<![CDATA[Scivillage.com Casual Discussion Science Forum - All Forums]]> https://www.scivillage.com/ Sat, 27 Jun 2026 08:22:57 +0000 MyBB <![CDATA[All Muslim council removes the pride flags in once left-wing town? (DIY takeover)]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20733.html Sat, 27 Jun 2026 01:27:02 +0000 C C]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20733.html https://youtu.be/HEfn-GpseHw

VIDEO EXCERPT: One of the best examples I can think of regarding suicidal empathy happening in real time is a town in Michigan called Hamtramck. And I believe it was the first town in the United States that authorized the Muslim call to prayer in the morning.

The liberal people in that town wanted to protect Muslim rights. There were a whole bunch of people from Bangladesh and Armenia coming into the town. And its existing residents were very much pro-LGBTQ+.

So they welcomed tons of refugees into their small town who eventually became the majority. And then what happened is you got the first mayor who was Muslim, and then the city council became all Muslim. [Only men could attend the post-election party.]

It's an example of how you have to be careful of the unintended consequences of good intentions. Because what happened in that town this year is that they banned the pride flag.

So now you have an all-Muslim city council and mayor that have taken down all the pride flags. And the liberal women who were behind this welcome movement are now like: What's going on? And now they're being completely rebuked and shut out.

And it reminds me of communism, where the agitators and the revolutionaries are just useful idiots for the people who want to take power.

Chad, that's quite literally what you were talking about. I mean, it's a chef's kiss. It's so perfect that these genderqueer, two-spirit, furry advocates thought this was going to work out with the jihadists.

Yeah. It kind of reminds me, Dave, of those memes, you know, where it's like, I found this dog out on the street. And it's really some wolverine in the backseat of their car that they let in there. It's like, you know what's about to happen to this guy, he's going to get ripped to shreds by this thing because he's petting the animal. It's sort of like that. And the migrants came in and exploited the do-gooder system.

And in this case, it is toxic empathy, right? It is this compassion, this so-called compassion for people not like me. Like I'm a guilt-laden white person who has been called a racist for so long that I need to prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that I don't judge people on their skin color.

So I'm going to embrace everything about them. Not just their melanin, but I'm going to bring in their culture and implement their rituals...

Leftist town elects all Muslim city council, shocked by what happened next ... https://youtu.be/HEfn-GpseHw

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/HEfn-GpseHw]]> https://youtu.be/HEfn-GpseHw

VIDEO EXCERPT: One of the best examples I can think of regarding suicidal empathy happening in real time is a town in Michigan called Hamtramck. And I believe it was the first town in the United States that authorized the Muslim call to prayer in the morning.

The liberal people in that town wanted to protect Muslim rights. There were a whole bunch of people from Bangladesh and Armenia coming into the town. And its existing residents were very much pro-LGBTQ+.

So they welcomed tons of refugees into their small town who eventually became the majority. And then what happened is you got the first mayor who was Muslim, and then the city council became all Muslim. [Only men could attend the post-election party.]

It's an example of how you have to be careful of the unintended consequences of good intentions. Because what happened in that town this year is that they banned the pride flag.

So now you have an all-Muslim city council and mayor that have taken down all the pride flags. And the liberal women who were behind this welcome movement are now like: What's going on? And now they're being completely rebuked and shut out.

And it reminds me of communism, where the agitators and the revolutionaries are just useful idiots for the people who want to take power.

Chad, that's quite literally what you were talking about. I mean, it's a chef's kiss. It's so perfect that these genderqueer, two-spirit, furry advocates thought this was going to work out with the jihadists.

Yeah. It kind of reminds me, Dave, of those memes, you know, where it's like, I found this dog out on the street. And it's really some wolverine in the backseat of their car that they let in there. It's like, you know what's about to happen to this guy, he's going to get ripped to shreds by this thing because he's petting the animal. It's sort of like that. And the migrants came in and exploited the do-gooder system.

And in this case, it is toxic empathy, right? It is this compassion, this so-called compassion for people not like me. Like I'm a guilt-laden white person who has been called a racist for so long that I need to prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that I don't judge people on their skin color.

So I'm going to embrace everything about them. Not just their melanin, but I'm going to bring in their culture and implement their rituals...

Leftist town elects all Muslim city council, shocked by what happened next ... https://youtu.be/HEfn-GpseHw

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/HEfn-GpseHw]]> <![CDATA[What everyone is missing about the hit show "Widow’s Bay" (re-enchantment style)]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20732.html Sat, 27 Jun 2026 00:03:02 +0000 C C]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20732.html Jon Del Arroz actually loves "Widow's Bay" on Apple TV

While WB provides an opportunity to recruit it for that kind of discussion, it seems like this is reading too much of an intellectual or conversational trend into the show. Since it's a usual part of the genre to open with one or more characters who are skeptical. A "found footage" film like Dagr starts with that -- it's a routine expectation. A simulated reality series would actually be more evocative of or illustrate how a "supernatural" or transcendent realm could be possible than a horror or comedy-horror hit.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

AFTER PARTY with Emily Jashinsky
https://youtu.be/ckII9s1BOGI

VIDEO EXCERPTS: The show is considered to be in the Stephen King vein. The director himself (Hiro Murai) has talked about how it is an intentional sort of homage to Stephen King. King posted just a few days ago, "Widow's Bay is good."

So basically Stephen King gave Widows Bay his endorsement. [...] I saw this interesting post from Jack Posobiec on Monday who said, "Yes, everyone was right. Widow's Bay is phenomenal. Lovecraftian New England horror is back with a dash of office humor at that."

Matt Walsh was one of the first people I saw to pick up on the show. This was probably a month ago. He posted a really positive review of Widows Bay.

And I took what Jack said and just wanted to push it a bit further if you've been plugged into this big Christian discourse right now on the re-enchantment of the world. Which is totally pulling from Max Weber and other thinkers in the 19th and 20th centuries who were responding to rapid mass-industrialization. It goes, actually, in some ways to Marx, who talked about "Everything holy is profane."

[...] Weber wrote that the great historic process in the development of religions, the elimination of magic from the world -- which had begun with the old Hebrew prophets and in conjunction with scientific thought -- had repudiated all magical means to salvation as superstition, and sin came here to its logical conclusion. Weber really sees this being a time where the demagicking, the disenchantment of the world as most people refer to it now, is starting to manifest in a really obvious way in the West.

[...] I think that with the rise simultaneously of neo-paganism and neo-traditionalism, or this and that religious revival ... We may look back on the last 100 years as ultimately an aberration in history where we decided we could explain everything with science.

[...] Rod Dreher tells the story of someone named Jonah who he says is a trained scholar of religion. I'm going to read some long quotes from Rod here. Bear with me because I think this is very interesting in light of Widow's Bay.

He says, "Jonah cautions me to be careful with the concept of re-enchantment. People are religious by nature." He says, "What modern disenchantment has done is convince people that Christianity is false and empty, which has opened the door for the popularity of psychedelics, UFOs, tarot cards, and all manner of occultism. It's no longer fringe enthusiasm."

For example, the University of Exeter announced in 2023 that it would offer a postgraduate degree program in occult studies. [...] The emerging forms of post-Christian religion, Jonah says, will provide plenty of opportunities for ecstatic spiritual experience with none of the ascetic discipline, epistemic rigor, and doctrinal depth of the original faith.

Jonah doesn't fault people for wanting a deeper experience of God as he did as a bored young evangelical. But he strongly warns against seeking enchantment for its own sake. If you summon the devil and his servants and ask them to dazzle you, they will come.

[...] I interviewed Rod back on Unherd's Undercurrents about some of his Protestant versus Catholic and Orthodox theories with which I may disagree with over the course of the book. But it's an interesting point that he's making here with Jonah.

He says at the university where Jonah began his doctoral program, he fell in with a cultist community and began to participate in rituals often incorporating psychedelics. Eventually, he began to have visions and communicate with demons. On a number of occasions, they entered his body, sometimes against his will. For a couple of years, Jonah thought he was being initiated into special knowledge of the Gnosis with a group of elect who had been chosen by the gods as their acolytes to enlighten humanity.

Those early experiences of visions were genuinely beautiful and truly meaningful. If they had not been, Jonah would not have been seduced into slavery. Behind this idea of morally neutral, psychedelic enchantment was the most satanic evil possible. Jonah now says: "This is the final part: I have no excuse for it."

But I have to say that I have been primed, had been primed by these ideologies over the years, to explain away all this to my family and friends that it's just the natural world. Why is that significant in light of Widow's Bay?

Well, you see again this technocratic mayor who doesn't want to believe that some silly Puritan-era curse on the island could actually be real. Right. Gentle spoilers ahead. He's dared to stay in haunted locations, and he kind of gladly does it and ends up with strange experiences and even psychedelic ones. This is a bit more of a spoiler, but psychedelic mushrooms come into the picture at one point. And interestingly, all of this is so on the nose if you have been following the enchantment discourse, in especially Christian circles, but also in circles that have dealt with the legacy of the New Atheists.

So people like Alex O'Connor, a cosmic skeptic on YouTube, who have waded into these debates, have been hearing about all of this. And so it's hard for me to believe that Widow's Bay is not intentionally situating itself in the context of this big conversation. And it's a really interesting conversation.

[...] We do live in a very sterilized world where ancient supernatural ideas -- this is also a big part of the UFO discourse -- are looked upon as outmoded and totally out of step with where modern technology has put us. ... Everything that seems weird or supernatural will eventually be explained by science. Because people believe in so many cases that have been true...

What Everyone Is Missing About the Hit Show "Widow’s Bay" ... https://youtu.be/ckII9s1BOGI

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/ckII9s1BOGI]]> Jon Del Arroz actually loves "Widow's Bay" on Apple TV

While WB provides an opportunity to recruit it for that kind of discussion, it seems like this is reading too much of an intellectual or conversational trend into the show. Since it's a usual part of the genre to open with one or more characters who are skeptical. A "found footage" film like Dagr starts with that -- it's a routine expectation. A simulated reality series would actually be more evocative of or illustrate how a "supernatural" or transcendent realm could be possible than a horror or comedy-horror hit.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

AFTER PARTY with Emily Jashinsky
https://youtu.be/ckII9s1BOGI

VIDEO EXCERPTS: The show is considered to be in the Stephen King vein. The director himself (Hiro Murai) has talked about how it is an intentional sort of homage to Stephen King. King posted just a few days ago, "Widow's Bay is good."

So basically Stephen King gave Widows Bay his endorsement. [...] I saw this interesting post from Jack Posobiec on Monday who said, "Yes, everyone was right. Widow's Bay is phenomenal. Lovecraftian New England horror is back with a dash of office humor at that."

Matt Walsh was one of the first people I saw to pick up on the show. This was probably a month ago. He posted a really positive review of Widows Bay.

And I took what Jack said and just wanted to push it a bit further if you've been plugged into this big Christian discourse right now on the re-enchantment of the world. Which is totally pulling from Max Weber and other thinkers in the 19th and 20th centuries who were responding to rapid mass-industrialization. It goes, actually, in some ways to Marx, who talked about "Everything holy is profane."

[...] Weber wrote that the great historic process in the development of religions, the elimination of magic from the world -- which had begun with the old Hebrew prophets and in conjunction with scientific thought -- had repudiated all magical means to salvation as superstition, and sin came here to its logical conclusion. Weber really sees this being a time where the demagicking, the disenchantment of the world as most people refer to it now, is starting to manifest in a really obvious way in the West.

[...] I think that with the rise simultaneously of neo-paganism and neo-traditionalism, or this and that religious revival ... We may look back on the last 100 years as ultimately an aberration in history where we decided we could explain everything with science.

[...] Rod Dreher tells the story of someone named Jonah who he says is a trained scholar of religion. I'm going to read some long quotes from Rod here. Bear with me because I think this is very interesting in light of Widow's Bay.

He says, "Jonah cautions me to be careful with the concept of re-enchantment. People are religious by nature." He says, "What modern disenchantment has done is convince people that Christianity is false and empty, which has opened the door for the popularity of psychedelics, UFOs, tarot cards, and all manner of occultism. It's no longer fringe enthusiasm."

For example, the University of Exeter announced in 2023 that it would offer a postgraduate degree program in occult studies. [...] The emerging forms of post-Christian religion, Jonah says, will provide plenty of opportunities for ecstatic spiritual experience with none of the ascetic discipline, epistemic rigor, and doctrinal depth of the original faith.

Jonah doesn't fault people for wanting a deeper experience of God as he did as a bored young evangelical. But he strongly warns against seeking enchantment for its own sake. If you summon the devil and his servants and ask them to dazzle you, they will come.

[...] I interviewed Rod back on Unherd's Undercurrents about some of his Protestant versus Catholic and Orthodox theories with which I may disagree with over the course of the book. But it's an interesting point that he's making here with Jonah.

He says at the university where Jonah began his doctoral program, he fell in with a cultist community and began to participate in rituals often incorporating psychedelics. Eventually, he began to have visions and communicate with demons. On a number of occasions, they entered his body, sometimes against his will. For a couple of years, Jonah thought he was being initiated into special knowledge of the Gnosis with a group of elect who had been chosen by the gods as their acolytes to enlighten humanity.

Those early experiences of visions were genuinely beautiful and truly meaningful. If they had not been, Jonah would not have been seduced into slavery. Behind this idea of morally neutral, psychedelic enchantment was the most satanic evil possible. Jonah now says: "This is the final part: I have no excuse for it."

But I have to say that I have been primed, had been primed by these ideologies over the years, to explain away all this to my family and friends that it's just the natural world. Why is that significant in light of Widow's Bay?

Well, you see again this technocratic mayor who doesn't want to believe that some silly Puritan-era curse on the island could actually be real. Right. Gentle spoilers ahead. He's dared to stay in haunted locations, and he kind of gladly does it and ends up with strange experiences and even psychedelic ones. This is a bit more of a spoiler, but psychedelic mushrooms come into the picture at one point. And interestingly, all of this is so on the nose if you have been following the enchantment discourse, in especially Christian circles, but also in circles that have dealt with the legacy of the New Atheists.

So people like Alex O'Connor, a cosmic skeptic on YouTube, who have waded into these debates, have been hearing about all of this. And so it's hard for me to believe that Widow's Bay is not intentionally situating itself in the context of this big conversation. And it's a really interesting conversation.

[...] We do live in a very sterilized world where ancient supernatural ideas -- this is also a big part of the UFO discourse -- are looked upon as outmoded and totally out of step with where modern technology has put us. ... Everything that seems weird or supernatural will eventually be explained by science. Because people believe in so many cases that have been true...

What Everyone Is Missing About the Hit Show "Widow’s Bay" ... https://youtu.be/ckII9s1BOGI

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/ckII9s1BOGI]]> <![CDATA[Tucker Carlson leaves GOP & transitions to Islamic socialism? (antisemitic brewing)]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20731.html Fri, 26 Jun 2026 22:26:48 +0000 C C]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20731.html https://youtu.be/2rOvCT8n11I

VIDEO EXCERPTS: I think Carlson is a liar, a fraud, a propagandist. I think he likely has already converted to Islam. [...] What I thought was interesting about this clip is how he won't support any Republican. I think he is a National Socialist. He's basically become Bernie with borders.

But what's interesting is if he was even pretending to be on the right anymore; let's just say radically against the Iran war. Okay, fine. You would still look at the Republican Party and be like, "Well, they did close the borders. ... And they are trying to lower taxes. ... And they still respect states' rights and blah."

Like, you could still go through a laundry list of things that are way better than everything else we discussed here. So, doesn't that kind of show the game that he's up to? Does he want to split the Republicans so the Democrats win? I think that actually is it.

I came to the same conclusion. [...] I remember when he went to A-Fest and started to basically sing for Islam. And I was like, what is happening? What is going on? How much money is he getting paid?

[...] We just lived through four years of the Biden regime. We saw what they will do to children, how they are pushing to chop off healthy body parts of children [early trans surgery], what they are doing with open borders. Like we've seen the other side of things, the ghoulishness of what the other side is capable of...

Tucker Carlson leaves GOP & Ben Shapiro’s reaction is perfect ... https://youtu.be/2rOvCT8n11I

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/2rOvCT8n11I]]> https://youtu.be/2rOvCT8n11I

VIDEO EXCERPTS: I think Carlson is a liar, a fraud, a propagandist. I think he likely has already converted to Islam. [...] What I thought was interesting about this clip is how he won't support any Republican. I think he is a National Socialist. He's basically become Bernie with borders.

But what's interesting is if he was even pretending to be on the right anymore; let's just say radically against the Iran war. Okay, fine. You would still look at the Republican Party and be like, "Well, they did close the borders. ... And they are trying to lower taxes. ... And they still respect states' rights and blah."

Like, you could still go through a laundry list of things that are way better than everything else we discussed here. So, doesn't that kind of show the game that he's up to? Does he want to split the Republicans so the Democrats win? I think that actually is it.

I came to the same conclusion. [...] I remember when he went to A-Fest and started to basically sing for Islam. And I was like, what is happening? What is going on? How much money is he getting paid?

[...] We just lived through four years of the Biden regime. We saw what they will do to children, how they are pushing to chop off healthy body parts of children [early trans surgery], what they are doing with open borders. Like we've seen the other side of things, the ghoulishness of what the other side is capable of...

Tucker Carlson leaves GOP & Ben Shapiro’s reaction is perfect ... https://youtu.be/2rOvCT8n11I

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/2rOvCT8n11I]]> <![CDATA[Do animal behavior experiments give us a distorted view of cooperation?]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20730.html Fri, 26 Jun 2026 16:53:39 +0000 C C]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20730.html https://www.uu.nl/en/news/do-animal-beha...ooperation

PRESS RELEASE: Behavioural scientists often study cooperation using a simple experiment. Two animals must pull ropes simultaneously to obtain a reward. Usually, only one such apparatus is placed in front of the enclosure.

This resembles situations in nature in which a group of animals cooperates to capture a single prey item. But for many primates, such situations are relatively rare. Much more often, monkeys spend their time foraging for food in trees and shrubs, where several food sources are available at the same time.

Changing social dynamics. “When monkeys gather to obtain food, they usually have more than one opportunity in nature,” says primatologist Liesbeth Sterck, who led the study. “A fruit tree does not contain just one place where fruit is available, but many. That allows animals to avoid one another, observe one another, or actively seek each other out. But when there’s only a single opportunity to obtain food, the social dynamics are very different.”

According to Sterck, this means researchers should be cautious when drawing conclusions from experiments that offer only one place to cooperate. Such experiments mainly show how animals behave when there is only a single opportunity available. Once several opportunities are introduced, partner preferences can change.

From one dominant duo to an entire group. Sterck’s team discovered this while studying a group of long-tailed macaques. Instead of offering the monkeys just one cooperation device, they sometimes provided three or even five. When only one device was available, it was almost entirely occupied by two adolescent males. They accounted for the vast majority of cooperative interactions in the group to obtain a food reward.

But when three or five devices became available, the social dynamics changed dramatically. Cooperation became much more evenly distributed throughout the group. The two males remained active, but they no longer dominated the task. They also began cooperating with other group members.

“When there is only one place to cooperate, you create a very specific situation,” says Sterck. “That does not mean previous studies using this setup were wrong. But it does mean that our interpretation of the animals’ behaviour may depend strongly on how many opportunities they are given.”

The peppernut principle. Sterck uses a typically Dutch example to explain the effect: the Sinterklaas celebration, during which small spiced biscuits known as “pepernoten” are thrown into crowds of children. “During Sinterklaas celebrations, these treats are scattered over a large area, and not offered to the children in one single spot,” she says. “That reduces competition and prevents arguments among children. We see something similar in our study. When there are several places where rewards can be obtained, the behaviour of the group changes.”

Hunting in the wild. Biologist Jeroen Zewald, who conducted the study as a biology student at Utrecht University, compares the findings to hunting in the wild. “Imagine hunting deer together when there is only a single animal available,” he says. “You want a partner who is good at hunting but who will not keep the entire reward afterwards. If there are prey animals everywhere, it matters much less whom you choose to cooperate with. The monkeys showed exactly this difference.”

The findings underline how strongly social behaviour depends on the surrounding environment. Animals themselves do not solely determine whom they cooperate with; the opportunities available to them matter as well.

Implications beyond animal cooperation. The researchers believe the findings may have consequences far beyond studies of cooperation. Many other behavioural experiments, including studies of social learning and animal culture, also rely on a single location or a single apparatus. This may limit the opportunities animals have to observe one another, learn from one another, or participate in the task.

If we want to understand how animals cooperate in the wild, we may also need to pay more attention to how many opportunities they have to do so, the researchers conclude. The study was published today in the journal Animal Behaviour.]]> https://www.uu.nl/en/news/do-animal-beha...ooperation

PRESS RELEASE: Behavioural scientists often study cooperation using a simple experiment. Two animals must pull ropes simultaneously to obtain a reward. Usually, only one such apparatus is placed in front of the enclosure.

This resembles situations in nature in which a group of animals cooperates to capture a single prey item. But for many primates, such situations are relatively rare. Much more often, monkeys spend their time foraging for food in trees and shrubs, where several food sources are available at the same time.

Changing social dynamics. “When monkeys gather to obtain food, they usually have more than one opportunity in nature,” says primatologist Liesbeth Sterck, who led the study. “A fruit tree does not contain just one place where fruit is available, but many. That allows animals to avoid one another, observe one another, or actively seek each other out. But when there’s only a single opportunity to obtain food, the social dynamics are very different.”

According to Sterck, this means researchers should be cautious when drawing conclusions from experiments that offer only one place to cooperate. Such experiments mainly show how animals behave when there is only a single opportunity available. Once several opportunities are introduced, partner preferences can change.

From one dominant duo to an entire group. Sterck’s team discovered this while studying a group of long-tailed macaques. Instead of offering the monkeys just one cooperation device, they sometimes provided three or even five. When only one device was available, it was almost entirely occupied by two adolescent males. They accounted for the vast majority of cooperative interactions in the group to obtain a food reward.

But when three or five devices became available, the social dynamics changed dramatically. Cooperation became much more evenly distributed throughout the group. The two males remained active, but they no longer dominated the task. They also began cooperating with other group members.

“When there is only one place to cooperate, you create a very specific situation,” says Sterck. “That does not mean previous studies using this setup were wrong. But it does mean that our interpretation of the animals’ behaviour may depend strongly on how many opportunities they are given.”

The peppernut principle. Sterck uses a typically Dutch example to explain the effect: the Sinterklaas celebration, during which small spiced biscuits known as “pepernoten” are thrown into crowds of children. “During Sinterklaas celebrations, these treats are scattered over a large area, and not offered to the children in one single spot,” she says. “That reduces competition and prevents arguments among children. We see something similar in our study. When there are several places where rewards can be obtained, the behaviour of the group changes.”

Hunting in the wild. Biologist Jeroen Zewald, who conducted the study as a biology student at Utrecht University, compares the findings to hunting in the wild. “Imagine hunting deer together when there is only a single animal available,” he says. “You want a partner who is good at hunting but who will not keep the entire reward afterwards. If there are prey animals everywhere, it matters much less whom you choose to cooperate with. The monkeys showed exactly this difference.”

The findings underline how strongly social behaviour depends on the surrounding environment. Animals themselves do not solely determine whom they cooperate with; the opportunities available to them matter as well.

Implications beyond animal cooperation. The researchers believe the findings may have consequences far beyond studies of cooperation. Many other behavioural experiments, including studies of social learning and animal culture, also rely on a single location or a single apparatus. This may limit the opportunities animals have to observe one another, learn from one another, or participate in the task.

If we want to understand how animals cooperate in the wild, we may also need to pay more attention to how many opportunities they have to do so, the researchers conclude. The study was published today in the journal Animal Behaviour.]]> <![CDATA[AI designs the ideal burger for taste, health, and planet]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20729.html Fri, 26 Jun 2026 16:52:42 +0000 C C]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20729.html https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1133720

EXCERPT: Using 2,216  burger recipes from Food.com as a data source, BurgerAI learns patterns in ingredient combinations and quantities and then generates new burger recipes from scratch. The AI then matches those characterizations against human flavor and textural preference profiles. The results are entirely novel recipes optimized for deliciousness, sustainability, and nutrition, and personalized based on gender, age, and physical activity.

The ultimate test was not computational but culinary. The researchers served five professionally prepared, AI-designed burgers to more than 100 diners in a blinded taste test at a San Francisco restaurant. In a side-by-side comparison to a popular fast-food burger, BurgerAI’s two variations of its Delicious Burger scored the same or better in overall liking, flavor, and texture. Its Mushroom Burger reduced environmental impact by more than an order of magnitude, and its Bean Burger achieved roughly twice the nutritional score of the fast-food burger.

“AI did not just generate plausible burger recipes – it created burgers that real people enjoy,” Kuhl said. “That may sound simple, but it means the model learned what makes food appealing to the human palate and was able to navigate a design space with near-infinite possible burger combinations to find real-world solutions.” (MORE - no ads)

PAPER: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41538-026-00953-x]]> https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1133720

EXCERPT: Using 2,216  burger recipes from Food.com as a data source, BurgerAI learns patterns in ingredient combinations and quantities and then generates new burger recipes from scratch. The AI then matches those characterizations against human flavor and textural preference profiles. The results are entirely novel recipes optimized for deliciousness, sustainability, and nutrition, and personalized based on gender, age, and physical activity.

The ultimate test was not computational but culinary. The researchers served five professionally prepared, AI-designed burgers to more than 100 diners in a blinded taste test at a San Francisco restaurant. In a side-by-side comparison to a popular fast-food burger, BurgerAI’s two variations of its Delicious Burger scored the same or better in overall liking, flavor, and texture. Its Mushroom Burger reduced environmental impact by more than an order of magnitude, and its Bean Burger achieved roughly twice the nutritional score of the fast-food burger.

“AI did not just generate plausible burger recipes – it created burgers that real people enjoy,” Kuhl said. “That may sound simple, but it means the model learned what makes food appealing to the human palate and was able to navigate a design space with near-infinite possible burger combinations to find real-world solutions.” (MORE - no ads)

PAPER: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41538-026-00953-x]]> <![CDATA[Scientists find evidence of vast hidden magma systems inside Mars]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20728.html Fri, 26 Jun 2026 16:51:39 +0000 C C]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20728.html https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2026-06-24-new...nside-mars

PRESS RELEASE: Mars is often described as a ‘stagnant lid’ planet: unlike Earth, its surface is not broken into moving tectonic plates. Because plate tectonics drives volcanism, recycling and continent–building on Earth, many scientists assumed Mars lacked the conditions needed to produce similarly complex crust. However, this new study challenges that view, suggesting that Mars could have produced highly evolved crust through intense internal recycling.

The study was based on data recorded by NASA’s InSight mission to investigate seismic waves from meteoroid impacts and marsquakes - the Martian equivalent of earthquakes. Researchers from Oxford’s Departments of Earth Sciences and Statistics used the recordings to investigate a mysterious boundary about 24 kilometres beneath the Martian surface. Previous studies had recognised the boundary, but no one knew what it represented. To test the idea that the boundary marked a transition between two different rock types, the Oxford team compared hundreds of possible rock compositions with the seismic data using thermodynamic modelling and statistical techniques.

They found that only ‘ultramafic’ (rich in iron and magnesium, but low in silica) rocks consistently matched the physical properties beneath the 24-km boundary. Whereas the properties above this boundary were better matched to ‘mafic’ (containing a higher proportion of silica) rocks.

The researchers believe that this buried layer likely formed where molten rock pooled deep underground and gradually separated into different materials. This would leave behind a thick residue of dense crystals at the base of the crust while lighter, more evolved melts rose upwards. On Earth, similar processes occur beneath volcanic arcs and are linked to the formation of continents.

Lead author Dr Tobermory Mackay-Champion (Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford at the time of the study, now University of Bristol) said: “We’ve traditionally assumed that volcanism on Mars was relatively simple compared to that on Earth. But this discovery suggests Mars could sustain large, long-lived systems where molten rock evolved and reprocessed itself throughout the entire crust. It raises exciting possibilities for how common such systems might be on rocky planets beyond our solar system.”

The study suggests this layer may extend sideways for hundreds or even thousands of kilometres around Mars’ northern hemisphere, indicating that the Red Planet once hosted enormous, interconnected magmatic systems rather than simple isolated volcanoes. This phenomenon – known as ‘transcrustal magmatism’ was previously thought to be unique to Earth.

These geological processes are closely linked to how planets develop atmospheres, oceans and potentially habitable environments. For instance, on Earth, geological recycling helps regulate climate and supports long-term cycling of water and other volatile elements. Scientists have often assumed plate tectonics were essential for creating these conditions. But the new findings suggest planets may not need Earth-style tectonics to build complex crusts and sustain the conditions that support life.

Co-author Professor Jon Wade (Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford) said: “One of the big questions in planetary science is whether Earth is unique. If Mars could develop this kind of complex crust without plate tectonics, then maybe the conditions needed for habitability can emerge on more planets than we realised, including those previously dismissed based on size or their apparent lack of tectonic activity.”

The work builds on seismic observations from NASA’s InSight mission, which placed the first seismometer on Mars in 2018 and revealed the planet’s interior in unprecedented detail. The study was led by researchers from Oxford University’s Department of Earth Sciences in collaboration with the University of Bristol and the University of Oxford’s Department of Statistics.]]> https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2026-06-24-new...nside-mars

PRESS RELEASE: Mars is often described as a ‘stagnant lid’ planet: unlike Earth, its surface is not broken into moving tectonic plates. Because plate tectonics drives volcanism, recycling and continent–building on Earth, many scientists assumed Mars lacked the conditions needed to produce similarly complex crust. However, this new study challenges that view, suggesting that Mars could have produced highly evolved crust through intense internal recycling.

The study was based on data recorded by NASA’s InSight mission to investigate seismic waves from meteoroid impacts and marsquakes - the Martian equivalent of earthquakes. Researchers from Oxford’s Departments of Earth Sciences and Statistics used the recordings to investigate a mysterious boundary about 24 kilometres beneath the Martian surface. Previous studies had recognised the boundary, but no one knew what it represented. To test the idea that the boundary marked a transition between two different rock types, the Oxford team compared hundreds of possible rock compositions with the seismic data using thermodynamic modelling and statistical techniques.

They found that only ‘ultramafic’ (rich in iron and magnesium, but low in silica) rocks consistently matched the physical properties beneath the 24-km boundary. Whereas the properties above this boundary were better matched to ‘mafic’ (containing a higher proportion of silica) rocks.

The researchers believe that this buried layer likely formed where molten rock pooled deep underground and gradually separated into different materials. This would leave behind a thick residue of dense crystals at the base of the crust while lighter, more evolved melts rose upwards. On Earth, similar processes occur beneath volcanic arcs and are linked to the formation of continents.

Lead author Dr Tobermory Mackay-Champion (Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford at the time of the study, now University of Bristol) said: “We’ve traditionally assumed that volcanism on Mars was relatively simple compared to that on Earth. But this discovery suggests Mars could sustain large, long-lived systems where molten rock evolved and reprocessed itself throughout the entire crust. It raises exciting possibilities for how common such systems might be on rocky planets beyond our solar system.”

The study suggests this layer may extend sideways for hundreds or even thousands of kilometres around Mars’ northern hemisphere, indicating that the Red Planet once hosted enormous, interconnected magmatic systems rather than simple isolated volcanoes. This phenomenon – known as ‘transcrustal magmatism’ was previously thought to be unique to Earth.

These geological processes are closely linked to how planets develop atmospheres, oceans and potentially habitable environments. For instance, on Earth, geological recycling helps regulate climate and supports long-term cycling of water and other volatile elements. Scientists have often assumed plate tectonics were essential for creating these conditions. But the new findings suggest planets may not need Earth-style tectonics to build complex crusts and sustain the conditions that support life.

Co-author Professor Jon Wade (Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford) said: “One of the big questions in planetary science is whether Earth is unique. If Mars could develop this kind of complex crust without plate tectonics, then maybe the conditions needed for habitability can emerge on more planets than we realised, including those previously dismissed based on size or their apparent lack of tectonic activity.”

The work builds on seismic observations from NASA’s InSight mission, which placed the first seismometer on Mars in 2018 and revealed the planet’s interior in unprecedented detail. The study was led by researchers from Oxford University’s Department of Earth Sciences in collaboration with the University of Bristol and the University of Oxford’s Department of Statistics.]]> <![CDATA[Why AI firms are turning to philosophers]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20727.html Fri, 26 Jun 2026 16:34:56 +0000 C C]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20727.html https://tech.yahoo.com/ai/articles/why-a...28473.html

EXCERPTS: For years, philosophy graduates have been the "butt of jokes about unemployable degrees", said Thibault Spirlet in Business Insider. Now, they can earn six-figure salaries as the "world's most powerful AI companies" try to "shape how machines think and behave". [...] Deliberating whether a system should follow deontological aims ("strict rules" against "lying, coercion and treating people as a means rather than an end"), or consequentialist ones (which weigh "costs against benefits") is also a common dilemma for developers.

[...] A rise in demand for philosophers has also coincided with a decline in admissions for computer science students, said Lance Eliot in Forbes. Arguably, computer science has become a "dead-end endeavour", creating "automation that replaces the humans who made it all possible". AI programming once held the "promise of big bucks and a stellar career". This may just be a minor "course correction", as no doubt degrees that directly relate to AI will remain important, but nonetheless, philosophy is experiencing an "amazing arc of redemption".

But influence goes both ways and is "not limited to Silicon Valley", said Alexandra Tremayne-Pengelly on Observer. Philosophy is impacting tech, but the demands of the AI industry are reshaping the "long-standing" landscape of philosophical thought. Academia is "rapidly adapting" as foundational questions regarding consciousness, morality, minds and computation have taken on a "new urgency". (MORE - details)]]> https://tech.yahoo.com/ai/articles/why-a...28473.html

EXCERPTS: For years, philosophy graduates have been the "butt of jokes about unemployable degrees", said Thibault Spirlet in Business Insider. Now, they can earn six-figure salaries as the "world's most powerful AI companies" try to "shape how machines think and behave". [...] Deliberating whether a system should follow deontological aims ("strict rules" against "lying, coercion and treating people as a means rather than an end"), or consequentialist ones (which weigh "costs against benefits") is also a common dilemma for developers.

[...] A rise in demand for philosophers has also coincided with a decline in admissions for computer science students, said Lance Eliot in Forbes. Arguably, computer science has become a "dead-end endeavour", creating "automation that replaces the humans who made it all possible". AI programming once held the "promise of big bucks and a stellar career". This may just be a minor "course correction", as no doubt degrees that directly relate to AI will remain important, but nonetheless, philosophy is experiencing an "amazing arc of redemption".

But influence goes both ways and is "not limited to Silicon Valley", said Alexandra Tremayne-Pengelly on Observer. Philosophy is impacting tech, but the demands of the AI industry are reshaping the "long-standing" landscape of philosophical thought. Academia is "rapidly adapting" as foundational questions regarding consciousness, morality, minds and computation have taken on a "new urgency". (MORE - details)]]> <![CDATA[The DMT Jester]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20726.html Fri, 26 Jun 2026 16:34:50 +0000 Magical Realist]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20726.html ​
Researchers believe that by regulating the dose over extended sessions, you can maintain the state long enough to chart it like a map. The jester appears so consistently across independent accounts that scientists are now building taxonomies around it.
​
Joe Rogan discussed this on his podcast, connecting it to something that stops you cold: the human body produces DMT on its own. In the brain. In the liver. The most potent psychedelic chemical known, produced natively. A chemical key, built into you at birth.
​
If the body makes the key, what is the door? And why does the same being keep answering when you knock?"


[Image: CANCKKP.jpg]
[Image: CANCKKP.jpg]

]]> ​
Researchers believe that by regulating the dose over extended sessions, you can maintain the state long enough to chart it like a map. The jester appears so consistently across independent accounts that scientists are now building taxonomies around it.
​
Joe Rogan discussed this on his podcast, connecting it to something that stops you cold: the human body produces DMT on its own. In the brain. In the liver. The most potent psychedelic chemical known, produced natively. A chemical key, built into you at birth.
​
If the body makes the key, what is the door? And why does the same being keep answering when you knock?"


[Image: CANCKKP.jpg]
[Image: CANCKKP.jpg]

]]> <![CDATA[House Of The Dragon]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20725.html Fri, 26 Jun 2026 06:03:56 +0000 Magical Realist]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20725.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JlMjgqduVw]]>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JlMjgqduVw]]> <![CDATA[Global push to recognise the threat of toxoplasmosis (cat parasite, fitness)]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20724.html Fri, 26 Jun 2026 00:37:53 +0000 C C]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20724.html https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1132670

INTRO: One third of the world’s population is infected with the Toxoplasma parasite, which can cause ocular toxoplasmosis, an eye infection that can damage the retina and result in permanent vision loss. Although often seen as an unavoidable part of everyday human–animal interaction, toxoplasmosis is preventable and controllable.

A new global paper led by Associate Professor João Furtado from the University of São Paulo and Professor Justine Smith from Flinders University has brought together experts from the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia. It calls for the disease to be formally recognised as a neglected tropical disease (NTD) by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Senior author and internationally recognised ophthalmologist, Professor Justine Smith, from FHMRI Eye & Vision at Flinders University, says the impact of toxoplasmosis on eyesight is significant but widely overlooked. “Toxoplasmosis is a leading eye infection and a major cause of vision loss worldwide, yet it receives limited attention in global health agendas,” says Professor Smith.

“With WHO’s recognition, we can make substantial progress in prevention and management of this infection.” People can become infected through eating undercooked meat, contaminated produce or water, or exposure to cat faeces.

In pregnancy, infection can be passed to the unborn baby, leading to miscarriage or permanent damage to the brain and eye. Many affected children develop vision problems that worsen over time. Lead author Associate Professor João Furtado, a prominent Brazilian ophthalmologist, researcher and educator based at the University of São Paulo, says the disease is often misunderstood.

“Toxoplasmosis is often seen as inevitable, but it has well characterised transmission pathways and can be prevented and controlled,” says Associate Professor Furtado. He says the most severe outcomes, including blindness, occur in communities with limited access to healthcare, safe food, clean water and prenatal care.

“These impacts could be reduced through practical public health measures such as improved food safety, clean water, sanitation and better access to antenatal care,” he says. Despite its global burden, toxoplasmosis receives less research funding and policy attention than diseases with similar or lower impacts.,, (MORE - details)]]> https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1132670

INTRO: One third of the world’s population is infected with the Toxoplasma parasite, which can cause ocular toxoplasmosis, an eye infection that can damage the retina and result in permanent vision loss. Although often seen as an unavoidable part of everyday human–animal interaction, toxoplasmosis is preventable and controllable.

A new global paper led by Associate Professor João Furtado from the University of São Paulo and Professor Justine Smith from Flinders University has brought together experts from the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia. It calls for the disease to be formally recognised as a neglected tropical disease (NTD) by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Senior author and internationally recognised ophthalmologist, Professor Justine Smith, from FHMRI Eye & Vision at Flinders University, says the impact of toxoplasmosis on eyesight is significant but widely overlooked. “Toxoplasmosis is a leading eye infection and a major cause of vision loss worldwide, yet it receives limited attention in global health agendas,” says Professor Smith.

“With WHO’s recognition, we can make substantial progress in prevention and management of this infection.” People can become infected through eating undercooked meat, contaminated produce or water, or exposure to cat faeces.

In pregnancy, infection can be passed to the unborn baby, leading to miscarriage or permanent damage to the brain and eye. Many affected children develop vision problems that worsen over time. Lead author Associate Professor João Furtado, a prominent Brazilian ophthalmologist, researcher and educator based at the University of São Paulo, says the disease is often misunderstood.

“Toxoplasmosis is often seen as inevitable, but it has well characterised transmission pathways and can be prevented and controlled,” says Associate Professor Furtado. He says the most severe outcomes, including blindness, occur in communities with limited access to healthcare, safe food, clean water and prenatal care.

“These impacts could be reduced through practical public health measures such as improved food safety, clean water, sanitation and better access to antenatal care,” he says. Despite its global burden, toxoplasmosis receives less research funding and policy attention than diseases with similar or lower impacts.,, (MORE - details)]]> <![CDATA[Apes and humans have been sharing a laugh for 15 million years]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20723.html Fri, 26 Jun 2026 00:33:32 +0000 C C]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20723.html https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-026-10499-z

PRESS RELEASE: Great apes may have been laughing with a similar rhythm to modern humans for at least 15 million years, a University of Warwick study reveals. The finding offers unexpected clues to how human speech evolved.

All living great apes - chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans - laugh. But until now, it has been unclear how our laughter may have changed over millions of years of evolution, and how it might relate to the evolution of speech in humans.

In a new Communications Biology study, Warwick researchers analysed laughter recordings from four orangutans, two gorillas, three bonobos, four chimpanzees, and four humans. Across 140 laughter sequences, they found the same pattern: all species produce laughter with evenly spaced rhythmic intervals between successive sounds.

The researchers propose this basic rhythmic structure was already present in a shared common ancestor 15 million years ago and has remained remarkably conserved with all living great apes still show the same underlying pattern.

Dr Chiara De Gregorio, Honorary Research Associate, Department of Psychology, University of Warwick said: “How did humans evolve the remarkable ability to speak? Speech leaves no fossils, and complex language exists only in our own species. But we've found a 15-million-year-old clue in an unexpected place: our laughter. Unlike speech, laughter is shared by all living great apes. By comparing how different species laugh, we can see that a basic rhythmic structure has remained unchanged since our last common ancestor. That's extraordinary.”

The researchers found that while the basic rhythm stayed constant, human laughter has become faster, more variable, and gained sophisticated context-dependent control. Of the great apes, humans alone have the ability to control when and how they laugh depending on context: an uncontrollable laugh when tickled differs sharply from a polite laugh in a meeting, a nervous laugh after a mistake, or the infectious laughter that spreads through a group of friends. The same underlying rhythm, shaped by conscious control to communicate different emotions and intentions.

The findings of this study suggest that throughout great ape evolution, our ancestors gradually developed greater control over the timing of their vocalisations, including laughter. Sophisticated vocal control is a fundamental building block of speech.

Dr Adriano Lameria, Associate Professor, ApeTank, Department of Psychology, University of Warwick said: “It is impossible to assess the precursor forms of language directly from our extinct ancestors. Laughter, being evolutionarily older and having remained shared between all living great apes, provides a rare evolutionary window into the vocal transformations that unfolded across hominid evolution until the first humans appeared on scene. Contrary to the classic notion that the first humans suddenly acquired vocal control capacities remarkably different from their predecessors, laughter evolution tells us that humans lay on a continuum, a prolongation of vocal control capacities that were already being cumulatively honed in for 15 million years.”]]> https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-026-10499-z

PRESS RELEASE: Great apes may have been laughing with a similar rhythm to modern humans for at least 15 million years, a University of Warwick study reveals. The finding offers unexpected clues to how human speech evolved.

All living great apes - chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans - laugh. But until now, it has been unclear how our laughter may have changed over millions of years of evolution, and how it might relate to the evolution of speech in humans.

In a new Communications Biology study, Warwick researchers analysed laughter recordings from four orangutans, two gorillas, three bonobos, four chimpanzees, and four humans. Across 140 laughter sequences, they found the same pattern: all species produce laughter with evenly spaced rhythmic intervals between successive sounds.

The researchers propose this basic rhythmic structure was already present in a shared common ancestor 15 million years ago and has remained remarkably conserved with all living great apes still show the same underlying pattern.

Dr Chiara De Gregorio, Honorary Research Associate, Department of Psychology, University of Warwick said: “How did humans evolve the remarkable ability to speak? Speech leaves no fossils, and complex language exists only in our own species. But we've found a 15-million-year-old clue in an unexpected place: our laughter. Unlike speech, laughter is shared by all living great apes. By comparing how different species laugh, we can see that a basic rhythmic structure has remained unchanged since our last common ancestor. That's extraordinary.”

The researchers found that while the basic rhythm stayed constant, human laughter has become faster, more variable, and gained sophisticated context-dependent control. Of the great apes, humans alone have the ability to control when and how they laugh depending on context: an uncontrollable laugh when tickled differs sharply from a polite laugh in a meeting, a nervous laugh after a mistake, or the infectious laughter that spreads through a group of friends. The same underlying rhythm, shaped by conscious control to communicate different emotions and intentions.

The findings of this study suggest that throughout great ape evolution, our ancestors gradually developed greater control over the timing of their vocalisations, including laughter. Sophisticated vocal control is a fundamental building block of speech.

Dr Adriano Lameria, Associate Professor, ApeTank, Department of Psychology, University of Warwick said: “It is impossible to assess the precursor forms of language directly from our extinct ancestors. Laughter, being evolutionarily older and having remained shared between all living great apes, provides a rare evolutionary window into the vocal transformations that unfolded across hominid evolution until the first humans appeared on scene. Contrary to the classic notion that the first humans suddenly acquired vocal control capacities remarkably different from their predecessors, laughter evolution tells us that humans lay on a continuum, a prolongation of vocal control capacities that were already being cumulatively honed in for 15 million years.”]]> <![CDATA["I went to court to argue what a WOMAN is" -- Sally Grover (ARC network)]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20722.html Fri, 26 Jun 2026 00:12:01 +0000 C C]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20722.html Sally Grover
- - - - - - - - - - -

ALLIANCE FOR RESPONSIBLE CITIZENSHIP
https://youtu.be/NiHH-ZXtiBw

VIDEO EXCERPTS: Hello and thank you so much for having me. I have flown halfway around the world to tell you that men are not women.

Something so obvious that in a normal world would not need to be said. But as we all know, we're not currently living in a normal world. For those of you who don't know me, I am the woman who had to go to court to establish what a woman is and lost to a man twice.

So, I created a social networking app exclusively for women called Giggle in 2019. I had absolutely no idea I was doing this at the one time in human history where people are pretending to not know what a woman is. In February we were beta testing the app on the App Store and Google Play, and I woke up to thousands of men on the app and one-star reviews calling us transphobic and a TERF. I'd never heard the word before.

So, I Googled it and I found that there were many women raising the alarm. ... What they were saying was so insane. I had to see for myself if it was true and started doing my own research ... Not only were men claiming to be women, people were believing them.

I still didn't know enough about transgender ideology at the time, and so I naively thought it would all blow over. But in January 2022, when I was 14 weeks pregnant, I received an Australian Human Rights Commission complaint citing gender identity discrimination from a man who claims to be a woman who tried to use the app. He had gotten on it, but I had removed him. I don't remember doing it. There were many men who tried to get onto the app, and we would remove them.

[...] His name is Roxy Tickle, and he filed in federal court, creating the world's first sex versus gender identity discrimination case. So to make this situation even stupider, the case is called Tickle versus Giggle.

[...] What happened in Australia under Julia Gillard's government, our first woman prime minister, who has spent over a decade dining out on that fact: the Sex Discrimination Act was changed. The definitions of man and woman were removed and gender identity was put in.

What it has created is a completely muddled act that once existed to protect women but is now being used as a piece of legislation to punish us for not going along with an ideology. The Australian Human Rights Commission intervened in the case with the Sex Discrimination Commissioner arguing on the side of Tickle and all men who claim to be women for that matter.

She was arguing that men or women need pregnancy protections in law in case anybody perceives them to be pregnant. What they are doing is giving men who claim to be women legal protections they don't need while taking away legal protections women do need.

I lost in federal court. I was told that sex is changeable. I was found to have indirectly discriminated against him, and I was fined $10,000 because during cross-examination I laughed. was punished for laughing in a case called Tickle versus Giggle.

[...] What am I here to tell you? I'm here to say that if the state can force you to accept men as women, they can force you to accept anything. Freedom of speech, belief, and association.

[...] So, I believe that this is the most important issue in society at the moment. And if we don't eradicate transgender ideology from law and society, we're going to lose reality because transgenderism is forcing us to ignore reality and our own instincts, and it's imposing an ideology upon us. Women's rights are just the canary in the coal mine. This impacts everyone.

[...] We're told to be kind and inclusive, but people's empathy is being attacked to force us to be cruel to ourselves. Why do I have to be kind and inclusive to a man who claims to be a woman at the expense of my perception of reality and rights? How is that kind?

People ask me, "What can we do?" Speak at every opportunity, every time it is needed. Say men are not women, and I will not be forced to accept transgender ideology. Silence is being mistaken for consensus.

I'm often asked if I regret taking this stance and giving up years of my life, having to raise and spend millions of dollars in legal fees, get called a bigot, and basically derail my career.

Wouldn't it have been easier to just pay him $20,000, let him on the app, and accept that the word "woman" has evolved? No. It isn't easier to submit to an ideology you know isn't true, to give up your rights, and watch society crumble under the weight of nonsense. When I was pregnant and having to decide whether or not to fight, I knew that I was having a daughter. And I knew that I would have to teach her to stand up for herself...

"I went to court to argue what a WOMAN is" .... https://youtu.be/NiHH-ZXtiBw

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/NiHH-ZXtiBw]]> Sally Grover
- - - - - - - - - - -

ALLIANCE FOR RESPONSIBLE CITIZENSHIP
https://youtu.be/NiHH-ZXtiBw

VIDEO EXCERPTS: Hello and thank you so much for having me. I have flown halfway around the world to tell you that men are not women.

Something so obvious that in a normal world would not need to be said. But as we all know, we're not currently living in a normal world. For those of you who don't know me, I am the woman who had to go to court to establish what a woman is and lost to a man twice.

So, I created a social networking app exclusively for women called Giggle in 2019. I had absolutely no idea I was doing this at the one time in human history where people are pretending to not know what a woman is. In February we were beta testing the app on the App Store and Google Play, and I woke up to thousands of men on the app and one-star reviews calling us transphobic and a TERF. I'd never heard the word before.

So, I Googled it and I found that there were many women raising the alarm. ... What they were saying was so insane. I had to see for myself if it was true and started doing my own research ... Not only were men claiming to be women, people were believing them.

I still didn't know enough about transgender ideology at the time, and so I naively thought it would all blow over. But in January 2022, when I was 14 weeks pregnant, I received an Australian Human Rights Commission complaint citing gender identity discrimination from a man who claims to be a woman who tried to use the app. He had gotten on it, but I had removed him. I don't remember doing it. There were many men who tried to get onto the app, and we would remove them.

[...] His name is Roxy Tickle, and he filed in federal court, creating the world's first sex versus gender identity discrimination case. So to make this situation even stupider, the case is called Tickle versus Giggle.

[...] What happened in Australia under Julia Gillard's government, our first woman prime minister, who has spent over a decade dining out on that fact: the Sex Discrimination Act was changed. The definitions of man and woman were removed and gender identity was put in.

What it has created is a completely muddled act that once existed to protect women but is now being used as a piece of legislation to punish us for not going along with an ideology. The Australian Human Rights Commission intervened in the case with the Sex Discrimination Commissioner arguing on the side of Tickle and all men who claim to be women for that matter.

She was arguing that men or women need pregnancy protections in law in case anybody perceives them to be pregnant. What they are doing is giving men who claim to be women legal protections they don't need while taking away legal protections women do need.

I lost in federal court. I was told that sex is changeable. I was found to have indirectly discriminated against him, and I was fined $10,000 because during cross-examination I laughed. was punished for laughing in a case called Tickle versus Giggle.

[...] What am I here to tell you? I'm here to say that if the state can force you to accept men as women, they can force you to accept anything. Freedom of speech, belief, and association.

[...] So, I believe that this is the most important issue in society at the moment. And if we don't eradicate transgender ideology from law and society, we're going to lose reality because transgenderism is forcing us to ignore reality and our own instincts, and it's imposing an ideology upon us. Women's rights are just the canary in the coal mine. This impacts everyone.

[...] We're told to be kind and inclusive, but people's empathy is being attacked to force us to be cruel to ourselves. Why do I have to be kind and inclusive to a man who claims to be a woman at the expense of my perception of reality and rights? How is that kind?

People ask me, "What can we do?" Speak at every opportunity, every time it is needed. Say men are not women, and I will not be forced to accept transgender ideology. Silence is being mistaken for consensus.

I'm often asked if I regret taking this stance and giving up years of my life, having to raise and spend millions of dollars in legal fees, get called a bigot, and basically derail my career.

Wouldn't it have been easier to just pay him $20,000, let him on the app, and accept that the word "woman" has evolved? No. It isn't easier to submit to an ideology you know isn't true, to give up your rights, and watch society crumble under the weight of nonsense. When I was pregnant and having to decide whether or not to fight, I knew that I was having a daughter. And I knew that I would have to teach her to stand up for herself...

"I went to court to argue what a WOMAN is" .... https://youtu.be/NiHH-ZXtiBw

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/NiHH-ZXtiBw]]> <![CDATA[Career skeptic Michael Shermer apologizes to David Grusch, sort of..]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20721.html Thu, 25 Jun 2026 20:42:03 +0000 Magical Realist]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20721.html https://cybernews.com/news/ufo-uap-sherm...ntent=post

Well, we all know that snide and snarky put-downs are all part of the skeptic's MO whenever they lack any reason or evidence to doubt someone's firsthand account of something extraordinary. Attack the messenger as usual.]]> https://cybernews.com/news/ufo-uap-sherm...ntent=post

Well, we all know that snide and snarky put-downs are all part of the skeptic's MO whenever they lack any reason or evidence to doubt someone's firsthand account of something extraordinary. Attack the messenger as usual.]]> <![CDATA[An excerpt]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20720.html Thu, 25 Jun 2026 19:04:14 +0000 Ostronomos]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20720.html

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  • #22

    • Quote:semidemiurgent said:
    Langan’s CTMU is theoretically incoherent and philosophically vacuous with no credibility in any academic circle.
    Although I can see where you are coming from, I believe that it does have merit.

    When I began proving the existence of God back in 2007 at the age of 24, I would often turn to the CTMU as a means of validating my proofs with Langan's. The moment I started temporarily enhancing my powers of insight, I immediately perceived the hidden logic of God. I would expand my consciousness and envision clearly the logic behind God. For example:

    X = matter or non-object. Information can have meaning without matter. This is how a misunderstanding of reality can be created by mind. Reality is comparable to self-configuration. Wisdom is information coming from a single source (reality). Meaningless information comes from many (objects).

    My belief was incorrect we create meaning, just as our minds contain a self-configuration of reality, which is self-configurating along with reality (psychologists are still unclear as to what the mind is). Where the mind is not static and therefore not concept, it is self-configuring and therefore unbound. The SCSPL is intrinsic as well as is spacetime due to structure S which distributes over S (self-distributive). Spacetime is thus transparent from within. Where objects in reality are s, possessing the structure of one that merges the concepts and is self-dynamic and self-perceptual that is S. S is amenable to theological interpretation.


    Quote:semidemiurgent said:
    He's quite fond of circles in logic and going round in them under false names to eventually obtain a high score on a discredited IQ test.
    Perhaps, as I do not fully grasp his theory, but I do know that anyone who claims to have a proof of God is worth a second look.]]>

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  • #22

    • Quote:semidemiurgent said:
    Langan’s CTMU is theoretically incoherent and philosophically vacuous with no credibility in any academic circle.
    Although I can see where you are coming from, I believe that it does have merit.

    When I began proving the existence of God back in 2007 at the age of 24, I would often turn to the CTMU as a means of validating my proofs with Langan's. The moment I started temporarily enhancing my powers of insight, I immediately perceived the hidden logic of God. I would expand my consciousness and envision clearly the logic behind God. For example:

    X = matter or non-object. Information can have meaning without matter. This is how a misunderstanding of reality can be created by mind. Reality is comparable to self-configuration. Wisdom is information coming from a single source (reality). Meaningless information comes from many (objects).

    My belief was incorrect we create meaning, just as our minds contain a self-configuration of reality, which is self-configurating along with reality (psychologists are still unclear as to what the mind is). Where the mind is not static and therefore not concept, it is self-configuring and therefore unbound. The SCSPL is intrinsic as well as is spacetime due to structure S which distributes over S (self-distributive). Spacetime is thus transparent from within. Where objects in reality are s, possessing the structure of one that merges the concepts and is self-dynamic and self-perceptual that is S. S is amenable to theological interpretation.


    Quote:semidemiurgent said:
    He's quite fond of circles in logic and going round in them under false names to eventually obtain a high score on a discredited IQ test.
    Perhaps, as I do not fully grasp his theory, but I do know that anyone who claims to have a proof of God is worth a second look.]]>         <![CDATA[Why Europe is turning into a heat trap: the 'omega block' explained]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20719.html Thu, 25 Jun 2026 13:38:06 +0000 C C]]> https://www.scivillage.com/thread-20719.html https://www.outlookindia.com/internation...-heat-trap

    INTRO: Western Europe is once again in the grip of an intense heatwave, with countries including France, the United Kingdom, Italy and the Netherlands recording unusually high temperatures. The extreme weather has disrupted daily life, forcing school closures, interrupting public transport and prompting authorities to open air-conditioned public spaces to vulnerable residents.

    More than 40 people have drowned in France over the past week after seeking relief from the heat in unsupervised waters. The country recorded its hottest day since records began in 1947, with temperatures reaching 44.3 degrees Celsius. Thousands of homes have also been left without electricity amid the heatwave. Across Europe, governments have issued extreme heat warnings as temperatures continue to soar.

    Meteorologists say the prolonged heat is being driven by a weather phenomenon known as an omega block. An omega block is named after the Greek letter O because of the distinctive shape it creates in the atmosphere. It forms when a large area of high pressure becomes trapped between two low-pressure systems on either side.

    Under normal conditions, the jet stream pushes weather systems steadily from west to east. During an omega block, however, the jet stream becomes distorted and buckles dramatically north and south, isolating the pressure systems. Weaker steering winds and reduced temperature contrasts in the atmosphere can contribute to these slow-moving patterns.

    The high-pressure system effectively becomes stuck in place, preventing weather from moving through the region as it normally would. As a result, the same conditions can persist for days or even weeks. Most omega blocks last between three and ten days, but some have been known to endure much longer.

    The centre of an omega block is dominated by high pressure, which creates hot, dry and stable conditions. High pressure suppresses cloud formation, resulting in clear skies and prolonged sunshine that allow temperatures to rise steadily.

    These are the conditions currently affecting parts of France and Spain, where temperatures have climbed above 40 degrees Celsius. With little cloud cover and no significant weather systems moving through, the heat remains trapped over the same areas day after day.

    Meanwhile, the low-pressure systems on either side of the omega block experience very different weather. These regions are more likely to receive cooler temperatures, cloud cover and rainfall. Britain currently sits near the boundary between the hot high-pressure system and cooler air to the northwest, creating a sharp contrast between hotter conditions in the south and east and cooler, wetter weather in the north and west.

    Unlike many tropical regions, European cities were historically built to retain warmth rather than cope with prolonged extreme heat. As a result, many homes and public buildings can become heat traps during severe heatwaves.

    Air conditioning remains far less common in Europe than in other parts of the world. While nearly 90 per cent of homes in the United States have air conditioning, only around 20 per cent of European homes do. For decades, much of Europe simply did not experience sustained periods of extreme heat frequently enough to justify widespread cooling systems.

    This has contributed to a culture in which air conditioning has often been viewed as a luxury rather than a necessity. Higher energy costs in many European countries have also discouraged widespread adoption. As a result, many residents rely on electric fans, cold showers and other temporary measures to cope with heatwaves.

    Some southern European regions have traditionally adapted to warmer climates through architecture. Thick walls, smaller windows and designs that maximise airflow help keep buildings cooler naturally. However, in many parts of northern and western Europe, homes were not designed with rising temperatures in mind, leaving residents especially vulnerable during prolonged heat events.

    Scientists have not yet reached a consensus on whether climate change is directly increasing the frequency of omega blocks and other atmospheric blocking events. What is clear, however, is that climate change is making heatwaves more intense... (MORE - details)]]>     https://www.outlookindia.com/internation...-heat-trap

    INTRO: Western Europe is once again in the grip of an intense heatwave, with countries including France, the United Kingdom, Italy and the Netherlands recording unusually high temperatures. The extreme weather has disrupted daily life, forcing school closures, interrupting public transport and prompting authorities to open air-conditioned public spaces to vulnerable residents.

    More than 40 people have drowned in France over the past week after seeking relief from the heat in unsupervised waters. The country recorded its hottest day since records began in 1947, with temperatures reaching 44.3 degrees Celsius. Thousands of homes have also been left without electricity amid the heatwave. Across Europe, governments have issued extreme heat warnings as temperatures continue to soar.

    Meteorologists say the prolonged heat is being driven by a weather phenomenon known as an omega block. An omega block is named after the Greek letter O because of the distinctive shape it creates in the atmosphere. It forms when a large area of high pressure becomes trapped between two low-pressure systems on either side.

    Under normal conditions, the jet stream pushes weather systems steadily from west to east. During an omega block, however, the jet stream becomes distorted and buckles dramatically north and south, isolating the pressure systems. Weaker steering winds and reduced temperature contrasts in the atmosphere can contribute to these slow-moving patterns.

    The high-pressure system effectively becomes stuck in place, preventing weather from moving through the region as it normally would. As a result, the same conditions can persist for days or even weeks. Most omega blocks last between three and ten days, but some have been known to endure much longer.

    The centre of an omega block is dominated by high pressure, which creates hot, dry and stable conditions. High pressure suppresses cloud formation, resulting in clear skies and prolonged sunshine that allow temperatures to rise steadily.

    These are the conditions currently affecting parts of France and Spain, where temperatures have climbed above 40 degrees Celsius. With little cloud cover and no significant weather systems moving through, the heat remains trapped over the same areas day after day.

    Meanwhile, the low-pressure systems on either side of the omega block experience very different weather. These regions are more likely to receive cooler temperatures, cloud cover and rainfall. Britain currently sits near the boundary between the hot high-pressure system and cooler air to the northwest, creating a sharp contrast between hotter conditions in the south and east and cooler, wetter weather in the north and west.

    Unlike many tropical regions, European cities were historically built to retain warmth rather than cope with prolonged extreme heat. As a result, many homes and public buildings can become heat traps during severe heatwaves.

    Air conditioning remains far less common in Europe than in other parts of the world. While nearly 90 per cent of homes in the United States have air conditioning, only around 20 per cent of European homes do. For decades, much of Europe simply did not experience sustained periods of extreme heat frequently enough to justify widespread cooling systems.

    This has contributed to a culture in which air conditioning has often been viewed as a luxury rather than a necessity. Higher energy costs in many European countries have also discouraged widespread adoption. As a result, many residents rely on electric fans, cold showers and other temporary measures to cope with heatwaves.

    Some southern European regions have traditionally adapted to warmer climates through architecture. Thick walls, smaller windows and designs that maximise airflow help keep buildings cooler naturally. However, in many parts of northern and western Europe, homes were not designed with rising temperatures in mind, leaving residents especially vulnerable during prolonged heat events.

    Scientists have not yet reached a consensus on whether climate change is directly increasing the frequency of omega blocks and other atmospheric blocking events. What is clear, however, is that climate change is making heatwaves more intense... (MORE - details)]]>