Did we land on the moon or not? I know we did, but not with 100% conviction, but perhaps 99.9999%…same as with the non existance of all the gods…see there is a pattern emerging here…
What deep fakes mean is that we are going to be even more reliant on established sources — like government or major newspapers — for our information. No more ambitious but unknown journalist filming from the front or surreptitiously recording an important person in an unguarded moment; nobody is going to trust that anymore. Not really something to feel happy about I think.
Yes, like government. If our governments can’t be trusted, then our society is poorly governed, and ultimately it’s our society’s fault if that’s the case.
One has to be somewhat sensitive to the possible motivations. For example, it’s one thing to trust a public health agency, where they likely are primarily looking for positive public health outcomes; another to trust that a land use planning project hasn’t been to some extent bought off by development interests. But likely no worse than other information sources.
Therein lies the problem – determining what is true – because even an imaginary ‘god’ which knew everything could not know if its knowledge was true or false due to the fact that IF it didn’t know something – it would not know that it lacked that piece of info
As long ago as the early nineteen sixties people were editing tape to produce fakes. Somewhere in an issue of ‘Gramophone’ from that time the technical editor noted that he had heard a recording of Clement Atlee edited to produce a result totally contrary to the man’s real position and during the war there spoof radio stations on both sides and before that fake editions of newspapers. Nothing new except the technology.
Christopher Myson, what’s new is the reader with which it can be done and the number of people that can do it. Editing tape or taking a newspaper took considerable resources. Now anyone with a PC and Photoshop can produce fake images.
Once more, Laripu demonstrates the importance of re-reading and, where necessary, correcting, his comments before hitting that “submit comment” button! At least Laripu does make amends by subsequent correction, which is more than some other regulars at the old “Cock & Bull” pub do on this page.
Are you making these mistooks more often now, Laripu? As my dear old father used to say, “Old age doesn’t come alone!” (his original actual words translated for the benefit of non-Scottish readers!).
Apologies to all for any bloopers in this comment! I have already checked it three or four times.
Son of Glenner, the mistooks ( ๐ ) come from the fact that I do most of my posting (to any forum) using my cell phone. It’s that damned autocorrect.
But your comment about age is spot-on. As I age, I find my ability to solve problems that don’t depend on experience has diminished slightly. I’m a bit slower. I’ve been retired now for about two weeks. The work stress has left me.
I spend a lot of time food shopping and cooking, both of which I enjoy. I’ve also switched from time-saving instant coffee to really good filter coffee, another plus.
Laripu: I’m delighted to hear that you are retired and enjoying it. From your references to food shopping and cooking I guess you live alone. I trust you also have some good friendships.
I guess you are in your sixties or older. I am in my eighties, so I have a good start on you. As you grow older you will have to get used to losing friends of your own age and younger as they die off – it is still painful! I am fortunate in having a circle of good friends in their fifties, sixties, and older, and they help to keep me feeling young!
I note your remarks about spellcheck/autocorrect which are also the bane of my own espitolatory existence; you just have to keep on doing your own checking!
If you’re ever anywhere near Aberdeen*, feel free to get in touch; in the meantime I’ll continue to enjoy your company here at the old Cock & Bull pub!
*I refer to Aberdeen, Scotland – I’m told there are about thirty others, all over the world!
Laripu, congratulations on your retirement. Iโll be hitting the big eight-oh next week and have been retired for twenty-two years. All I can say is that I should have done it much sooner. As they say, I sometimes wonder how I managed to find time to fit in working.
Son of Glenner, I don’t live alone. I live with my wife of 27 years. I’m 66. Lately, she’s been sidelined, following surgery for a rotator cuff tear, which is why I’m doing more around the house than I normally would. I should be writing more poetry and brewing beer… but all in good time. I enjoy cooking and food shopping. Anyway, I’m planning a small batch of tepache soon. (And no, I’m not Mexican… I’m a cultural appropriator. It’s in my genes. ๐ )
My wife follows her physiotherapist’s advice, and is doing all her exercises multiple times per day. She’s already starting to do a few more things around things around the house. I ought to wrap her up in bubble wrap to prevent her from overdoing it. ๐
Thank you for the invitation to Aberdeen. It’s unlikely that I’ll be going there. I do visit Scotland regularly, but in spirit only. The spirit comes from the bottom shelf: Clan MacGregor, guid fer what ails ya.
Laripu: I wish your wife a good and speedy recovery. As she is young at only 27, she should do well, with or without the bubble wrap.
I’d never heard of tepache, but I looked it up; it sounds great. Keep on enjoying your Clan McGregor – the Scottish economy needs our exports to you. Don’t try making whisk(e)y at home, the distilling is not easy to get right and the maturation process is too long. Don’t keep the ready-made on the bottom shelf, put it somewhere very easy to reach. Some connoiseurs recommend discarding the cork/screwtop after opening, but I think that is taking tradition too far.
Aye. We have exhausted the theological debunking topics years ago. We are now just engaging in idle chit-chat. It’s usually like an episode of grumpy old men sort of a dar more intellectual loose-men panel…
Just obtained a set of first edition Erica Cheetham books on Nostradamus. Scouring car-boots early on a sunday morning can be very profitable. Picked three hardback books up for a fiver…bargain and worth a lot more than the muggins was selling them for…
Iโll add my congratulations on your retirement here. Now you have time to read all those books on your list!
Couple of observations on getting old; first, it sure beats the alternative!
Itโs never too late to have a happy childhood.
And, especially,
Donโt take life so serious; it ainโt nohow permanent
Shaughn: You are welcome to join us in the Gerontology Church – it costs you nothing to join, all you have to do is live long enough! Hopefully you will be eligible, perhaps not until the distant future. (I don’t know how old you are.) And you can leave any time you like, all you have to do is die.
If you have any doubts about membership, there’s always a readily-available alternative. Some good advice from OtterBe.
Jesus & Mo (the characters) are absurd, blinkered, and oddly very sweet. J&M (the cartoon) is brilliant: sharp, delicious, irresistible. Salman Rushdie
Jesus and Mo cartoons are wonderfully funny and true. Richard Dawkins
Jesus and Mo make the world a better place, bless their little hearts. Ophelia Benson
In a world defined by outrage and offence and liberal spinelessness, Jesus and Mo is a treasure, whose value we should never fail to recognize. Read them. Laugh. And think. Kenan Malik
The brilliant, celebrated, freaking hilarious atheist comic strip ... Greta Christina
...rays of sanity in a befuddled world. Keri Hulme
The liveliest depictions of Muhammad currently available... Malise Ruthven
J & Mo is the funniest and most consistently thought-provoking cartoon strip on the Net. In a saner world, it would run in a major newspaper. Nelson Jones, Heresy Corner
Consistently amusing, frequently thought-provoking and often heart-warming. New Humanist
Jesus & Mo is one of the most wonderful things on the internet.. JT Eberhard
Wittily captures much of the absurdity of religious apologetics. Mano Singham
I love jesusandmo.net cartoons - witty and sharp! Katha Pollitt
Often hilarious, frequently wry, these cartoons do what all the best cartoons do: they tell the truth through humour. Terry Sanderson, NSS President
...a wonderfully acid British cartoonist... Nick Cohen
I love the scrappy mockery of Jesus and Mo. Freedom of speech
includes the freedom to mock any person, any thing, any activity, and
any belief -- and J&M stands up for this unflinchingly Richard Stallman
...empowering, important and deeply progressive, not to mention hilarious... Council of Ex-Muslims
April 19, 2017
Did we land on the moon or not? I know we did, but not with 100% conviction, but perhaps 99.9999%…same as with the non existance of all the gods…see there is a pattern emerging here…
What deep fakes mean is that we are going to be even more reliant on established sources — like government or major newspapers — for our information. No more ambitious but unknown journalist filming from the front or surreptitiously recording an important person in an unguarded moment; nobody is going to trust that anymore. Not really something to feel happy about I think.
jb: “… established sources – like government …”
???????!!!!
Yes, like government. If our governments can’t be trusted, then our society is poorly governed, and ultimately it’s our society’s fault if that’s the case.
One has to be somewhat sensitive to the possible motivations. For example, it’s one thing to trust a public health agency, where they likely are primarily looking for positive public health outcomes; another to trust that a land use planning project hasn’t been to some extent bought off by development interests. But likely no worse than other information sources.
“But likely no worse than other information sources.”
Yes, but up until now video and audio recordings have been better than other information sources. That’s what we’re losing!
Therein lies the problem – determining what is true – because even an imaginary ‘god’ which knew everything could not know if its knowledge was true or false due to the fact that IF it didn’t know something – it would not know that it lacked that piece of info
As long ago as the early nineteen sixties people were editing tape to produce fakes. Somewhere in an issue of ‘Gramophone’ from that time the technical editor noted that he had heard a recording of Clement Atlee edited to produce a result totally contrary to the man’s real position and during the war there spoof radio stations on both sides and before that fake editions of newspapers. Nothing new except the technology.
Christopher Myson, what’s new is the reader with which it can be done and the number of people that can do it. Editing tape or taking a newspaper took considerable resources. Now anyone with a PC and Photoshop can produce fake images.
Look say this Quora post for some funny examples.
https://worldsnews.quora.com/Dad-sends-his-girlfriend-photo-shopped-pictures-whenever-she-asks-if-their-kids-are-OK-part-2-Credit-onadventure
That should have said “ease”, not “reader”.
Faking, not taking.
Look at not Look say.
Damn.
Once more, Laripu demonstrates the importance of re-reading and, where necessary, correcting, his comments before hitting that “submit comment” button! At least Laripu does make amends by subsequent correction, which is more than some other regulars at the old “Cock & Bull” pub do on this page.
Are you making these mistooks more often now, Laripu? As my dear old father used to say, “Old age doesn’t come alone!” (his original actual words translated for the benefit of non-Scottish readers!).
Apologies to all for any bloopers in this comment! I have already checked it three or four times.
Son of Glenner, the mistooks ( ๐ ) come from the fact that I do most of my posting (to any forum) using my cell phone. It’s that damned autocorrect.
But your comment about age is spot-on. As I age, I find my ability to solve problems that don’t depend on experience has diminished slightly. I’m a bit slower. I’ve been retired now for about two weeks. The work stress has left me.
I spend a lot of time food shopping and cooking, both of which I enjoy. I’ve also switched from time-saving instant coffee to really good filter coffee, another plus.
All in all it’s like the Swiss flag.
Laripu: So, neutral? ๐
Real old age doesn’t come at all….Swinton saying…
Aha….My doppleganger is about us…
Laripu, congrats on your retirement!
You’ve found (as I did) the perfect work-life balance 0%-100%. Enjoy!
Laripu: I’m delighted to hear that you are retired and enjoying it. From your references to food shopping and cooking I guess you live alone. I trust you also have some good friendships.
I guess you are in your sixties or older. I am in my eighties, so I have a good start on you. As you grow older you will have to get used to losing friends of your own age and younger as they die off – it is still painful! I am fortunate in having a circle of good friends in their fifties, sixties, and older, and they help to keep me feeling young!
I note your remarks about spellcheck/autocorrect which are also the bane of my own espitolatory existence; you just have to keep on doing your own checking!
If you’re ever anywhere near Aberdeen*, feel free to get in touch; in the meantime I’ll continue to enjoy your company here at the old Cock & Bull pub!
*I refer to Aberdeen, Scotland – I’m told there are about thirty others, all over the world!
“espitolatory” managed to slip through the net. It should of course be “epistolatory”!
I buy and cook food, yet do not live alone. If you have some idea what you like to eat, I highly recommend it.
Laripu, congratulations on your retirement. Iโll be hitting the big eight-oh next week and have been retired for twenty-two years. All I can say is that I should have done it much sooner. As they say, I sometimes wonder how I managed to find time to fit in working.
Son of Glenner, I don’t live alone. I live with my wife of 27 years. I’m 66. Lately, she’s been sidelined, following surgery for a rotator cuff tear, which is why I’m doing more around the house than I normally would. I should be writing more poetry and brewing beer… but all in good time. I enjoy cooking and food shopping. Anyway, I’m planning a small batch of tepache soon. (And no, I’m not Mexican… I’m a cultural appropriator. It’s in my genes. ๐ )
My wife follows her physiotherapist’s advice, and is doing all her exercises multiple times per day. She’s already starting to do a few more things around things around the house. I ought to wrap her up in bubble wrap to prevent her from overdoing it. ๐
Thank you for the invitation to Aberdeen. It’s unlikely that I’ll be going there. I do visit Scotland regularly, but in spirit only. The spirit comes from the bottom shelf: Clan MacGregor, guid fer what ails ya.
Everyone, thank you got your good wishes.
Choirboy, here’s a joke for your 80th birthday…
What does a newly octogenarian pirate say? “Aye, matey!”
Feel free to annoy people with that, over and over, until they think you’re becoming forgetful. ๐
Laripu: I wish your wife a good and speedy recovery. As she is young at only 27, she should do well, with or without the bubble wrap.
I’d never heard of tepache, but I looked it up; it sounds great. Keep on enjoying your Clan McGregor – the Scottish economy needs our exports to you. Don’t try making whisk(e)y at home, the distilling is not easy to get right and the maturation process is too long. Don’t keep the ready-made on the bottom shelf, put it somewhere very easy to reach. Some connoiseurs recommend discarding the cork/screwtop after opening, but I think that is taking tradition too far.
S0G. Laripu has been married for 27 years. Don’t think his wife is 27…(in his fantasies perhaps…) hahaha
I have been married since august 1988…so thats 35 years thia time…
Showing my age: married since 1973, making this year my 50th anniversary!
(And 5 years of being with her before that)
M27Holts: Of course I know that Mrs Laripu is not 27 – I still wish her a good and speedy recovery!
(I hope she is as young-at-heart as her 66-year old husband of 27 years appears to be!)
Excuse me, is this perhaps the meeting of the Gerontology Church?
Aye. We have exhausted the theological debunking topics years ago. We are now just engaging in idle chit-chat. It’s usually like an episode of grumpy old men sort of a dar more intellectual loose-men panel…
Just obtained a set of first edition Erica Cheetham books on Nostradamus. Scouring car-boots early on a sunday morning can be very profitable. Picked three hardback books up for a fiver…bargain and worth a lot more than the muggins was selling them for…
Lapiru,
Iโll add my congratulations on your retirement here. Now you have time to read all those books on your list!
Couple of observations on getting old; first, it sure beats the alternative!
Itโs never too late to have a happy childhood.
And, especially,
Donโt take life so serious; it ainโt nohow permanent
Cheers, mate!
Shaughn: You are welcome to join us in the Gerontology Church – it costs you nothing to join, all you have to do is live long enough! Hopefully you will be eligible, perhaps not until the distant future. (I don’t know how old you are.) And you can leave any time you like, all you have to do is die.
If you have any doubts about membership, there’s always a readily-available alternative. Some good advice from OtterBe.
SoG, I’m happily retired for about 2 years now ๐ And I did follow OtterBe’s advice to read Oak nevertheless.
(now, where the ef was my avatar with my previous post? Hope it appears again… )