Dang, I missed the thermodynamic reference. I think there's a parallel between Sam Harris being outraged that people think he's a racist islamophobe ( http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/dear-fellow-liberal2/ ) and the woo peddlers being outraged that TED doesn't think their ideas are worth spreading.
I think it's a form of rhetorical dyslexia -- what one thinks one is arguing is not the argument that others hear one making. -- rec -- On Wed, Apr 3, 2013 at 11:30 AM, Frank Wimberly <wimber...@gmail.com> wrote: > Psi = sigh = psychology = pounds per square inch = ?**** > > ** ** > > Am I close?**** > > ** ** > > How were Galveston and the trip back?**** > > ** ** > > Frank**** > > ** ** > > ** ** > > Frank C. Wimberly**** > > 140 Calle Ojo Feliz**** > > Santa Fe, NM 87505**** > > ** ** > > wimber...@gmail.com wimbe...@cal.berkeley.edu**** > > Phone: (505) 995-8715 Cell: (505) 670-9918**** > > ** ** > > *From:* Friam [mailto:friam-boun...@redfish.com] *On Behalf Of *Nicholas > Thompson > *Sent:* Wednesday, April 03, 2013 10:49 AM > *To:* 'The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group' > *Subject:* Re: [FRIAM] Fwd: [New post] The Loud and Clear Message that > the TED Controversy is Sending**** > > ** ** > > [psi]**** > > ** ** > > N**** > > ** ** > > *From:* Friam [mailto:friam-boun...@redfish.com<friam-boun...@redfish.com>] > *On Behalf Of *Rich Murray > *Sent:* Wednesday, April 03, 2013 12:41 AM > *To:* The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group; Rich Murray > *Subject:* [FRIAM] Fwd: [New post] The Loud and Clear Message that the > TED Controversy is Sending**** > > ** ** > > The Loud and Clear Message that the TED Controversy is Sending (skeptics > kill talks about wider views)**** > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: *The Weiler Psi* <comment-re...@wordpress.com> > Date: Tue, Apr 2, 2013 at 1:30 PM > Subject: [New post] The Loud and Clear Message that the TED Controversy is > Sending > To: rmfor...@gmail.com**** > > craigweiler posted: "TED talks is actually pretty cool. Although I've > been talking nonstop about the TED censorship for the past couple of weeks, > I don't hold a grudge against that organization. Truth is, they've been > pretty good to me. They've helped me increase my site v" **** > > Respond to this post by replying above this line**** > > ** ** > > ** ** > New post on *The Weiler Psi* **** > > *Error! Filename not specified.***** > > ** ** > > *Error! Filename not > specified.*<http://weilerpsiblog.wordpress.com/author/craigweiler/> > **** > The Loud and Clear Message that the TED Controversy is > Sending<http://weilerpsiblog.wordpress.com/2013/04/02/the-loud-and-clear-message-that-the-ted-controversy-is-sending/> > **** > > by craigweiler <http://weilerpsiblog.wordpress.com/author/craigweiler/> ** > ** > > TED <http://www.ted.com/pages/about> talks is actually pretty cool. > Although I've been talking nonstop about the TED censorship for the past > couple of weeks, I don't hold a grudge against that organization. Truth > is, they've been pretty good to me. They've helped me increase my site > views by 500% over this past month and pushed my blog into the top 5% of > internet blogs in general, by views. What's not to like? They have picked > sides in a growing controversy, which has galvanized the pro-psi camp in > ways that have never been seen before. Indeed, a lot is happening that has > never been seen before and I'm delighted to be in the middle of it. My > battle was never with TED, it's with the skeptics pulling the > strings<http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2013/03/30/ted-revokes-license-for-tedx-west-hollywood-event/>behind > the scenes at TED. > **** > > Which brings me to my point. The loud and clear message that has been > sent is that there IS a major scientific controversy brewing and > institutions, from TED to all of academia and the media need to stop taking > sides. They need to step out of the way and let the controversy play > itself out or suffer huge PR > damage<http://blog.ted.com/2013/04/01/a-note-to-the-ted-community-on-the-withdrawal-of-the-tedxwesthollywood-license/>as > a consequence. The new thing that is happening is that change isn't > coming from within the hallowed, starched halls of academia and within the > confines of scientific conferences, but from the outside. The ideas that > skeptics so quickly dismiss are gaining mas acceptance and are starting to > redefine the power structure. From what I can see, this is very confusing > to everyone on the skeptical side of the debate.**** > > (For those not familiar with the debate, it can be oversimplified thusly: > On the one side we have materialists/reductionists/skeptics who see the > universe as a lifeless machine that can be understood by figuring out its > mechanics. On the other side we have Biocentrists, for lack of a better > term, who see consciousness and life as being fundamental to the universe. > In other words, they see the universe as a giant thought. You generally > won't hear much about the second theory, but the evidence is much better > than most people realize. Mainstream science does not acknowledge this > which is pretty much why there's a big controversy.)**** > > Science, after all, is decided by scientists, right? What gives the > ordinary rabble the right to intrude on discussions about the fundamental > nature of the universe? This needs to be decided by people with advanced > degrees who have studied these matters their whole adult lives. Surely > only they have the requisite knowledge to decide? That certainly holds > true for most areas of science; the public is more than willing to just > accept what they are told. What makes the psi debate so different? What > the heck is *happening*?**** > > In a word, this particular area of science is being crowdsourced. While > people obviously aren't out conducting experiments en mass and publishing > them in scientific journals, they are able to substantially verify > scientific claims such as "there is no evidence for psychic phenomena." If > this phrase is uttered by a scientist and turns up in a mainstream news > article it is a relatively simple matter to browse the comment section to > find more substantial sources of information. Often these days, links with > real scientific information will be shared by a knowledgeable person > effectively demonstrating that the statement was false. This scenario has > gotten pretty common.**** > > It's precisely this kind of thing that has sent TED reeling these past > couple of weeks. Just a few short years ago, this problem with Sheldrake > and Hancock would have been easily managed. Drop the speakers, ignore the > few protest emails and proceed as if nothing had happened. It would have > been over before most of the public even knew what was happening. What > happened a few weeks ago however, is something that will play out more and > more in the future. The two videos were taken down for the usual > skeptical reason of being unscientific. People who were well informed > about this topic showed up for the debate, but it also started to draw > attention largely due to the fact that word spread about what had > happened. Someone mentioned it on the parapsychology > forum<http://forum.mind-energy.net/>I hang out on and I > blogged about > it.<http://weilerpsiblog.wordpress.com/2013/03/09/the-psi-wars-come-to-ted/> > I sent a link to parapsychologist Dean > Radin<http://deanradin.blogspot.com/2013/03/psi-wars-at-ted.html>, > he posted a link on his blog, it got picked up by The Daily > Grail<http://www.dailygrail.com/>and took off from there. > **** > > Now, all eyes were on TED and they were forced to back down from their > original position due not only to the outcry, but also the obviously well > informed logic behind it. Anyone who saw that comment thread > <http://www.ted.com/conversations/16894/rupert_sheldrake_s_tedx_talk.html>objectively > could see the weakness of skeptical arguments, the irritating nature of > paternalistic drive-by comments by TED staff and, well, *everything*. > This is the new reality; everyone gets to share and see what everyone else > is sharing.**** > > One outcome of this is that skeptics are being forced into the > intellectual debates which expose the weakness of their arguments and more > importantly, their arrogant attitudes. One of the hardest things to convey > to other people not familiar with the debate is the unreasonableness of > skeptics, but in these comment threads it's there for everyone to see. TED > and it's skeptics have not recognized the impact of this yet and do not > understand how much this is changing things. This crowdsourcing is going > to increasingly force intellectually honest discussions which will > ultimately force change that companies and institutions like TED and its > skeptics would rather not deal with. They are operating according to an > old paradigm in which they believe that they can make whatever decisions > they please, irrespective of pesky comments. That era though, is fast > coming to a close. The tail is wagging the dog.**** > > Academia will surely be the last bastion to fall under the new order, but > it ultimately answers to the public and if that public is well informed and > communicating constantly with each other, as they now do, then fall it > will. The basic problem, -that they are ignoring important evidence- is > exactly the sort of thing that will put a target on their back. An > energized public can award power and prestige to some while taking it away > from others. Universities aren't blind, deaf and dumb. If they start > losing money and grants because their skeptics are putting people off, > they'll do something about it. I'm fairly sure that's what it would take. > **** > > I've been following the psi wars for a number of years and I can see two > things: First of all, this is not a debate over science, despite what > skeptics claim. The body of evidence supporting the marriage of > consciousness and physics is simply enormous and utterly convincing by any > sane > scientific > standard<http://weilerpsiblog.wordpress.com/2012/12/14/telepathy-has-been-scientifically-proven-to-be-real/>. > (and here <http://weilerpsiblog.wordpress.com/evidence-for-psi/>) The > science, in other words, is settled. The TED controversy deeply > underscores this point: TED has never clearly defined their reasons for > censorship; they have never taken Rupert Sheldrake up on his offer to > debate the TED science board; the reasons for axing TEDxWestHollywood have > never > been convincingly laid > out<http://blog.ted.com/2013/04/01/a-note-to-the-ted-community-on-the-withdrawal-of-the-tedxwesthollywood-license/>; > Jerry Coyne, in his blog, (which unwittingly helped raise the profile of > the censorship issue considerably) has never scientifically spelled out his > objections either. They all pretend as if it's a problem with a solution > so obviously in their favor that it doesn't need discussion. Thus, they > never engage the evidence in any meaningful way. The lack of meaningful > discussion highlights a very significant point. The controversy isn't a > scientific one; it's a social one.**** > > Second: The internet has given the opposing side two tools it has never > had before; we now have an easy way to find each other and we have a way to > spread scientific information that skirts the normal walls that science > builds around ideas it doesn't like. Typically, the mass media goes along > with this wall and tends to avoid publishing controversial topics as truths > because they are far too technical and it's easier to trust mainstream > scientists than to go out on a limb. But the internet skirts around mass > media as well. A community has developed that spreads the information > through an informal chain of blogs that together have the reach of lesser > forms of mass media. It's hard to judge exactly, but I would guess, based > on the interest that this topic has generated, that news of the axing of > TEDxWestHollywood has probably reached 100,000 people with *no mass media > intervention*. (My blog post alone would account for about 12% of that > traffic.)**** > > This community contains parapsychology > scientists<http://deanradin.blogspot.com/>and other > people with advanced degrees <http://www.hiddensolution.com/>; as well as > a very large number of well read individuals<http://www.mind-futures.com/>, > such as myself, who can see the evidence and decide for themselves. These > scientists, by the way, no longer need rely on academic and scientific > institutions to forward their ideas and evidence and make rebuttals to > obvious smears: They can take to to the streets, so to speak. It has > taken several years for this community to form because much of the > information has not been on line and people needed to get used to this new > format of communicating. People, such as myself, needed time to develop a > portfolio of work and build a reputation, which is just now coming to good > use. As these blogs have developed, people needed to find them and set the > groundwork for this loose connected network of like minded people. There > have always been far more of us, than skeptics, so the issue hasn't been > persuading people, but merely getting them together and getting them > properly informed.**** > > Now that the network is in place and this group has had time to settle in > and grow in numbers, an attitude change has taken place. With the > scientific evidence on its side and a firm sense of being right, this group > has gone increasingly on the offensive, pushing back at empty skeptical > claims and denouncing obvious lies and half truths. The message is fairly > simple and straightforward: "Don't suppress this stuff." This is where we > are now; pushing back. The controversy, which is social, is getting a > social solution and it's starting to have a pronounced effect.**** > > The effect has been to cause the skeptics to polarize the debate and send > them into a furious > campaign<http://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/show/wikapediatrician_susan_gerbic_discusses_her_guerrilla_skepticism_on_wikiped>to > put the genie back > into the > bottle<http://web.archive.org/web/20090421174810/http:/www.soultravel.se/2009/0409-PSI/research-parapsychology.shtml>. > There is no longer any pretense of being nice about > it<http://web.archive.org/web/20090421174747/http:/www.soultravel.se/2009/0409-PSI/parapsychology.shtml>and > in the near future it is this > frenzied activity <http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/411401.article>by > the skeptics that will create the change more than anything we do. The > skeptics are to science, what the Tea party is to Republicans. They're on > the same side, but their radicalized attitude, just as with the Tea Party, > presents both a solid base of support and sends moderates running in the > other direction. You can see what has happened to TED as the skeptics have > gained control. Their heavy handed attitude is having an impact on the TED > brand (it's too soon to tell just how much), and they are so consumed with > their small battles that they are losing sight of the war they are losing. > **** > > The parapsychological sciences that are shunned by mainstream science > have always been very popular with the public. This huge gap has always > existed and it has led to a sort of running 140 year battle between the > mainstream sciences and parapsychology. The skeptics in academia have > always succeeded by simply shutting out both the scientists and the public > interest, but they can't do that anymore. Their main tool, control over > information, has been taken away from them. As the TED drama has shown, > they have no ability to fight on open ground. It is just the beginning of > an ideological clash that will spread all over the world and eventually > force a change.**** > > The wall that the skeptics have put up is like a shaky dam with a rapidly > growing river behind it. They will hold sway for awhile, and it will look > as though they are succeeding because so little gets past them, but it is > an illusion. The broad network of people supporting an alternative view of > the universe, backed by solid evidence, is still growing and getting > increasingly aware of its power. Everything will be fine in Camp Skeptic > until it isn't. Then, change will come swiftly and the sciences will be > fundamentally altered forever.**** > > *craigweiler <http://weilerpsiblog.wordpress.com/author/craigweiler/>* | > April 2, 2013 at 1:30 PM | Tags: > skeptic<http://weilerpsiblog.wordpress.com/?tag=skeptic>, > TED <http://weilerpsiblog.wordpress.com/?tag=ted>, > TEDxWestHollywood<http://weilerpsiblog.wordpress.com/?tag=tedxwesthollywood>| > Categories: Psi > Wars <http://weilerpsiblog.wordpress.com/?cat=2490984>, Skeptics and > Skeptic Arguments <http://weilerpsiblog.wordpress.com/?cat=17625980> | > URL: http://wp.me/ppYvF-s8 **** > > Comment<http://weilerpsiblog.wordpress.com/2013/04/02/the-loud-and-clear-message-that-the-ted-controversy-is-sending/#respond> > **** > > See all > comments<http://weilerpsiblog.wordpress.com/2013/04/02/the-loud-and-clear-message-that-the-ted-controversy-is-sending/#comments> > **** > > > Like<http://weilerpsiblog.wordpress.com/2013/04/02/the-loud-and-clear-message-that-the-ted-controversy-is-sending/?like_actor=36907243&like_hmac=5f82a8d41e3782133375f9f931b273e3&postid=1744&like=1&source=sub_email> > **** > > ** ** > > Unsubscribe or change your email settings at Manage > Subscriptions<https://subscribe.wordpress.com/?key=c90e92b61fe59a018927407f2eac2248&email=rmforall%40gmail.com>. > **** > > *Trouble clicking?* Copy and paste this URL into your browser: > > http://weilerpsiblog.wordpress.com/2013/04/02/the-loud-and-clear-message-that-the-ted-controversy-is-sending/ > **** > > **** > > ** ** > > **** > > ** ** > > Thanks for flying with *Error! 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