Sorry,my mistake, cognitive modules and the theory of cognitive modularity. The concept of a cognitive module is that the mind has algorithmic systems that when triggered by different stimuli then process the data and out put a response, typically the response is a behavior. An input may be a flying object and the module would fire to process the data, it is a baseball and the response would be to trigger the hand eye coordination to catch it.

I guess many question how cognitive modules and reason and logic interact. The problem is that most of the data is derived from genetic disorders. What is the outcome when things are screwed up. One cited case is the chromosome deletion resulting in WS syndrome. I have only read a bit on this but the authors of the literature I read suggest that a straight forward link between modularity and evolutionary psychology may be a bit naive. Their argument is that the infant phenotype is not predictive of the adult phenotype (and therefore, post birth programming is required). You can certainly make sound arguments for why this is so and still link cognitive modularity to evolutionary psychology. Either way, the concept of cognitive modularity is an attempt to mechanistically describe behavioral outcomes and how they are subsequently reinforced per Skinner's (or other) theories is a post birth processing question. It does not eliminate the possibility of cognitive modularities that predispose us to behaviors that lead us to war.



It really does not matter what justification was used. Improving ones status in life has always been a key "reinforcement" of war like behavior. We are talking hydrogen bombs here. There was a conscious concerted effort to fund, design, assemble, stockpile and potentially use these weapons of mass destruction.

Reminds me of another great quotation from that book, this one from Mark Twain, a prayer:

"O Lord, our father, our young patriots, idols of our hearts, go forth to battle - be Thou near them! With them - in spirit - we also go forth from the sweet place of our beloved firesides to smite the foe. O Lord, our God, help us to tear their soldiers to shreds with our bloody shells, help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain...for our sakes who adore Thee, Lord, blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy their steps, stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet! We ask it, in the spirit of love, of him Who is the Source of Love...Amen."

As I write this, Obama is speaking on my TV about a Mosque near ground zero. I am favor of banning all churches, of any denomination, from ground zero...because I don't like that God above...just my opinion.

I am not justifying it in any way. I think it opened a horrible Pandora's box that can never be closed or controlled. I just think that the motivations for building it (them) were (are) many and varied. Splitting hairs, is all.

Transparency offers a way out of these dilemmas:

http://lamammals.blogspot.com/2010/08/aroma-party-position-statement.html

hmmmm ....

I gotta go for the satire, Capt'n. Because this is going to get worse:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mlxMndnlzw

And remember, CNN is one of the better news outfits.

certainly christians have never committed atrocities with god on their side (sarcasm)

what to do?

@agnes:

Kallisti.

Perhaps they can car pool with the Christian groups who are trying to "facilitate the onset of Armageddon".

Saw something on facebook.....said something like, "In fairness, the U.S. created many Ground Zero's right next to mosques over in Iraq....."




edited to credit Wyld for that post on Fb.........

No hairs split. I agree with you. B52's built, concrete poured for silos and shelters and it is easy to say WWII and the cold war made America what it is today. Ronnie Reagen even used it to stimulate the economy by reminding us of the evil empire and funding star wars.


"Theater, art, literature, cinema, press, posters and window displays must be cleansed of all manifestations of our rotting world and placed in the service of a moral, political and cultural idea." .. A. Hitler in Mein Kampf

The clip demonstrated many behaviors and cognitive inputs:

Moral Cleanliness
Sacrifice not Murder
Fundamental Differences ("most muslims deep inside love Osama")
Paranoia to the point of Dominate or be dominated
Anger to the point of dehumanization (become muslim or perish)

All these to recruit and perpetuate "holy jihad".

I wonder which side you are on Len? You are making a great argument for genetic predisposition to war!

Don't forget, Himmler put aside racial purity and recruited Kosovo Muslims into the SS because muslims are the best philosophical warriors.

Can't. That car is already filled with Hindus who consider hating Muslims their own private holy mission. Want to build a mosque in India near anything remotely considered sacred by the Hindus?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/6638475/Indian-leaders-linked-to-Ayodhya-mosque-destruction.html

Then there are the End of the Worlders taking bets on Ragnarok vs the Mayan Prophecies. The list of Anihilist parties is rather long.

That's the point, Capt'n. As the old song says, "The whole world is festering with unhappy souls." and to quote Reader's Digest, "Laughter is the best medicine."

AROMA is a satire. Sort of like Ann Coulter who as it turns out is a very dedicated DeadHead.

http://www.jambands.com/features/2006/06/23/deadheads-are-what-liberals-claim-to-be-but-aren-t-an-interview-with-ann-coulter

Who knew....

The people who start these online/off-kilter splinter groups start out telling us they are 'inciting civility', "a grassroots movement to return power to the people', etc., but quickly devolve into yowling cats the first time someone points out a hitch in their getalong. It's Spy Vs Spy; the Great Get Even. Every interest group is a 'special' interest group (scary quotes optional). This is why governance is hard. This is why Presidents with experience and savvy staffs stay out of local issues. This is why it isn't smart to vote for a candidate just because they are fuckable, be they Barack Obama or Sarah Palin.

In Alabama we have the creaky constitution that is over 800 pages. We can't get it rewritten because everyone is scared of everyone else, that is, the powerful special interests will use that opportunity to make it even more special. Local issues have to be voted on by the entire state. That means a state election for minor issues. It's expensive, it ensures change barely happens, and it keeps all the power to do any real work strictly vested in the state legislature.

How can we take the power away from the folks who keep us divided through manipulation of media issues? How can we recognize what is worth a fight and what is worth a joke? Insensitivity. It's hard to pick a fight with a vegetable.



To repeat: the truth doesn’t have one side or even two. It has as many sides as the coastline of Britain and visiting them all is a long strange trip.

Unreality is weird, H.



Jizya is a tax and the people of the book are jews and some assert, Christians. I'm sure if we dig around The Bible we can find those admonitions about homosexual behaviors as 'abominations' which the Muslims also abhor, and of course, the "suffer not a witch to live" which puts the wiccans in the stocks.

Reality is weirder. Who owns Fox News? Why Rupert Murdoch of course. Not quite that simple. The second largest owner with less than 2% difference is Prince Alwaleed bin Talal the nephew of Saudi Arabian King Abdullah, and one of the world’s richest men. So a Wahabist prince from an authoritarian petro-monarchy governed by Sharia law and is known as one of the top global sponsors of terrorism is a principal owner of a network that donated a million dollars to the Republican Party.

Insensitivity is that quality of mind that enables you to see patterns before they are overwhelmed by the flood of emotions that destroys rational thought. Emotional processing dominates behavior because we still have the same mind that evolved at the time of the Pleistocene extinctions which oddly enough almost coincide with the last Mayan prophecy cycle for destruction.

Weird indeed.

you think people voted for barack obama on acount of his being fuckable?

man i never got that vibe.

oh, here is a cartoon sketch i will put here...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/phazzedout/4206223607/

@agnes: That's a quote from a national female journalist who was writing during the campaign. It was damming praise for electing a guy with no experience to do the world's hardest job except the hardest job is being Keith Richard's chauffeur. On the other hand, every time someone says anything nice about Palin, they hear "Oh you just like her because she's pretty..." And the beatings go on.

I was campaigning for Hillary. Will again if I ever get the chance.

Wondeful photo...

Are you saying this is unreal

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/13th_Waffe ... t_Croatian)

http://www.fantompowa.net/Flame/yugosla ... ration.htm

or are you saying Hitler didn't use moral cleansing as a technique?