcngj-1up4B9_a3Mw4sihXNeAYC3iItrCpw_My505oriipM/s566/West1.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="434" data-original-width="566" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTFKpZhLVS-Vi2d9ZSXA9SmUb0Rk6bLC4F57si6VBhlie8eGa4ACUnhi_UbLS6h09eL8fD16_Ig2lBaDCuBIntLc9syD9fFt-2aFyQs0zPBOub06aOklmfvtH_4jcJk-ExuIv01jHXUEedlcngj-1up4B9_a3Mw4sihXNeAYC3iItrCpw_My505oriipM/s320/West1.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">How can this be?
According to West, the circulatory system of birds and mammals is made of blood vessels with a hierarchical structure, with the aorta and vena cava at
the top, plus various vessels of decreasing diameter, ending in capillaries of
microscopic diameter. This defines a fractal structure in three dimensions. Every
cell in the body receives food from a nearby capillary, so the blood vessels must
fill all the available space (the entire volume of the body), just like Peano’s
curve fills the surface of a square. Therefore, the Hausdorf dimension of our
circulatory system is equal to 4. This would explain the exponent ¾ in the
growth of metabolism as a function of body mass in birds and mammals.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">More about this, next week.<o:p></o:p></span></p><b><a href="https://divulciencia.blogspot.com/2024/02/curvas-extranas-y-estructuras-biologicas.html">The same post in Spanish</a></b><div><b><br /></b><div><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">Thematic Thread on Mathematics and Statistics: <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2023/11/mathematical-trivia-and-quotes-from.html">Previous</a> <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2024/02/are-cities-and-companies-biological.html">Next</a></b><b><br /></b><p></p><p style="text-align: right;"><b>Manuel Alfonseca</b></p></div></div>Manuel Alfonsecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12774826547519124306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428850841046457972.post-90633854936011769462024-01-25T00:05:00.000-08:002024-01-25T00:05:00.148-08:00Three questions without scientific answers<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc5zFJFKYa5hJ9szGqGa-kU7lMUATeT3h-ObUXE1LoJ2H2XkgG16gNJSY5C4J8-ZuCfFPB9JMiw8QIf-pqFs0b9a7V3Ytgcc3NnSglI7nOdMBxdveSznDn-Of8QDrfT4GUQhBSPJaBdo9LFwyXh_ZP8-RBLwkvkdTOV_DVp4JFChkckD4l8TMKpAQclaY/s240/Evolucion_Universo.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="173" data-original-width="240" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc5zFJFKYa5hJ9szGqGa-kU7lMUATeT3h-ObUXE1LoJ2H2XkgG16gNJSY5C4J8-ZuCfFPB9JMiw8QIf-pqFs0b9a7V3Ytgcc3NnSglI7nOdMBxdveSznDn-Of8QDrfT4GUQhBSPJaBdo9LFwyXh_ZP8-RBLwkvkdTOV_DVp4JFChkckD4l8TMKpAQclaY/s1600/Evolucion_Universo.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Although I have
spoken about some of these things in other posts, I’ll put together here three
questions that, for now, don’t have a scientific answer, and perhaps never
will.</span></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Did the universe begin to
exist at the Big Bang, or was there something before?</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> This controversy is much older than many
think. Three quarters of a millennium ago, Thomas Aquinas wrote this in
his </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Summa
Theologiae</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> (Part I,
Question 46):<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 72.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 72pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">It cannot be proven by demonstration that the world
has not always existed.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">In other words, according to Aquinas, the question
of </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">creatio
originans</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> (that the world had a
beginning) cannot be solved by human reason. It should be noted, however, that </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">creatio ex nihilo</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> (the fact that the world was created) would be
within the reach of reason. In other words: reason would let us reach the
conclusion that the universe was created, but we cannot prove that it had a
beginning.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The controversy came back to the forefront with the
triumph of the </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Big
Bang</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> cosmological theory. Alternative theories (which I
described in <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2016/11/alternatives-to-big-bang.html">another
post</a>) disagree on whether the time associated with our universe began with
the </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Big Bang</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">. Our two main physical theories do not let us know
what happened before Planck’s time (5×10<sup>-44</sup> seconds after the </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Big Bang</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">), so those proposals must be considered, at least for the time being,
speculations without a scientific basis.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">On the other hand, the second principle of
thermodynamics, which predicts the heat death of the universe, seems to imply
that the universe must have had a beginning. Otherwise, we would be now in
thermal death. We know that this principle applies throughout the known history
of the universe, but did it also apply before the </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Big Bang</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, assuming this phrase makes sense? Nobody knows.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 2em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtY-tkS9qKNGf80ynHUMTMn3U7AlhbZC-ZI8n_SnmhOY3gZxSRWFwDG4E1V6SId3pCvPsvJm0Pg9UF9qt2fg3hSil7xglgvwfoD2I9_ixRZKAq9tzG3HamIa8s7YIgEt4rKYxTWmxFopw/s1600/Aristotle.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtY-tkS9qKNGf80ynHUMTMn3U7AlhbZC-ZI8n_SnmhOY3gZxSRWFwDG4E1V6SId3pCvPsvJm0Pg9UF9qt2fg3hSil7xglgvwfoD2I9_ixRZKAq9tzG3HamIa8s7YIgEt4rKYxTWmxFopw/s200/Aristotle.jpg" width="149" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Aristotle</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Is the universe finite or infinite?</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> Paraphrasing Aristotle, we could say that<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 72.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 72pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">Nature abhors infinities.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The two current physical theories present a
problem: they both predict infinities. General relativity does that in
gravitational singularities: the </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Big
Bang</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> and black holes, whose density would be literally
infinite. Quantum mechanics, in the vacuum energy and other quantities that
must be renormalized in quantum field theory. Some scientists think that a
quantum theory of gravity, that we still don’t have, would eliminate these
infinities. If so, we need to wait until a future genius will solve it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">But my initial question in this section refers to
something else:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 72.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 72pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">Is space finite or infinite?<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Cosmologists disagree on the answer to this
question. Some, like Einstein, would rather the universe be finite, although
unlimited. Others say that it could be infinite, and draw the consequence that
everything that happens and has happened on Earth, including our personal life,
must be repeated in an infinite number of places in the universe. In 2014, Soler
Gil and I published <a href="https://repositorio.uam.es/bitstream/handle/10486/664735/about_soler_theoria_2014.pdf?sequence=1">an
article</a> that refutes some of these arguments. That article contains the
following paragraph:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 72.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 72pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">[I]f we start from the standard cosmological model, the possibility that
the universe is infinite can only be deduced if an additional postulate is
accepted, namely the so-called ‘<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmological_principle">cosmological
principle</a>’, which asserts that the universe is homogeneous and isotropic at
sufficiently large scales. </span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">This principle is
necessary to extrapolate the cosmological description of the universe beyond
the boundaries of the observable universe. </span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">However, its introduction gives rise to serious problems. In fact, the
cosmological principle is being increasingly questioned from both sides:
theoretical arguments and observational evidence. </span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">Therefore
an agnostic position with respect to the extrapolation of the known universe
beyond our horizon seems to be epistemologically reasonable, especially when
that extrapolation leads to infinity.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKoxHpxv6CWVu20mjvo8RMAzxKwwbWf9BUrNVmf-F1UsDLqtw4IY2BTIoSd-7r7d5ueiwvcL2V9U8q8jAW0Gvyctr9p2BgBz1nvNoOvyLC2bsSCUbMm5OeRUNLD2b1WdHozCOLj_U6jr4/s1600/Chaitin.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="186" data-original-width="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKoxHpxv6CWVu20mjvo8RMAzxKwwbWf9BUrNVmf-F1UsDLqtw4IY2BTIoSd-7r7d5ueiwvcL2V9U8q8jAW0Gvyctr9p2BgBz1nvNoOvyLC2bsSCUbMm5OeRUNLD2b1WdHozCOLj_U6jr4/s1600/Chaitin.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Gregory Chaitin</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Is everything in the
universe the work of chance?</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> Perhaps this question does not make sense, since chance is
undecidable, as Gregory Chaitin proved (see <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2018/02/chance-or-pseudo-chance.html">this
post</a> in my blog). His theorem, proven in 1975, says in essence the
following:<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 72.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 72pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">The randomness of integers is undecidable. Although
randomness can be defined accurately and can even be measured, in general it
cannot be proved that a set of numbers is random. This sets a new limit to what
is possible in mathematics</span></i></b><b><i><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #002060; font-size: 10pt;">.</span></i></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">(Randomness and Mathematical Proof, Scientific
American 232, No. 5, May 1975, pp. 47-52).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">In the same post I described a </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">thought experiment</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> that shows that the discrimination between chance
and design is undecidable. If, starting from my experiments on artificial life,
I ended up by creating a world designed by me, where intelligent beings
appeared, these beings could come to the conclusion that their existence was a
consequence of chance, when in fact it would be a clear case of design. If they
would decide that I don’t exist, it seems to me that they would be wrong.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">One of my science fiction novels, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33308204-jacob-s-ladder">Jacob’s Ladder</a>,
is based on this idea.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://divulciencia.blogspot.com/2024/01/tres-preguntas-sin-respuesta-cientifica.html">The same post in Spanish</a></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 700;">Thematic Thread about Standard Cosmology: </span><a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2023/03/can-we-see-beginning-of-universe.html" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 700;">Previous</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 700;"> Next</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: right;"><b>Manuel Alfonseca</b></p>
Manuel Alfonsecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12774826547519124306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428850841046457972.post-17093732785011417542024-01-18T00:05:00.000-08:002024-01-18T00:05:00.145-08:00Two errors about human intelligence<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdXLr1-jpoKx4hnxjjO_H9oZseeKrTHh5mFkeGvbvotmI41PXQMkYqNc-pr6UgjjSAfs7huGPM1QT-ukngMMYDvi4nL8YtqfQw_v-06D8fn1xSKjoI3Mo6caonkl5p5_8qG3gRVFpZ3Wo/s1600/Stephen_Jay_Gould.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="220" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdXLr1-jpoKx4hnxjjO_H9oZseeKrTHh5mFkeGvbvotmI41PXQMkYqNc-pr6UgjjSAfs7huGPM1QT-ukngMMYDvi4nL8YtqfQw_v-06D8fn1xSKjoI3Mo6caonkl5p5_8qG3gRVFpZ3Wo/s200/Stephen_Jay_Gould.jpg" width="164" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Stephen Jay Gould</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">In a previous post
(<a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2023/11/information-and-intelligence.html">Information
and intelligence</a>) I mentioned that intelligence (</span><b style="text-align: justify;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">the ability to manipulate
the available information and create new information</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">) is a concept that is difficult to define, related
to difficult terms, such as </span><b style="text-align: justify;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">understanding,
reasoning, planning, imagination, creativity, critical thinking</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> and</span><b style="text-align: justify;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">
problem solving</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">In his book </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Mismeasure of Man</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, Stephen Jay Gould points out two important errors
related to the scientific treatment of intelligence:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Reification</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, a word descending from the Latin </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Res</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">thing</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">: our tendency to convert abstract concepts
into entities. In the case of intelligence, we try to turn this
unapproachable concept into something more understandable and measurable.<span><a name='more'></a></span><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ranking</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">: our tendency to classify everything
according to simple numerical criteria that result in a gradual scale. In
the case of intelligence, this trend has given rise to two important
scientific errors throughout recent history: in the 19th century, </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">craniometry</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">. And in the 20th century, the American system
of measuring the </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">intelligence quotient</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> (</span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">IQ</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">), which has been adopted uncritically by many
other countries.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Gould’s book
deals with </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">the
abstraction of intelligence as a single entity, its location within the brain,
its quantification as one number for each individual, and the use of these
numbers to rank people in a single series of worthiness, invariably to find
that oppressed and disadvantaged groups—races, classes, or sexes—are innately
inferior and deserve their status. In short, this book is about the Mismeasure
of Man.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgde6U0hwWBVS8sP9rZYuzHeHC_0NyElGjS6dt4urR1AVkxZBRXMaXB9fJR3h17MuYhed9Hg6j1iKg2gMx9d0G4tF0GDsJ0thtPLyyvZm7Q1H6vcK_1MrGIwUYsXBAlRL_3HAkyaC0unB9fRVpKketOdO0vZ-AGpqMaeWhIS6bzUkyxRuCgj-snK4imnPw/s313/Paul_Broca_by_Pierre_Petit.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="313" data-original-width="220" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgde6U0hwWBVS8sP9rZYuzHeHC_0NyElGjS6dt4urR1AVkxZBRXMaXB9fJR3h17MuYhed9Hg6j1iKg2gMx9d0G4tF0GDsJ0thtPLyyvZm7Q1H6vcK_1MrGIwUYsXBAlRL_3HAkyaC0unB9fRVpKketOdO0vZ-AGpqMaeWhIS6bzUkyxRuCgj-snK4imnPw/w141-h200/Paul_Broca_by_Pierre_Petit.png" width="141" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Paul Broca</b></td></tr></tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Gould addresses
in this book the history of almost two centuries of attempts by scientists,
some of them serious and with good will, to prove that </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">the intelligence of whites is superior to
that of members of other races and that the intelligence of men is higher than
that of women</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">. Often, but
not always, an attempt was made to explain this superiority by a genetic
origin, thus making it incorrigible by means of education or the social
environment. To discuss these theories, Gould analyzed the data these people
published and pointed out the errors they made. Among the scientists analyzed,
the following stand out:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Louis Agassiz</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, Swiss biologist who became a citizen of the
United States.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Paul Broca</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, researcher of brain physiology, who insisted
on supporting his racist prejudices by measuring skulls.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Cesare Lombroso</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, father of criminal anthropology, now
discredited, who believed that it is possible to recognize criminals by
anatomical and physiological particularities, the stigmata.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Alfred Binet</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, creator of the IQ. Binet stated that this
measure was not based on a theory about intellect; that it does not measure
innate or permanent properties; that it should be used only to detect
retarded children and help them improve; and that a low score should not
mark children as unable to learn. In the United States, by contrast, IQ
became a linear measure of intelligence, betraying the restrictions Binet had
attempted to impose on its use. This is another case of the wish of many
scientists to deal with complex questions as if they were <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2015/10/dostoyevsky-function.html">functions
of a single variable</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Cyril Burt</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, famous in the history of <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2015/06/scientific-fraud.html">scientific
fraud</a> for his efforts to prove the supremacy of genes over education
by means of fabricated studies on pairs of non-existent twins.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Gould attacks
the efforts of some scientists to justify their prejudices with the help of
science. It is curious that he does not realize that he is also subject to the
same accusation. For example, in this book, when he talks about supporters of
the genetic origin of intelligence, he often calls them </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">conservatives</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> and accuses them of claiming that </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">evil, or stupid, or poor, or
disfranchised, or degenerate, people are what they are as a result of their
birth. Social institutions reflect nature. </span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Instead, he calls </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">liberals</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> those who oppose this statement. When the book was
written, these two names were equivalent to </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Republicans</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> and </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Democrats</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, and throughout the book it is quite clear which
political party Gould voted for.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><b><a href="https://divulciencia.blogspot.com/2024/01/dos-errores-respecto-la-inteligencia.html">The same post in Spanish</a></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><b>Thematic Thread about Natural and Artificial Intelligence: <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2024/01/some-problems-in-automatic-natural.html">Previous</a> Next</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: right;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><b>Manuel Alfonseca</b></span></p>Manuel Alfonsecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12774826547519124306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428850841046457972.post-75507110594800679822024-01-10T23:05:00.000-08:002024-01-10T23:05:00.137-08:00Ten years of Divulciencia-Populscience<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRFTYr9K6J0ecYkgu2JRz9uI_iDvmF_CsmnUO3_Nyg4XLN332m_9SzEdM-7PZKIITGdCiY4rUmc3yqsUPTgfK_igazFDOhPjR1o-PGnUk181EafWjbKG1RxyLNNoA5CDF0DMSxnzP4-Cc/s1600/Feliz_Aniversario.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRFTYr9K6J0ecYkgu2JRz9uI_iDvmF_CsmnUO3_Nyg4XLN332m_9SzEdM-7PZKIITGdCiY4rUmc3yqsUPTgfK_igazFDOhPjR1o-PGnUk181EafWjbKG1RxyLNNoA5CDF0DMSxnzP4-Cc/s200/Feliz_Aniversario.gif" width="200" /></a></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Next Monday marks ten years since the
creation of my blog </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: red;">Populscience</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> (called
</span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: red;">Divulciencia</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> in its Spanish
version). In this time, I have published 438 articles in both languages, plus
another fifteen only in Spanish and eleven only in English.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">You may remember that in <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2023/01/nine-years-of-divulciencia-populscience.html">the
post I published one year ago</a> to celebrate the nine years of existence of
the blog, I included a figure that seemed to indicate that, after reaching a
maximum of about 6,000 visits per month in October 2018, this number slowly
decreased until reaching about 3000 visits (one half) in January 2023.<span></span></span></p><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">One year later, the figure is this:<o:p></o:p></span></p><a name='more'></a>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt7Ly0ui_Qzqdz9T4JHWVrePMrPiXwnngKWJU_l9OLQN0CQDWaLWJlNZRVDg2pH33-96nhHGgX13W1z3jIzYV0zzWkLROqYHa9p6EdMcCxPl6L6farArkN_3A5felPQvkFz9Nzv9sgLCW4XuFb4yrbSy62758QYZ3KVsnqONQbgpeeEEn6npQ9ypBC2fo/s640/meses.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt7Ly0ui_Qzqdz9T4JHWVrePMrPiXwnngKWJU_l9OLQN0CQDWaLWJlNZRVDg2pH33-96nhHGgX13W1z3jIzYV0zzWkLROqYHa9p6EdMcCxPl6L6farArkN_3A5felPQvkFz9Nzv9sgLCW4XuFb4yrbSy62758QYZ3KVsnqONQbgpeeEEn6npQ9ypBC2fo/s320/meses.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">It can be observed that starting in August
2023, the number of visits to the blog rose sharply until reaching values not
far from the historical highs it had achieved in 2018. What is the reason for
this sudden change? Did the number of visitors suddenly double?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">No. What happened was this: in August
2023, <b><i>Google Analytics</i></b> removed the version I had been using to
measure the number of visits, and replaced it with a new one (<b><i><span style="color: red;">Google Analytics 4</span></i></b>). One of the changes made
is this: from now on, the tool counts, not only visits to web pages from a
computer (as the previous version seems to have done), but also visits from
mobile phones. Apparently, the previous version didn’t do this.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Visits to my blog may have remained more
or less constant from 2018 until now. What seems to happen is this: more and
more visitors use their phones to read my posts, instead of reading them on their
computers. The progressive decrease in visits seems to have been an artifact
due to the method used to count them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">In fact, I had another way of measuring
visits to my blog, provided by the blog itself. But this measure is less
reliable, because it includes visits from automated bots, which should not be
counted. I tried to estimate and discount them, but I did not consider reliable
the result, which can be seen in the attached figure. However, I may not have
done so badly, as can be seen in this figure, which shows a linear growth
followed by flattening. In other words, what I have deduced from the other
measurement.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHb7uEZtNuiFAP49mKUxzn9I_iOKCMnKroTg18CG1jatQPVOANIpR9aKW7sKaWxflQ7kb4zGKeJ7GRUiwx9c03dNwan_Hsk_sXk5FffZhY51-qXaOQnqZDyAk-Ts3VtB_STAI6Eu23-PxvuVJaE4elh2KszKbjbpMaV96domNIC4r-UoNh95EhR62apJM/s640/meses2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHb7uEZtNuiFAP49mKUxzn9I_iOKCMnKroTg18CG1jatQPVOANIpR9aKW7sKaWxflQ7kb4zGKeJ7GRUiwx9c03dNwan_Hsk_sXk5FffZhY51-qXaOQnqZDyAk-Ts3VtB_STAI6Eu23-PxvuVJaE4elh2KszKbjbpMaV96domNIC4r-UoNh95EhR62apJM/s320/meses2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">I want to thank my readers for their
loyalty. The fact that the number of visits has grown from 2014 to 2018 and may
have remained almost constant for another six years is surprising and
satisfying for the author of the posts.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">To finish, I am going to update the list
of the people (scientists or not) most cited in the blog posts, which I last displayed
<a href="https://divulciencia.blogspot.com/2020/01/seis-anos-de-divulciencia.html">four
years ago</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<div align="center">
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody><tr>
<td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">Name</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">Times quoted in PopulScience</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">Albert Einstein<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">75<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">Isaac Newton<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">54<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">Stephen Hawking<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">31<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">Isaac Asimov<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">28<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">Charles Darwin<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">27<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
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<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">C.S. Lewis<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">26<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">Aristóteles<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">25<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
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<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">Richard Dawkins<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">20<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">Arthur C. Clarke<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">20<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
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<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">Alan Turing<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">18<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">Georges Lemaître<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">18<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
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<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">Ptolomeo<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">17<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">Ray Kurzweil<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">17<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">Platón<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">17<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
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<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">Jules Verne<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">13<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">Pierre Teilhard de Chardin<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">12<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">Kurt Gödel<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">12<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">Roger Penrose<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">12<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">Aldous Huxley<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">10<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">So I have cited at least ten times 19 different
persons in the 455 articles in the blog. Among them there are 14 scientists,
two of whom were above all great philosophers; and five writers, of which three
were great popularizers of science. Three of them are still living; the others
are dead.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><b><a href="https://divulciencia.blogspot.com/2024/01/una-decada-de-divulciencia.html">The same post in Spanish</a></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; text-align: start;">Thematic Thread on Anniversaries and Organization: <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2023/05/an-evolving-universe-populscience-in.html" style="color: #0044ee; text-decoration-line: none;">Previous</a> Next</b></span></p><div style="text-align: right;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><b>Manuel Alfonseca</b></span></div><p></p>Manuel Alfonsecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12774826547519124306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428850841046457972.post-18932434906532642632024-01-04T00:05:00.000-08:002024-01-17T23:59:16.517-08:00Some problems in Automatic Natural Language Generation<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMr-KlbGazBakVr7P2evRu6pSbeQXuL0Qjcw89LmokKREthlTTlwspG9t2D3_nry_ySB1EnqNiAt1F-b57zrkT0qeeGEUOY49v1CNkIx0WwDhUdaPPf1aGQ1Kg1gdMNbXfJUIoq9KKpK4/s1600/AlanTuring.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="186" data-original-width="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMr-KlbGazBakVr7P2evRu6pSbeQXuL0Qjcw89LmokKREthlTTlwspG9t2D3_nry_ySB1EnqNiAt1F-b57zrkT0qeeGEUOY49v1CNkIx0WwDhUdaPPf1aGQ1Kg1gdMNbXfJUIoq9KKpK4/s1600/AlanTuring.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Alan Turing</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">ChatGPT and similar tools have more than
met the Turing test, for they are capable of fooling many human beings (I don’t
know how many, but certainly more than 30%) into believing that there is a mind
behind such simple algorithms. But, <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/winograd-schemas-replace-turing-test-for-defining-humanlevel-artificial-intelligence">quoting
Evan Ackerman</a> (Senior Editor of IEEE Spectrum):<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The problem with the Turing Test is that it’s not really a test
of whether an artificial intelligence program is capable of thinking:
it’s a test of whether an AI program can fool a human. And humans are really,
really dumb.<span></span></span></i></b></p><a name='more'></a><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">In <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2023/06/a-model-for-chatgpt.html">a
previous post</a> I explained the algorithm used by ChatGPT and similar tools to
generate human-looking text. It is very simple. A similar (although longer)
explanation can be seen in <a href="https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/2023/02/what-is-chatgpt-doing-and-why-does-it-work/">this
Wolfram article</a>. As I explained in <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2023/11/information-and-intelligence.html">another
post</a>, this algorithm, together a huge amount of data contained in a huge neural
network that stores information and has no intelligence, is capable of generating
texts that look very similar to those written by a human being.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The article by Wolfram mentioned above denies,
as I do, that these tools are intelligent. He says that their true usefulness
is having proved that human languages have unknown properties that make it
possible for these tools to generate human-looking texts. Here I disagree with
Wolfram. I believe it’s not necessary to resort to strange properties of
languages; that the use of an algorithm as simple as the one we both have explained
makes it inevitable that the texts produced emulate those of human origin. I’ll
go further: the texts ChatGPT generates are actually human texts cleverly put
together.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm3mbooJerDGjhw_jFuOGJz8iFowVbPjS9z792GBjNXdjsHZS1XiIpZpbBtduho_GdHLUZPrZ1zn7yfdq7hkYyi-PosWEEeFGknGHCRgAGpBLMKeRjtAHdixgIwLmQP-VB6WyqhH4YFaRbtu4VPH5L0nmb4_TWVW54I07hkyV2oZcKroKC8v0fR_1k/s1400/chatgpt.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1400" data-original-width="1400" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm3mbooJerDGjhw_jFuOGJz8iFowVbPjS9z792GBjNXdjsHZS1XiIpZpbBtduho_GdHLUZPrZ1zn7yfdq7hkYyi-PosWEEeFGknGHCRgAGpBLMKeRjtAHdixgIwLmQP-VB6WyqhH4YFaRbtu4VPH5L0nmb4_TWVW54I07hkyV2oZcKroKC8v0fR_1k/w200-h200/chatgpt.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">In a comment to my last-mentioned blog post,
a reader pointed out that ChatGPT had generated a perfect Latin-to-Spanish
translation of Fedro’s fable <b><i><span style="color: red;">The Fox and the
Grapes</span></i></b>, better than the version generated by Google Translate.
When I consulted an expert, he explained that the translator actually translates
the text that is offered, while ChatGPT, when generating the answer to the
question "translate such text from Latin to Spanish", resorts to translations
of human origin present in the training data included in its memory, which probably
include part of the World Wide Web. Of course, the element of randomness in the
algorithm makes it possible, not just using a single text, but jumping from one
to another when both refer to the same thing. Thus, in the translation of the
fable, I have found in the WWW the possible origin of a couple of phrases.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">We know that the algorithm chooses, from <b><i>the
information used to train the neural network</i></b>, a word that can follow those
it already has got. If what has been accumulated comes from a specific text, there
is a high probability that the next word will also belong to the same text. If this
text carries copyright, the answer of the tool will be recognizable and will
violate those rights. This has already happened. In fact, many copyrighted
texts are known to have been used to train ChatGPT’s neural network, and some
authors</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">(and the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/27/business/media/new-york-times-open-ai-microsoft-lawsuit.html">New
York Times</a>)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> have filed lawsuits against OpenAI (the parent company of ChatGPT) for violation
of copyright.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Given this situation, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-openai-microsoft-users-responsible-ai-copyrighted-material-2023-11">Business
Insider</a> reports that OpenAI, with the help of Microsoft and Google, which
also have tools of this type, are trying to blame final users, rather than the
parent company or the programmers, when generative AI tools show copyrighted
material, if the answer is published.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">If this were to happen, it would mean that
anyone who used one of these tools to generate text and wanted to make it
public, should investigate first whether any of its parts violate copyright. Otherwise,
they would be prone to litigation. Which could result in less people daring to
use ChatGPT and kin.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">On the other hand, the announcement of
ChatGPT caused alarm in some sectors, such as teachers, who saw a threat to their
way of grading their students: if they gave them an assignment, there was the
possibility that the response had been prepared by ChatGPT. In January 2023,
OpenAI made publicly available a tool that supposedly distinguished whether a
text was of human origin or had been artificially generated. The tool was
withdrawn after a few days, because it was as reliable as flipping a coin.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">It seems to me that this has an
explanation: as the texts generated by the tools are actually human texts that have
been manipulated, it is difficult for other tools to discover their origin. Modern
versions focus more on style. For example, if the user makes a correction to a
ChatGPT response, the next answer always begins by apologizing and agreeing
with the user. This, and other stylistic properties, can be used to detect the
origin of some of the texts. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">But they are not fully reliable, for I
have seen a case where one of these tools, given a text that began with a
typical ChatGPT phrase and continued with a paragraph extracted from Wikipedia,
concluded that the first part was of human origin, while the Wikipedia paragraph
was artificial. In other words, the conclusion was the opposite of the truth. I
have observed that texts from Wikipedia tend to be considered artificial by
these tools, perhaps because ChatGPT makes extensive use of them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p><b><a href="https://divulciencia.blogspot.com/2024/01/problemas-de-la-generacion-automatica.html">The same post in Spanish</a></b></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p><b>Thematic Thread about Natural and Artificial Intelligence: <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2023/11/computer-programs-and-intelligence-games.html">Previous</a> <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2024/01/two-errors-about-human-intelligence.html">Next</a></b></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: right;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p><b>Manuel Alfonseca</b></o:p></span></p><p></p><p></p>Manuel Alfonsecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12774826547519124306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428850841046457972.post-79780820364837659352023-12-27T23:46:00.000-08:002023-12-28T02:56:55.854-08:00Responses to a reader who rejects Christianity<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqwEY2nrqOlLDWVOwDeQRIDXkZqYCXqoCDZSMfBLUQNHf3fbF99WXnamOX7MiJdonF426OcAJqF3V1pIWfoi_k3OJRJAStWMGpnQlBJuNS5k6r0Fmxb2E_mphYrcrRdY-SBM9_tkrjTso/s235/People_looking_miracle_sun.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="166" data-original-width="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqwEY2nrqOlLDWVOwDeQRIDXkZqYCXqoCDZSMfBLUQNHf3fbF99WXnamOX7MiJdonF426OcAJqF3V1pIWfoi_k3OJRJAStWMGpnQlBJuNS5k6r0Fmxb2E_mphYrcrRdY-SBM9_tkrjTso/s0/People_looking_miracle_sun.jpg" /></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">A loyal reader of my blog, who praises my
way of popularizing science, rejects Christianity and seems bothered by the
fact that my articles imply that I am a Catholic. In a series of comments that he
wrote in one of my posts, he explains his arguments. I did not answer him there,
because of the length of his comments, which in total contain 3,346 words,
while my article only has 644 (more than five times less).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">I think that this reader should be
classified as an agnostic rather than an atheist, as it’s possible to deduce
from the following words:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">There is nothing stupid about rambling about the possible
existence of God and deciding "I'm going 100% that he does exist."
The universe is SO complex that, as long as there is no evidence to the
contrary, believing that there may be someone/something that
"designed" all this... cannot be dismissed as "stupid
thinking."<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">I think the reader's various criticisms
can be summarized by quoting the following words, which also appear in his
first comment:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The problem comes when we try to use all these reasonings
(which, in principle, speak of God as something completely ethereal and
impersonal) to try to validate the story of Jesus Christ, which seems to be the
goal.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Simple, right? The reader accepts my speaking
about God, but not about Jesus Christ. Apparently, he deeply resents my doing
so. I have named Jesus Christ in eight posts out of more than 450, although perhaps
my Christianity is also clear in posts where I don’t name him. And he accuses
me of trying to bring water to my mill (or sweeping home). This is a textbook
case of the <b><i><span style="color: red;">ad hominem fallacy</span></i></b>. As
we know, this fallacy (which in this case can be summarized as follows: <b><i>you
say this because you are Catholic</i></b>) can be answered in the same way: <b><i>you
say that because you are an atheist, or agnostic</i></b>, or whatever
corresponds.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Most of the comments of the reader (2092
words) are directed against the possibility of miracles, and in particular
against the miracle of Fatima, to which I have dedicated <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2021/07/collective-hallucinations-and-fatima.html">several
posts in this blog</a>. I suspect that the reader thinks that his arguments
contradict what I said in those posts, but on the whole I think that he has just
provided a confirmation. I said this:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Either
<b><i>the event really occurred</i></b>, i.e., the witnesses told the
truth.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Either
<b><i>the event did not take place</i></b>, and the witnesses deliberately
lied.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Or
<b><i>the event did not take place</i></b>, but the witnesses did not lie,
they were simply mistaken, or were the prey of a collective hallucination,
or some equivalent explanation.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">And I </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">added:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Skeptics say that the miracle was a collective hallucination, or
an optical effect due to the contemplation of the sun. Believers prefer the
first option.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJqUgCqPKub1-RqSb_Ld7mTOTxek3pYd5JJE698PYBWMzxzS9exPzsSXNmyptG7Q-PqOuW6etzHMPmfpcLqnpCsN-gy6S8xN34Be11TvBt8Fn5x3-U07XmaklPRUNei0vZAHK1nnOV6iU/s1600/descarga+%25281%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJqUgCqPKub1-RqSb_Ld7mTOTxek3pYd5JJE698PYBWMzxzS9exPzsSXNmyptG7Q-PqOuW6etzHMPmfpcLqnpCsN-gy6S8xN34Be11TvBt8Fn5x3-U07XmaklPRUNei0vZAHK1nnOV6iU/s1600/descarga+%25281%2529.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>G.K.Chesterton</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">And what does the reader do? Assert that
the only valid alternatives to my trilemma are the second and the third. In
other words, what I had anticipated. An agnostic or an atheist must deny the
possibility of miracles, therefore must necessarily adopt the other two
alternatives. A believer has one more alternative, the first. (Catholics don’t
automatically accept everything we are told is a miracle, as proved by G.K.
Chesterton’s stories in the collection <b><i><span style="color: red;">The Incredulity
of Father Brown</span></i></b>.) Then those 2000 or so words confirm what I had
predicted.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">There is also some reference to the other
argument used usually by atheists to deny the existence of God: </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i>the
problem of evil</i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">. In this regard he says:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">If the planes that were going to hit the Twin Towers had frozen
in the air 20 meters from the impact... it would have been amazing, there would
have been no explanation of any kind and it would have been recorded on
video... However, that did not happen... And thousands of people died. And many
others suffered a mind-blowing psychological impact. It seems that miracles
only happen to do inconsequential nonsense.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs8FVHCqC8VdZbnjC4V3xRFGuZQ9arO91IW3uIdZ16XdbIZ3cgg3Iajxc-1YhMOjzUdJbbyxIudQ9g0RWQCTCU0QN-SSNqCERGTakmuAQGGbiRjozyOvhcSCnoQzziEcmyjjjrN3Z7bJ_Ff14ej0GoqocsS3ehzD1iG5Ly0B0GeZE5h3dMBVP3RZ_AEs0/s505/Viginti_i2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="505" data-original-width="318" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs8FVHCqC8VdZbnjC4V3xRFGuZQ9arO91IW3uIdZ16XdbIZ3cgg3Iajxc-1YhMOjzUdJbbyxIudQ9g0RWQCTCU0QN-SSNqCERGTakmuAQGGbiRjozyOvhcSCnoQzziEcmyjjjrN3Z7bJ_Ff14ej0GoqocsS3ehzD1iG5Ly0B0GeZE5h3dMBVP3RZ_AEs0/w126-h200/Viginti_i2.jpg" width="126" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">This is the problem of human evil, to
which the usual response is to point out that we are trying to blame God for
the evil that men do. Or as Mark Twain may have said: <b><i><span style="color: red;">There are many scapegoats, but the most common is Providence</span></i></b>.
In this specific case, God is blamed for not having performed a miracle to
prevent a barbaric human act. <o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">Others
usually mention Auschwitz. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">This
demand of miracles reveals a magical-mechanical concept of God, who would only
be the automatic corrector of the evil done by human beings. Times don’t change
much; that was also what they said to </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">Christ </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">crucified: </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: red;">Save yourself by coming down from the cross!</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">
(Mk. 15:30).</span></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">It’s curious: some time before the reader
posted these comments in my blog, I had used similar arguments in a debate
about the existence of God between two artificial intelligences in <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/159296835-operation-viginti">my latestscience fiction novel</a>: <b><i><span style="color: red;">Operation Viginti</span></i></b>.
The debate ends in a draw, which is what usually happens in this type of debate.
Reaching an agreement is almost impossible, for both sides start from different
axioms: one affirms that God exists, the other denies or questions it, <span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">so it’s
difficult to find a convincing argument</span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><b><a href="https://divulciencia.blogspot.com/2023/12/respuestas-un-lector-que-rechaza-el.html">The same post in Spanish</a></b></span></p><div><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><b style="text-align: justify;">Thematic Thread on Science, Faith and Atheism: <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2023/09/richard-dawkins-versus-john-lennox.html">Previous</a> Next</b></span></div><div><p style="text-align: right;"><b> Manuel Alfonseca</b></p></div><p></p><p></p>Manuel Alfonsecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12774826547519124306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428850841046457972.post-6287746794485883222023-12-20T23:35:00.000-08:002023-12-20T23:35:00.156-08:00Is popular science in crisis?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidOa0rve272mGqrkzW7xRFwT1TaPfqH-XVF3NtzbM_JofE9mS8kz18bB07UVSqh1et2L2wQ9DbEWDm_Fhmq2XTscRITm3tDKpQFZeInegGCtUAUCqILjiEBrYcfriYSjPaGI2u0xlkWf9IKbYa4vXJvuxMniZljO2DhBO0BBuWwdO5358zpLknEvtu-yI/s400/SCNW25022006.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="309" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidOa0rve272mGqrkzW7xRFwT1TaPfqH-XVF3NtzbM_JofE9mS8kz18bB07UVSqh1et2L2wQ9DbEWDm_Fhmq2XTscRITm3tDKpQFZeInegGCtUAUCqILjiEBrYcfriYSjPaGI2u0xlkWf9IKbYa4vXJvuxMniZljO2DhBO0BBuWwdO5358zpLknEvtu-yI/w154-h200/SCNW25022006.jpg" width="154" /></a></b></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">In the last thirty years, interest in scientific
popularization has decreased worryingly. Perhaps not unrelated to this is the loss
of prestige of science, which the man in the street tends to consider guilty or
accomplice in some threats, such as the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the uncontrolled
destruction of the environment or climate change.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">During this time, several permanent sections
of the media dedicated to popular scientific have disappeared, as well as a few
important magazines, while books on popular science do not usually achieve great
sales, with few exceptions, mainly related to health.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">In the mass media, the only thing that matters
now is the appeal of the headline, at the expense of scientific accuracy. Thus the
effects of this type of dissemination are often negative and counterproductive:
instead of informing, they distort the public opinion. I have spoken about the harmful
effects of this type of disclosure in <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2019/01/monitoring-scientific-news-in-general.html">several
posts</a> in this blog.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Let us look at a few of the negative changes
that have taken place:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfv2J3xSE60YthtqMJNZ0fA8V6feJT8VKHQgVitb0g-ccSgvZ9HN2ak4OSgaUlFjCJvgu9Yhnn5lrQLoe8U9Xv_aIoejjgp9waty45ygAXsqjEs0MNCt4b9Dg582MRtXpueLQ5rhyphenhyphensl8SpQAQGq8wauW2XL7xi_1j6VAr5VQ4DJHUtzvNeydnltC8CPGw/s317/IIC980.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="317" data-original-width="228" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfv2J3xSE60YthtqMJNZ0fA8V6feJT8VKHQgVitb0g-ccSgvZ9HN2ak4OSgaUlFjCJvgu9Yhnn5lrQLoe8U9Xv_aIoejjgp9waty45ygAXsqjEs0MNCt4b9Dg582MRtXpueLQ5rhyphenhyphensl8SpQAQGq8wauW2XL7xi_1j6VAr5VQ4DJHUtzvNeydnltC8CPGw/w144-h200/IIC980.jpg" width="144" /></a></span></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
science supplement of <b><i><span style="color: red;">La Vanguardia</span></i></b>
stopped publishing in the mid-nineties. It lasted just over five years.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
journal <b><i><span style="color: red;">The Sciences</span></i></b>, of the New
York Academy of Sciences, ceased publication in the spring of 2001, after forty
years of existence, having published a total of 242 issues.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
magazine <b><i><span style="color: red;">Mundo Científico</span></i></b> disappeared
in August 2003, after twenty-two years of existence, having published 247 issues.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
magazine <b><i><span style="color: red;">Investigación y Ciencia</span></i></b>
disappeared in February 2023, after 46 years of existence, having published
556 issues. A year before, it stopped being published on paper, but it only
lasted one year exclusively in digital form.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The magazine <b><i><span style="color: red;">Science News</span></i></b>, which has just celebrated its
first century of existence, has gone through the following format changes:<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="circle">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Until
2008 it was published weekly, with 52 issues a year, and 16 pages per issue.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Between
2008 and 2017, this magazine became biweekly, with 32 pages per issue (not
counting the front and back covers), so the annual number of issues was reduced
to 26, although the total number of pages remained relatively constant. At
the same time, the maximum number of pages of the articles increased, with
a corresponding decrease in the number of articles.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">As
of 2017, the annual number of issues was reduced to 22, because four double
issues with more pages were introduced. Thus, the periodicity became sometimes
biweekly and sometimes monthly, and the number of pages was reduced a little,
for double copies do not have twice as many pages as single ones.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The attached table shows the evolution of the
approximate number of articles published per year in the journal <b><i><span style="color: red;">Science News</span></i></b>:</span></p><div align="center">
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-insideh: .5pt solid windowtext; mso-border-insidev: .5pt solid windowtext; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody><tr>
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Year<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">Nr. of <o:p></o:p></span><span style="text-align: left;">articles
and short notes</span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">Nr. of pages<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">2007<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">860<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">869<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">2010<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">620<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">832<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">2015<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">600<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">836<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">2018<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">550<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">860<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">2022<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">430<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">836<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table><br />
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;"></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9LcVdGS0RgodmyTXzum_xmpqt7qG3z4NRl6OHuhg56tT_9JSQOl4QScQR6Cm6sGFzOuIbqg8oCm2V-RViSmyvoP5bmTMoPAnRithpRfNn0aJWQmhQJ4ZcjkPheWMtzzKB_Vb-VrliEcBcBMI__n8Okw8e-18ahwGONtjcCoZMKGHltE5FOtS6v_aNwgQ/s560/SCNW01-0206.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="560" height="71" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9LcVdGS0RgodmyTXzum_xmpqt7qG3z4NRl6OHuhg56tT_9JSQOl4QScQR6Cm6sGFzOuIbqg8oCm2V-RViSmyvoP5bmTMoPAnRithpRfNn0aJWQmhQJ4ZcjkPheWMtzzKB_Vb-VrliEcBcBMI__n8Okw8e-18ahwGONtjcCoZMKGHltE5FOtS6v_aNwgQ/w200-h71/SCNW01-0206.jpg" width="200" /></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Although the total number of pages has not
decreased much, the number of articles published has been reduced by half in just
15 years. Does this mean that there is less and less scientific news, worthy of
dissemination, despite scientific publication grows more and more? Or is the magazine
selecting a lower number of news, because it prefers to increase the content of
each one? I don’t have answers to these questions; one would have to ask the editors
of <b><i><span style="color: red;">Science News</span></i></b>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">And to all this we should add the fact,
which I mentioned in <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2021/10/the-end-of-science.html">other posts</a>,
that a growing percentage of scientific news is not true discoveries, but <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2019/01/monitoring-futuristic-scientific-news.html">suspicions</a>
that something <b><i>could be this way or that</i></b>, <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2023/03/platitudinous-scientific-projects.html">platitudinous
research</a>, gratuitous speculation, unvalidated simulations, or sociological
news and disquisitions, the number of genuine scientific news has radically
decreased.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Today we have means to calculate and search
for information without parallel in the history of humanity: an enormous amount
of data, to which we have access through the Internet; encyclopedias more complete
than the largest traditional ones; computers a thousand times more powerful than
the giants of the sixties, which put at our disposal all the information we want
with the simple press of a key... The perspectives are so impressive and revolutionary
that we can give free rein to our imagination. And yet, perhaps precisely because
of this, less and less science is popularized and the average level of popular publications
decreases. Will we squander all these possibilities? Is humanity losing faith in
science?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b><a href="https://divulciencia.blogspot.com/2023/12/esta-en-crisis-la-divulgacion-cientifica.html">The same post in Spanish</a></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Thematic Thread about Popular Science: <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-golden-age-of-scientific.html" style="color: #0044ee; text-decoration-line: none;">Previous</a> Next</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: right;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Manuel Alfonseca</b></span></p>Manuel Alfonsecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12774826547519124306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428850841046457972.post-56516264569149701812023-12-14T00:05:00.030-08:002023-12-20T23:33:47.387-08:00The golden age of scientific popularization<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlE-wX-a83iyQtm9yuTaJIg2iQ4n7fOvqDVsQLzgr2XGMC7sBl9HvKnJjFYSePOC7dbcfPsDJttS9ndHcUnC9ZNxJWqlqXwZ3QvsbUQsW00yVQfmPpZzCrIDxDK2YDcDiTI7d-gnxR0IhzbF1Hb3w0yU3TnzyqkTDndXBnoln6o_Rl4o0yzVF9TqxfhGg/s406/SciAm0780.webp" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="406" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlE-wX-a83iyQtm9yuTaJIg2iQ4n7fOvqDVsQLzgr2XGMC7sBl9HvKnJjFYSePOC7dbcfPsDJttS9ndHcUnC9ZNxJWqlqXwZ3QvsbUQsW00yVQfmPpZzCrIDxDK2YDcDiTI7d-gnxR0IhzbF1Hb3w0yU3TnzyqkTDndXBnoln6o_Rl4o0yzVF9TqxfhGg/s320/SciAm0780.webp" width="236" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;">Scientific popularization, as it was carried
out after 1970, can be divided into three large groups:</p><p></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">High-level
scientific popularization</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">, represented by magazines aimed
at readers with a good scientific base, who want to stay up to date on the
advances made in disciplines other than their own:<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 72.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 72pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Scientific American</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">, which
had entered its second century of existence and published monthly each year less
than one hundred long select articles, in addition to a small number of short information
articles. Its prestige increased even more when it became the medium through which
some important discoveries were made public, this journal being chosen instead of
better-known scientific publications, such as <b><i><span style="color: red;">Nature</span></i></b>
or <b><i><span style="color: red;">Science</span></i></b>. Thus, in October 1970,
<b><i>Martin Gardner</i></b> published in his section (<b><i>Mathematical Games</i></b>)
the first article dedicated to the <b><i><span style="color: red;">Game of Life</span></i></b>,
devised by the British mathematician <b><i>John Conway</i></b>: <a href="https://web.stanford.edu/class/sts145/Library/life.pdf">The fantastic combinations
of John Conway's new solitaire game "life"</a>. And in May 1975, <b><i>Gregory
Chaitin</i></b> published in Scientific American his famous article <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/24949798">Randomness and Mathematical Proof</a>,
where he showed that <b><i><span style="color: red;">the randomness of integers is
undecidable</span></i></b>, an undecidability theorem comparable to Gödel’s.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="circle">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Science News</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">, which at that time was reaching
its first half century of existence, had specialized in short news, no more
than three pages, but with high scientific content, of which it published
almost one thousand a year. The magazine was published weekly, and each issue
had 16 pages, this number including the front and back covers.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirygXzDjKnnmz5lEnAaXJhvfuERLv-kVTbFd5jpyz0iNHzqa0RtoKL7nMyK5n3F1tAsX48yvQ7NiKfEt_APPM_OYq2fGnNtBQTa9HZwV5djKXxDeIL8IaM8OhaipxHHww1_L3OgREHlbEqj0IdKzofWt0beneRjVe72QoQcox1_nDKkvWvHfJOGMtpSmQ/s1660/LR350.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1660" data-original-width="1296" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirygXzDjKnnmz5lEnAaXJhvfuERLv-kVTbFd5jpyz0iNHzqa0RtoKL7nMyK5n3F1tAsX48yvQ7NiKfEt_APPM_OYq2fGnNtBQTa9HZwV5djKXxDeIL8IaM8OhaipxHHww1_L3OgREHlbEqj0IdKzofWt0beneRjVe72QoQcox1_nDKkvWvHfJOGMtpSmQ/s320/LR350.jpg" width="250" /></a>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Medium-level
scientific popularization</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">, represented by magazines that
publish lower-level articles, aimed at an audience with an educational level
like that of university students in their first years. Among them we can mention
the following:<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="circle">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">At
the upper end of this group, <b><i><span style="color: red;">La Recherche</span></i></b>
in France, a monthly magazine designed along the lines of Scientific American,
which was created in 1946 under the name <b><i>Atomes</i></b>, which was changed
in May 1970. And in the United States <b><i><span style="color: red;">The Sciences</span></i></b>,
the journal of the New York Academy of Sciences, published bimonthly (six
issues a year), whose publication began in 1961.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">At
the lower end of the group, and in the United States, the magazines <b><i><span style="color: red;">New Scientist</span></i></b> (weekly, since 1956) and <b><i><span style="color: red;">Discover</span></i></b> (bimonthly, since 1980); and in
Spain the monthly magazine<b><i><span style="color: red;"> Muy Interesante</span></i></b>,
founded in May 1981.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Low-level scientific popularization</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">, usually
carried out through the mass media and aimed at the general public.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Starting in the 1970s, the success of medium
and high-level scientific popularization gave rise to translations of the most important
magazines into other languages, with the possible addition of an article specific
to the country in question. Thus, in October 1976, the magazine <b><i><span style="color: red;">Investigación y Ciencia</span></i></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;">, associated with </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;"><i>Scientific American</i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;">, </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">appeared in Spain. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Each issue translated seven of
the eight long articles from the mother magazine and added one by Spanish-speaking
authors. One of these articles, of which I was one of the two authors, was published
in September 1980; this magazine also published a short note written by me in February
1995.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSTfcghmmnKUki-jzGe03TJ2bOFgcpd_GuKHeDQ4uXrOe1bzvoVXMJ6Zm62Ss1wF18LTxam_xklaCkBY0E7RU_MLOLho17G0t3Nx7zMv04xmpAdJfh_hxrM-2ioIvVmYnUHV0wPMxP-riLAlF70ZZU_kTbgc_1G3mjFBepol_dkXguUYKqppAlm6Ny5qo/s413/MunCien200.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="413" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSTfcghmmnKUki-jzGe03TJ2bOFgcpd_GuKHeDQ4uXrOe1bzvoVXMJ6Zm62Ss1wF18LTxam_xklaCkBY0E7RU_MLOLho17G0t3Nx7zMv04xmpAdJfh_hxrM-2ioIvVmYnUHV0wPMxP-riLAlF70ZZU_kTbgc_1G3mjFBepol_dkXguUYKqppAlm6Ny5qo/s320/MunCien200.jpg" width="232" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;">Something similar happened with <b><i>La Recherche</i></b>,
which from March 1981 appeared in Spain under the name <b><i><span style="color: red;">Mundo Científico</span></i></b>. This magazine published two long
articles written by me in November 1988 and May 1999. In April 1999 I also participated
in a collective survey-interview, which celebrated the 200th issue of the magazine.<o:p></o:p></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">During the 1980s, some mass media, such as
the major newspaper <b><i>La Vanguardia</i></b>, included a weekly section dedicated
to science at a surprisingly high level, which in October 1989 was transformed into
a 16-page weekly supplement. During those years I collaborated with La Vanguardia,
being the author of a total of <a href="https://sites.google.com/view/manuelalfonseca/home/articd#h.p_ID_497">seventy
published articles</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">During this 25-year period that I have
called <b><i><span style="color: red;">the golden age of popular science </span></i></b>(between
1970 and 1995), </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;">1988</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">saw
the publication of the best-selling popular science book in all of </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">history,
</span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i><span style="color: red;">A Brief History of Time</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">, by Stephen
Hawking.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">What has happened since? We will talk about
that in the next post.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b><a href="https://divulciencia.blogspot.com/2023/12/la-edad-de-oro-de-la-divulgacion.html">The same post in Spanish</a></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Thematic Thread about Popular Science: <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-prehistory-of-scientific.html" style="color: #0044ee; text-decoration-line: none;">Previous</a> <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2023/12/is-popular-science-in-crisis.html">Next</a></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: right;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Manuel Alfonseca</b></span></p><p></p><p></p>Manuel Alfonsecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12774826547519124306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428850841046457972.post-78427903660370929852023-12-07T00:05:00.027-08:002023-12-13T23:57:05.814-08:00The prehistory of scientific popularization<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihAXVh23YsA7lJoGO2pOu5Gja9vx896708LAyBZIBrMsyWbWsZZSfCcT6nN4Bp4wIBwB9Kddw8edwcG0y6cCNtQnmP_XmPHSucqMQvrCAtfTjUhd_XzBlTsHlzFWVTVuMEFhjsTzQ7sL-2usJmzLqtdSceWCtdijOSN_bXaxB4Qk43_iWIW-kvfPN_dLE/s397/ScientificAmerican.webp" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="397" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihAXVh23YsA7lJoGO2pOu5Gja9vx896708LAyBZIBrMsyWbWsZZSfCcT6nN4Bp4wIBwB9Kddw8edwcG0y6cCNtQnmP_XmPHSucqMQvrCAtfTjUhd_XzBlTsHlzFWVTVuMEFhjsTzQ7sL-2usJmzLqtdSceWCtdijOSN_bXaxB4Qk43_iWIW-kvfPN_dLE/w151-h200/ScientificAmerican.webp" width="151" /></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Being interested in the world, being curious
to find out the causes of natural phenomena, is as old as man, but in the strict
sense one cannot speak of </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: red;">science</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> until
the invention of writing, as the knowledge communicated through oral transmission
was disorganized, imprecise, and fragmentary. For science to appear, the body of
knowledge must constitute a coherent and ordered whole, which was practically impossible
before more permanent means of storing information than human memory could be used.</span></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">As soon as writing systems appeared in the
Middle East, India, China and America, sciences began to develop. The first three
were <b><i><span style="color: red;">medicine</span></i></b>, <b><i><span style="color: red;">mathematics</span></i></b>, and <b><i><span style="color: red;">astrology</span></i></b>. They arose for practical reasons: to cure diseases;
for the good management of the economy; to predict natural phenomena related to
the cycle of the seasons. The natural sciences (physics, chemistry, biology, and
geology) were less necessary for early human societies, so they did not emerge until
the Greek civilization.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">For centuries, sciences were esoteric. Their
knowledge was the heritage of a few, who sought to increase their prestige by being
secret. Thus, the <b><i>Pythagorean oath</i></b> prohibited the members of this
school from divulging the existence of <b><i>irrational numbers</i></b>. Another
case was <b><i><span style="color: red;">alchemy</span></i></b>, ancient chemistry,
which was developed in Islamic civilization and during the Western Middle Ages:
its followers had to undergo many years of work and asceticism before being able
to decipher the texts of their subject with the help of a teacher.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">During the first five thousand years of history,
scientific popularization barely existed. There were reasons: Books were scarce
and expensive. Most of the population was illiterate. It was not easy to make scientific
knowledge available to everyone. With the invention of the <b><i>printing press</i></b>,
the situation changed. At last it was possible to undertake the task of teaching
everyone to read and write. The process was slow, it took centuries, but by the
mid-19th century it was sufficiently advanced for the first serious attempts at
scientific popularization to appear.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6vCsBlCQnxrfWMl1QM-XnABzMSV-e9scJlhz9rws0jKr-l9pTm8zQt_cuZRLbn6G9IxEqUZ7AOm_oe0X78-DkiUoUdtL456SYWMingw1oa2cHJwRhpEHV0l5Um_ihI_Q7EM3lOxKCIfA__lXhHXv9oaR6DN84SI9XdVhVQ2-loB0l3DdLjoXZcdXnmT0/s394/ScientificAmerican1889.webp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="394" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6vCsBlCQnxrfWMl1QM-XnABzMSV-e9scJlhz9rws0jKr-l9pTm8zQt_cuZRLbn6G9IxEqUZ7AOm_oe0X78-DkiUoUdtL456SYWMingw1oa2cHJwRhpEHV0l5Um_ihI_Q7EM3lOxKCIfA__lXhHXv9oaR6DN84SI9XdVhVQ2-loB0l3DdLjoXZcdXnmT0/w153-h200/ScientificAmerican1889.webp" width="153" /></a></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">In the United States, scientific popularization
reached maximum expansion and importance. In 1845, Rufus Porter, a New England inventor,
founded the <b><i><span style="color: red;">Scientific American</span></i></b> magazine,
initially dedicated to describing the latest inventions and technical discoveries,
although by 1850 it had diversified into other sciences and had a circulation of
30,000. <b><i><span style="color: red;">Scientific American</span></i></b> has long
been the most prestigious popular science magazine and has been translated into
other languages.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The popularization of <b><i>astronomy</i></b>
was important from the beginning, in the same way that five thousand years before
astrology was in the list of the first sciences. It’s easy to understand why: amateurs
of this science only need patience and a telescope. The number of stars is so great
and the field of study so vast, that a person without special training can inscribe
his name in the annals of astronomy as the discoverer of a comet or an asteroid.
Even today, when giant and space telescopes proliferate, the contribution of amateurs
is not negligible. Among the European popularizers of astronomy at the end of the
19th and the beginning of the 20th century, we can mention the Frenchman <b><i>Camille
Flammarion</i></b> and the Spaniard <b><i>José Comas y Solá</i></b>, founder of
the astronomical society of Spain and America. Both published many books and journalistic
articles.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbvsbH1EzLjXfjIADo99xBlk0SzHZGZN_MUL_gchS3r7qCRiKsaZ1U0qCcQ2LdaLl6aaVvHeoYLD4ppABvGjNFqi6CHYRLHg0VJsVwGvnpGhj1_nav58OO37GHy7ttAykI5Nk1EZmr8GM/s600/Asimov2.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="520" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbvsbH1EzLjXfjIADo99xBlk0SzHZGZN_MUL_gchS3r7qCRiKsaZ1U0qCcQ2LdaLl6aaVvHeoYLD4ppABvGjNFqi6CHYRLHg0VJsVwGvnpGhj1_nav58OO37GHy7ttAykI5Nk1EZmr8GM/w173-h200/Asimov2.png" width="173" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Isaac Asimov</b></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Simultaneously, in the 19th and early 20th
centuries, a new literary genre proliferated, the science fiction novel. Its best
periodical publications, such as <b><i><span style="color: red;">Galaxy</span></i></b>
or <b><i><span style="color: red;">The magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction</span></i></b>,
appreciated that the interest of their readers in science fiction was due to the
curiosity aroused by science. Starting in 1950, these magazines included popular
science articles authored by names who would soon achieve global prestige in this
field, such as <b><i>Willy Ley</i></b>, <b><i>Arthur C. Clarke</i></b>, and <b><i>Isaac
Asimov</i></b>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">As the 20th century progressed, interest in
popular science increased. Specialized magazines proliferated, and many mass media
dedicated a permanent section to these topics. Popular science programs reached
high audience levels on television. Among the most popular series we can mention
<b><i><span style="color: red;">Cosmos</span></i></b>, by the American astronomer
<b><i>Carl Sagan</i></b>, as well as the many films and series dedicated to the
underwater world made by the Frenchman <b><i>Jacques-Yves Cousteau</i></b>, inventor
of the aqualung and underwater television, and director for many years of the <b><i>Oceanographic
Museum of Monaco</i></b>. In Spain, <b><i>Manuel Calvo Hernando</i></b>, author
of many journalistic articles, and <b><i>Luis Miravitlles</i></b> on Spanish Television,
can be considered pioneers. Also noteworthy is the work of <b><i>Félix Rodríguez
de la Fuente</i></b>, who filmed highly successful television series about the lives
of animals.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">It can be argued that the 1970s were the high
point of large-scale scientific dissemination. What has happened since? We will
talk about that in the next post.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b><a href="https://divulciencia.blogspot.com/2023/12/la-prehistoria-de-la-divulgacion.html">The same post in Spanish</a></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Thematic Thread about Popular Science: <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2023/06/chariots-of-gods.html" style="color: #0044ee; text-decoration-line: none;">Previous</a> <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-golden-age-of-scientific.html">Next</a></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: right;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Manuel Alfonseca</b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p><p></p>Manuel Alfonsecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12774826547519124306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428850841046457972.post-388645268584239322023-11-30T00:05:00.022-08:002023-11-30T00:49:28.439-08:00The ethical frameworks in technology<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSdR6KCX8eIymwqam3e3wdPXqXHm3bZYh2yj9gXWeyXifyl8MXA2DmP9yeJLTvJJ4EraEUbm-NAwXhQRDWAvmN_xCjOjobpGiO5F2lju8flPb5YFWItV8X0kJkH0IYGqpJbWotQ3Q4GZw/s1600/Chernobyl_Disaster.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSdR6KCX8eIymwqam3e3wdPXqXHm3bZYh2yj9gXWeyXifyl8MXA2DmP9yeJLTvJJ4EraEUbm-NAwXhQRDWAvmN_xCjOjobpGiO5F2lju8flPb5YFWItV8X0kJkH0IYGqpJbWotQ3Q4GZw/s200/Chernobyl_Disaster.jpg" width="154" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Chernobyl disaster</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Oxford Languages gives the following two
definitions to the word Ethics:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Moral principles that govern a person's behaviour or
the conducting of an activity.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The branch of knowledge that deals with moral principles.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Wikipedia gives the following
definition:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">A branch of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy" title="Philosophy"><span style="color: #00b050; text-decoration-line: none;">philosophy</span></a> that involves systematizing, defending, and
recommending <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concept" title="Concept"><span style="color: #00b050; text-decoration-line: none;">concepts</span></a>
of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morality" title="Morality"><span style="color: #00b050; text-decoration-line: none;">right</span></a>
and wrong <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_(philosophy)" title="Action (philosophy)"><span style="color: #00b050; text-decoration-line: none;">behavior</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Since Aristotle wrote two (or three) books
on ethics (the <b><i><span style="color: red;">Nicomachean Ethics</span></i></b>,
the <b><i><span style="color: red;">Eudemian Ethics</span></i></b>, and perhaps
the <b><i><span style="color: red;">Magna Moralia</span></i></b> or <b><i><span style="color: red;">Great Ethics</span></i></b>), ethics has been considered an
important part of philosophy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Traditionally, three main approaches have
been considered (there are more) that can serve as a framework for the
construction of ethics:<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 2em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQMk2zQ21Mi0-DAm-Ut-VdWxmih-F1e0JIZYeKcOKG-hqKuaWk5m-rWBORaXZpTXLZXUTBDF1F7Wkqo-wUkde41av1Bh3nEPkDFY75PxXbonQLk5tR3r6ClsAo0e8unSDwNO4Erv0hpYI/s1600/Aristotle.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="294" data-original-width="221" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQMk2zQ21Mi0-DAm-Ut-VdWxmih-F1e0JIZYeKcOKG-hqKuaWk5m-rWBORaXZpTXLZXUTBDF1F7Wkqo-wUkde41av1Bh3nEPkDFY75PxXbonQLk5tR3r6ClsAo0e8unSDwNO4Erv0hpYI/s200/Aristotle.jpg" width="149" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Aristotle</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Aristotelian Ethics, or virtue theory</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">:
The goal of ethics is to convert each person into the best possible person.
Morality would depend more on the character of persons (vices and virtues)
than on their actions. Each person must first develop an excellent character;
practicing virtues will be the result:<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">He who possesses excellence of character will tend to do what is
right</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">
(<b><i>Nichomachean Ethics, Book II</i></b>)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgncZVRZycjQb39BqDLholbjVblLH1T7TLoJbEmjUa4ZOWjP2YPy71v7BJz9ob0jOcbNviaTzUylze8J6_9Rt1ft8S7O1HjZ8GHDnqAFxAx2zrJjA8XoubWrzRmAHVOAhyphenhyphenmv2hRvuKfPEQ/s1600/Kant.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="287" data-original-width="220" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgncZVRZycjQb39BqDLholbjVblLH1T7TLoJbEmjUa4ZOWjP2YPy71v7BJz9ob0jOcbNviaTzUylze8J6_9Rt1ft8S7O1HjZ8GHDnqAFxAx2zrJjA8XoubWrzRmAHVOAhyphenhyphenmv2hRvuKfPEQ/s200/Kant.jpg" width="153" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Immanuel Kant</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Kant’s framework, or deontological theory</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">:
The moral law is objective and obligates everyone. It is a <b><i>categorical
imperative</i></b>. Its consequence is a set of duties and rights common
to all. Correct conduct is that which conforms best to the objective law:<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Act in such a way that everything you do can become a universal
principle, valid for everyone.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The utilitarian framework, or utility theory</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">:
The goal of this ethics is to maximize happiness for as many people as
possible. Correct behavior is that which benefits the greatest number of
people.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The end (the benefit of the majority) justifies the means.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Since Jeremy Bentham formulated the
utilitarian framework at the end of the 18th century, it has spread (more or
less modified) to many modern societies. On the other hand, the deontological
framework is behind the UN <b><i><span style="color: red;">Universal Declaration
of Human Rights</span></i></b> of 1948, whose frequent <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2022/06/the-abolition-of-man.html">current
transgression</a> is usually based on utilitarianism.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Today utilitarian ethics predominates even
in the scientific and technological world. Let’s look at an example in <a href="https://physicsworld.com/a/how-sound-is-the-model-used-to-establish-safe-radiation-levels/">this
news article</a> published by the digital magazine <b><i>PhysicsWorld</i></b>:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">How sound is the model used to establish safe radiation levels?<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The protection of human beings against
excess radiation is, evidently, a technological issue with important ethical
consequences. To measure the effects of radiation, three different systems have
been described:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 54.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 54pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The linear no-threshold model</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> (<b><i>LNT</i></b>)
assumes that any amount of radiation is dangerous, and that the risk is
proportional (grows linearly) with the amount of radiation received.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 54.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 54pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The threshold model</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> states that radiation doses below
a certain value (the threshold) do not pose a risk. That is, exposure to small
doses of radiation is not dangerous and can be ignored.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 54.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 54pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The hormesis or homeostatic model</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> asserts that small
doses of radiation are beneficial and help protect against disease.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The LNT model is applied in the United
States and other countries to calculate the risks of radiation exposure for
medical personnel, nuclear power plant workers, and all environments where
radiation risk exists.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The news article from PhysicsWorld echoes
a proposal to change this mandatory model for one of the other two. And what is
the reason given? Perhaps that one of the other models is more faithful to
reality? Well, no. The reason is this:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">One of the many reasons… is that convictions of its accuracy
continue to be used as an argument against nuclear power plants… But the
critical need to find a workable alternative to fossil fuels for energy
production requires an honest ability to assess the validity of this model.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">It’s clear, right? What matters is not
whether the LNT model is correct, but whether we should replace it with another
so that opposition to the use of nuclear power plants decreases, which would make
it easier to replace fossil fuels to a greater extent. The safety of the workers
is not important; the true objective (eliminating fossil fuels) is supposed to
be more beneficial for a greater number of people.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">I agree that fossil fuels should be
replaced by nuclear fission energy; I’ve never been a visceral opponent of that
energy source. But I don’t think it’s right to lead people to accept its use by
reducing protection levels against personnel risks. If the reason given were a
study concluding that one of the alternative models is better, it would be quite
different. But that doesn’t seem to be the case, and is scarcely considered by the
author of the article.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><b><a href="https://divulciencia.blogspot.com/2023/11/los-marcos-de-la-etica-en-la-tecnologia.html">The same post in Spanish</a></b></span><div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span><div><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">Thematic Thread on Philosophy and Logic: <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2021/09/physics-and-free-will.html">Previous</a> Next</b><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span><div style="text-align: right;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><b>Manuel Alfonseca</b></span></div></div></div>Manuel Alfonsecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12774826547519124306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428850841046457972.post-67281426941555185322023-11-23T00:05:00.068-08:002024-01-31T23:57:41.790-08:00Mathematical trivia and quotes from mathematicians<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6FeJwFdHF23rieYi4Y7symvbLKZgM5tpYXBuDKrsHIRH9om1T8fPab5TZrpKNcf2ARc2QA6ZVIQAQ_2UTOb2zJJwxnimysKb9qlwD-hDuuTU_h0UW08h8pA6yInAPyZQJs0G2ZladZIt6Q3FatwQsDnS0eJJjgD1vmp98hPQsSaZcGpRjZk75fxuFr48/s499/Pickover.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="399" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6FeJwFdHF23rieYi4Y7symvbLKZgM5tpYXBuDKrsHIRH9om1T8fPab5TZrpKNcf2ARc2QA6ZVIQAQ_2UTOb2zJJwxnimysKb9qlwD-hDuuTU_h0UW08h8pA6yInAPyZQJs0G2ZladZIt6Q3FatwQsDnS0eJJjgD1vmp98hPQsSaZcGpRjZk75fxuFr48/w160-h200/Pickover.jpg" width="160" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">I have taken the following trivia and
quotes about mathematics from the book </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1231713.A_Passion_for_Mathematics" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">A
Passion for Mathematics</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">, by Clifford A. Pickover, which I have mentioned in
</span><a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2019/06/symbol-of-death.html" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">another
post in this blog</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">. These are the trivia:</span><p></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b style="color: red;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Let's
see four amazing properties of number 5</span></i></b><span color="windowtext" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="color: red;">: </span>a) It is the hypotenuse of the smallest Pythagorean
triangle. b) There are five Platonic solids. c) It is the smallest <b><i>automorphic
number</i></b>. Automorphic numbers are those whose square ends in the
number. d) It is probably the only odd <b><i>untouchable number</i></b>.
Untouchable numbers are those that are not equal to the sum of the proper
divisors of any other number.<span><a name='more'></a></span></span><b style="color: red;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b style="color: red;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Champernowne's
number</span></i></b><span color="windowtext" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="color: red;">:
</span>0.1234567891011121314… Can you see how it is formed? Would you know how to
continue the figures? This number is <b><i>transcendental</i></b>, and possibly
<b><i>normal</i></b>, like e and π, which means that its digits meet all the conditions usually used to determine if a number is random or not. However,
it is obvious that it is not random, also like e and π.</span><b style="color: red;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b style="color: red;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">What
makes number 1729 famous?</span></i></b><span color="windowtext" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">
While the mathematician G.H. Hardy was visiting the famous Indian
mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan, he mentioned that the taxi that had
brought him had the number 1729 which, he said, is a rather boring number.
Ramanujan immediately replied: </span><b style="color: red;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">No, it is very interesting, because it is the smallest number
that can be expressed as the sum of two positive cubes in two different
ways:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span><span color="windowtext" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">1729 = 1<sup>3</sup>+12<sup>3</sup>
= 9<sup>3</sup>+10<sup>3</sup>.</span><b style="color: red;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b style="color: red;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Erdös
conjecture</span></i></b><span color="windowtext" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="color: red;">:
</span>In this set of equalities:</span></li></ul><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEienOBqd2KK5Sq3gy8FLOr0nQxQzmy-6Eopa1IH3mLD60d_-AqG2N39c1XTRJ1MbKaXe_QstXrBaDS243g4P36BIqiBOJRRWxYRw2VZHjK6zsLqOf6hLQws8bjQPENmk1oblcT20JMpziMXNsWihRJ5KOOM-WMRAcHrq0Jb0RIpImp134z9-vjqSajKhFc/s90/Formula11-23.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="22" data-original-width="90" height="22" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEienOBqd2KK5Sq3gy8FLOr0nQxQzmy-6Eopa1IH3mLD60d_-AqG2N39c1XTRJ1MbKaXe_QstXrBaDS243g4P36BIqiBOJRRWxYRw2VZHjK6zsLqOf6hLQws8bjQPENmk1oblcT20JMpziMXNsWihRJ5KOOM-WMRAcHrq0Jb0RIpImp134z9-vjqSajKhFc/s1600/Formula11-23.jpg" width="90" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></p>
</ul><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">the
only one that has a solution is the trivial equation: 1<sup>1</sup>+2<sup>1</sup>=3<sup>1</sup>, which is
obtained for m=3, n=1. The conjecture has been proven up to
m<1.485×109321155, but until now it has not been possible to prove it.</span></blockquote><ul style="margin-top: 0cm; text-align: left;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b style="color: red;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">The
Tegmark number</span></i></b><span color="windowtext" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="color: red;">:
</span>The distance that would have to be traveled to meet a copy of oneself in a
homogeneous and infinite universe would be</span></li><p></p><p></p></ul><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLE1W7fAmlnNiSdiAKRFwkr0y3BdpRhZdRoaf0-G3VQ2Q1T32av8uvzr5hdokck97PME5U-TkjyLbAAU0Fj96EfUttgA45iHmy2D4oTyf05Kbw5v7q-gjkiazNLl6nFDLaItvofL9V6ZHgLZXMQPn_s-Hvw-zbA3djlzPsABpwaauNIAQd-evmXUkF6n0/s41/Formula11-23b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="22" data-original-width="41" height="22" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLE1W7fAmlnNiSdiAKRFwkr0y3BdpRhZdRoaf0-G3VQ2Q1T32av8uvzr5hdokck97PME5U-TkjyLbAAU0Fj96EfUttgA45iHmy2D4oTyf05Kbw5v7q-gjkiazNLl6nFDLaItvofL9V6ZHgLZXMQPn_s-Hvw-zbA3djlzPsABpwaauNIAQd-evmXUkF6n0/s1600/Formula11-23b.jpg" width="41" /></a></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><ul style="margin-top: 0cm; text-align: left;" type="disc"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">meters. I find this highly doubtful, as discussed in</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><a href="https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1301/1301.5295.pdf" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">this article</a><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">.</span>
</ul>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><b style="color: red;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">The number of possible chess games</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="color: red;">: </span>The mathematician G.H. Hardy estimated it at<span style="color: red;"> </span></span></span></li></ul><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3-Zr3DRRQlTu4skTcsfGHZ6r8H4Ndut_hgiyJ8gsQtIdcaQ9Ziuwo4WOAESnnv8adDdVF9WvWXJgEiF_3iNvOFJomnfSfJR_jcwOw0t97JmvEgGFOYletyuTeGdJby9w9U-gkmpZOyAyJavWPXDZQXtqY3-0DjgALV5jgz95nSepMdb1gExH-qO_wzLM/s41/Formula11-23a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="22" data-original-width="41" height="22" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3-Zr3DRRQlTu4skTcsfGHZ6r8H4Ndut_hgiyJ8gsQtIdcaQ9Ziuwo4WOAESnnv8adDdVF9WvWXJgEiF_3iNvOFJomnfSfJR_jcwOw0t97JmvEgGFOYletyuTeGdJby9w9U-gkmpZOyAyJavWPXDZQXtqY3-0DjgALV5jgz95nSepMdb1gExH-qO_wzLM/w41-h22/Formula11-23a.jpg" width="41" /></a></div></span></span>
<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">And these are the quotes:</span></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify;"><b style="color: #00b050;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
knowledge we have of mathematical truths is not only certain, but real knowledge;
and not the bare empty vision of vain, insignificant chimeras of the brain.</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span color="windowtext" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">(John Locke, </span><b style="color: #00b050;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">An
essay concerning human understanding</span></i></b><span color="windowtext" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">,
1690).</span><b style="color: #00b050;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="color: #00b050; float: right; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; margin-left: 1em;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwjDklHJixJhfxWgJxFbJbqJKM-b8G0lUf21dBPpXeOQJ6e01V3jjSM3ZS4bcuQrYqrEbd3xPgoInXVcJuZyj303ebelRdaUSsdrGDANeI3U9VkeCi18uvOBMBqWRXoQfd19fQHkbrfqLl9jkhtsWyza-TIVI0E6qtuuzAgmSVVtDpE1118z983964Zec/s320/Arthur_Eddington.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="250" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwjDklHJixJhfxWgJxFbJbqJKM-b8G0lUf21dBPpXeOQJ6e01V3jjSM3ZS4bcuQrYqrEbd3xPgoInXVcJuZyj303ebelRdaUSsdrGDANeI3U9VkeCi18uvOBMBqWRXoQfd19fQHkbrfqLl9jkhtsWyza-TIVI0E6qtuuzAgmSVVtDpE1118z983964Zec/w156-h200/Arthur_Eddington.jpg" width="156" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black;">Arthur Eddington</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #00b050; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">I
believe there are 15,747,724,136,275,002,577,605,653,961,181,555,468,044,717,914,527,116,709,366,231,425,076,185,631,031,296
protons in the universe and the same number of electrons. </span><span color="windowtext" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">(Arthur Eddington, </span><b style="color: #00b050; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The philosophy of physical science</span></i></b><span color="windowtext" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">, 1939).</span></p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify;"><b style="color: #00b050;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
enormous usefulness of mathematics in natural sciences is something
bordering on the mysterious, and there is no rational explanation for it.
It is not at all natural that ‘laws of nature’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>exist, much less that man is able to
discover them. The miracle of the appropriateness of the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>language of mathematics for the formulation
of the laws of physics is a wonderful gift which we <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>neither understand nor deserve. </span></i></b><span color="windowtext" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">(Eugene P. Wigner, </span><b style="color: #00b050;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics in the Natural Sciences</span></i></b><span color="windowtext" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">, 1960).</span><b style="color: #00b050;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify;"><b style="color: #00b050;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">A [mathematician]
often experiences the discomforting feeling that his pencil surpasses him
in intelligence. </span></i></b><span color="windowtext" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">(Howard E. Eves, </span><b style="color: #00b050;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Mathematical circles</span></i></b><span color="windowtext" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">,
1969).</span><b style="color: #00b050;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify;"><b style="color: #00b050;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Science
in its everyday practice is much closer to art than to philosophy. When I
look at Gödel’s proof of his undecidability theorem, I do not see a
philosophical argument. The proof is a soaring piece of architecture, as
unique and as lovely as a Chartres cathedral. </span></i></b><span color="windowtext" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">(Freeman Dyson, introduction to book </span><b style="color: #00b050;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Nature’s imagination</span></i></b><span color="windowtext" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">,
1995).</span><b style="color: #00b050;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify;"><b style="color: #00b050;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Is
God a mathematician? Certainly, the world, the universe, and nature can be
reliably understood using mathematics. Nature is mathematics. The arrangement
of seeds in a sunflower can be <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>understood
using Fibonacci numbers. Sunflower heads, like other flowers, contain two
families of interlaced spirals—one winding clockwise, the other counter clockwise.
The numbers of seeds and petals are almost always Fibonacci numbers. </span></i></b><span color="windowtext" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">(Clifford Pickover, </span><b style="color: #00b050;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
Loom of God</span></i></b><span color="windowtext" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">, 1997).</span><b style="color: #00b050;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify;"><b style="color: #00b050;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Our
brains evolved so that we could survive out there in the jungle. Why in
the world should a brain develop for the purpose of being at all good at
grasping the true underlying nature of reality? </span></i></b><span color="windowtext" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">(Brian Greene, quoted by Susan Kruglinski in her article
</span><b style="color: #00b050;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">When even mathematicians don’t understand the math</span></i></b><span color="windowtext" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">, New York Times, 25-5-2004).</span></li><p></p></ul><b><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://divulciencia.blogspot.com/2023/11/curiosidades-matematicas-y-citas-de.html">The same post in Spanish</a></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;">Thematic Thread on Mathematics and Statistics: <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2022/02/super-accurate-innumeracy.html">Previous</a> <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2024/02/strange-curves-and-biological-structures.html">Next</a></b></p></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b>Manuel Alfonseca</b></div></b>Manuel Alfonsecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12774826547519124306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428850841046457972.post-76177710911739352622023-11-16T00:05:00.043-08:002024-01-04T00:05:57.740-08:00Computer programs and intelligence games<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhr5m3jRClJA7ee_8Fq-GYdL50nUwoJsJJHVD9ddN97vnpovz07oVEYTYgGoP7CXO6LoBqQtmK_lbLnaW30duELeq-ORWIzar5NjldVc3rn1BObTM_No27vvvL0B84qWgMnKI1-BqAp7VcPP7kg4yO0VNas29cLvYvLGgkMJ2LcIEVr5_Bpt5jJhlJHQ8/s320/Damas.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="228" data-original-width="320" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhr5m3jRClJA7ee_8Fq-GYdL50nUwoJsJJHVD9ddN97vnpovz07oVEYTYgGoP7CXO6LoBqQtmK_lbLnaW30duELeq-ORWIzar5NjldVc3rn1BObTM_No27vvvL0B84qWgMnKI1-BqAp7VcPP7kg4yO0VNas29cLvYvLGgkMJ2LcIEVr5_Bpt5jJhlJHQ8/w200-h143/Damas.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;">In 1956, John McCarthy and colleagues, in
a seminar that took place at Dartmouth College in Hanover (USA), defined the
term <b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: red;">Artificial Intelligence</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">, so
abused now. On the same year, Arthur Samuel, working at IBM, built the first
computer program capable of playing checkers. This program kept information
about the games it had played and used it to modify its future plays. In other
words, it “learned.” After a certain number of games, the program was able to
defeat its creator and play reasonably well in official championships.</span></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE8L0dtqNSng5qM22A8aXiPC0PJFyrXZeHcuUa9TXh8H84SjpTgPXWz-5_lqE6QG1iP9LYwmftMlx3qxDC4Qv5uz93zTSWRG78s3PCOTFms9r-CJmpuQi7jUevrOzvVmp694lrnybrFi_xU4qMJQ9g7scSDA-GTLrvup54Hzvd3iEuY0pzQpEKpXE10FA/s275/chess.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="189" data-original-width="275" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE8L0dtqNSng5qM22A8aXiPC0PJFyrXZeHcuUa9TXh8H84SjpTgPXWz-5_lqE6QG1iP9LYwmftMlx3qxDC4Qv5uz93zTSWRG78s3PCOTFms9r-CJmpuQi7jUevrOzvVmp694lrnybrFi_xU4qMJQ9g7scSDA-GTLrvup54Hzvd3iEuY0pzQpEKpXE10FA/w200-h137/chess.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;">At first sight, this seemed to go in the
good direction. The creators of the term <b><i>Artificial Intelligence</i></b> had
predicted that ten years later (that is, around 1966) we would have programs
capable of performing perfect translations between any two human languages and
playing chess better than the world champion. And this would only be the
beginning. We would soon be able to build machines capable of behaving with equal
or more intelligence than man. The old dream of building artificial men would
have come true.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Almost three quarters of a century later,
scientific predictions in this field are still similar and equally exaggerated.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Since then, much progress has been made,
although more slowly than McCarthy and friends thought. Let's look at a few examples:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;">
Chess<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> turned
out to be a much harder nut to crack than checkers. In 1958, Alex Bernstein of
IBM built a program capable of playing beginner-level chess, but we had to wait
until 1997 for the original prediction to come true, when IBM's <b><i><span style="color: red;">Deep Blue</span></i></b> defeated the world champion (Gary
Kasparov) in a six-game duel. The latest advance in this field was made by the
company DeepMind, in the Google business organization, which in 2017 announced
that its <b><i><span style="color: red;">AlphaZero</span></i></b> program had
reached a first-rank level after training for nine hours against other copies
of the same program, during which it played 44 million games, storing
information about those games in a deep artificial neural network with
representation learning. Another version of <b><i>AlphaZero</i></b> was
modified to fit the rules of <b><i><span style="color: red;">shogi</span></i></b>
(Japanese chess) and appears to have been a success (at least that's what
DeepMind claims).</span></li></ul>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh13jG_hi_zYYVZkfsQSNG2CEvmVqo3gIIv8A9zpQ9ytw6zPiou_gqJDOAPGde4JvYDatnYc_Boig2XhUOvXNP4w88guveyhXyXbKCYhQnGUAHNlitUhJsD4u-G5gtxVTcqwKDFC01vEB_i1lcV4YEltOdzRpgaFHEp5M6CVeE4hsOVyMarid8A3FKJ6LU/s468/Go.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="361" data-original-width="468" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh13jG_hi_zYYVZkfsQSNG2CEvmVqo3gIIv8A9zpQ9ytw6zPiou_gqJDOAPGde4JvYDatnYc_Boig2XhUOvXNP4w88guveyhXyXbKCYhQnGUAHNlitUhJsD4u-G5gtxVTcqwKDFC01vEB_i1lcV4YEltOdzRpgaFHEp5M6CVeE4hsOVyMarid8A3FKJ6LU/w200-h154/Go.png" width="200" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;">The
first attempt to build a program for the Chinese game <b><i><span style="color: red;">GO</span></i></b> was made by Albert L. Zobrist for his
doctoral thesis in 1968. But we had to wait until 2016 before DeepMind’s program
<b><i><span style="color: red;">AlphaGo</span></i></b> beated the world
champion (Lee Sedol). A year later, another variant of the <b><i><span style="color: red;">AlphaZero</span></i></b> program, trained in the same
way as programs playing chess and shogi, managed to surpass AlphaGo.<o:p></o:p></p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5E661d0_Cy4V2De6ka-ElvfFQ7X3MDQ4LFn6gB8pjx3OFqAAzH9H10PWovT48n_N8uvcZcS5Pm6VknfY8Gbyfn5P1m810mijT3ZfR2onV9DjsnFT-VYMpYISuQk3itq0HMqPN-nqWgTyS3Pi9BtMEc3BkkIfDu8SCpfaQEEbhTyjarAUuTfBNNkA7PmE/s170/Backgammon.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="113" data-original-width="170" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5E661d0_Cy4V2De6ka-ElvfFQ7X3MDQ4LFn6gB8pjx3OFqAAzH9H10PWovT48n_N8uvcZcS5Pm6VknfY8Gbyfn5P1m810mijT3ZfR2onV9DjsnFT-VYMpYISuQk3itq0HMqPN-nqWgTyS3Pi9BtMEc3BkkIfDu8SCpfaQEEbhTyjarAUuTfBNNkA7PmE/s1600/Backgammon.jpg" width="170" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Backgammon</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> was easier. One of the first
attempts, programmed in 1980 by Hans Berliner (Carnegie Mellon University),
managed to beat the world champion (Luigi Villa). During the following
quarter of a century, other successor programs also reached the highest
level, but since 2005, apparently, no further progress has been made.<o:p></o:p></span></p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Jeopardy!</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> is not a game, but a TV contest. The
contestants must correctly answer a certain number of questions, and answering
speed is rewarded. In 2011, IBM’s <b><i><span style="color: red;">Watson </span></i></b>computer
managed to beat the two most successful contestants in the history of <b><i>Jeopardy!</i></b>,
by searching for the answers to questions in a huge database and offering
the solutions before their opponents did.</span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">These programs that beat the greatest
human experts in intelligence games <b><i><span style="color: red;">are not
intelligent</span></i></b>. They consist of the combination of two components:
an algorithm that knows the rules of the game in question, and a huge amount of information, obtained from the games played by the algorithm, which now
is usually stored in an artificial neural network. This information is obtained
from games played against human beings, other programs, or other copies of
itself. Since today’s computers are very fast, these programs can play millions
of games in a very short time and accumulate the necessary information so their
algorithm will reach high play levels.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">However, precisely because they are not
intelligent, these programs can be fooled, to the point that they can be beaten
by a human beginner in the game, for they have weak points and blind spots.
This may happen in complex games such as chess and GO, which have huge configuration
spaces, so programs cannot be trained for all possible situations.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">In November 2022, a group of researchers
published <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2211.00241">an article on arXiv</a> describing
a procedure that allowed them to defeat <b><i><span style="color: red;">KataGo</span></i></b>
(a successor to <b><i>AlphaZero</i></b>) playing GO. This procedure discovered
an intrinsic vulnerability in these programs, which, although it can be
corrected, could arise again in another way. The authors of the article put it
this way:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Our adversaries do not win by playing GO well. Instead, they trick
KataGo into making serious blunders... Our results demonstrate that even
superhuman AI systems may harbor surprising failure modes.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">As I said at the beginning, calling these
programs <b><i><span style="color: red;">Artificial Intelligence</span></i></b>
is an abuse of language.</span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b><a href="https://divulciencia.blogspot.com/2023/11/programas-de-ordenador-y-juegos-de.html">The same post in Spanish</a></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Thematic Thread about Natural and Artificial Intelligence: <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2023/11/information-and-intelligence.html">Previous</a> <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2024/01/some-problems-in-automatic-natural.html">Next</a></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: right;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Manuel Alfonseca</b></span></p><p></p><p></p>Manuel Alfonsecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12774826547519124306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428850841046457972.post-24657077727148806912023-11-09T00:05:00.046-08:002023-11-16T00:09:01.415-08:00Information and intelligence<p><b style="text-align: justify;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></i></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="text-align: justify;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1QBJpUG4xU1dk6d9VcYuOWUcbHtE8mO3I3hEHEkNeZcxsbx_48yQnWvSysW8vkQ-xNW3jKdEugueC3bp7UURQXtbVj-gw5WrF1IKbAydBMFNp9TrqkLKReOeRFebk1yvVTyifeRy_8zXqu2-kDXjPi0CW9yiSbHZef-w4gLz-Gcj5U8Q0uQ4k3GwcCsk/s165/Biblioteca.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="124" data-original-width="165" height="124" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1QBJpUG4xU1dk6d9VcYuOWUcbHtE8mO3I3hEHEkNeZcxsbx_48yQnWvSysW8vkQ-xNW3jKdEugueC3bp7UURQXtbVj-gw5WrF1IKbAydBMFNp9TrqkLKReOeRFebk1yvVTyifeRy_8zXqu2-kDXjPi0CW9yiSbHZef-w4gLz-Gcj5U8Q0uQ4k3GwcCsk/s1600/Biblioteca.jpg" width="165" /></a></span></i></b></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b style="text-align: justify;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Von Neumann’s
architecture</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">, which applies to almost every computer ever built during
the history of computing, builds computers from two clearly separate parts: the
<b><i>processing unit</i></b>, where instructions are executed, and the <b><i>memory</i></b>,
where data is stored. Consequently, almost all the programs we run on our
computers are divided into two different sections: the <b><i><span style="color: red;">algorithm</span></i></b> (the executable instructions) and
the <b><i><span style="color: red;">data</span></i></b> that provides the
information needed by the algorithm (its <b><i>input</i></b>).</span></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Such a clear separation reminds the difference between the two concepts in the title of this post:<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Information</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">: The set of data available.
In <b><i>biology</i></b>, DNA is the primary storehouse of genetic
information. In <b><i>information theory</i></b>, this term refers to the
content of a message or text in a journal or everywhere else.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Intelligence</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">: The ability to manipulate
the available information and create new information. In this context, we can
talk about <b><i>understanding</i></b>, <b><i>reasoning</i></b>, <b><i>planning</i></b>,
<b><i>imagination</i></b>, <b><i>creativity</i></b>, <b><i>critical
thinking</i></b>, and <b><i>problem solving</i></b>, among other terms
related to this concept, so difficult to define.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">In real life, information and intelligence
are often separated. Let’s look at an example:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
United States Library of Congress</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> has often
been used as an example of a large amount of information. As it contains
about 32 million books, each of which, if digitized, would occupy, on
average, over half a Megabyte, the total information contained in the
books in that library is estimated at about 20 Terabytes (20 trillion
bytes). To this we should add many other sources of information, such as
maps, manuscripts, newspapers, comics, sheet music, and image and sound
recordings. But this great building, when empty, (at night, for instance),
does not contain intelligence. When it is open it’s different, for
intelligence can be present as human beings who work there or come to
consult the information in the library.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4944gDyWZqjSbmUZCQzRi1dgoWSoXZY9Mks_r6qSmorcoibgax9zSd8GV3kOaQOdIIPZB-7T21aEfPr1qZyfxQTaGhcASn1d2A4d6Sw_nU1XeEPhdEZnv0aSqjeEavUXSjvY9uazBv5eFF8phlog1CqyV98YwhwUab7idKv-Jr2IVX524yPeNBYAZWP4/s287/JohnvonNeumann.gif" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="287" data-original-width="220" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4944gDyWZqjSbmUZCQzRi1dgoWSoXZY9Mks_r6qSmorcoibgax9zSd8GV3kOaQOdIIPZB-7T21aEfPr1qZyfxQTaGhcASn1d2A4d6Sw_nU1XeEPhdEZnv0aSqjeEavUXSjvY9uazBv5eFF8phlog1CqyV98YwhwUab7idKv-Jr2IVX524yPeNBYAZWP4/w153-h200/JohnvonNeumann.gif" width="153" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>John Von Neumann</b></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Let’s look at another example: let’s
consider Google Translate, which provides automatic translations between any two
languages, chosen among 133. In 2018 I put it to the test by having it
translate one fable of Phaedrus, known as <b><i><span style="color: red;">the fox
and the grapes</span></i></b>, which in the original Latin says this:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="FR" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">Fame coacta vulpes alta in vinea uvam
appetebat summis saliens viribus. Quam tangere ut non potuit, discedens ait
: Nondum matura est ; nolo acerbam sumere. Qui facere quae non
possunt verbis elevant, adscribere hoc debebunt exemplum sibi.</span></i></b><span lang="FR" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">This is my translation of the fable:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Driven by hunger, the fox wanted some grapes that were high in
the vineyard and jumped with all its strength. As it could not reach them, it went
away saying: it’s not yet ripe; I don't want to eat it bitter. He who, being
unable to do something, humiliates it with words, should apply this example to
himself.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">In 2018, Google Translate gave me a
totally absurd translation. It even included the name of Caesar, which does not
appear in the fable. I asked a Google expert and he told me that the artificial
neural network behind the translator had probably been trained with very few
Latin texts, and many of those that had been used contained the name of Caesar,
so this name would appear in almost all translations, whether relevant or not.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">In October 2023 I asked Google Translate
again to translate the same text, and this was the result:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Compelled by hunger, the fox, high in the vineyard, sought the
grapes, leaping with all his might. As he was not able to touch it, he said as
he was leaving: It is not yet ripe; I don't want to take it bitter. </span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #0070c0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Those who do what they cannot express in words</span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">, will have to ascribe this example to themselves.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">It will be noted that this translation is
much better than the previous one. Only the part marked in blue is incorrect.
Why has the result improved so much in three years? Is Google Translate smarter
today than it was then?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Probably not. What has changed is the
amount of information available to the translator. There must now be many more
Latin texts on the Internet, which the translator has been able to use to
expand its database. In other words: what has improved is not its intelligence,
but the information used to train it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiwWTkE8lEOQf94FoPqbGYG4PORFrVdU_vaYjRtroaWsU8yQXd7T5IgJCLmZhjp_G11x_lQHdIbtPyl6CvXC7A3thkjNrN-EWJ-S1i5EMdWN67AUODrOyTwLp0cVAY0jqzZJBESSQa3AAGvSmdoi9AMF4XrGgJKpJk0632s-mPCvY58Sqy0QN7WMLsgy4/s1400/chatgpt.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1400" data-original-width="1400" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiwWTkE8lEOQf94FoPqbGYG4PORFrVdU_vaYjRtroaWsU8yQXd7T5IgJCLmZhjp_G11x_lQHdIbtPyl6CvXC7A3thkjNrN-EWJ-S1i5EMdWN67AUODrOyTwLp0cVAY0jqzZJBESSQa3AAGvSmdoi9AMF4XrGgJKpJk0632s-mPCvY58Sqy0QN7WMLsgy4/w200-h200/chatgpt.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">As I explained in <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2023/06/a-model-for-chatgpt.html">another
post</a>, ChatGPT does not build the texts with which it answers our questions
because it is intelligent, but because its artificial neural network has been
trained with a large amount of information. As I said there, its “intelligence”
can be compared to a program with just 18 instructions written in the APL
language (i.e. very small), while the amount of information it handles is huge.
And we should not forget that the instructions of a program are not intelligent
either. <b><i><span style="color: red;">The programmer is intelligent</span></i></b>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><b></b></span></p><div><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><b><a href="https://divulciencia.blogspot.com/2023/11/informacion-e-inteligencia.html">The same post in Spanish</a></b></span></b></span></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><b>Thematic Thread about Natural and Artificial Intelligence: <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2023/06/a-model-for-chatgpt.html">Previous</a> <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2023/11/computer-programs-and-intelligence-games.html">Next</a></b></span></p></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><b><b style="font-size: 12pt;">Manuel Alfonseca</b></b></span></div><p></p><p></p><p></p>Manuel Alfonsecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12774826547519124306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428850841046457972.post-54236055765435139002023-11-02T01:03:00.000-07:002023-11-02T01:03:00.131-07:00Historical quantification of violence<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlL2K6037BhAYD4cXF1LEj_5cFMTjqWTPIm2axSiw3eWjqdZxjLZWjuUp_9_iklIBAlJH_SCYldVxooQasT25-LCSCyAHL7HQBJs6nMjYnhbLH2W5xhKqtPLb-Y_Pu7715sZ5FWtz7Ks8fFipcAeQWYbQ6AH8syDvsPdoBWsZZNmKykerLUmw_6dqQ5eM/s225/225px-Birkenau_gate.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="169" data-original-width="225" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlL2K6037BhAYD4cXF1LEj_5cFMTjqWTPIm2axSiw3eWjqdZxjLZWjuUp_9_iklIBAlJH_SCYldVxooQasT25-LCSCyAHL7HQBJs6nMjYnhbLH2W5xhKqtPLb-Y_Pu7715sZ5FWtz7Ks8fFipcAeQWYbQ6AH8syDvsPdoBWsZZNmKykerLUmw_6dqQ5eM/s1600/225px-Birkenau_gate.JPG" width="225" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Auchswitz</b></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">In a recent conference that I heard, the
speaker said that in recent times violence in the world has decreased a lot.
She added that many people have the feeling that it is the other way around,
that we have now more violence than ever before. Is what she said true, or is
what people think true?</span></p><p></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Let’s start by defining <b><i><span style="color: red;">violence</span></i></b>. The
Encyclopedia Britannica defines it like this: <b><i>An act of physical force that causes or is
intended to cause harm.<span></span></i></b></span></p><a name='more'></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkJyC2woWXv1mf9dEbCUpZczX9N6BIIfKmaj5uv-JJHvACTy9MWs5xBZKPBkEdAacGQV1q06UfyIGSCJwDg4wQ0or99VJHNhThujHb3i46tLZVCyfJWODFuZpFVkMMLRnHsB5QVt0SZCmB5ipCbX9b6sj56DkyK5TXzMO5Y3SSPw9Jcwd1r5gwZbfAeAk/s376/sorokin.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="376" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkJyC2woWXv1mf9dEbCUpZczX9N6BIIfKmaj5uv-JJHvACTy9MWs5xBZKPBkEdAacGQV1q06UfyIGSCJwDg4wQ0or99VJHNhThujHb3i46tLZVCyfJWODFuZpFVkMMLRnHsB5QVt0SZCmB5ipCbX9b6sj56DkyK5TXzMO5Y3SSPw9Jcwd1r5gwZbfAeAk/w159-h200/sorokin.jpg" width="159" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Pitirim Sorokin</b></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">If we limit ourselves to the most intense
type of violence, that which causes the death of other people, there are three
main types of violence: two of them are collective: on the one
hand, <b><i><span style="color: red;">war</span></i></b>; on the other, <b><i><span style="color: red;">revolutions and internal conflicts of a country</span></i></b>.
But there are also acts of individual violence, such as <b><i><span style="color: red;">murder</span></i></b>, <b><i><span style="color: red;">terrorism</span></i></b>,
<b><i><span style="color: red;">martyrdom because of religious persecution, and induced
abortion</span></i></b>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">In his work <b><i><span style="color: red;">Social
and Cultural Dynamics</span></i></b>, Pitirim Sorokin analyzes quantitatively the
first two types of violence over 2500 years, using several measures, among
which the following figures indicate the number of deaths in war actions in the
Greco-Roman and Western civilizations.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiHisUXtJ7k4bIm3M_rmnM4Jd13q2UrX41nWafpFUa5TLRQVIxPhxwJgnnmmpcDC8K--rZkvW0I4WDgSdutU5ceQx0_x-LcbIr5qOhPt28N1U4rdycjHW6InarIEcXUzgUtU-lHVIbAZNrdtiFAasMVtICtDiDvKnIfumTz36jAZTJjZGZ9_W3tOhkqjg/s640/Sorokin1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiHisUXtJ7k4bIm3M_rmnM4Jd13q2UrX41nWafpFUa5TLRQVIxPhxwJgnnmmpcDC8K--rZkvW0I4WDgSdutU5ceQx0_x-LcbIr5qOhPt28N1U4rdycjHW6InarIEcXUzgUtU-lHVIbAZNrdtiFAasMVtICtDiDvKnIfumTz36jAZTJjZGZ9_W3tOhkqjg/w263-h198/Sorokin1.jpg" width="263" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiauQmtrAB4DnOi0X2lWxaeuttLAXUWZTAwD67rbJE3_r6Jt5P2sbl-QL1ll8r7i3fO-nPgbJKK9qjfnZJCUy4DEJ6K6MIMF3IrB-hCjdD980G0tDrsbBsQsD32EhyYqd2wd6K-FUiBl9_ZAvhzr3ERMEMlmakaC12NcajBamVjVk9nPIkJVmpciJZMnX8/w265-h199/Sorokin2.jpg" style="color: #0000ee; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; text-align: center;" width="265" /><br /></span><div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The numbers of deaths in wars are
expressed in thousands. The 20th century appears as the champion, with 15
million deaths, although Sorokin did this study in 1937, and could only include
the First World War, but not the Second. It doesn’t appear that we’re really getting
much better.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">To complete Sorokin's figures with another
century, I have used data from Wikipedia to obtain the following figure, which
indicates the number of deaths in wars around the world, by decades, from 1910
to 2020.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu1WRI6pgJYKtscnyORuttqym3sYNntMBLxjSOYtvEk-p-Oj-YEHpKi59hfMCMzKSuHUQcxjCFaHuUJXpSrur7SPRoqOkODbYdxq73RT_JSQoMj-evlXTcbrHhX2AQ-aEBit382KfOsUXdtnfBzZYSxHvZcrOjAWzNva0uzGLqqa3gssRpgoRGih-O7NM/s640/Decadas.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu1WRI6pgJYKtscnyORuttqym3sYNntMBLxjSOYtvEk-p-Oj-YEHpKi59hfMCMzKSuHUQcxjCFaHuUJXpSrur7SPRoqOkODbYdxq73RT_JSQoMj-evlXTcbrHhX2AQ-aEBit382KfOsUXdtnfBzZYSxHvZcrOjAWzNva0uzGLqqa3gssRpgoRGih-O7NM/s320/Decadas.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The highest value corresponds to the
1940s, the decade of the Second World War. But let's not fool ourselves: the
apparently lower values of the seven successive decades are not as small as
they seem. In the 1960s, the 1970s and the 1990s, there were more than seven million
deaths each. More than in all of Europe in a whole century before the 20th
century.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">And we need to add deaths due to internal
conflicts and individual violence, which in the 20th century have reached huge values.
Let’s look at the most important conflicts in the next table (there are more),
which also includes some of the wars considered above:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div align="center">
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-insideh: .5pt solid windowtext; mso-border-insidev: .5pt solid windowtext; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
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<td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">Conflict<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">Dates<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Death toll </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">(millions)</span></p>
</td>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">First World War<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">1914-1918<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">10-20<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">Civil war in Russia<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">1919-1922<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">10-15<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Víctims of Stalin in URSS<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">1926-1939<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">15-20<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">Chinese civil war<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">1928-1936<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">2<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">Spanish civil war<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">1936-1939<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">0,5-1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">Scond World War<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">1939-1945<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">60-80<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">Chinese civil war<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">1945-1949<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">1,2<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">Korean War <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">1950-1953<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">2,5-3,5<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">War of indep. Argelia<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">1954-62<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">1,2<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">War of Vietnam<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">1957-1975<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">2-6,3<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">Chinese Cultural
Revolution<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">1966-1976<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">10<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">Biafran War<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">1967-1970<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">1-3<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">Genocide in Cambodia<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">1975-1979<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">1,5-2<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">Civil war in Angola<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">1975-2003<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">0,5-1,5<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">Civil war in Mozambique<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">1977-1992<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">Afghanistan
Conflict<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">1979-2021<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">1,5-2,5<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">Iran-Irak war<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">1980-1988<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">0,5-1,5<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">Civil war in Sudan<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">1983-2005<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">1-2<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">Civil war in Rwanda<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">1990-1994<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">0,8-1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">Civil war in Somalia<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">1991-<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">0,3-0,5<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Civil war in Congo<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">1996-2003<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">3-6,2<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">War of Iraq<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">2003-2011<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">0,4-0,6<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">Civil war in Syria<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">2011-<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">0,6<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">Russian invasion of
Ukraine<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">2022-<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">0,3<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">TOTAL<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">1910-2020<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">130-180<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">In the case of the Greco-Roman
civilization, we need to add the 300,000 Christians martyred between the 1st
and 4th centuries. And in the 20th-21st centuries, the victims of induced abortion,
which between 1990 and today are estimated at about 75 million per decade. Is
it true that our era is much less violent than other times? One must be blind,
not to see that, on the contrary, ours is one of the most violent epochs in
history, and the supposed progressive improvement of humanity, in this context,
is a simple illusion.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b><a href="https://divulciencia.blogspot.com/2023/11/cuantificacion-historica-de-la-violencia.html">The same post in Spanish</a></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Thematic Thread on Science and History: <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2023/10/systems-of-truth-and-knowledge.html">Previous</a> Next</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: right;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Manuel Alfonseca</b></span></p>
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br clear="all" style="break-before: page; mso-special-character: line-break; page-break-before: always;" /></span></div>Manuel Alfonsecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12774826547519124306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428850841046457972.post-34931878939383268092023-10-26T00:05:00.005-07:002023-11-02T00:55:23.639-07:00Systems of truth and knowledge<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2017/02/origin-of-violence.html" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"></a></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI1fsH_wOcQ31xh1IBVOgcERlRKpINpeJIdx8KXW8MQIeH1T5uwIM9qaFAbqBMDD62lsABRUGaMdxP7G0hyI9z7lBxghnZ-9YFDF0h7dNaS-yFl7vAbUlW_7xEoBTs_HpAT86OwpXsRMi4mKsw7rz1kC_8NgZ5z-YNNgQhzbUWpmiYahWSUPdeOpvQ51U/s376/sorokin.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="376" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI1fsH_wOcQ31xh1IBVOgcERlRKpINpeJIdx8KXW8MQIeH1T5uwIM9qaFAbqBMDD62lsABRUGaMdxP7G0hyI9z7lBxghnZ-9YFDF0h7dNaS-yFl7vAbUlW_7xEoBTs_HpAT86OwpXsRMi4mKsw7rz1kC_8NgZ5z-YNNgQhzbUWpmiYahWSUPdeOpvQ51U/w159-h200/sorokin.jpg" width="159" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Pitirim Sorokin</b></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2017/02/origin-of-violence.html" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Pitirim
Sorokin</a> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">was one of the main sociologists of the 20th century, perhaps the best.
One of his masterpieces is titled </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i><span style="color: red;">Social and
Cultural Dynamics</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">, where he makes an analysis of the history of
civilizations parallel to that carried out independently by </span><a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2018/03/decline-of-west.html" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">the
philosopher Oswald Spengler, the historian Arnold J. Toynbee</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> and the
anthropologist </span><a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2017/04/turgenev-unhappy-love.html" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">A.L.
Kroeber</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">. In one of the 42 chapters of this work, Sorokin distinguishes
seven systems of truth and knowledge, which can be grouped into three large
groups:</span></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 18.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 18pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ideational systems</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">: they are based on the <b><i>truth
of faith</i></b>. The principle of truth is God, who provides truth through
revelation, divine inspiration, mystical experience, and so forth. In this
group, Sorokin classifies three systems of truth and knowledge:<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 35.45pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 35.45pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -14.15pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">a.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Fideism</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">: It denies that knowledge can be obtained
through empirical or rational means: the only source of knowledge would be the
will to believe.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 35.45pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 35.45pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -14.15pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">b.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Mysticism</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">: It asserts that empirical and rational
knowledge are valid, but shallow, because they cannot penetrate to the final
reality or absolute truth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 35.45pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 35.45pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -14.15pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">c.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Religious rationalism</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">: It states that
reason plays an important role as a source of knowledge, but is subordinated to
faith. If both are opposed, reason is invalid or heretical.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 18.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 18pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Idealistic systems</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="display: none; line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 54.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 54pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; display: none; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">a.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></i></b><!--[endif]--><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; display: none; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-hide: all;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="display: none; line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 54.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 54pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; display: none; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">b.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></i></b><!--[endif]--><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; display: none; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-hide: all;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="display: none; line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 54.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 54pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; display: none; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">c.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></i></b><!--[endif]--><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; display: none; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-hide: all;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 39.3pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 39.3pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">d.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Idealistic rationalism</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">: It assigns the
main role to reason, as a source of knowledge. Empirical data also play an important
role, as do the truths of faith. These three sources are integrated in a
harmonious and coherent way, where the importance of faith is allowed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 18.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 18pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sensitive systems</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="display: none; line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 54.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 54pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; display: none; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">a.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></i></b><!--[endif]--><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; display: none; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-hide: all;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="display: none; line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 54.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 54pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; display: none; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">b.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></i></b><!--[endif]--><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; display: none; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-hide: all;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="display: none; line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 54.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 54pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; display: none; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">c.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></i></b><!--[endif]--><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; display: none; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-hide: all;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="display: none; line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 54.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 54pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; display: none; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">d.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></i></b><!--[endif]--><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; display: none; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-hide: all;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 39.3pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 39.3pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">e.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Empiricism</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">: Sensory perception is considered the
only source of knowledge.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 39.3pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 39.3pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">f.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Criticism or agnosticism</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">: It
occupies an intermediate position between the two previous systems. It asserts that
only the empirical world is accessible to our knowledge, while transcendent
reality, if it exists, is inaccessible and we don’t need to consider it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">To these six systems, we should add
another one, which does not fit with any of the three groups:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 39.3pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 39.3pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">g.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Skepticism</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">: It denies the existence of a valid
source of knowledge.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFCYxEGTVnjCeqMwfn-ufRI0QPSJKa01jEmIfDTAHvDWx5nLZunpdcujPFRQ0tTRAXwaFUS3AH7VAqXx2Weskm1RxFWRmDKXSXpVep-4b4e6G-CcYHkIEY8aoauSsmLcnVfyHZOyLVVRWp6CHocBbSXwRHSiKI6h-S7NHl8n7iUrnai85eOwxDZqe5vkM/s160/Toynbee.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="160" data-original-width="160" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFCYxEGTVnjCeqMwfn-ufRI0QPSJKa01jEmIfDTAHvDWx5nLZunpdcujPFRQ0tTRAXwaFUS3AH7VAqXx2Weskm1RxFWRmDKXSXpVep-4b4e6G-CcYHkIEY8aoauSsmLcnVfyHZOyLVVRWp6CHocBbSXwRHSiKI6h-S7NHl8n7iUrnai85eOwxDZqe5vkM/s1600/Toynbee.jpg" width="160" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Arnold J. Toynbee</b></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Some 19th century thinkers (such as Karl
Marx or Herbert Spencer) said that there has been a progressive evolution from
religious to philosophical, and to scientific conceptions. Sorokin collected
data on the thinkers, philosophers, and scientists of the Greco-Roman and
Western civilizations over a period of 2500 years, classified them according to
the six systems mentioned, and got the distribution of this figure:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdB76v8dz3OiCVgZrl9R1Y-xrmFn4z5RbDRgCEmDu_vi3RAhrnfajXSKjU-9sIFYwHjdmVvoKYzDrdnkS08qhDv4oiAnTOUAFadIYtQ2avO_4pkpoV1T-7ShcolR8bRkLemwTzXdiJbuLPeZQZ-xucsoJM4ze1X2O0XAPQOewrY5UWsfr-6vPZ0v4vQ8Q/s516/FigSCDeng.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="245" data-original-width="516" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdB76v8dz3OiCVgZrl9R1Y-xrmFn4z5RbDRgCEmDu_vi3RAhrnfajXSKjU-9sIFYwHjdmVvoKYzDrdnkS08qhDv4oiAnTOUAFadIYtQ2avO_4pkpoV1T-7ShcolR8bRkLemwTzXdiJbuLPeZQZ-xucsoJM4ze1X2O0XAPQOewrY5UWsfr-6vPZ0v4vQ8Q/s320/FigSCDeng.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">From his analysis the following can be deduced:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Marxist
or Spencerian historical <b><i><span style="color: red;">evolution</span></i></b>
does not exist.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Fideism</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> had its great era between the 3rd
centuries b.C.e. and the first C.e., and resurfaced again in the 11th
century and the 15th century.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
golden age of <b><i><span style="color: red;">mysticism</span></i></b> was
the 1st to 7th centuries, although its influence has been important from
the 9th century to the present day.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Rationalism</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> (here Sorokin treats together
both versions of this system) has remained at a fairly high level during
the 2500 years and reached its maximum expansion in the 6th century BC,
the 8th century and the 13th century. In recent centuries it has suffered
some setback.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Empiricism</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> had a great era in the six
centuries before Christ, disappeared during the Early Middle Ages,
recovered again during the Late Middle Ages, and has experienced enormous
expansion during the last four centuries.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Agnosticism</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> only appears in history from
the 18th century onwards. It is a minority system.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Finally,
<b><i><span style="color: red;">skepticism</span></i></b> had its great period
in the five centuries before the Christian era, although it re-emerged
from the 18th century onwards.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sorokin's conclusion is that history does
not show a linear change, but rather a series of fluctuations: Greek thought
began with an <b><i><span style="color: red;">ideational</span></i></b> phase,
went through an <b><i><span style="color: red;">idealistic</span></i></b> phase,
and ended with a mixed Greco-Roman <b><i><span style="color: red;">idealistic-sensitive</span></i></b>
phase. Next came a new triumph of faith-based (<b><i><span style="color: red;">ideational</span></i></b>)
systems that spread throughout the Early Middle Ages. In the Late Middle Ages, we
had a new <b><i><span style="color: red;">idealistic</span></i></b> era, which
coincided with the resurrection of <b><i><span style="color: red;">sensitive</span></i></b>
systems, which grew enormously from the 16th to the 20th centuries.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">We perceive, therefore, an <b><i>oscillation</i></b>
between ideational, idealistic and sensitive systems, which could give way,
within a short time, to a new ideational epoch, contrary to the idea of many
current thinkers, who tend to believe that the triumph of the sensitive system
will be permanent. The current rise of skepticism, which is not included in
Sorokin's data, could be an indication in this regard.<span style="color: #00b050;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b><a href="https://divulciencia.blogspot.com/2023/10/sistemas-de-verdad-y-conocimiento.html">The same post in Spanish</a></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Thematic Thread on Science and History: <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2023/10/lavoisier-father-of-modern-chemistry.html">Previous</a> <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2023/11/historical-quantification-of-violence.html">Next</a></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: right;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Manuel Alfonseca</b></span></p>Manuel Alfonsecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12774826547519124306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428850841046457972.post-65498431456910348122023-10-19T00:05:00.029-07:002023-10-19T00:05:00.169-07:00A new fine-tuning case and the “great design”<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2eDl0SdIQlFLAKVUpKbkBVsURSU7uc4A-PukHUGXiHK6jxw6RRvFif86c68JEW8gsa1mLjapM4f9ALh1InzxX_LSC5_g3BmANqpfj4P-I9NBcL1yngyh7KVEnrqCcvU0jos_TbGsW5LMlr5EuOiNO90zvyxOOQBi_BPXDFTqWXNpQRgjqsdEknGtv1iY/s261/Universe_expansion2.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="231" data-original-width="261" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2eDl0SdIQlFLAKVUpKbkBVsURSU7uc4A-PukHUGXiHK6jxw6RRvFif86c68JEW8gsa1mLjapM4f9ALh1InzxX_LSC5_g3BmANqpfj4P-I9NBcL1yngyh7KVEnrqCcvU0jos_TbGsW5LMlr5EuOiNO90zvyxOOQBi_BPXDFTqWXNpQRgjqsdEknGtv1iY/w200-h177/Universe_expansion2.png" width="200" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;">Almost every case of <b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: red;">fine-tuning</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> discussed so far concerns nuclear
reactions and their consequences, in the realm of the very small. This is what could
happen if the universal constants and parameters were not fine-tuned:</span></p><p></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Either
<b><i>there would be no hydrogen in the universe</i></b>, and the stars
would last too short a time for life to appear.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Or
<b><i>the fusion of hydrogen to give helium would not be possible</i></b>,
so there would be no stars.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Or
<b><i>oxygen or carbon</i></b>, essential elements for life, <b><i>would
not be generated in stars</i></b>.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">In all these cases, concepts and ideas are
drawn from particle physics, astronomy, and cosmology.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">In <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adh9024">an article published
in the journal ScienceAdvances</a>, Kostya Trachenko proposes a new type of
fine-tuning, which instead of particle physics relies on the physics of
liquids. Applying the theory of viscosity, he points out three new and
independent cases of fine tuning:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Kinematic viscosity</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> varies with temperature,
reaching a minimum for a temperature that corresponds to the equilibrium
between the liquid and gaseous states. If this minimum were to exceed a
certain value (violating the condition </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">ν</span><sub><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">min</span></sub><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">ν</span><sub><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">0</span></sub><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">), the viscosity of the
liquids making up living cells would be so great that there would be no
flow inside the cells and life would not be possible.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Dynamic viscosity</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> also varies
with temperature, independently of kinematic viscosity. In this case, the
condition for life to be possible in the universe is like the previous one
(</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">η</span><sub><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">min</span></sub><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">< </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">η</span><sub><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">0</span></sub><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">), but independent.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Diffusion in a liquid medium</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> is subject
to a restriction opposite to the two previous cases. To be compatible with
life, the maximum diffusion must be greater than a certain value: D<sub>max</sub>>D<sub>0</sub>.
This condition is independent of the previous two.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">We therefore have three new fine-tuning
cases that, moreover, seem independent from the traditional ones. Indeed,
Trachenko analyzes the dependence of his three conditions on two universal
constants whose values are considered critical with respect to life: the <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2021/01/fine-structure.html">fine
structure constant</a> (</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">α</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">) and the ratio between the mass of the
proton and that of the electron (</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">β</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">), and
comes to the conclusion that his three constants (</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">ν</span><sub><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">0</span></sub><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">, </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">η</span><sub><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">0</span></sub><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> and D<sub>0</sub>)
could vary within wide limits, without the need to retouch the values of the
two classical constants, so that they would be independent.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">What conclusion does Trachenko draw from
this? That the fine tuning of our universe, which makes life possible, does not
depend on a single set of variables, but on several; that we must resort to
multiple independent adjustments; and he suggests that the mechanism of
"evolution" could be the explanation and the answer. He says this: <b><i><span style="color: #00b050;">An analogy with physics would imply that the observed
fundamental constants are the result of nature arriving at sustainable physical
structures, but the values of these constants may not need to be derived in a
more fundamental theory as considered previously.</span></i></b> He therefore
opposes the M-theory multiverse, which is based on one of those <b><i>more
fundamental theories</i></b>, namely <b><i><span style="color: red;">string
theory</span></i></b>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Trachenko is silent about how his
conclusions affect the idea that fine-tuning gives an inkling that the universe
was designed by God (which is sometimes called <b><i><span style="color: red;">the
grand design</span></i></b>). But others have drawn those consequences. In <a href="https://physicsworld.com/a/evolution-may-explain-values-of-the-fundamental-constants/">an
article in PhysicsWorld</a> reporting about Trachenko’s paper, this paragraph can
be read:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">He suggests that there is no need for a “grand design” for the
cosmos, but that each of the universe’s physical “traits” could independently
emerge, and become entrenched, through a gradual process of evolution –
somewhat like the proliferation of certain survival-enhancing features in
animals.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj4Dnrnn2aOEIbsP9ELe3oMFWU_G2MC5Y6UWkcvXbrCuNJ5_6HEJazxZbD5K1cjEXiSozhWlxlFawlR1heahmVRSe0em_4b36BTnI3oWDVqCJW6viZkyfc8lXTEh7gAWf-tVUfJOsbex_eBer0r84PAEfx-PBx4c74H-bKvw6l4zedY3YEq2ZUppXkSzA/s290/220px-Charles_Darwin_seated_crop.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="290" data-original-width="220" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj4Dnrnn2aOEIbsP9ELe3oMFWU_G2MC5Y6UWkcvXbrCuNJ5_6HEJazxZbD5K1cjEXiSozhWlxlFawlR1heahmVRSe0em_4b36BTnI3oWDVqCJW6viZkyfc8lXTEh7gAWf-tVUfJOsbex_eBer0r84PAEfx-PBx4c74H-bKvw6l4zedY3YEq2ZUppXkSzA/w152-h200/220px-Charles_Darwin_seated_crop.jpg" width="152" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Charles Darwin</b></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">In fact, Trachenko doesn’t say this (he
doesn’t mention <b><i>design</i></b> anywhere), although it could be considered
that he does it subtly by mentioning the word <b><i><span style="color: red;">evolution</span></i></b>,
which for many atheist scientists is antagonistic to design. Of course, he does
not propose any mechanism by which this evolution of the universal constants
could have taken place, nor what type of <b><i>natural selection</i></b> would
have to be applied so that the values of the constants compatible with life
were favored. He merely offers the idea and hopes that sooner or later some explanation
will emerge.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">As new cases of fine-tuning emerge, some
atheist scientists try to use them as an indication that there is no design: the
world upside down. And they don’t realize that they are engaging in
contradictory or baseless reasoning.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Of course, <b><i>evolution and design are
not antagonistic</i></b>. To prove this, it’s enough to consider research in
artificial life, which is fully designed and uses evolution as a tool. And
there are more examples, some of which even Darwin mentioned. But I have said
this in <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2018/01/chance-or-design.html">other posts</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b><a href="https://divulciencia.blogspot.com/2023/10/nuevo-caso-de-ajuste-fino-y-gran-diseno.html">The same post in Spanish</a></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;">Thematic Thread on Multiverse and Fine Tuning: <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2020/04/game-of-life.html">Previous</a> Next</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: right;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Manuel Alfonseca</b></span></p><p></p>Manuel Alfonsecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12774826547519124306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428850841046457972.post-9703795913515059922023-10-12T00:05:00.033-07:002023-10-12T00:05:00.145-07:00The principle of indifference<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL4N7HdW6sO_2gUA4EAjRfMlnooYYrB22flxpod6kQE8EB0YQxY390g0Ypo72KWQ9afdtCUeJ58SBHyOQ9SXJ34t9EuT1HI8EgkSKN8SERgAC_Hpis22yjww8cpVIZYnLvsayTP5UQFb2vnu5MIKijCJID-p-X1mshcRsESt0ZrVlQ2VIF_aVqe-GvGOg/s499/eerie.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="332" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL4N7HdW6sO_2gUA4EAjRfMlnooYYrB22flxpod6kQE8EB0YQxY390g0Ypo72KWQ9afdtCUeJ58SBHyOQ9SXJ34t9EuT1HI8EgkSKN8SERgAC_Hpis22yjww8cpVIZYnLvsayTP5UQFb2vnu5MIKijCJID-p-X1mshcRsESt0ZrVlQ2VIF_aVqe-GvGOg/w133-h200/eerie.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;">In several previous posts I have applied the
principle of indifference, albeit I did not call it by that name.</p><p></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">In
the post <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2016/10/eerie-silence.html">The
eerie silence</a> I wrote this:<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The probability of the existence of
extraterrestrial intelligence is 50%. As we know nothing, this is equivalent to
throwing a coin, and if it comes up heads, we say that we are alone; if tails,
that we have company.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">In
the post <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2023/06/relativism-in-science.html">Relativism
in science?</a> I said this:<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #00b050;">If we
have no reason to assume that a theory is true or false, its probability should
be close to 0.5... Theories about which we have no information, for or against,
with a probability between 0.4 and 0.6. I will cite the existence of
extraterrestrial intelligence, the possibility of building strong artificial
intelligence, or the various theories of the multiverse.<span></span></span></i></b></p><a name='more'></a><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 2em;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYUE-nKoL-z5wGcGGD70Mg7eSUny8kTXD2ms1IDvK5AxLFoYhKsRK7IhJ6fxeSWcNMm-TtFQc7NWsRihprZ33qCT_krkM762jIoeHDFFyADuCHoNdRqd_Y8jfIqDRrOoHaueHmFxnV_3VKQjtauOh03AErU2rkZLZwdGqNnLDU6ezphwvHitieDOR-c2w/s186/Gardner.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="186" data-original-width="132" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYUE-nKoL-z5wGcGGD70Mg7eSUny8kTXD2ms1IDvK5AxLFoYhKsRK7IhJ6fxeSWcNMm-TtFQc7NWsRihprZ33qCT_krkM762jIoeHDFFyADuCHoNdRqd_Y8jfIqDRrOoHaueHmFxnV_3VKQjtauOh03AErU2rkZLZwdGqNnLDU6ezphwvHitieDOR-c2w/s1600/Gardner.jpg" width="132" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Martin Gardner</b></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The principle of indifference can be
useful in certain circumstances, but it can also lead to absurd results if
misapplied. In his book <b><i><span style="color: red;">Aha! Gotcha: Paradoxes to
Puzzle & Delight</span></i></b>, Martin Gardner offers the following
examples of the misuse of this principle:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Is
there life on Titan, the largest of Saturn's satellites?</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> As
we know nothing, either for or against, we should assign both possible
answers a probability of 50%. But now let’s consider these two questions: <b><i>Are
there microorganisms on Titan? Is there animal life on Titan?</i></b>
We still know nothing, so we could assign a probability of 50% to both possible
answers to these questions. But then, <b><i>what is the probability that
there is neither animal life nor microorganisms?</i></b> Are we tempted to
answer 25%? (0.5×0.5). If we do, we’ll make a blatant mistake, because
these two questions are not independent of each other, so their joint
probability is not equal to the product of their probabilities.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Will
there be an atomic war before 2030?</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Let’s say
the probability is 50%. Now let’s answer ten additional questions: <b><i>Will
there be an atomic bombing on the United States before 2030? On Russia? On
the UK?</i></b> And so, we list 10 countries. If we assign the answers to
these questions a probability of 50% and use it to calculate the
probability that none of them is bombed, we’d get 0.5<sup>10</sup>=1/1024.
Then the probability that at least one of those countries will be bombed
before 2030 would be 1023/1024: almost certainty. But we are making the
same mistake as in the previous example: the answers to the ten questions
are not independent and their probabilities shouldn’t be multiplied.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF1kFtJb58G8LTzLi_9B6RgHtmehDpig-OVUPB294AHnqpLGE5fs0hspfnamzA1hKRy3UOYIo1Ye6kIod4o5HKgfRa3MLxxKP5keBDEKHmlZZJDo4l-lFj9dmiuLnRECxF4KLDkKIl97QnI_wjv8uPSyi2CzdPqEgJ0M_O0flMGlA0kszzBLstp59ih9M/s186/Pascal.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="186" data-original-width="177" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF1kFtJb58G8LTzLi_9B6RgHtmehDpig-OVUPB294AHnqpLGE5fs0hspfnamzA1hKRy3UOYIo1Ye6kIod4o5HKgfRa3MLxxKP5keBDEKHmlZZJDo4l-lFj9dmiuLnRECxF4KLDkKIl97QnI_wjv8uPSyi2CzdPqEgJ0M_O0flMGlA0kszzBLstp59ih9M/s1600/Pascal.jpg" width="177" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Blaise Pascal</b></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Blaise Pascal applied the principle of
indifference to the existence of God in his famous wager, about which I wrote <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2017/11/pascal-smith-wager.html">another
post</a>. In his Pensée 233, he says this:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #00b050;">God
exists or He does not exist. Which side shall we take? Reason cannot decide...
Let's weigh the gain and loss, if we assume that God exists. Let's consider both:
if you win, you win everything; if you lose, you lose nothing. So you must
wager, without doubt, for His existence.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Pascal argues that if we apply the
principle of indifference to the existence of God, we should assign a
probability of 50%. But his argument does not stop there: he applies to both
possibilities the first known example of game theory and breaks the equilibrium
according to what we can gain or lose by adopting each answer.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">We can argue against Pascal's phrase <b><i><span style="color: #00b050;">Reason cannot decide</span></i></b>, which is equivalent
to applying the principle of indifference to the existence of God, even if we
interpret that the word <b><i><span style="color: #00b050;">reason</span></i></b>
means <b><i>scientific reason</i></b>. In my book in Spanish </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29894716-es-compatible-dios-con-la-ciencia-evoluci-n-y-cosmolog-a"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">¿Es compatible
Dios con la ciencia? Evolución y cosmología</span></a></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> I
pointed out that although science does not offer proof of the existence of God,
it does provide inklings. I estimate that these inklings unbalance the
equiprobability of the response, and by adding other sources of knowledge,
apart from science, the total result for me is close to 100%.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b><a href="https://divulciencia.blogspot.com/2023/10/el-principio-de-indiferencia.html">The same post in Spanish</a></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Thematic Thread about Science in General: <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2023/09/descriptions-and-explanations.html">Previous</a> Next</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: right;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Manuel Alfonseca</b></span></p><p></p>Manuel Alfonsecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12774826547519124306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428850841046457972.post-26723164922035176612023-10-05T00:05:00.028-07:002023-10-25T23:46:42.285-07:00Lavoisier, father of modern chemistry<p><b style="text-align: justify;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></i></b></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjptMVXVHhTIVcrbmsEN5OxtNhaUKlVTfNMX_l4npsJhDHLX6zD_OyPa2lhU82NihVvUiliphwXiweGRnhjuaurRqKhNhpew49jAS9lN8VO1j0z_eHEAghPlHDCoFcVsNyrwoRPAcDKU9a8BnrMtzoCICnJUsEBxrfxkn57IYOAaebBk8YJIOIYlsP3n4g/s254/Lavoisier.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="254" data-original-width="220" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjptMVXVHhTIVcrbmsEN5OxtNhaUKlVTfNMX_l4npsJhDHLX6zD_OyPa2lhU82NihVvUiliphwXiweGRnhjuaurRqKhNhpew49jAS9lN8VO1j0z_eHEAghPlHDCoFcVsNyrwoRPAcDKU9a8BnrMtzoCICnJUsEBxrfxkn57IYOAaebBk8YJIOIYlsP3n4g/w173-h200/Lavoisier.jpg" width="173" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Lavoisier</b></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b style="text-align: justify;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Antoine Laurent de
Lavoisier </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">is considered the father of modern Chemistry, having
introduced the quantitative method into this science. In 1768, aged 25, he was
elected a member of the Academy of Sciences. The astronomer Joseph Jérôme
Lalande, who defended his candidacy, explained it this way:</span></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">A young man with knowledge, ingenuity, activity, whom fortune
exempts from practicing another profession, would naturally be of great use to
the sciences.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Indeed, his mother’s family inheritance
allowed him to buy a position in a financial company called <b><i>Ferme
générale</i></b>, whose members were responsible of collecting taxes on behalf
of the king, a position he held until 1791 and which eventually led him to the
grave. Here he met his future wife, Marie-Anne Paulze, whom he married in 1771 when she was 13, who became his best scientific collaborator.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">His greatest success was the <b><i><span style="color: red;">theory of oxidation</span></i></b>. Until then it was thought
(according to the phlogiston theory, by Georg Ernst Stahl) that when a body
burns or oxidizes, it loses part of its substance. Lavoisier showed that what
happens is precisely the opposite: when a body burns it combines with a gas,
oxygen, a name invented by Lavoisier. He is also the author of <b><i><span style="color: red;">the law of conservation of matter</span></i></b>:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Matter is neither created nor destroyed. And water cannot become
earth.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Lavoisier asserted that the bodies called
metallic earths are not simple, but oxides. After repeating the experiment of
Henry Cavendish, discoverer of hydrogen, he said that water is not a simple
body, but a compound of oxygen and hydrogen, a name also invented by Lavoisier.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">He redefined the concept of <b><i><span style="color: red;">chemical element</span></i></b>. Since ancient times everyone
spoke about four elements: earth, water, air, and fire. After the experiments
of Lavoisier and his predecessors, it was shown that water and air are not
elements. Lavoisier defined a chemical element as a substance that cannot be
decomposed, and proposed a list that included oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen,
sulfur, phosphorus, mercury, and zinc, although he also included light and
heat, which we now know are not chemical elements, but forms of energy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">At the beginning of the French Revolution,
Lavoisier was appointed national commissioner of the committee for the
uniformity of weights and measures, which promoted the establishment of the
metric system. In 1791 the tax collection department was abolished and
Lavoisier lost his living. On November 24, 1793, the Revolutionary Convention
decreed the imprisonment of those who had held the position of tax collector.
There were requests advocating the release of Lavoisier. The Weights and
Measures Commission sent a letter in his favor. The Commission said that <b><i><span style="color: #00b050;">the work... was interrupted by the arrest of this citizen
and it was urgent for him to return to carrying out important work that he has
always carried out with zeal and activity</span></i></b>. The response was the
expurgation of the Commission: Borda, Lavoisier, Laplace, Coulomb, Brisson and
Delambre were immediately dismissed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiWbB3vfVPcNMrfnZem5Y3u4vQ4-hW5yRrP-8mVkvLaLrf5hwOhjruT6SmdqSM_SmXqgLdxWkh32GmgrhsGzfzFpxjp0CFx-2eh1d66NOYTx6KWGjhu9arv5_iEH-2OvtKyn1_74tPxznqxHd8blt5lx1qpscrV1BtBhwVBK_xAmDrMUFqqWQIo4e7HT8/s1280/guillotina.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="944" data-original-width="1280" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiWbB3vfVPcNMrfnZem5Y3u4vQ4-hW5yRrP-8mVkvLaLrf5hwOhjruT6SmdqSM_SmXqgLdxWkh32GmgrhsGzfzFpxjp0CFx-2eh1d66NOYTx6KWGjhu9arv5_iEH-2OvtKyn1_74tPxznqxHd8blt5lx1qpscrV1BtBhwVBK_xAmDrMUFqqWQIo4e7HT8/w200-h148/guillotina.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;">When the tax collectors were sent to
trial, some of the defendants planned to commit suicide with an excessive dose
of opium, and offered it to Lavoisier, who dissuaded them thus:<o:p></o:p></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Why should we anticipate death? Is it shameful to receive it by an
unjust order? The excess of injustice erases shame... To commit suicide would
be to absolve those who send us to death. Let us think of those who have
preceded us and let us also set a good example for those who follow us.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">These words by Lavoisier convinced his
companions, none of whom committed suicide. Thanks to this, one of them saved
his life, because he was not sentenced with the others.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">It is said that when Hallé, defender of
the accused, presented a report recalling the scientific works of Lavoisier,
Jean-Baptiste Coffinhal, vice president of the Revolutionary Tribunal, answered
this:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Republic does not need wise men; justice must follow its
course.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The collectors were sentenced to death on
May 8, 1794, and that same day they all died by guillotine. </span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpV7OCOFlyqZvQnpFQDlc76nNhhp3SXIZwg2b0E11UV2H6NY8KSxoektKCDccvFgpGBQfBqteMoqTrmiu7eSUl4OYAymoo2ouNOCJ_M29htbsJ89OIo6N0DNjN618MHhdI5BIX2Z-9p9zh0UysZgfvtTUAGmXfs9bk_HYObCDqAABRD-Hpqr8mgtCNsvs/s286/Lagrange.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="286" data-original-width="220" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpV7OCOFlyqZvQnpFQDlc76nNhhp3SXIZwg2b0E11UV2H6NY8KSxoektKCDccvFgpGBQfBqteMoqTrmiu7eSUl4OYAymoo2ouNOCJ_M29htbsJ89OIo6N0DNjN618MHhdI5BIX2Z-9p9zh0UysZgfvtTUAGmXfs9bk_HYObCDqAABRD-Hpqr8mgtCNsvs/w154-h200/Lagrange.jpg" width="154" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Lagrange</b></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The next day, when
the news broke, Joseph Louis de Lagrange, director of the commission that
established the metric system, exclaimed:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">A moment has sufficed to cut off his head, and perhaps a century
will not suffice to produce another like it.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Less than a year after the execution,
Lavoisier’s widow petitioned the Convention for the return of her husband’s
property that had been confiscated, leaving her destitute, and when it was
granted, the restitution order had the following phrase:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Widow of Lavoisier, unjustly condemned.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Lavoisier was a devout Catholic all his
life. A note written by his widow says this:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">It was [in his laboratory] where one had to see and hear this
man with such a just spirit, such a pure talent, such a high genius; it was in
his conversation that one could judge the height of his moral principles.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<h3 style="background: white; margin: 9pt 0cm 0cm; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><a href="https://divulciencia.blogspot.com/2023/10/lavoisier-padre-de-la-quimica-moderna.html">The same post in Spanish</a></span></h3><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><b style="text-align: justify;">Thematic Thread on Science and History: <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2021/11/giordano-bruno-martyr-of-science.html">Previous</a> <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2023/10/systems-of-truth-and-knowledge.html">Next</a></b></span></div><h3 align="right" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 9.0pt; margin: 9pt 0cm 0cm; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Manuel Alfonseca</span></h3><h3 align="right" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 9.0pt; margin: 9pt 0cm 0cm; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Excerpt from my article in the book <a href="https://divulciencia.blogspot.com/2022/04/la-cosmovision-de-los-grandes.html">La
cosmovisión de los grandes científicos de la Ilustración</a></span></h3><p></p>Manuel Alfonsecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12774826547519124306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428850841046457972.post-379793658359999832023-09-28T00:05:00.052-07:002023-10-11T22:54:43.199-07:00Descriptions and explanations<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXCF6bK6RXr5NJ8V7jCOX_PbS5P35VeoxpOf9EJklSSYYF1hM0q9IIYfivT77Sc3I0LPMppfhW0Fbt0LylcTt2_PeI3Sf1JttsW6W7USrcy_TyAN0aNhzMoCkG7bKaP5T-w9kMjEKsUGS5RI3l_ILAuTIl3w4BAgANFwghYvpgcETbuwenrPPXE2j5Cb0/s364/Antoine_lavoisier_color.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="364" data-original-width="247" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXCF6bK6RXr5NJ8V7jCOX_PbS5P35VeoxpOf9EJklSSYYF1hM0q9IIYfivT77Sc3I0LPMppfhW0Fbt0LylcTt2_PeI3Sf1JttsW6W7USrcy_TyAN0aNhzMoCkG7bKaP5T-w9kMjEKsUGS5RI3l_ILAuTIl3w4BAgANFwghYvpgcETbuwenrPPXE2j5Cb0/w136-h200/Antoine_lavoisier_color.jpg" width="136" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Lavoisier</b></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">An example will illustrate the difference
between these two concepts:</span></p><p></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> is
considered the father of modern chemistry. His <b><i><span style="color: red;">Traité Élémentaire de Chimie</span></i></b>
revolutionized many of the ideas that until then had dominated this
science. However, when it comes to the chemical reactions it describes, this
book is a mere catalogue. So we are told something like this:<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 72.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 72pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">If we mix oxygen gas and hydrogen gas and apply fire or an
electric spark to the mixture, an explosion occurs and the result is water.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">This
is a description. It tells what happens but offers no explanation of the
phenomenon.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 2em;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglGq6zPXk9H0qBv1AqmPmiB3ppxdxz2D0V49hVXZTRx_npWOJwk-2LPTrThLyJzq6xlhvb9s4p7yRqDnrUz_5HOK7F-42zM45Q6U5zUnRQsySwyaXodqFlPWldDTcXfobR0KEkp-82vfPTQIVyrpUVHq_XpkoWbNcLS3G0KVOwy5L3X0BqcaWBvgMG1tE/s300/John_Dalton.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="220" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglGq6zPXk9H0qBv1AqmPmiB3ppxdxz2D0V49hVXZTRx_npWOJwk-2LPTrThLyJzq6xlhvb9s4p7yRqDnrUz_5HOK7F-42zM45Q6U5zUnRQsySwyaXodqFlPWldDTcXfobR0KEkp-82vfPTQIVyrpUVHq_XpkoWbNcLS3G0KVOwy5L3X0BqcaWBvgMG1tE/w147-h200/John_Dalton.jpg" width="147" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>John Dalton</b></td></tr></tbody></table><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">With his atomic theory, <b><i><span style="color: red;">John Dalton</span></i></b> offered an explanation for Lavoisier's description. This one:<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES;">2H<sub>2</sub>+O<sub>2</sub>→2H<sub>2</sub>O<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 36pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">In
other words: hydrogen gas consists of molecules made up of two hydrogen atoms
bonded together. The same goes for oxygen gas. When reacting, because of the
application of fire or an electrical spark, two molecules of hydrogen and one
of oxygen combine, giving rise to two molecules of water, each one of which is
formed by two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">In science, explanations are much more
important than descriptions. In <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2015/05/science-cant-explain.html">another
post in this blog</a>, I pointed out that science will never be able to explain
everything, because there will always be a level that we can only describe, but
not explain, and if we ever manage to explain it, it will be at the cost of introducing
a new level that we can only describe, but not explain.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">In fact, we currently have not just two degrees of scientific knowledge, but four:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Explanations</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">, such as the atomic theory with
regards to chemical reactions.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Descriptions</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">, such as the theory of
fundamental particles (quarks and leptons), for which we currently have no
explanation, although these descriptions help to explain a different level: the hadrons.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Hypotheses</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">, such as the supposed
existence of dark matter which, although not experimentally proven, helps
to give provisional explanations to measurable observations, such as the
rotation of galaxies.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Hypothetical lucubrations</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">, which are offered
without any justification based on experimentation or observation. This
type of speculation is proliferating a lot lately. I will cite, as
examples, the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence, the possibility
of building strong artificial intelligence, or the various theories of the
multiverse.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfVq69UMtOz88YuqJVk6R580L8j0JQr4d6om03BrUn9wdPQMTOBkx1DqVxn1IkzNpm3KJhaztXsptKLS-9_fCpHu7M4bck-LKtXZamwZAkua8Lmhj8iMCMe5jqQP5hbwHsnW2JmI9cJV77rJcTh1YRjgicZOoCfkIlIabwffqjHvK8TgMuvy_rtwn5QVs/s575/Richard_dawkins.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="575" data-original-width="453" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfVq69UMtOz88YuqJVk6R580L8j0JQr4d6om03BrUn9wdPQMTOBkx1DqVxn1IkzNpm3KJhaztXsptKLS-9_fCpHu7M4bck-LKtXZamwZAkua8Lmhj8iMCMe5jqQP5hbwHsnW2JmI9cJV77rJcTh1YRjgicZOoCfkIlIabwffqjHvK8TgMuvy_rtwn5QVs/w158-h200/Richard_dawkins.jpg" width="158" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Richard Dawkins</b></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">In <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2023/09/richard-dawkins-versus-john-lennox.html">a previous post</a> I pointed out that Richard Dawkins, in his debate with John
Lennox, said that <b><i><span style="color: #00b050;">neither he, nor Lennox, nor
anyone else knows anything about scientific issues such as the origin of the
universe or the origin of life</span></i></b>. Here Dawkins hit the mark, for when
scientists say that <b><i><span style="color: red;">the universe arose as a
spontaneous fluctuation of the vacuum </span></i></b>(or <b><i><span style="color: red;">a fluctuation of nothing</span></i></b>, as some of them say,
displaying their ignorance), they are not offering an explanation of the origin
of the universe, or a
description of what could have happened, not even a hypothesis based on
observation, but just a
<b><i>hypothetical lucubration</i></b>, without any experimental or
observational basis, so the scientific value of this statement is equal to
zero. It is just an exercise of imagination without scientific basis and
without explanatory power. Many scientists cannot distinguish between science
and science fiction.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b><a href="https://divulciencia.blogspot.com/2023/09/descripciones-y-explicaciones.html">The same post in Spanish</a></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Thematic Thread about Science in General: <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2023/05/pathological-science-wishful-science-or.html">Previous</a> <a href="https://populscience.blogspot.com/2023/10/the-principle-of-indifference.html">Next</a></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16pt; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: right;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Manuel Alfonseca</b></span></p><p></p>Manuel Alfonsecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12774826547519124306noreply@blogger.com0