I’m not a fan of the FL lab-grown meat ban, but here’s a counterpoint, just to play devil’s advocate: much of the FL economy is agricultural and pastoral. I think the ban is more of a protectionist move than an anti-progress move. Regardless, I dislike the decision.
I find it odd that you express mostly anti-right (whatever "right" is supposed to mean these days) views when the current major threat is the Democrats and progressives. However, I do agree that the ban on artificial meat is ridiculous. It is indefensible from any perspective -- other than a vote-capturing perspective.
Interesting that you liked the original Solaris. I tried to watch it back in the late 1980s and eventually left the theater due to being terminally bored. Could I have been tired or in the wrong mood state?
Tarkovsky films are very much a cultivated talent. Critics say you could cut them in half with no meaningful loss in content, but the long melancholic scenes do play an important role in mood-setting and also giving the observer time to "zone out" and ponder the philosophical themes previously explored. That said, I do think the highway scene near the beginning of Solaris was too much - I half-suspect it was done to justify Tarkovsky's Soviet-financed trip to Japan, LOL. (Though its inclusion also surprised me because I wouldn't have thought Soviet censors appreciated viewers seeing how densely packed with private vehicles Tokyo's roads were by 1970).
> I do not like Woke cancelation campaigns, and increasingly, more and more normies seem to have gotten wise to their overreach. However, there is nonetheless a distinction between Charles Murray getting booed at a Woke college and several thousand more Blacks dying from the Ferguson Effect, and the rightoid platform of getting millions killed in painful ways (anti-vaxxerism), coercing women to birth rape babies (anti-abortion), sentencing their own loved ones to agonizing deaths (anti-euthanasia), and the general technophobia, Luddism, and anti-transhumanism which makes it harder to build the very solutions that would bypass most of the ethical debates they are so invested in.
I know little to nothing about Vitalia but don't they have any control mechanisms in place against crackpots? One thing is improving upon the FDA long and burdensome processes and a different thing is just letting snake oil salesmen offer their experimental products to anyone willing to pay for them and act as guinea pigs. We already had Tijuana and Bahamas for that.
As far as I know, de Grey was involved in that project so he should be interested in setting some minimum standards so that the project doesn't go down the drain. He is a little bit of a crackpot himself (I don't see his idea of longevity escape velocity in the coming decades taken seriously by any reputable scientist working in the field) but he does know the science and is clearly interested in making longevity interventions mainstream.
Bryan Johnson, on the other hand, is not just a crackpot but a total freak, obsessed with his nighttime erections. There doesn't seem to be any doubtful intervention he's not willing to test on his body. Surprisingly though I find the "Blueprint longevity" mix he's selling quite a bargain. Some of the ingredients in that mix have been extensively tested for different health concerns (magnesium, creatine, L-theanine, ashwaganda, glucosamine), one produced positive longevity results on mice in the Intervention Testing Program (glycine) and another two (taurine and AKG) have shown some positive results wrt longevity, although the latter recently failed in the ITP. No way you could buy all of this separately at the same doses for a lower price. Two important caveats though: although none of the ingredients is known to cause adverse effects, combining them all is an experiment never tested so you're on your own. And importantly, I see no signs on his website that Bryan Johnson's products have gone through 3rd-party lab tests or have the GNP (General Manufacturing Practices) label so they don't offer the same safety standards that you would get with most supplements sold at Walmart or Amazon.
Japanese Elite Human Capital is leaving the country for the better prospects offered by China.
China’s investment in research and development sets an example that other countries should follow as Elite Human Capital is leaving Japan to escape restrictive work environments and lack of funding.
During the past two decades, Japanese scientists have adopted fatalistic attitudes, becoming resigned about their work and complaining of tiny budgets or a lack of time for proper research. By comparison, one Japanese scientist remembers seeing a group of Chinese students entranced by a professor from China, who convinced them to go to his research center while at a meeting in Nagasaki.
The scientist had been jobhunting for a few years, hoping to become an associate professor at a Japanese university, but there were no openings. Recalling the enthusiasm of the Chinese scientist, he got a job as an associate professor and moved to China in 2022. Scientists there were highly motivated, he said, rarely missing an opportunity to publish research articles.
Compared to Japan, Chinese society esteems science and academia to a greater degree. Another scientist says that the striking difference between Japanese and Chinese labs is communication. He had also gone through gruelling job searches, moving to China as a last resort but ultimately getting a salary five times higher than he earned five years before.
Japanese scientists say funding isn’t the only issue
Researchers in China seem to have connections with fellow labmates as well as supervisors, compared to Japan where a rigid hierarchy makes socialization difficult. It might be the sociability in Chinese labs that increases their output, more so than funding.
This is the suggestion of Atsushi Sunami, president of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation and an expert on China’s approach to science, who said institutional arrangement is the key. China’s university reforms gave considerable discretion to university management. This allows for free research by even young scientists, who have the opportunity to win grants and promotions.
Over the last 20 years, China and Japan have swapped places in terms of scientific presence. China overtook the US to become the top publisher of research papers globally. Japan has dropped to 18th in terms of the number of top ten articles in the world, while China sits at the top of this ranking.
Supposedly, the Japanese decline is the result of “selection and concentration” policy that invests in only a few research fields due to limited funds. This means budgets focus on particular universities and scientists find it difficult to obtain grants. It’s very difficult to get a permanent post, as government subsidies for operating costs have either been cut, or left at insubstantial amounts.
Education ministry figures show the annual number of Ph.D.s obtained in Japan peaked at 17,860 in fiscal 2006 and has hovered around 15,000 in recent years. The number of Ph.D.s obtained in China skyrocketed from 26,506 in fiscal 2005 to 98,585 in fiscal 2023, an increase of about 200 percent.
I’m not a fan of the FL lab-grown meat ban, but here’s a counterpoint, just to play devil’s advocate: much of the FL economy is agricultural and pastoral. I think the ban is more of a protectionist move than an anti-progress move. Regardless, I dislike the decision.
will you review stalker 2 when it comes out?
Hopefully, if it's available on GeForce Now. (I no longer have my own rig).
I find it odd that you express mostly anti-right (whatever "right" is supposed to mean these days) views when the current major threat is the Democrats and progressives. However, I do agree that the ban on artificial meat is ridiculous. It is indefensible from any perspective -- other than a vote-capturing perspective.
Interesting that you liked the original Solaris. I tried to watch it back in the late 1980s and eventually left the theater due to being terminally bored. Could I have been tired or in the wrong mood state?
Tarkovsky films are very much a cultivated talent. Critics say you could cut them in half with no meaningful loss in content, but the long melancholic scenes do play an important role in mood-setting and also giving the observer time to "zone out" and ponder the philosophical themes previously explored. That said, I do think the highway scene near the beginning of Solaris was too much - I half-suspect it was done to justify Tarkovsky's Soviet-financed trip to Japan, LOL. (Though its inclusion also surprised me because I wouldn't have thought Soviet censors appreciated viewers seeing how densely packed with private vehicles Tokyo's roads were by 1970).
Regarding my perception of the relative threat posed by Left and Right: https://akarlin.com/jail-for-rightoids/#Owls_and_Ravens
> I do not like Woke cancelation campaigns, and increasingly, more and more normies seem to have gotten wise to their overreach. However, there is nonetheless a distinction between Charles Murray getting booed at a Woke college and several thousand more Blacks dying from the Ferguson Effect, and the rightoid platform of getting millions killed in painful ways (anti-vaxxerism), coercing women to birth rape babies (anti-abortion), sentencing their own loved ones to agonizing deaths (anti-euthanasia), and the general technophobia, Luddism, and anti-transhumanism which makes it harder to build the very solutions that would bypass most of the ethical debates they are so invested in.
Have you watched any of Alexander Sokurov's films?
Lopushansky's recentish adaptation of the Strugatsky's "Ugly Swans" was also very good - very artistic depiction of an embryonic "EHC" class.
Ay, I've been playing Mass Effect as well! Probably my new favorite games.
Nice to see some blogging again - no desire to return to loving embrace of the UR commentariat?
I know little to nothing about Vitalia but don't they have any control mechanisms in place against crackpots? One thing is improving upon the FDA long and burdensome processes and a different thing is just letting snake oil salesmen offer their experimental products to anyone willing to pay for them and act as guinea pigs. We already had Tijuana and Bahamas for that.
As far as I know, de Grey was involved in that project so he should be interested in setting some minimum standards so that the project doesn't go down the drain. He is a little bit of a crackpot himself (I don't see his idea of longevity escape velocity in the coming decades taken seriously by any reputable scientist working in the field) but he does know the science and is clearly interested in making longevity interventions mainstream.
Bryan Johnson, on the other hand, is not just a crackpot but a total freak, obsessed with his nighttime erections. There doesn't seem to be any doubtful intervention he's not willing to test on his body. Surprisingly though I find the "Blueprint longevity" mix he's selling quite a bargain. Some of the ingredients in that mix have been extensively tested for different health concerns (magnesium, creatine, L-theanine, ashwaganda, glucosamine), one produced positive longevity results on mice in the Intervention Testing Program (glycine) and another two (taurine and AKG) have shown some positive results wrt longevity, although the latter recently failed in the ITP. No way you could buy all of this separately at the same doses for a lower price. Two important caveats though: although none of the ingredients is known to cause adverse effects, combining them all is an experiment never tested so you're on your own. And importantly, I see no signs on his website that Bryan Johnson's products have gone through 3rd-party lab tests or have the GNP (General Manufacturing Practices) label so they don't offer the same safety standards that you would get with most supplements sold at Walmart or Amazon.
Japanese Elite Human Capital is leaving the country for the better prospects offered by China.
China’s investment in research and development sets an example that other countries should follow as Elite Human Capital is leaving Japan to escape restrictive work environments and lack of funding.
During the past two decades, Japanese scientists have adopted fatalistic attitudes, becoming resigned about their work and complaining of tiny budgets or a lack of time for proper research. By comparison, one Japanese scientist remembers seeing a group of Chinese students entranced by a professor from China, who convinced them to go to his research center while at a meeting in Nagasaki.
The scientist had been jobhunting for a few years, hoping to become an associate professor at a Japanese university, but there were no openings. Recalling the enthusiasm of the Chinese scientist, he got a job as an associate professor and moved to China in 2022. Scientists there were highly motivated, he said, rarely missing an opportunity to publish research articles.
Compared to Japan, Chinese society esteems science and academia to a greater degree. Another scientist says that the striking difference between Japanese and Chinese labs is communication. He had also gone through gruelling job searches, moving to China as a last resort but ultimately getting a salary five times higher than he earned five years before.
Japanese scientists say funding isn’t the only issue
Researchers in China seem to have connections with fellow labmates as well as supervisors, compared to Japan where a rigid hierarchy makes socialization difficult. It might be the sociability in Chinese labs that increases their output, more so than funding.
This is the suggestion of Atsushi Sunami, president of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation and an expert on China’s approach to science, who said institutional arrangement is the key. China’s university reforms gave considerable discretion to university management. This allows for free research by even young scientists, who have the opportunity to win grants and promotions.
Over the last 20 years, China and Japan have swapped places in terms of scientific presence. China overtook the US to become the top publisher of research papers globally. Japan has dropped to 18th in terms of the number of top ten articles in the world, while China sits at the top of this ranking.
Supposedly, the Japanese decline is the result of “selection and concentration” policy that invests in only a few research fields due to limited funds. This means budgets focus on particular universities and scientists find it difficult to obtain grants. It’s very difficult to get a permanent post, as government subsidies for operating costs have either been cut, or left at insubstantial amounts.
Education ministry figures show the annual number of Ph.D.s obtained in Japan peaked at 17,860 in fiscal 2006 and has hovered around 15,000 in recent years. The number of Ph.D.s obtained in China skyrocketed from 26,506 in fiscal 2005 to 98,585 in fiscal 2023, an increase of about 200 percent.