Greek philosophy's view on 'faith'

"In the teachings of the Bible, in contrast, it is necessary to have faith, utter and uncritical confidence, a conception quite alien to the spirit of Greek philosophy.*"

"* For classical greek philosophy, as for Plato, faith (pistis) is the lowest form of belief, characteristic only of the wholly uneducated, who fail to reflect critically on what they experience or are told. The Jewish-inspired Christian emphasis on faith struck educated pagan observers with astonishment; it represented, in their eyes, the extreme of anti-intellectualism - 'foolishness'."

from page 78

"The Perfectibility of Man"
by John Passmore (1970)

Go Scorpions !!!

After winning the (minor) final in our league of the AFL fantasy competition, the Sydney_Scorpions have had a blinder in the AFL finals dream team fantasy competition scoring 2233 points. This is the Scorpions best week ever (coming 10th overall out of 57,316 people).

Top 10 dream teams:

1. Bundy's on You (SA) 2319
2. Cool as a Cucumber (WA) 2266
3. Coastal Cats (NSW) 2251
4. Pies for Flag (Qld) 2249
5. Watermelons (NSW) 2247
6. Philtan (NSW) 2235
6. Havago (Vic) 2235
8. Mitchhcti (NSW) 2234
8. The Mighty G's (Vic) 2234
10. Sydney_Scorpions (NSW) 2233
10. Wazza's Guns (Vic) 2233

The line up for the Sydney_Scorpions was as follows:

Back
Stevens 124
Fisher 116
Goddard 108
Mattner 70
Hodge 65
Bolton 59
Bock 47

Midfield
Bartel 246 (Captain)
Cross 151
Ablett 129 (Vice Captain)
Swan 110
Corey 105
Harvey 97

Ruck
Fraser 83
Jolly 66

Forward
Giansiracusa 118
Franklin 116
Roughead 109
Petrie 95
Medhurst 81
Johnson 75
Riewoldt 54

With no Cats and no Hawks this weekend, the Scorpions have had to have a major rethink (with 11 new players in all).

Here is the new lineup:

Backs
Fisher
Goddard
Mattner
Bolton
Lake * (new)
Morris (new)
Gilbert (new)

Midfield
Swan (Captain)
Cross (Vice Captain)
Hayes (new)
Cooney (new)
Pendlebury (new)
Kirk (new)

Ruck
Fraser
Jolly

Forwards
Giansiracusa
Johnson
Riewaldt
O'Keefe (new)
Davis (new)
Thomas (new)
Medhurst (new)

*note: Brian Harris legally changed his name before the start of the finals (which is how I missed his 105 points last week)

It is double points this weekend, so hopefully the Scorpions have a good weekend.

Not sure I can repeat that performance again, but we will see how we go.

p.s. Go the Sydney Swans against the Western Bulldogs !!

Some street art from Melbourne (Part 3)

Found the BANKSY !!

Check out more of my pics at

.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28591440@N04/sets/72157606157807298/

Some street art from Melbourne (Part 2)

More of my pics at

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28591440@N04/sets/72157606157807298/

Some street art from Melbourne (Part 1)

Electron microscopy enters the picometer scale

Jülich scientists have succeeded in precisely measuring atomic spacings down to a few picometres using new methods in ultrahigh-resolution electron microscopy.

With the aid of new methods in electron optics, researchers were able to microscopically measure atomic displacements precisely to a few picometres. A picometre corresponds to a billionth of a millimetre (a trillionth of a metre) a distance that is one hundred times smaller than the diameter of an atom.

Knut Urban explains:

"This is the beginning of a new physics of materials which enables researchers to determine physical parameters and properties in the nano range through highly precise measurements of the atomic spacings. This will also provide clues on how these properties may be manipulated in order to gain new functions and better functional performance."

Publication: Studying Atomic Structures by Aberration-Corrected Transmission Electron Microscopy, Knut Urban, Science (25 July 2008)

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-07/haog-eme072308.php

Flying Spagetti monster is real !!

Photographic proof !!!

Art, Porn or Censorship ??

This is the cover of Art Monthly Australia magazine.

This image was shown in some parts of the mainstream media.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/arts/new-storm-over-nude-child-picture/2008/07/06/1215282652046.html

However, this is the image that has been shown in other parts of the mainstream media.

(Note: the use of a 'black box' to cover the child)

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23973484-2,00.html


This is what has been cut from the original cover of Art Monthly Australia.

Note: the child is now much more prominent in the image, much of the painting has been cut away and the title of the magazine (which includes the word 'Art') has been removed.

Random Man wonders if Kevin Rudd even saw the full image before he judged it ??

Also check out:

What is nanotechnology?

Carbon Reduction Pollution Scheme

President of Bolivia and Climate Change

Hmmm

Quote of the day ...

"As we send our athletes off to the Olympics, let's reflect on the fact that we would win the gold medal now in the world fat Olympics if there was such a thing."

said Professor Stewart (Author of report Australia's Future Fat Bomb)

Finished my studies

I am happy to report that I have completed my studies (as of today) at the Institute of Environmental Studies (University of New South Wales) !!!!

I have had a wonderful 18 months and have met so many interesting people from around the world!!

I handed in my last essay (on nanotechnology) and am now a free man !!!

Happy times !!

I can now add Master of Environmental Management to my list of qualifications.

PJ

BSc (Syd) Grad.Dip(Soc) Grad Dip(Aud) and now MEM

Drunk driver hits cyclists

OUCH !!!

Monkeys control robots with brain power

Scientists have trained monkeys to manipulate a robotic arm solely with brain power and could soon help amputees and paralysed stroke victims do the same.

Immobilised monkeys with electrode filaments inserted into their cerebral cortext learned within days to reach out with the free-standing prosthesis, pluck a tasty morsel with a pincer-like claw and pop it in their mouths.

When the path of the arm, positioned next to the shoulder, was deliberately blocked, the animals simply willed it around the obstacle with their minds.

Details of the research are published in the Nature journal.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/science/monkeys-show-brain-power/2008/05/29/1211654171158.html

Bounce

The lotus effect taken to the extreme - droplets bounce on a nanostructured surface in a ballistic ballet of water balloons. The surface is coated with a hydrophobic ultrathin layer. The surface is now super-hydrophobic. Nothing can touch it.

Hall of fame tribute match

Saturday, May 10 2008
MCG

VICTORIA

B: Campbell Brown, Matthew Scarlett, Darren Milburn
HB: Heath Shaw, Trent Croad, Jarrad Waite
C: Brent Harvey, Sam Mitchell, Adam Goodes
HF: Ryan O’Keefe, Jonathan Brown, Robert Murphy
F: Steve Johnson, Brendan Fevola, Daniel Bradshaw
Foll: Troy Simmonds, Jimmy Bartel, Chris Judd
Int: Josh Fraser, Luke Power,Paul Chapman, James Kelly, Nathan Foley, Scott Pendlebury, Joel Selwood
Emergencies, Jarryd Roughead, Brad Sewell

DREAM TEAM

B: Graham Johncock, Ben Rutten, Craig Bolton
HB: Andrew McLeod, Matthew Pavlich, Adam Cooney
C: Matthew Richardson, Daniel Kerr, Shaun Burgoyne
HF: Simon Goodwin, Cameron Mooney, Daniel Motlop
F: Brett Burton, Lance Franklin, Leon Davis
Foll: Dean Cox, Peter Burgoyne, Kane Cornes
Int: Nathan Bock, Jamie Charman, Joel Corey, Matthew Stokes, Brett Kirk, Ryan Griffen, Darren Glass
Emg: Nathan Bassett, Daniel Cross, Corey Enright

Victoria 21.11 (137) defeated Dream team 18.12 (120)

Quote of the day ...

"There is really nothing Channel Seven will stop at in lying to its audience,"

Stuart Littlemore QC

Big Bad Barry Hall

Barry Barry Barry ...

Philippe Starck says "everything he designed was unnecessary"

(AFP) — Renowned French designer Philippe Starck says he is fed up with his job and plans to retire in two years, in an interview published in a German weekly on Thursday.

"I was a producer of materiality and I am ashamed of this fact," Starck told Die Zeit weekly newspaper.

"Everything I designed was unnecessary".

"I will definitely give up in two years' time. I want to do something else, but I don't know what yet. I want to find a new way of expressing myself ...design is a dreadful form of expression."

Starck, who is known for his interior design of hotels and Eurostar trains and mass consumption objects ranging from chairs to tooth brushes and lemon juice squeezers, went on to say that he believed that design on the whole was dead.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jZ9aaCenPfUCVgRIlkxTfDDvbzow

Man saves beached whale

Nice ending !!

Dissonance

"The more costly a decision, in terms of time, money, and inconvenience, and the more irrevocable its consequences, the greater the dissonance and the greater need to reduce it by overemphasizing the good things about the choice made."

Michael Webster summaries a key point from the book:

"Mistakes were made, but not by me"


In simple terms, cognitive dissonance can be the filtering of information that conflicts with what one already believes, in an effort to ignore that information and reinforce one's beliefs.