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The Collapse of Scientism and the Rebirth of Science

August 20, 2021

The Collapse of Scientism and the Rebirth of Science The oldest image (1228-1229) we have of Francis of Assisi (1182 – 1226). Not a portrait, but probably not far from the real aspect of Francis. He engaged in a bold attempt to reform the corrupt Catholic Church in Europe. He failed, but he left a trace in […]

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Human Stupidity Explained: A Study Published on the Scientific Journal “Systems”

August 20, 2021

Human Stupidity Explained: A Study Published on the Scientific Journal “Systems” The original representation (1976) of the four “quadrants of stupidity” according to Carlo M. Cipolla. Clockwise from the top left quadrant: the behavior of hapless, intelligent, bandits, and stupid people. According to Cipolla, stupid people are the most dangerous people in the world. We (myself […]

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Lev Tolstoy on Afghanistan: “It Happened Because it had to Happen”

August 18, 2021

Lev Tolstoy on Afghanistan: “It Happened Because it had to Happen” When an apple has ripened and falls, why does it fall? Because of its attraction to the earth, because its stalk withers, because it is dried by the sun, because it grows heavier, because the wind shakes it, or because the boy standing below […]

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Consensus Building: an art that we are losing. The Case of Climate Science

Consensus Building: an art that we are losing. The Case of Climate Science In 1956, Arthur C. Clarke wrote “The Forgotten Enemy,” a science fiction story that dealt with the return of the ice age (image source). Surely it was not Clarke’s best story, but it may have been the first written on that subject […]

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The Truth About Décolletages: an Epistemic Analysis

The Truth About Décolletages: an Epistemic Analysis This image represents the rape of Cassandra, the Trojan prophetess. It was probably made during the 5th century BCE (Presently at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Napoli, 2422). Note the partial nakedness of the figure of Cassandra: for the ancient female breasts did not have the erotic meaning that […]

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When the Ice Will be Gone: The Greatest Change Seen on Earth in 30 Million Years.

When the Ice Will be Gone: The Greatest Change Seen on Earth in 30 Million Years. An image from the 2006 movie “The Meltdown,” the second of the “Ice Ages” series. These movies attempted to present a picture of Earth during the Pleistocene. Of course, they were not supposed to be paleontology classes, but they […]

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Afghanistan: The Twilight of the Global Empire

Afghanistan: The Twilight of the Global Empire Afghanistan: a ragged blot of land more or less at the center of the mass of Eurasia and Africa. Over a couple of centuries, it repelled invasions from the largest empires in modern history: Britain, the Soviet Union, and now the United States. Not for nothing, Afghanistan is […]

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The Collapse of Science: We Need a new Paradigm for the Third Millennium

The Collapse of Science: We Need a new Paradigm for the Third Millennium I am not saying that all science is corrupt, but if images like the one above exist, it means that there is a serious problem of corruption in science. And note that it comes from “Scientific American” — not exactly your average tabloid! It […]

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Who is the Emperor of the World? The New Age of Epistemic Dominance

Who is the Emperor of the World? The New Age of Epistemic Dominance King Kamehameha 1st of Hawai’i (1736 – 1819) practiced the art of gift-giving during his reign, as it is typical of kings and rulers. It is remembered that he said, “E ‘oni wale no ‘oukou i ku’u pono ‘a’ole e pau.” “Endless is […]

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Climate Change and Resource Depletion. Which Way to Ruin is Faster?

Climate Change and Resource Depletion. Which Way to Ruin is Faster? What could bring down the industrial civilization? Would it be global warming (fire) or resource depletion (ice)? At present, it may well be that depletion is hitting us faster. But, in the long run, global warming may hit us much harder. Maybe the fall […]

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Dust thou art, and unto Dust shalt thou return. The Collapse of Concrete Buildings

Dust thou art, and unto Dust shalt thou return. The Collapse of Concrete Buildings We don’t know yet what could be the causes of the recent collapse of the condo building in Surfside, Florida. But it is likely that the corrosion of the reinforced concrete was one of the main reasons that weakened the structure of the […]

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Stereocene: The Future of Earth’s Ecosystem

Stereocene: The Future of Earth’s Ecosystem During the “golden age” of science fiction, a popular theme was that of silicon-based life. Above, you can see a depiction of a silicon creature described by Stanley Weinbaum in his “A Martian Odyssey” of 1934. The creature was endowed with a metabolism that would make it “breathe” metallic […]

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The Next Ten Billion Years

The Next Ten Billion Years This is a post that I published on “Cassandra’s Legacy” in 2012. It was one of the most successful posts ever published on that blog, it was reposted, discussed, and criticized in several places, including a long rebuttal by John Michael Greer, “The ArchDruid.” I commented on Greer’s comments here. I think it […]

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The Long Term Perspectives of Nuclear Energy: Revisiting the Fermi Paradox

The Long Term Perspectives of Nuclear Energy: Revisiting the Fermi Paradox This is a revisitation of a post that I published in 2011, with the title “The Hubbert hurdle: revisiting the Fermi Paradox“ Here, I am expanding the calculations of the previous post and emphasizing the relevance of the paradox on the availability of energy for […]

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The Great Turning Point for Humankind: What if Nuclear Energy had not been Abandoned in the 1970s?

The Great Turning Point for Humankind: What if Nuclear Energy had not been Abandoned in the 1970s? The Italian translation of Walt Disney’s book, “Our Friend, the Atom,” originally published in 1956. It was a powerful pitch of the nuclear industry to sell a completely new energy system to the world. It could have been […]

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