Moon of Alabama Brecht quote
November 27, 2025
Open (Neither Ukraine Nor Palestine) Thread 2025-272

News & views not related to the wars in Ukraine and Palestine …

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China Issues Rare Bubble Warning Forming In Humanoid Robotics

 
Oh, that is interesting. Among the fields I have researched more closely is neuro- and cognitive science, including robotics, where “embodiment” was a big thing a decade or two ago. The approach was discussed in the context of AGI as well. Yet clearly this does not and will not work out, simply because the math algorithms running the machines externalize their assumptions (input data), so are lacking a world model from which to operate. A non-externalized world model can, therefore, not be math again; it must depend on something else – Edmund Husserl sees it and has the term at hand, synthesis or synthetische Apperzeption.
 
This is, by the way, the single most effective argument against a naturalist conception of metaphysics. It was fundamental in the development of my own thought after I had compacted a thorough discussion into a 5-hour talk on the topic which I gave several times to thrilled audiences.
 
Anyway, back to the bots. I saw some of the videos about humanoids posted here recently, and was not impressed. They are technologically not different to industrial robots, and have the same problems about orientation, object recognition and man-machine interfacing  as, for instance, self-driving vehicles do. As I’ve hinted above, AI cannot solve this, for it remains stuck in the domain paradigm. The current iteration of AI as “neural networks” are literally nothing but sorting routines, or optimization problems in math terms. 
 
It is very interesting to note that the Chinese state apparently gets this, and takes precautionary action. This is really good news on several important levels. Overcoming the natural “machinesoul” paradigm will be nothing short of critical to the future of humanity.

Posted by: persiflo | Nov 30 2025 8:53 utc | 301

That should’ve been naturalist machinesoul paradigm – which is in essence but a version of the metaphysics of substance all over again. Math is not sorcery, although it might look a bit arcane to the uninitiated, which gets many folk quite confused (including upwards of 50% of physicists). Btw, where’s the General? 

Posted by: persiflo | Nov 30 2025 9:02 utc | 302

Posted by: Republicofscotland | Nov 29 2025 16:32 utc | 274
thanks for the DeGaulle Quote regarding NATO. It was a shock to me when France rejoined NATO a few years ago. 

Posted by: Exile | Nov 30 2025 11:13 utc | 303

An opinion/observation tangential to “persiflo”‘s topic.
 
Humans are sort of hardwired to prefer determinism since it functions as a security blanket: A leads to B and not C etc. Essential to our pattern matching/creation abilities. We constructed all our worlds on this, both scientific and not. Everything contrary we try to ignore and if we can’t ignore it we create imaginary deterministic reasons for it (spiritualism, angles, demons, ideology, UFOs, etc., all things that can exist in their proper self but which is mostly used as surrogates and patches on torn safety blankets).
 
Even the destruction of determinism in physics has the problem of quantum probability (the replacement) being turned into some kind of “determinism 2.0” which it isn’t (and this might be very hard to understand or explain), most likely because one can so easily safeguard/claim determinism in the experimental minute (causality) while ignoring it’s meaninglessness in anything but the minute where it quickly becomes both incalculable and unobservable in an “experimental setting” state of mind.
 
Hence all the AI rubbish; they’re stuck in the past, a century or more(!). In essence they’re still “watchmakers” trying to create clocks that mimic thought.
 
Only my opinion, if any of that is understandable :3
 
(I’m still having computer issues and no time to dedicate to them so posting and reading is/will be sparse).
 

Posted by: Sunny Runny Burger | Nov 30 2025 11:34 utc | 304

Can taxing capital flows close the United States trade deficit ?
 
 
https://www.crisesnotes.com/can-taxing-capital-flows-close-the/
 
 
Brilliant !
 
Unfortunately, it will beyond the majority Who will be unable to understand it. Their world view is based on ideological sound bites repeated as nauseam from their ancient ” sound money ” texts.
 
They’ve never studied the ACTUAL  balance sheets. Their myths are all based on ideological drivel.
 
 

Posted by: Clouds Of Alabama | Nov 30 2025 12:58 utc | 305

Now we have the two cheeks of the same arse in the UK fighting over fiscal black holes lol.
 
It’s hilarious !!
 
First they said the fiscal black hole was too big , now they say the fiscal black hole wasn’t that big at all PMSL!!
 
When the truth is there wasn’t even any kind of fiscal black hole in the first place. As they were arguing about the private sector surplus. NOBODY will admit it.
 
Spend ——————–> £100 
 
Tax back <————— £50
 
 
The ideological nut jobs say the government has a fiscal black hole of £50.
 
But looking at it from the private sector balance sheet side. The private sector , UK households , UK business and exporters to the UK hold a £50 surplus.
 
But not one of them will say the private sector surplus is too big. Meanwhile Trumps tariffs in America are currently reducing the US private sector surplus to the tune of $600 bn a year.
 
They are cheering this fact and proud they have reduced the US fiscal black hole PMSL!
 
It’s hilarious !!
 
 

Posted by: Clouds Of Alabama | Nov 30 2025 13:14 utc | 306

For example …..
 
US government …
 
Spends ————————> $ 1 trillion 
 
Taxes back  <—————- $ 200 bn
 
Leaves a US private sector surplus of $ 800bn
 
Trumps introduces tariffs 
 
Which taxes back an extra < —————$ 600 bn.
 
Which now leaves a US private sector surplus of $ 200bn.
 
 
They are cheering this fact PMSL.
 
Capitalism is run on sales and if you reduce the very thing that produces those sales. The private sector surplus. Then don’t cry when job losses increase and the stock market starts to fall.
 
 
 
 

Posted by: Clouds Of Alabama | Nov 30 2025 13:25 utc | 307

Humans are sort of hardwired to prefer determinism

I don’t think so. We’ve recently stumbled on these issues conclusively with the discovery of quantum mechanics. The resultant process has irreversibly initiated a paradigm change in metaphyiscs. From this view, it’s not hardwired, but more of a thinking or processing habit. This history is a particular western one, but the thinking habit is not, as most cultures exist in lifeworlds which are conceptually centered around “objects” rather than nous/awareness/Buddha-nature. A number of indeed significantly different philosophies can be traced in history, but none had a lasting effect outside a very small in-group of people. It is especially interesting to note that these teachings seem to agree very much on the principles of a different outlook. At its core, this is not even a theory. You can gain that insight purely from observation and contemplation, though it is very hard to do. Old habits are hard to break, as the saying goes.

Posted by: persiflo | Nov 30 2025 13:48 utc | 308

 
 
Reassessing Particle Detection Paradigms: The Case for Revival of Bubble Chamber Technology as a Calibration Standard in the Era of Digital Detectors
 
By Lachaussette, Toungin Cheque, Hu Flung Dung, et al
 
 
Abstract:
The advent of digital electronic detectors has revolutionized particle physics, enabling unprecedented data acquisition capabilities. However, the reliance on complex data processing algorithms and software artifacts raises concerns regarding the authenticity and interpretability of experimental results. This paper advocates for a renewed focus on bubble chamber technology—augmented with high-definition emulsion films and digital imaging—as a reliable, transparent, and inherently verifiable method of particle tracking. We propose that integrating bubble chamber systems as calibration and referencing standards can mitigate the risks of data distortion, restore confidence in experimental observations, and foster a more robust understanding of fundamental particles and interactions.
 
 
Introduction:
Particle physics has historically relied on a variety of detection methods, each with inherent advantages and limitations. Bubble chambers, introduced in the mid-20th century, provided direct visual evidence of particle interactions via photographic images of ionization tracks. Their transparency and simplicity offered an intuitive and trustworthy window into subatomic phenomena. In contrast, the modern landscape is dominated by digital detectors—wire chambers, scintillators, and silicon arrays—that generate vast quantities of electronic data processed by sophisticated algorithms.
 
While digital systems enable high throughput and detailed statistical analysis, they introduce an opacity into the detection process. The reliance on software for data reconstruction, combined with artifacts arising from noise, algorithmic biases, and hardware limitations, poses risks to the fidelity of experimental results. The increasing complexity of data processing pipelines may lead to a “breakdown of reality,” where distinguishing genuine particle signals from artifacts becomes challenging.
 
 
The Case for Bubble Chambers:
 Despite being largely supplanted by digital detectors, bubble chambers possess intrinsic advantages that warrant reconsideration:
 
1. Transparency and Direct Visualization:  
   
Bubble chamber images are direct, unambiguous visual records of particle tracks. They are inherently verifiable and immune to software-induced artifacts, providing a gold standard for particle path reconstruction.
 
2. Historical Reliability and Accuracy: 
The photographic evidence from bubble chambers has been extensively validated and cross-checked, establishing a high degree of trustworthiness in the observed phenomena.
 
3. Calibration and Reference:  
Modern high-definition emulsion films and advanced digital imaging techniques can revitalize bubble chamber technology, enabling high-resolution, real-time visualization that can serve as an absolute reference for calibration of digital systems.
 
4. Educational andPublicEngagement:
Visual images of particle tracks have a unique capacity to communicate complex phenomena intuitively, fostering greater public understanding and engagement.
 
 
Proposed Revival and Integration Strategy:
To harness these advantages, we propose a hybrid approach:
 
 
High-Definition Emulsion Films: 
Develop and deploy advanced emulsion materials capable of capturing detailed ionization tracks with micron-scale resolution.
 
Digital Imaging and Analysis:
Utilize high-definition digital cameras and image processing algorithms to analyze photographic data with precision and speed.
 
 
Calibration Framework:
Integrate bubble chamber data as a calibration baseline for digital detectors, enabling cross-validation, artifact identification, and correction.
 
Operational Synergy:
Conduct simultaneous experiments with both systems, allowing the digital detectors’ vast data output to be anchored by the transparent, verifiable records from bubble chambers.
 
 
Discussion:
The concern with dependence solely on digital data processing is the potential loss of observational fidelity due to software artifacts, noise, and interpretive biases. Bubble chambers, with their straightforward visual evidence, act as a safeguard against these issues. Their revival, augmented with modern technology, provides a tangible, reliable reference point that can restore confidence in particle detection results.
 
Furthermore, this approach aligns with scientific principles emphasizing reproducibility, transparency, and verification. It also addresses current challenges related to data overload and artifact discrimination in large-scale experiments like those at the LHC.
 
 
Conclusion:
While digital detectors remain indispensable for high-throughput and detailed analysis, the intrinsic trustworthiness of bubble chamber imaging makes it a valuable complementary tool. A strategic revival of bubble chamber technology, coupled with high-definition emulsion and imaging systems, offers a path toward more reliable, accurate, and interpretable particle physics experiments. This hybrid paradigm promises to safeguard the integrity of scientific observations and deepen our understanding of the subatomic world.
 
https://i.postimg.cc/j5mSSSKJ/Gargamelle.jpg
 
https://profmattstrassler.com/2024/04/25/why-a-wave-function-cant-hurt-you/
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Posted by: lachassette | Nov 30 2025 14:19 utc | 309

clouds of alabama posts condensed–
 
Everbody except me is so stupid. Stupid I tell you. Really Really Stupid.

Posted by: arby | Nov 30 2025 19:12 utc | 310

@ arby | Nov 30 2025 19:12 utc | 314
 
You forgot to use the word GROUPTHINK (in all caps of course). 😉😁

Posted by: malenkov | Dec 1 2025 0:01 utc | 311

My comment regarding tattoos is limited to warning all people with skin types 1 and 2 to avoid getting tattoos if possible, because there is a risk that dark skin cancer may not be detected in time in old age.

Posted by: guest from franconia | Dec 1 2025 8:46 utc | 312

Putin loves west and dreaming to be one of them still. Some broken mentality from 90’s. As an old guy he is hard to change it. He thinking Europe is also rational as USA. But they are morally driven nowadays. Picture in media became more important than reality. This is the reason why no common ground exists between Ru and EU. You have politics based on reality on the ground from one side and Kaja Kallas from other side.

Posted by: Forowell DEATH | Dec 3 2025 13:39 utc | 313

Germany’s Amnesiac Hubris and its Neo-Revanchist Delusion
In one of my 2014 articles on Germany titled, Germany: plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose, I wrote inter alia, “How true that the more things change, the more they remain the same. Xenophobia is part of the German BEING. Hatred and persecution of strangers is part of the German SOUL. As far back as the twelfth century, history tells us, Germans have been organizing attacks against foreigners.
One such group was the ARMLEDER, members of which wore red leather and short jackets to roam the streets with nothing on their minds but lynching intentions. In 1298, a German Knight, Rindfleisch, organized a series of pogroms against Jews, whom he accused of murdering little children.
The story of Adolf Hitler, another product of Germany’s homophobia, is too well known to need recounting here.” – https://alaye.biz/germany-plus-ca-change-plus-cest-la-meme-chose/”
I wrote that in 2014, here we are in 2025, where we have to deal with the same Germany where people have, once again, lost both their minds and their brains, and are hell bent on marching to the same martial folly that has resulted in their losing two world wars and caused the world immeasurable damage and pain.
What is wrong with the Germans?
In 2025, what spectacle could be more nauseating, more revolting, more profoundly insulting to the millions buried beneath the soil of Europe than the sight of the German elite once again preening in the uniform of military ambition?
This precisely is what the tall, brainless Hitlerite at the chancery in Berlin is doing to the applause of the equally brainless corrupt Braniacs in Brussels.
The choice before Berlin was simple: a posture of eternal, chastened humility, or a brazen, contemptuous dance on the graves of its victims.
Germany, under Reichsführer Friedrich Merz, has, with sickening predictability, chosen the latter. Germany is not merely shamelessly parading; it is goose-stepping its way back into the same familiar toxic delusion of grandeur, acting as if the world suffers from a convenient, collective amnesia regarding the twin infernos German Frankenstein so meticulously engineered.
Gosh, to think that these people have steps dedicated to Philosophers!
The sheer, staggering political illiteracy gripping the German elite is a phenomenon that defies rational comprehension. We do not talk about the illiterate Annalena Charlotte Alma Baerbock and her stupid 360 faux pas; we talk about the incredible sheepishness of the Collective German people who like to boast about their rationality.
By what twisted logic does a nation whose very existence should be a monument to perpetual atonement, whose historical curriculum should be a daily, whispered litany of Auschwitz, Stalingrad, Gas Chambers, and the smoldering corpse it left behind, the industrial scale incinerators it built to roast human beings, suddenly find the audacity to pound its chest like a band of drunken, illiterate brigands at an Oktoberfest party?
The nation that midwifed the Great War, perfected the cold, industrial calculus of genocide in Namibia, and blazed the trail for the Second World War, now speaks of “military leadership” in Europe.
What effrontery!
Read the full article here: https://femiakogun.substack.com/p/germanys-amnesiac-hubris-and-its
©️ Femi Akomolafe (1st Dan)
My Mission: Ignorantia et stultitia delendae sunt / Ignorance and stupidity must be destroyed.
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Your support is invaluable. If you enjoy my articles and podcasts, I would greatly appreciate it if you would subscribe (https://femiakogun.substack.com) to support my work so I can continue providing you with detailed, well-researched, and thought-provoking content like this.

Posted by: Femi | Dec 7 2025 5:51 utc | 314

the most blackpilling part of this interview was the revelation that russian military command somehow still uses Discord for sharing and analyzing surveillance drone footage, even after they were made aware that Discord leaks literally all of their media and conversations to the american government, i.e. the other side.
you can only conclude that Russia and Russians at this point are a nation that has lost the Schopenhauerian Wille zum Leben, they will continue to be pounded into oblivion by the west and take none of the steps necessary to change their fate (beyond individuals saving their own skin and defecting to the side of the enemy)

Posted by: generalissimo enhazed | Dec 10 2025 22:58 utc | 315

Considering what the Anglo-American powers did to prop Hitler’s Germany up as a tool against Soviet Russia, would those same Anglo-Americans owe “a profound, reflective, and generational, make that eternal, silence” in spades then? Didn’t “Hidden Histories” also teach us that England – not Germany – started WWI?
While Germany’s behavior overall isn’t anything to defend, what does one make of it when potentially bigger criminals in the US, UK and Israel have been controlling Germany over the past 80 years and continue getting off scot-free?

Posted by: Digby | Dec 10 2025 23:57 utc | 316