UFOs explained
I have always been a science fiction fan so most people would expect me to be a believer in UFOs as extraterrestrial in origin. Wrong. I present here the answer to UFOs (at least a far as modern science can explain).
Ninety percent of reported UFOs are simple miss-identifications of man-made objects. Of the remaining ten percent, half are optical anomalies caused by temperature inversions in the atmosphere. What people are seeing are distorted reflections of terrestrial objects or lights. This explains the apparent ability of these "objects" to perform physically impossible maneuvers. It is like a laser dot on a wall - you can move from side to side instantly with no effort. Also, when viewing a reflection you can move slightly away from the line of the reflection and the object will seem to disappear.
The remaining five percent of sightings are natural phenomena that modern science does not have the understanding needed to explain. These will be explained in about 25 years when physics gets beyond the self-imposed limits that currently hold us back.
Now, we can all quit worrying about silly stuff and focus on surviving the 12/21/2012 catastrophe. (check back later for more)
W.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Failure of Capitalism?
Failures of capitalism
Preface:
I am a strong believer in the reasons behind the founding fathers’ establishment of this country and the constitution that defines it. Almost everything needed to make a country strong and its citizens free was included. In the decades since the constitution was accepted as the basic defining document a lot has changed. Technology beyond anything the founding fathers imagined has arisen. Social changes in how people view each other make modern society nothing like the eighteenth century society where the constitution answered the needs.
I have to explain my point of view here so my comments that come later have some validity. I am basically a Democrat leaning strongly toward Libertarianism. This is mainly an opposition to what I see as the Republican approach to the country and the economy. I watch some television news channels for about an hour a day before work in the cafeteria. This happens because I cannot change the channel. At home I refuse to watch the national media because I find myself arguing with people who cannot hear me and whose opinions I have no hope of changing. I have tried to distill my personal doctrine down to a single document and this is the first draft.
Capitalism?
The title should evoke some feelings in people of my generation who were raised under the threat of Communism. I am not a communist. I believe communism could be a good thing for small family groups of less than, say, 100 people who fully believe in it. This group will still have to interact with the capitalism that is the one workable solution for human beings living in a technological environment. The failures I will describe here are the failures that rampant capitalism has dealing with individuals.
Unrestricted capitalism certainly rewards those persons who best understand it and have the personality traits that enjoy the rewards of success. Wealth is, of course, the main reward of capitalism and a self-made rich person is rewarded for his successful efforts. Most ambitious capitalists do not stop when their wealth exceeds anything they can normally expect to need for an extremely comfortable life. I have to believe there is more to this than the accumulation of pure wealth. There is a personal power; public acknowledgement of one’s success; and sense of accomplishment that accompanies success. This drives people much more effectively than the pursuit of wealth ever has.
All of this is a good thing and I thank the inventor of money for providing this outlet for the leadership oriented humans. Without money we would have to establish leadership by pounding down the others around us in order to become their leader - not unlike the Alpha male in a wolf pack. The only failure in this scenario is that the power of money makes a leadership challenge virtually impossible. Leaders bask in their power much longer than the natural world would allow if they were not being propped-up by artificial strength. These unnaturally enhanced leaders can often loose sight of what should be their real contribution to their pack – the safe and comfortable lives of their pack members and the growth and enhancement of society.
We can rationalize all we want but the collapse of the banking industry and the subsequent collapse of the real estate market were caused by unrestricted greed exercised by persons who had lost sight of reality. The people who sought to improve themselves using the tools offered by the greedy industry leaders were not aware of the dangers of borrowing money they couldn’t afford and the lenders did not care if the loans were good or not. On the front end the large numbers of loans created short-term bonuses and apparent success at all levels of the banking industry.
Gleefully ignorant of what could happen (intentionally, I suspect) the leaders enjoyed the benefits of leadership, never considering the fact that all these people were leadership’s responsibility once they were included in the leaders’ packs. The leaders lost sight of the reason to be leader and their money-backed power left them invulnerable to challenge.
I suspect many banking executives never thought at all about the individual families whose lives they were manipulating. I doubt they even think about that now – they likely spend their private moments bemoaning the money and power they could loose. All of them have held their leadership much too long and must be challenged. The only way to pose a leadership challenge is cooperation among prospective leaders and their supporters. The potentially most effective challenge to the general banking industry leadership exists in our government. For too long this challenge has been subverted by the power of money in the form of political contributions and lobbyists. I see a need for financially independent challenge to the current industry arrangement. Re-regulation to limit the problems that got us here and excess personal income tax to limit the personal wealth and power of lost-touch leaders will make leadership challenges more effective.
I know this is contrary to the capitalist mentality and I realize there must be rewards for truly effective capitalist leaders. That said I cannot personally justify bonuses and salaries exceeding six figures for people who have lost the right of leadership by loosing sight of reality. If the organization feels the contribution by their high-priced leader warrants a substantial reward give that reward to charities that help people being ignored by the policies that produce the wealth. Tell the country that “John Doe bank has donated three million dollars to the American Cancer Society in the name of our CEO Doe John. This is because his leadership and vision has increased the wealth of our stockholders by thirty-seven percent in the past fiscal year.” When a single person has a personal wealth exceeding [an amount to be determined by vote or government] there is no real reason to give him more. Recognize his accomplishments and make sure he has the power to continue his good work. Increasing his wealth beyond a certain point helps no one – not even him.
This is the first stage of this document. I will continue with it in another issue.
If you want to see more of my ramblings visit www.s-p-a-r.blogspot.com
or www.lifewithindustry.blogspot.com .
Preface:
I am a strong believer in the reasons behind the founding fathers’ establishment of this country and the constitution that defines it. Almost everything needed to make a country strong and its citizens free was included. In the decades since the constitution was accepted as the basic defining document a lot has changed. Technology beyond anything the founding fathers imagined has arisen. Social changes in how people view each other make modern society nothing like the eighteenth century society where the constitution answered the needs.
I have to explain my point of view here so my comments that come later have some validity. I am basically a Democrat leaning strongly toward Libertarianism. This is mainly an opposition to what I see as the Republican approach to the country and the economy. I watch some television news channels for about an hour a day before work in the cafeteria. This happens because I cannot change the channel. At home I refuse to watch the national media because I find myself arguing with people who cannot hear me and whose opinions I have no hope of changing. I have tried to distill my personal doctrine down to a single document and this is the first draft.
Capitalism?
The title should evoke some feelings in people of my generation who were raised under the threat of Communism. I am not a communist. I believe communism could be a good thing for small family groups of less than, say, 100 people who fully believe in it. This group will still have to interact with the capitalism that is the one workable solution for human beings living in a technological environment. The failures I will describe here are the failures that rampant capitalism has dealing with individuals.
Unrestricted capitalism certainly rewards those persons who best understand it and have the personality traits that enjoy the rewards of success. Wealth is, of course, the main reward of capitalism and a self-made rich person is rewarded for his successful efforts. Most ambitious capitalists do not stop when their wealth exceeds anything they can normally expect to need for an extremely comfortable life. I have to believe there is more to this than the accumulation of pure wealth. There is a personal power; public acknowledgement of one’s success; and sense of accomplishment that accompanies success. This drives people much more effectively than the pursuit of wealth ever has.
All of this is a good thing and I thank the inventor of money for providing this outlet for the leadership oriented humans. Without money we would have to establish leadership by pounding down the others around us in order to become their leader - not unlike the Alpha male in a wolf pack. The only failure in this scenario is that the power of money makes a leadership challenge virtually impossible. Leaders bask in their power much longer than the natural world would allow if they were not being propped-up by artificial strength. These unnaturally enhanced leaders can often loose sight of what should be their real contribution to their pack – the safe and comfortable lives of their pack members and the growth and enhancement of society.
We can rationalize all we want but the collapse of the banking industry and the subsequent collapse of the real estate market were caused by unrestricted greed exercised by persons who had lost sight of reality. The people who sought to improve themselves using the tools offered by the greedy industry leaders were not aware of the dangers of borrowing money they couldn’t afford and the lenders did not care if the loans were good or not. On the front end the large numbers of loans created short-term bonuses and apparent success at all levels of the banking industry.
Gleefully ignorant of what could happen (intentionally, I suspect) the leaders enjoyed the benefits of leadership, never considering the fact that all these people were leadership’s responsibility once they were included in the leaders’ packs. The leaders lost sight of the reason to be leader and their money-backed power left them invulnerable to challenge.
I suspect many banking executives never thought at all about the individual families whose lives they were manipulating. I doubt they even think about that now – they likely spend their private moments bemoaning the money and power they could loose. All of them have held their leadership much too long and must be challenged. The only way to pose a leadership challenge is cooperation among prospective leaders and their supporters. The potentially most effective challenge to the general banking industry leadership exists in our government. For too long this challenge has been subverted by the power of money in the form of political contributions and lobbyists. I see a need for financially independent challenge to the current industry arrangement. Re-regulation to limit the problems that got us here and excess personal income tax to limit the personal wealth and power of lost-touch leaders will make leadership challenges more effective.
I know this is contrary to the capitalist mentality and I realize there must be rewards for truly effective capitalist leaders. That said I cannot personally justify bonuses and salaries exceeding six figures for people who have lost the right of leadership by loosing sight of reality. If the organization feels the contribution by their high-priced leader warrants a substantial reward give that reward to charities that help people being ignored by the policies that produce the wealth. Tell the country that “John Doe bank has donated three million dollars to the American Cancer Society in the name of our CEO Doe John. This is because his leadership and vision has increased the wealth of our stockholders by thirty-seven percent in the past fiscal year.” When a single person has a personal wealth exceeding [an amount to be determined by vote or government] there is no real reason to give him more. Recognize his accomplishments and make sure he has the power to continue his good work. Increasing his wealth beyond a certain point helps no one – not even him.
This is the first stage of this document. I will continue with it in another issue.
If you want to see more of my ramblings visit www.s-p-a-r.blogspot.com
or www.lifewithindustry.blogspot.com .
Time and space theory
Another space-time-mass-energy theory
With too little to do at work I find myself spending too much time thinking. I have to be careful about where my thoughts lead because I tend to be a practical joker and some of my jokes can put me in danger of losing my job. With all this in mind, I decided that even though I have no education in the field, theoretical physics is a subject that will not likely threaten my job. Combining some concepts picked up from the Science Channel with my overactive science fiction imagination I produced the following theory. It is something to think about but probably shouldn’t be taken seriously.
I began by trying to imagine a way to represent four or five dimensions on a two dimensional image such as a drawing or graph. We already represent three dimensional objects on two dimensional images by using perspective clues such as extending lines toward a common point and by using shading and shadowing for more realistic images. I was convinced there was a way to do this same thing with additional dimensions.
Time is widely considered the fourth dimension. How can one possibly represent time in relation to a three dimensional object depicted as a two dimensional image. I decided that time in relation to a physical object begins when the object comes into existence in the form shown by the two dimensional image. When the object ceases to exist in that original form, the time dimension of that object ends. To represent this time dimension on a two dimensional depiction, I suggest a circle drawn around the (imaginary) center of mass of the object and having a diameter relative to time duration of the existence of the object. This is the intersection of the time dimension sphere of the object and the two dimensional plane on which the object is being depicted.
If a three dimensional depiction of a four dimensional object is produced by a holographic computer, the time dimension would be shown as a translucent sphere with the three dimensional object at its center. The object’s fourth dimension could be indicated by points on the surface of the sphere corresponding to the intersection of an imaginary line extending from the origin of the object (therefore the center of the sphere) through the points representing the object in three dimensions.
My next problem was the fifth dimension. This dimension cannot be conceptualized in my human brain but I can use some imagination to fill in the blanks. This dimension is totally outside the previously “defined” dimensions. Time represented by a sphere concentric with its related object leads to the fifth dimension being another sphere encompassing the dimension of time as a whole. The infinite number of object-centric time spheres exists within this much larger sphere and interactions of various three-dimensional objects with each other are represented as intersections of their time spheres. At this point any two dimensional representation becomes impossible because the two dimensional plane intersects a virtually infinite number of fourth and fifth dimensional spheres and the intersection points blur into each other, The two dimensional representation problem is not solved but it has been proven unsolvable in any realistic sense.
Next level
The spherical concept of multi-dimensions started me thinking in another direction. Since freeform thinking is similar to dreaming and dreaming can lead to nightmares my mind escaped in a new direction. I began exploring the spherical concept of multi-dimensions.
About a year ago I came up with the idea of time as the primary driving force of our universe. This idea came from thinking about the big bang and what could have initiated it. My thought at that time was that the big bang was a point where time ruptured the boundary of its then-current dimension and began escaping.*1 That escapement of the time force brought into existence our universe. The expansion of time to fill the thus-created void began to cool and coalesce into the various forms of matter we recognize today. All physical laws of this universe are driven by the time force. The “grand unified field theory” will only be explained when (and if) we as humans learn to understand the true nature of time. If we can escape the limits of time in this universe we will break out into the next dimensional level where time is not the primary force. We will have access to the multiple dimensions currently being suggested by modern physicists.
*1 My explanation is: the point that was our pre-universe contacted (became concentric with) a point on the boundary on the next level universe.
Bizarre religious overtones
At this point my daydreaming expanded toward the nightmarish. I considered our involvement in the investigation of the fourth and fifth dimension and saw it as an evolution of humanity toward the concept of a greater consciousness. When we pass from this corporeal existence our souls join in the great consciousness of the next level. As we increase in our understanding of these additional dimensions our contribution to the greater consciousness increases. This entity exists in a set of dimensions of which we are only a minor part. There may be many such entities who are in their own way exploring the levels of their own existence…
Any further discussion from this point gets even too bizarre even for me so I will stop. If you have the nerve and emotional strength feel free to take my thoughts and explore the ramifications if you dare. Do not blame me when you wake up in a padded cell.
Wyo_Knott
With too little to do at work I find myself spending too much time thinking. I have to be careful about where my thoughts lead because I tend to be a practical joker and some of my jokes can put me in danger of losing my job. With all this in mind, I decided that even though I have no education in the field, theoretical physics is a subject that will not likely threaten my job. Combining some concepts picked up from the Science Channel with my overactive science fiction imagination I produced the following theory. It is something to think about but probably shouldn’t be taken seriously.
I began by trying to imagine a way to represent four or five dimensions on a two dimensional image such as a drawing or graph. We already represent three dimensional objects on two dimensional images by using perspective clues such as extending lines toward a common point and by using shading and shadowing for more realistic images. I was convinced there was a way to do this same thing with additional dimensions.
Time is widely considered the fourth dimension. How can one possibly represent time in relation to a three dimensional object depicted as a two dimensional image. I decided that time in relation to a physical object begins when the object comes into existence in the form shown by the two dimensional image. When the object ceases to exist in that original form, the time dimension of that object ends. To represent this time dimension on a two dimensional depiction, I suggest a circle drawn around the (imaginary) center of mass of the object and having a diameter relative to time duration of the existence of the object. This is the intersection of the time dimension sphere of the object and the two dimensional plane on which the object is being depicted.
If a three dimensional depiction of a four dimensional object is produced by a holographic computer, the time dimension would be shown as a translucent sphere with the three dimensional object at its center. The object’s fourth dimension could be indicated by points on the surface of the sphere corresponding to the intersection of an imaginary line extending from the origin of the object (therefore the center of the sphere) through the points representing the object in three dimensions.
My next problem was the fifth dimension. This dimension cannot be conceptualized in my human brain but I can use some imagination to fill in the blanks. This dimension is totally outside the previously “defined” dimensions. Time represented by a sphere concentric with its related object leads to the fifth dimension being another sphere encompassing the dimension of time as a whole. The infinite number of object-centric time spheres exists within this much larger sphere and interactions of various three-dimensional objects with each other are represented as intersections of their time spheres. At this point any two dimensional representation becomes impossible because the two dimensional plane intersects a virtually infinite number of fourth and fifth dimensional spheres and the intersection points blur into each other, The two dimensional representation problem is not solved but it has been proven unsolvable in any realistic sense.
Next level
The spherical concept of multi-dimensions started me thinking in another direction. Since freeform thinking is similar to dreaming and dreaming can lead to nightmares my mind escaped in a new direction. I began exploring the spherical concept of multi-dimensions.
About a year ago I came up with the idea of time as the primary driving force of our universe. This idea came from thinking about the big bang and what could have initiated it. My thought at that time was that the big bang was a point where time ruptured the boundary of its then-current dimension and began escaping.*1 That escapement of the time force brought into existence our universe. The expansion of time to fill the thus-created void began to cool and coalesce into the various forms of matter we recognize today. All physical laws of this universe are driven by the time force. The “grand unified field theory” will only be explained when (and if) we as humans learn to understand the true nature of time. If we can escape the limits of time in this universe we will break out into the next dimensional level where time is not the primary force. We will have access to the multiple dimensions currently being suggested by modern physicists.
*1 My explanation is: the point that was our pre-universe contacted (became concentric with) a point on the boundary on the next level universe.
Bizarre religious overtones
At this point my daydreaming expanded toward the nightmarish. I considered our involvement in the investigation of the fourth and fifth dimension and saw it as an evolution of humanity toward the concept of a greater consciousness. When we pass from this corporeal existence our souls join in the great consciousness of the next level. As we increase in our understanding of these additional dimensions our contribution to the greater consciousness increases. This entity exists in a set of dimensions of which we are only a minor part. There may be many such entities who are in their own way exploring the levels of their own existence…
Any further discussion from this point gets even too bizarre even for me so I will stop. If you have the nerve and emotional strength feel free to take my thoughts and explore the ramifications if you dare. Do not blame me when you wake up in a padded cell.
Wyo_Knott
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