Other than Mars... - ...what do people do?

Adrian · 2002-09-22 15:17:47

Some might find it a surprise to hear that I do have a life outside of Mars (say it ain't so! ) but it's true. I think it'd be nice for New Mars newbies and regulars alike to have a chat about what interests we have outside of Mars, and maybe we'll find that people have common interests. Since I'm the guy who wants to do this, I'll kick it off.

I'm going into my final year of being an undergraduate at Cambridge now, and I'll be doing research into neuroscience as a large part of my course. Cognitive neuroscience and psychology is probably my other great love of science outside of Mars, and I've found it really interesting - it's a field with incredible potential, simply because there are so many simple questions that we still don't have the answers to - like 'Why do we dream?' or 'How does memory work?'

I've done a lot of work on the Internet, and last year I was involved in the Microsoft/Dreamworks SKG 'AI movie' promotional game. I'm hoping to start up my own immersive Internet game for the UK some time next year. I've got a great interest in science fiction, as I'm sure the rest of you do, and I also like reading books on history, economics and science. Football (that's soccer to you Yanks) and rowing make up my two recreational activities. There's probably a lot of other stuff that I haven't mentioned, but that I can't remember right now

Websites: I have two personal websites. One is at www.vavatch.co.uk and has a load of older material dating up to several years back - book reviews, essays, stories, that sort of thing. Vavatch is where I put my static material, like photos. My weblog, which I update daily, is at www.mssv.net.

So, what about the rest of you?

Palomar · 2002-09-22 19:14:59

*I'm rather sure I've mentioned before that I'm a medical transcriptionist. I've been doing this work for 16 years now, and am in business for myself.

You all know by now that I'm really into 18th-century stuff...that is, if you've been reading in my folder devoted to this subject in the "Free Chat" area. I own and moderate a mailing list via Yahoo! Groups devoted to this subject matter as well; my list is called "Age of Voltaire" (what else, ha ha).

I've also mentioned I am an amateur astronomer who is absolutely lousy in math, and physics is totally over my head...which is why I am an amateur and not professional astronomer.

I enjoy cooking new dishes for myself and my husband, and yes I am a good cook! I love baking too. I'm quite the experimenter in the kitchen. We have no children, but pets. My sister says we have a "Looney Tunes" situation in our home: The dog, the cat, and the hamster. Our "kids" would gladly devour one another if they could.

In my office (where I'm sitting now) I have huge full-color astronomy posters on the walls; the one directly in front of me is devoted to our Solar System. I can almost fancy that the poster is really a 3-feet wide spaceship window and I'm beholding our Solar System spread before me (I have a good imagination). Another poster is devoted to our beautiful Sun, complete with high-resolution photos and cut-away graphs; another is called "The Pillars of Creation," i.e. segments of the Orion Nebula, and last but not least is a dual-image poster of Mars. I also have a Beatles calendar on the wall...hey, I've got to have 4 cute guys to look at while I work! A portrait of Voltaire hangs near my computer as well. He gets a kiss blown at him every now and then.

I'm a very free-spirited person who enjoys driving with the windows cranked down, barefoot, and an ice-cold Diet Pepsi within hand's reach.

As for my sense of humor: It's WICKED baby--WICKED!!

--Cindy

Palomar · 2002-09-22 23:27:43

I'm going into my final year of being an undergraduate at Cambridge now, and I'll be doing research into neuroscience as a large part of my course. Cognitive neuroscience and psychology is probably my other great love of science outside of Mars, and I've found it really interesting - it's a field with incredible potential, simply because there are so many simple questions that we still don't have the answers to - like 'Why do we dream?' or 'How does memory work?'

*Interesting. I presume you're [at least somewhat] familiar with John C. Lilly, MD? I've read some of his books, _The Scientist: A Metaphysical Autobiography_ and _Center of the Cyclone_. Very interesting, even if the mysticism involved gets a bit mind-boggling. But then, it's good for the mind to get a good boggle every now and then.

I've got his _Simulations of God_ and _ Programming & Metaprogramming in the Human Biocomputer_ still on a shelf, waiting to be read. I've glanced through them already, and they certainly look to be as formidable and challenging as they are interesting.

Maybe your studies and his studies/research are very different matters, but I'm just wondering. I wouldn't care to jump into a sensory-deprivation tank alone -- and on LSD on top of it -- no thank you! ??? But I congratulate him on his daring and purpose [the LSD was legally dispensed and controlled by the U.S. gov't for research purposes in this regard...for people who might not be familiar with Dr. Lilly and his work]. He also has done extensive research with dolphins. The movies "Altered States" and "Day of the Dolphin" were based [albeit loosely, particularly as regards the latter movie] on his work.

If I remember correctly, his doctoral thesis at CalTech focused on attempting to determine whether the mind is an extension of the brain -- and thereby dependent upon the brain for its being and function -- OR if the mind is a phenomenon separate from and ::not:: dependent on the brain. I am thinking Lilly's questions must have been more involved than that, because it sure seems to me the mind IS dependent upon the brain...otherwise, how could alcohol affect moods and levels of awareness? How could psychiatric medications work to alleviate/improve symptoms of depression, anxiety, psychosis, etc., if the mind were NOT dependent upon the brain, biochemistry, etc.? Same goes for anesthetics; if the mind is separate from and not dependent upon the brain, why do humans lose consciousness when a total anesthetic is applied prior to surgery? Then there are brain injuries; those folks (my husband is one of them) have personality and mood changes after the brain injury.

Well, I'm probably SERIOUSLY overreaching here. I've not been to CalTech, I'm not an M.D., etc. Probably his questions were much more involved than what the books for laypersons let on. But it seems to me the mind IS dependent on the brain, and is an extension of it.

Memories and dreams, yes; very interesting. Can't recall who said the mind, besides outer space, are the final frontiers: Astronauts and Psychonauts.

Yap, yap, yap...I'll clam up now. Does any of this have to do with your studies, Adrian? Just curious.

--Cindy

turbo · 2002-09-23 09:50:48

I'll chime in Adrian.
I just finished my Bachelors in Electronics Engineering Technology and at the moment am not working. I was just turned down for a five month stint in Antarctica (they wanted more experience) but I'm still up for a job in the Control Room at one of the local television stations.

Other than Mars, I'm a member of the group called "TIGHAR" who are involved in many projects, including the search for Amelia Earhart. I guess that means I'm into aviation, space, and of course long-shots!

The old team is still going to get together and finish working on the mass driver, and I still have to finish the 1:1 replica of R2D2 that was put on hold while I finished school. Somehow during all the other things, including finishing the EVA pack I started yesterday, I'm supposed to make a "Wizardmon" doll.

Tonight I get to help with a "Raingutter Regatta" boat for my son's Cub Scout meeting, and then later help my neighbor with a full-sized boat.

Dear future Boss, save me from too many projects!

turbo, now off in search of misplaced coffee cup

Phobos · 2002-09-24 21:12:45

If I remember correctly, his doctoral thesis at CalTech focused on attempting to determine whether the mind is an extension of the brain -- and thereby dependent upon the brain for its being and function -- OR if the mind is a phenomenon separate from and ::not:: dependent on the brain.

Existentialists use to argue this point a lot. Of course existentialism is practically dead now, especially since Satre turned into a traitor and nobody believes in true free will anymore. A lot of religious people though still cling to the idea that the mind and brain are separate entities because it lends credence to idea that we are spiritual beings in the sense that we have souls. Anyways, Adrian picked a fascinating area of research. I'm a big AI nut and I believe if we're going to succeed in creating truly intelligent, self-aware "machines" we'll have to first increase our understanding how the brain works.

You all know by now that I'm really into 18th-century stuff...that is, if you've been reading in my folder devoted to this subject in the "Free Chat" area. I own and moderate a mailing list via Yahoo! Groups devoted to this subject matter as well; my list is called "Age of Voltaire" (what else, ha ha).

Just out of curiosity when and how did you discover Voltaire? There just aren't very many people out there who would develop a great interest in philosophy. One of the things that annoyed me about college was that so many of the people there had absolutely no passion whatsoever for the subjects they were majoring in. They just did it because they thought it would lead to good jobs, which is ok in it's own right, but still depressing.

The old team is still going to get together and finish working on the mass driver, and I still have to finish the 1:1 replica of R2D2 that was put on hold while I finished school. Somehow during all the other things, including finishing the EVA pack I started yesterday, I'm supposed to make a "Wizardmon" doll.

Awesome! I've gotta have one of those R2D2 droids! R2 is my absolute favorite droid in the sci-fi universe. I hate C3PO, but R2 rules.

Palomar · 2002-09-25 09:17:21

Me: If I remember correctly, his doctoral thesis at CalTech focused on attempting to determine whether the mind is an extension of the brain -- and thereby dependent upon the brain for its being and function -- OR if the mind is a phenomenon separate from and ::not:: dependent on the brain.

Phobos: Existentialists use to argue this point a lot.

*I'm not familiar with existentialism.

Phobos: Of course existentialism is practically dead now, especially since Satre turned into a traitor and nobody believes in true free will anymore.

*How did Sartre "turn traitor"? I believe there is a certain level of free will.

Me: You all know by now that I'm really into 18th-century stuff...that is, if you've been reading in my folder devoted to this subject in the "Free Chat" area. I own and moderate a mailing list via Yahoo! Groups devoted to this subject matter as well; my list is called "Age of Voltaire" (what else, ha ha).

Phobos: Just out of curiosity when and how did you discover Voltaire? There just aren't very many people out there who would develop a great interest in philosophy.

*The seed of interest was planted when I was about 12 years old. My parents were members of an intensely fundamentalist Christian sect which was forever haranguing about "The End Times." My impression of these people grew to where I considered they were absolute misanthropes, and would be happy to see "sinners" being punished and tormented, and the Earth destroyed in the process. I grew more and more detached from all this, and happened to read a preacher's statements regarding an man from the 18th century named Voltaire. This preacher was commenting negatively on Voltaire, but happened to mention something which caught my eye and stayed in my mind: According to this preacher, Voltaire had been afraid mankind would indeed bring Armageddon upon himself...but only via what would today be termed "self-fulfilling prophecy." I've not yet read of Voltaire having even suggested this, by the way; I don't recall where the preacher claimed to have gotten his information from, i.e. a source or whatever. But it struck me: What if simply believing what the Bible says about these things supposedly happening in the future DO happen -- but only because mankind convinced himself it would happen no matter what, and acted in a manner to bring it upon himself, i.e. self-fulfilling prophecy [and sans any sort of extra-human meddling, intervention, whatever]? It gave me a chill. I didn't read anything about or by Voltaire thereafter until a few years ago. I was browsing in a bookstore and saw _The Portable Voltaire Reader_. By this point I was reading a lot of sociopolitics, metaphysics, philosophy, etc. I remembered the incident as a child, and decided to give Voltaire a try; I was hoping to find, in his own words, the reference the preacher had given [I still haven't found it]. I picked the book up occasionally, reading tidbits every now and then, alongside of all my other reading. Early this year I decided to purchase _Introducing the Enlightenment_ by Lloyd Spencer and _Introducing Rousseau_. I'd been eyeball-deep in reading postmodernist thought and various philosophies, but they left me cold...I got these 2 books, and my interest and fascination with the Age of Enlightenment took off like a rocket. My interest in Voltaire was especially more tweaked after reading these 2 books, as quite a bit of the focus of the material automatically went back to Voltaire [as he was such a major and pivotal figure of the time]; I read the remainder of _The Portable Voltaire Reader_. I began reading various Enlightenment documents, and material pertaining thereto, and Voltaire especially held my interest. But it's one thing for a person to write something, and I began to wonder about his integrity and consistency -- especially in his PRIVATE life. How did he view women? How did he view non-whites? Rarely do I become greatly intrigued with the private and personal lives of historical personages, or celebrities: I've read biographical books about Voltaire and I was extremely pleased to find that he was indeed a man of great integrity; he was consistent; he was fair-hearted, generous, kind, and compassionate; he believed women were the intellectual equals of men; he decried racism, slavery, and genocide; he was a stalwart defender of persons targeted for oppression, torture, and death by the religious fanatics of the day. He was honest, and his philosophical writings are nourishing not only to the mind, but to the heart also; he was forthright and realistic in his writings, yet optimistic; etc., etc. He said, "I revere God, but I love mankind." And he did. Victor Hugo was right, going by all I've read, when he said Voltaire "was a great mind, and an immense heart."

Voltaire is one of the most noble humans I've ever learned about. His philosophical writings are easy to understand [one critic has commented that reading and understanding Voltaire's writings is as easy as listening to a man speak, so eloquent and clearly written are they]. My interest in Voltaire also sparked an interest in the time in which he lived; who were his friends, his comtemporaries, what were the fashion trends, the sociopolitical conditions, etc...what was his world like? I've subsequently gotten to know King Louis XV, Frederick the Great, Madame de Pompadour, various Scottish and English philosophers, Maurice de la Tour and other great artists of the time, etc., etc...people I probably wouldn't have gained any sort of interest in if it weren't for the initial interest in Voltaire. Someone has said that the 18th century is "endlessly fascinating"...it's true. Once you're bitten by the bug, you're in for the long haul!

Phobos: One of the things that annoyed me about college was that so many of the people there had absolutely no passion whatsoever for the subjects they were majoring in. They just did it because they thought it would lead to good jobs, which is ok in it's own right, but still depressing.

*That's sad.

--Cindy

Phobos · 2002-09-25 18:19:43

I grew more and more detached from all this, and happened to read a preacher's statements regarding an man from the 18th century named Voltaire. This preacher was commenting negatively on Voltaire, but happened to mention something which caught my eye and stayed in my mind: According to this preacher, Voltaire had been afraid mankind would indeed bring Armageddon upon himself...but only via what would today be termed "self-fulfilling prophecy."

Wow, considering your not-so-favorable opinions on religion I never would have guessed that it was the words of a preacher that sparked your curiosity. Voltaire would probably be impressed by such a story of someone finding the strength to overcome what they've been taught as holy truth and basically reject it because they find it unreasonable. Anyways, is it true that Voltaire's last words were "What, flames already?" when someone lit a candle next to his deathbed? I don't remember where I heard that so it's probably some urban myth but I don't know.

Palomar · 2002-09-26 08:40:53

Phobos: Wow, considering your not-so-favorable opinions on religion I never would have guessed that it was the words of a preacher that sparked your curiosity.

*The only reason the preacher factors in is due to my parents' intense religiosity and my exposure to that. However, I do agree it's ironic.

Phobos: Voltaire would probably be impressed by such a story of someone finding the strength to overcome what they've been taught as holy truth and basically reject it because they find it unreasonable.

*That's a nice thought.

Phobos: Anyways, is it true that Voltaire's last words were "What, flames already?" when someone lit a candle next to his deathbed? I don't remember where I heard that so it's probably some urban myth but I don't know.

*Urban myth. Voltaire died, as Ben Ray Redman put it [editor of _The Portable Voltaire Reader_ and author of its rather lengthly biographical "Introduction"], "at peace with the God of his Watchmaker Universe." Priests had come to see if they could wring a confession out of Voltaire, and if he would recant all of his former "heretical" writings; he asked them to "leave me to die in peace," and pushed them away. Victor Thaddeus, author of _Voltaire, Genius of Mockery_, is in agreement. I also obtained the information below from Thaddeus' book [I'm summarizing it, not quoting it]:

After his death, Voltaire's nephew and some friends ushered his corpse out of Paris, as the Church intended to throw Voltaire's body into a ditch to be devoured by dogs...which is what they did to corpses of heretical persons (or persons thought to be heretics) who had managed to avoid being burned or tortured to death. Voltaire's nephew and his friends propped the corpse up into a sitting position in the coach, one man sat beside Voltaire's body (to make it appear there were simply two men inside), and they hurried into the countryside. They managed to get a decent burial for Voltaire, complete with coffin. The Church found out about this, threw a fit, and intended to have the corpse exhumed and thrown into the ditch when many of Voltaire's very powerful and influential friends rose in angry protest. The Church backed off. Frederick the Great of Prussia, who had been a personal friend of Voltaire (though their relationship had been very turbulent), was outraged. He commanded all of his nobles, courtiers, ministers, and clergy [!] etc., to hear him give a eulogy on Voltaire. Some time after this, Frederick - still angry at the way Voltaire had been treated in death - used his regal authority to bring the Catholic Church of Prussia to its knees by demanding a full-blown, ornate Mass be said for Voltaire's soul; Frederick thoroughly humiliated the Church and they had to perform the Mass.

During the French Revolution, Voltaire's remains were exhumed, as were those of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. They were given elaborate state funerals and laid to rest in the Pantheon. When the French Revolution took a turn for the very worst, the remains of Voltaire and Rousseau were removed from the Pantheon by an angry mob, tossed together [!] into a bag and thrown away. Voltaire is once again enshrined at the Pantheon, but not with any of his remains.

--Cindy

Phobos · 2002-09-26 18:20:10

During the French Revolution, Voltaire's remains were exhumed, as were those of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. They were given elaborate state funerals and laid to rest in the Pantheon. When the French Revolution took a turn for the very worst, the remains of Voltaire and Rousseau were removed from the Pantheon by an angry mob, tossed together [!] into a bag and thrown away. Voltaire is once again enshrined at the Pantheon, but not with any of his remains.
--Cindy

I've definately been filled with urban myths concerning the life of Voltaire. I thought that after he died his body was immediately taken by the authorities and dragged through sewage. Where the hell do I hear these things? Even though I've read my fair share of philosophers I've only had a scant introduction to Voltaire's philosophy and know practically nothing about his personal life.

A.J.Armitage · 2002-09-28 20:41:17

ecrasez_l_infame:

My parents were members of an intensely fundamentalist Christian sect which was forever haranguing about "The End Times." My impression of these people grew to where I considered they were absolute misanthropes, and would be happy to see "sinners" being punished and tormented, and the Earth destroyed in the process.

You call that misanthropic? Bah. I bet they said things like "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life, if only you'll choose to follow Him." Buncha wimps. Now us Calvinists, we're misanthropes.

But it struck me: What if simply believing what the Bible says about these things supposedly happening in the future DO happen -- but only because mankind convinced himself it would happen no matter what, and acted in a manner to bring it upon himself, i.e. self-fulfilling prophecy [and sans any sort of extra-human meddling, intervention, whatever]? It gave me a chill.

I don't think people need much in the way of encouragement before killing each other.

During the French Revolution, Voltaire's remains were exhumed, as were those of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. They were given elaborate state funerals and laid to rest in the Pantheon. When the French Revolution took a turn for the very worst, the remains of Voltaire and Rousseau were removed from the Pantheon by an angry mob, tossed together [!] into a bag and thrown away.

Exactly what the CC tried to do. Ironic.

New Mars Forums

Announcement

#1 2002-09-22 15:17:47

Re: Other than Mars... - ...what do people do?

#2 2002-09-22 19:14:59

Re: Other than Mars... - ...what do people do?

#3 2002-09-22 23:27:43

Re: Other than Mars... - ...what do people do?

#4 2002-09-23 09:50:48

Re: Other than Mars... - ...what do people do?

#5 2002-09-24 21:12:45

Re: Other than Mars... - ...what do people do?

#6 2002-09-25 09:17:21

Re: Other than Mars... - ...what do people do?

#7 2002-09-25 18:19:43

Re: Other than Mars... - ...what do people do?

#8 2002-09-26 08:40:53

Re: Other than Mars... - ...what do people do?

#9 2002-09-26 18:20:10

Re: Other than Mars... - ...what do people do?

#10 2002-09-28 20:41:17

Re: Other than Mars... - ...what do people do?

Board footer