On the Nature of Things

The people who know nothing know everything

At an insufferable anti-Israel dinner party, a masterclass in dealing with pro-Palestinian idiocy.

Very well written

Parodite wrote: ↑24 Jul 2026 07:53 The people who know nothing know everything

At an insufferable anti-Israel dinner party, a masterclass in dealing with pro-Palestinian idiocy.

Very well written

This is like Rumi’s blind men describing the elephant, except instead of describing it they are trying to butcher it.

Parodite wrote: ↑24 Jul 2026 07:53 The people who know nothing know everything

At an insufferable anti-Israel dinner party, a masterclass in dealing with pro-Palestinian idiocy.

Very well written

Brilliant.

Parodite wrote: ↑24 Jul 2026 07:53 The people who know nothing know everything

At an insufferable anti-Israel dinner party, a masterclass in dealing with pro-Palestinian idiocy.

Very well written

A link in the above article lead to another perceptive article.

Resentment.

Israel haters are total losers

The entire anti-Israel movement is made up of losers. From the terrorist Palestinians themselves, to London’s louse-ridden protesters and the total boneheads who supported Zohran Mamdani for mayor in New York City. It is as though all the world’s resentful people have joined forces in a sad effort to feel good about themselves.

Resentment is a deeply underestimated force. Fear grabs the headlines, hatred drives the speeches, and anger dominates the television screens. Resentment, however, matures slowly, sitting in the background for years, even generations, gathering weight and moral certainty until it no longer feels like an emotion, but like justice.

Whereas anger is usually a response to a specific event and rises quickly and, if circumstances change, often fades just as quickly, resentment is anger that has settled in for the long term.

Think of it as anger with a memory, or resentment that keeps score. Every perceived slight and disappointment is filed away as evidence of the world’s unfairness. Every success the resented person enjoys becomes proof that they have somehow [been] cheated [by] the system.

Resentment is instructive because it reveals much about the person experiencing it.

. . .

Jews constitute about 0.2% of the global population, yet have won about 25% of the Nobel Prizes in the sciences.
Their contribution to civilization is completely disproportionate.

Muslims constitute about 26% of the global population, yet I can think of only three Nobel laureates in the sciences, all educated in the West. Nobel laureates of Muslim background are at about 0.5%. Islam has not made a significant contribution to civilization since its retreat into fundamentalism back in about the 13th century.

Unlike the West, East Asia is not burdened by historical Christian anti-Semitism and now increasingly Muslim anti-Semitism. Rather, Jews are perceived as an example of success, against all odds, from whom one should learn.

That is a truly bizarre correlation.

Nonc Hilaire wrote: ↑02 Aug 2026 19:56 That is a truly bizarre correlation.

Nothing bizarre about it. Not all cultures are equal.

Typhoon wrote: ↑06 Aug 2026 06:22

Nonc Hilaire wrote: ↑02 Aug 2026 19:56 That is a truly bizarre correlation.

Nothing bizarre about it. Not all cultures are equal.

The idea that religion is related to Nobel Prizes is daft.

Religion, per its cultural contributions and in context, has an indirect and sometimes very strong effect on output. Islam seeks to control not only minds, but also politics and the judicial system. Since no updates are allowed after the final prophet spoke in the 7th century, the likelyhood that Islamic culture produces nobel prize winners is small.

Christianity had its dark ages but overcame thanks to enlightenment and the message of Jesus becoming available to everyone.

Buddhism has turned religion into a lifestyle of "how to relax and stay awake doing nothing, while the body gets bored and just wants to sleep!". This is fetishized into some spiritual achievement of mind over body.

Judaism is the art of putting words in God's mouth and then festishize it into a covenant: to help the tribe stick together and stay focussed on their destination. Milk and honey somewhere, anywhere, everywhere. By nature this is a more dynamic life style, as travelers they need to stay alert, adapt, find solutions which also stimulates the intellect and the need to psychologically read others, their intentions. The Jewish mind and intellect became like a Belgian Malinois.

Islam, compared to all others, is as flexible as a wooden stick and as brittle as thin glass.

This idea is bigotry masquerading as intelligence. I guess most scientists are not religious but even if religious cultures are diverse.

Nonc Hilaire wrote: ↑06 Aug 2026 13:21 This idea is bigotry masquerading as intelligence. I guess most scientists are not religious but even if religious cultures are diverse.

It is my exact and honest summary of what I believe to be the case. You see things differently, reading different maps probably. That's all.

Rapodite wrote: ↑06 Aug 2026 19:02

Nonc Hilaire wrote: ↑06 Aug 2026 13:21 This idea is bigotry masquerading as intelligence. I guess most scientists are not religious but even if religious cultures are diverse.

It is my exact and honest summary of what I believe to be the case. You see things differently, reading different maps probably. That's all.

What is the definition of ‘Jew’ in this survey? Haplogroup J? Israeli passport? I knew a Jewish Hare Krishna, but he never won a Nobel. I guess finger cymbals are close enough to bells so he would be disqualified anyway.

But plenty of Jewish Christians - lots of overlap there.

If we can't talk anymore about cultures and their histories, or groups in general while looking at statistical data and means, other coarse grained subsets, then 99% of all discussions are useless. Of course diversity is there too "hiding" in all statistics.

Talking about Christianity would for the same reason be farce. Which Chistianity, when, where and according to who exactly? Jesus? What Jesus according to what source? The Universe? Galaxies, which exactly? People in general, or specifically females? Ok, but which females in what subset? Per age group, or economic and social status? Some genetic components?

The question was why the percentage of Jews winning nobel prizes is so high and of Muslims so low. Pure coincidence? These statistics beg some questions. As do other statistics about Islamic countries, Islamic cultures and their associated behaviors. There is correlation and then there is causation. But facts don't lie.

It’s a stupid question since there was no definition of the dependent variable and the selection of Nobel prizes is a private, secret process.

Nonc Hilaire wrote: ↑09 Aug 2026 04:42 It’s a stupid question since there was no definition of the dependent variable

Neither Typhoon nor me claimed such. Typhoon, concise as always, used the word a culture. I explained in similar ways what I meant. These are vector spaces with many variables of course. They exist upwards and downwards.

When you say "I am a Christian" (as type a, b or c) it is a global vector, which also has downward vectors with many variables.

We need these vectors to navigate the world as legitimate place holders. You seem to be quite selective which ones are legit and which are not.

and the selection of Nobel prizes is a private, secret process.

True. Another vector space that begs questions. But at the same time a fact that exists, legitimately as any other. The thing to ask then would be:

“Why is this happening? Let's examine education, culture, migration, institutions, selection, networks, family background, historical circumstances, and potentially biological/population-history variables.”

What for Jews has a historically bad, if not alarming taste, is when the J-part is not allowed to be considered or even exist:

“Jewishness is irrelevant. We should never mention it. The statistic shouldn't be interpreted through that identity.”

The antisemites agree that Jewishness should never be disregarded in genetics or culture.

I simply think that without a rational hypothesis the question is nonsense and without predictive or descriptive value. We could pretend to analyze Nobel awardees on skin color or race. We would get quantitative results, but they would be equally meaningless.

Nonc Hilaire wrote: ↑09 Aug 2026 18:08 The antisemites agree that Jewishness should never be disregarded in genetics or culture.

Antisemites...another vector space. Some of them are very much into race and genetics like the good ol' Nazis. Others add culture in the mix and can't handle emotionally that some minority groups stick (too much) to cultural and religious habits of their own that they cherish.

Some are specifically inspired by Jews as Christ killers, where the Christian child wants to supercede the Jewish parent. As there is the Islamic offspring that believes it superceded all and everybody else forever.

Many of them, without much knowledge, indepth experiene and critical thought about anything much, just take a ride on the scape goat of the day. Hutus and Tootsies come to mind. Or the Repub vs Democrat tribal wahfare in the US lately where only the strong arm of the state keeps them apart. Variations on a theme.

Vector spaces... keep that thought.

I simply think that without a rational hypothesis the question is nonsense and without predictive or descriptive value. We could pretend to analyze Nobel awardees on skin color or race. We would get quantitative results, but they would be equally meaningless.

I gave you a rational hypothesis. Maybe it just needs to sink in.