Race to the Bottom!

 For years Amazon was a reliable deliverer. Not so much anymore. The last 8-10 packages were delayed, lost, or otherwise sent elsewhere. One wonders if Amazon is trying to out do the USPS. It appears as if they are succeeding superbly. If this were a truly competitive vendor the head of distribution would be applying to McDonald's at this point. 

The Earth is Flat

 The fatal flaw of AI is that it relies solely upon masses of prior information. It takes everything as truth with no balance or fact checking. Thus if one does a simple thought experiment the fault would become clear. Consider if AI existed in 1300 AD. Fear not, just AI nothing else new. I then ask the AI engine if the earth is flat. The answer clearly is yes because all of the documents it relied upon says so. 

Thus the fatal flaw of any AI system is the "fact base" it relies upon. As someone once relayed to me, "There was a young boy whose father placed him on a high table. He opened his arms and said jump. The boy jumped, the father withdrew his arms and splat! The father then said to the boy: Trust no one not even your father" 

Cancer Cell Plasticity

 

This Note examines cancer cell plasticity. Namely the ability of cancer cells to change phenotypes as an aid to metastatic behavior. Benign structure adhere to the mantra; “A place for everything, and everything in its place.” Plasticity in cells may result in a violation of this mantra, thus allowing clutter, and ultimately cellular hoarding, or metastasis.

Namely the ability of cancer cells tochange phenotypes as an aid to metastaticbehavior. Benign structure adhere to themantra; “A place for everything, andeverything in its place.” Plasticity in cellsmay result in a violation of this mantra,thus allowing clutter, and ultimatelycellular hoarding, or metastasis.Terrence McGartyTGL 219

Sixth Avenue

 As an old New Yorker I still call the Avenue of the Americas, Sixth Avenue. The bridge across the Hudson the Tappan Zee Bridge. Penn Station is Penn Station. Grand Central is Grand Central. The Hudson River is the Hudson River. He sailed up it in 1609 so I guess that is just fine. Newark Airport is just OK. I cannot get used to Newark Liberty. 

Don't start changing names. Idlewild is now JFK. Easier to say I guess. LaGuardia,  well I guess it is OK, after all he allegedly signed my birth certificate. Build a victory arch, name it for the Emperor? The above is in Aosta, but beware Constantine went through it on his way to conquering all of the Empire. 

Rights and the Individual

 Turley’s latest book, Rage and the Republic, is a highly readable and compelling presentation of the fundamental issues that created the American Republic as we may know it.

 I begin by noting that on the west side of Morristown, NJ, on the way to the wintering grounds of Washington’s troops during the Revolutionary War, is a small park, a pond and a wonderful statue. Fortunately it was not torn down during the rage on past people, it remains but a lonesome edifice to the past. It is a statue of Thomas Paine, with his writings held in his hands. I suspect that few visitors have any clue who this person was. I have sat in the shade many times in warm weather looking up at old Tom and wondering is he remains a well known character anymore. Then along comes Turley and enlivens Tom as a key player and essential writer to the Revolution’s cause. Paine flows in and out of Turley’s work and one must understand him to get to understand the theme of Turley’s book. Turley provides such an understanding in a brilliant and readable manner.

 Turley presents many of the issues in readily understandable terms. For the many who have little if any knowledge of the “ideas” that led to the American Revolution and in turn to the French Revolution, Turley’s presents them in understandable terms.

 One his earlier discussions if the use of natural law and natural rights. In my opinion, natural rights precede natural law. Natural rights is a concept that has a long standing existence. In simple terms natural rights are those things that people believe that have or should have. Such as the right to speak freely, the right town and control property, the right to a fail trial, the right to believe in one’s own religion. By the time of Paine and Rousseau, the American view and the French, these rights were somewhat commonly held. Natural law then is the law that provides the legal basis for ensuring these rights. Turley depicts the Founders as true believers in these rights and the basis in law for their protection.

 Turley points out as US Senator who questions natural rights and in turn natural law. I have seen this Senator in action and clearly in my opinion his comments are baseless at the very least and reflect perhaps a gross ignorance of both history and facts. But alas it is politics, where ignorance is oftentimes a virtue, it allows one to purport statements that satisfy a political position independent of the facts.

 In addition to the first two above, Turley depicts the Founders and their actions as supporters of the individual, and in turn individualism. The Bill of Rights, based upon Natural Rights, are rights for the individual, not the collective. Freedom of speech is freedom for the individual, as is freedom of religion, and of the press. The rights are furthermore equal for all individuals. In the American Revolution, people became citizens nor subjects. One should not in England to this day people are subjects, subjects of the Crown. Whereas in America, citizens hold equal and inalienable rights. Turley does an excellent job in presenting these concepts.

 Let me consider several points that Turley makes throughout the book.

 On p 34 he speaks of Mayhew and Paul’s epistle to the Romans. Paul stated: Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended.

 Now one must question this on its face. After all one could hardly say that following Herod or Nero were established by God! Indeed Mayhew and Paine broke from this well established idea of divine selection. However it should be noted that Marsilius of Padua and William of Ockham in the 14^th century predated Mayhew and Paine in denying this divine assignment of rulers. In fact they espoused the rights of individuals, rights that superseded the divine or royal. Unfortunately the plague of 1348 quieted this movement for some 400 years.

 On p 62 is the discussion of Paine and unicameralism. Namely only one house for legislation. I felt that the failure to cover Montesquieu in this place was a fault. For it was Montesquieu who had developed a government with a balance of powers, a form inherent in the Constitution. How much of this Paine accepted in uncertain.

 On p 167 the author begins with de Tocqueville and his understanding of the Americans. Now I believe it is useful to see Tocqueville in the context of three of his works; that on America, the French Revolution and Ireland. Most of the attention is on America. But Tocqueville saw the French Revolution as a revolt against the centralization of all governmental power in Paris and lack outside. It is a somewhat different view but worth consideration. In his work on Ireland he commented upon the near slave like existence of the Irish under English rule. Brutality, death, starvation and the total depletion of any claim to a right.

 From p 173 forward the author considers contemporary responses and indeed contemporary rage. Most of what he writes here is a reiteration of current acts by people and politicians. For example on p 176 he discusses the assassinations of Kirk and Thompson. He contends that these acts were done by American Jacobins. In the context of the French Revolution the Jacobins were the “Jacques”, the common man. Similar acts were common with earlier “Jacques” call Jacquerie, a 14^th century band of “common men” who roamed France slaughtering those whom the believed were infringing on their “rights”. The question that needs answering is what drives these people? What makes an otherwise normal human being become an assassin? This is not a new set of events, it is common, albeit it ebbs and flows with the time and place.

 On pp 184-185 the author discusses the fumbling and bumbling U.S. Senator and his denial of the existence of natural rights. Now there are centuries of writings on natural rights and at the time the Founders wrote the Constitution there were well of many centuries of thought of these issues. But to have a Senator from Virginia of all places to espouse such grossly inaccurate remarks makes one wonder. The author uses this well placed discussion to make a point.

 On pp 187-196 the author discusses Professors. I was at MIT in the 60s, as a junior faculty member so I managed to see both worlds, student and faculty. The “age” then was against the Vietnam War. The SDS was a well organized Marxist group whose action were often poorly targeted but damaging. My office were threated by fire bombs, my exam rooms got bomb threats, and smoke from Harvard square worked its way down Mass Ave. But the protests were focused on the war. I was even an adherent to Chomsky’s views, albeit a bit of a fringe personality. But now the Chomskyites are pervasive, often Marxists through and through. But what I found later was that Chomsky was a sophist par excellance. He wrote brilliantly but managed to twist facts to his desired conclusions.

 On p 233 the author discusses property rights, on of the natural rights. If one labors and the fruits of that labor are the creation of legal acquisition of property one has an inalienable right to that property.

 On 260 to 264 the author discusses AI. Here as with many other authors I ask how does one define AI. One looks about and everything is now AI supported, even one mobile phone. In reality there are multiple niches wherein the use of computers, the collection of massive amounts of information, the tools to enter queries and obtain responses via complex processing of the query and the databases is called AI. But in reality AI is in the eye of the beholder, it as the Supreme Court noted in pornography, you know it when you see it. Thus it use and ultimately its regulation is clouded in uncertainty.

 Overall this is a superb book. It lacks the excitement and fire of Paine but it balances facts, history, and politics in a superb manner. It is a book written by an academic, providing facts and interpretation but accessible to every reader. I would highly recommend a read of this book, not just once, but several times.

Is Verizon Getting that Bad?

 I just ordered a new phone. Paid for it and it was to be sent. Verizon used:

DHL FWD DFILL GROUND  

Now this is some screwed up amalgam of DHL and UPS which got lost somewhere in northern NJ. Impossible to track and guess I will have to deal with the incompetents at Verizon. 

That company is close to total implosion. Fortunately my pension is with Prudential now and not these incompetents!