GammaGlobulin

If YOU consider Gelernter a "prominent scientists", then all meaningful discussion is OVER...Here is why...... Above image can be found at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Gelernter

In THESE Days of modern science, it is often necessary for scientists and researchers to submit their articles for publication to well-known journals using, EXCLUSIVELY, LaTeX, and no other software. Are you aware of this? And then, what say you now? Here are the guidelines for using LaTeX in order to submit a science article to the journal Science: https://www.science.org/content/page/preparing-manuscripts-using-latex This is just one of a plethora of cases where LaTeX is required for science-article publication. Science article publishing has changed since the Dark Ages, I think. And, for the better. No need to rely on others to do what one can easily do oneself. And, it can save money for the researchers and grad students, too.

And, just a helpful update for those, like me, who may live in a house which is not attached to the city water supply, one which is reliant upon ground water from a well, or for those who are having problems due to hard water coming out of their taps: I have been using the Glacier company. This is NOT an ad for Glacier. I am just reporting that I have been using Glacier for several months, and that I am still getting great service, responsive service, and friendly delivery people. I changed my drinking water supplier several months ago, and I am now very satisfied with the new company. I did not know which company to choose. But then I looked on TV and found some helpful comments which pointed me to the Glacier company. You do not need to speak a lot of passa Thai to contact this company and arrange for drinking water delivery. I buy the 20 liter water jugs in plastic (they have glass containers too maybe?). So, Glacier solved my drinking water problem. According to the company: The drinking water they supply has been treated a process of ozonation (I am still not an expert, obviously.). However, the hard water problem at my house is STILL seriously bad. Lot's of corrosion on plumbing fittings. White stains all over the drinking glasses. Gritty deposits on dishes, bowls, cutlery, you name it. I have yet to go buy vinegar (acetic acid), but I definitely will. I do not own this house, and I am unable to control the water treatment of the ground water being supplied. And so, my living situation is not ideal, just due to the hard water problem. Next time I move, i will first ask if the house is connected to the city water supply, for sure.

In THIS OP, we are concerning ourselves with FLUID Intelligence as measured on an IQ test, and Not CYSTALLIZED Intelligence. Increasing Fluid intelligence is what the FLYNN EFFECT actually refers to. Above image taken from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluid_and_crystallized_intelligence

I am definitely UNAWARE of ANY OTHER desktop-publishing software which can duplicate, or even come close to duplicating, LaTeX's versatility for.... Typesetting Scientific Notation Beauty of the Text Etc... Maybe you are? Can you please name one, other than maybe this one? https://www.slant.co/versus/13783/24296/~latex_vs_microsoft-publisher BUT....this other one does not even apply because this other one by MS is NOT opensource software. And, in academia, scientists ALL prefer using opensource software so that they can tweak the software to create new iterations which better suit their needs. https://subscription.packtpub.com/book/business-and-other/9781847199867/1/ch01lvl1sec10/what-is-latex#:~:text=LaTeX is a free%2C open,typesetting engine by Donald Knuth. What SAY you, Sir? (I mean: We would not wish to mislead readers into mistakenly thinking that LaTeX is not just the BEST for making one's science articles printer-ready. And, also, we LIKE to support opensource software whenever possible, too!)

Please note that we are really talking about intelligence and "smartness" as measured by the Wechsler IQ test, and other IQ tests, because this is the data that FLYNN used to postulate that there is an observable FLYNN Effect.

Haha...Yes....I, too, believe that his hypothesis is suspect. Flynn was the first one to notice and publish about this increasing trend in IQ (the intergenerational trend). However, I agree with you that the primary reasons for increasing IQ are other than experience with abstract thinking. This is NONSENSE, because we know the intelligence of the guys on PNG, documented by that Harvard researcher and professor Diamond who wrote that the guys on PNG are far smarter than Diamond's Harvard undergrad students, also show increasing IQ scores. We need to look at the data and evidence to find a cause for the annual increasing IQ scores. There are many places where we can look. However, I mentioned this link in my previous comment, and I think this link is a good place to find several plausible hypotheses to explain increasing IQ scores: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/flynn-effect

Wisdom = "life experience knowledge" And, still not for sale.

To me, you sound a bit like Exxon stating that there are MANY accomplished scientists who believe that Global Warming due to anthropogenic causes is a MYTH. Please name the Natural Scientists of whom you speak.

Maybe, then, you should ask your granddaughter...?

Several detailed discussions of The Flynn Effect can be found: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/flynn-effect For example, just one short excerpt of just one discussion: "An Empirical Curiosity: The Flynn Effect We know that the environment has powerful effects on cognitive abilities. Perhaps the simplest and most potent demonstration of this effect is the Flynn effect, named after its discoverer, James Flynn. The basic phenomenon is that IQ has increased over successive generations throughout the world during most of the past century—at least since 1930. The effect must be environmental because, obviously, a successive stream of genetic mutations could not have taken hold and exerted such an effect over such a short period of time. The effect is powerful—about 15 points of IQ per generation for tests of fluid intelligence. Also, it occurs throughout the world. The effect has been greater for tests of fluid intelligence than for tests of crystallized intelligence. The difference, if linearly extrapolated (a hazardous procedure, obviously), suggests that a person who in 1892 was at the 90th percentile on the Raven Progressive Matrices, a test of fluid intelligence, would in 1992 score at the 5th percentile."

My Dearest Grandpapas, Has your granddaughter ever told you she is smarter than you? And, did you secretly admit to yourself that she was probably correct? And then, did you ask yourself WHY? Why is my granddaughter, just six years old, smarter than I ever was? The reasons are varied, but the name for this overall phenomenon is simply called: THE FLYNN EFFECT. I guess, by now, one would have had to have been hiding under a rock someplace not to have heard of the Flynn Effect. But don’t feel bad if you don’t know much about the Flynn Effect, an effect that is most interesting for those of us who care about such things. And, you are in luck, because here are two videos that do an excellent job explaining the Flynn Effect. This first UTUBE video, a TED Talk, is presented Straight from The Horse’s Mouth, none other than James Flynn, himself! He will tell you exactly why your granddaughter is, indeed, likely to be quite a bit smarter than you…maybe by as much as 15 IQ points if both you and your granddaughter could take the same IQ test (of course, your granddaughter would not be taking the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), but rather she would be taking the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC)). So then, if you have an interest in this Topic, please enjoy this TED Talk: This next video, an interview done by Lex Fridman, and I am not a fan of his, provides a discussion between him and Richard Haier. Haier seems to believe that the Flynn Effect may be slowing down, and possibly reversing. And, he also repeats our general understanding concerning the fact that the Flynn Effect, which is an observation based on IQ data, is probably due to improved healthcare and nutrition (an intergenerational improvement). Obviously, the Flynn Effect is a fascinating topic to most all of us. Fortunately, both of these attached videos are for the lay audience, so rest easy grandpapas! Therefore, next time you interact with your granddaughter, and next time you admit to yourself that she is smarter than you ever were, now you know why. Helpfully yours, As always, Gamma G. Please Note: I have no granddaughters. But this has not stopped me from realizing that children are smarter these days. I have taught a few super-smart Chinese kids via the internet….For FUN. And, they always try to show me up, being as academically precocious as they often are. They love to point out my typos and spelling errors on WeChat, for example, and this makes their day! Note2: Still, I can honestly say, I have yet to meet a 12-year-old student smarter than me, even a Chinese one. But yet I know, one day soon, I surely shall.

I am smarter than my Dad. Why? It must be the Flynn Effect. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flynn_effect

How did LIFE begin in our Godless Universe? And, further thoughts concerning Why Super-Smart people are UNABLE to believe in God/gods: In several of my previous comments, I have linked to a few precious tidbits given off by that Super-Nova of a Scientist, and My Main Man, Sean Carroll. (Educated at Villanova University and Harvard University; Research and Teaching at CalTech, Santa Fe Institute, Johns Hopkins University; Influences: Einstein, Boltzmann, Richard FEYNMAN!, David Hume, etc.) Definitely, here is another Royal Institution gem from Sean which will answer ALL/MOST of your questions about our Godless Universe. I know you guys are going to love it. (Please watch the entire video IF you want to know more about what's up with our Reality and our Universe.) And, nothing that I can think of could be more...ON TOPIC! This will answer your question about where LIFE came from, as well as the origin of the Universe, AND...what will happen to the Universe in the far, Far, FAR distant future. Please watch the other Sean Carroll video I linked in a previous comment. Both are exactly ON TOPIC, elucidating and full of optimism for all men of Free Will and Good Cheer. Bless you guys!

Twain is GREAT: You see? Twain uses the word "cut" and "straight". Which, of course, leads the reader to immediately think of a straight razor.

'I'd gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today '

Those are BLOODSUCKERS which feed on the blood of cattle. I know those birds. Worse than the Maasai in Kenya, by the way. Where is Karen Blixen, when one most needs her? (Please Note: The linked UTUBE video above is NOT OFFENSIVE in ANY way! This video should really NOT be age-restricted!!!)* *I am SO THANKFUL I was not born in this New Age. I was born in the days when the world was still LOGICAL and THOUGHTFUL.

OK. But, Track and Field is really not my game.

Unfortunately, I am actually not that confrontational of an individual. Besides, as I stated in the OP.... I do LOVE cats.

Very GOOD point!!!

Well, for one thing, I like privacy during the race, and especially just after crossing the finish line after doing the last grueling 500 meters. I don't need a lot of stupid gawkers looking at me; the crowd that might die halfway through the first 500 meters of a 2000-meter rowing race.

I should also like to add something that I forgot to mention in the OP: This morning, sitting outside, I had been SHOCKED to see one of the adult birds making a beeline directly at me. At first, I had thought the adult was about to attack me! Fortunately, the heron approached to within one or two feet of me, after climbing up on the tiled stoop outside my garden door, and after just about stepping on my toes, he just nonchalantly walked on by. Is this bird BLIND, I wondered? And, do I look or smell like a worm to him, I considered? Nature is really a wonder to behold, if we are both patient and observant enough to appreciate all creatures, big and small.

How would you separate out the "bigots" you refer to? Far better to do the ENTIRE WORLD a huge service by just BANNING ALL SPORTING CROWDS! As a rower, I used to HATE the crowds which would congregate in the bleachers located at the finish line, just as we had given our all to get through the last quarter mile. There we would be, spent and exhausted, lying on our oars, while the crown gloated. I do hate the sporting crowds.

First, before completely changing my name, I must polish off this list of anagrams of my existing name: Ablooming Gull Iboga Mungal Imbuing Gongal Lugubrious Manga Mongol Buglia Nobiliary Gull Nubile Gogmal Globular Milieu Globulin Gaming Might take me about a year.... Best Regards....

I was so very touched by these three black balls, this morning, that I almost began to weep with joy....My First TRUE foreign friends in Thailand! Yes, I will be on the lookout for that darned black cat.