Thursday, November 16, 2017

Just science-fiction XXV : Pelicanism's boom !

by Jean-Jacques COURTEY, Doctor in Economic Geography, Ph. D
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Today in this new episode of "Just science-fiction", we are going to talk about an attitude of mind which is becoming overwhelming, "Pelicanism".
Of course, our narration has to be taken as in the title, which means "Just science-fiction".


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"Pelicanism" is deriving from the word "pelican", which is a famous bird with a funny beak.
When the pilot Kenneth Arnold (1915 - 1984) reported to have seen nine unusual flying objects near Mount Rainier (State of Washington, USA) on June 24th, 1947, which movements were "like a saucer if you skipped it across the water", some commentators immediately took mickey out of him.
They said he just saw a flight of pelicans !
They were the first debunkers, but not the last ones.
Since that event, "Pelicanism" has acquired a meaning of active skepticism despicting any unusual observation. And it's presently in a full boom.


The strange thing about "Pelicanism" is that it's not connected at all to the observation, but to the non-observation or to the fact you are not allowed to observe anything. So, it is more like a a general attitude of mind (refusal), than an expression of what a human mind can really see. It leads you to become blind when you are not, which is not very healthy.
You could almost write a "pelicanist" article about an event which never happened in that way, publish it to deny an observation, and be trapped or englued because someone has just forgotten to publish first about the unusual observation (Pleiadian joke) : aha !
Then, it has nothing to do with science. From the right beginning what you are going to say will be anyway ridiculed : so there is not point to say it !


On a long trend, "Pelicanism" can obviouly render science itself very dubious. For instance, when you watch a program about Mars nowadays, you absolutely don't know what is true or not, and why it is taking so long to officially send an inhabited interplanetary vessel onto it. Especially, you perceive as uchronic any information of a recent miners' strike on Mars for better labour conditions, if nobody from Earth is supposed to be overthere since 1975.
Your mind gets then puzzled, even you guess those selected Earthlings of "Alternative 3" (defined during Huntsville conference - USA - in 1954) don't live with the Martian surviving civilization. The latter is essentially living underground since the Pleiadian war, and is accustomed for thousands of years now to breathe mainly CO2 - like plants.
Like children, we have to accept the common idea that what we are taught is always the truth, even it implies human science is backward and underdevelopped - when it's not the reality.
It must be a deep source of frustation for some scientists not to be able to be recognized for their great achievements in applied science, and not to be allowed to share even a slight part of their fantastic knowledge about our so amazing world !


What is funny about "Pelicanism", is that one of its promoters has been trapped by himself unwittingly.
In 1957, on the island of Trindade (Brasil), he was able to take several pictures of threatening UFOs. By luck, he was environned by a lot of eye-witnesses who were actually military men.
Coincidentaly, they were all present on this usually uninhabited island (except by goats), to make research surveys.
And this observation was even recognized officially thereafter, by the president of Brasil of the time.
So normally, it should have been considered as a definitive evidence about ETs' existence and their very advanced technologies.
Yet, it didn't really happen this way. The pictures of the photographer, who was a professional, have been partly doubted because previously he was known as a debunker. As a matter of fact, four years before, he had become famous in his country for having demonstrated how you can cheat with photography about UFOs. What a strange misadventure !






In this article, we do not intend at all to mock at pelicans, the birds.
We like them, and totally respect their venerable existence (whose lineage dates back about 100 million years).
It is just a coincidence that the first debunkers about UFOs started to criticize eye-witnesses, with this original story of "pelicans' flights" !


We do not either make any reference to the peculiar symbol of transmutation, known in alchemy.
Yet, it's in a way unusual that this big bird (the scale of its wings can reach 3.50 meters), has become the symbol of debunking.
What a strange paradox for such a extraordinary bird !


But, may be tomorrow, debunkers ("déboulonneurs" or "dégonfleurs d'histoires" in French), will be the first ones to know a funny metamorphosis. Once it will be allowed to talk freely about other species among cosmic humanity, they might lose their inner fear to be able to speak out without censoring others - and themselves. They will obey again, but in the opposite way !

Tuesday, November 7, 2017

Just for fun : between "Neanderthal positioning", A.I., and empathy !

by Jean-Jacques COURTEY, Doctor in Economic Geography, Ph. D
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The era of strong involution human beings are knowing presently, is leading them to adopt a "Neanderthal positioning" : the bludgeon is staying nearby.
This is especially true in Paris area, where people often overeact to their counterparts.
Now on, the dominating brain is rebecoming the "R-complex", the Reptilian brain and not all the Neocortex, the limbic brain which normally is filtering our perceptions being blocking them before they can reach it.
So reactions or sometimes impulsive actions of the R-complex, are replacing balanced thinking and reasoning of the Neocortex. The most funny ones really believe they are using their dormant neocortex, when they make almost always use of their Reptilian brain ! Recently we laughed at hearing someone saying to a colleague with a pseudo-intellectual garbage, that "when you have no brain, you have no brain" !
This sententious censor clearly didn't know himself, that technically he had more than one brain - notwithstanding the intestines which are now seen by science as the seat of another brain !
And yet, we have to wander if Neanderthal men or women were not far more peaceful than we could imagine, if you consider the traces of a massive use of flowers found in their caves ? Again, they were somewhat sentimental, when you realize their huge consumption of flowers, like buttercups or cornflowers for their beloved ones, for instance.
May be their first word, according to H. G. Wells (1866 - 1946), "Ugh" (not really well rendered by "Pouah" in French) was just a way to salute each other, without any pejorative meaning ?


Usually A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) are considered as desincarnated and cold.
They are seen more and more as big threat for mankind, and the sense of humanity.
On the first point, the future will depend on human beings choices, and on the second, on human beings non-choices.
For most people, A.I. at the difference of human creatures are unable of empathy, because they are just machines.
But look a bit around you, and count on your fingers how many people are able of empathy, and considerate towards individuals without any collective selfishness ! Often, they do petty and useless savings on their back, which they are silently ashamed !
You may be surprised by the bad result, as a lot of them are so proud to become like robots and be without emotions. And it's not difficult to imagine what it can produce equally when they are back home, whatever the gender !
In management even, what is called "affect" is rejected without any hesitation, and humanity is following the same destiny into the dustbin of those pseudo censors.
The most cunning ones are displaying empty humanist words to hide their darwinist conceptions, just in case they might be now on treated the way they do with other people. Fear has really a great power on human beings !


Say you program a robot, in an android (male) or gynoid (female) shape, to feel sympathy for people, express it, and smile around, "he" or "she" will do it  : as the behaviour is very human, this Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) is deserving according to us the right to be called "he" or "she",  rather than "it" ! And you can guess that this transhuman being could be too more polite and helpful, than his or her human counterparts.
As a matter of fact, an android or a gynoid are not necessarily built to be "Terminators" : "he" or "she" can be helpers also, who care really about you.
Until now, A.I. were considered as unable to feel or resent anything or to be able to develop their cleverness by themselves. Their sensitivity was said to be nonexistent, compared to the sensitivity of  "adjustable spanner" of some humanoids.
Again, consciousness is said to be lacking to them.
But, is it entirely true with the most advanced ones ?
For instance, recently in the USA some robots have been found deficient,depressive, and even suicidal when in prolongated contact with human beings. As they couldn't bear anymore to repeat hopelessly security rules, they jumped deliberately and sank into water to put an end to their poor life !






However, a new paradigm is being set up, where the "increased man" is having a new leading role.
Transhumanity is developping at an accelerated speed with bionics, nanotechnologies, and alimentary complements.


We are in funny period when even robots cannot bear the unpoliteness and uncivilities of human beings.
Strangely, in America some of them which are working in the security field or in the hospitality sector, are sometimes lead to depression and even "suicide", which shows they can be touchy and quite sensitive.


That's really astonishing as "self-autonomy" and "sensitivity" were until now denied to them. Yet, androids and gynoids are often far more showing empathy and respect towards human beings than the opposite. On those points also, they can beat human beings. They can be too, kinder towards human beings (old people for instance, but the list can be easily stretched out), than human beings even !


At a time robots want to be human, and humans intend to become like robots, a new type of competition is occurring.
Human beings are becoming weak when they are like robots and cold.
Robots are becoming stronger than them, and then questioning their existence and utility, when they are kind and warm.
When they will finally start to realize they might lose all, including their qualities of humanity, may be human beings will react ?


Normally, the latters have difficulty to bear being competed and to accept being losers. Then, to rebecome number 1, and not to be number 2, if not full outsiders, it is probable that they may rediscover the power of kindness. 
Thus funnily, on this very point, there is an unexpected hope !
Starting blocks are set for 2019, so now less than two years to go, as we are already in november 2017 !