New blog address

I will henceforth be posting new articles at the following address: http://djoffe.com/blog/

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The Aquatic Ape Hypothesis and the 'Wet Look'

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An Aquatic Ape I think the strongest 'circumstantial evidence' supporting a partial form of the (controversial)  aquatic ape hypothesis * is something I don't think I've seen mentioned before: The simple fact that we find  wet Homo sapiens sexually attractive. If you think about it, doesn't it seem a bit arbitrary? E.g. would gorillas find other wet gorillas sexy, or would rats find other wet rats sexy? How universal is this? If we consider the concept of sexual choice ** in evolution, then if our ancestors were once partially evolving "in that direction", then we might expect that they may have felt  a mate choice preference  for the entailed characteristics of a hypothetical "aquatic ape" (such as the 'wet look', as well as finding smooth, hairless skin comparatively more attractive, as we do). To consider this argument, look at a picture like the one above (or  this ,  this ,  this ,  this , or  this ) ... then (for...
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How to Maximize the Chance of Human Survival?

I firmly believe in working towards a true Star Trek-like ‘post-scarcity utopia’—a society where food and housing production are maximally automated and distributed. Such advancements could potentially enable high levels of wealth and leisure for everyone. Imagine a world where scarcity is a concept of the past, and every individual has access to the resources they need to thrive. However, achieving such a utopia is no small feat. The system required to maintain this level of automation and abundance would be enormously complex, technologically speaking. It would depend heavily on a network of technologies (some complex and themselves dependent on complex networks, like semiconductor manufacturing), as well as on stable economic and political frameworks, all of which must function seamlessly together. The more intricate the system, the more potential points of failure it has, making it vulnerable to disruptions. Now, let's ponder some catastrophic scenarios. Imagine the Yellowston...
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Last Refuges of Great Art

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The 'art world' should be ashamed that one of the last refuges of artistic beauty and value is not in the art world, but in the art produced by the artists of the video game industry ... I think there is more beauty and value in a single screenshot here than in all the works of the "Tate Modern" put together: http://www.videogamer.com/wii/secret_files_tunguska/screenshot-4.html (And there's plenty more like this out there.) Even the garbage bin is beautiful The rich, expansive virtual worlds created by video game artists are, in a loose sense, 'virtual art galleries' - they're often 'larger' than 'real' art galleries, you can comparably 'explore' them, and every virtual detail is almost like a small piece of art in its own right. If you're ever in London, try this "experiment": Visit the National Gallery (for its classical paintings collection) in the morning, and the Tate Modern in the aftern...
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