Truthteller

Julian Jaynes & Magic? You mean voices in the head? I am not aware of him dabbling in the occult.

A simple but charming example of Persian-tuned piano composition:

(In Iran, the santur or dulcimer has always been very popular, and it sound a bit like the harpsichord, which explains the Iranian interest in piano)

Playing a period instrument like the violin with a different temperament or tuning than the contemporary one is a real challenge regardless of whether the instrument is hand-crafted or not, because the violin does not have frets.
P.S. In middle-eastern music (Turkey, Iran, Arab world) the violin is one of the few instruments that can be used…[Read more]

“Dismissed” as the “placebo effect” in scientific circles, but no one has explained the placebo effect, and therefore it remains in the realm of magic (for now).

As the French say, don’t sell the fur of the bear before catching the bear.
Still I think it is possible this is posturing — but for what?
Perhaps South Korea, once reunified, would like to retain NK’s nuke arsenal, but they can’t say it openly.
Too soon to speculate, let us wait to see if Kim and the Orangutan will mate in public, or if it is…[Read more]

I am sure the Bible would stand under contract law in US courts as legal title of ownership.
Every conquest recorded in the Bible is a title of land for the minions of Yahweh

The land did not belong to Yahweh to begin with so he asked his minions to take care of it.

They still don’t (nor does anyone else for that matter in the region). Hot air for public consumption.

Does diplomatic immunity apply in such cases where a diplomat commits a crime in another country?

Otherwise, I see no reason why an alleged criminal should evade trial and justice (even if it is called hostage taking by the criminal side).

And one more thing: anything stored in RNA affects every cell of the body hence useful for any kind of reaction that requires synchronization at the cell level. Memories that are not essential for survival, basically our every day ego-memories, have no reason to be stored in RNA.

It is a very interesting find, but the only thing this experiment proves conclusively is that RNA may be used to store certain relatively constant but changing parameters, such as the reaction time to certain stimuli by way of regulation of the secretion of certain chemicals, for example. So I would not generalize from THERE to MEMORY.

Another thing is that Rouhani & Zarif truly believed that by coming to terms with the West, they could help the country modernize its business infrastructure (which is outmoded) as well as consumer-side technology. They were extremely naive, and John Kerry took great advantage of that naivete. The worst mistake they made (and I pointed it out at…[Read more]

Dr Farrell, I am not sure, but I think the reason why original instruments were/are not used that much has more to do with finding talented/virtuoso players of such instruments (and those instruments can be extremely expensive). The tuning of the instruments of that era is also a very delicate thing that must be done right (and may not please all…[Read more]

As for North Korea & Iran, yes, there was very close cooperation esp. during the Iran-Iraq war, when the entire world sold arms (and chem weapons) to Saddam, while placing an arms embargo on Iran. Thanks to the Shah’s incompetence in developing a truly indigenous military industry, at that time Iran could only maufacture light weapons and…[Read more]

And I do not support regime change imposed from the outside, or the rule of the mob taking to the streets to l lynch the current rulers, only to replace them with another bunch of opportunists who want to fill their pockets. A revolution would create an opportunity for foreign meddling as well, and the partition of the country (which is what…[Read more]

And for the record, I was against the JCPOA when I read some of the stuff there, and I suggested that this government should resign rather than sell the country so cheaply (because I knew that USA never delivers on its promises). I said so at the time, it is on record, in my emails. So, the hell with the JCPOA. However, I don’t want to see…[Read more]

In other words, I would like to see a military coup in Iran. where the mecca-born mullahs are swept aside, and the country revives its space and nuclear industry (and way beyond). Reason is that Iran will not be allowed to succeed economically (not that they are all that good at it, most of the problems are endemic, and not caused by sanctions) it…[Read more]

The US and Iran, with or without Trump, cannot be friends because Israel is in the way, and because the mullahs cannot stand down from their enmity to Israel (they are stuck). Trump could bring the mullahs to their knees, if it were only up to the mullahs, but I don’t think that Rouhani will be the e “decider” this time. I could be wrong. The…[Read more]

Sounds like magic to me :))