That's hilarious. I too have a rock, named Hope.

So... unlike Benedict Donald, your Hope will never desert you. ;)

We seem to agree, space (as the "concept") is defined as 'The absence of matter', or in other words, as NOTHING, NADA, ZERO, etc? So how can it have a "shape"? There ain't nothin' there to form a shape!! Sorry, I can't think of 'space' as "flat ground" - makes no sense.

[42] OK, taking your word on that, but still thinking it's all ridiculous.

[43] last para

Near total agreement here, except would point out that gravity falling off with distance does not mean it ever goes to zero. The gravity of every single atom extends to infinity, altho it does get pretty wimpy eventually. That means it CAN be everywhere at all times, right?, and it DOESN'T need to be transmitted, because it never goes away! It is NOT comparable to a light beam, which does 'go away' soon as it's extinguished.

"Your tsunami comparison also makes no sense to me. Who says gravity IS energy, and who says gravity has to be transmitted, in the sense of 'moved'? Why can't it just always be everywhere? Even the folks who claim to believe in and to be able to detect, gravity waves, seem to indicate that they are uncommon at best, so evidently gravity works fine even when it's not being 'transported', right?"

Physics and science says that gravity is a force that acts on matter, just like nuclear forces and "electro"-magnetism. Gravity ONLY exists in a location that HAS matter, and its influence falls off with distance. The further you get away from the source, the less you can "feel" it. Those are ALL reasons why it CAN'T be EVERYWHERE, at least in the sense that YOU mean. If gravity weren't being transmitted, it would NOT be working AT ALL. A light is not working all the time unless something is actively shining the light to begin with and therefore transmitting it, right?

"But hey, what good is it to them to have all that other stuff you listed?"

It can be used by the Russians as an analytical predictive tool, it can be used for espionage purposes, to target crucial key individuals, recognize patterns, blackmail, seek out people's weaknesses and how they are vulnerable, target who they are most likely able to recruit or subvert, figure out how to disrupt societies, spread disinformation, cultivate contact with politicians.... all kinds of things.

"I realize that your "Jupiter on a really big trampoline" analogy probably makes sense to you, although I have no idea WHY it does, but remember, the trampoline mat has mass and presumably, empty space does NOT, and we're actually not talking about distorting matter, we're talking about distorting SPACE, which to me is utter nonsense."

You DO realize that the trampoline is ONLY an ANALOGY, and not an ACTUAL trampoline, it is only a VISUAL AID. The trampoline itself is only a stand in representation for space, and in reality has NO MASS itself.

The fact that empty space itself has no mass of its own IS THE POINT. Space, as a CONCEPT, can be thought of as flat, but curves, or forms a dimple or well, in the presence of an object like a planet or a star that HAS mass in proportion to how much mass that object has.

Think of space as flat ground. A star is something big sitting on it. The bigger it is, the deeper the hole in the ground that the star makes over a wider area. That's ALL that it is trying to get you to understand.

I too have a rock, named Hope.

That's hilarious. I too, have a rock named Hope. I'll post a pic once I get my cellphone up and running again.

Poor Mafia Don; it is so unfair to raid his fixer. *shakes head*

Seriously, though, Trump is an illiterate and incoherent moron and pathological liar who talks like a fifth grader, with his body language speaking even louder than his wee small words. Have you ever noticed how every single diatribe of the BLOTUS sounds exactly the same? The hallmark of a blathering idiot with really nothing to say except the same shit over and over, the type who think they're the smartest ones in the room because they're too stupid to realize they're basically a broken record playing the same few grooves repeatedly.

What kind of fool, jughead, ditz, fathead, halfwit, chump, dunce, ignoramus, ninny, loon, dope, chump, cretin, numbskull, moron, imbecile, dimwit, nincompoop, dumbo, jackass, dork, blockhead, doofus, knuckle-dragger peabrain, jerk, twit, bozo, asshat would go on a 10-minute rant insulting his own DOJ, those who are investigating him, and referring to a bunch of Republicans as "the other side"?

Once upon a time the idea that someone could put a rock in a box and sell it for a profit was far-fetched, but back in the '70's someone did exactly that, and made a fortune selling 'pet rocks' to millions of eager customers.

I kept begging my father for a pet, and he kept putting me off... "later," he says. One day while traveling in New Mexico he stops at a gas station, he goes in while the service attendant (remember those?) fills the car, washes the windows, checks the oil. Dad gets back in the car with a box and said he had gotten me that pet I had been begging for. Imagine my surprise when I opened the blasted thing and found a dang rock in a "bird nest" with an instruction manual. I named him "Hudson," and my crazy dad thought it was an homage to his restored 1938 Terraplane automobile. *LOL* Duh!

While his packaging and instructions are long gone, my Pet Rock Hudson is alive and well, and I wouldn't part with him. :)

OK, yeah, I do "get the point", but as one who has never bought either a 'pet rock', OR a single bottle of tap water, I don't really relate to it.

Re "the Republican base turning to vote for . . .", I rationalize that by telling myself they were not voting for Trump, they were voting against Hillary. I'm aware that it isn't strictly true, but it's the only way I can keep from going out of my mind.

Once upon a time the idea that someone could put a rock in a box and sell it for a profit was far-fetched, but back in the '70's someone did exactly that, and made a fortune selling 'pet rocks' to millions of eager customers. And if I'd have told you then that there would be bottled water billionaires today, you'd have been skeptical, to say the least.

So, apparently, it's all in the sales pitch. Turns out, you can market a rock in a box if you sell it as a novelty, and market tap water in plastic bottles if you sell it as a convenience (and health product).

And of course, if you'd have told me just a few years ago (has it been that long?) that the Republican base could be turned out to vote for a thrice-married mob-connected playboy real estate buffoon, and that he'd have across-the-board evangelical support to boot, well...

You get the point, I'm sure.

No, the damn Ruskies can't get anything like that from voter registration rolls. Only name and address. But hey, what good is it to them to have all that other stuff you isted? I can see maybe to try to sell me something, but to influence my political ideology, as in changing my candidate preference, that's pretty far fetched.

I realize that your "Jupiter on a really big trampoline" analogy probably makes sense to you, although I have no idea WHY it does, but remember, the trampoline mat has mass and presumably, empty space does NOT, and we're actually not talking about distorting matter, we're talking about distorting SPACE, which to me is utter nonsense. You only claim it makes sense to you by re-naming empty space as "spacetime", right?, So now were back to the fact that "spacetime" itself makes no sense to most people.

Your tsunami comparison also makes no sense to me. Who says gravity IS energy, and who says gravity has to be transmitted, in the sense of 'moved'? Why can't it just always be everywhere? Even the folks who claim to believe in and to be able to detect, gravity waves, seem to indicate that they are uncommon at best, so evidently gravity works fine even when it's not being 'transported', right?

"I'm shocked - SHOCKED, I tell you. Just watched tonight's '60 Minutes' expose, and discovered that there is a high likelihood that those gawdamn Russkies (you know the same people who were responsible for Trump's election), probably KNOW MY NAME AND ADDRESS, from having hacked my state's voter rolls!!!"

Actually it gives them much more than that, coupled with the information gotten from Facebook and U.S. census data. With that, it gives them things like: Your political preferences, your general income level, your personality profile, your spending habits, your gender, your sexual preference, what your likes and dislikes are, your entertainment choices, who your friends and family are, tracks your movement to a certain degree, etc. All kinds of stuff.

[31] C. R. Stucki

"But that stupid gawdam thing with the bowling ball on the trampoline is utter nonsense!! It looks reasonable to most observers because we relate it to here on earth, but if you put a bowling ball on a trampoline out in space, it wouldn't distort the mat at all."

Actually it would still distort the trampoline, since the bowling ball still has mass, which is the crucial element. But it would not do it to any appreciable degree so as to be easily discernible, as compared to say the distortion Jupiter would cause if it could sit on a big enough trampoline.

"And why is it a problem that "gravity can't travel faster than the speed of light???" Why does it have to travel at all? Can't gravity be a constant attraction between all matter with mass, sorta like magnetism doesn't have to 'travel' to get somewhere, cause it's ALWAYS THERE!"

The easiest comparison might be to the ocean and a tsunami. The ocean itself stays right where it is. The water near say Japan doesn't actually travel to off the coast of California. What is transmitted though is the energy in a form of a wave. Just like gravity waves causes ripples in the fabric of space, without actually physically moving space from one location to another. Same thing if two people hold a bed sheet between them and move it up and down. Waves travel along the sheet between the two people, without then actually trading parts of the sheet itself. And since it is a form of energy that it is being transmitted, and light is essentially energy, gravity waves can't travel faster than the speed of light either.

I'M not qualified to say much about Einstein's stuff. The VERY concept of "spacetime" is totally without meaning for me. But that stupid gawdam thing with the bowling ball on the trampoline is utter nonsense!! It looks reasonable to most observers because we relate it to here on earth, but if you put a bowling ball on a trampoline out in space, it wouldn't distort the mat at all.

And why is it a problem that "gravity can't travel faster than the speed of light???" Why does it have to travel at all? Can't gravity be a constant attraction between all matter with mass, sorta like magnetism doesn't have to 'travel' to get somewhere, cause it's ALWAYS THERE!

Disagree about the "tough slog" characterization re "Wealth of Nations". I always thought that every concept within his treatise falls under the heading of 'Common Sense'!!!

I wouldn't know about Darwin. I've not read his works, but based on what most people understand about the subject, I've always supposed that his theories simply represent conclusions that he gleaned thru observation, which sound eminently reasonable but are by their very nature, pretty much unprovable, seeing as how there's no realistic way to test them.

And perhaps worst of all, there's the gaping hole in all the theories about how life evolved, when you cannot first demonstrate how life was created!!

Newton does all his mechanics with momentum and no direct mention of energy, It works, but it's a bit backwards and high heels compared to modern classical physics.
All diamonds benefit from careful polishing.

Einstein was wrong about quantum physics and cosmology. If not wrong a few times, you aren't pushing hard.

Works by Smith and Darwin are frequently cited and infrequently read in their entirety. Both authors are a tough slog for modern readers. Both are dealing with game theory concepts without the mathematics to make their arguments concise. They include a lot of tangential concepts that are rarely mentioned today. I have a immense respect of for both authors, but they are not light reading.

RIP those of the Humboldt Broncos that perished last night. All of Canada grieves. Keep your sticks on the ice.

So sad for your loss, Saskatchewan and Canadians.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invisible_hand

Of course, it leaves me wondering why it never worried me that my name and address are published in my local telephone directory, which they have been since about 1964, and which they still are today???

Must be one of those 'ignorance is bliss' phenomena - or maybe it's actually because it's totally meaningless, and I don't really give a damn whether they know it or not!

Good link. Trump is a political hazard.

Fair enough. Basically, for nearly everything any of us does in our lives, Newton's equations work just fine. Their predictive capabilities are great.

Einstein completely and utterly changed the underlying theory and models. However, at the level of everyday existence, Einstein's predictions match Newton's (to a really serious level of precision, though the math is much more annoying).

Also, however, Newton's models are completely wrong. If we're dealing with serious mass or moving very fast, then Newton's model gets stuff wrong. Einstein's gets it right (as far as we've been able to tell so far).

on perhaps a related topic, here is ritholtz briefly talking in my own wheelhouse, and in my professional opinion hitting it right on the nose - with real expertise, perceived expertise tends to go down rather than up:

http://ritholtz.com/2018/04/how-much-i-know/

Newton's Universal Law of Gravitation does not predict the observed precession of elliptical orbits. This was first detected in the mid 19th century for the Planet Mercury.

The ULoG doesn't accurately predict the bending of light in a gravitational field.

The ULoG doesn't predict the slowing of time in a gravitational field. For Newton, time is universal in all frames of reference, not relative. This a big deal if you depend upon a GPS system to accurately calculate your position.

OK, I don't understand a word of that, but I've heard endlessly that all our efforts at space travel depend 100% on Newton's laws, with never a SINGLE REFERENCE to Einstein or that his contributions have superceded Newton's.

OK, evidently I'm missing whatever connection you feel exists between that paragraph and your point, that "purposeful interventions" can be better than permitting everyone to pursue his own self interest.

In fact, I think he's saying the exact opposite, right?

Newton's theories couldn't explain Mercury retrograde, gets what happens at relativistic masses and speeds blatantly wrong, and can't explain why measurements of time and lengths are dependent on the relative velocities of the observers. Just to name a few places. Not to be snarky. These are some of the things that Einstein's theories helped us explain that Newton's theories got wrong.

"BTW, as far as I'm aware, neither Smith nor anybody else ever claims that demonstrable economic facts/laws do more "social good" than do those who seek to control economies by means of "purposeful social interventions".

From Wealth of Nations, Book IV Chapter II

But the annual revenue of every society is always precisely equal to the exchangeable value of the whole annual produce of its industry, or rather is precisely the same thing with that exchangeable value. As every individual, therefore, endeavours as much as he can, both to employ his capital in the support of domestic industry, and so to direct that industry that its produce maybe of the greatest value; every individual necessarily labours to render the annual revenue of the society as great as he can. He generally, indeed, neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it. By preferring the support of domestic to that of foreign industry, he intends only his own security; and by directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of the greatest value, he intends only his own gain; and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention. Nor is it always the worse for the society that it was no part of it. By pursuing his own interest, he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it. I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good. It is an affectation, indeed, not very common among merchants, and very few words need be employed in dissuading them from it.

A similar statement occurs in Smith's earlier book "The Theory of Moral Sentiments."

Looks like we are going to have a trade war where everyone else has some skin in the game, while he has nothing to lose.

One of the interesting areas this will impact is the defense industry given the large amount of semi-Conductors and memory chips imported from china used in almost all of our military aircraft and modern communications and navigation systems.

Another thing to note is that this list also avoids any item that trump makes and imports as well as the constituent items that make up those items.

I keep waiting to hear that since we are getting screwed by China and all those "others" that he and his family will be onshoring those jobs... so much for the "Made in america, Buy in America" belief eh?

P.P.S. "Where Newton's law fails"!!!!!?????

It is my understanding that there ain't no such place. Perhaps you could elucidate?

BTW, as far as I'm aware, neither Smith nor anybody else ever claims that demonstrable economic facts/laws do more "social good" than do those who seek to control economies by means of "purposeful social interventions".

Principles of economic science have zero connection to the arbitrary liberal concept of "social good". Economic science explains such things as how to achieve maximum economic efficiency (maximum outputs with minimum inputs). Economic science doesn't even recognize the existence of the concept of "fair".

"The reason Joseph Stiglitz makes asinine comments about Adam Smith's "Invisible Hand" is that his fanatical liberal ideology blinds him to the realities of Economic science." - C. R. Stucki

You have the Law:Theory priorities backwards.

A scientific law is a "just so story" based on repeated observations. It gives useful predictions, but the underlying mechanisms remain mysterious.

A scientific theory is a set of linked hypothesis that predict what will happen and why it happens.

A successful theory is more powerful than a successful law.

Newton's mysterious action at a distance Law of Gravity is explained by Einstein's Theory of General Relativity. Einstein's Theory gives accurate predictions under circumstances where where Newton's Law fails. How 'bout them apples?

Both laws and theories are subject to failure given new information. Adam Smith's "Law" that free markets do more social good than purposeful social interventions is, to say the least, controversial among modern economists - both theoretical and data driven. Look it up.

"the reason that the invisible hand often seems invisible is that it is often not there." - Joseph E. Stiglitz, Nobel Prize winning economist

Your response indicates an inability or an unwillingness to distinguish between 'Law' and 'Theory'. Smith himself would never claim to be "the last word on economics".

There isn't a whole lot of Economics that qualifies as 'Law', but there is some. The principle of the operation of Smith's "Invisible Hand", under conditions of free markets and competition (meaning the absence of any degree of monopoly power on the part of the participants), qualifies as 'Law', as does the principle of supply/demand serving to establish market prices. Disputing that is equivalent to disputing the law of gravity.

As far as we are aware, there is absolutely nothing about "evolutionary theory" that qualifies as 'Law'.

Adam Smith is no more the last word on economics than Darwin is the last word on evolutionary theory.

I agree with your "asshole ignoramus narcissist" assessment of The Trump, but not to the archaic "invisible hand" mantra that seems to get you there.

Now we can add to that list at least one asshole ignoramus narcissist.

The "caravan" was more a charabanc of unfortunate souls, raped repeatedly by FOX PROPAGANDA INC. "hyperbolic truth" aside.

I spat out my G&T (and according to my 10 year old daughter, my dignity,) at the Ted Cruz DNA challenge...silly question. This animal cooks his bacon with an AR, like he stands a chance of being declared human, scientific results notwithstanding.

RIP those of the Humboldt Broncos that perished last night. All of Canada grieves. Keep your sticks on the ice.

LL&P

Here's yesterday's installment:

http://www.chrisweigant.com/2018/04/05/roseanne-continues-long-tradition/#comment-118161

Prime time, dammit! That's what I meant to say! PRIME TIME!

Heh.

Lemme try that Homer...

~(_8^(|)

Or, Homer saying "D'oh" maybe?

~(_8^(o)

ASCII art is a dying breed, but I always enjoyed it, personally...

-CW

Not to mention killing Xmas. I saw a show on PBS a few years back where someone forced a family to go through Christmas without anything from China. No Xmas lights (from previous years), but the biggest problem was NO TOYS. It's almost impossible to find toys that aren't made in China these days. It was a simple little exmample of how globalized trade has become, but it was pretty well done.

-CW

So, you open with China. There's are intersting questions about what can China actually do, especially if they go to all-out "trade war" with us.

Let's say that China quietly builds up it's ag and mft sectors (over a four- or eight-week period) while striking agreements with other nations to supply anything it's missing, subject to short-term non-disclosure concepts.

China not constrained by our timelines. The president announces an action, and months need to pass before it's a reality. China can announce an action and it's already happened.

So what if China just does really bad things to us.

1. China will no longer import any goods from the US. All boats currently headed to China will be turned away. China has already upgraded it's local and set deals to replace us.

2. China will no longer export any goods to the US. All boats headed out of China will be halted. The US will not receive any items, end-user or middle-product, from China.

3. China will dissolve itself of all US debt. They will no longer purchase our debt. Instead, they will sell off our debts.

3.5. China will threaten other nations (e.g. EU) to dissolve their US debt through their ability to purchase and sell or not sell debts.

Wow!

We'd be screwed, wouldn't we.