Tag: flat earth

Today’s Taboo = Tomorrow’s Troubles

On By StevoIn anthropology, climate change, conspiracy, COVID-19, critical thinking, earth, electric vehicles, elon musk, energy, Environment, EV, NASA, nature, nature vs. nurture, religion, renewable energy, Science, space, Uncategorized, wildlife conservationLeave a comment

I was told as a kid – at home and in class – that there are some things we just do not talk about with others. I believed my learned elders and did just that…and you know what…that just made things worse.

I have a scientific mind. I need to ask questions, I need to know know how things work. I will not accept things without evidence and/or evidence supported theories. This is why I started asking the big questions when I was a teen. This is also why I often found myself in debates with those who choose to never ask questions and just believe what their authority figures would tell them.

When I would find myself in these situations, I would always respectfully and calmly draw from the peer-reviewed evidence (or the huge lack of evidence), as well as real world examples, to make my point during conversations about these topics. Almost without fail a truly strange thing would happen: I would often get rapidly and aggressively shot down with heated emotions, wild eyes, hateful words and phrases, and even personal attacks, bullying, and mockery.

These unusual responses would totally turn me off from the conversation – I learned a very long time ago to never poke angry bears, they will never listen to reason. More than that their responses totally threw me off track and made me wonder what was going on in the other person’s mind that, rather than have a rational conversation about a difficult topic, they would choose to be so easily triggered and resort to attacking my genuine questions and commentary, and even me personally, with so much venom and vitriol. It was truly odd to experience as a teen, but even more bizarre to experience as I aged. Yes, I have even encountered this type of attack from some humans i once considered friends and family – some I still have contact with, others, not so much. In today’s post-truth world, attempting to have these conversations with some people is like walking on broken glass, egg shells, and hot coals, while masked*, hevily armed, thugs point guns at your head while waving crosses, and flags – all at the same time. *identity concealing, not germ stopping – these hateful thugs would never voluntarily wear a PPE mask.

When I was young, almost all the adults in my life had far more restraint with their reactions around other adults and especially children. Today however, things have changed and it seems that some adults have lost the ability to restrain themselves, they seem to be walking around with big fat (cow) chips on their shoulders just asking someone…anyone, to try and push it off so they can slip into full-on enraged screaming Chimpanzee attack mode. Why are they so brittle? What are they missing that our parents had? Respect? Self control? Empathy? An education? Common sense? All of these things?
Sadly, my real world experience says all of the above.

Some personal examples;
(Note: these examples are each followed by a small sampling of the bizarre and often unthoughtful and even hateful comments that I have received from easily triggered reactionary individuals.)

Evolution by natural selection –
I don’t believe in evolution! My preacher and my family said I can not hear this blasphemy!! It is not real. I did not come from no fish or monkey!!

Anthropogenic climate change –
No!! It is not happening, its cold outside, and look, i just made a snowball – therefore it is not real…its a manufactured problem invinted by the chinese working with the WOKE leftist greenies to take our jobs and force us to drive electric cars!

The definition of theory –
There’s no real evidence to support any WOKE theories.

Renewable energy –
Not viable, does not work, takes American jobs, kills billions of birds, causes cancer, solar panels steal energy from the sun making the world colder, wind turbines stop the wind making it hotter…yada yada yada woke woke WOKE!

Fossil fuel subsidies –
More lies made up by the evil WOKE leftist greenies.

Fossil fuels –
They were put here by our god for us to use. If we don’t use them, we are going against God’s plan. The stuff that comes out of my car’s tailpipe is clear so it can’t be harmful. Coal rolling dosent hurt anyone and this is a free country so I can do what I like!! Drill baby drill!!

Pollution –
There is no air/water pollution because the air/water is clear !! That smell in the air is harmless and it is the smell of money!!

Electric vehicles –
They will never work, they are a passing fad, they are WOKE democrat cars, their batteries are tossed into landfills, they catch on fire all the time, they generate a dangerous EM field that makes you sterile, they are stealing our jobs!!!

Space exploration –
What a waste of money, space stuff does nothing for us here on earth…and youtube told me that space is not real and the earth is flat.

The age of the earth –
You are wrong!! My god said it is 6000 years old, so it is!!

Science –
I dont believe in science. Its part of the WOKE leftist liberal aganda!!

Religion –
My religion is the only one and my god is the one true god and you will burn in hell for eternity if you dont convert to MY religion!!!

Human rights –
My people are the chosen ones!! My rights are more important than yours!! Its my birthright and my way is the right way, the only way, and no outsider or immigrant will step on my rights and my god given freedoms!!!
My god painted them all brown to show that their blood is not pure and they do not matter.

LGBTQ+
They are all wrong, dangerous, and WOKE!! Their pronouns and choices do not matter, my sacred book and my favorite politician says they are all sinners and they will all go to hell!

Gender –
You are wrong – There are only 2.

The holocaust –
It did not happen.

COVID pandemic –
It was manufactured in a lab to reduce the population, it was a plandemic. Wearing a mask does nothing, it only shows that you are weak. Masks reduce your oxygen. Masks are WOKE!!! I don’t see any particles/droplets in the air so I do not believe they exist. My god will protect me – those who get sick and die – they were living wrong.

Vaccination –
Vaccines are full of toxins and will damage your brains!! Bill Gates is putting microscopic tracking devices inside vaccines to track our movements!!
Vaccines are evil!! Vaccines will shorten your life!!!

Natural disasters –
Earthquakes, tsunami, and volcanoes happen because god is angry with certain people and he is punishing them.

Wildlife conservation –
WOKE!!! Wildlife are dumb animals. They were put here by our god for us to have dominion over and use as we please.

Nature conservation –
WOKE!! Nature was put here by our god for us to have dominion over and use as we please.

Air/water conservation –
WOKE!! There is so much air and water, we don’t need to worry about it. It was put here by our god for us to have dominion over and use as we please.

Snake conservation –
Snakes are evil, it says so in my holy book! Kill all serpents!

Guns –
!!!2nd amendment!!! Dead school kids are unfortunate, but you will not take my guns!!!
Thoughts and prayers. !!!2nd amendment!!!

The Government –
Before trump: the gubment is keeping us down, down with the gubment!!
During trump: praise our savior trump – or die! Do as I say or die! Look like me, act like me, think like me, vote and pray like me – or die.

Recycling –
Recycling is stupid, it is so WOKE!!!
Recycling takes people’s jobs.

Star Trek –
WOKE!!!

Taking care of the planet –
WOKE!!! No need to take care of the earth, it is imperfect. It was put here for us to use, so we can use it up, it does not matter. Heaven is perfect.

Homeless people –
Just get a fukin job already you lazy strung out bum!!!

_______________

These are just a small sampling of the oddly disturbing, highly emotional, comments I have encountered from both students and adults over the last 40 or so years of my adult life on this strange wet rock floating in space.

Concerning these topics, topics we all should have been taught to have calm, respectful, evidence-supported conversations about, in my experience, it seems that many humans today cannot even have respectful conversations about anything real, without going off like a gun with a hair trigger. Why do they choose to act like this? Who, or what hogwash has implanted itself into their minds to cause them to react with such malice, instead of calmly using their rational brain to actually think? It seems obvious that many humans today simply cannot think for themselves, they need others – father/authority figures real or imaginary – to make their decisions for them.

Could it be that they have been poisoned by their fairy tales?

Fairy tails about imaginary gods, promised lands, freedoms, money, politics, dreams and picket fences, etc. Bizarrely, many of these individuals know inside, that their old fairy tails are invalid examples as teachers of reality, yet for some reason they continue to self-medicate themselves and their offspring with all these highly addictive religiopolitical fairy tale toxins (as well as all the legal and illegal varieties of OTC and Rx medications, herbs, and potions) – because it is the easy way out.

In taking the easy way out, they are choosing to not use their amazing evolution-derived meat computer mega-brain to critically analyze all the avaliable peer-reviewed evidence and make up their own minds…yet they will loudly cry and pray to their gods and policy makers why their personal life, society, and the world, are having so many problems. Their gods are too small, their rulers are too fat.

When no answers come (or the answers are inconvenienant so they choose not to accept them due to their lifetime of cultural conditioning – aka “indoctrination” in some circles – into their family’s religiopolitical cult of choice), they often choose to refuse/refute/redact facts, evidence, and knowledge in favor of pointing blaming fingers at the “other” – when their own personal choices and/or the choices of their tribe are the true root of all their problems.

Even more disturbing is that the functioning systems and infrastructure that make our society and lives even possible – science, engineering, technology, trade, energy, farming, etc. – have been politicized to the point where they have become tools used by greedy charlatans, bent snake oil salesmen, twisted pedophilic dictators, and malignant freaks all seeking religiopolitical power, control, and riches while their scowling, talking head minions distract over who is right or left, winning and losing, wrong or right…not what is real, factual, and supported by actual reality and incontrovertible physical evidence…such as their fellow human beings being deleted with extreme prejudice – live on several cameras.

Critical thinking in a dieing virtue.

Growing numbers of the population have lost the ability to have respectful, knowledgeable, peaceful conversations about almost anything and everything that really matters, and instead they resort to meaningless rambling small talk, or no talk at all.

I am guilty of this as well. I have distanced myself from these important conversations because I have encountered so much angst, attacks, and hate from so many people over these taboo topics. Most of my intentional distancing has been in the last decade and, while I know this hermitlike tactic is not productive for face to face communication, there comes a time when one must protect one’s sanity over the alternative.

This is why I write. It helps me winnow the wheat from the chaff. It helps me sort things out and share my thoughts in a peaceful, thoughtful, respectful way. I know that some who read my words will disagree with me, but that is OK. We are all adults here. If you are angered by my thoughts and words, maybe you need to ask yourself why? Why are you so angry? I had to have this conversation with myself long ago and the answer I found was this: unless i have done something genuinely in error, unless i have harmed them or their loved ones, their anger is theirs and theirs alone. It is not my problem, it is theirs. It comes from their mind, not mine. I have my evidence-supported facts in order and do not need to become venomously heated to defend the facts – the evidence stands on its own and needs no defense.

Yet, for whatever the reason and despite the piles of peer-reviewed evidence on whatever the topic may be, the anger remains. It is this anger and hate that and this creates division.

Sadly, this division among people often leads to fractured relationships, misunderstandings, anxiety, fear, and sometimes even hate of the “other.” For some, this seperatist mindset can lead them deeper into the territory that I call the “lunatic fringe.” These are fringe dwelling factions of misguided people that see anyone and anything outside of their chosen way of life – their tribe – as a threat to their existence. Example: ICE and the radical right facist-leaning mal-administration currently in power in the USA, as well as the far left lunatics that would use harmful tactics to get their points across.
Let us not forget the white christian nationalist/evangelical christo-facist types – they are a special kind of crazy, a crazy that is boardering on absolute insanity. If christ were alive today they would call him an imposter and crucify him because of his empathy, love, and generosity toward the sick, weak, poor, the immigrant and infirm.

Some deep thinkers are calling this a “post-truth” world, and with the rise of AI and deep fakes, I predict that things will only get worse before they ever start to get better. However, concerning AI – it is we humans that invented this technology using science and engineering, and it is we humans who are choosing to use these technological tools for hateful, nefarious, greed, and control-focused reasons…instead of actually using them to solve the big problems we all collectively face.

Post-truth, obviously – and as far as I am concerned, we are also living in a post-humanity world where many fearfull people have lost their common sense, empathy, compassion, kindness, peace and love for their fellow human beings.

Common sense has been deleted.

Knowledge is being deleted.

Critical thinking is being deleted.

Art is being deleted.

Kindness is being deleted.

Empathy is being deleted.

We have become our own most limiting factor.

IMHO The only way we will ever hope to survive as a species is if we can find a way to kindly and respectfully communicate with each other about these topics again, and maybe then will we re-awaken our lost humanity, and our lost hearts.

Or we will continue down this easy but dark path and extinct ourselves while blaming everyone but ourselves.

Choose wisely.

Do only Pretti Good things.

They walk among us.

On By StevoIn COVID-19, electric vehicles, elon musk, energy, Environment, EV, NASA, nature, nature vs. nurture, parasites, religion, renewable energy, Science, space, Uncategorized, wildlife conservationLeave a comment

Yes, they walk among us. EDIT 1.12.26 – and now they are running our government…

I met one once, he was wearing a tinfoil hat and totally convinced the gubment was following him – so he lived in a motor home, always on the move – a nomad terrified of reality.

He and others like him see conspiracy and deceit everywhere. From governments following their every move using bird-shaped drones to, flat planets, hollow planets, chemtrails, faked moon landings, planned pandemics, vaccine tracking devices, secret control groups – and today’s not at all secret death squads aka ICE, reptilians and/or all-powerful vengeful but entirely invisible god-beings and devils pulling strings from behind a curtain of clouds or magma and yada yada yada.

It is all really bizarre. And really scary.

Some of them seem to be attention seekers, some are profit seeking charlatans such as DJT and all the Alex Jones types, but sadly, others are truly missing something and I’m just not sure what it is and what will help them or if they even want help. It is a really very sad and growing mental health issue that needs to be addressed.

IMHO science, good critical thinking skills, and a bit of good ole common sense all work together to help us filter out the hate, fear, and all the crazy, and learn and understand how reality works.

In nature, most of the time life is really quite slow, methodical, and downright boring (have you ever watched grass grow) but absolutely necessary and remarkably beautiful for those who can see it – with an occasional natural disaster and pandemic tossed in to spice things up a bit – but this is our reality and yes, birds are real, (I ate a chicken leg for lunch and it was not a robot chicken (LOL).

Just to set things straight: we landed on the moon – 6 times – the earth is round, the government is staffed by real humans and recent events suggest that none of them have a clue how to govern…anything…and they are only in it to make bank.

Chemtrails are water vapor, sasquatch, nessie, santa, and god do not exist until evidence supports their existence. Evolution by natural selection is real and so is anthropogenic climate change. The power of peace, positive change, love, and compassion comes from the people. Seatbelts, masks, and vaccines work, and science is the best thing we have ever come up with to help us understand the reality in which we exist and then engineer ways to adapt and evolve to make it through whatever challenge nature randomly throws at us.

Knowledge conquers fear.

Do only good things.

Be Peace.

More on the Birds aren’t real project: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birds_Aren%27t_Real

VOTE…while you still can.

On By StevoIn anthropology, conspiracy, critical thinking, Environment, nature, nature vs. nurture, religion, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Please get your butt out there and VOTE.

Pray to whatever god(s) you believe in – or lack thereof.

Think good thoughts.

But let us remember that these religiopolitical/societal experiments in governing ourselves are just that – experiments.

Over the last ten thousand or so years of human civilization, there have been many societies that have risen and fallen, and just as many experiments in governing the populace. So many political organizations, religions, kings, queens, gods and goddesses have been invented, worked for a time, and faded away or fell flat on their faces only to disappear into the pages of dusty unopened books, the sands of time and/or the rock strata, and some, like ours – are novel and are still in the testing phase.

Just because this experiment is the one we are testing and living through today – does not mean it is the only way or the best way to govern a society and its people – in fact, recent evidence suggest that this experiment may be failing on many fronts.

If this grand experiment does in fact prove to be a total failure, it will need to be ended and relegated to the history books as yet another example of what not to do.

Therefore, it is not productive or helpful to believe this ongoing experiment is the end all be all best way to govern a large population of people, and therefore, as it is only an experiment in governing – it is not at all helpful to yourself or others to get all bent out of shape when someone you know or love chooses to support another “team” and/or if your chosen “team” loses its seat at the table.

Nor is it at all helpful to harm others or their property with your actions or words because, in all probability – in a century none of this will matter and the world will have moved on in its never-ending orbit around the sun and the thinking members of its population will have adapted to meet the challenge…or not.

There are only two choices in the game of life: adapt or die.

Improvise, adapt, overcome, evolve, survive, and thrive.

Make good choices.

Do only good things.

One Love.

Unless.

Peace.

Part 2.
If your “team” (political, religious, or sport) doesn’t win the game and in response, you are choosing or planning violence, hatred, intimidation, spreading evidence-lacking FUD, and/or harm/damage/vandalism to citizens and/or their property, and/or wildlife or nature – then the simple fact is this: you are not a patriot of whatever country or religion you choose to reside within.

If you support or promote past or future violence, hatred, intimidation, spreading evidence-lacking FUD, and/or harm/damage/vandalism to citizens and/or their property, wildlife and/or nature – then you are not a patriot.

What you are is a bully and a terrorist and a danger to society and to everything your religio-political affiliation stands for.

Don’t be bully.
Don’t be a terrorist.
Don’t let the fairy tales you have chosen to believe in, poison your mind and make your decisions for you.

Wake up.
Think for yourself.
Grow up.
Get help.
Be a good human.
Make good choices.
Do only good things.

If you know someone who is exhibiting these troubling symptoms – please report them to the authorities ASAP – it just may save a life or lives.

Consider This

On By StevoIn climate change, conspiracy, critical thinking, earth, Environment, UncategorizedLeave a comment

I – and many if not most of you reading this – would simply not exist without the findings of science, technology, and engineering.  Unsure of what I mean?  I have written about this topic before but here we go again because this cannot be overstated.

Starting off with the obvious: somewhere during your timeline of life a medical procedure/surgery, external or implanted medical or dental device, topical, or internal medicine, antibiotic, vaccine, or vitamin, – (that was invented, tested, guided, administered, and/or prescribed by the expert skill, advice, and training of medical experts we call medical scientists, virologists, immunologists, bacteriologists, prosthetists, orthodontists, dentists, plastic surgeons, doctors, surgeons, nurses, anesthesiologists, and all the other “ologists,”) – has repaired, prolonged, enhanced, or saved your life – or the life of one of your progenitors. 

Speaking of your progenitors; without one or more of the modern medical techniques and procedures I mentioned earlier – they may not have lived or lived long enough to bring those individuals who produced the being you call you into existence…in fact, they – and therefore you – may not have even been born at all.   

Another fascinating fact: it is very likely that some of your progenitors would have never even met each other without a horse and wagon, car, truck, bus, boat, ship, aircraft, or possibly even a rocket bringing them to the instant in time where they first met – changing the course of history to eventually create you.  

How many countless times in your life did a sanitation system such a water purification system, portable water filter, purified water from your local municipal water department, a simple wooden outhouse or gilded penthouse toilet – remove or greatly reduce the chance that you or your ancestors would contract a nasty parasite or deadly disease?

Where would you be and what shape would you be in without your soap, toilet paper, tooth brushes, contact lenses, eye glasses, dental implants, hearing aids, CPAP, Oxygen concentrator, hip, knee, and heart valve replacements, pacemakers, insulin, etc?

Then there was the discovery and implementation of better agriculture/animal husbandry techniques such as selective breeding, fertilizer, insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, genetic modification, preventative medicines – just to name a few – working together to produce a higher quality and quantity of foods allowing you to grow up strong and healthy.

Think about your home appliances for a moment.  Where would you be without your refrigerator, range, microwave oven, dish washer, laundry machines, blender, coffee maker, ceiling fans, HVAC, and all that electricity that powers them…how different would your life be without these technological wonders?

What about all that energy that powers and supports your lifestyle? Where would you be and what would you be doing without petroleum products such as oil, gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene? Then there is all that earlier mentioned electricity you use that is produced by all those coal, hydroelectric, geothermal, wind, solar, battery, and nuclear-power stations – and all the inventors, scientists, technicians, electricians, miners, roughnecks, refiners, shippers, managers, and other people who worked together to bring all that energy to you and to keep it flowing when you want and need it?

What about your modern clothes, tents, buildings, your home’s walls, doors, door locks, glass windows, the screens on the windows keeping out the blood-sucking and disease-carrying insects, all allowing you to live a comfortable and safe existence?

Do you perform work that requires the common sense use of PPE’s (Personal Protective Equipment) to protect you from the elements such as sunglasses, safety glasses, air filter mask/respirator, chain saw chaps, snake gaiters, clothes, boots, gloves, sunscreen, climbing helmets, life jackets, body armor, or a simple bandana to keep you safe and healthy?

Have you used a personal tool or weapon that has protected you from a predatory animal or human attacker?

Where would you be without all these things?

Would you even exist?

What about your smoke/carbon monoxide alarms…your seat belts and airbags, automatic emergency braking and self-driving systems in your cars…your skateboard, bicycle, or motorcycle…?

That advanced tool of some kind – that hammer, handsaw, cordless drill/driver, Bic lighter or matchstick, pocket knife, multi-tool, Swiss army knife, fishing pole, rifle, animal trap or snare, backpack, length of nylon rope, dry bag, plastic bucket, or tin can, or again the ubiquitous bandanna, – that allowed you to fix a machine, build a shelter, procure, preserve and protect, cook, and prepare food or water so you could beat the odds and survive on and on?

What about all those electronic devices – like the one you are using to read these words – that you love so much; your smartphone/watch, computer, iPad, television, stereo, 2-way radio, that Tesla or Toyota in the driveway – do you have the first inkling on how they actually function? Do you have any idea how much engineering, science, thought, research and development, and testing went into them to bring them to reality on this very day so you can use them and trust them to work as you wish and need them to?

How about the systems in place that allow you to know what the weather will be tomorrow, when the tides will flow, the fish will bite, your exact location on the planet, and then give you turn by turn directions to the bodega where you buy your baked beans and Beluga Caviar – do you even have a clue what it takes to make all these things happen and get those beans and caviar to your dinner table?

And what about your dinner table…?

And what about all the intricate supply chains that have brought all these things to you? Have you ever given any of these technologies and systems the first thought with even just one of your 100 billion neurons?

All these things and systems are products of our science, engineering, technology, ingenuity, vision, and invention.

All of these things are also the products of our own evolutionary development.

Image from this good read: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/monkeys-make-stone-ldquo-tools-rdquo-that-bear-a-striking-resemblance-to-early-human-artifacts/

One of the defining characteristics of our unique species is tool-making and use. All of the technologies we create are nothing more than tools made of modified natural resources (complex combinations of liquids, rocks, fibers, and sticks spiced up with a little bit of fire, electricity, and lots and lots of science and engineering) that allow us to better adapt and survive in this thing we call life.  Since the first time early hominids turned simple rocks and sticks into stone tools and then more recently (maybe 1.5 – 1 million years ago) harnessed the power of fire and added it to his fast-growing tool box – we human-animals have invented, adapted, and “MacGyvered” our way through deep time to bring us to this day in our lives.

The simple fact is this: without our tools (ancient and modern) and without all the inventors, engineers, scientists – without all the experts (ancient and modern) that made them – in all probability we would only exist as just another ape among apes at the mercy of predators, the elements, and the relentless nature of nature.

Ouch!

The simple fact is that many if not most of us living today would not even exist without the findings of science and the miracles of modern technology and engineering – yet, a vast number of people alive, existing, and living today have absolutely no idea how any of these technologies – and the science and engineering that developed and supports them – function – even at a basic level. 

It seems we may have created for ourselves a broken system in which some individuals in the human population today – while they gladly accept and use many of these tools on a daily basis – have willingly chosen to nurture and perpetuate an irrational fear and distrust of many of these most important life-supporting, life-sustaining, and life-bettering technologies and sciences. The very same technologies and sciences and that have allowed many of them to exist, to continue to be healthy, to have the things they need, use, and enjoy. Yet, for whatever reason – they still choose to take many of these things for granted, to fear some of these things while accepting others, and to ignore the findings of the experts even if it brings hardship and harm to themselves, their loved ones, and those around them.

Strangely, a small but growing fraction of the population of planet earth has chosen to not only fear some of these technological tools – but also to use some of them as tools and/or weapons to spread irrational fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) about still others of these most important tools they have chosen to misunderstand and distrust. A great example is this: people with little more than a high school education – if that – sitting on a couch at home or in traffic – or in their production studios – safe in their comfortable bubble of air conditioned from climate change (which they also do not understand or believe) existence – using their high technology personal electronic communications devices connected to the internet via fiber optics, ground and space-based data relay stations, and wireless data transmission towers and access points – only to spread loads of made-up FUD and misinformation about the expert advice of an entire planet’s worth of medical professionals on the need to wear PPE’s (masks) and the need to use the medicines and vaccines derived by science to fight off a microscopic viral attacker in the middle of a global pandemic…and then they take livestock dewormer…and sell loads of marketing, paraphernalia, self-published books, “cures” and “potions” and just get richer and richer off the ignorance of their followers.

This last fact is the most dangerous of them all. These “lunatic fringe” dwelling, anti-science, anti-knowledge, illogical charlatans – are nothing more than knowledge terrorists working to bring down the progress of civilization by sewing irrational fears into the minds of those without the capability, the education, or the desire, to see through their toxic charade.

It seems as if a cold-war spy movie mated with Austin Powers and gave birth to today’s reality.

The only way I know to fight this growing anti-science, anti-knowledge, fear-focused trend is to teach, to work very hard to open young minds – and the minds of those that are young at heart and still open to accepting evidence-supported, peer-reviewed knowledge.  The jobs of those of us who call themselves teachers is to plant the seeds of knowledge, inspiration, curiosity in how the natural world and the cosmos in which we float works. Then, we must continue to nurture those seeds with even more empirical evidence, adventure, experimentation, and lots of quality time outdoors in nature.  Hopefully, the seeds of evidence and curiosity we plant will grow into great and wonderful trees of knowledge that will empower its gardeners to cast off their fear, hate, doubt, xenophobia, and anxiety and nurture it with curiosity, knowledge, evidence, wonder, love, trust, passion, and coexistence and a deep reverence for all life. 

Plant that seed.

My personal science story:

The fact boldly stands that I would not exist without the findings of medical science, technology, expertise, and technique.

Why?  

1. I was born premature – medical science, technology, and engineering supported my life until I could support myself.

2. Vaccinations protected me against all the things all the other kids carried – all the things that wanted a piece of me when I was just starting out.

3. I acquired Mycoplasma “walking” pneumonia twice – I may have died without treatment and medications and the experts who administered them.

4. I developed Appendicitis: I would have most certainly died without treatment and appendectomy.

5. I was bitten by a Timber rattlesnake:  I may not have died but I would have probably lost the use of a finger and had lasting ill effects.

6. Both my biological and adoptive parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents – would have never met each other without ships, automobiles, and airplanes.

7. I have been in countless situations – many severe electrical storms and one hurricane come to mind – where a structure, vehicle, or technology provided shelter for me, and without it I would have died.

…and so on. 

So yes, without the findings and application of medical, materials, chemical, food, engineering, botanical, and physical science and engineering – I would simply not exist. 

It is as simple and as complex as that.

I do not fear the science, medical advancements, technology, and engineering discoveries, that have given me life – I accept and embrace them just as I accept and embrace nature – because science is our way of understanding and interacting with, and when the need arises – controlling the nature of nature.  These things have given me life and are a part of me, and for that I am eternally grateful. I am also eternally grateful to all the teachers, scientists, engineers, botanists, doctors, dentists, nurses, immunologists, virologists, biologists, and others who have helped me along the way to become the living, healthy person I am today – and to understand the value science and engineering brings to all of us.

You are all my heroes.   

What about you? 

How has science given you life?

Ponder it.

Improvise, adapt, overcome, evolve, survive, thrive.

It’s all a conspiracy!

On By StevoIn climate change, conspiracy, COVID-19, critical thinking, earth, NASA, religion, Science, UncategorizedLeave a comment

No, actually – it is not…I was just trying to get your attention 😉

I am sharing this link not because I was one of these people, I am sharing because many people have found themselves in this position and have been able to recognize the trap they were in and then get themselves out of it before it was too late. The link is a story of great advice from one of these individuals who recognized the danger and got out – others, however, are not so lucky and will need help from friends and family in finding their way out of the deep, dark, pit of conspiratorial thinking they have fallen into. Without a ladder or a rope of loving support from their loved ones – and sometimes the long arm of the law – they will dig themselves in even deeper and the ever-increasing depth of the pit will increasingly prevent them from escaping the gravity well they have fallen into – a gravity well that is crushing the life out of them and often, everyone around them.

IMHO, intentionally denying verifiable, peer-reviewed evidence and instead choosing to support conspiracy “theorist” “thinking” and belief systems – is one of the most dangerous threats we face in working toward a prosperous future for us all.

Have you unfortunately found yourself stuck in that bizarre world of conspiracies where you actually fully believe everything is a lie, a cover-up, a hoax?

You know what I’m talking about – but just in case you need a refresher – here are a few of the more common examples:

Area 51 is hoarding and hiding alien bodies/artifacts

The Apollo moon landings were staged/produced by Stanley Kubrick…

The earth is flat…or hollow…

Australia does not exist…

Lizard people are controlling our government…

Giants once existed…

Dinosaurs and humans lived at the same time…or dinosaurs never existed and their bones are a manufactured to give scientists a job…

Chem-trails are real…

Pizzagate…

911 was staged…

The “deep state”…

Climate change is a hoax…

Covid 19 is a bioweapon and was manufactured in a lab by Bill Gates and friends, and/or Bill Gates is putting tracking devices in vaccines to track/follow/control you…

Vaccines cause autism…

The democrats/republicans/greenies are plotting to take your freedoms…

The virus is not real and mask mandates are about control…

College brainwashes people to become liberals…

All that Qanon nonsense…

…yada, yada, yada…


If you believe any of these and/or similar bizarre claims and beliefs – without seriously analyzing and questioning the authenticity of those claims and beliefs…the what and the why of what and why you believe what you believe – and especially if you believe these things without any verifiable evidence to support your claims and beliefs – then you may have inadvertently become stuck/trapped in a cultish following that has hijacked your brain.

Ask yourself some serious questions:

Is this belief system taking up a large portion of my time?

Have I ended friendships or am I fighting with family members over it?

Have I dropped out of school or lost jobs because of it?

Am I living in constant fear of friends/family/neighbors/strangers that I once respected?

Am I afraid – terrified – of what may happen next?

Am I stockpiling food and weapons?

Am I always online “learning” and “researching” the latest claim, “theory” or “truth”?

Am I worshiping an ideal or a person in power/politics/prestige as a “savior” of humanity or our “tribe” or way of life?

Am I worried that friends who listen to and support the recommendations of science are the ones who have been duped?

Am I concerned and/or do I believe that education and knowledge are work of “the left,” “evil” or “the devil?”

Do I believe that I am 100% right about my beliefs because simply my belief system, my friends online, and/or that loudmouthed “woke” guy on YouTube, or my favorite end of the world/prepper/echo chamber website (that interestingly is always asking for money to support their cause) – tells me so?

If any of this sounds like you then please, get professional help now before it is too late.

The fact is this: if no evidence exists to support their/your claim, “theory,” or belief system – then in all the probability that exists – that claim, “theory” or belief system is – most likely – simply wrong/erroneous and/or manufactured – probably to make some slimy, smelly, troll in a dim, dank basement somewhere – loads of money – your money.

Sadly, you may have already lost your freedom to whatever the belief system it is that is controlling you and you will see everything and everyone as a lie, a hoax, a threat to you and your freedom.

Again, if any of this sounds like you then please, get help now before it is too late – before the gravitational pull of the lunatic fringe pulls you past the point of no return and you disappear over the event horizon into the black hole of darkness never to return to the land of the living.

If you can find the inner strength to realize you made a mistake – as the brave woman in this story did – then you can rescue yourself from the toxic world of conspiracy theorists and lies. Next is a story of a man who realized he was conned by the Qanon crazy and got out before it totally controlled his life.

Personal freedom comes when you find the inner strength to break the molds imposed upon you by the conspiratorial, religious, and political conditioning that ended your childhood trust in others and destroyed the insatiable curiosity all children have in the natural, real, observable, measurable, and so very fragile connections between all things in the cosmos.

Until you are able to shed the toxic skin of your past – or the mind predators of your present – you will run the risk of remaining easily controlled, divided, fearful, and under the thumb of the charlatans who want to own your life for their own personal gain.

True freedom does not come from without, it comes from within. It comes from letting go of all the things that have a hold on you, that control your thought process – and replacing them with only reality – even if the reality is that no one is really in control and we are all working, fighting, clawing to exist on a tiny, inconspicuous, remote, wet rocky speck of a rather ordinary planet orbiting just another ordinary star in just another ordinary galaxy in this vast ocean we call the cosmos.

We may not be all that special when it comes to the vastness of the cosmos, but each and every one of us are unique, special, one of a kind individuals and we each have wonderful gifts, talents, generosity, compassion, and love to offer to those around us. Let go of the imaginary things that control you and open your eyes and see reality as it really is – and then you will truly be free to live, share, and enjoy the life and time you have.

Life is not about the ending, it is about the living.

Live, laugh, love, learn.

Do good things.

One Love.

I found Sasquatch!

On By StevoIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

A few years ago I decided to do an experiment. I was tired of all the conspiracy theories and manufactured drama on TV, and online – so I decided to join in on the fun and make one myself. My purpose was a simple attempt to determine just how gullible people really are – and to have some good and harmless fun. So, I made a YouTube mini-series about “bigfoot” tracking.

Photo by Steve Atkins


My video series perfectly illustrates how so many people so eagerly and easily choose to absorb and believe the manufactured drama, pseudo-scientific, and even blatantly unscientific emotion and often fear-driven, non-peer reviewed videos, comments, out of context video clips, and even produced “documentaries” they find all over YouTube – as factual evidence only because it supports whatever utter nonsensical conspiracy “theory” they desperately want to believe as reality. These mostly well meaning people have a bad case of confirmation bias dictating their beliefs in so many unbelievable and often dangerous conspiracy theories, myths, and even total hogwash.

As an example of this madness, I offer up Episode Seven of my Sasquatch Tracks YouTube series that temporarily went “viral” on YouTube – even though it literally has written in the credits: For educational and entertainment purposes only…yet there were those who actually believed it as reality.

Some individuals actually believed my amatuer film making to the point of even thinking my disclaimer was a cover-up, a conspiracy to hide the truth. Others contacted me and asked me to do interviews on their programs/podcasts about my “discovery” and still others even asked me to take them into the woods to search for the “sasquatch.” It was truly and disturbingly unbelievable how fast my totally made-up and admittedly fake story about tracking a “sasquatch” went viral – with hits, countless comments, and even emails and phone calls from all over the planet – yet my hundreds of REAL videos following my REAL research tracking REAL reptiles – box turtles, Rat snakes, and rattlesnakes – and my REAL video documentation about my work with these REAL animals and me doing REAL science – have hardly ever even been noticed.

I guess this just goes to show how so many people are so disturbingly and dangerously gullible and do not care one bit about the evidence and the facts as described and supported by science. They would rather wallow in myth, legend, conspiracy, fear, drama, and gossip – than to have anything to do with the actual facts…or maybe it is just evolution having its way with us.

If a simple naturalist and teacher, with a couple of GoPros, trail cameras, a low cost “sasquatch” suit, and a bit of editing knowledge, and creativity, can so easily convince so many people he has discovered a massive mythical monkey man lurking in the nearby forest, – then just imagine what a professional TV producer with all the right tools, money, and talent can do for a person wanting to sell their manufactured drama, books, ideals, beliefs, myths and conspiracy theories to you the viewer.

It is up to you to use your common sense and critical thinking skills to identify and not be swindled by the charlatans who want nothing more than for you to believe their fakery (and convert you over to their way of thinking so they can later take your money) about whatever the manufactured myth or conspiracy may be – be it sasquatch/bigfoot/the Chupacabra, aliens, COVID-19, the government, Bill Gates, vaccines, Elon Musk, the shape of the earth, the climate, the origins of life the universe and everything, whomever and whatever.

Please, find it within yourself to ignore the conspiracy theories and manufactured drama and those spreading it by not sharing it and thereby feeding their temporary dose of crazy and hopefully, maybe one day they will come back to reality.

Trust the science and the peer-reviewed evidence and toss in a big helping of common sense and critical thinking to balance it all out and let it guide your decision-making process.

Do your research.

Fact check everything.

Knowledge conquers fear.

If you would like to view the Sasquatch Tracks YouTube series in its entirety please visit the playlist and join in the fun.

Be Like NASA

On By StevoIn climate change, critical thinking, earth, NASA, Science, UncategorizedLeave a comment

NASA is amazing.

In the late 1960 and early 1970’s they put a total of 12 human beings ON THE MOON with the

Apollo mission series.

NASA not only landed a dozen humans on the moon but they also put several different experiments on the moon – some that are still working to this day…

…and three Lunar Roving Vehicles – yes, NASA put “cars” on the moon…and they are all still there waiting for our return.

They then brought the astronauts, and hundreds of pounds of moon rocks they collected, safely back to earth for study – and they did this 6 TIMES!

Buzz Aldrin looks back at Tranquility Base and the Lunar Module Eagle.
Credit Neil Armstrong and NASA.
Source: https://www.nasa.gov/apollo11-gallery

…oh, and they rescued three stranded astronauts who had a terrible mishap in space (Apollo 13) and brought them home safely.

Everyone cheers, waves American flags, and worships the astronauts and NASA as the amazing heroes they are.

Armstrong, Collins, and Aldrin ticker tape parade. Credit NASA
https://www.nasa.gov/apollo11-gallery
Earthrise. Credit NASA.
Source: https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_1249.html

NASA sends multiple space probes, landers, and rovers to the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and many of their moons and then, sends back photos and videos and lots of science of these amazing places that astounds the inhabitants of our world greatly increasing our knowledge of our place in our home solar system, our galaxy, and in the cosmos.

The first Pale Blue Dot image. Credit Voyager Space Probe.
Source: https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/images/540616main_pia00452-43_full.jpg
The second “Pale Blue Dot” image of Earth from Saturn by the Cassini spacecraft: http://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2013/07/Cassini_s_Pale_Blue_Dot

People all over the planet are astonished, amazed, and humbled at the beauty and reality of this outstanding scientific knowledge drop.

NASA’s car sized Mars Science Laboratory “Curiosity” takes a “selfie” on MARS. Source: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/index.html

NASA works with the ESA and other space agencies to land a space probe on a comet!

Yes, you read that correctly – a COMET!!!

Comet 67PCG as imaged by the Rosetta Space Probe. Source: http://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Rosetta

After taking almost a decade to arrive at comet 67PCG the people of planet earth watched in awe as the tiny spacecraft Rosetta rendezvoused with the comet and then, released its even more diminutive lander Philae which later briefly touched down and later came to rest – albeit at an unusual angle – on this ancient wandering body in space. Amazing data on the origins of the solar system was gathered, people of earth were astonished at the preciseness of the calculations – the coding, the math, and the science – required to make all this awesome discovery happen for our species.

NASA (and many other space agencies) have put several massive space telescopes into orbit that reveal the existence of countless galaxies, solar systems, and over four thousand exoplanets – some similar to our homeworld – orbiting other suns, and many other amazing hidden secrets of the cosmos.

The Hubble space telescope above earth. Credit NASA.
Source: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/main/index.html

People are again speechless and agape with awe at NASA’s skills at this science thing.

The Hubble Extreme Deep Field Image. Credit NASA. Source: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/science/xdf.html

NASA builds a fleet of reusable “space planes” – the Space Shuttle.

Shuttle Discovery in orbit with a piece of the ISS. Credit NASA. Source: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

…and then teams up with 15 other nations to build a massive space station – the International Space Station (ISS) – that is now orbiting 250 miles above our planet and moving at a speed of 17,500 mph.

The ISS above earth. Credit NASA. Source: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/overview/index.html

This ISS has been continuously occupied by different astronauts from many different countries for over 20 years.

ISS Pizza Party. Credit NASA. Source:

It is an outpost in space that allows us puny fragile humans to live and work in a weightless environment in order to further our knowledge of our species and its place in the universe – and to prepare for deep space missions back to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson, Expedition 24 flight engineer, looks through a window in the Cupola of the International Space Station. Credit NASA. Source: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/overview/index.html

BTW: This is a space station that you can use a smartphone locator app (ISSonLive, ISSLiveNow, ISSDetector and more) to find in the night sky and then see with your own eyes from your own backyard. People are enlightened and astounded to the reality of it all.

A Space shuttle above Florida, USA – photo taken from the ISS.
Credit NASA.
Source: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/overview/index.html

NASA launches thousands of satellites that allow us to monitor the weather to plan our day, know our exact location and navigate better upon the surface of the planet (GPS), communicate across the world (global satellite communications, satellite TV, satellite internet, satellite phone etc.) – people are like

YAY NASA GO NASA WOOT WOOT!

NASA tells the world – several years early – a total eclipse of our star – the sun – will be happening on a certain day, at a certain time down to the second on a future date – so you better be there in a very narrow zone of totality across the continent or you will miss this once-in-a-lifetime “Great American Eclipse” event. Everyone takes NASA’s word as gospel and a mass migration of humans moves into position along the described zone of totality and all witnesses this totally amazing total solar eclipse.

Crowds gathered nationwide to watch the spectacle.
Everyone was ready and in place for the once in a lifetime event.

The solar eclipse during totality, seen from outside Crowheart, Wyoming; the photograph uses exposure bracketing to show both the Sun’s corona and the surface features of the new moon itself, illuminated by earthshine. A few solar prominences are visible around the lunar limb. Credit: Michael S Adler

Just as NASA scientists had stated several years before the event – the moon passed between the sun and the earth and at the exact times and locations as NASA had previously predicted – the Great American Eclipse happened.

Mike drop.

——————————–

NASA and many, many other scientists (all the way back to Clare Patterson – who not only discovered the age of our planet but may very well have saved all of us from lead poisoning) tells us that our earth is very, very, very old – on the order of 4.55 billion years to be as exact as scientifically possible.

Earth gif. Source – the “interwebs.”

This astonishing fact is supported by tons of geologic evidence in the crustal rocks of the planet and our Moon as well as evidence from ancient asteroids and comets as well as in the chemical/geological makeup of all planetary bodies in our solar system.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geologic_time_scale

More on this topic: https://www.space.com/24854-how-old-is-earth.html

and

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_the_Earth

Yet today, even with all the before mentioned NASA awesomeness, and all the piles of evidence…

…many humans continue to choose to claim our planet is less than 10,000 years old…see: Young Earth Creationism.

This topic would not be complete without debunking the bizarre myth that we humans lived alongside dinosaurs. Put simply – no, we did not. If we had, we probably would not be here because they were DINOSAURS!

Stated a bit more clearly and with awesome animations.

________________________

NASA uses its best science and technology to confirm our home planet is in fact round…and many, many, astronauts and spacecraft with cameras go into space and report that yes, our planet is in fact round.

Astronaut Mike Massimino over Earth. Credit NASA and Mike Massimino.

…and some people are like – NOPE. I just don’t believe it because from my point of view on the surface of the planet it just looks flat.

Riiiiiiight.

Some insight into the roundness of our planet.

Furthermore…

Imagine you are a bacterium on a beach ball – “Small sections of large curved surfaces will always look flat to little creatures that crawl upon it.” – NDT

I’ll let Neil Degrasse Tyson take it from here…

Source: NASA Blue Marble 2012. Credit NASA. Source: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/nasa-knows/what-is-earth-58.html

___________________

NASA uses its best space and earth based tools (satellites, aircraft, ice cores, historic temperature readings, atmospheric monitoring stations, tree rings, lake and ocean sediments, and the peer-review process, etc.) to generate solid evidence supported by the vast majority of the planet’s scientists who study the earth’s climate systems to reveal their evidence to the world that our human activities are driving climate change by burning too many fossil fuels way too fast…

…and some people have chosen to totally ignore and deny this peer-reviewed evidence and are like –

“NOPE. I just don’t believe it.”

!!WTF humans WTF!!

If we do not want to have our home planet become another Venus…

Venus – Source NASA: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/venus/overview/

…if we do not want our beautiful round planet to continue to be populated by a growing number of willfully ignorant, science and evidence doubting, conspiracy supporting, myth and legend preaching humans…

…if we do not want our species and many others to go the way of most of the dinosaurs…

…then, as we have done in the past in all matters of space and earth science, when it comes time to make the big decisions that impact us all and our shared environment – then we really need to start listening to NASA and the other experts who study our planet, our environment, and our climate and we need to fully trust them to guide us in our decision making process.

This is not rocket science but it is the definition of critical thinking: Disciplined thinking that is clear, rational, open-minded, informed, and supported by evidence .

We need to be more like NASA.

We need to unite behind the science.

The future hinges on the decisions that we make today.

Choose Wisely.