Joe Velikovsky's Blog, page 12

ASFF AGM - Feb 02021

ASFF AGM - Feb 02021

Attended the ASFF AGM. A good time was had by all... All smiles!
& check out the great work by all of these guys (and of course former President, Rose, not pictured) at the: ASFF!
And, membership is only $20 per annum!!! Remarkable.

https://asff.org.au/
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And, a big thanks to Ion (`Nuke') for publishing The Truth Bomb!

Amphimacus (Antipodean Sci Fi)


Hey, and on a totally-unrelated topic, today I wrote a song:

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 Well, that's about all we have time for, folks.


You have been reading / viewing a blog-post by:

Dr J T Velikovsky Ph.D

(aka: Velikovsky of Newcastle)
Information Scientist  & Systems Scientist & AI Researcher & Enthusiast & Evolutionary Culturologist & Filmmaker & Writer & Artist & Actor & Muso & Rugged Frontiersman & Random Guy
(and, also The  StoryAlity  Guy) 
aka Humanimal   

(or, The Artist formally known as Dr J T Velikovsky)


More stuff:

Transmedia Blog: On Writering
IMDb (Movies, Videogames): 
Music: Texas Radio & Zen Stupidity
Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/joeteevee (over 100 videos, some are even: good)
Academia page: https://newcastle-au.academia.edu/JTVelikovsky
Researchgate page: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jt_Velikovsky
My ouvre... etc etc.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6741-066X 
Forthcoming book (November 2021): https://www.igi-global.com/book/principles-protocols-practices-evolutionary-culturology/267379

AppEEL webinar #2 - 2021

 AppEEL webinar #2 - February 2021

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So we had AppEEL webinar #2 of 2021. 

It was great!!! (Just like AppEEL webinar #1)

This post you're reading isn't the Official Page for it.

This is just: my NOTES & whatnot.

(i.e., Velikovsky of Newcastle, or whoever I am)

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* Intro by Thomas Reydon to the special issue on Evolutionary Epistemology for the Journal for General Philosophy of Science with featured talks by:

* Denis Noble & Raymond Noble on Can Reasons and Values Influence Action: How Might Intentional Agency Work Physiologically?

* Antonio Fadda on Population Thinking in Epistemic Evolution: Bridging Cultural Evolution and the Philosophy of Science

* David Suaréz Pascal on N. R. Hanson and von Uexküll: A Biosemiotic and Evolutionary Account of Theories

For the full year's AppEEL webinar Schedule/Program, see: here! 

And here's some Notes I made / scribbled during the webinar: (who knows, what they all mean? Not me, always. Some of them may even be totally: wrong. I can't even read my own writing, sometimes.) 

VELIKOVSKY'S SCRIBBLED NOTES:

Nathalie's welcome...!


Thomas' introduction about the special issue on EE in JGPS Paradigms, Core Problems, Core Solutions8 (of 9) articles are done... so, Special Issue coming ASAP!
Dennis & Ray Noble (of: The Third Way)
`constraints downwards, openness upwards'...a cell-membrane as an organelle...In Q&A, someone mentioned: Maturana & Varela on autopoiesis, & the nature of living systems (& their cognitive capacities)psycho-social cultural nichesorganism & environment are the one unitRobert Rosen did the maths on autopoiesis, anticipatory systemsBarbara McClintock (on corn genes, acting under stress)JTV: Structure & AgencyAntonio's presentation on Population Thinking in Epistemic Evolution


EEM/EET...
see Antonio's paper on this !epigenetics (Lamarck, 1940s, etc)demesDavid's talk:

umwelt, & innenweltcombining Hanson & von Uexkull...Theories function like MAPSSomeone mentioned: Honeybee algorithms in AI ML (for routing internet traffic)[JTV - see `Adapt' by Amina Khan (ant foraging algorithms), & see IJCINI]Other Notes (eg chatting to David, etc)Meaning: semiotics, semantics, hermeneutics2 schools of Semiotics: de Saussure & PeirceVon Uexkell - The Theory of MeaningAntonio - Dawkins: genes as replicators, the `replicators' are the scientists in Kuhn, Toulmin, Popper etcDNA barcodingOlga: went to talk by Godfrey-SmithJerry L R Chandler - re: Robert Rosen - a new number system, atomic weights (mutation & human genome) That's all folks!

JTV's Afterthoughts:

Dennis & Ray's great point on downward causation, biology is open systems all the way up & down...  Reminds me of:

& the point on "constraints downwards, openness upwards"...Reminds me of: 



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Anyway, 
great meeting. I learned a lot. Met lots of great people/scholars. What's not to like?


--------------//---------------

 Well, that's about all we have time for, folks.


You have been reading / viewing a blog-post by:

Dr J T Velikovsky Ph.D

(aka: Velikovsky of Newcastle)
Information Scientist  & Systems Scientist & AI Researcher & Enthusiast & Evolutionary Culturologist & Filmmaker & Writer & Artist & Actor & Muso & Rugged Frontiersman & Random Guy
(and, also The  StoryAlity  Guy) 
aka Humanimal   

(or, The Artist formally known as Dr J T Velikovsky)


More stuff:

Transmedia Blog: On Writering
IMDb (Movies, Videogames): 
Music: Texas Radio & Zen Stupidity
Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/joeteevee (over 100 videos, some are even: good)
Academia page: https://newcastle-au.academia.edu/JTVelikovsky
Researchgate page: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jt_Velikovsky
My ouvre... etc etc.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6741-066X 
Forthcoming book (November 2021): https://www.igi-global.com/book/principles-protocols-practices-evolutionary-culturology/267379

NEHs Darwin Day Lecture - How To Become A Wise Manager of Evolutionary Processes

North East Humanists' 

Darwin Day Lecture - How To Become A Wise Manager of Evolutionary Processes

So, just attended this great webinar:

And it was GREAT !

That is all.

Thanks to the great Ed Gibney for telling me about it.

THE END

ROLL CREDITS.

--------------//---------------
Well, that's about all we have time for, folks.
You have been reading / viewing a blog-post by:
Dr J T Velikovsky Ph.D
(aka: Velikovsky of Newcastle)
Information Scientist  & Systems Scientist & AI Researcher & Enthusiast & Evolutionary Culturologist & Filmmaker & Writer & Artist & Actor & Muso & Rugged Frontiersman & Random Guy
(and, also The  StoryAlity  Guy) 
aka Humanimal   
(or, The Artist formally known as Dr J T Velikovsky)


More stuff:

Transmedia Blog: On Writering
IMDb (Movies, Videogames): 
Music: Texas Radio & Zen Stupidity
YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/joeteevee (over 100 videos, some are even: good)
Academia page: https://newcastle-au.academia.edu/JTVelikovsky
Researchgate page: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jt_Velikovsky
My ouvre... etc etc.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6741-066X 
Forthcoming book (November 2021): https://www.igi-global.com/book/principles-protocols-practices-evolutionary-culturology/267379

TVoL's Examined Lives: The Insurrection of 1/6/2021

TVoL's Examined Lives: 

The Insurrection of 1/6/2021

(Webinar of: Feb 18th 2021)

See: https://thisviewoflife.com/examined-lives/

A blog post by  Velikovsky of Newcastle

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So - I just attended this great webinar!

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The Insurrection of 1/6/2021Thursday, February 18th, 12-1pm EST Examined Lives with Andy Norman . "The Insurrection of 1/6/2021" (Session 6)Thursday, February 18th, 12-1pm EST

On January 6th 2021, an angry mob provoked by a sitting president stormed the American Capitol. The events of that day raise troubling questions: How on earth did this happen? Could it happen again? Could the next uprising be worse? Many have looked at the particular social and political forces that contributed to the tragedy, but what can the events of that day teach us about human nature? What passions and instincts drove the rioters, and how did the (now ex-) president exploit them? Join us as we make sense of the utterly senseless.

Suggested background readings:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/joe-bidens-fundamental-challenge-is-to-root-out-the-domestic-insurgency/2021/01/19/0001d370-5a96-11eb-8bcf-3877871c819d_story.html

https://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/Op-Ed/2015/12/13/Paris-and-the-seeds-of-radicalization/stories/201512130048 

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And am happy to report, we solved all the world's problems, in that great webinar.

THE END.

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& below FYI is my  Scribbled Notes  I took down, during the webinar. (er, "I", Velikovsky)
(Though sometimes I can't read my own writing...? 
So, I wouldn't take the below as `True News', or anything :)
Could all be: Fake News. You be the judge.

------------

My Scribbled Mtg Notes :

Andy (Norman) nicely summarized: The Insurrection of Jan 6th 2021. (...In fact, you could even watch it all again, here, if you like that kind of thing?)Note: Andy's `cognitive immunization' & `accountable believing' (see the  Paris 2015  article. And Andy's forthcoming book, Mental Immunity .)  That was a cool article, about Paris 2015. But I don't have a WaPo subscription, so, not sure about the other article. Guess I'm not such a committed Left-winger/liberal, after all? ...I did like the headline and subtitle of the WaPo article, which was all I could read, without a subscription. (Note to self: Need to work on my ideological commitments. Hey wait - no, that was the whole point. Ideological commitments are exactly the problem. Stick to Science, rationality, & all that good stuff instead.)Somebody noted: People (we: ultrasocial humanimals) seek connection, that can lead to tribalismSomebody mentioned: `tribalism' can have good connotations, if you're a 1st Nations peopleQAnon(sense) came up, for fairly obvious reasons.Somebody mentioned that new documentary, The Reunited States:The Reunited States (Trailer): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7BB-5uq2dUAnd which also (kinda) reminds me of, this documentary (...which is: Coming Soon, as the great philosopher, Frederick Mercury once said). Somebody (&/or, lots of somebodies) mentioned the following books: (Ezra Klein)  Why We're Polarized  (Erich Fromm) Escape From Freedom (Erich Fromm) The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness (Sebastian Junger) Tribe (Rutger Bregman) Humankind: A Hopeful History (Jon Gottschall) The Storytelling Animal (that great section on: Conspiracy Theories as `stories on steroids' ! ...Small wonder, QAnon[sense] `sucked in' so many gullible folks?)(D S Wilson) Atlas Hugged    (Hey also, maybe see: 101 Q&As on Atlas Hugged)(Kwame Anthony Appiah) The Lies That Bind(Ulrich Beck) Risk Society: Towards a New Modernity & Kurt (Johnson) kindly noted: 

`fyi, the program we’ll be doing with David Sloan Wilson will be on VoiceAmerica (hopefully they’ll take it international); starting with David Sloan Wilson and David Korten, then the Producer and writer of The Reunited States, then Duane Elgin (Choosing Earth) and British cosmologist Jude Currivan and them Ann-Marie Voorhoeve of the Hague Center and some other prominent social activists…. We want to follow up with joining David with 9 NYTimes bestseller authors with whom we did our last program (and had over 50,000 listeners). 

Our theme is: OUR MOMENT OF CHOICE:  ATLAS SHRUGGED OR ATLAS HUGGED? 

Our Moment of Choice is a book I recently co-edited (DSW contributed) done by Simon and Schuster. The VoiceAmerica program will be the next on on their “Convergence” Series:  https://www.voiceamerica.com/show/2610/the-convergence.  Sage put the link for Reunited States in earlier:  https://reunitedstates.tv/  The Our Moment of Choice program with 9 NYTimes Bestselling authors is the Aug. 26 2020 `Our Moment of Choice' broadcast in the archive there at the first link.'    (end of what Kurt said, 2021)

Someone asked a great Q: What passions and instincts drove the rioters, and how did the (now ex-) president exploit them? Did we try to answer that? Someone answered: Stress .Someone else said: Unless I missed it, I'm very surprised that nobody brought up Rush Limbaugh and impact on society today.(Actually, "Stress" may have been an answer to this one, too? Hard to say. One size fits all there.)Someone mentioned: `Ulrich Beck:“Risk Society: Towards a New Modernity” (1992) older book but think it helps make sense of a socio-economic “why” that drives conspiratorial thinking, strong-man-ism, and disempowerment'Someone mentioned: Memes. Splitting off.  I (outrageously) suggested, maybe, like how we need a license to safely drive a car, we need a voting-license-test first, to see if you can safely vote, before we let you vote, as then, we all have to live with your dumb decisions, rather than it be: a birthright to vote. Like Socrates said (!) (Smart guy, right? Socrates, I mean.) (I also even wrote a rambling-ranty essay on it: On Cyber-Democracy (2017) ... but I certainly don't recommend reading it. Maybe just watch Cesar Hidalgo's 2019 TED Talk instead - that way, it's only 13 mins of your life? A bold idea to replace politicians  - César Hidalgo (TED Talk, 2019) - 13 mins (of your life)
But so, in the (crazy) Voting-License Test idea, here's my `Elevator-Pitch' on how it works: 

If any people indicate they are going to vote for Trump (or, anyone like him) in any election ever, they then are very politely sat in a strait-jacket-chair with their eyelids propped open like Alex in A Clockwork Orange and forced to watch (and listen to) 4 years straight of Trump's yelled-speeches, 24 hours a day, 366 days a year, and with no toilet breaks. And, he also YELLS all his TWEETS AT YOU, EXTRA LOUD 

...Nah, just kidding. ...Or was I? It goes to show you never can tell, as the great philosopher, Charles Berry once wrote.)

Also, of course, a big fat hairy issue is Electronic Social Media, & `Fake News Floods' which Humanity hasn't had to cope with, on this scale & speed before... The Cambridge Analytica scandal, The Great Hack , surveillance capitalism, The Social Dilemma, and whatnot... On that - as I write this, the FaceBook has just yesterday banned the sharing of any Australian news on Australian Facebook, as the government wants them to pay for it. Outrageous. (Google on the other hand seems fine with paying Aussie news outlets, to then use/share their media on Google? But, it's complex. Seems to be an own goal by The FaceBook, so far. And see here, and here, and if there's spelling mistakes in those news articles, it's probably because journalism has been gutted by digital disruption :) Like, from: The FaceBook. Also, why isn't everything free, & everyone on Universal Basic Income, and, tax the robots? (Hurry up, the future, this is getting really annoying, now.) What pains me the most is, today I went to post a The Onion news story about Limbaugh on The FaceBook, and it wouldn't let me. Cos of the Facebook `news' ban. - Seriously-?! (This is such BS. Big social media companies need to stop fleecing everybody, and grow some Morals. I'm talkin':  Ethical Culture .) If I can't re-post super-duper-important satirical news on The FaceBook, what's the world coming to?(But as we know, FB is mostly nonsense anyway - mainly just: cute cats & conspiracy-theory cranks, LOL). Which says a lot about Human Nature, en masse? (...Though, I do like cute cats. I'm just like you. We have the same: culture.) Ok, well, enough about The Facebook (which had a yuge causal effect on spreading QAnonsense, & thus, the Jan 6 insurrection) - & back to the webinar-

& also, going to the (great) `passions & instincts' question, above:Andy suggested: The neocortex [rationality] is effective, as long as the limbic system [emotion] isn't freaked out.  (JTV thinks: Yes! In short, Evolution is both to be thanked & blamed for: Everything :)
And, on this exact topic (ideological/cognitive infections, cognitive immunity, etc.), am really looking forward to Andy's new book:  Mental Immunity  (due out: May 2021) !

Mental Immunity  (due out: May 2021)


(& I notice, you can pre-order it now on that Amazon link, above... & I did ! )

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So: great webinar. I learned a lot. (JTV)
& Met lots of great people / scholars. 
...What's not to like?



(Hey - and I also blogged on the previous one, here .)


THE END

ROLL CREDITS.

--------------//---------------
Well, that's about all we have time for, folks.
You have been reading / viewing a blog-post by:
Dr J T Velikovsky Ph.D
(aka: Velikovsky of Newcastle)
Information Scientist  & Systems Scientist & AI Researcher & Enthusiast & Evolutionary Culturologist & Filmmaker & Writer & Artist & Actor & Muso & Rugged Frontiersman & Random Guy
(and, also The  StoryAlity  Guy) 
aka Humanimal   
(or, The Artist formally known as Dr J T Velikovsky)


More stuff:

Transmedia Blog: On Writering
IMDb (Movies, Videogames): 
Music: Texas Radio & Zen Stupidity
YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/joeteevee (over 100 videos, some are even: good)
Academia page: https://newcastle-au.academia.edu/JTVelikovsky
ResearchGate page: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jt_Velikovsky
My ouvre... etc etc.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6741-066X 
Forthcoming book (November 2021): https://www.igi-global.com/book/principles-protocols-practices-evolutionary-culturology/267379

101 Questions about Atlas Hugged

 101 Questions about Atlas Hugged (2020)

An interview with David Sloan Wilson

Visit Atlas Hugged World for the full interview!

--------------//--------------- Well, that's about all we have time for, folks.
You have been reading / viewing a great blog-post by:
Dr J T Velikovsky Ph.D
aka:  `Velikovsky of Newcastle' aka `The (great) Velikovsky'
Evolutionary Culturologist & Information Scientist  & Systems Scientist & AI Researcher & Enthusiast & Evolutionary Culturologist & Filmmaker & Writer & Artist & Actor & Muso & Rugged Frontiersman & Random Guy
(and, also The  StoryAlity  Guy) 
aka Humanimal   
(or, The Artist formally known as Dr J T Velikovsky)


More stuff:

Transmedia Blog: On Writering
IMDb (Movies, Videogames): 
Music: Texas Radio & Zen Stupidity
Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/joeteevee (over 100 videos, some are even: good)
Academia page: https://newcastle-au.academia.edu/JTVelikovsky
Researchgate page: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jt_Velikovsky
My ouvre... etc etc.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6741-066X 
Forthcoming book (November 2021): https://www.igi-global.com/book/principles-protocols-practices-evolutionary-culturology/267379

On Ethical Culture

On Ethical Culture

Some Thoughts 

by 

JTV

14th Feb 02021

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So, if culture is defined as ideas, processes, and products, what would it take to eliminate the Unethical Culture, and preserve and promote the Ethical Culture on Earth? 

(Also, in space, since we humanimals seem to do that too.) 

(As Ethical Culture is one of the many goals of the new Science of Evolutionary Culturology).

How about we first of all get clear on some Definitions:

Q: So what is Ethical Culture, anyway?

A: Okay well, here's what the webpage for THE NEW YORK SOCIETY FOR ETHICAL CULTURE says:

`THE NEW YORK SOCIETY FOR ETHICAL CULTURE is a Humanist community dedicated to ethical relationships, social justice, and environmental stewardship since 1876. We celebrate life’s joys, support each other through life’s challenges, and work together to build a more just world.' (Source: online, 2021)

And, they even have regular Meetups, and stuff...! (Aw man, if I lived in NYC, I would totally go: Meet. Up. But as it happens, I'm Down Under, here in Oz. Traylia. So, whaddyagunnado. Maybe just write a blog-post, and a book, and stuff.)

Hey but here's something more from their Meetup page, which helps to shed a little light on the subject:

`What we're about

Ethical Culture is a movement centered on ethics, not theology, whose mission is to encourage respect for humanity and nature and to create a better world. Members are committed to personal ethical development in their relationships with others and in activities involving social justice and environmental stewardship.

What We Believe

We believe all individuals have inherent worth and dignity, the potential to grow and change, a responsibility to strive for ethical growth, and a responsibility to create a better world.

As an Ethical Community we are all part of something that transcends the individual experience and are enriched through our relationships with others. As such, we have responsibilities to each other, to the Society, and to the community.

The New York Society for Ethical Culture offers a full schedule of events and activities for everyone including social gatherings, Sunday platforms, weekend and evening lectures, classes, outings, charitable volunteer opportunities, teen leadership programs, and a (non-theistic) Sunday school. Join us at one of our events such as our Foundations of Ethical Culture course, Ethics in Film, Ethics and the Theater, Advocacy Forum, or Socrates Cafe.' (Source: online, 2021)

Anyway, you get the idea. 

But for the sake of clarity, we can look at those two words a bit closer, `ethical' and `culture':

Ethics is about right and wrong (good and bad) conduct. 

(Here's a good goal: Minimize suffering.) 

Culture, as noted above = ideas, processes, products.

Some examples of unethical ideas, processes, products:

Nazism is an unethical idea. (Or, Political Philosophy, or goal, or worldview.)

Female genital mutilation is an unethical process.   

Cigarettes (which cause cancer) are an unethical product. 

Q: When did this Ethics stuff begin?

A: Well, it goes way back to Aristotle, at least. 

Aristotle. or: "Aristoteles" (1811) by Francesco Hayez (1791–1882)Image source: Public Domain.

(No doubt Ethics goes much further back too, but there's a pretty good starting point. See for example, Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. Both his son and his dad were called Nicomachus, so who even knows who it was about, or for... Maybe both-!)

Hey and look here:

`Ethics, as now separated out for discussion by Aristotle, is practical rather than theoretical, in the original Aristotelian senses of these terms.[1] In other words, it is not only a contemplation about good living, because it also aims to create good living. It is therefore connected to Aristotle's other practical work, the Politics, which similarly aims at people becoming good. Ethics is about how individuals should best live, while the study of politics is from the perspective of a law-giver, looking at the good of a whole community.' (Source: online, 2021) 

I only note the bold bit above as, it reminds me: He's talking about an idea, that, via processes, becomes a product. Culture. 

Now it's time to throw in a diagram showing Multi-Level Selection. i.e. The HOLON/parton structure of bio-psycho-socio-cultural units of culture. (See also the book P3 of EC for many more details.)

So, there's a diagram (or a model, if you will) of where I think we need to be concerned about Ethics, Morality, and Politics, and Values . These things all affect each other (cells, people, families, communities, nations, the whole biosphere, even our solar system as we're leaving a lot of space junk out there and whatnot. Littering is usually bad. You should really clean up your messes, so somebody else doesn't have to, later.) 
Atoms come into it too, as what if you split an atom, and blow up a whole country or whatever. 
Electrons too, as: what if, you put the wrong guy in the electric chair, and murder him, or whatever. 
Anyway - you get the idea. Systems Science goes into how `everything's connected' and whatnot. (Well, maybe not everything, but a lot of things are, like everything in an ecosystem, etc.)

...Some more definitions please? Just want to get really clear on what you're on about, here.

Okay then.

Here's the Encyclopedia Britannica on Ethics (in, an article written by the Australian Moral Philosopher, Peter Singer):

`Ethics, also called moral philosophy, [is] the discipline concerned with what is morally good and bad and morally right and wrong. The term is also applied to any system or theory of moral values or principles.' (Source: online, 2021)

Ah see, now, we're coming to: VALUES. 

See the word `values', there, in that quote (above). Values. 

Anyway - I think that definition is a pretty good one (Singer's one, above). That's why I Selected, Varied, and Transmitted (i.e., cited, or quoted) it here, on this blog post. 

(I varied it a teensy bit, by adding the text `[is]'). It's not varying it much, I'll admit. Just makes it easier to read or understand, probably? 

Hey, by the way, did you know there is an Evolutionary Algorithm (in both biology and culture): SVT? Selection, Variation, Transmission. 

I only say that, as, some folks seem to (mistakenly) think that culture doesn't evolve. 

But it does. 

So, maybe keep an eye out, for that good ole SVT evolutionary algorithm... it happens a whole lot more often than most people seem to notice...? 

You probably even do it yourself. Like, when you repeat some information, or news, that you know, to somebody else, or on the `Socialist Medias' (the Facebooks, and the Linked-Ins, Twitterverse, etc) or whatever. Just sayin'. 

(I mean, if you really want to go hog-wild on it, check out, this book: P3 of EC.)

Where was I. 

Ok, yeah, let's keep on hammering away on this `Ethics' stuff. It's probably important, or something. 

Let's hit up Wikipedia's page on Ethics, and see what they have to say for themselves:

`Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch[1] of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".[2] The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns matters of value, and thus comprises the branch of philosophy called axiology.[3]

Ethics seeks to resolve questions of human morality by defining concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime. As a field of intellectual inquiry, moral philosophy also is related to the fields of moral psychology, descriptive ethics, and value theory.' (Source: online, 2021)

...Sounds about right?

Anyway maybe read up on Value Theory, and the point is: What's good for a person may not be good for the group/s they're in. i.e. Wider Society/s. Or, all nations, or, the rest of life on the planet, or the environment, or whatever. Systems are always in an environment. And you are a system of systems, inside a system of systems. Systems are HOLON/partons, by the way. (See P3 of EC for more.)

Anyway, some more on Ethical Culture .
There's some cool books on this stuff. 
e.g. 

Bradie, M. (1994). The Secret Chain: Evolution and Ethics. State University of New York Press. 
Harris, S. (2010). The Moral Landscape: How science can determine human values. Free Press. 

And, so on. 

Now, so, what about: Moral Codes? 
Yeah? These things go back to The Code of Hammurabi. 
And well before, as hunter-gatherers in the Pleistocene (no doubt) had a set of group (tribal) rules: e.g. If someone is a bully, or does the wrong thing, maybe kill them in their sleep, or whatever.    
Religions usually have Moral Codes, too, like `Commandments' and whatnot.
And, national Constitutions, and Legal Systems (global, national, state, local, etc) have them. 
Hey - and let's all think about Asimov's 4 Laws of Robotics, as robots are a thing now, too.  
Here they are from Wikipedia, as I'm in a bit of a rush, so currently, it's easier just to Select, Vary and Transmit them to you:
Asimov's 4 Laws of Robotics:

`A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.[1]

In The Evitable Conflict the machines generalize the First Law to mean:

"No machine may harm humanity; or, through inaction, allow humanity to come to harm."

This was refined in the end of Foundation and Earth, a zeroth law was introduced, with the original three suitably rewritten as subordinate to it:

0. A robot may not injure humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.' 

(Source: online, 2021)

I think, we should take these 4 Laws, and apply them to: us humanimals, too.  

As then, folks like Trump wouldn't be able to ignore Science (truth, facts, reality), and let hundreds of thousands of folks die, from COVID. 

...Just sayin'. 

Nah, just kidding. 

This is all a satire and a parody. ...Isn't it? 

Anyway, read The Evitable Conflict sometime. It's a ripping yarn. Also it shows kinda how it might be good, if computers (AI) ran the world. 

(I don't mean just take the story literally. Read it, and see where the ideas underpinning it take you. Also, if you don't have a very good imagination, that may take you to: some really dumb places. So don't bother telling us about it, if, it's dumb, bad, or wrong. Be constructive. Try and solve a few global problems.)

The point is, Humanimals are not very good at: monitoring big complex systems. 

Like: 200 or so nations, and all the 8 billion folks, and 10 million+ species on a planet.

...AIs are, though!  

So; yeah - we need Ethical Robots running the world. 

And, eliminating all the Unethical Culture. (or at least clearly tagging/labelling it, so we all know, from a mile off, that it's BS. Unethical stuff like: Science Denial, and Conspiracy Theories, and old outdated Religious ideas [okay; Religious ideas in general]) etc.  

There's already tons of algorithms that detect and label `fake news'. So; more of that, please. On bigger scales. On all scales. See the levels and units of HOLON/partons, to see a few important scales.

Anyway so I think Ethical Culture is a good idea.

(You don't have to like it. It just has to be true.) 

But wait, you say - What if, it then turns society / the world into, like what Communist China has done, with Social Credits, and the gamification of life?

The Answer: That's why, you have a smart-system computer. 

To make sure, it doesn't happen that way. 

"Yes - but, but but but -", You say.

Stop talking, it's getting annoying now, I say.

You can talk about it, all you want. 

Until it's done, you don't really know what you're talking about. 

...AmIRight-?

Anyway I was just kidding.

This was all just: a satire and a parody. 

...Wasn't it?

[SUBROUTINE: ENDS]

--------------//--------------- Well, that's about all we have time for, folks.
You have been reading / viewing a great blog-post by:
Dr J T Velikovsky Ph.D
aka:  `Velikovsky of Newcastle' aka `The (great) Velikovsky'
Evolutionary Culturologist & Information Scientist  & Systems Scientist & AI Researcher & Enthusiast & Evolutionary Culturologist & Filmmaker & Writer & Artist & Actor & Muso & Rugged Frontiersman & Random Guy
(and, also The  StoryAlity  Guy) 
aka Humanimal   
(or, The Artist formally known as Dr J T Velikovsky)


More stuff:

Transmedia Blog: On Writering
IMDb (Movies, Videogames): 
Music: Texas Radio & Zen Stupidity
Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/joeteevee (over 100 videos, some are even: good)
Academia page: https://newcastle-au.academia.edu/JTVelikovsky
Researchgate page: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jt_Velikovsky
My ouvre... etc etc.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6741-066X 
Forthcoming book (November 2021): https://www.igi-global.com/book/principles-protocols-practices-evolutionary-culturology/267379

DySoc webinar: Marta Lahr (Feb 2021)

DySoc webinar: Marta Lahr (Feb 2021)

So I attended this great webinar:

(I think, maybe that hominid [in, the slide] is: Asking his Tattoo-Artist to: Put a tattoo, right there!)

The webinar was part of this great series: 

Dysoc Webinar Series: Human Origins and Cultural Evolution

Celebrating the 150th anniversary of The Descent of Man

------//------

Source: http://www.dysoc.org/dom_webinars#Lahr

& Below FYI is my Scribbled Notes I took down, during the webinar. (Velikovsky)

(DISCLAIMER: Though, sometimes, I can't read my own writing... 

So, I wouldn't take the below as `fully formal', or anything :) 

(...I may have made some transcription errors. Or even: Lots! - JTV)

The old Q in the 1980s was: Multi-Regional, or Single, origin out of Africa..?Bu things have changed (evolved)Neanderthals & Homo Sapiens (modern humans) are: sister clades!Denisovan mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)...Homo Erectus made it: Out of Africa.(JTV note to self - OUT OF AFRICA is a so-called `meme' (i.e., a unit of culture, an idea, process or product) with several referents. Think: Meryl Streep. (Or don't?) Interesting dispersal of units.)mtDNA of Denisovans is different to us, but Neanderthals' mtDNA is: similar to usDenisovans also have a different Y-chromosomeMode 3 Technology300 kya, dispersal of these biological units from Africa to Western EurasiaArcheological (1) Tool-artifact evidence; (2) Skeletal (bone) Fossil evidenceEvidence from Israel, 80-90 kya. Also - (1) Homo naledi - a small-brained hominid, but is a bit of a remix:(2) Naledi has Australopithecene shoulders & clavicles, and the like (so, a bit weird?!)(3) Naledi has modern hands!200 kya = Modern Humans!(JTV - think about tool/unit of culture: `dispersal', & `interbreeding' of units of culture)Human life-history is different to apes & Australopithecenes (& unique): eg (1) a long childhood, and (2) a menopause!So humans have a (relatively) long, slow childhood/juvenile stage, (slow maturation)ie Much LONGER ONTOGENY  !(JTV - note to self - A wonderful phrase, used by Marta: "So in my view, [insert: view], which is consistent with [insert: other important accepted evidence]. Must use this format sometime.)Marta notes: Major Outstanding Issues: Model 1 vs Model 2. & where were the Denisovans? & Which specific LCA are we looking for?Regional & Social BoundariesGreat conclusion by Marta; So I will leave you with a summary of the: (1) Elements consistent with new data (2) New insights (3) Points of debate ("controversies" :)So what's unique about Homo Sapiens? (1) Brain shape (2) Life history!It also would appear: Neanderthals went to Siberia, but kinda (JTV says - hey! Kinda like the Donner party, from Kubrick's The Shining, and: they all got inbred and collapsed. (This is the same problem in the end of The Midnight Sky. Spoiler alert!)This is a recurring pattern (obviously) - oscillating expansion and collapse. (JTV - hey this reminds me of this) Chris asked a great question about LUNG POWER in Neanderthals. Marta said: Yeah! Imagine with Neanderthals, a `child' of 7-10 years, the size of an adult(!) ie Energy. Someone phrased a great Q: "I wonder if you have any material on..." (a great way to phrase: Have you read: X?) Marta: We're all waiting on a great paper from China. (JTV - So I asked: Tell me more :)JTV - Marta used a great phrase, & which scientists (honest people) use a lot: "I know very little about ____." The Moral: If you don't know, just say it. You don't have to be a religious `guru' who `knows all' or whatever. Sheesh!Marta: "Positive selection of hybrid forms..." (JTV: HEY! This is Darwin's `hybrid vigor'! And the: Velikovsky's Universal Algorithm for Creativity in both Biology and Culture! i.e., Combine parts of 2 old things to get a new thing and it works better than the competition. i.e Creative (new, useful, surprising) artifacts have: Hybrid Vigo(u)r. Hey & check out the `u' there.)Vivek asked a great Q, & Marta mentioned energetics & bodysize; Island dwarfs & giants; (JTV - Aha! YES! Cost/benefit ratios in Design by Natural Selection! Also, Sexual Selection)Interpersonal vs Intergroup violenceMarta: Social networks go beyond (nullify) the geographical distance (of local populations). e.g. Exchanging wives & husbands, exchanging objects (cultural artifacts, units of culture, tools)Someone asked a Q, Re: Those new (er, very old) Chinese skulls? Marta: I've seen pictures but not studied the skulls myselfSomeone asked a Q I can't recall, and, Marta: Establishing that boundary is like chasing an impossible target (Darn, wish I hadn't missed that point - JTV)Marta (great point): If only one population survived, do we mark that as the origin of a new species?JTV: The `fossil record' of `archived culture' (as opposed to canon) is in our old (now, `unheard of'/mostly unknown) books, documents, tools, etc. [End of my Scribbled Notes - JTV]Anyway, great webinar! 

(We had a tiny technical glitch at the start, but who cares, the whole thing was brilliant, and Eric & Sergey the gang did a great job of: fixing it!)

Also, at the end, I asked a question about that picture in the background of the image, there. 

& The answer Marta gave was lovely!! 
Also, as an aside, some particularly-terrific graphics, in Marta's presentation, just in my view: (among other subjects, I studied Graphic Design for my Communication B.A. so I often tend to notice, when graphics are: outstanding, or even: (great)... also, see this great paper by Larkin & Simon)




---------
Also, a few links that were very kindly & helpfully shared by Eric Carr:
From nimbiosconference@tennessee.edu to Everyone:  03:59 AMDySoc's Youtube channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLMG_vDVdY-g1STiIQKF1nA
&
From nimbiosconference@tennessee.edu to Everyone:  04:39 AMThe spring seminar playlist (Last week's is published):  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB49ENb5C6RqykusJ6SK_5R9wzhZBMWih
e.g.: 
DySoC Seminar Series Welcome: The Descent of ManSee: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EL7c...
And...

The secret of our success - Joe Henrichhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3k34...

-------\\-------
And actually, I also blogged about Joe Henrich's great one from last time, here. 


Also, if perhaps of interest - blogged on TVoL's (great) Evolutionary Sociology series, here.
Also blogged on Andy Norman's (great) TVoL Examined Lives series, here.
Anyway - here's the summary of DySoc's current (great) series:
-------------
http://www.dysoc.org/dom_webinars​

The Center for the Dynamics of Social Complexity is happy to announce a series of free webinars for Spring 2021 on Human origins and cultural evolution: Celebrating the 150th anniversary of The Descent of Man. This series is a continuation of the Fall 2020 Dysoc/NIMBioS Webinar Series on Cultural Evolution. Organizer: Sergey Gavrilets (Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and Mathematics, DySoC Director, NIMBioS Associate Director for Scientific Activities, University of Tennessee) Co-organizer: Peter J. Richerson (University of California, Davis) The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex is a book by English naturalist Charles Darwin, first published on February 24, 1871, which applies evolutionary theory to human evolution, and details his theory of sexual selection, a form of biological adaptation distinct from, yet interconnected with, natural selection.
The book discusses many related issues, including evolutionary psychology, evolutionary ethics, differences between human races, differences between sexes, the dominant role of women in mate choice, and the relevance of the evolutionary theory to society. (See Wikipedia)

------------

...All great stuff!!!

So, that's great.

Anyway, I'm currently writing a book about the new Science of Evolutionary Culturology

so, this stuff all helps me, a LOT (!)

Am also presenting on the book, at this (great) AppEEL webinar, March 19th 2021:

March 19th, 17h (5 pm) Lisbon time (GMT 0)

URL: tba | Password: tba

* David Sloan Wilson on Atlas Hugged

* Dean Keith Simonton on Creativity as Blind Variation and Selective Retention: Campbell’s BVSR as Philosophy and Psychology

* JT Velikovsky on his book: Principles, Protocols, and Practices of Evolutionary Culturology

...So; there's that.

--------------//--------------- Well, that's about all we have time for, folks.
You have been reading / viewing a great blog-post by:
Dr J T Velikovsky Ph.D
aka:  `Velikovsky of Newcastle' aka `The (great) Velikovsky'
Evolutionary Culturologist & Information Scientist  & Systems Scientist & AI Researcher & Enthusiast & Evolutionary Culturologist & Filmmaker & Writer & Artist & Actor & Muso & Rugged Frontiersman & Random Guy
(and, also The  StoryAlity  Guy) 
aka Humanimal   
(or, The Artist formally known as Dr J T Velikovsky)


More stuff:

Transmedia Blog: On Writering
IMDb (Movies, Videogames): 
Music: Texas Radio & Zen Stupidity
Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/joeteevee (over 100 videos, some are even: good)
Academia page: https://newcastle-au.academia.edu/JTVelikovsky
Researchgate page: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jt_Velikovsky
My ouvre... etc etc.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6741-066X 
Forthcoming book (November 2021): https://www.igi-global.com/book/principles-protocols-practices-evolutionary-culturology/267379

DySoC webinar: Joe Henrich - The Secret of Our Success (Feb 2021)

 DySoC webinar: Joe Henrich - The Secret of Our Success (Feb 2021)

So this was a great webinar:

Joe Henrich - The Secret of Our Success (Feb 2021)

Here's a few Notes I took:

Sergey & Franz de Waal have a special edited issue of Evolutionary Human Sciences coming out soon. 

Sergey mentioned these 3 books:

Sergey introduced Joe:

Joe's talk:

 

Joe spoke about: (among many other things - watch the whole video at the DySoC site!)

Burke & Wills (Lost European Explorers)Wheels are hard to invent! They were only invented in Eurasia. About 6k years ago.Zero was invented twice, by the Mayans and in Indiab and d are hard to learn: lateral mirror invariant"techno-units" = separate parts (of a machine, invention, etc) - measures of complexityDominance status vs Prestige statusWe benefit from pre-solved cultural problems (cultural inheritance)Culture definition: Information stored in our brains that got there via a learning process Bio/Cult ev tradeoff - We humanimal-apes lost our strong jaws and sharp teeth as we invented cutting tools, in solving problems of eatingMore education selects against having more babiesImmigration = Innovation (let in more folks and you get more patents)Language solves co-ordination not cooperation per se

Anyway, great webinar! 

--------------//---------------

 Well, that's about all we have time for, folks.


You have been reading / viewing a blog-post by:

Dr J T Velikovsky Ph.D

(aka: Velikovsky of Newcastle)
Information Scientist  & Systems Scientist & AI Researcher & Enthusiast & Evolutionary Culturologist & Filmmaker & Writer & Artist & Actor & Muso & Rugged Frontiersman & Random Guy
(and, also The  StoryAlity  Guy) 
aka Humanimal   
(or, The Artist formally known as Dr J T Velikovsky)


More stuff:

Transmedia Blog: On Writering
IMDb (Movies, Videogames): 
Music: Texas Radio & Zen Stupidity
Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/joeteevee (over 100 videos, some are even: good)
Academia page: https://newcastle-au.academia.edu/JTVelikovsky
Researchgate page: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jt_Velikovsky
My ouvre... etc etc.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6741-066X 
Forthcoming book (November 2021): https://www.igi-global.com/book/principles-protocols-practices-evolutionary-culturology/267379
-----

3 papers by the great Mike Bradie (1986, 2011, 2014)

3 papers by the great Mike BradiePhilosopher Mike Bradie recently gave a great presentation at the AppEEL Webinar series, on: An update on the EEM/EET (i.e., Evolutionary Epistemology Mechanisms, vs. Evolutionary Epistemology Theories) distinction). See this 1986 paper by Mike if you don't know it.AppEEL Webinar #1 (Jan 2021) - Michael Bradie & Anton V. SukhoverkhovMike also mentioned this (1994)

TVoL's Examined Lives: Why are people religious? (Jan 02021)

 TVoL's Examined Lives: Why are people religious? (Jan 02021)

See: https://thisviewoflife.com/examined-lives/

A blog post by Velikovsky of Newcastle.

So - attended this great webinar!

--------//--------

Why Are People Religious?TODAY, January 21st, 12-1 ESTSession Five of Examined Lives with Andy Norman. 

Date and Time: January 21st, 12-1 EST


Why Are People Religious?
For some, the answer is obvious: because one religion—their religion—is deeply, obviously right. If we wish to understand religiosity generally, though, we need to understand the role it plays in peoples’ lives. What benefits does religious devotion confer? What is it about (most) human minds that make religious belief so compelling? Did religiosity confer evolutionary advantages? Is religiosity a by-product of other evolutionary adaptations, or was it selected for directly? Can a scientific understanding of religion help us bridge the ideological chasm between religious and nonreligious worldviews?

Learn the basics:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_science_of_religion

Take a deeper dive by reading books by:

D.S. Wilson, Darwin’s Cathedral
D. Dennett, Breaking the Spell
N. Wade, The Faith Instinct
P. Boyer, Religion Explainedhttps://thisviewoflife.com/examined-lives/

-------//--------

Below FYI is my Scribbled Notes I took down, during the webinar. (Velikovsky)

(Though sometimes I can't read my own writing... 

So, I wouldn't take the below as `gospel', or anything :)

------------

My Scribbled Mtg Notes :

Someone suggested - Would be good to see a biological (evolutionary) explanation of the 2021 Inauguration & attack on the US CapitolAndy (Norman) mentioned The Varieties of Religious Experience (James 1902) [on: the psychology of religious feelings]Andy covered the main competing scientific hypothesis (models) that aim to explain  Why some people are religious : 

Is Religion a cognitive byproduct of evolution? (Adaptation, or Spandrel?) 

Is it explained by the notion of MCCs (Minimally-Counterintuitive Concepts) ? 

Is it due to: a HADD - Hyperactive Agency Detection Device? (Memes that "capture & compete for attention / `catch on' as `viral' ideas, more than their epistemic merits justify?)

Is it caused by: Pro-Social Adaptation? (...Social "glue"?) Trust Enhances Co-operation? 

Is it caused by: Costly Signaling? (Someone we admire is religious, so we copy it/join in)

Is it: Dual Inheritance (a `Biology->Culture->Biology->Culture, etc' positive feedback systems loop) ?

Other topics mentioned:  

What's the definition of Religion we're all agreeing to?(Andy suggests: it's often a case of `family resemblance' rather than an exact list of characteristics/criteria, as, some religions have some - but not all, shared - characteristics)Someone noted that - Key Elements of (all) Religions, tend to include:  (1) A Cosmology, (2) an Ethical System of practises, (3) a Foundation StorySomeone suggested: It's (Religion) an act of faith; a mystery, not subjectable to scientific/rational enquirySomeone mentioned: Fukiyama's The Origins of Political OrderExcerpt from Wikipedia on the above text:

`Challenge of tribes on the road towards the state 

The next step was to escape beyond tribalism and the "tyranny of cousins", to join tribes into larger coalitions[9] towards states, again due to the advantage of larger armies. 

This was done with the aid of religion.[13] This was because as groups grew in size, maintaining cooperation became more difficult as face-to-face interactions with much of society became difficult. Religion offered a way of providing a combining social force to hold society together .[18] 

For example, Fukuyama cites Mohammed as an example of what Weber labels a "charismatic leader" because he used the idea of an 'umma' (community of believers) to bind together the territory that he ruled over .[19] This challenge to transcend tribalism partly remains today in many parts of the world that is outside Western civilization, for example in Afghanistan and in Somalia.[13] (Source: Wikipedia)

More NOTES I took:

Religions' origins as: Ancestor-Worship...Sage mentioned Credibility Enhancing Displays (CEDs) - eg other CEDs (outside religion per se) include "The invisible hand" or "Greed is good" (CEDs are used to `fit in' with a group)Proximate Causations (e.g.: Why is Bob religious, and Achmed, not?) vs Ultimate Causations (Why religion, at all?)David Hurst: DesCartes (solitary solipsism) vs. Vico (a more social view of the self)The Search for Explanations (Science) vs. Meaning (explaining Why are we here, What's our purpose; What's anything's/everything's purpose/meaning, etc - using: some non-science view)Pascal Boyer: "aggregate relevance"Minimal Cognitive Units (cost/benefit ratios)Religion as a `hyper-prime': where the hierarchy of `primes', is:Fundamental BeliefsLanguage/Thought/PhilosophyTools used in order to `bind' free energy in the mind (e.g. Schroedinger: What is Life?) A Religion is multivalent (can apply to/"explain away" anything & everything)Karl Friston on The Free Energy PrincipleSomeone noted: Devout Muslims learn the Q'ran (by heart) by age 12; The word `religion' can be interpreted as (linguistically) meaning: "re-read"

Useful Links that were shared:

https://henrich.fas.harvard.edu/files... fictions)https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/jonath... Sacks and Our Binocular Mind david-k-/?trackingId=5zMHksOAFU2XWR7yjj6n7A%3D%3Dhttps://www.linkedin.com/pulse/jonath... meets American Pragmatism.  https://www.pragmaticinquiry.org/zhij... Trump as god? See: https://davidkhurst.medium.com/democr... Friston - free energy principle. In book: The Brain has a Mind of its own (Holmes 2020)Jonathan Sacks’ book https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/bo... https://thisviewoflife.com/examined-lives/ & https://thisviewoflife.com/join-us/ & Please share XLives with your friends and colleagues and help support TVoL and this discussion forum by donating within your means

Possible Topics for next time:

MatteringRealism, Optimism, or both?The US insurrection of Jan 6th 2021The rise of Christian Nationalism

 #3 won the popular vote. (Like: Hilary & Joe Biden.)

Also:

Sage mentioned, this (classic) book: The True Believer (Hoffer 1955) (So now I've added it to my reading list) (...Wait for my Death Notice in the news: Velikovsky of Newcastle dead: Ceiling-height reading-pile of books next to bed fell over on him. ) :)Sage also mentioned, this great TVoL article, on cultural evolution by Whitehouse (2017). And, this great book:  Scale  (West 2017) (I am already a big fan of this one... (West 2017)...! Not least as, my (2016-2020) HOLON/parton scientific model of the units & levels of cultural evolution is all about: scale ...) ...am currently expanding the (2016-2020) chapters out, into a textbook on it... (& there's a chapter in my book on Religion, which probably explains my great interest in this particular XL webinar topic!)

...I actually view Religion (scientifically) as: a unit of culture; (aka a `meme'), & a HOLON/parton. For the `Case Studies' section of the book, the chapter-headings are: 

Part 4–Case Studies (Practice) applies these new scientific models of cultural evolution to various domains in culture: mathematics, stories (narratives / narremes), languages, movies, books, videogames, plays, music, poems, jokes, paintings, RELIGIONS, conspiracy theories, science, ideologies, inventions, art, and values. The final chapter of Part 4 includes some speculations on the future.

(Anyway so, Scale (2017) is indeed a great book... Gotta love: the dendritic [fractal!] structure of: river-deltas, veins, tree branches... & HOLON/partons [units of culture, units of biology/systems] & whatnot.)

&
&...
Some thoughts I had during the webinar discussion are below - I didn't get around to sharing any of them, at the time (Note to self - assuming the self is not an illusion, like Dennett suggests - must participate better next time! It was all too fascinating; I got hypnotized by all the: information/opinions/views.)

I'm a big Science/Rationality/Enlightenment/Critical Thinking fan, so, am (just personally!) not at all: religious - am openly secular. (Backstory... Was raised Catholic & Methodist till age 7, then my Catholic parents divorced, so we all got excommunicated :) ...Am also a very big: Evolution/Darwin/etc. fan...   Good to use Tinbergen's 4 Q's to examine Religion: Function, Mechanism, History, DevelopmentFor an interesting (& amusing) perspective, see, Bill Maher doco: Religulous (2008).Since slavery is now internationally outlawed, in the future (or even, right now?) is it possible, humanimals will, at some point, see `Religion' as: Mental Slavery...(?)(I don't have an opinion, just asking / posing, the Philosophical Q...)Dawkins might agree, as he suggests Religion is: child abuse...?& (in light of Bradie (1986) Assessing Evolutionary Epistemology) - see, the 1955 play (& 4 movie adaptations) of `Inherit The Wind' (1955) . 
Trailer: Inherit The Wind (1960 movie)
As an interesting side note, on that specific unit of culture (that movie - `Inherit The Wind'): 

On the Cultural Evolution of `Inherit The Wind' (1955) 

(Culture is defined here as: ideas, processes, products; Evolution is defined as the evolutionary algorithm - of Selection, then Variation, then Transmission [SVT] - operating on any unit, whether in culture or biology).
The play Inherit The Wind (1955) was adapted into movies, 4 times - in: 1960, then in 1965, 1988, and 1999. 

Each time, the original (1955) play was Selected, Varied (e.g. different actors, & director, etc.) and Transmitted, in culture. 

So: a classic example of Cultural Evolution, in action. 

(Noting also, the authors of the original (1955) play: selected, varied [fictionalized], and transmitted, the true events of the Scopes Monkey Trial, in their 1955 play.)

  

On Religion see also Marcus Gibson's brilliant (`Da Vinci Code'-style) thriller novel:  The Dead See (Gibson 2011)

`New York is rocked by a terrorist attack even more devastating than 9/11. Risk analyst Bob Travis sets out to end terrorism once and for all... by ending religion. As he descends into the deadly coils of corrupt religio-political power, Bob stumbles upon a 5000-year-old secret, and the greatest conspiracy in history.
'The Dead See’ is a conspiracy thriller unlike any other.
The story is based on discoveries made by the author while studying theology, and a further 20 years of research. Where other novels in the genre deal with minor controversies surrounding details of first-century faiths, ‘The Dead See’ ventures deep into the origins of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, and the resulting conflicts that still plague the modern world.
'The Dead See’ begins in New York on September 11, 2012, with a terrorist attack in an East River subway tunnel, more devastating than anything the world has ever seen. The Manhattan subway system is flooded, crippling the city.
Bob Travis is a successful Risk Analyst leading a peaceful life in Cape Ann. When Bob is hired to conduct a seemingly routine Risk Analysis on Fundamentalist Terrorism, Bob begins a dizzying descent into the coils of corrupt religio-political power. Inspired by clues in his murdered father-in-law’s effects, and the subsequent terrorist attack on New York, Bob hatches a plot to end terrorism by undermining all forms of religious Fundamentalism at their very foundations.
An enigmatic killer begins systematically torturing and murdering those with knowledge of a dark secret. In the tragic events that follow, Bob is catapulted on a journey to the far side of the the world, and into the cradle of civilisation. There, in the ancient ruins where the name 'god' was first whispered, Bob uncovers a 5000-year-old secret, and the greatest conspiracy in human history.' 

(The Dead See, Gibson 2011)

...Anyway - as I say, I have a chapter on " RELIGION"  in my forthcoming book (Nov 02021), so, this was all a very informative & educational webinar for me... 
So - Thanks again so much to Andy, Sage & everyone, for the very illuminating & insightful discussion...! 
Here's also a great YouTube video (featuring Andy Norman) from a few years back:

Am really looking forward to Andy's new book: Mental Immunity (due out: March 2021) 

Mental Immunity  (due out: March 2021)


(& I notice, you can pre-order it now on that Amazon link, above... & I did ! )

--------------

So: great webinar. I learned a lot. (JTV)
& Met lots of great people / scholars. 
...What's not to like?


--------------//---------------

 Well, that's about all we have time for, folks.


You have been reading / viewing a blog-post by:

Dr J T Velikovsky Ph.D

(aka: Velikovsky of Newcastle)
Information Scientist  & Systems Scientist & AI Researcher & Enthusiast & Evolutionary Culturologist & Filmmaker & Writer & Artist & Actor & Muso & Rugged Frontiersman & Random Guy
(and, also The  StoryAlity  Guy) 
aka Humanimal   
(or, The Artist formally known as Dr J T Velikovsky)


More stuff:

Transmedia Blog: On Writering
IMDb (Movies, Videogames): 
Music: Texas Radio & Zen Stupidity
Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/joeteevee (over 100 videos, some are even: good)
Academia page: https://newcastle-au.academia.edu/JTVelikovsky
Researchgate page: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jt_Velikovsky
My ouvre... etc etc.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6741-066X 
Forthcoming book (November 2021): https://www.igi-global.com/book/principles-protocols-practices-evolutionary-culturology/267379