Posts by fulltimestudent

56

Human Origins

by cofty in

fantastic graphic produced by the smithsonian institute illustrating human origins.

click on any of the group or species labels for more detailed information.. meet your ancestors here....

fulltimestudent

Ruby456: "... the scientific method requires doubts to be investigated and helps us build scepticism which leads to testing for evidence."

Absolutely! The reason why most of us (likely) fell victim to the virulent form of xtianity that worships yhwh and his jesus sidekick, is that we lacked adequate cognitive skills. I repeat my (these days) favourite quotation:

"A student must first of all learn to doubt" (Zheng Yi, 12th Century scholar).

We all probably did have some doubts at first, but our lack of cognitive skills, meant that we were not able to truly examine what we were being taught. That was true, particularly if a relationship had been established with the person teaching us, because then we'd be affected by the "liking bias." We can easily understand the importance of that issue, as witnesses, once a HH took a dislike to us (for whatever reason) we would never be able to start a study.

And there are some outstanding examples of christian's lack of cognitive skills, currently on display in Australia's debate over the same sex marriage issue. No doubt that's because in a modern multicultural society personal views of a law giving divinity should not restrict the rights of others, So the "no" campaign does not focus on the key issue, but using a combination of the 'slippery slope' and 'red herring' fallacies, the christian side is claiming that if two people of the same sex can marry, then boys will be made to wear dresses to school. But what else would we expect christians to do?

Ruby 456: " ... I too am fascinated by human origins especially how we developed our cognitive powers. there have been many theories re this. One theory puts our ancestors as the hunted. while not taking this theory too seriously but giving it the seriousness that it deserves I can see how being prey may have caused our ancestors to develop intelligence, cunning and deception."

I'm guessing that you're referring to the dual thinking concept. That is, at one level, we make quick decisions. If that is really a predator lurking near by, our survival may depend on fast thinking - a quick response. We often see that sort of thinking by 'hunted' animals, and once one is spooked, many may also react (herd response). Young animal's may instinctively be fast thinkers. Whereas, the cultivation of good cognitive skills takes time and thought.

If this is a new thought to some, you could check out these sites. But don't just accept, consider it carefully.

https://www.businessinsider.com.au/nobel-prize-winner-this-is-the-difference-between-thinking-fast-and-slow-2012-6

and contrast these claims

http://schoolofthinking.org/2012/02/are-you-a-slow-thinker/

" ... Starting from the conflict-based I-am-right-and-you-are-wrong premise logic traps the thinker into defending his viewpoint against any suggestion of change (because “I-am-right!”). It becomes difficult, even impossible, for the thinker to escape from his own point-of-view. To think outside-the-square.
Programmed into your brain by the education systemÂ logic was designed by the Roman church for Europe and then spread around the world by missionaries. It was imported into Australia, along with rabbits, 200 years ago. Designed to defend ‘truth’ logic is driven by judgment.Â Once the thinker judges something as either ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ their enormous brainpower is then devoted to defending that opinion. This makes it very difficult for the thinker to escape from his opinion to find a much better one."

Which leads us into the Dunning Kruger Effect:

The entire world is currently watching the problems that can arise (as an example) when someone, say the Leader of an influential nation, has formed an opinion without considering wider aspects of an issue. So that he/she doesn't know what they don't know.

Example: https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-05-12/trump-s-dangerous-disability-it-s-the-dunning-kruger-effect

32

A Korean Tragedy

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

the modern history is full of deep, dark tragedies.

and, my intention, as i sat down to write of those tragedies for a fb page i look after for a macquarie university student society, was to tell the story of these very dark contemporary events.

but east asia history is complex and i think its helpful to try to have an overview of that history to understand what has happened in the recent past.

fulltimestudent

A Korean Tragedy.

The Back Story 3. The Qing Empire and Korea.

As summarized in the previous entry the Manchus became the dominant political power in N. E. Asia. Nurhaci, an ambitious local ruler, once swearing loyalty to the Ming, began to organize an attempt to win control of China. In 1636, under the name of the Qing dynasty Korea was invaded and the Joseon Dynasty was forced to cut off their relationship with Ming China and submit to a vassal status to the Manchurian Qing. By 1644 Qing armies were in Beijing and on their way to control of China. During the years when the Qing Dynasty controlled China, Korea had a close relationship with the Qing, but by the beginning of the 20th century that relationship had weakened and would soon prove to be useless.

In the above 400-500 years of history Koreans experienced many tragedies, but the worst tragedies were still to come.

In the nineteenth century ambitious European powers began to seek to colonise East Asia. At first East Asians – Japan, Korea and China in particular attempted to close their borders to these new aggressions.

And, it is in the political machinations that occurred under the pressure of European aggression that today’s Korean tragedy began to unfold.

Around China's borders, under both the Ming and Qing regimes, relationships were built with most neighbour states, not just with Korea.** Most of those relationships revolved around what we may call today a "favoured nation' status. That is, a right to trade with China. These relationships could be widespread, for example the Ryukyu Kingdom, centred on what is now Okinawa had a relationship with Qing China. In the Philipinnes (before the Spanish) a small kingdom had a relationship with China. The north of Vietnam was in a tributary relationship with Qing China, as did a northern section of Burma (now Myanmar). Tibet also had submitted to the Qing before the Qing took control of China. Tibetan Buddhism was the form of Buddhism used by the Imperial Qing family.

However, under pressure from various European states, Great Britain, France, Germany and Russia, all these previous alliances and relationships came under pressure.

The reactions of the key states, China, Japan and Korea. was to close their borders. As a policy it failed.

** A list of tributary alliances can be found in this Wikipedia entry:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tributaries_of_Imperial_China

32

A Korean Tragedy

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

the modern history is full of deep, dark tragedies.

and, my intention, as i sat down to write of those tragedies for a fb page i look after for a macquarie university student society, was to tell the story of these very dark contemporary events.

but east asia history is complex and i think its helpful to try to have an overview of that history to understand what has happened in the recent past.

fulltimestudent

A Korean Tragedy.

The Back Story. 2. Ming China, Korea and Japan.

Continued.

Additional details in this section go some way to explaining the deep seated hatred in the Korean psyche towards the Japanese. Beginning approximately in the 1559's Japanese raiders began hitting Korean coastal towns and villages.In 1592 a very large Japanese army landed at Pusan, overwhelmed the local Korean forces and commenced a three pronged march toward Seoul. The initial response of the Korean government was weak, and the situation was only partially saved by the spontaneous formation of guerrilla groups known as 'uibyong' (righteous armies). A Ming Chinese relief Army also arrived in Korea and eventually forced the Japanese to retreat. A second Japanese attempt in 1597 was also repulsed, The cost to Koreans during this seven year period national defense was great. There was a marked decrease in the population, due not just to deaths in the war, but also the famine and disease which ravaged most of Korea. So even after a regime change in Japan and the restoration of a relationship between the two states, Koreans generally retained a deep animosity towards the Japanese.

That Korean-Japanese war also caused other problems in East Asia. Its possible to mark the decline of the MIng dynasty in China from that war, so that by 1644, the rising Qing were able to just march through an opened gate in the Great Wall and begin their long-planned conquest of China. For around the next 250 years China was subjected to Manchurian rule.Of course, while many Chinese wanted (and planned) to expel the Manchus, other cultural forces were at work, and eventually the Manchus, became "Chinese," so that today, the former Manchuria, generally known now as the 'Dongbei' (the North east) is just another part of China. During those years of Chinese decline, the Manchu's (the Qing) also commenced forcing the Koreans into a vassal status.

32

A Korean Tragedy

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

the modern history is full of deep, dark tragedies.

and, my intention, as i sat down to write of those tragedies for a fb page i look after for a macquarie university student society, was to tell the story of these very dark contemporary events.

but east asia history is complex and i think its helpful to try to have an overview of that history to understand what has happened in the recent past.

fulltimestudent

A Korean Tragedy.

The Back Story. 2. Ming China, Korea and Japan

1. By 1370 the last of the Mongolian armies left China, but did not give up on efforts to regain, at least control of some areas, of China. Because of that constant threat, China under the Ming has been described as an armed camp, with an army of one million. That’s the time when the Great Wall, that was already over 1500 years old (parts anyway) was rebuilt with masonry walls, as you can see near Beijing today.

------------------------

Tomorrow (hopefully)

1. The Qing Empire and Korea.

1. Russia, Japan and Korea

Korea divided

Korea’s darkest time

32

A Korean Tragedy

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

the modern history is full of deep, dark tragedies.

and, my intention, as i sat down to write of those tragedies for a fb page i look after for a macquarie university student society, was to tell the story of these very dark contemporary events.

but east asia history is complex and i think its helpful to try to have an overview of that history to understand what has happened in the recent past.

fulltimestudent

The modern history is full of deep, dark tragedies. And, my intention, as I sat down to write of those tragedies for a FB page I look after for a Macquarie University student society, was to tell the story of these very dark contemporary events. But East Asia history is complex and I think its helpful to try to have an overview of that history to understand what has happened in the recent past.

A Korean Tragedy.

The Back Story. 1. The Mongols, Korea, China and Japan

In the first decade of the 13th century, Chingiis Khan and his armies commenced small scale raids into one of the smaller Northern Dynasties of China, but it was not until 1271 that Kublai Khan had conquered sufficient territory to declare himself the Emperor of China.

While attempting to subdue Chinese opposition, the Mongol army first invaded Korea, *in 1231) there was strong resistance and only in 1259 did the King sue for peace with the Mongols. However, some army units continued resistance until 1273. The Mongols, having achieved control of most of East Asia, now sought to invade Japan, using Chinese and Korean resources. In 1274, a combined army of Mongols, Chinese and Korean troops sailed on some 800 ships on the first of two ill-fated invasions. Despite having superior weapons (e.g. poisoned arrows, fire arrows, bow-launched arrows with small rocket engines attached and gunpowder-packed exploding arrows and grenades with ceramic shells thrown by slings to terrify the enemy's horses), the invaders were defeated.

The Mongol military machine was not about to give up. They organised a second invasion force. According to some sources, as many as 100,000 highly skilled warriors and near to 4,500 ships took part in the second invasion. This time the Mongols nearly succeeded. Legend has it that as battle seemed lost, the Emperor prayed to his ancestors who sent a ‘divine wind’ (kamikaze) that destroyed much of the invasion force and drowned near 100,000 men.

The Mongol era in East Asia was not all doom and spilt blood. This was the East Asia that Marco Polo described in glowing terms. With a unified political authority stretching across Asia, East-West trade surged and there were many cultural exchanges.

Yet, in China, the Mongols began to lose control with various peasant uprisings demonstrating the dynasty’s growing weakness. Two native rivals fought for political control of China, and in 1363, in a naval battle known as the 'Battle of Lake Poyang' (termed by some historians as the largest naval battle in history) Zhu Yuanzhang eliminated his opponent, and by 1368, his armies were able to control much of China as the Ming (Bright) Dynasty.

7

A cashless society

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

for thousands of years some material form of money has been important in daily.

but now, all over the world, there is a move toward a cashless society - a society where out wealth exists in an electronic form.. perhaps, no other country has moved as quickly toward that notion than china.. a report today on china's peoples daily (english) web-site claims that 84% of chinese can now leave home without cash in their wallet/pocket.

as i understand it they will make payments via a smartphone app.. ( see: http://en.people.cn/n3/2017/0924/c90000-9273002.html ).

fulltimestudent

For thousands of years some material form of money has been important in daily. But now, all over the world, there is a move toward a cashless society - a society where out wealth exists in an electronic form.

Perhaps, no other country has moved as quickly toward that notion than China.

A report today on China's Peoples Daily (English) web-site claims that 84% of Chinese can now leave home without cash in their wallet/pocket. As I understand it they will make payments via a smartphone app.

( See: http://en.people.cn/n3/2017/0924/c90000-9273002.html )

An American reporter in China comments:

"Its mobile payment app, Alipay, and WeChat Pay, which belongs to the country's leading social messaging platform, together hold a commanding 90 percent of the market, leaving Apple Pay struggling to make inroads.
I recently spent a day in Hangzhou to see how easy it was to go cashless, and I found it somewhat ahead of other cities, including Beijing. I rode buses and subways, which all accept Alipay. I visited a major Buddhist temple, where visitors can make donations, buffing up their karma with a swipe of their phone.
I even listened to the plaintive tunes of a woman performing music on the street for change — or for a scan of a QR code, placed beside the change box.
Over a plate of noodles, a restaurateur named Ma Zhiguo told me that about half his customers pay for their meals with cellphones, and he uses his to pay most of the time too.
"I don't have to worry about getting counterfeit money, or having to make change," he explained."

Link: http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2017/06/29/534846403/in-china-a-cashless-trend-is-taking-hold-with-mobile-payments

And with a projected middle class population of 500 million in a few years, it would seem that the trend will only grow more popular in China

I'm likely in a (old-age-grin) minority (even here in Aust. where like most western countries, credit cards are in common use) but I'm not sure i'll be entirely comfortable. But thinking about it, I've already gone partly down that road. I pay for my public transport fares with a Govt. transport card, that I have to top up regularly. I could use a smartphone app instead of a card, but I don't want a smartphone. But I do appreciate using a web-based bank account that allows me to make payments directly into the accounts of people like my credit card, water and electricity suppliers and others.

Maybe I'm just a slow adopter.

How about you?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

56

Human Origins

by cofty in

fantastic graphic produced by the smithsonian institute illustrating human origins.

click on any of the group or species labels for more detailed information.. meet your ancestors here....

fulltimestudent

... And then there are inconsistencies that raise all sorts of questions that may challenge current theories,

For example, this report (reported on the Phys.Org web-site).

The image shows human like footprints, thoughts to have been made some 5 to 7 million years ago, a time when our pre-human ancestors are theorised as still being in Africa, with apelike feet.

Human Origins

by cofty in

fantastic graphic produced by the smithsonian institute illustrating human origins.

click on any of the group or species labels for more detailed information.. meet your ancestors here....

fulltimestudent

Not sure of the date that the illustration was created, but it misses another important group that seem likely to be important. That group is the Denisovans, identified through their DNA in a cave in Eastern Siberia in 2008. Their identifiable DNA has been found in Asian groups down to the Melanesians in Papua-New Guinea, and recently by scientists at the University of Wollongong, in Australian Native peoples.

Here's a comment from a National Geographic web-site:

Quote: "According to one theory, Neanderthals, Denisovans, and modern humans are all descended from the ancient human Homo heidelbergensis. Between 300,000 to 400,000 years ago, an ancestral group of H. heidelbergensis left Africa and then split shortly after. One branch ventured northwestward into West Asia and Europe and became the Neanderthals. The other branch moved east, becoming Denisovans. By 130,000 years ago, H. heidelbergensis in Africa had become Homo sapiens—our ancestors—who did not begin their own exodus from Africa until about 60,000 years ago.
By comparing the genomes of apes, Denisovans, Neanderthals, and modern humans, scientists hope to identify DNA segments unique to the different groups. Early results already suggest modern humans underwent genetic changes involved with brain function and nervous system development, including ones involved in language development, after splitting from Neanderthals and Denisovans. Identifying and understanding these genetic tweaks could help explain why our species survived and thrived while our close relatives died out."

Link: https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/denisovan/

Personally, I would not regard any explanatory information as the last word on the evolution of humans. What we know is based (usually) on quite fragmentary evidence, and only since genetic sequencing became possible have we been able to identify any discovered remains.

Bit what we know, is sufficient to blow the biblical story out of the picture and reveal the Genesis myths for what they are - one small group of modern humans attempting to explain how they came to be - in other words it a 'foundation myth.'

Also see: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/11/151116-denisovan-human-anthropology-ancient-dna/

4

How Jesus Became Christian

by EdenOne in

just wanted to share an interesting read.. i have purchased the ebook "how jesus became christian" by historian and philosopher barrie a. wilson.. it's a book by a scholar but it's not written in dense academic language, thus, is easily readable by the general public (unlike, for example, the incredibly dense "james, the brother of jesus", by robert eisenman).

in this book, wilson invites the reader to inquiry how the 'jesus movement' and his early followers, entirely part of the jewish framework, became metamorphosed into the 'christ movement' that rejected the torah, and was much more related to mystical religions of the greco-roman world.

how did this change came about?

fulltimestudent

Great topic, EdenOne. Thnx for posting information about Wilson's book.

Anyone interested in the topic, may also find Geza Vermes' book, "Christian Beginnings: From Nazareth to Niceaea, AD 20-325" (Allan Lane, 2012) helpful.

Many academics think that Vermes was one of the really great experts on the historical Jesus and the development of early christianity, and the Dead Sea scrolls.

Vermes was one of the first 20th century scholars to write clearly on the Jewish background of Jesus. His 1973 book, "Jesus the Jew," changed the course of scholarship and other books by Vermes, like "The Authentic Gospel of Jesus" will also be of interest.

When you put the evidence presented by all these scholars together, we can appreciate that most religion in the west is deceptive. We may choose to follow a particular religion (as does Wilson in converting to a from of Judaism) because it helps adjust behaviour (which may be a reason many in the west convert to a form of Buddhism) but that doesn't mean that there really is an imagined being in the sky who can help us when we need help.

9

The end of a Chinese 'nail' house

by fulltimestudent in

disputes between residents of resumed property in china, often become dramatic, as in these two cases.. .

these problems are not unique to china, but can arise in any society when the community (government) wants to use the land on which a house stands for somethings different (e.g.

a new school, roads, railways, etc).

fulltimestudent

cofty : By the way I have just finished reading a brilliant three-part history of Mao Zedong by Frank Dikotter. I would love to post some of my thoughts on it soon and would appreciate your ideas.

Sure! As usual, I would like to contribute - if I can illuminate some point.

I have not read Dikotter's books on Mao, but I am familiar with his claims. The difficulty (of course) often lies in the 'evidence' some of which may not be easily accessible, and even if it is accessible, may be subject to controversy over translation.