Thursday, March 10
Misogyny in South Korea
Park Min-young, 29, spends most of his day talking to angry young men in Seoul.
His fingers relentlessly tap the keyboard as he replies to dozens of their messages at his desk in the centre of a busy campaign office for one of South Korea's main presidential candidates, Yoon Suk-yeol.
"Nearly 90% of men in their twenties are anti-feminist or do not support feminism," he tells me.
South Korea has one of the worst women's rights records in the developed world. And yet it is disgruntled young men who have been the focus of this country's presidential election.
Many do not see feminism as a fight for equality. Instead they resent it and view it as a form of reverse discrimination, a movement to take away their jobs and their opportunities.
It is a disparaging development for the tens of thousands of young women who took to the streets of Seoul in 2018 to shout "Me Too" after several high profile criminal cases involving sexual harassment and spy camera crimes known as "molka".
But now that cry is being drowned out by men shouting "Me First".
The country's gender politics is a minefield the country's next leader will have to navigate - if they can first win the battle to get into office.
The contest
Conservative candidate Mr Yoon and his liberal rival Lee Jae-myung are neck and neck in a contest to become the next leader of Asia's fourth largest economy.
Voters' top concerns are skyrocketing house prices, stagnant economic growth, and stubborn youth unemployment.
Neither have any experience as legislators in the National Assembly which is a first in South Korea's democratic history.
And neither appear to have a strong female voting base. Both parties have been accused of misogyny. READ MORE...
The Letter "Z"
Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak is facing disciplinary proceedings by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) for displaying the letter "Z" on the podium next to a Ukrainian rival in Qatar.
But what does the symbol mean?
In Russia, the "Z" is fast becoming seen as a staunchly pro-war symbol of President Putin's invasion of Ukraine. It has been sported by politicians, seen on the sides of cars, vans and advertising hoardings - as well as daubed on bus shelters. It has even been used by Serbs at pro-Russian demonstration in Belgrade. Photographs have been widely shared on social media.
While zed in the Russian Cyrillic alphabet is written differently - and looks like a 3 - most Russians recognise Latin letters. Emily Ferris, Research Fellow Russia and Eurasia at RUSI, says the "Z" is a powerful and easily recognisable symbol.
"Often with propaganda the simplest things catch on the quickest," she says. "It looks rather intimidating and quite stark. From an aesthetic perspective, it's a very powerful symbol."
It has taken less than a fortnight for the "Z" to spread among those supportive of President Putin's invasion.
In the central Russian city of Kazan, about 60 children and staff at a hospice were photographed outside in the snow forming a giant "Z" in front of their building. READ MORE...
It has become a social media conversation, says Aglaya Snetkova, a lecturer in international politics at the School of Slavonic and Eastern European Studies at UCL. "In many ways, this shows the extent to which Russia is, or has been, very much part of the global world."
While zed in the Russian Cyrillic alphabet is written differently - and looks like a 3 - most Russians recognise Latin letters. Emily Ferris, Research Fellow Russia and Eurasia at RUSI, says the "Z" is a powerful and easily recognisable symbol.
"Often with propaganda the simplest things catch on the quickest," she says. "It looks rather intimidating and quite stark. From an aesthetic perspective, it's a very powerful symbol."
It has taken less than a fortnight for the "Z" to spread among those supportive of President Putin's invasion.
In the central Russian city of Kazan, about 60 children and staff at a hospice were photographed outside in the snow forming a giant "Z" in front of their building. READ MORE...
Wednesday, March 9
Just a Few More Thoughts
Now... while I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer... I am smart enough to realize that this is plain stupid and the people who this hurts the most are the general public who basically live from one paycheck to another...
I also understand that 50% of the American population has the relentless desire to go GREEN and while that is a noble quest, it would seem more reasonable to me to go GREEN gradually rather than all at once.
- I think smoking should stop all at once
- I think wars should stop all at once
- I think child abuse should stop all at once
- I think racism should stop all at once
But, I think our energy consumption should stop gradually... but it should stop.
And, I am all for going green and buying an electric car to stop my dependence on fossil fuels.
An electric car has a price tag of anywhere from $60,000 to $80,000 and higher... the distance that an electric car can travel on a charge averages around 400 miles... but, the recharging time is HIGH...
From Kelly Blue Book
Use these approximate calculations based on a 240V Level 2 power source and charging capacity, according to the manufacturers’ websites for the following 2021 cars:
- Chevrolet Volt EV: 10 hours
- Nissan Leaf: Up to 11 hours
- Tesla Model S: 12 hours
- Karma GS-6: 4 hours
- Tesla Model 3: 12 hours
- Porsche Taycan: Up to 10.5 hours
- Mini SE Hardtop: 4 hours
- Audi E-Tron: 10 hours
- Polestar 2: 8 hours
- BMW i3: 7 hours
So, an electric car with a driving range of 300-400 miles would be good to drive around the area where you live, so that you can charge it at night while you are doing things around the house... but, then there is the cost of that vehicle...
I just cannot imagine how the general public is going to respond to being forced to go ELECTRIC... especially when the power company cannot sustain the increased energy drain on their capabilities...
THEN WHAT???
Living to LIVE
I was healthy as a race horse until 2007 (age 60) when I was unexpectedly diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (SLL); however, I did not start treatment until 2008 when about that same time, I had experienced what I considered to be a sharp pain in my chest that turned out to be a heart attack. The heart attacked was caused by 3 heart ateries on the left side being blocked 100%, 90%, and 90% respectively. I had surgery for 5 stents in 2009/2010.
My chemo treatment consisted of:
Rituxan
Cytoxin
Fludara
Triandra
and it took place once a month and lasted anywhere from 4-6 hours. Sometimes, I would have treatment on two back-to-back days that always result in me going to the ER because I could not stop vomiting.
My treatment over the years caused me to have low white and red blood counts as well as low platelets. Being without an immune system and anemic, made me vulnerable to other diseases.
In 2012, I was diagnosed with Melanoma on my foot that later spread to my groin and then to my neck. In addition to my treatment for Lymphoma, I received treatment for Melanoma as well.
For my melanoma I was taking Opdivo and Yervoy (infusions) and for my Lymphoma I was now taking Imbruvica (pills). These new treatments were considered Immunotherapy not chemotheraphy. I stopped taking Yervoy and received several doses of radiation which was the new treatment protocols out of MD Anderson the leading cancer hospital in the USA.
Cancer treatments fowled up the workings of my Thyroid so my Oncologist put me on meds for that.
Recently, it was discovered that either age or my cancer treatments had fowled up the L5 and L6 disks in my spine causing me to experience pain in my butt and in the back of my thighs making it difficult to walk. An MRI is set for the end of next month and some sort of treatment regimen will be followed or I will have surgery.
Meanwhile, my treatment for both Lymphoma and Melanoma continues.
I have tried not to let my health issues impact my quality of life mentally even though it has impacted my quality of life physically, substantially. I maintain a positive attitude and keep myself busy so I will not get depressed.
COVID has limited my movements as it has everyone else, but when I can, I leave the house for doctor appointments, to get groceries, gasoline, and sometimes go to a restaurant.
I still mow the lawn when needed, weedeat, take out the garbage and recycle, and open and close our above ground pool. I have replaced boards on our deck and performed minor maintenance tasks inside that I knew how to do. I don't consider myself handicapped although others think that I am.
My body is tough because I spent my entire life physically training it to be tough through exercise, lifting free weights, playing sports, as well as kayaking every weekend for close to 10 years. As a teenager and young adult I would walk around our neighborhood with wedges and a sledge hammer, asking if anyone needed logs split for free as I wanted to build up my muscles.
Without intentionally performing preventive maintenance, my desire to do all of this all my life was performing preventive maintenance and my orthopedic doctor said that if I had not been as active as I was all my life, my problems with L5 and L6 would have been worse.
PERHAPS WE CAN LEARN SOMETHING FROM MY HEALTH ISSUES...
Hybrid Atomic Quantum Computers
Qubits, the building blocks of quantum computers, can be made from many different technologies. One way to make a qubit is to trap a single neutral atom in place using a focused laser, a technique that won the Nobel Prize in 2018.
But to make a quantum computer out of neutral atom qubits, many individual atoms must be trapped in place by many laser beams. So far, these arrays have only been constructed from atoms of a single element, out of concern that making an array out of two elements would be prohibitively complex.
But for the first time, University of Chicago researchers have created a hybrid array of neutral atoms from two different elements, significantly broadening the system's potential applications in quantum technology. The results were funded in part by the NSF Quantum Leap Challenge Institute Hybrid Quantum Architectures and Networks (HQAN), and published in Physical Review X.
"There have been many examples of quantum technology that have taken a hybrid approach," said Hannes Bernien, lead researcher of the project and assistant professor in University of Chicago's Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering. "But they have not been developed yet for these neutral atom platforms. We are very excited to see that our results have triggered a very positive response from the community, and that new protocols using our hybrid techniques are being developed."
Double the potential
While manmade qubits such as superconducting circuits require quality control to stay perfectly consistent, neutral atoms made from a single element all have exactly the same properties, making them ideal, consistent candidates for qubits.
But since every atom in the array has the same properties, it's extremely difficult to measure a single atom without disturbing its neighbors—they're all on the same frequency, so to speak. READ MORE...
But to make a quantum computer out of neutral atom qubits, many individual atoms must be trapped in place by many laser beams. So far, these arrays have only been constructed from atoms of a single element, out of concern that making an array out of two elements would be prohibitively complex.
But for the first time, University of Chicago researchers have created a hybrid array of neutral atoms from two different elements, significantly broadening the system's potential applications in quantum technology. The results were funded in part by the NSF Quantum Leap Challenge Institute Hybrid Quantum Architectures and Networks (HQAN), and published in Physical Review X.
"There have been many examples of quantum technology that have taken a hybrid approach," said Hannes Bernien, lead researcher of the project and assistant professor in University of Chicago's Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering. "But they have not been developed yet for these neutral atom platforms. We are very excited to see that our results have triggered a very positive response from the community, and that new protocols using our hybrid techniques are being developed."
Double the potential
While manmade qubits such as superconducting circuits require quality control to stay perfectly consistent, neutral atoms made from a single element all have exactly the same properties, making them ideal, consistent candidates for qubits.
But since every atom in the array has the same properties, it's extremely difficult to measure a single atom without disturbing its neighbors—they're all on the same frequency, so to speak. READ MORE...
Stopping Constant Complaints
You think you’re doing your best to get everything done to your partner’s satisfaction, whether it’s managing the finances or preparing a 5-star dinner. Much to your dismay, though, your partner continues to find reasons to complain. Maybe you forgot to run the dryer and now have nothing but drenched towels when it’s time for your partner’s shower.
Perhaps you forgot to get cat food during your weekly shopping run, leading to still more complaints. Your partner also has their share of household duties, but it doesn’t bother you all that much when something gets messed up or forgotten.
As you think about these situations, it might strike you that some complaints can be reasonable and others can be totally out of line. Everyone forgets things from time to time, and most people get over their annoyance at these minor missteps. Your partner, though, isn’t particularly accepting and, if anything, seems to find something to complain about even when everything is going fine.
Based on new research in the workplace on abusive supervision by Wilfred Laurier University’s Lindie Liang and colleagues (2022), it may be possible to view the constant litany of complaints that your partner engages in as comparable to an overly demanding boss. Although workplace dynamics aren’t exactly the same as those that take place in a romantic relationship, there are still lessons from this research that you can apply to your relationship.
What Effects Can Constant Complaints Have on You?
The Canadian research team’s focus on abusive supervision provides some guidance into understanding the reactions that people have to being the target of someone else’s constant criticism. Fundamental to their analysis is the idea of “interpersonal justice,” a term defined in the literature as your “need to believe that we live in a ‘just world’ where one gets what one deserves and, in turn, deserves what one gets.” Adding to your sense of justice is the idea of “equity,” meaning that you believe what you put into a relationship is equal to the other person’s contributions.
Viewed from this perspective, if you believe that you’re doing your level best to give as much to your relationship as does your partner, your partner’s complaints will feel not only hurtful, but unfair. Unstated, but also expected as part of equity, is the idea that you will be treated with “politeness, dignity, and respect.”
As you think about these situations, it might strike you that some complaints can be reasonable and others can be totally out of line. Everyone forgets things from time to time, and most people get over their annoyance at these minor missteps. Your partner, though, isn’t particularly accepting and, if anything, seems to find something to complain about even when everything is going fine.
Based on new research in the workplace on abusive supervision by Wilfred Laurier University’s Lindie Liang and colleagues (2022), it may be possible to view the constant litany of complaints that your partner engages in as comparable to an overly demanding boss. Although workplace dynamics aren’t exactly the same as those that take place in a romantic relationship, there are still lessons from this research that you can apply to your relationship.
What Effects Can Constant Complaints Have on You?
The Canadian research team’s focus on abusive supervision provides some guidance into understanding the reactions that people have to being the target of someone else’s constant criticism. Fundamental to their analysis is the idea of “interpersonal justice,” a term defined in the literature as your “need to believe that we live in a ‘just world’ where one gets what one deserves and, in turn, deserves what one gets.” Adding to your sense of justice is the idea of “equity,” meaning that you believe what you put into a relationship is equal to the other person’s contributions.
Viewed from this perspective, if you believe that you’re doing your level best to give as much to your relationship as does your partner, your partner’s complaints will feel not only hurtful, but unfair. Unstated, but also expected as part of equity, is the idea that you will be treated with “politeness, dignity, and respect.”
Maybe early in your relationship, when both of you were on your best behavior, your partner showed these tendencies and then some. Unlike a workplace, where these behaviors are both expected and rewarded, in your home life your partner may have let familiarity degrade some of these standards. READ MORE...
Culture 40,000 Years Old
The migration of homo sapiens from Africa to the rest of the globe is an enduring point of fascination for archaeologists, who have been piecing together human movements across history since the dawn of the discipline. A new study published in Nature last week has helped unlock another piece of the puzzle.
That study, conducted by a research team led by Fa-Gang Wang, is an examination of Xiamabei, a 40,000-year-old archaeological site in northern China. At this site, researchers discovered evidence of a culture that processed ochre, which is used to make pigments. The discovery may seem like a small one, but it led the researchers to rethink how modern humanity evolved.
Ochre is a pigment found in clay, and its presence at archaeological sites suggests the people who lived in Xiamabei had advanced cognitive skills, partly because its points to creativity. However, the pigment can also be used to more practical ends, such as tanning hides.
At Xiamabei, researchers discovered that the humans at the site brought different deposits of ochre there and processed it through pounding and abrasion. This resulted pigments of varying color and consistency. Evidence of the pounding was found on a limestone slab where this processing took place. These humans produced such large quantities of ochre that the slab was stained with pigment.
The unique nature of the tools and processing method found at Xiamabei suggest that instead of one continuous wave of migration across Asia, colonization of this territory happened in distinct phases, the researchers said. “Our findings show that current evolutionary scenarios are too simple,” Michael Petraglia of the Max Planck Institute said in an interview with Science Daily. “Modern humans, and our culture, emerged through repeated but differing episodes of genetic and social exchanges over large geographic areas, rather than as a single, rapid dispersal wave across Asia.”
Another clue as to this disjointedness is what the researchers didn’t find: formal bone tools and ornaments, which were available at the time, but which evidently were not used by some of Xiamabei’s oldest inhabitants.
Tuesday, March 8
From the Back Porch
East Tennessee, as I have mentioned before and in my opinion, is a great place to live for a variety of reasons?
- less traffic
- less polution
- less crime
- less wokeness
- less expensive
- more reacreational lakes
- close to airport
- close to Smoky Mtns
- lots of farmland
- excellent healthcare
- calming lifestyle
In my backyard, I can watch squirrels and rabbits play and interreact with their environment. Across the street from the front porch is an open field where families of deer roam free and easy without the fear of being hunted. On either side of the house, I see birds of all sorts such as:
- Cardinals
- Blue birds
- Blue jays
- Doves
- Black birds
- Crows
- Purple martins
- Hawk
- Woodpeckers
- Robins
- Finches
In fact, there are over 100 species of birds that make their homes in East Tennessee. In the summer months, we put out feeders for hummingbirds and have a dozen or more of them visit us daily until they fly south when colder weather arrives.
I am no longer a victim of cable, but have internet access through a fiber optics company, and take out monthly subscriptions for Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Prime that completely meets and oftentimes exceeds my entertainment needs. Plus, I now have reliable access to the internet 24/7 with NO PROBLEMS.
My 1500 square foot home, sits on an acre of land and while I have neighbors on either side of me is 100 feet of space between our houses. In the front of the house as I mentioned, is an open field and behind us there is a good acre of land between my house and the next one.
In the summer, I have a garden of tomatoes, bell peppers, squash, and zucchini and less than a mile away from the house is a farmer's market where I can purchase anykind of fresh vege that I want cheaper than I can buy them at the grocery stores. That includes cuts of beef as well, although I eat very little red meat.
Coming from the Piedmont of North Carolina, I can honestly say that I prefer East Tennessee after living here for over 30 years.
On Being White
Born with a Scorpion horoscope, I found myself the most happy when I am alone in the desert, living a life of isolation and self-reflection.
Let's be clear...
I was born CAUCASIAN... 82 years after the Civil War and the conclusion of slavery in the United States; therefore, I am not a part of slavery nor will I ever be a part of slavery and resent people telling me that because I am white, I am associated with slavery...
If you think I am a racist, then the fact that you think that about me, MAKES YOU A RACIST... I am an American just as you are an American... and, trying to identify or classify us in any other way, is not only misleading but ignorant because you are allowing the past influencing your future rather than using the past to make your future better.
MLK Jr. said that we should judge people by their actions not by their color...
Explain to me what is incorrect about that statement...
As a WHITE MAN living in the USA, I live my life as I want it to be lived, not as how you want me to live my life. As a RETIRED WHITE MAN, I see us all as one group of people, some of which are good and some of which are bad... Some of us live in the city, some of us live in the country, and some of us live in the suburbs. Some of us live on the east coast or west coast, some of us live in the middle while some of us live in the north or south.
We have educated and non educated Americans, religious Americans, and non-religious Americans. We have tall Americans, short Americans, fat Americans, and thin Americans, but we are all Americans.
YES... I AM WHITE... but, just like you:
- I had no choice about my birth
- I have no choice about my parents
- I had no choice about my birth country or state
- I had no choice about my birth body
- I had no choice about my birth mentality
- I had no choice about my birth personality
I suggest you think about this the next time you try and judge me...
Math and Machine Learning
Machine learning makes it possible to generate more data than mathematician can in a lifetime
For the first time, mathematicians have partnered with artificial intelligence to suggest and prove new mathematical theorems. While computers have long been used to generate data for mathematicians, the task of identifying interesting patterns has relied mainly on the intuition of the mathematicians themselves. However, it’s now possible to generate more data than any mathematician can reasonably expect to study in a lifetime. Which is where machine learning comes in.
Two separate groups of mathematicians worked alongside DeepMind, a branch of Alphabet, Google’s parent company, dedicated to the development of advanced artificial intelligence systems. András Juhász and Marc Lackenby of the University of Oxford taught DeepMind’s machine learning models to look for patterns in geometric objects called knots. The models detected connections that Juhász and Lackenby elaborated to bridge two areas of knot theory that mathematicians had long speculated should be related. In separate work, Williamson used machine learning to refine an old conjecture that connects graphs and polynomials.
András Juhász and Marc Lackenby of the University of Oxford taught DeepMind’s machine learning models to look for patterns in geometric objects called knots. The models detected connections that Juhász and Lackenby elaborated to bridge two areas of knot theory that mathematicians had long speculated should be related. In separate work, Williamson used machine learning to refine an old conjecture that connects graphs and polynomials.
“The most amazing thing about this work and it really is a big breakthrough is the fact that all the pieces came together and that these people worked as a team,” said Radmila Sazdanovic of North Carolina State University.
Some observers, however, view the collaboration as less of a sea change in the way mathematical research is conducted. While the computers pointed the mathematicians toward a range of possible relationships, the mathematicians themselves needed to identify the ones worth exploring.
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