I’m a Humanist

On May 5, 2020May 3, 2020 By Rick McIn about Rick, ethics, government, happiness, human rights, science1 Comment

Author Yuval Noah Harari would say my religion is Humanism.

My bible the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The first Humanist Manifesto was issued by a conference held at the University of Chicago in 1933.

Signatories included the philosopher John Dewey, but the majority were ministers (chiefly Unitarian) and theologians.

They identified humanism as an ideology that espouses reason, ethics, and social and economic justice, and they called for science to replace dogma and the supernatural as the basis of morality and decision-making.

So far, so good.

In 1941, the American Humanist Association was organised. Noted members of The AHA included Isaac Asimov, who was the president from 1985 until his death in 1992, and writer Kurt Vonnegut, who followed as honorary president until his death in 2007.

They advocate in Washington, D.C., for separation of church and state.

There is a sub-set called secular humanism that consciously rejects supernatural and religiosity.

I wouldn’t go that far, myself.

But I do believe strongly in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

EVERYONE should support planting more TREES

On January 18, 2020January 14, 2020 By Rick McIn ethics, government, scienceLeave a comment

No matter what your opinion on CO2 levels higher than they been for at least the past three million years, you can support planting more trees.

Trees are good in many ways.

Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson, some guy who got popular on YouTube, started a campaign that raised enough money for more than 20 million trees to be planted across the United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Haiti, Indonesia, Ireland, Madagascar, Mozambique, Nepal, and the United Kingdom.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Secondly, we should STOP subsidizing fossil fuel industries. One study calculated $5 trillion / year in subsidy worldwide.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Greta Thunberg has inspired millions of students to become environmental activists for climate change.

I love to see how some previously unknown teenager scares so many of the rich and powerful worldwide.

She’s the youngest individual Time Person of the Year.

Thunberg was also nominated for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize.

The Absurdly Low Risk of Vaccine Side Effects

On May 15, 2019May 13, 2019 By Rick McIn ethics, health & fitness, scienceLeave a comment

I DO think we should keep researching side effects.

In the meantime, vaccinate!

Check the sources used in this video.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

where to find the Mylodon

On March 7, 2019March 7, 2019 By Rick McIn science, travelLeave a comment

Mylodon is an extinct genus of ground sloths that lived in South America; Patagonia (Chile and Argentina) until roughly 5,000 years ago …

Mylodon weighed about 1,000 kilograms (2,205 lb) and was about 3 m (9.8 ft) long from snout to tail tip. It had very thick hide and had osteodermswithin its skin for added armor. Because of this armor and its long and sharp claws, it is unlikely that the Mylodon had any natural enemies other than humans …

That’s a model at the Cueva del Milodón Natural Monument where fossils were found in 1896. I didn’t make the trip out there from Puerto Natales as I’d head it was pretty cheesy.

Instead I took these photos in town!

speculating on human evolution

On November 20, 2018November 19, 2018 By Rick McIn scienceLeave a comment

If we survive another 1000 years, what will humans be like?

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Einstein’s blackboard

On November 16, 2018November 12, 2018 By Rick McIn science, travel1 Comment

Einstein gave 3 lectures in Oxford 1931. Students stole the blackboard from his second lecture.

It’s obvious to you and me that the great man included an error in 1931. 😀

He corrected that in a later review of relativistic cosmology written 1945.

our earliest ancestors – San people

On July 26, 2018July 21, 2018 By Rick McIn books, ethics, scienceLeave a comment

I was reading The Wayfinders (2009) by Wade Davis … and was captivated by his story of an African DNA study which concluded the San are likely to be the oldest population of humans on Earth.

The San, also known as bushmen, are directly descended from the original population of early human ancestors who gave rise to all other groups of Africans and, eventually, to the people who left the continent to populate other parts of the world.

Independent

The Gods Must Be Crazy films are based on one branch of the San people.

This Wade Davis book argues that ancient wisdom still matters in the modern world. And that humanity will be lesser if we lose cultures like the San.

For some reason(s) a small group of San migrated north about 350 generations ago. Most people in the world are likely descended from that intrepid group. Some of the San still live much like they did 350 generations ago.