Part 3—Also, creates current chaos: Forget about yesterday's ten thousand talkers, the ones whose tongues were all broken. What's it like to see a whole nation misfiring wildly, despite its alleged "massive brains?"
For starters, consider the latest in-house attack on the New York Times' many readers. On this morning's page A3, an unnamed editor leaks the identity of yesterday's most read article:
The ConversationIt was yesterday's most read article! Just for the record, the third post on today's "The Conversation" list involves a photo of a mother duck swimming with fifty ducklings.
FOUR OF THE MOST READ, SHARED AND DISCUSSED POSTS FROM ACROSS NYTIMES.COM
1. Spotting CNN on a TV Aboard Air Force One, Trump Fights Against Reality
Wednesday's most read article opens with an anecdote describing "a bit of a stir" aboard Air Force One caused by President Trump's insistence that the White House entourage should begin each trip tuned to Fox.
The fourth item on today's list concerns a review of a book "that explains how eating patterns that disrupt circadian rhythms may be detrimental to health." That was "[yesterday's] most emailed" article.
When we use our "massive brains" in the pursuit of topics like these, is it any surprise that Donald J. Trump currently sits in the White House? That said, it's important to note the real reason why that piece about Air Force One gained so much attention yesterday.
That "anecdote" about Air Force One—the one which starts the libretto by Rogers and Haberman—involved first lady Melania Trump! Attendant schadenfreude apparently set our big pseudoliberal brains whirring.
Last night, Lawrence moved in on the topic. He offered a long and slimy opening monologue built around garbage like this:
LAWRENCE (7/25/18): You are not alone tonight if you believe Stormy Daniels' story about her having sex with Donald Trump a few months after Donald Trump's third wife gave birth to his fifth child.Lawrence is one of those men who can't stay out of the bedrooms of other men and women. He likes to go on TV and discuss other people having sex, especially when they've done this without his permission.
And you are not alone if you believe former Playboy model Karen McDougal is telling the truth when she says she had a yearlong sexual affair with Donald Trump around the same time.
If you believe Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, you are part of an overwhelming majority of the American people. A CNN poll shows that 63 percent of Americans believe the women, and only 21 percent believe that did not have sex with those women...
Now, we don't know if first lady Melania Trump was in the 21 percent who believed Donald Trump. And we don't know if her mind was changed by hearing her husband talking to Michael Cohen on an audio recording that made its worldwide debut last night on what is reportedly Melania Trump's favorite cable news network.
Under the headline "Trump rages against reality," the New York Times reported Monday night, "On the first couple’s recent trip overseas, Melania Trump’s television aboard Air Force One was tuned to CNN. President Trump was not pleased. He raged at his staff for violating a rule that the White House entourage should begin each trip tuned to Fox."
That same New York Times report says the White House is ordering additional television equipment so that Mr. and Mrs. Trump can watch the TV shows of their choice while traveling.
The new equipment is, quote, "to make sure the president and first lady could both watch TV [PAUSE] in their separate hotel rooms when they travel."
Now, "separate hotel rooms" might be an indicator of whether Melania Trump believed that Donald Trump had sexual adventures with at least two other women shortly after Melania Trump gave birth. But we have no idea what the first lady of the United States actually thinks about the president of the United States being caught on tape discussing a payoff to one of those two women, because the first ladt of the United States has said absolutely nothing about her husband today.
She has not rushed to his defense. She has not denied creating tension for the president and his staff on Aur Force One by refusing to watch Fox News.
[...]
It would seem, among the people least likely to believe Donald Trump's denials are the three Mrs. Trumps, who know him so well.
He kicks sand in the face of the wretched of the earth as he pleasures himself in this way. And as he pleasures Us.
Sure enough! For the second straight night, Lawrence skipped this astonishing news report about the Trump Admin's new admission that "more than 450 immigrant parents"—not the previously cited twelve—"whose children were separated from them are no longer in the United States," raising questions about whether they'll ever see their children again.
Yesterday, New York Times readers blew past that report to examine Melania's TV set, along with her separate bedroom. Last night, Lawrence rewarded pseudoliberal viewers with intrusive, antique schadenfreude as his corporate owners smiled.
Last evening, Chris Hayes did a full segment on the "more than 450 immigrant parents," explicitly saying that their children had been "kidnapped" by the United States government.
By way of contrast, Lawrence has avoided the topic for two straight nights; Rachel got to it last night for roughly one minute, at 9:56 PM, having blown all sorts of time on her latest bizarre dramatic reading of absurdly pointless court transcripts concerning the sexy-time adventures of Maria Butina, the super-sexy post-Soviet extremely sexy sex spy.
Lawrence and Rachel are badly disordered, fallen. At the same time, New York Times readers are emailing pictures of a large number of ducks. In these ways, we modern members of Homo sapiens are employing our "massive brains"—but then, we liberals have been behaving like this for the past three decades.
Is it really any wonder that Donald Trump sits where he does?
(In mid-October 2000, Lawrence went on the widely-viewed McLaughlin Report and offered the latest claim designed to show that Candidate Gore was the world's biggest liar. To do so, he baldly mischaracterized an 11-month-old statement by Gore about the proposed expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit.
(Back then, Lawrence behaved that way because he didn't like the fact that Bill Clinton had engaged in sex without prior written permission. As punishment, Lawrence and a cast of thousands took his chosen successor down.
(Today, Lawrence is one of our favorite corporate stars! These are the ways we modern liberals have been using our massive brains during the era which—or so we've been told—will eventually lead to Mister Trump's Fully Dispositive War.)
Given the size of our "massive brains," how can our "highly intelligent" species possibly be so small-minded, so venal? Let's return to Professor Harari's story, which we left after Tuesday's report, about 100,000 years ago.
At that time, various human species lived in different parts of the Earth. Our own species. Homo sapiens, tried to venture outside our neighborhood, but that first attempt failed:
HARARI (page 20): In fact, in the first recorded encounter between Sapiens and Neanderthals, the Neanderthals won. About 100,000 years ago, some Sapiens groups migrated north to the Levant, which was Neanderthal territory, but failed to secure a firm footing. It might have been due to nasty natives, an inclement climate, or unfamiliar local parasites. Whatever the reason, the Sapiens eventually retreated, leaving the Neanderthals as masters of the Middle East.It may not seem all that surprising that the Neanderthals won. As we've seen Harari explain, the Neanderthals were more muscular than Homo sapiens, and they had bigger brains!
According to Harari's account, thirty thousand years went by, and then our team tried it again. This time around, we were better equipped in a certain way—and this time around, we won:
HARARI (page 14): [M]ost scientists agree that by 150,000 years ago, East Africa was populated by Sapiens that looked just like us...[T]hey had smaller teeth and jaws than their ancestors, whereas they had massive brains, equal in size to ours.We'll touch on those conflicting theories tomorrow.
Scientists also agree that about 70,000 years ago, Sapiens from East Africa spread into the Arabian peninsula, and from there they quickly overran the entire Eurasian landmass.
When Homo sapiens landed in Arabia, most of Eurasia was already settled by other humans. What happened to them? There are two conflicting theories...
For today, we'll only note that, despite the earlier failure to expand, our brilliant species, Homo sapiens, would now prove to be hard to stop. All those other human species were on their way to extinction:
HARARI (page 18): Whether Sapiens are to blame or not, no sooner had they arrived at a new location than the native population became extinct. The last remains of Homo soloensis are dated to about 50,000 years ago. Homo denisova disappeared shortly thereafter. Neanderthals made their exit roughly 30,000 years ago. The last dwarflike humans vanished from Flores Island about 12,000 years ago. They left behind some bones, stone tools, a few genes in our DNA and a lot of unanswered questions. They also left behind us, Homo sapiens, the last human species.How did it happen? How did our expansionist ancestors manage to drive all other human species to extinction? That includes the Neanderthals, whose brains were larger than ours and who were also more muscular!
What was the Sapiens’ secret of success? How did we manage to settle so rapidly in so many distant and ecologically different habitats? How did we push all other human species into oblivion? Why couldn’t even the strong, brainy, coldproof Neanderthals survive our onslaught? The debate continues to rage.
At this point, Harari lays out "the most likely answer." We'll explore that answer tomorrow; it involves a chance mutation affecting certain aspects of language.
We'll explore that answer tomorrow. Having said that, let us also say this—we won't be painting a pretty picture of our big-brained species, which was hard at work, dishing the slime, on "cable news" last night.
"Tolerance is not a Sapiens trademark," Harari mordantly says at one point. Not long after, he even mordantly says this:
"It may well be that when Sapiens encountered Neanderthals, the result was the first and most significant ethnic-cleansing campaign in history."
How did it happen? A chance mutation have us the ability to "gossip," Harari says. It also gave us the ability to adopt potent types of group "fictions." These new abilities were the fuel which let us overcome the Others, despite their larger brains.
We'll visit that theory tomorrow. For now, we'll only note that Harari's book is endorsed by Bill Gates on the front, and by Obama on the back! Meanwhile, to see the gossip and the lack of tolerance to which Harari refers, you need only have watched Lawrence last night, or in October 2000. People are dead all over the world because of his conduct back then.
The One True Channel is deeply invested in delivering "gossip" and "fictions" of the type Harari describes. Last night, Lawrence was pleasingly fingering Mrs. Trump, while Rachel was lost in sexy-time play with her Butina, her favorite new toy.
How did it ever get this far? Did you see Lawrence in October 2000? Did you take in his garbage last night?
Tomorrow: A chance mutation—and Us
No, the mutation is mao tse troll.
ReplyDelete
DeleteI AM HERE TO TESTIFY ON HOW MY HERPES VIRUS WAS CURED BY DR LEWIS.
I'm Liubov Nikonets, from Texas USA. I had been in a relationship with a guy and we had unprotected sex for the first time and within a day i got a big bump on the crease of my thigh and vagina. after a few days it began to hurt more and more. I told him to take a picture of it for me, and it looked like open sores, like bugs were biting off my skin or something. So i went to the ER and they said genital herpes. I was soooo depressed. my boyfriend and i cried. he cried for me, but he had no idea he had it too. next day, same thing happens to him. at this point, we think i gave it to him because I was the first one to show the symptoms. The next phase I went through was depression. At this point, all I did was sleep and cry. I felt like my life was over. I knew I could never get married, I felt dirty, and worthless. I was depressed for about two months. I fought thoughts of suicide and it was a hassle to even carry out my daily tasks. So I started to wonder if there would be a remedy to this disease, which led me to going to visiting many hospitals, and nothing good came out from it, until I read a person’s testimony online that said that they were cured with the help of Dr LEWIS Spell, of this disease that the world deems incurable and tears rolled down my face. That persons testimony sparked a hope in me that led me to contact Dr LEWIS. So he assured us that we are going to be alright, after meeting up with the necessary requirements, he sent us a parcel and gave us instruction guide on how to use it, which we did, after 7 days of using the medication, the herpes was totally cured. So I and my boyfriend went and got tested for every STD in the book and every single test came back NEGATIVE, we also went back to the hospital, and it was confirmed NEGATIVE. I am posting my testimony to help someone out there suffering from this disease. Do not hesitate to contact Dr LEWIS via e-mail: Lewis7temple@gmail.com or WhatsApp him on +393511568477
HE ALSO HAS CURE TO THE FOLLOWING DISEASE:
HPV
GENITAL HERPES
TRICHOMONIASIS
CHLAMYDIA
HIV
GONORRHEA
HBV
SYPHILIS
CANCER
PENIS ENLARGEMENT
BOOBS ENLARGEMENT.
Anthropology doesn't exist so that Somerby can bash Lawrence O'Donnell. It is frustrating to see information that should be fascinating in its own right, distorted to enable Somerby to say mean things about someone he doesn't like on cable news. Then he blames this behavior on our species, accepting no responsibility for his misuse of knowledge painstakingly acquired by hardworking scholars. I find this offensive.
ReplyDeleteBeyond that, many upper middle class couples have separate bedrooms without it meaning anything about their marital intimacy. Old men get up frequently to use the bathroom disturbing their wives sleep. They snore. And they take up a lot of closet space. Separate bedrooms are an obvious luxury. And who cares?
It is pretty obvious that Melania wouldn't approve of Trump's affairs and that she might prefer her own TV stations. What couple wouldn't feel that way? It humanizes Trump to portray his marriage this way -- a favor he doesn't deserve.
But why can't Somerby skip such articles instead of blaming them for the demise of the Neanderthals, or whatever? He never seems able to pass up another opportunity to be an ass.
Trump's insomnia would keep Melania awake. His early bedtime, his early morning tweeting and 24/7 TV watching and his abuse of Ambien would all interfere with Melania getting a good night's sleep. I'll bet he has sleep apnea too.
DeleteYes, definitely alone. Mao and Somerby sitting in a tree...
ReplyDeleteThe relationship between brain size and intelligence is not direct, what matters is brain size to entire body size ratio. Whales for example have much larger brains than humans, even Neanderthals, but less intelligence.
ReplyDeleteTrump has an enormous whale-like body size, even if some of his other parts are undersized, some people say.
Speaking of those parts, Trump has run afoul of what is considered moral and legal behavior. Trump's first wife accused him of sexually assaulting her, as did the wife of a business associate, as did a teen at a Jeffrey Epstein party. Trump loves convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, here is what Trump has to say about Jeffrey Epstein:
Trump: "I've known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy. He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side."
I've heard Trump had a twinkle in his eye as extolled Jeffrey Epstein's virtues.
Sounds like Somerby is rooting against his own species.
ReplyDeleteSomerby belongs to a higher order of beings. He can only look down and pity us. Or hold us in contempt, depending on our political leanings.
DeleteWe all long for the time, pre-fall, when True Liberals were all Dour and Serious, and we had Gatekeepers like Uncle Walter and Chet Huntley, and only cared 24-7 about The Important Topics, instead of emailing pictures of ducks to each other, which causes sociopaths like Trump to get elected.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the ducks are to blame.
DeletePerhaps not. But We Liberals "email pictures of ducks", which is a metaphor for our lack of concern. Or something.
DeleteNow, if the ducks represent Republicans, we may be getting somewhere.
Our lack of concern about what? Seems to me Somerby is the one showing a lack of concern. He is the one who thinks separating parents from their kids is not kidnapping and is no big deal.
Delete"absurdly pointless court transcripts concerning the sexy-time adventures of Maria Butina, the super-sexy post-Soviet extremely sexy sex spy."
ReplyDeleteThis is supposed to illustrate Somerby's view of Maddow as "fallen."?
It's actually more of a window into Somerby's thinking. If he views the Butina case as he here describes it, then that speaks to his judgment about its importance, which he estimates as approximately on a par with duck pictures.
Maybe all that kompromat actually consists of pictures of people with ducks -- ick! I can understand the confusion if no one wants to get too explicit. But 50 does seem excessive.
DeleteApparently, talking about extramarital sex is evidence of the disorder of human beings. Does the doing of extramarital sex not show that? How about doing it, then paying off the participant?
ReplyDeleteThe disorder may be eliminating the discussion of more important subjects in favor of talking about extramarital sex.
DeleteIf the gossip and narratives allowed us to prevail as a species and defeat competitors like the Neaderthals, why is it a bad thing? These language-related abilities permit social cohesion and organization, loyalty and affiliation. They knit together family groups into larger social organizations. Why are they bad?
ReplyDeleteWhat has Somerby got against ducks anyway?
"What has Somerby got against ducks anyway?"
DeleteIt's a typo. He's alluding to the story of Anthony Weiner, the leading liberal intellectual, 'emailing pictures of a large number of dicks'...
... Mao said, as he wiped the drool from his chin.
Delete"In fact, in the first recorded encounter between Sapiens and Neanderthals, the Neanderthals won."
ReplyDeleteHow exactly was this battle recorded? The phrasing implies that there are contemporary accounts of the battle, that there was writing that was passed down to the present. If Harari is referring to records made by anthropologists, he is talking about speculation, not a record of the battle. It is an odd phrase to be using.
These things don't bother Somerby, even though this is the kind of nitpick he would jump on with both feet if it involved physics. But Somerby is illiterate in the social sciences. So he is willing to believe that someone did record that mighty battle between the Neanderthals and the Homo Sapiens, the Battle of the Levant (or whatever hill it occurred on) and that they noted the date of that fateful clash between the big-browed and the big-brained. This is of course ridiculous, since the so-called battle wasn't any kind of battle. People migrated from one area to another and killed off the food supply for their competitors by being more effective at hunting and gathering. And no one recorded anything. Later accounts are prehistory, not history (does Somerby know the difference between the two?).
"Last evening, Chris Hayes did a full segment on the "more than 450 immigrant parents," explicitly saying that their children had been "kidnapped" by the United States government. "
ReplyDeleteSomerby doesn't say, but he is perhaps objecting to the use of the term "kidnapping" here, but what else do you call it when the government takes away someone's children without due process, illegally according to our courts, and then won't give them back, holding them ransom until parents sign voluntary deportation agreements, or not giving them back at all? I think kidnapping is the appropriate term.
Somerby refuses to read the accounts of immigrants and their interactions with our government. He refuses to listen to interviews with activists and attorneys who are working with immigrants whose children have been taken. He refuses to follow the details of the court rulings and filings. So he perhaps doesn't know that the government has been found liable and ordered to return the children and that they have been failing to meet deadlines, and even refusing to return some children at all.
Somerby cannot know whether Chris Hayes is exaggerating when he calls this kidnapping unless he follows the details of what is going on. But he apparently only cares about NAEP scores and physics and mocking ducks and Neanderthals. If he were more of a liberal, he would understand that there are immigrants in Baltimore too and he would attend some demonstrations and understand that kidnapping is a pretty mild term for what our government has done to those kids. I would have thrown in the word torture too. Some have been sexually abused in their detention camps. Some kids thought their parents were taken to be killed. Many thought they would never see their parents again. But Somerby thinks Chris Hayes is exaggerating.
What an ass Somerby is.
I don't know about Somerby, but I would certainly object (if I cared) to calling people arrested for criminal border crossing "immigrant parents".
DeleteThat's odious demagoguery.
"Immigrant parents" are people who submit immigration applications and wait for consulate's decision. And no one ever "kidnaps" their children in the process, obviously.
Immigrant parents are also people who seek asylum legally. They have had their children stolen from them.
DeleteCrossing the border without permission is a misdemeanor, a problem of paperwork and documentation, not a crime. Calling such people criminals is wrong. They are immigrants if they are seeking to live in the US, not visiting as tourists.
Your certainty that no one ever kidnaps the children of people who have followed procedures is misplaced. People who have waited in their countries for asylum applications and been told to come to the US, have had their children taken. That's why attorneys have been helping the people who are having immigration difficulties. The US has not been treating people consistently or fairly or following its own rules, in some cases.
This is why you, like Somerby, needs to find out the facts on the ground in this situation. It is not what you think it is. We have watchdog groups who monitor the treatment of those detained in order to make sure proper procedures are followed. They are not -- because the goal of the Trump administration is to deter people, even those with legitimate claims, from coming to the US, because it wants to reduce the number of immigrants to our country. Some officials have even stated baldly that the purpose of separating children from parents is intended to deter people from trying to come here.
That's pretty odious, in my opinion.
"Crossing the border without permission is a misdemeanor, a problem of paperwork and documentation, not a crime."
DeleteYes, it is a crime. Google it.
"It is not what you think it is."
DeleteSure it is what I think it is. It's just a bullshit TDS hysteria financed by the neoliberal/neocon establishment. By the banksters.
They hate to lose trillions of dollars to Trump's tariffs. And that's all there is to it.
Immigrant parents are immigrants with children. Immigrants are people who are not citizens of a country they enter with the intention of staying. Some of these people enter illegally; some, like those who seeking asylum, enter legally, even if later they are forced to leave.
DeleteAs Florence Reece asked in Harlan County in 1931,”Which side are you on?” You can oppose a government that separates parents from their children as a political ploy. Or you can condone that policy on the erroneous grounds that those parents didn’t visit a consulate before they arrived.
"Those who get arrested are criminals."
DeleteNo, they're actually suspected of committing crimes. It's different here than it is in Moscow or St. Petersburg, or wherever the rock you crawl out from under is located.
They are not suspected, they are apprehended while committing crimes.
DeleteBut obviously a bizarre hybrid of neonazi and lib-zombie (like yourself) can't comprehend it.
Nothing says anti-Establishment like throwing the book at refugees, while providing a massive tax break to the criminal bankers who crashed the worlds economy through fraud.
DeleteEveryone arrested for illegal entry is still presumed innocent.
DeleteSome seeking asylum properly reported to immigration authorities.
And it’s at the discretion of the executive to treat illegal entry as a civil matter.
But none of that matters. Only one question does:
Which side are you on?
The side that recoils with disgust at intentionally inflicting anguish on parents and trauma on their children.
Or the other side.
I'm not on the zombie side, that's for sure.
DeleteAs for 'inflicting anguish and trauma', surely even a zombie should be able to understand, if vaguely, the concept of deterrence?
The idea is - concentrate now! - to discourage the patterns of behavior disapproved by the society.
To simplify even more, just for you:
Cross the border illegally = anguish and trauma.
No illegal crossing = no anguish and no trauma.
Expected result: fewer illegal crossings.
Comprende?
Lefties never care about law and order especially when subverting it helps bring down the free country they hate and they can replace it with a utopian police state that arrests people for saying the wrong words or thinking the wrong thoughts. Open borders is a very effective way of achieving that.
DeleteI understand the concept of using anguish and trauma to influence behavior. It’s called the end justifying the means, and the Trumpsters and their enablers have made themselves clear.
DeleteIt doesn’t matter to the basic question: Which side are you on?
You’re either on the side of those who recoil at intentionally inflicting anguish on parents and trauma on children in the name of “deterrence” or you’re on the other side.
It doesn’t even matter that the behavior to be deterred isn’t particularly damaging. That this is so merely makes the choice all the more stark.
It doesn’t even matter whether or not it’s true that the behavior bears the disapproval of society. That’s probably not true and is in any case, an age-old excuse for the inexcusable.
It doesn’t even matter whether the policy violates substantive due process in a manner that (as a federal judge ruled) “shocks the conscience” (relying on the precedent of Rochin v. California). Good to know, but this isn’t a legal issue.
There’s only one question, a moral question, a personal question:
Which side are you on?
They said “in Harlan County/ There are neutrals there.”
Now as then; here as there.
Comprende?
I'm most certainly not on the side of the pedophrasts.
DeleteBut sure, keep pedophrasting, by all means. Whatever turns you on.
Which side are you on?
DeleteThe question is simple, and the line is bright.
Once you’ve chosen to stand with the J H Blairs, you don’t get to pretend that you’re the victim when people on the other side point to your deliberate and unnecessary cruelty.
To children and adults.
Note 1: Pedophrast is a strange word. Ostensibly, it’s a combination of the Greek παιδoς, child and φραζω to consider or debate. The word does not appear in the OED, through the hardcopy updates. It does not appear in the online corpora that I have access to. The google has only a few hits for it starting last month, all from rightard sources. Perhaps I’ve just not looked hard enough or in the right places.
DeleteFrom the context, the intended meaning seems to be someone who has no rational argument for a position but who instead relies on the emotional appeal of wounded children. Sort of like claiming that the only reason to oppose child abuse is that babies are so cute.
Note 2: Yes, I know that Mao is a troll,but I think he’s served a repellently useful purpose in this thread.
Zombie repeating The Party Line: arresting criminals is "deliberate and unnecessary cruelty". Great spectacle, I love it.
DeleteAnd now, as we all know that a lib-zombie must have the last word, I'll be providing some sensory incentives for a while. So, keep going, dear, type some words.
Is it possible that the source of interest in the #1 story (about CNN on the TV set) is because Trump is persecuting CNN for telling the truth, and not about Melania's TV? The story suggests it was a staff member and not Melania herself who left the TV on CNN instead of Fox. Given Trump's vendetta against CNN reporters lately, this seems like more favoritism toward FOX and interference with our free press by denying CNN access to briefings. That is an actual 1st amendment issue, not a trivial who-sleeps-where gossip story.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it is Somerby's mind that goes to the gutter while everyone else is worrying about Trump's meddling with our free press. I wouldn't be surprised. Here he again shows his Catholic upbringing, being at once fascinated by that "sexy time" stuff while wishing to get the devil behind him, so he blames all of us for wanting to watch it. He really needs to see a therapist.
Maybe it happened like this:
ReplyDeleteHomo neanderthalensis did not have language.
The first Homo sapiens who encountered H. neanderthlensis didn't have language. H. neanderthalis, better adapted to the climate, won the competition.
A mutation occurred in H. sapiens which conferred language.
The H. sapiens with language dealt with the climate and replaced the H. neanderthalensis.
I'd say your chances are no better than 50/50 that Somerby will actually explain this tomorrow.
DeleteIt couldn't have been a single mutation because speech relies on a vocal apparatus that other primates such as chimps do not have. It seems likely that neanderthals had some method of communicating, signing perhaps. Language requires a grammar that permits combination of symbols to form new meanings. Signing doesn't involve that (unless you are talking about a system such as ASL, which does have a grammar). Many species of animals communicate.
DeleteSomerby keeps hinting that it is gossip and narrative that were the innovations, not language per se. These rely on non-language cognitive capacities, such as a working memory that can keep two different events and time periods together in mind simultaneously so they can be thought about in relation to each other, such as which came first, what caused what. Language makes that possible but working memory capacity is the key ability needed for it to happen. That isn't present in brains with smaller frontal lobes. The brains of neanderthals supposedly had larger occipital lobes for vision, not larger frontal lobes. So the emergence of larger frontal lobes was probably the genetic mutation. It would permit planning and organization, not just narrative and gossip. But Harari seems to be going out of his way to be semi-poetic. Somerby doesn't know this subject well enough to recognize where poetic license is being taken. I expect some excessive and misplaced literalness tomorrow.
“Somerby keeps hinting that it is gossip and narrative that were the innovations, not language per se.”
DeleteYou can’t have gossip without language, Ebola.
Leroy
"You can't ..., Ebola."
DeleteReal fuckin funny you smarmy prick:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/06/ebola-outbreak-nurse-nigeria-dies
You can't have language without the brain changes I suggested, asshole. How do you think language evolves?
DeleteDo you think it is funny trivializing a horrific disease now active again in Africa just to annoy a commenter? More of that legendary conservative empathy.
Robert beat me to it.
DeletePerhaps I chose the wrong anon with whom to to utilize that moniker. However, I agree, in order to not appear too sleek, it's best that it be retired. No matter who the anon may be.
DeleteBut I stand by my smarmy remark, Robert.
Leroy
3:43
DeleteYou can't have gossip without language. And Harari didn't write "a single mutation," he wrote a "chance mutation."
“Somerby keeps hinting that it is gossip and narrative that were the innovations, not language per se.”
How are gossip and narrative possible without language? Body language?
“These rely on non-language cognitive capacities…”
True, but then:
“Language makes that possible…”
You seem to be in some kind of loop, going nowhere, until your ultimate sentence, expressing disappointment and insult. I resolve now to try and avoid that tendency, but you make it very difficult. Somerby weaves his understanding of the nature of things into his own unique narratives, which I enjoy, and you don’t. Perhaps best to leave it at that.
Leroy
Robert,
DeleteHow selective is your faux outrage? Will you be angry with me if I say that Mao in Cal and David Cheng Ji are a plague on this website?
After all, more people have died of the plague since 2014 than have died of Ebola.
Zika would be a particularly lovely nickname any anon would be proud of. In fact, I call my neighbor’s cat Zika. Sadly, my neighbors persist in calling her Fluffy.
DeleteRobert here:
DeleteWhat's it to you? Who cares how you characterize commenters? Your defense of one of your fans is noted.
Robert there:
DeleteYeah, I figured it was you because your nym appears in the comment header.
What’s it to me? Very little, since this is a commentariat on a blog. It was just idle curiosity. Why avoid answering?
Who cares how I characterize commenters? Presumably you would, given your vituperative reaction to Leroy’s characterization.
Yeah, I like Leroy’s comments. Partly because he’s clever and discerning enough to like mine. But also because he took your point graciously and agreed to stop using the nickname.
I’d’ve told you to take your faux outrage and stick it up your ass.
Oh, wait. I guess I’d already done that. Never mind.
Bravo, faux mind-reader and authentic hypocrite. As my Arab friends used to say, this caravan is movin on.
DeleteSorry that I gave you more credit than you claim to deserve, but c'mon, Robert, you don't have any friends, Arab or otherwise, now do you?
DeleteAs my Arab friends still say, "Run away, Brave Sir Robin, run away."
During the campaign, Donald Trump stood before friendly
ReplyDeletecrowds, and stated that all the women who had brought
various charges of sexual misconduct were liars. He was
going to change the liberal laws, and WE ARE GOING TO
WIN A LOT OF MONEY FROM THESE PEOPLE.
The crowd cheered. This part always amused me: as
Trump supporters, did David in Ca and Mao think they would
receive a dividend from the Trump Retroactive Slander Payment
Project?
So, leaving aside the customary fascistic implications, Trump's improvisational family values have public and legal implications, yes, it matters that he was banging playmates while his male order bride had his son. Is O"Donnell grandstanding the sleaze? Obviously. But nothing he says is improper unless it's not the truth, and worrying about this during the era of Trump's daily assault on basic decency shows Bob is out of his mind.
Trump wasn't charged with sexual misconduct by Daniels or McDougal.
DeleteTrue. The self-admitted sexual predator has not been charged with sexual misconduct by Daniels or McDougal.
DeleteJust 26 others.
DeleteTrump will be charged with campaign finance violations, felonies, like John Edwards.
Yes - Trump's affairs with Daniels and McDougal were consensual. The comment here refers to "slander payments" and "sexual misconduct" accusations (and then lectures us about 'truth') but there is no connection between the consensual sexual relations and subsequent NDAs and the "sexual misconduct" accusations. No connection whatsoever. So, just stating the facts in the interest of truth.
DeleteThe more time liberals spend on the subject, especially with the poor reasoning and conflation of fact and fiction like we see here, the deeper they put themselves in a hole. imo
Not legal charges, but Trump is being sued for various loutish escapades that could fairly fall under the category of misconduct, if one is stating things generously.
DeleteMy big dick could fairly fall under the category of your mother fucking mouth if one is stating things fuck you
Delete“…involves a photo of a mother duck swimming with fifty ducklings.”
ReplyDeleteHad to chuckle at that. Reminds me of a Trump or Sanders press conference. Sigh.
As to the far-branching tree of hominids, many (thousands?) are extinct now, and all had their genesis on the African continent according to modern theory. Africa in fact would be geographically unrecognizable today, so much time has passed.
But we’re at our present state. In which we’re fed information from highly specialized corporate entities, in order to serve not humanity, but narrow capitalist interests.
Homo Sapiens Sapiens is going down, big brains and all. Hoisted by our own petard, as they say.
Leroy
It was 113 in my hometown today. If we go down, it will be due to our failure to adapt to man-made climate change. California has taken steps to ameliorate our problems but Trump is fighting us. Why? Does he have a death wish for our species?
Deletehttp://whatsappstatus.site123.me/
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeletePOWERFUL SPELL
Hello everyone you came across this post not by mistake but by chance there is a God sent whom i know that helped me get my lover back and restored my home his name is Dr Noble of templeofjoyandprosperity1@gmail.com he is specialezes in the following
1:Love Spell
2:Protection Spell
3:Pregnancy Spell
4:Invisibility Spell
5:Financial Prosperity Spell
This Man has been of immense blessing to me and my friends and i am putting his email here to help the world at large know about his abilities and power to solve various types of problems contact him today via
Email; templeofjoyandprosperity1@gmail.com Whats_App number Or Call +2348145643630
ReplyDeleteI AM HERE TO TESTIFY ON HOW MY HERPES VIRUS WAS CURED BY DR LEWIS.
I'm Liubov Nikonets, from Texas USA. I had been in a relationship with a guy and we had unprotected sex for the first time and within a day i got a big bump on the crease of my thigh and vagina. after a few days it began to hurt more and more. I told him to take a picture of it for me, and it looked like open sores, like bugs were biting off my skin or something. So i went to the ER and they said genital herpes. I was soooo depressed. my boyfriend and i cried. he cried for me, but he had no idea he had it too. next day, same thing happens to him. at this point, we think i gave it to him because I was the first one to show the symptoms. The next phase I went through was depression. At this point, all I did was sleep and cry. I felt like my life was over. I knew I could never get married, I felt dirty, and worthless. I was depressed for about two months. I fought thoughts of suicide and it was a hassle to even carry out my daily tasks. So I started to wonder if there would be a remedy to this disease, which led me to going to visiting many hospitals, and nothing good came out from it, until I read a person’s testimony online that said that they were cured with the help of Dr LEWIS Spell, of this disease that the world deems incurable and tears rolled down my face. That persons testimony sparked a hope in me that led me to contact Dr LEWIS. So he assured us that we are going to be alright, after meeting up with the necessary requirements, he sent us a parcel and gave us instruction guide on how to use it, which we did, after 7 days of using the medication, the herpes was totally cured. So I and my boyfriend went and got tested for every STD in the book and every single test came back NEGATIVE, we also went back to the hospital, and it was confirmed NEGATIVE. I am posting my testimony to help someone out there suffering from this disease. Do not hesitate to contact Dr LEWIS via e-mail: Lewis7temple@gmail.com or WhatsApp him on +393511568477
HE ALSO HAS CURE TO THE FOLLOWING DISEASE:
HPV
GENITAL HERPES
TRICHOMONIASIS
CHLAMYDIA
HIV
GONORRHEA
HBV
SYPHILIS
CANCER
PENIS ENLARGEMENT
BOOBS ENLARGEMENT.
It is a very hard situation when playing the lottery and never won, or keep winning low fund not up to 100 bucks, i have been a victim of such a tough life, the biggest fund i have ever won was 100 bucks, and i have been playing lottery for almost 12 years now, things suddenly change the moment i came across a secret online, a testimony of a spell caster called dr emu, who help people in any type of lottery numbers, i was not easily convinced, but i decided to give try, now i am a proud lottery winner with the help of dr emu, i won $1,000.0000.00 and i am making this known to every one out there who have been trying all day to win the lottery, believe me this is the only way to win the lottery.
ReplyDeleteDr Emu can also help you fix this issues
(1)Ex back.
(2)Herbal cure & Spiritual healing.
(3)You want to be promoted in your office.
(4)Pregnancy spell.
(5)Win a court case.
Contact him on email Emutemple@gmail.com
What’s app +2347012841542
Website Https://emutemple.wordpress.com/
Facebook page Https://web.facebook.com/Emu-Temple-104891335203341