Late June 2022, the Times published an article: How Britain became a gerontocracy. Its subtitle was: "The pensions boost is further proof that Britain is run for the benefit of the older generation — paid for by the young". My April 2019 blog had predicted this: The future Great Divide between generations. The cause appears to be quite simple: demographics and the...
Ancient history
“Fact are facts.” Are they??
6 Jul, 2022
Last week, I received a reply to my Facebook post, in which I disputed the alleged neutrality of Dutch public broadcasting. The reply was: "Facts are facts." I asked him if he was aware of the views of Karl Popper (1902-1994) on this subject (eg, 1974 video). His response made clear that he was not. In the view of Karl Popper, facts are objective truths while...
“I Have to Admit, I Have a Very Low Opinion of Human Beings”
26 May, 2022
A 2020 Science alert mentions a 2020 study published in the Frontiers of Physics mapping the "odd structural similarities between the human brain and the Universe". This is the most spectacular example of a recent concept that I call macro vs micro. To some extent, we may be living in a Droste-effect (eg, my 2021 blog). Recently, a strange thought entered my mind:...
An Ancient Greek Astronomical Calculation Machine Reveals New Secrets (Scientific American)
23 Jan, 2022
Scientific American title: An Ancient Greek Astronomical Calculation Machine Reveals New SecretsSA subtitle: Scientists have a new understanding of the mysterious Antikythera mechanism that challenges assumptions about ancient technologyBy: Tony FreethDate: 1 January 2022 "In 1900 diver Elias Stadiatis, clad in a copper and brass helmet and a heavy canvas suit,...
Our notion of Time
17 Jan, 2022
Last Monday night, two peculiar thoughts entered my mind just before I dozed off: (i) how can the human notion of Time be relevant in the rest of the Universe? (ii) if our notion of Time is unequivocal then why have many calendars a different starting date? More and more, I'm wondering if Time is a separate dimension. Time is only relevant at a certain location, ie,...
Life is a journey along its destinations
18 Oct, 2021
As a boy, I dreamt about becoming an archeologist and write a book. It never happened. I still love ancient history though. My father owned a local barber shop annex clothing store and dreamt about one of his two boys becoming his successor. That never happened. He died at 61 and never saw his sons reach their full potential. That memory left a scar inside me. My...
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