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Assembling Humanity’s History
So now we know that early humans bred with Neanderthals and Denisovans. We know this because genome sequences from these “evolutionary cousins” make up from 4% to 6% of the genomes of some humans. And we’ve recently learned that some of the genetic material introduced by this cross-breeding included an upgrade of our immune system’s…
The Gun Debate and Weapons Power Proliferation (WPP)
Welcome to the global debate about gun and nuclear weapons ownership. You already know both sides of the argument. Weapons are proliferating. More powerful weapons are manufactured in smaller sizes. Weapons power proliferation (WPP) is deadly force humanity is learning more about. The first recorded use of nuclear weapons was in the 20th century. At least…
Absorbing New Information
Human capacity to recognize, absorb and integrate new information about our history is limited, because we are rightfully preoccupied with the here and now; nervous about new information, which may undermine details of the history we believe in; unfamiliar with the methodologies used to verify the information’s accuracy; and uncertain that information about the long-term…
Redux: Scary Halloween
Fear comes alive on Halloween. Halloween costumes are practical technology designed to simplify our joking about frightening subjects. The ghosts and the goblins are the outside joke. The inside joke is death. Halloween is the night when death walks around our neighborhoods dressed like a common Joe as if to remind us of its inevitability….
Pascal’s Wager and Climate Change
Industrialists, politicians and propagandists in their employ dismiss reports of destructive climate change caused by human activity as mere speculation. If you can’t conclusively prove your claims, they say, your theories are worthless and should be ignored. In order to protect their own commercial and political advantages, they reject suggestions that civilization may be severely…