As IF Times

link:  https://scitechdaily.com/decade-long-study-challenges-traditional-views-of-evolution/

An article came to my notice which quite piqued my interest.  It does not concern politics or culture per se and in fact is quite an arduous read.  But if you can get through it, the ramifications of the findings of this article should make people think about issues which have always been accepted as being incontrovertible science.

Even those with only a rudimentary education will understand the concept of Darwinism.  Very broadly, it postulates that in an ecosystem, the strong will survive and the weak won’t.  The popularity of this theory has been adopted as a universal truth in society and accepted in scientific circles as well.

Reading of this 10 year study will induce sleep faster than watching golf on TV, but the gist of the conclusion indicates that genetic codes in Daphnia plankton have a mechanism that can quickly adapt to changing external conditions which enables them to survive. In other words, they don’t just die off because of change, they are able to adapt to the new environment.  Here’s the salient excerpt:

They discovered that the strength of natural selection on individual genes varies significantly from year to year, maintaining variation and potentially enhancing the ability to adapt to future changing environmental conditions by providing raw material for natural selection to act on.

While this distinction may be subtle, the eggheads in the science world are now facing the possibility of changing their views of species evolution.

As gripping as this may seem, it would just draw a blank stare from the less scientifically inclined.  The implication is that, by extrapolation, all living species have the capacity to adjust their genetic codes to suit changes in their environment.  The caveat though, is that this happens over generations and not during a sudden change in the environment

As these findings trickle through the scientific community, it’s going to cause a lot of narratives about shrinking polar bear populations and missing bees and penguins into question.  At the very least, this demonstrates the fundamental foundational tenet of all science:  An observation is made and then attempts are made to explain a phenomenon by objective study and testing to validate any claims.  It’s quite the thing to find out that something that’s been accepted to be true…may not be at all.  Empiricism has to be the basis for knowledge.

We’ve all realized by now that much of what passes as science can often be traced to whomever may have been funding the study.  Examples such as cigarette brands most recommended by doctors; foods best suited for long life, good teeth and shiny hair.  And of course, as has been exposed of late, the efficacy of vaccines. All were once apparently endorsed “by science”. When I read the linked article, I can’t determine if anyone had an axe to grind either for or against Daphnia plankton, so we assume its objectivity.  Plankton doesn’t engender as much cuteness sympathy as baby polar bears, thus no teen-aged girls are championing their issues.

What this discovery should lead to is the dampening of the mass hysteria propagated by all quarters on the existential dangers of driving a pick-up, using plastic straws or of dangerous flatulent cows. It appears that animals, including humans, have the innate capacity to adapt to ecosystems over time.  This also has implications for treatment of illnesses. Thus any plans to depopulate the world to save it are not only despotic, but truly unhinged.  In fact, if you think about it, that whole belief system is anti-science.

In earlier times, the official world narrative used to be controlled by those who had the capacity to do so.  This included religious organizations and feudal rulers.  The vast number of people just accepted their dictates as truths.  As we know, the availability of education to everyone eliminated (mostly) these institutions’ monopoly on information.

But as we all know, human nature is predictable; that is, people are malleable. The modern day feudal lords propagate their worldview by control of the media narrative, rather than sending men with swords to the doors.  They effectively use influential proxies as their messengers as well as painting skeptics as deniers of science.  Imagine the pushback Galileo must have endured when he first proposed that the universe did not revolve around the Earth.  Or the ancient Greek, Pythagoras when he surmised that the earth wasn’t flat. Of course they were proven to be correct over time and empirical observation.  But someone brave had to question the established beliefs.

And yet to this day, you still have people pushing flat earth narratives, rising oceans and imminent human calamity.   Even worse, an entire bunch of entitled people still think that the world revolves around them.

link:  https://x.com/JayGenXer/status/1835642855504723994

Just this past weekend in Ottawa, a small group of people gathered to commemorate the 2022  protests against the policies of the Federal government which severely attacked personal freedoms during the Covid fiasco years.  A massive police response was carried out at the time to curtail the protests and numerous ‘leaders’ were arrested for disturbing the peace.  Nothing demonstrates the freedom in a society more than being arrested for supporting freedom; that irony was lost on the Feds.

Many years later, but too late to help the brave protestors, the courts have ruled in favor of the protestors: Federal Court Justice Richard Mosley said the invoking the Emergencies Act was unreasonable and violated the constitutional right of free expression. The federal government has already pledged to appeal that decision to the Supreme Court.  Thus, even after losing in court, the government still won’t admit the wrongfulness of their actions.

Individuals cannot compete against the unlimited resources of any government.  It’s an impossible task because only one side is under any duress.  There has to be an impartial party that illuminates the cause so that people can make their own minds up as to the veracity  and validity of events.  In fact, such an institution exists, but increasingly, it no longer works in that intended role.  That institution is media.  While many may think that media’s role is to report dog bites man stories, their real role as the fourth estate, is to shed light on the activities of governments.  They have the explicit role of framing dialogue on issues that affect the general population with balanced narratives.

You could say that they play the role of referees in a society and in that role, they are offered protection for talking freely about most every issue.  What has transpired in all Western nations is that their funding (especially in Canada) is sourced from the very government they are supposed to monitor.  The CBC is a national news organization kept alive only through government handouts, but other ‘private’ networks also similarly benefit.  As an aside, I’m not sure that any nation needs a ‘national’ news source.  As an observation, the most well known national agencies that exist are Pravda in Russia and Xinhua in China. Thus, instead of wearing the striped jerseys, they conspicuously wear the jerseys of one of the playing teams.

The link above is a snippet from a recent speech by Douglas Murray which articulately calls out media for their unholy alliance with the federal government on this very issue.  The media have put themselves into a vicious cycle of irrelevance.  The less impartial they are, the less people will subscribe to them. As their audience shrinks, their dependence of government handouts increases and thus their reportage must adhere to the official narrative….which alienates their audience more….etc etc. They have become failed institutions. Thankfully, with the popularity of social networks, people can objectively access narratives not propagated by regular media.  This fifth estate has displaced much of the power of government supported media as people turn away from one sided reportage.  Don’t expect the legacy media to give up their franchise without a fight however.  They all know the power of unlimited funding.