Open Bidding .
Andre Willers
31 Oct 2010
Synopsis:
A transparent market mechanism , incorporating a random element .In a fractal form , more efficient than any present systems .
Discussions :
First , read http://andreswhy.blogspot.com
"Newtools"
"InfiniteProbes"
"InfiniteProbes2"
"InfiniteProbes3"
The points of note are Error arguments in the 1/3 Reserves and the 200% of Costs in optimal markup .
An example :
I wish to hire my nephew for transport on a short visit .
I do not wish to disadvantage him , but do not wish to be held up for ransom ,either .
Both parties must feel that the deal is equitable and fair .
The Algorithm :
1.The Cost :
Establish boundaries -Iteration (1)
Lower boundary : operational costs (ie petrol) . R0,8/km
Upper boundary : Standard taxi fares: R8.00/km . This includes amortization of all other costs , including profit .
Difference= R7.2/km
Establish boundaries -Iteration (2)
Lower boundary : operational costs related to petrol only . R1,60 /km = 0.8x2
Upper boundary : Standard taxi fares: R8.00/2 = R4.00/km . This would be the cost after all sorts of add-ons .
Difference= R2.4/km
Establish boundaries -Iteration (3)
Lower boundary : 1/3 of the difference (4,00 – 1.6) =0.8 plus lower boundary(1.6) = R2.4/km
Upper boundary : 1/3 of the difference (4,00 – 1.6) =0.8 minus upper boundary(4.0) = R3.2/km
Difference= R1.2 /km
Random Offer : Iteration(4)
When the difference is between 2 and 3 times the lower and upper boundaries , offer a random settlement .
Settlement = 3.2 + Rnd(1.2) , where Rnd(1.2) lies between (–1.2 and +1.2)
Why do this ?:
Fairness .
Fairness is hardwired in , with some very sophisticated algorithms . Millions of years of evolution went into this sense .
If it does not feel fair , humans and many animals start nitpicking at the basic conditions , previously agreed as fair . A fixed outcome is not seen as fair . A chance element involving human skill is . Go figure .
The boundary conditions ensure that nobody loses , but that humans feel they are involved (and actually are) This an open process .
The Fair offer to the nephew :
R 3.2 /km +- R1.2/km depending on your choice of random mechanism .
An interesting aside :
This method can be used in any bargaining process , with the advantage that both parties feel satisfied . Not the usual result in most Market Mechanisms .
Note the importance of the random element at the end .
This is usually interpreted as skill . I hope you do not pay too much for it .
Why is it more efficient ?
The random element enables Futures Markets , with the whole panoply armament of Hedge Funds .
This has been proven to be more efficient .
The difference here is that boundaries are fixed. Nobody can lose their all , but the top end is open ended over many transactions .
Nice , eh?
Andre .
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Epidemics without Pathogen transmission .
Epidemics without Pathogen transmission .
Andre Willers
28 Oct 2010
Synopsis:
Epidemics can manifest without pathogen transmission if (1) pathogens are already present in an organism , but with lethality genes switched off , and (2) quorum markers can be transmitted .
Discussion:
This has not been much of a problem as yet , because we did not have filters good enough to keep out bacteriological (maybe even viral) particles . But we do now . Nano filters (eg Uni Stellenbosch simple and cheap water filter using tangled bundles of carbon nano-fibres) .
This will keep out the nasty , large bugs , but not the marker molecules used to transmit information in the bacterial/viral quorum system .
Everybody has endogenous potentially harmful bacteria . But their lethality genes are switched off as long as they are better off in a healthy host .
For example , the water might test clear of any pathogen , but have a high enough concentration of quorum markers to trigger the lethality switches of endogenous bacteria or viruses .
They then send out more markers . If there is a shared medium like water , a ripple of bacterial activation is sent out . This can have a positive feedback if the water supply is limited , concentrating the markers .
Urine:
And , of course nothing concentrates the markers more than urine .
So , urine might test sterile , but still kill you stone dead by activating lethality switches .
That will teach you to pee in the pool !
Note the decreased mortality due to male circumcision . Less urine is retained in the prepuce . The same effect is observed in females with tampons and pads , or in general with nappies . A form of anaphylactic shock , as the lethality genes get quorum , switch on and the body's immune system responds . But the little buggers are all over , so the immune system tries to respond all-over , instead of localized (which is it's forte) . This is anaphylactic , systemic shock . A variant is known as asthma .
Prophylactic measures :
1.Keep pubic hairs short
See http://andreswhy.blogspot.com "Old Age markers" 23 Dec 2007
This is to prevent quorum markers from sticking around . A bidet with clean water is recommended .
2.Use some toilet paper . Nothing soggy or wet should be retained in contact with the body .
Do not use absorbent underwear .The longer it stays wet , the longer it zaps you .
Some other horries:
1.Flesh eating bacteria . A "tragedy of the commons" variant . The bacteria get a quorum telling them that the host is dead or in extremis . They promptly switch on genes that enable them to eat the host .
2.Cancers . Some types of cancers are similar .
3.Consumptive type diseases : by definition .
4.Air-borne quorum markers .
Possible , but would normally be limited to the personal heat-envelope . If this is a problem , use a simple fan . Will be a problem in space-habitats . TB?
5.Touch quorum markers (includes fluid exchange)
The HIV to AIDS transition springs to mind . Many people live quite happily with HIV even without ARV's , but something triggers the quorum mechanism and the lethality RNA switches on . This suggests a very low quorum .
Our venerable history of Democracy suggests two solutions : kill the voters (ie quorum markers) or saturate with shills . This second has been found most effective .
This means :
Accellerate the HIV mutation rate . Flood the system with their marker products (about a cc injection) .
This will prevent a quorum . It will also make the Pharma's happy , as it means a repeated dose is necessary .
The usual human choice .
Pay up or die .
Andre
Andre Willers
28 Oct 2010
Synopsis:
Epidemics can manifest without pathogen transmission if (1) pathogens are already present in an organism , but with lethality genes switched off , and (2) quorum markers can be transmitted .
Discussion:
This has not been much of a problem as yet , because we did not have filters good enough to keep out bacteriological (maybe even viral) particles . But we do now . Nano filters (eg Uni Stellenbosch simple and cheap water filter using tangled bundles of carbon nano-fibres) .
This will keep out the nasty , large bugs , but not the marker molecules used to transmit information in the bacterial/viral quorum system .
Everybody has endogenous potentially harmful bacteria . But their lethality genes are switched off as long as they are better off in a healthy host .
For example , the water might test clear of any pathogen , but have a high enough concentration of quorum markers to trigger the lethality switches of endogenous bacteria or viruses .
They then send out more markers . If there is a shared medium like water , a ripple of bacterial activation is sent out . This can have a positive feedback if the water supply is limited , concentrating the markers .
Urine:
And , of course nothing concentrates the markers more than urine .
So , urine might test sterile , but still kill you stone dead by activating lethality switches .
That will teach you to pee in the pool !
Note the decreased mortality due to male circumcision . Less urine is retained in the prepuce . The same effect is observed in females with tampons and pads , or in general with nappies . A form of anaphylactic shock , as the lethality genes get quorum , switch on and the body's immune system responds . But the little buggers are all over , so the immune system tries to respond all-over , instead of localized (which is it's forte) . This is anaphylactic , systemic shock . A variant is known as asthma .
Prophylactic measures :
1.Keep pubic hairs short
See http://andreswhy.blogspot.com "Old Age markers" 23 Dec 2007
This is to prevent quorum markers from sticking around . A bidet with clean water is recommended .
2.Use some toilet paper . Nothing soggy or wet should be retained in contact with the body .
Do not use absorbent underwear .The longer it stays wet , the longer it zaps you .
Some other horries:
1.Flesh eating bacteria . A "tragedy of the commons" variant . The bacteria get a quorum telling them that the host is dead or in extremis . They promptly switch on genes that enable them to eat the host .
2.Cancers . Some types of cancers are similar .
3.Consumptive type diseases : by definition .
4.Air-borne quorum markers .
Possible , but would normally be limited to the personal heat-envelope . If this is a problem , use a simple fan . Will be a problem in space-habitats . TB?
5.Touch quorum markers (includes fluid exchange)
The HIV to AIDS transition springs to mind . Many people live quite happily with HIV even without ARV's , but something triggers the quorum mechanism and the lethality RNA switches on . This suggests a very low quorum .
Our venerable history of Democracy suggests two solutions : kill the voters (ie quorum markers) or saturate with shills . This second has been found most effective .
This means :
Accellerate the HIV mutation rate . Flood the system with their marker products (about a cc injection) .
This will prevent a quorum . It will also make the Pharma's happy , as it means a repeated dose is necessary .
The usual human choice .
Pay up or die .
Andre
Shale Fracturing
Shale Fracturing
Andre Willers
28 Oct 2010
Update to Makgadigadi Sea
(Magadigadi , Makgadigadi , Makgadikgadi , Magadikgadi )
Synopsis:
New technology involving horizontal drilling and high-pressure water-gels fractures shales to extract significant volumes of hydrocarbon gases .
Discussion:
Karoo areas around Prince Albert are already being developed PetroSA in conjunction with some American firms . Google "whitehill shale fracturing"
This falls within the southern edges of the endorheic basin roughly bounded by Prieska-VictoriaWest-Sutherland .
See http://andreswhy.blogspot.com "Makgadikgadi Sea:
Gas reserves in the order of 30 trillion cubic meters are estimated over the region . Enough for Southern Africa's energy needs for the next 100 years .
Google "shale fracturing"
The technology :
A mixture of nano- and micro-gels . These are pumped into the shale formation under very high pressure via horizontal boreholes . This fractures the shale . The water is withdrawn , leaving the micro-nano elements remaining to prop open the fracture , allowing the gases to collect at a central point .
About 70% of the water can be reused , but the rest must go into the aquifers .
Some effects:
1.Restocking aquifers
This has the unintentional effect of restocking deep aquifers , not only in the Karoo but elsewhere in the world . (This is already being used on large scale in US , EU ,Russia , probably China . ) It is easy and cheap . The whole process is driven by recovered gas . Water can be obtained by desalination , using same gas supplies .
Will have a major effect on agriculture , especially American Mid-West and West (Oglalla acquifer)
This will probably be the major effect of this boom .
2.Earthquakes.
Rehydration can activate dormant faults , as the water lubricates . The present shale-fracturing in the New York area might have some interesting consequences vis-à-vis the Ramapo Fault .
3.Legal .
Who owns the water in the acquifers that seeps in from these activities ?
Lawayers will have a field day .
4.Money.
Tons and tons of it .
The usual squabbling .
5.Strategic.
The importance of oil-reserves will decrease .
Epitaph on a tombstone :
"I expected this , but not so soon."
Andre
Andre Willers
28 Oct 2010
Update to Makgadigadi Sea
(Magadigadi , Makgadigadi , Makgadikgadi , Magadikgadi )
Synopsis:
New technology involving horizontal drilling and high-pressure water-gels fractures shales to extract significant volumes of hydrocarbon gases .
Discussion:
Karoo areas around Prince Albert are already being developed PetroSA in conjunction with some American firms . Google "whitehill shale fracturing"
This falls within the southern edges of the endorheic basin roughly bounded by Prieska-VictoriaWest-Sutherland .
See http://andreswhy.blogspot.com "Makgadikgadi Sea:
Gas reserves in the order of 30 trillion cubic meters are estimated over the region . Enough for Southern Africa's energy needs for the next 100 years .
Google "shale fracturing"
The technology :
A mixture of nano- and micro-gels . These are pumped into the shale formation under very high pressure via horizontal boreholes . This fractures the shale . The water is withdrawn , leaving the micro-nano elements remaining to prop open the fracture , allowing the gases to collect at a central point .
About 70% of the water can be reused , but the rest must go into the aquifers .
Some effects:
1.Restocking aquifers
This has the unintentional effect of restocking deep aquifers , not only in the Karoo but elsewhere in the world . (This is already being used on large scale in US , EU ,Russia , probably China . ) It is easy and cheap . The whole process is driven by recovered gas . Water can be obtained by desalination , using same gas supplies .
Will have a major effect on agriculture , especially American Mid-West and West (Oglalla acquifer)
This will probably be the major effect of this boom .
2.Earthquakes.
Rehydration can activate dormant faults , as the water lubricates . The present shale-fracturing in the New York area might have some interesting consequences vis-à-vis the Ramapo Fault .
3.Legal .
Who owns the water in the acquifers that seeps in from these activities ?
Lawayers will have a field day .
4.Money.
Tons and tons of it .
The usual squabbling .
5.Strategic.
The importance of oil-reserves will decrease .
Epitaph on a tombstone :
"I expected this , but not so soon."
Andre
The burning of the Fleets.
The burning of the Fleets.
Andre Willers
26 Oct 2010
Synopsis:
The burning of the Chinese Exploration Fleets and dismantling of dockyard capability was a deliberate , considerate policy . What's more , it was correct .
Discussion :
During 1300 to 1400 AD the Chinese were in a desperate war of survival with the Mongols . Though the Mongols only numbered about 700 000 at the best of times , through superior tactics and strategy they managed to conquer 40 million Chinese .
The old problem : they could not hold the territory due to insufficient numbers and unwillingness to assimilate . (Mongols were racists that put the Nazi's to shame).
The Mongols ruled by terrorism .
They pitted various social groups against each other , with survival of their wives and daughters as prize . Then systematically betrayed them .
No social system that had contact with the Mongols survived unchanged . The result is usually extreme xenophobia , coupled with paranoia . (Cf Russia , Middle East , China)
The Ming only managed to slowly push the Mongols out of China . No crushing victory was obtained . (The Mongolian threat was only ended in the 1700's with firearms from Russia and China in a pincer movement)
One of the major reasons for Mongol successes was systematic reconnaissance . All possible enemies or victims were probed by spies , emissaries , priests , mercenaries , etc .
The Ming learned to do the same . Having a much larger resource base , and using the designs Kublai Khan developed for the invasion of Japan , they assembled intelligence , sent out exploring and interdiction parties , and built the Admiral He Fleets .
Their findings horrified them . They knew the extent of Europe and North Africa from previous trades . The problem was the plains of Africa . The ideal of heaven for Mongols .
Any breakthrough of Mongols in large numbers into the plains of Serengeti or Southern Africa would mean war unending .
The marginal benefit for China of opening the territories is close to zero , since it is not arable land with their technology . But it is ideal for nomads like the Mongols .
A desperate battle ensued .
Mongols tried to break through , and Chinese countered in annihilation battles (reminiscent of Canada circa 1758 or Anglia circa 450) .
Only small number of elite troops were involved , but the results were large .
The Chinese won . But only by destroying their own capability of projecting large-scale forces overseas . They could not keep the shipyards out of the reach of a determined Mongol assault . So they burned the fleets and dismantled the shipyards and dispersed the skilled workers .
Remember the horsies .
No Mongol went anywhere without a horse .
If the ship could not carry a large number of horses , they weren't going anywhere .
Hence the destruction of large carrier capacity .
Oh , they kept the ones with local sailing skills , but 3000 tons plus skills were retired and dispersed .
Did it work ?
Yes .
The Mongols were parasites . Without concentrated sources of skilled slaves they were unable to reach the promised land of Serengeti .
The Chinese actually allowed them to survive , which sounds magnanimous until you realize that Han , Tibetan and Mongolian nobility are all cousins . Plus la change .
Would the Chinese have survived if Africa went Mongolian ?
One of those Alternate History questions .
The Ming definitely would not have survived for long . A reconquest of China by African Mongols using Indian surrogate troops is highly likely .
An ethnic cleansing type war is then likely . Indian helots with mongol overseers , ending in a mutual bloodletting about 2173 Alternative timeline .
A good example :
Short term denial had bad long-term effects , but not doing it would have been much , much worse .
What today ?
The plains are still the same . Exploitation can only be done by Nomad-types .
But now we have :
1.Mongols (the Chinese champs)
2.Cossacks (the Russian champs)
3.Apache(the American champs)
4.Boere(the South African champs)
5.Vacquero's (Mexican champs)
6.Gaucho's (Argentinian champs)
Who do think will win on the plains of Africa ?
Ho-ho-ho !
Remember , they will have to be Green !
Else , anything goes .
Interesting .
Andre
Andre Willers
26 Oct 2010
Synopsis:
The burning of the Chinese Exploration Fleets and dismantling of dockyard capability was a deliberate , considerate policy . What's more , it was correct .
Discussion :
During 1300 to 1400 AD the Chinese were in a desperate war of survival with the Mongols . Though the Mongols only numbered about 700 000 at the best of times , through superior tactics and strategy they managed to conquer 40 million Chinese .
The old problem : they could not hold the territory due to insufficient numbers and unwillingness to assimilate . (Mongols were racists that put the Nazi's to shame).
The Mongols ruled by terrorism .
They pitted various social groups against each other , with survival of their wives and daughters as prize . Then systematically betrayed them .
No social system that had contact with the Mongols survived unchanged . The result is usually extreme xenophobia , coupled with paranoia . (Cf Russia , Middle East , China)
The Ming only managed to slowly push the Mongols out of China . No crushing victory was obtained . (The Mongolian threat was only ended in the 1700's with firearms from Russia and China in a pincer movement)
One of the major reasons for Mongol successes was systematic reconnaissance . All possible enemies or victims were probed by spies , emissaries , priests , mercenaries , etc .
The Ming learned to do the same . Having a much larger resource base , and using the designs Kublai Khan developed for the invasion of Japan , they assembled intelligence , sent out exploring and interdiction parties , and built the Admiral He Fleets .
Their findings horrified them . They knew the extent of Europe and North Africa from previous trades . The problem was the plains of Africa . The ideal of heaven for Mongols .
Any breakthrough of Mongols in large numbers into the plains of Serengeti or Southern Africa would mean war unending .
The marginal benefit for China of opening the territories is close to zero , since it is not arable land with their technology . But it is ideal for nomads like the Mongols .
A desperate battle ensued .
Mongols tried to break through , and Chinese countered in annihilation battles (reminiscent of Canada circa 1758 or Anglia circa 450) .
Only small number of elite troops were involved , but the results were large .
The Chinese won . But only by destroying their own capability of projecting large-scale forces overseas . They could not keep the shipyards out of the reach of a determined Mongol assault . So they burned the fleets and dismantled the shipyards and dispersed the skilled workers .
Remember the horsies .
No Mongol went anywhere without a horse .
If the ship could not carry a large number of horses , they weren't going anywhere .
Hence the destruction of large carrier capacity .
Oh , they kept the ones with local sailing skills , but 3000 tons plus skills were retired and dispersed .
Did it work ?
Yes .
The Mongols were parasites . Without concentrated sources of skilled slaves they were unable to reach the promised land of Serengeti .
The Chinese actually allowed them to survive , which sounds magnanimous until you realize that Han , Tibetan and Mongolian nobility are all cousins . Plus la change .
Would the Chinese have survived if Africa went Mongolian ?
One of those Alternate History questions .
The Ming definitely would not have survived for long . A reconquest of China by African Mongols using Indian surrogate troops is highly likely .
An ethnic cleansing type war is then likely . Indian helots with mongol overseers , ending in a mutual bloodletting about 2173 Alternative timeline .
A good example :
Short term denial had bad long-term effects , but not doing it would have been much , much worse .
What today ?
The plains are still the same . Exploitation can only be done by Nomad-types .
But now we have :
1.Mongols (the Chinese champs)
2.Cossacks (the Russian champs)
3.Apache(the American champs)
4.Boere(the South African champs)
5.Vacquero's (Mexican champs)
6.Gaucho's (Argentinian champs)
Who do think will win on the plains of Africa ?
Ho-ho-ho !
Remember , they will have to be Green !
Else , anything goes .
Interesting .
Andre
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Makgadikgadi Sea .
Makgadikgadi Sea .
Andre Willers .
Update : 26 Oct 2010
Also Magadigadi sea , Makgadigadi sea , Magadikgadi sea .
Also shown in "DaMing Hun Yi Tu" ("Amalgamated map of the Great Ming Empire") dated 1398 AD on 17 square meters of silk , thought to be based on data about 1320-1380 AD , from preparation explorers before the Admiral He fleet .
See http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2446907.stm
This includes a map clearly showing the inland sea before it drained through Kariba , and Orange River as described below .
Accuracy :
The latitudes could then be measured fairly accurately , but the longitudes seem slightly wonky . However , what is interesting is what is not shown : ie the outlets of the Zambezi or the Orange , though it does show the outlet of the Cunene at the correct latitude . Major mountain ranges are also shown at correct latitudes .
We suspect that at the time of the mapping (circa 1320 AD) , the outlets of the Zambezi and Orange rivers did not exist , but were opened shortly afterwards by tectonic action of the active faults in the regions .
What the map does show is the Caledon , ending in an endorheic basin roughly bounded today by Coleberg-Tarkastad-BarkleyEast.
The tributary/outflow shown to the south of the Makgadigadi Sea is more interesting . The flow here would be towards an endorheic basin roughly bounded by Prieska-VictoriaWest-Sutherland . The map shows the Makgadigadi Sea to be rather full at the time , so the water flow would have been into this endorheic basin .
In times of drought , the Makgadigadi Sea would shrink and the flow would reverse .
An alternate endorheic basin is roughly Upington-Garies-Calvinia . This would be accessable depending on tectonic activity . (It is a bit lower than the previous basin)
Tectonic activity would also periodically open the Orange and Zambezi outlets to the oceans .
Fluctuate this over geologic time , and you have diamond deposits from the weathering of the volcanoes formed after the Vredefoort impact .
These have been found at the Orange outlet , Upington-Garies-Calvinia basin (eg Hexriver diamonds) , Botswana , Zimbabwe .
But , nobody has really looked at the Prieska-VictoriaWest-Sutherland endorheic basin . There should be very rich alluvial diamond pockets in potholes in the old riverbeds as the water swished back and forth .
Gas and Oil :
Endorheic basins are usually associated with gas or oil if they fluctuated over geologic timespans . Biologic material gets washed into basins with no outlet , covered up and pressurized . Voila! At least gas . Maybe oil .
You know you have struck it rich when
Your borehole at Sutherland blows and the diamonds clog the oil-filters .
Have fun!
Andre
-------------------------
Previous article:
Makgadikgadi Sea .
28 Aug 2009
Synopsis :
Southern Africa had a large interior freshwater sea until historical times , with major effects on human evolution and regional climates .
Discussion :
Map source : Reader's digest "Atlas of the World" (1993) ISBN 0-276-42001-264-7 .
P128 : Map of Southern Africa .
See http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2446907.stm
Wikipedia , Google . See appendices .
The topographical map clearly shows a major basin with 200 – 1000 meter elevation
Location :
Bounded by 16 to 28 degrees latitude (longest about 1 320 km) ,
The width varies : roughly hourglass-shape . At the narrowest in the middle : 23 to 25 degrees longitude (about 240 km) at about latitude 22 degrees .
The widest about 500 km . Bounded in the east by about 27 degrees longitude , and the west by 20 degrees longitude .
The basin is bounded by higher elevations and mountains on all sides , except for the breakthrough gap of the Zambezi at Victoria Falls .
Faults :
Roughly the line from Worcester – Grootvlei – Kakamas – Khakea – Lake Ngami – Victoria Falls – Present course of Zambezi to Great Rift Valley .
Essentially a branch of the Great East African Rift . See the Luangwa river plains .
See also Zimbabwe – Kalahari Axis , Gumare fault .See Appendices .
Note that these faults runs right through the center of the old Kalahari Sea , and was thus sensitive to the changes in it's water level . This in turn was sensitive to rainfall and river-inflow / outflow balance . Changes in the weight of the water would cause changes in seismic activity .
The faults are quite active (cf Tulbagh earthquakes , when the southernmost end had a mild 6.8 tremor.) . The Zimbabwe – Kalahari Axis and Gumare fault have been active in historical times , but with long intervals . Overdue . .
Periodic fluctuations .
The entire system is seismically sensitive to climate fluctuations caused by the periodic filling and emptying of the Makgadikgadi Sea . Hence the zig-zag pattern of the Victoria Falls gorges .
Climate .
There is also a complex feedback with rainfall patterns in the catchment areas of the feeder rivers . The system is an endorheic basin (internal drainage-see Appendix B)
But such a large body of water and concomitant vegetation drastically alters the rainfall in its region .
See http://andreswhy.blogspot.com "Biotic pump"
Notice the orientation of rivers on the sides of the old sea (ie Namibia , Angola) . They are all on the side of ridges facing the basin , ie from where moisture will come . A large percentage of moisture simply recirculated within the basin .
During the full episodes , it simply overflowed through the Limpopo .
Earthquakes opened the Victoria Falls portal . The water level fell . Moisture recirculation fell . The borders dried up . If this coincides with a dry climate period , we get the present shrinkage to marshes at the deepest parts .
Earthquakes sooner or later close the Victoria Falls portal , and the process reverses .
This has been going on for more than 3 million years (see Appendix C) .
The latest reversal started about 10 000 years ago , with the major climate shift at the end of the ice age .
Orange River .
Note the very peculiar fact that most major rivers in South Africa (Orange , Vaal , Harts , Modder , etc) are on top of ridges . This has led to some interesting squirming by geologists , since water has this well-known propensity to flow downhill . The explanations are suitably convoluted and involve escarpments , really long stretches of time and lots of erosion .
Whatever , it still means that the major rivers are unstable vis-a-vis major tectonic movements , but may be self-sealing due to heavy silting .Though this takes some heavy swallowing .
But the Orange river has a high probability of also periodically emptying into the Inland Sea . Most probably about 60 km downstream from Kakamas , where it comes nearest to the Molopo .
This is not an idle question , since such an old riverbed will be lousy with alluvial diamonds . Might even be gold-nuggets from the Vaal .
Human Evolution .
See Appendix D .
The point actually pinpointed is where the borders of present RSA , Namibia and Botswana meet . This is not an accident , since the borders follow habitability . This is where the Nossob river meets the westernmost part of the old inland sea . An ideal place for human evolution .
Lots of food , easily gathered . A whole sea of potable water .Lots of caves . An extended coastline to accommodate expanding population or climatic change . An outlet to the South-South-West with no unsurmountable barriers for the bored and rebellious .
The inhabitants of Pinnacle Point near Mosselbay were thus colonizers , migrating via the West Coast . They were stopped by the dense Tsitsikama forest and inhospitable terrain past that . The really inhospitable central plateaux were only the populated by outcasts , criminals and refugees .
Others on the inland sea would move northwards during fluctuations , eventually ending up in the Rift Valley system . From there they could easily move northwards , using well-known strategies and technologies next to the rift lakes . Bypassing the whole problem of latitude crossing (cf Jared Diamond) .
Back-pressure .
The periodic nature of the process means that after the first migration , and after Toba
(73 000 BP) , there would be people already there . But population density was low and newcomers (essentially refugees) , were helped on their way , eventually towards North Africa , Middle-East , Asia and Europe . This attitude (called Ubuntu) is still a characteristic of most ordinary people in Africa .
Interesting asides :
Aquatic human episode : a freshwater sea like the Magadikgadi Sea would be a much more benign environment for such evolutionary development than salt-water ocean . Note the trainable capability of humans to see underwater (not very well known , but well documented) .
More telling is Click . See http://andreswhy.blogspot.com "Click and human Evolution" Click sounds aid fishing . Do humans still use this ? (without technology)
The inland sea teemed with fish . Clicking would not only locate , but also chase fish into weirs or nets . We know they used weirs (stone weirs have been found by archeologists in areas like Mosselbay) . The efficiency of clicks (mimicking predators like dolphins) would be very efficient in chasing fish . They would also attract dolphins , which would share of the largesse . The beginning of a long cupboard love .
With the invention of agriculture , click-languages fell out of fashion .
"So last year .Who needs the effort ." But some aquaculture enclaves might still have it . Cf surprising Chinese efficiency in freshwater aquaculture . Do they cluck ?
Was the first domestication done simply by seeing which animals responded to clicks , then selecting and breeding . This could be easily tested .
Chickens and falcons also respond better to clicks . How deep does it go ? I will need a lot of convincing for a virus click-whisperer . What about a homeopathic click-whisperer ? The shaman has click-whispered into this large body of water and it is transmitted . Sigh . Many humans believe exactly that . Holy water .
Endorheic Pumps.
See Appendix B
Basins which have internal drainage act like pumps to any living organisms inside them . Because of the interaction between rainfall and vegetation , there is a feedback oscillation . When times are good , populations increase . When times are bad , the tough emigrate , and export their troubles .
The Magadikgadi basin is probably the oldest , but the Tibetan Plateau is not far behind . Ditto the steppes of Mongolia , Aral and Black Seas . North Africa (Lake Fezzan , Lake Chad) , the whole Arabian and Sinai peninsulas , northern Mexico , Middle-West USA are examples . All the troublespots . Even small climatic fluctuations cause trouble if the population is over carrying capacity .
Zimbabwe I
See http://andreswhy.blogspot.com "Fractal collapse of societies"
For about 2000 years , to about 1400 AD , there was a flourishing civilization around the borders of the inland sea . The climate in the highland-areas around it was very benign , with rain the year around . Extensive ruins of terraced agriculture are discernable . The center was in Zimbabwe .
Value added items were exported to India , Arabia mainly gold , minerals and precious stones Like now .
See the photo's in Adam's Calender by Heine and Tellinger . (ISBN 1-920153-07-1) .
Especially p25-p27 . Kilometers of ruins showing clear evidence of agriculture (terraced ,nogal) and husbandry , with market mechanisms (roads , but no evidence of wheel tracks) . Though the authors try hard , the ruins are patently fresh . They show less weathering than equivalent Roman ruins in Europe . They are younger than 1000 years . There is no evidence of Deep Time . Stone fences are still above ground . Terraces are evident . Not very old at all . But still indicative of a flourishing society about 100 BC to 1400 AD .
So what happened ?
A severe earthquake opened up Victoria Falls again and the inland sea started draining . This coincided with the latest long-term drying-up . A tipping point was reached (because of the feedback effect) , and things went to hell in a handbasket quickly after that . There was already shrinkage before that , but this was the coup-de-grace .
The overseas merchants (Dravidian South Indian merchant class – the Komati) cut their losses and departed . Markets shrunk . The locals abandoned expensive agriculture , especially as the climate changed . The shrinkage was gradual . When the final pull-out occurred , the remnants could live on the land in a simple subsistence economy .
What remained was kilometers of ruins (like Rome before the Renaissance.)
Note that this was not a failure of civilization , but an effect of climate change .
The market disappeared because the infrastructure to feed the labour force was no longer sufficient . A market cannot create a climate . (Not then , in case)
What can we do about it ?
Well , we can rob the Congo river or the Rift lakes , but that is inelegant .
(Ne kulturny)
An elegant solution is to punch a channel underground to below 1000 meters in the Atlantic , use the pressure to squirt the water into basin , after desalinating it .
The technology exists :
1.The tunnel :
Sub-Crustal torpedoes . Submarine versions are already in use with the Russian and USA navies . Simply a high-speed projectile that uses vaporized plasma ahead of it to change the phase of the material . A train of them condenses the plasma on the sidewalls as a strong material .Cheap .
2.The desalination :
See http://andreswhy.blogspot.com "Negative Pressure : an important update" 6 Mar 2009 .
The nanotechnology is due at any moment . By it's very nature , it is high throughput .
3. The ideal spot :
The top reaches of the Nossob river , about midway between Okanhanja and Epokira . From there is an uncomplicated run for a sub-crustal missile to the Atlantic towards the south-west .. The further advantage is that the flooding would be via a natural river . It would be truly spectacular . It is doubtful that they could get the right depth on first try , but would rather go too deep , than too shallow . A huge permanent geyser of water hundreds of meters high would result . An inverse waterfall , to rival Victoria Falls .
4. What if the desalination is not ready ?
(Yakkity-yak humans –most likely)
A sea-water sea would be nearly as acceptable . The climatic effects would be similar. We have a model in the Black Sea .
Do the same in other endorheic basins ? Libya might do it first . Or repopulating the Aral sea . The Black Sea can do with some topping up .
This can be done definitely within 6 months from now .
See map of endorheic basins in Arabia and Sinai .
Not to mention India . Or Australia . They really need it .
5. Ocean current climatology will suddenly assume a new strategic importance .
6. The defense strategic importance of sub-crustal missile technology .
Nil .
They cannot defend against super-crustal missiles . So that is not applicable . The thing a nation or civilization has to worry about is resources . And this technology frees up the oceans' resources .
Ecology is the major worry , and avenues for that exist .
7. Money .
There is an incredible amount of money to be made .
Actually made . Real wealth creation . Millions of acres made fertile even with just saline water nearby . The carbon credits of a sub-ocean fountain dissolving CO2 alone will pay the fairly modest capital costs (about $500 million) . Sneer at iceberg-towing.
Global flooding ?. Rather worry whether there is enough water in the oceans to satisfy human demand .
An interesting exercise : calculate the remaining sea-level after maximal usage of sea-water . (Hint : look at ice-ages . Would we use the water-equivalent of miles thick glaciers on land ? Easily .Crops , drinking , industrial etc . But remember , if it is properly cleansed , it is borrowed . It does get returned to the ocean . But an awful lot of it is "in use" , in the air as it were . This percentage will increase .)
Industrial demand will lead to such a shortage of water that it would be economical to import water from the Saturn orbital clouds .
8. Parallel sub-crustal missiles .
I am deeply unhappy about the fact that major river systems in South Africa are on hard ridges . It is simply unstable , unless there is a deep trench in the river bed . The only way I can think of is a a collapsed tunnel . Drilled by a sub-crustal missile .
Meteor impact :
If you look at the paths of the Vaal ,Caledon and Orange rivers and backtrack , you see that the tracks meet at 36.67 degrees longtitude and 26.78 latitude . This would be the putative impact point of a meteorite that split into two and tunneled under the crust for about 1 620 km till the two plasma bodies slowed to a threshold velocity and they swerved sharply towards each other . They impacted roughly where Hopetown is now . (A bit to the south-east , actually .) Expect diamonds .
What to expect at the impact point :
This is about 200 km from Beira . This has been a carbon rich area for a long time . I do not know when the impact took place , but even if it was a fragment of the Vredefoort meteor there would still be gas and maybe oil deposits formed by the impact waves .
Note the lightning-like offshoots before the final .
At the end , quantum distribution of charge on the plasma body overwhelms internal coherence and the two bodies rush towards each other and self-annihilate .
Violent energy release results .
Hence the little stretch of the Orange river between Colesberg and Kimberley .
What to expect at the impact point (36.67 degrees longtitude and 26.78 latitude) .
This is in the Mozambique channel . There should be oil and gas in a radius of 120 km .
The two missile trajectories passed on either side of Nelspruit , with dense rock concentrators on either side . There should be at least gas , probably oil .
Something similar at Bloemfontein , but probably only gas .(Figures)
Notice all the thermal springs around .
At Nelspruit : narrow at the top and wide at the bottom . Quite large .
Andre .
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Appendix A
Geological changes to the course
More than two million years ago, the Upper Zambezi river used to flow south through what is now the Makgadikgadi Pan to the Limpopo River. The land around the pan experienced tectonic uplift (perhaps as part of the African superswell) and a large lake formed, and extended east.
Meanwhile, 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) east, a western tributary of the Shire River in the Great Rift Valley's southern extension through Malawi eroded a deep valley on its western escarpment. At the rate of a few cm per year, this river, the Middle Zambezi, started cutting back the bed of its river towards the west, aided by grabens (rift valleys) forming along its course in an east-west axis. As it did so it captured a number of south-flowing rivers such as the Luangwa and Kafue.
Eventually the large lake trapped at Makgadikgadi (or a tributary of it) was captured by the Middle Zambezi cutting back towards it, and emptied eastwards. The Upper Zambezi was captured as well. The Middle Zambezi was about 300 metres (980 ft) lower than the Upper Zambezi, and a high waterfall formed at the edge of the basalt plateau across which the upper river flows. This was the first Victoria Falls, somewhere down the Batoka Gorge near where Lake Kariba is now.[6] For details of how the falls cuts back its bed to form the gorge, see How the Victoria Falls formed.
The Zambezi region was known to medieval geographers as the Empire of Monomotapa, and the course of the river, as well as the position of Lakes Ngami and Nyasa, were given broadly accurately in early maps. These were probably constructed from Arab information.
Appendix B
List of endorheic basins
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The following is a list of endorheic basins — watersheds which do not drain to the sea.
Appendix C
Lake Makgadikgadi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lake Makgadikgadi is an ancient lake that existed in what is now the Kalahari Desert in Botswana. It may have once covered as much as 80,000 km² and been 30 m deep. The Okavango, Zambezi, and Cuando rivers once all emptied into the lake.
Origin and History
Approximately 3 million years ago, strong easterly winds brought about the formation of elongated dunes which ran from east to west across the middle of the Kalahari Desert. During wetter times, these dunes channeled the flow of the great rivers of the area, the Okavango, Chobe, and Zambezi, eastwards with the Limpopo River into the Indian Ocean.
About 2 million years ago, the formation of the fault known as the Kalahari-Zimbabwe axis, which runs from the Zimbabwe capital Harare through its second-largest city Bulawayo and ends in the eastern side of the Kalahari, created an enormous basin and forced these rivers to flow into and fill up the basin. Lake Makgadikgadi was thus created.
As the millennia passed, the lake was filled to capacity and began to overflow. About 20,000 years ago, as a result, it began to drain northwards and then eastwards. This caused the middle and lower Zambezi Rivers to connect, resulting in the formation of Victoria Falls. With the water now able to flow out of the basin, Lake Makgadikgadi was able to drain partially and its average level decreased.
A drier climatic period followed which caused an increase in evaporation and a decrease in the flow of the rivers that fed it. By about 10,000 years ago the drying of Lake Makgadikgadi was in an advanced stage. Sediment and debris from the Okavango River and windblown sand were gradually filling the lake.
The formation of the Gumare fault caused a reduction in the elevation of the land. As a result, the water of the Okavango River spread out over a much larger area of land than it previously did, forming the now characteristic fan-shaped inland delta of the Okavango, which further reduced the water that flowed into Lake Makgadikgadi and hastened its demise.
Today the only remains of Lake Makgadikgadi, are the Okavango Delta, the Nxai Pan, Lake Ngami, Lake Xau, the Mababe Depression, and the two main Makgadikgadi pans of Sua and Nwetwe.
Ecology
Lake Makgadikgadi is theorized to have been the birthplace of the vast number of cichlids[1] that once swam the Congo River, Zambezi River, Okavango River and Limpopo River - as many as 100 to 400 new species, of which approximately 25 survive today. The lake's sheer size may have provided the ancestors of these fish with an extremely wide range of new ecological niches to exploit and thus could have served as the stimulus for the evolution of the new species, which they may have done in record time before the lake drained completely. The theory further says that the newly evolved species, after having evolved within the confines of the lake, could have escaped with the waters of the lake as it drained, and populated the rivers of the region to evolve into the cichlids that exist today.
In current times this land is desiccated most of the year and is a seasonal wetland in the rainy summer months.[2]
References
· C. Michael Hogan (2008) Makgadikgadi, The Megalithic Portal, ed. A. Burnham [1]
· James Owen (May 4. 2005) Lost African Lake Spawned Fish Diversity "Beyond Belief. National Geographic News[2]
Coordinates: 20°43′0″S 24°57′3″E20.71667°S 24.95083°E
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Makgadikgadi"
Categories: Former lakes | Geography of Botswana | Makgadikgadi Pan | Pleistocene
Appendix D
Human Evolution .
Snip from a NYT article about a new study by a group of geneticists which pins the origin of humankind to a spot on the coast of southwest Africa near the Kalahari Desert. The study is said to be the largest ever of its kind on African genetic diversity. The researchers say Africans are descended from 14 ancestral populations that typically correlate with language and cultural groups.
Locations for the Garden of Eden have been offered many times before, but seldom in the somewhat inhospitable borderland where Angola and Namibia meet.
A new genetic survey of people in Africa, the largest of its kind, suggests, however, that the region in southwest Africa seems, on the present evidence, to be the origin of modern humans. The authors have also identified some 14 ancestral populations.
The new data goes far toward equalizing the genetic picture of the world, given that most genetic information has come from European and Asian populations. But because it comes from Africa, the continent on which the human lineage evolved, it also sheds light on the origins of human life.
The research team was led by Sarah A. Tishkoff of the University of Pennsylvania, and reported in in a recent issue of Science: "The Genetic Structure and History of Africans and African Americans." (via Ned Sublette)
Appendix E
Okavango .
Greatest Places Physical Geography: Dr. Cecil Keen, July 1997 Okavango
Geographic Description: Described as "the river which never finds the sea", the Okavango in northwestern Botswana disappears into a 6,000-square-mile maze of lagoons, channels, and islands. The river system annually brings more than 2 million tons of sand and silt into the Delta, yet less than three percent of the water emerges at the other end to either flood Lake Ngami or cross another 300 miles of the Kalahari, then to enter Lake Xau and the Makgadikgadi Pans. The Okavango Delta, in the midst of the Kalhan sands, is Africa's largest and most beautiful oasis. The River Okavango, which rises in the highlands of Angola, never reaches the sea; instead its mighty waters empty over the sands of the Kalahari. Here the great Kalahari desert thirst is locally quenched in a blue-green wilderness of fresh water, with emerald reed beds and towering trees. It is a natural refuge and giant water hole for the larger animals of the Kalahari. The water gives rise to many forms of life unexpected in a "desert": There are fish, crocodiles basking on the sands, and hippopotamuses and swamp antelopes feeding on the vegetation. The Okavango is the last surviving remnant of the great Lake Makgadikgadi whose waters and associated swamps once covered much of the Middle Kalahari. It also is closely associated with the Kwando, Linyanti, and Chobe swamps and river systems to the northeast. It is thought that long ago the Okavango, Chobe, Kwando, and upper Zambezi waterways flowed as one massive river across the Middle Kalahari, to join the Limpopo River and then to the Indian Ocean. The earth movements that created the rift of the Kalahari-Zimbabwe Axis impeded this flow, causing a damming back of the giant river, which resulted in the formation of a series of high and complex swamps. As the Okavango River left the humid highlands and entered the arid flatness of the Kalahari, it slowed and dropped its sediment load. Channels became blocked and the water sought other courses, continuing to deposit its sediments wherever it traveled. Over time, some 2 million tons of sand and debris were deposited over the Kalahari sands, creating the characteristic fan shape of the Delta. The Okavango's waters still cut the characteristic fan shape of the Delta. The Okavango's waters still cut paths through this built-up cone and deposit their sand load, causing the channels to continue changing direction. Superimposed on these changes were the climate fluctuations of the last million years. In arid periods these complex swamps and waterways would recede; in wetter times the myriad channels may have combined to form one vast river flowing into a huge lake--the former Lake Makgadikgadi. 2 parallel faults now control the direction in which the Okavango River enters the Kalahari Basin, in an area called the Panhandle. Other faults also direct its exit from the Delta, flowing south into the ocean of sand. As the Okavango flows over the Gomare Fault, a continuation of the Great Rift Valley of east Africa, that runs southwest to northeast, the slope of the land breaks it up into numerous channels, which fan outwards over the Delta. These are blocked by 2 southern faults, the Kunyere and the Thalamakane, which redirect the Delta's myriad channels. The Thalamakane Fault acts as a 150-mile-long natural dam: Here the channels abruptly change direction and join to form one river, the Boteti, which flows eastwards through a break in the fault towards the Makgadikgadi Pan. A small channel, the Nghabe River, continues southwest toward Lake Ngami, serving as both inlet and outlet depending on the strength and direction of the annual floods. The present Okavango is still connected to the Chobe-Zambezi River system via the Selinda Spillway. However, recent arid conditions have meant that these water courses are now seldom joined. The geology of the Okavango is still inherently unstable, as the faults continue to move and earth tremors occur. Channels become filled with sand and debris, and massive plugs of papyrus interrupt their flow. The pattern of drainage in the Delta will continue to change. Interior drainage systems occur typically in arid areas where water evaporates to leave an accumulation of salts as a saline pan, as in Makgadikgadi and Lake Ngami. The Okavango is unique in that it forms a freshwater Delta, simply because it has several outlets. Even though their outflow comprises only three percent of the Okavango's inflow, this is enough to carry away most of the salts and keep the Delta's waters fresh. In fact there are 2 groups of outlets: west to Lake Ngami, and south and east to the Makgadikgadi Pan via the Boteti River. Although the total drainage pattern in the Delta is complex, there is an underlying simplicity in the slow and regular pulse of water that flows down each year from the Angolan highlands. South of the Panhandle the Delta fans out for many miles. During dry periods it is estimated to cover at least 6,000 square miles, but in wetter years, with a heavy annual flood, the Okavango's waters can spread over 8,500 square miles of the Kalahari's sands. Deep water occurs in only a few channels, while vast areas of reed beds are covered by only a few inches of water. The Okavango offers an oasis of habitat for prolific plant and animal life in a personified state of "balance in nature." Two plants dominate the Delta's perennial swamps: papyrus, a giant sedge (type of grass) which grows naturally only in Africa, and the willowy phoenix palm. They provide a fascinating record of recent changes in the limits of the perennial swamps. Papyrus, being a herbaceous species, responds more quickly to changes in water level than the phoenix, which is a woody species. The full extent of the perennial swamps along the Thaoge River, before it began to dry up this century, can be seen by the distribution of the phoenix palm, which extends much further south than the papyrus. Conversely, papyrus extends much farther east than the palm, along the Moanatshira system. This indicates the expansion of perennial swamps during this century. On the Boro River, the papyrus and phoenix occur in the same places, indicating that the extent of swamp areas has remained relatively unchanged in the central Delta during this century. Inhabiting the waters of the Okavango are an estimated 35 million fish of almost 80 species. The most abundant, three species of bream, are preserved from excessive predation by crocodiles feeding on the tiger fish that would prey on the bream. Hippos flatten paths through the papyrus on their nocturnal forays to graze, allowing easier access for the sitatunga and antelope to traverse across the swamps during their daytime migrations. Belts of forest fringe the swamps with tall trees giving shade to large herds of larger game. Beyond the forest fringe the landscape forms an open savanna park land, and in these drier areas the greatest concentrations of game are accompanied by the predator families: lion, leopard, cheetah, hyena, and wild dog. It is in these forest fringes and savanna grasslands that elephants and giraffes can be found browsing with antelope of almost every kind, from buffalo, wildebeest, and kudu, to sable, roan and impala. Okavango is a delicate and unique example of dynamic equilibrium at work in nature. A place worthy of being called a "greatest place."
Amazon Greenland Iguazu Madagascar Namib Okavango Tibet
Andre Willers .
Update : 26 Oct 2010
Also Magadigadi sea , Makgadigadi sea , Magadikgadi sea .
Also shown in "DaMing Hun Yi Tu" ("Amalgamated map of the Great Ming Empire") dated 1398 AD on 17 square meters of silk , thought to be based on data about 1320-1380 AD , from preparation explorers before the Admiral He fleet .
See http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2446907.stm
This includes a map clearly showing the inland sea before it drained through Kariba , and Orange River as described below .
Accuracy :
The latitudes could then be measured fairly accurately , but the longitudes seem slightly wonky . However , what is interesting is what is not shown : ie the outlets of the Zambezi or the Orange , though it does show the outlet of the Cunene at the correct latitude . Major mountain ranges are also shown at correct latitudes .
We suspect that at the time of the mapping (circa 1320 AD) , the outlets of the Zambezi and Orange rivers did not exist , but were opened shortly afterwards by tectonic action of the active faults in the regions .
What the map does show is the Caledon , ending in an endorheic basin roughly bounded today by Coleberg-Tarkastad-BarkleyEast.
The tributary/outflow shown to the south of the Makgadigadi Sea is more interesting . The flow here would be towards an endorheic basin roughly bounded by Prieska-VictoriaWest-Sutherland . The map shows the Makgadigadi Sea to be rather full at the time , so the water flow would have been into this endorheic basin .
In times of drought , the Makgadigadi Sea would shrink and the flow would reverse .
An alternate endorheic basin is roughly Upington-Garies-Calvinia . This would be accessable depending on tectonic activity . (It is a bit lower than the previous basin)
Tectonic activity would also periodically open the Orange and Zambezi outlets to the oceans .
Fluctuate this over geologic time , and you have diamond deposits from the weathering of the volcanoes formed after the Vredefoort impact .
These have been found at the Orange outlet , Upington-Garies-Calvinia basin (eg Hexriver diamonds) , Botswana , Zimbabwe .
But , nobody has really looked at the Prieska-VictoriaWest-Sutherland endorheic basin . There should be very rich alluvial diamond pockets in potholes in the old riverbeds as the water swished back and forth .
Gas and Oil :
Endorheic basins are usually associated with gas or oil if they fluctuated over geologic timespans . Biologic material gets washed into basins with no outlet , covered up and pressurized . Voila! At least gas . Maybe oil .
You know you have struck it rich when
Your borehole at Sutherland blows and the diamonds clog the oil-filters .
Have fun!
Andre
-------------------------
Previous article:
Makgadikgadi Sea .
28 Aug 2009
Synopsis :
Southern Africa had a large interior freshwater sea until historical times , with major effects on human evolution and regional climates .
Discussion :
Map source : Reader's digest "Atlas of the World" (1993) ISBN 0-276-42001-264-7 .
P128 : Map of Southern Africa .
See http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2446907.stm
Wikipedia , Google . See appendices .
The topographical map clearly shows a major basin with 200 – 1000 meter elevation
Location :
Bounded by 16 to 28 degrees latitude (longest about 1 320 km) ,
The width varies : roughly hourglass-shape . At the narrowest in the middle : 23 to 25 degrees longitude (about 240 km) at about latitude 22 degrees .
The widest about 500 km . Bounded in the east by about 27 degrees longitude , and the west by 20 degrees longitude .
The basin is bounded by higher elevations and mountains on all sides , except for the breakthrough gap of the Zambezi at Victoria Falls .
Faults :
Roughly the line from Worcester – Grootvlei – Kakamas – Khakea – Lake Ngami – Victoria Falls – Present course of Zambezi to Great Rift Valley .
Essentially a branch of the Great East African Rift . See the Luangwa river plains .
See also Zimbabwe – Kalahari Axis , Gumare fault .See Appendices .
Note that these faults runs right through the center of the old Kalahari Sea , and was thus sensitive to the changes in it's water level . This in turn was sensitive to rainfall and river-inflow / outflow balance . Changes in the weight of the water would cause changes in seismic activity .
The faults are quite active (cf Tulbagh earthquakes , when the southernmost end had a mild 6.8 tremor.) . The Zimbabwe – Kalahari Axis and Gumare fault have been active in historical times , but with long intervals . Overdue . .
Periodic fluctuations .
The entire system is seismically sensitive to climate fluctuations caused by the periodic filling and emptying of the Makgadikgadi Sea . Hence the zig-zag pattern of the Victoria Falls gorges .
Climate .
There is also a complex feedback with rainfall patterns in the catchment areas of the feeder rivers . The system is an endorheic basin (internal drainage-see Appendix B)
But such a large body of water and concomitant vegetation drastically alters the rainfall in its region .
See http://andreswhy.blogspot.com "Biotic pump"
Notice the orientation of rivers on the sides of the old sea (ie Namibia , Angola) . They are all on the side of ridges facing the basin , ie from where moisture will come . A large percentage of moisture simply recirculated within the basin .
During the full episodes , it simply overflowed through the Limpopo .
Earthquakes opened the Victoria Falls portal . The water level fell . Moisture recirculation fell . The borders dried up . If this coincides with a dry climate period , we get the present shrinkage to marshes at the deepest parts .
Earthquakes sooner or later close the Victoria Falls portal , and the process reverses .
This has been going on for more than 3 million years (see Appendix C) .
The latest reversal started about 10 000 years ago , with the major climate shift at the end of the ice age .
Orange River .
Note the very peculiar fact that most major rivers in South Africa (Orange , Vaal , Harts , Modder , etc) are on top of ridges . This has led to some interesting squirming by geologists , since water has this well-known propensity to flow downhill . The explanations are suitably convoluted and involve escarpments , really long stretches of time and lots of erosion .
Whatever , it still means that the major rivers are unstable vis-a-vis major tectonic movements , but may be self-sealing due to heavy silting .Though this takes some heavy swallowing .
But the Orange river has a high probability of also periodically emptying into the Inland Sea . Most probably about 60 km downstream from Kakamas , where it comes nearest to the Molopo .
This is not an idle question , since such an old riverbed will be lousy with alluvial diamonds . Might even be gold-nuggets from the Vaal .
Human Evolution .
See Appendix D .
The point actually pinpointed is where the borders of present RSA , Namibia and Botswana meet . This is not an accident , since the borders follow habitability . This is where the Nossob river meets the westernmost part of the old inland sea . An ideal place for human evolution .
Lots of food , easily gathered . A whole sea of potable water .Lots of caves . An extended coastline to accommodate expanding population or climatic change . An outlet to the South-South-West with no unsurmountable barriers for the bored and rebellious .
The inhabitants of Pinnacle Point near Mosselbay were thus colonizers , migrating via the West Coast . They were stopped by the dense Tsitsikama forest and inhospitable terrain past that . The really inhospitable central plateaux were only the populated by outcasts , criminals and refugees .
Others on the inland sea would move northwards during fluctuations , eventually ending up in the Rift Valley system . From there they could easily move northwards , using well-known strategies and technologies next to the rift lakes . Bypassing the whole problem of latitude crossing (cf Jared Diamond) .
Back-pressure .
The periodic nature of the process means that after the first migration , and after Toba
(73 000 BP) , there would be people already there . But population density was low and newcomers (essentially refugees) , were helped on their way , eventually towards North Africa , Middle-East , Asia and Europe . This attitude (called Ubuntu) is still a characteristic of most ordinary people in Africa .
Interesting asides :
Aquatic human episode : a freshwater sea like the Magadikgadi Sea would be a much more benign environment for such evolutionary development than salt-water ocean . Note the trainable capability of humans to see underwater (not very well known , but well documented) .
More telling is Click . See http://andreswhy.blogspot.com "Click and human Evolution" Click sounds aid fishing . Do humans still use this ? (without technology)
The inland sea teemed with fish . Clicking would not only locate , but also chase fish into weirs or nets . We know they used weirs (stone weirs have been found by archeologists in areas like Mosselbay) . The efficiency of clicks (mimicking predators like dolphins) would be very efficient in chasing fish . They would also attract dolphins , which would share of the largesse . The beginning of a long cupboard love .
With the invention of agriculture , click-languages fell out of fashion .
"So last year .Who needs the effort ." But some aquaculture enclaves might still have it . Cf surprising Chinese efficiency in freshwater aquaculture . Do they cluck ?
Was the first domestication done simply by seeing which animals responded to clicks , then selecting and breeding . This could be easily tested .
Chickens and falcons also respond better to clicks . How deep does it go ? I will need a lot of convincing for a virus click-whisperer . What about a homeopathic click-whisperer ? The shaman has click-whispered into this large body of water and it is transmitted . Sigh . Many humans believe exactly that . Holy water .
Endorheic Pumps.
See Appendix B
Basins which have internal drainage act like pumps to any living organisms inside them . Because of the interaction between rainfall and vegetation , there is a feedback oscillation . When times are good , populations increase . When times are bad , the tough emigrate , and export their troubles .
The Magadikgadi basin is probably the oldest , but the Tibetan Plateau is not far behind . Ditto the steppes of Mongolia , Aral and Black Seas . North Africa (Lake Fezzan , Lake Chad) , the whole Arabian and Sinai peninsulas , northern Mexico , Middle-West USA are examples . All the troublespots . Even small climatic fluctuations cause trouble if the population is over carrying capacity .
Zimbabwe I
See http://andreswhy.blogspot.com "Fractal collapse of societies"
For about 2000 years , to about 1400 AD , there was a flourishing civilization around the borders of the inland sea . The climate in the highland-areas around it was very benign , with rain the year around . Extensive ruins of terraced agriculture are discernable . The center was in Zimbabwe .
Value added items were exported to India , Arabia mainly gold , minerals and precious stones Like now .
See the photo's in Adam's Calender by Heine and Tellinger . (ISBN 1-920153-07-1) .
Especially p25-p27 . Kilometers of ruins showing clear evidence of agriculture (terraced ,nogal) and husbandry , with market mechanisms (roads , but no evidence of wheel tracks) . Though the authors try hard , the ruins are patently fresh . They show less weathering than equivalent Roman ruins in Europe . They are younger than 1000 years . There is no evidence of Deep Time . Stone fences are still above ground . Terraces are evident . Not very old at all . But still indicative of a flourishing society about 100 BC to 1400 AD .
So what happened ?
A severe earthquake opened up Victoria Falls again and the inland sea started draining . This coincided with the latest long-term drying-up . A tipping point was reached (because of the feedback effect) , and things went to hell in a handbasket quickly after that . There was already shrinkage before that , but this was the coup-de-grace .
The overseas merchants (Dravidian South Indian merchant class – the Komati) cut their losses and departed . Markets shrunk . The locals abandoned expensive agriculture , especially as the climate changed . The shrinkage was gradual . When the final pull-out occurred , the remnants could live on the land in a simple subsistence economy .
What remained was kilometers of ruins (like Rome before the Renaissance.)
Note that this was not a failure of civilization , but an effect of climate change .
The market disappeared because the infrastructure to feed the labour force was no longer sufficient . A market cannot create a climate . (Not then , in case)
What can we do about it ?
Well , we can rob the Congo river or the Rift lakes , but that is inelegant .
(Ne kulturny)
An elegant solution is to punch a channel underground to below 1000 meters in the Atlantic , use the pressure to squirt the water into basin , after desalinating it .
The technology exists :
1.The tunnel :
Sub-Crustal torpedoes . Submarine versions are already in use with the Russian and USA navies . Simply a high-speed projectile that uses vaporized plasma ahead of it to change the phase of the material . A train of them condenses the plasma on the sidewalls as a strong material .Cheap .
2.The desalination :
See http://andreswhy.blogspot.com "Negative Pressure : an important update" 6 Mar 2009 .
The nanotechnology is due at any moment . By it's very nature , it is high throughput .
3. The ideal spot :
The top reaches of the Nossob river , about midway between Okanhanja and Epokira . From there is an uncomplicated run for a sub-crustal missile to the Atlantic towards the south-west .. The further advantage is that the flooding would be via a natural river . It would be truly spectacular . It is doubtful that they could get the right depth on first try , but would rather go too deep , than too shallow . A huge permanent geyser of water hundreds of meters high would result . An inverse waterfall , to rival Victoria Falls .
4. What if the desalination is not ready ?
(Yakkity-yak humans –most likely)
A sea-water sea would be nearly as acceptable . The climatic effects would be similar. We have a model in the Black Sea .
Do the same in other endorheic basins ? Libya might do it first . Or repopulating the Aral sea . The Black Sea can do with some topping up .
This can be done definitely within 6 months from now .
See map of endorheic basins in Arabia and Sinai .
Not to mention India . Or Australia . They really need it .
5. Ocean current climatology will suddenly assume a new strategic importance .
6. The defense strategic importance of sub-crustal missile technology .
Nil .
They cannot defend against super-crustal missiles . So that is not applicable . The thing a nation or civilization has to worry about is resources . And this technology frees up the oceans' resources .
Ecology is the major worry , and avenues for that exist .
7. Money .
There is an incredible amount of money to be made .
Actually made . Real wealth creation . Millions of acres made fertile even with just saline water nearby . The carbon credits of a sub-ocean fountain dissolving CO2 alone will pay the fairly modest capital costs (about $500 million) . Sneer at iceberg-towing.
Global flooding ?. Rather worry whether there is enough water in the oceans to satisfy human demand .
An interesting exercise : calculate the remaining sea-level after maximal usage of sea-water . (Hint : look at ice-ages . Would we use the water-equivalent of miles thick glaciers on land ? Easily .Crops , drinking , industrial etc . But remember , if it is properly cleansed , it is borrowed . It does get returned to the ocean . But an awful lot of it is "in use" , in the air as it were . This percentage will increase .)
Industrial demand will lead to such a shortage of water that it would be economical to import water from the Saturn orbital clouds .
8. Parallel sub-crustal missiles .
I am deeply unhappy about the fact that major river systems in South Africa are on hard ridges . It is simply unstable , unless there is a deep trench in the river bed . The only way I can think of is a a collapsed tunnel . Drilled by a sub-crustal missile .
Meteor impact :
If you look at the paths of the Vaal ,Caledon and Orange rivers and backtrack , you see that the tracks meet at 36.67 degrees longtitude and 26.78 latitude . This would be the putative impact point of a meteorite that split into two and tunneled under the crust for about 1 620 km till the two plasma bodies slowed to a threshold velocity and they swerved sharply towards each other . They impacted roughly where Hopetown is now . (A bit to the south-east , actually .) Expect diamonds .
What to expect at the impact point :
This is about 200 km from Beira . This has been a carbon rich area for a long time . I do not know when the impact took place , but even if it was a fragment of the Vredefoort meteor there would still be gas and maybe oil deposits formed by the impact waves .
Note the lightning-like offshoots before the final .
At the end , quantum distribution of charge on the plasma body overwhelms internal coherence and the two bodies rush towards each other and self-annihilate .
Violent energy release results .
Hence the little stretch of the Orange river between Colesberg and Kimberley .
What to expect at the impact point (36.67 degrees longtitude and 26.78 latitude) .
This is in the Mozambique channel . There should be oil and gas in a radius of 120 km .
The two missile trajectories passed on either side of Nelspruit , with dense rock concentrators on either side . There should be at least gas , probably oil .
Something similar at Bloemfontein , but probably only gas .(Figures)
Notice all the thermal springs around .
At Nelspruit : narrow at the top and wide at the bottom . Quite large .
Andre .
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Appendix A
Geological changes to the course
More than two million years ago, the Upper Zambezi river used to flow south through what is now the Makgadikgadi Pan to the Limpopo River. The land around the pan experienced tectonic uplift (perhaps as part of the African superswell) and a large lake formed, and extended east.
Meanwhile, 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) east, a western tributary of the Shire River in the Great Rift Valley's southern extension through Malawi eroded a deep valley on its western escarpment. At the rate of a few cm per year, this river, the Middle Zambezi, started cutting back the bed of its river towards the west, aided by grabens (rift valleys) forming along its course in an east-west axis. As it did so it captured a number of south-flowing rivers such as the Luangwa and Kafue.
Eventually the large lake trapped at Makgadikgadi (or a tributary of it) was captured by the Middle Zambezi cutting back towards it, and emptied eastwards. The Upper Zambezi was captured as well. The Middle Zambezi was about 300 metres (980 ft) lower than the Upper Zambezi, and a high waterfall formed at the edge of the basalt plateau across which the upper river flows. This was the first Victoria Falls, somewhere down the Batoka Gorge near where Lake Kariba is now.[6] For details of how the falls cuts back its bed to form the gorge, see How the Victoria Falls formed.
The Zambezi region was known to medieval geographers as the Empire of Monomotapa, and the course of the river, as well as the position of Lakes Ngami and Nyasa, were given broadly accurately in early maps. These were probably constructed from Arab information.
Appendix B
List of endorheic basins
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The following is a list of endorheic basins — watersheds which do not drain to the sea.
Appendix C
Lake Makgadikgadi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lake Makgadikgadi is an ancient lake that existed in what is now the Kalahari Desert in Botswana. It may have once covered as much as 80,000 km² and been 30 m deep. The Okavango, Zambezi, and Cuando rivers once all emptied into the lake.
Origin and History
Approximately 3 million years ago, strong easterly winds brought about the formation of elongated dunes which ran from east to west across the middle of the Kalahari Desert. During wetter times, these dunes channeled the flow of the great rivers of the area, the Okavango, Chobe, and Zambezi, eastwards with the Limpopo River into the Indian Ocean.
About 2 million years ago, the formation of the fault known as the Kalahari-Zimbabwe axis, which runs from the Zimbabwe capital Harare through its second-largest city Bulawayo and ends in the eastern side of the Kalahari, created an enormous basin and forced these rivers to flow into and fill up the basin. Lake Makgadikgadi was thus created.
As the millennia passed, the lake was filled to capacity and began to overflow. About 20,000 years ago, as a result, it began to drain northwards and then eastwards. This caused the middle and lower Zambezi Rivers to connect, resulting in the formation of Victoria Falls. With the water now able to flow out of the basin, Lake Makgadikgadi was able to drain partially and its average level decreased.
A drier climatic period followed which caused an increase in evaporation and a decrease in the flow of the rivers that fed it. By about 10,000 years ago the drying of Lake Makgadikgadi was in an advanced stage. Sediment and debris from the Okavango River and windblown sand were gradually filling the lake.
The formation of the Gumare fault caused a reduction in the elevation of the land. As a result, the water of the Okavango River spread out over a much larger area of land than it previously did, forming the now characteristic fan-shaped inland delta of the Okavango, which further reduced the water that flowed into Lake Makgadikgadi and hastened its demise.
Today the only remains of Lake Makgadikgadi, are the Okavango Delta, the Nxai Pan, Lake Ngami, Lake Xau, the Mababe Depression, and the two main Makgadikgadi pans of Sua and Nwetwe.
Ecology
Lake Makgadikgadi is theorized to have been the birthplace of the vast number of cichlids[1] that once swam the Congo River, Zambezi River, Okavango River and Limpopo River - as many as 100 to 400 new species, of which approximately 25 survive today. The lake's sheer size may have provided the ancestors of these fish with an extremely wide range of new ecological niches to exploit and thus could have served as the stimulus for the evolution of the new species, which they may have done in record time before the lake drained completely. The theory further says that the newly evolved species, after having evolved within the confines of the lake, could have escaped with the waters of the lake as it drained, and populated the rivers of the region to evolve into the cichlids that exist today.
In current times this land is desiccated most of the year and is a seasonal wetland in the rainy summer months.[2]
References
· C. Michael Hogan (2008) Makgadikgadi, The Megalithic Portal, ed. A. Burnham [1]
· James Owen (May 4. 2005) Lost African Lake Spawned Fish Diversity "Beyond Belief. National Geographic News[2]
Coordinates: 20°43′0″S 24°57′3″E20.71667°S 24.95083°E
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Makgadikgadi"
Categories: Former lakes | Geography of Botswana | Makgadikgadi Pan | Pleistocene
Appendix D
Human Evolution .
Snip from a NYT article about a new study by a group of geneticists which pins the origin of humankind to a spot on the coast of southwest Africa near the Kalahari Desert. The study is said to be the largest ever of its kind on African genetic diversity. The researchers say Africans are descended from 14 ancestral populations that typically correlate with language and cultural groups.
Locations for the Garden of Eden have been offered many times before, but seldom in the somewhat inhospitable borderland where Angola and Namibia meet.
A new genetic survey of people in Africa, the largest of its kind, suggests, however, that the region in southwest Africa seems, on the present evidence, to be the origin of modern humans. The authors have also identified some 14 ancestral populations.
The new data goes far toward equalizing the genetic picture of the world, given that most genetic information has come from European and Asian populations. But because it comes from Africa, the continent on which the human lineage evolved, it also sheds light on the origins of human life.
The research team was led by Sarah A. Tishkoff of the University of Pennsylvania, and reported in in a recent issue of Science: "The Genetic Structure and History of Africans and African Americans." (via Ned Sublette)
Appendix E
Okavango .
Greatest Places Physical Geography: Dr. Cecil Keen, July 1997 Okavango
Geographic Description: Described as "the river which never finds the sea", the Okavango in northwestern Botswana disappears into a 6,000-square-mile maze of lagoons, channels, and islands. The river system annually brings more than 2 million tons of sand and silt into the Delta, yet less than three percent of the water emerges at the other end to either flood Lake Ngami or cross another 300 miles of the Kalahari, then to enter Lake Xau and the Makgadikgadi Pans. The Okavango Delta, in the midst of the Kalhan sands, is Africa's largest and most beautiful oasis. The River Okavango, which rises in the highlands of Angola, never reaches the sea; instead its mighty waters empty over the sands of the Kalahari. Here the great Kalahari desert thirst is locally quenched in a blue-green wilderness of fresh water, with emerald reed beds and towering trees. It is a natural refuge and giant water hole for the larger animals of the Kalahari. The water gives rise to many forms of life unexpected in a "desert": There are fish, crocodiles basking on the sands, and hippopotamuses and swamp antelopes feeding on the vegetation. The Okavango is the last surviving remnant of the great Lake Makgadikgadi whose waters and associated swamps once covered much of the Middle Kalahari. It also is closely associated with the Kwando, Linyanti, and Chobe swamps and river systems to the northeast. It is thought that long ago the Okavango, Chobe, Kwando, and upper Zambezi waterways flowed as one massive river across the Middle Kalahari, to join the Limpopo River and then to the Indian Ocean. The earth movements that created the rift of the Kalahari-Zimbabwe Axis impeded this flow, causing a damming back of the giant river, which resulted in the formation of a series of high and complex swamps. As the Okavango River left the humid highlands and entered the arid flatness of the Kalahari, it slowed and dropped its sediment load. Channels became blocked and the water sought other courses, continuing to deposit its sediments wherever it traveled. Over time, some 2 million tons of sand and debris were deposited over the Kalahari sands, creating the characteristic fan shape of the Delta. The Okavango's waters still cut the characteristic fan shape of the Delta. The Okavango's waters still cut paths through this built-up cone and deposit their sand load, causing the channels to continue changing direction. Superimposed on these changes were the climate fluctuations of the last million years. In arid periods these complex swamps and waterways would recede; in wetter times the myriad channels may have combined to form one vast river flowing into a huge lake--the former Lake Makgadikgadi. 2 parallel faults now control the direction in which the Okavango River enters the Kalahari Basin, in an area called the Panhandle. Other faults also direct its exit from the Delta, flowing south into the ocean of sand. As the Okavango flows over the Gomare Fault, a continuation of the Great Rift Valley of east Africa, that runs southwest to northeast, the slope of the land breaks it up into numerous channels, which fan outwards over the Delta. These are blocked by 2 southern faults, the Kunyere and the Thalamakane, which redirect the Delta's myriad channels. The Thalamakane Fault acts as a 150-mile-long natural dam: Here the channels abruptly change direction and join to form one river, the Boteti, which flows eastwards through a break in the fault towards the Makgadikgadi Pan. A small channel, the Nghabe River, continues southwest toward Lake Ngami, serving as both inlet and outlet depending on the strength and direction of the annual floods. The present Okavango is still connected to the Chobe-Zambezi River system via the Selinda Spillway. However, recent arid conditions have meant that these water courses are now seldom joined. The geology of the Okavango is still inherently unstable, as the faults continue to move and earth tremors occur. Channels become filled with sand and debris, and massive plugs of papyrus interrupt their flow. The pattern of drainage in the Delta will continue to change. Interior drainage systems occur typically in arid areas where water evaporates to leave an accumulation of salts as a saline pan, as in Makgadikgadi and Lake Ngami. The Okavango is unique in that it forms a freshwater Delta, simply because it has several outlets. Even though their outflow comprises only three percent of the Okavango's inflow, this is enough to carry away most of the salts and keep the Delta's waters fresh. In fact there are 2 groups of outlets: west to Lake Ngami, and south and east to the Makgadikgadi Pan via the Boteti River. Although the total drainage pattern in the Delta is complex, there is an underlying simplicity in the slow and regular pulse of water that flows down each year from the Angolan highlands. South of the Panhandle the Delta fans out for many miles. During dry periods it is estimated to cover at least 6,000 square miles, but in wetter years, with a heavy annual flood, the Okavango's waters can spread over 8,500 square miles of the Kalahari's sands. Deep water occurs in only a few channels, while vast areas of reed beds are covered by only a few inches of water. The Okavango offers an oasis of habitat for prolific plant and animal life in a personified state of "balance in nature." Two plants dominate the Delta's perennial swamps: papyrus, a giant sedge (type of grass) which grows naturally only in Africa, and the willowy phoenix palm. They provide a fascinating record of recent changes in the limits of the perennial swamps. Papyrus, being a herbaceous species, responds more quickly to changes in water level than the phoenix, which is a woody species. The full extent of the perennial swamps along the Thaoge River, before it began to dry up this century, can be seen by the distribution of the phoenix palm, which extends much further south than the papyrus. Conversely, papyrus extends much farther east than the palm, along the Moanatshira system. This indicates the expansion of perennial swamps during this century. On the Boro River, the papyrus and phoenix occur in the same places, indicating that the extent of swamp areas has remained relatively unchanged in the central Delta during this century. Inhabiting the waters of the Okavango are an estimated 35 million fish of almost 80 species. The most abundant, three species of bream, are preserved from excessive predation by crocodiles feeding on the tiger fish that would prey on the bream. Hippos flatten paths through the papyrus on their nocturnal forays to graze, allowing easier access for the sitatunga and antelope to traverse across the swamps during their daytime migrations. Belts of forest fringe the swamps with tall trees giving shade to large herds of larger game. Beyond the forest fringe the landscape forms an open savanna park land, and in these drier areas the greatest concentrations of game are accompanied by the predator families: lion, leopard, cheetah, hyena, and wild dog. It is in these forest fringes and savanna grasslands that elephants and giraffes can be found browsing with antelope of almost every kind, from buffalo, wildebeest, and kudu, to sable, roan and impala. Okavango is a delicate and unique example of dynamic equilibrium at work in nature. A place worthy of being called a "greatest place."
Amazon Greenland Iguazu Madagascar Namib Okavango Tibet
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.
Andre Willers
15 Oct 2010
Synopsis:
A fascinating meme-pair formation . This is a stable chaotic attractor , involving two elements . It has a large relevance to all human and inhuman interactions .
Discussion .
I watched the remake of Sherlock Holmes (a complete transplant set in circa 2010) yesterday . It was even more gripping than the original set in 1890's .
Why ?
It illustrates the major problem in any society .
Not everybody is equal in capability .
It being an interacting society , we need only to examine a two-person interaction . This a minimum necessary sufficient .
This particular case:
A sociopathic , high intelligence (Sherlock) forms a meme-pair with a high-moral , median intelligence (Watson) .
They complement each other . Both can survive better in combination than separately.
This strikes a chord with humans , hence the enduring Holmes franchise .
But it is more than that .
It helps to explain why sociopathy has not been weeded out by natural selection .
The Sidekick .
Every hero has a sidekick . Indeed , without the sidekick the hero would be hunted and killed as just another sociopathic threat .
They are also called disciples in a religious context .Or Mentorees in business.
What it is:
A mechanism for incorporating HyperSmart individuals into the body corporate by using multiple-meme pairing . Note Eastern Master-Pupil relationships or Western Mentor-Mentoree relationships .
Note that the Master/Mentor needs the relationship more than the pupils , otherwise they would excluded from societal benefits or even be hunted down actively .
Simply put .
Society will accept a smart-stupid pair where it would reject either on their own .
This goes back to Toba .
Meme structures which were set in place then .
Hypersmarts will run away with self-interest , while stupids cannot generate new wealth .
Sex:
It has very little to do with sex .
Meme-pairs are usually asexual (notice Sherlock-Watson) . Hypersmarts are not very interested in breeding competitors , hence their dearth .
Which are you ?
Most Stupids care about being seen as smart , while HyperSmarts don't care .
(Hypersmarts in this context have a limited context of IQ 200-300 . Maybe they will change their tune in relation to IQ levels way beyond 300 ?)
Ho-ho-ho !
Andre
Andre Willers
15 Oct 2010
Synopsis:
A fascinating meme-pair formation . This is a stable chaotic attractor , involving two elements . It has a large relevance to all human and inhuman interactions .
Discussion .
I watched the remake of Sherlock Holmes (a complete transplant set in circa 2010) yesterday . It was even more gripping than the original set in 1890's .
Why ?
It illustrates the major problem in any society .
Not everybody is equal in capability .
It being an interacting society , we need only to examine a two-person interaction . This a minimum necessary sufficient .
This particular case:
A sociopathic , high intelligence (Sherlock) forms a meme-pair with a high-moral , median intelligence (Watson) .
They complement each other . Both can survive better in combination than separately.
This strikes a chord with humans , hence the enduring Holmes franchise .
But it is more than that .
It helps to explain why sociopathy has not been weeded out by natural selection .
The Sidekick .
Every hero has a sidekick . Indeed , without the sidekick the hero would be hunted and killed as just another sociopathic threat .
They are also called disciples in a religious context .Or Mentorees in business.
What it is:
A mechanism for incorporating HyperSmart individuals into the body corporate by using multiple-meme pairing . Note Eastern Master-Pupil relationships or Western Mentor-Mentoree relationships .
Note that the Master/Mentor needs the relationship more than the pupils , otherwise they would excluded from societal benefits or even be hunted down actively .
Simply put .
Society will accept a smart-stupid pair where it would reject either on their own .
This goes back to Toba .
Meme structures which were set in place then .
Hypersmarts will run away with self-interest , while stupids cannot generate new wealth .
Sex:
It has very little to do with sex .
Meme-pairs are usually asexual (notice Sherlock-Watson) . Hypersmarts are not very interested in breeding competitors , hence their dearth .
Which are you ?
Most Stupids care about being seen as smart , while HyperSmarts don't care .
(Hypersmarts in this context have a limited context of IQ 200-300 . Maybe they will change their tune in relation to IQ levels way beyond 300 ?)
Ho-ho-ho !
Andre
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Climate Change , HeatShock and Evolution.
Climate Change , HeatShock and Evolution.
Andre Willers
15 Oct 2010
Synopsis:
Heatshock proteins have been experimentally shown to suppress DNA mutations (NewScientist) . A real effect . Mutations increment unexpressed until released by a trigger , when there is a saltation . Equally , previous DNA structures are suppressed until an environmental trigger releases them
Discussion :
This directly effects the whole evolution argument .
Small mutations (a-la-Darwin) can accumulate without being expressed in the organism . They are then released in burst (a saltation) .
Likewise , groups of gene adaptations can be suppressed , but retriggered by environmental changes .
All surviving organisms have historical gene baggage , much of which can be re-accessed by a species as the environment changes or at different stages of maturation .
See http://andreswhy.blogspot.com "Chaperones,unpacking and asthma" 31 Aug 2008
Reproduced in Annex A for your convenience .
This means that even extreme heat fluctuations are catered for :
Eg foehn-winds (27 degrees Fahrenheit in 2 minutes-South Dakota)
Corals: actual satellite measurement of South Pacific coral atolls has shown an increase of corals and land mass . They have been here before , and have not forgotten
Cultivated mono crops are very vulnerable , as humans have deliberately weeded out DNA structures that does not seem to have an immediate purpose .Sigh .
Of interest is the new debate on the usefulness of fever in humans in combating infections or even cancers (especially leukemia ) . Juvenile leukemia has a very high remission rate after natural or induced fevers .
Pasteurization :
This is touted as a process to destroy certain bacteria . How it actually works is to convince the bacteria to switch off certain lethality genes . That is why about 20-30 minutes of exposure to temperatures 40-60 degrees Celsius are required . This is not nearly sufficient to kill the little buggers , but it is sufficient to persuade them to switch off lethality genes .
So , a fever is the body's pasteurization process .
Works well with mammal-derived diseases , but bird-derived ones will do better with cooling .
Biltong and dry wors application :
These are raw meats with some internal preservatives , which are then dried .The surfaces have a high density of harmful bacteria .
Freeze them , them put the frozen sticks in an oven at 40 degrees centigrade for 20 minutes . The meat cannot cook , but the surface is pasteurized . This reduces bacterial load to tolerable levels the immune system in the gums and mouth can handle easily . Tested .(I do it with all biltong(jerky) and dried wors)
This is generally applicable .
The pasteurization process is actually a quorum process .A threshold percentage have to get hot or cold enough to switch off the lethality genes .
We can mimic this if we understand it well enough .
A note for the hypersmart :
Calculate the optimal homeostatic temperatures for mammals ,birds , reptiles and fishes .Only the past 300 million years need to be taken into account .
Show the effect on bacterial quorum systems .
Have fun!
Andre
'----
Annexure A
Chaperones , Unpacking and Asthma
Andre Willers
31 Aug 2008
Essential reading :
“New jobs for ancient chaperones” by P K Srivastava ,
Scientific American July 2008 p32
http://andreswhy.blogspot.com “Unpacking” , “Orders of Randomness” , “Orders of Randomness 2”
Discussion:
In “Unpacking” , no mechanism was proposed for the unpacking-packing .
No formal proof was given that Higher Orders of Randomness are more likely than lower ones . A quick intuitive proof is that a stab at a numberline will most likely give an irrational number . (There are more aleph(1) irrational numbers than aleph(0) rational ones)
Unpacking is biased along probability lines (ie along orders of randomness) .
This is the basis of quantum and string theory .
Strings of amino acids are initially folded at Beth(0) random .
Higher orders of randomness are strings that guide other strings . Chaperones . Agents, Lobbyists ,Teachers . The DNA coding for these molecules survive at a higher rate because they take a percentage . They partake in the process in a partial way . If they evolve further they become catalysts or hormones .
This does not violate Second Law of Thermodynamics because the complexity is open-ended .
You can always find a Beth(n+1) for any Beth(n) . (True , because A+(~A)
Heat Shock Proteins (HSP)
A well-known class of these molecules are Heat Shock Proteins (HSP) . Initially identified by their role in heat-stress , but now identified as key players in the folding of proteins and the immune system .
The amino-acid chains are delivered by the ribosome factories in tangled , random folded shapes . They are unfolded (unpacked) by the chaperones and nudged (packed) to desired shapes by other chaperones .
The ribosome factories can be likened to steel furnaces , using high-energy ATP to deliver plate steel that must be rolled and punched into shape by the artisans of the chaperones .
Life is thus a co-operative endeavour between a number of agents/teachers (See
http://andreswhy.blogspot.com “Artificial Intelligence” The external database is DNA . The AI(0) is the Chaperone system .)
The ATP manufactory of the mitochondria is essential . Not just because of their energy , but because they use chemicals like oxygen and alcohol used as poisens by other cells . They soak up and use the pathogens .
(Nitrogen will be next . Engineer mitochondria to use N2->oxides of nitrogen . There is a release of energy used by bioprocesses . This is already done by microbes in some plant root-nodules . )
As can be expected , each HSP carries a history : it carries peptides identifying it’s origin . These peptides form the Major Histocompatibility Complex One (MHC I) . They are presented to the immune system via the antigen presenting cells to the T-cells . Can you see how it all fits together ?
Thus , HSP’s are used by the body for zapping haywire self-systems like cancers .
“Every unhappy family is unhappy in it’s own unique way.” Tolstoy
Every body has a narrow sheaf of probabilities of functioning in a happy way , but a number of unhappy ways dependant on it’s Randomness . Can you see the co-ordination between Beth(n) and reality ?
By manipulating Beth , realities are constrained by boundaries of an order of Beth higher .
In any case , immune system activation using HSP therapies are new , but workable therapies . Each body has to be treated as unique . There is no general , specific therapy except a few .
General , non-specific therapy .
Heat is a Beth(0) randomness :
It is , after all , called Heat Shock Proteins . But why heat ?
It is the fluctuation of heat between certain boundaries that matter .
The single most important driver in the evolutionary process is the temperature fluctuation . Note the PCR reaction .
ATP can be seen as a Beth(1) phenomenon .
Zero-point energy can be seen as Beth(2).
Both would have chaperone molecules associated with them .
Mitochondria can accommodate this ,since the synthesis of ATP only involves energy plus recyclable materials . The energy normally comes from glucose+oxygen , but the cell could handle N2->N20 , or zero-point energy .
It would be amusing to see if new Olympic records obey conservation of measurable energy .
Cold-fusion anybody ?
From this viewpoint , Michael Phelps is a cold-fusion machine . And unlocking greater potential is inside everybody .
Asthma.
As everybody think they know , this is over-activation of an immune response . But it is actually just a normal immune response that is not shut off . And the shut-off mechanism is a learned response that is temperature-fluctuation sensitive .
HSP molecules present antigens to the AntigenPresentingCell , which in turn presents it to the T-Cell , simultaneously signaling a inflammatory reaction . HSP ‘s are the middle men , intermediaries ,agents , lobbyists , chaperones .
It is the beat of the heat .
If the heat does not change , there is no beat .
There is nobody to tell the immune system to cool it .
The Major Culprit :
The Asthma Pump .
Not the chemicals .
The temperature .
It is a gas under pressure which is very cold when injected into the mouth-lung system, because of the venturi principle .
It is this cold temperature that does the long-lasting damage .
Heat Shock Proteins are not formed and the system cannot learn that it is wrong , since not enough “wrong” antigens are presented , because not enough HSP’s are formed .
The system then has to unlearn the wrong habits , then learn new ones .
Ho-hum .
Most humans prefer to die , depending on their level of boredom .
Smoking.
Inhaling from a cigarette has temperature differentials from 500 Fahrenheit to 90 in the mouth and lung cavities . This triggers Heat Shock Protein Formation .
The positive effects of smoking goes a long way to explain why this habit has survived so long . It has very little to do with nicotine .
Just Hot Air
Dispense with the chemicals . Just have temperature differentials .
Asthma sufferers should have significant relief be retraining their immune system by having a heater at the throat of their pump .
It is not the dirt , it is the temperature .
Andre
Andre Willers
15 Oct 2010
Synopsis:
Heatshock proteins have been experimentally shown to suppress DNA mutations (NewScientist) . A real effect . Mutations increment unexpressed until released by a trigger , when there is a saltation . Equally , previous DNA structures are suppressed until an environmental trigger releases them
Discussion :
This directly effects the whole evolution argument .
Small mutations (a-la-Darwin) can accumulate without being expressed in the organism . They are then released in burst (a saltation) .
Likewise , groups of gene adaptations can be suppressed , but retriggered by environmental changes .
All surviving organisms have historical gene baggage , much of which can be re-accessed by a species as the environment changes or at different stages of maturation .
See http://andreswhy.blogspot.com "Chaperones,unpacking and asthma" 31 Aug 2008
Reproduced in Annex A for your convenience .
This means that even extreme heat fluctuations are catered for :
Eg foehn-winds (27 degrees Fahrenheit in 2 minutes-South Dakota)
Corals: actual satellite measurement of South Pacific coral atolls has shown an increase of corals and land mass . They have been here before , and have not forgotten
Cultivated mono crops are very vulnerable , as humans have deliberately weeded out DNA structures that does not seem to have an immediate purpose .Sigh .
Of interest is the new debate on the usefulness of fever in humans in combating infections or even cancers (especially leukemia ) . Juvenile leukemia has a very high remission rate after natural or induced fevers .
Pasteurization :
This is touted as a process to destroy certain bacteria . How it actually works is to convince the bacteria to switch off certain lethality genes . That is why about 20-30 minutes of exposure to temperatures 40-60 degrees Celsius are required . This is not nearly sufficient to kill the little buggers , but it is sufficient to persuade them to switch off lethality genes .
So , a fever is the body's pasteurization process .
Works well with mammal-derived diseases , but bird-derived ones will do better with cooling .
Biltong and dry wors application :
These are raw meats with some internal preservatives , which are then dried .The surfaces have a high density of harmful bacteria .
Freeze them , them put the frozen sticks in an oven at 40 degrees centigrade for 20 minutes . The meat cannot cook , but the surface is pasteurized . This reduces bacterial load to tolerable levels the immune system in the gums and mouth can handle easily . Tested .(I do it with all biltong(jerky) and dried wors)
This is generally applicable .
The pasteurization process is actually a quorum process .A threshold percentage have to get hot or cold enough to switch off the lethality genes .
We can mimic this if we understand it well enough .
A note for the hypersmart :
Calculate the optimal homeostatic temperatures for mammals ,birds , reptiles and fishes .Only the past 300 million years need to be taken into account .
Show the effect on bacterial quorum systems .
Have fun!
Andre
'----
Annexure A
Chaperones , Unpacking and Asthma
Andre Willers
31 Aug 2008
Essential reading :
“New jobs for ancient chaperones” by P K Srivastava ,
Scientific American July 2008 p32
http://andreswhy.blogspot.com “Unpacking” , “Orders of Randomness” , “Orders of Randomness 2”
Discussion:
In “Unpacking” , no mechanism was proposed for the unpacking-packing .
No formal proof was given that Higher Orders of Randomness are more likely than lower ones . A quick intuitive proof is that a stab at a numberline will most likely give an irrational number . (There are more aleph(1) irrational numbers than aleph(0) rational ones)
Unpacking is biased along probability lines (ie along orders of randomness) .
This is the basis of quantum and string theory .
Strings of amino acids are initially folded at Beth(0) random .
Higher orders of randomness are strings that guide other strings . Chaperones . Agents, Lobbyists ,Teachers . The DNA coding for these molecules survive at a higher rate because they take a percentage . They partake in the process in a partial way . If they evolve further they become catalysts or hormones .
This does not violate Second Law of Thermodynamics because the complexity is open-ended .
You can always find a Beth(n+1) for any Beth(n) . (True , because A+(~A)
Heat Shock Proteins (HSP)
A well-known class of these molecules are Heat Shock Proteins (HSP) . Initially identified by their role in heat-stress , but now identified as key players in the folding of proteins and the immune system .
The amino-acid chains are delivered by the ribosome factories in tangled , random folded shapes . They are unfolded (unpacked) by the chaperones and nudged (packed) to desired shapes by other chaperones .
The ribosome factories can be likened to steel furnaces , using high-energy ATP to deliver plate steel that must be rolled and punched into shape by the artisans of the chaperones .
Life is thus a co-operative endeavour between a number of agents/teachers (See
http://andreswhy.blogspot.com “Artificial Intelligence” The external database is DNA . The AI(0) is the Chaperone system .)
The ATP manufactory of the mitochondria is essential . Not just because of their energy , but because they use chemicals like oxygen and alcohol used as poisens by other cells . They soak up and use the pathogens .
(Nitrogen will be next . Engineer mitochondria to use N2->oxides of nitrogen . There is a release of energy used by bioprocesses . This is already done by microbes in some plant root-nodules . )
As can be expected , each HSP carries a history : it carries peptides identifying it’s origin . These peptides form the Major Histocompatibility Complex One (MHC I) . They are presented to the immune system via the antigen presenting cells to the T-cells . Can you see how it all fits together ?
Thus , HSP’s are used by the body for zapping haywire self-systems like cancers .
“Every unhappy family is unhappy in it’s own unique way.” Tolstoy
Every body has a narrow sheaf of probabilities of functioning in a happy way , but a number of unhappy ways dependant on it’s Randomness . Can you see the co-ordination between Beth(n) and reality ?
By manipulating Beth , realities are constrained by boundaries of an order of Beth higher .
In any case , immune system activation using HSP therapies are new , but workable therapies . Each body has to be treated as unique . There is no general , specific therapy except a few .
General , non-specific therapy .
Heat is a Beth(0) randomness :
It is , after all , called Heat Shock Proteins . But why heat ?
It is the fluctuation of heat between certain boundaries that matter .
The single most important driver in the evolutionary process is the temperature fluctuation . Note the PCR reaction .
ATP can be seen as a Beth(1) phenomenon .
Zero-point energy can be seen as Beth(2).
Both would have chaperone molecules associated with them .
Mitochondria can accommodate this ,since the synthesis of ATP only involves energy plus recyclable materials . The energy normally comes from glucose+oxygen , but the cell could handle N2->N20 , or zero-point energy .
It would be amusing to see if new Olympic records obey conservation of measurable energy .
Cold-fusion anybody ?
From this viewpoint , Michael Phelps is a cold-fusion machine . And unlocking greater potential is inside everybody .
Asthma.
As everybody think they know , this is over-activation of an immune response . But it is actually just a normal immune response that is not shut off . And the shut-off mechanism is a learned response that is temperature-fluctuation sensitive .
HSP molecules present antigens to the AntigenPresentingCell , which in turn presents it to the T-Cell , simultaneously signaling a inflammatory reaction . HSP ‘s are the middle men , intermediaries ,agents , lobbyists , chaperones .
It is the beat of the heat .
If the heat does not change , there is no beat .
There is nobody to tell the immune system to cool it .
The Major Culprit :
The Asthma Pump .
Not the chemicals .
The temperature .
It is a gas under pressure which is very cold when injected into the mouth-lung system, because of the venturi principle .
It is this cold temperature that does the long-lasting damage .
Heat Shock Proteins are not formed and the system cannot learn that it is wrong , since not enough “wrong” antigens are presented , because not enough HSP’s are formed .
The system then has to unlearn the wrong habits , then learn new ones .
Ho-hum .
Most humans prefer to die , depending on their level of boredom .
Smoking.
Inhaling from a cigarette has temperature differentials from 500 Fahrenheit to 90 in the mouth and lung cavities . This triggers Heat Shock Protein Formation .
The positive effects of smoking goes a long way to explain why this habit has survived so long . It has very little to do with nicotine .
Just Hot Air
Dispense with the chemicals . Just have temperature differentials .
Asthma sufferers should have significant relief be retraining their immune system by having a heater at the throat of their pump .
It is not the dirt , it is the temperature .
Andre
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Bipedalism Update
Bipedalism Update
Andre Willers
14 Oct 2010
Synopsis :
The announcement in 2010 of the discovery of the female fossil of Ardipithecus Ramidus pushed back the human ancestral bipedalism to about 4.4 MYA .
Ardipithecus Ramidus was capable of tree-locomotion and bipedal ground locomotion
This has consequences .
See "National Gegraphic" July 2010 , p63 : "The birth of bipedalism"
Discussion:
1.Structure of the Foot:
Sideways splay of the big toe to grip branches .
But also the Os perineum , to enable a walking stride .
2.Structure of the hand :
The palms are short and flexible , allowing Ardi to walk on boughs using her palms .Not the knuckle-dragging used by chimps and gorillas .
3.These two elements enabled bipedalism to develop in trees .
Ardi gripped higher boughs with hands while walking on lower boughs .
See http://andreswhy.blogspot.com "Human Nails" (23 August 2007) reproduced an Annexure A for convenience
4.Structure of the pelvis :
In the Ardi fossil , the pelvis bones had already broadened and shortened to a great degree to facilitate the muscle attachments of the gluteal muscles . This led to an easier evolutionary route for larger brain-sizes in babies .
5.Speech consequence:
Freeing the upper limbs around the thorax from locomotor duties has the unexpected consequence of freeing the breathing apparatus to be used for reliable communication.
Emphasis on reliable .
Speech and then language exploded .
6.Canine teeth decrease consequence :
Lovejoy et al argue that canine teeth (used in ritual combat between males for females) reduced in favor of contractual bonds (ie food) between males and females . It is difficult to see this happening without some sort of language
7. !Click language .
This evolved first because it does not need full-time breath control that only bipedalism enables . And , of course it enabled the exploitation of caves as shelters .
(Hint : teach Chimps !Click)
See http://andreswhy.blogspot.com "Death of an Ur-Language" (9 sep 2009) et al .
In Appendix B
8. Optimal Human Brain Capacity .
Surprisingly , we have some hard data .
1.Herto skull : 1450 CC True Homo Saps . Circa 200 000 Years ago .
H. Neanderthalensis : About the same cranial capacity . About the same vintage .
2.H. Floriensis : Small (about 1000 cc cranial capacity) , but survival data packed into external cultural storage . Dwarfism due to malnutrition , especially essential fatty acids (Omegas) . They were cut off from the sea .
3.H.Saps : about 1200-1300 CC . But remember that the extra to 200 cc is all neo-cortex . The effect is non-linear .
4. So why are we stupider than the original H.Saps ?
Survival .
The system was merrily on its way to a steady state of hyper-smart , super males when Toba happened . Co-operation suddenly became more important than competitition .
The Matriarchy deliberately fostered this , but left the epigenetic systems in .(I don’t think they knew how to zap them out ) .
I am forced to add in that they were aided by hyper-smart male elements . This necessitates Singularity creation .
Can this be possible with only 200cc of extra neo-cortex? I doubt it . Extra computational capability outside of the Local system has to be involved . Co-operation of some sort . So much for the SuperMan .
Brain size , intelligence and aggression were bred out . Some was restored during the agricultural revolution circa 10 000 years ago . Since 1700 AD , there has been some functional genetic restoration ( Aspergers, etc) as epigenetic factors kick in .
There is a threshold : today a hypersmart individual has to involve other humans . (Religion , laziness) . And they are only hypersmart relative to normals .
A calculation for the HyperSmart :
You have 3 data points . Calculate the minima , maxima and optima across 300 000 years in local time .
And you thought Kindergarten was hard ?
Andre
Appendix A
Human Nails .
Andre Willers
23 August 2007
http://andreswhy.blogspot.com
Synopsis :
Human fingernails are intimately linked to rhythm and pattern recognition neural systems . It is also the third most important element in human sexual selection .
Discussion:
Evolutionary roots:
Hominid bipedalism evolved quite early .
Moropithecus (16 to 25 MY ago) showed adaptations to upright posture .
They walked on branches and clutched other breast-high branches for stability .
(See
Science DOI : 10.112 / science.1140779
New Scientist of 9 June 2007 p18 “Four legs new ,two legs much older”
http://andreswhy.blogspot.com “The Squat and the Wobble” )
This adaptation was lost in some streams of homonids , but retained in the homonin (ie our) ancestors . This means that for significant evolutionary time our ancestors clung to thin branches with their fingers curled around the branch and their fingertips pressed against the wood ..
The branch is not only a mechanical support , but also transmits information . The branches are elastically resilient , so waves caused by any large organism walking and stalking about can be picked up by suitably sensitive sensors and the type of organism identified by a neural-network .
The canopy-network is an information-rich network because of it’s resilience . Similar type of signals can be carried by the ground (cf elephant feet ) , but the damping and bandwidth is totally different .
Small wonder that homonins have recreated the canopy in the Internet .
An Internet created by elephants or whales would look completely different .
The finger :
The sensor-network is the pressure-receptors below the nail . The finger part in touch with branch is liable to tissue destruction , abrasion and calluses . Any sensors here are degraded by wear-and-tear .
But , hydraulic pressure transmits around the finger bone to compress the pressure receptors in the nail-bed against the unyielding nail , giving quite fine detail to a neural-network .
Some Corollaries:
1. IFF (Identification Friend or Foe)
This evolved literally at the start of the dinosaur/mammal split , derived from reptiles and has been refined ever since .
Any predator has a particular rhythm caused by putting it’s feet down in particular sequence (gait) .
If the predator is on a branch (or any resilient surface) , the rhythm is transmitted .
Soil can also be a medium , but less efficient (cf elephants)
This neural-network for IFF evolved under the fingernails .
In other words , a lot of rhythm recognition (ie pattern-recognition) takes place in the nerve-plexus under the fingernail .
The survival advantages are obvious .
The primary advantage is in recognizing non-hostiles . False alarms are extremely wasteful , especially in hard times . A trinary classification at neural level of hostile , neutral and friendly would evolve as an optimal solution .
There are circuits directly stimulating flight-or-fight mechanisms . There is a direct tie to the hippocampus and amygdala through stress proteins . There is a direct neural tie to muscles in the arm (from fingernails) and the legs (from toenails) .
This enabled the prey to identify a predator creeping or galloping up to it and take immediate reflex action .
Hyper-length neurons is the latest fashionable term to denote really long nervous connections without synapses .
The rich nexus of nerves under the fingernails have long been a target of human torture . But notice the aversion to nail-less humans or nail-biting . Notice how your attention is drawn to a nail-malformation (like a blue-nail)
2. Grooming.
Unarguably a defining social element in homonins .
But every human is complex of pressure waves .
Heartbeat , breathing , peritalsis are only a few of the passive pressure-waves that can be sensed by fingertips . More active palpations enables joint-crackling , lung and abdominal spaces to be felt by fingertips . Ask any doctor .
By definition , some females would be better at fingertip sensitivity than others . Since most infant mortality involves the gastro-intestinal system , which can be felt , sick babies allowed to be handled by the more sensitive woman are much more likely to survive . No language for this is needed initially .
Nursing and handling babies need sensitive touch .
Those females better at it ( ie well-shaped fingernails) evolve into midwives , since they reduce infant mortality for the group .
The midwife is the first professional .
Indeed , the medical round has not changed much in about 70 000 years .
The dominant female shaman , surrounded by a cloud of students , stalks from infant to infant , subjecting them to tactile examination . Easily remedified complaints (like blockages) or tried and true herbal plants are used to reduce infant mortality . This information is transmitted to the students .
Note self-medication by chimps and gorillas .
3. What drives this language development ?
The problem with previous language-development models was that there is no really , really compelling evolutionary reason why language should evolve .
Hunters do not need it . Noise is contra-indicated . Modern warriors like the SEALs use sign language in combat .
Small-woman groups might have the tendencies , but how does being top-woman of a small , isolated group translate into a planetwide meme-and-gene dominance ?
We have to have a mechanism whereby local dominance is transmitted .
The Answer :
Old-Fashioned Darwin .
The reduction in infant-mortality is the driver .
The transmission of information (ie language) then has an extremely direct relevance not only for a small tribe , but larger groups .
A tactile sensitive female with some language skill creates a positive feedback environment for higher infant survival rates . The language element enables her to teach students that scatter and repeat the process . The tribes that accept or send students to the college outbreed those that that don’t .
There is a crux point here relevant today :
Matriarchs (ie doctors) who tried to keep this advance in-tribe got overwhelmed by those that made it freely available .
Females , following an ancient imperative , would bring sick infants to the friendly neighborhood clinic .
The Matriarchal-Medical societal group outbred all others . And language was essential to the information transmission .
Argh!!
A bunch of doctors huddling together and exchanging jargon is the origin of language. The jargon was expanded to include terms for social competition for resources and status . Language was born in all its glory .
Note that the invention of Peace
(See http://andreswhy.blogspot.com “The origins of war and Peace”)
is a logical consequence of the above scenario during a stress episode like Toba .
Not to mention the College / University idea . Which morphed into Organised Religion .
The Dark Side .
The Rite of Passage (ie to qualify to be seen as human and worthy of procreation ) was an invention simultaneous with the invention of Peace . Youths who could not subordinate their impulses (to fairness , pain , boredom ) to the society , were expelled from the procreational pool , or even killed .
This mechanism (meme-structure) is still active today . (Flunked Varsity ? You’re drafted.) Can’t stand the fraternity initiation ? You are not human . Go flip burgers .
This works fine as long as the governing society is in charge . But by expelling it’s mutants , the society builds up a pool resentful beings of various degrees of humanity.
A sudden change (climate , plague , technology , etc) reduces the defenses of the original system sufficiently to bring about a revolution
Ie the climatic stabilization about 12 900 years ago that made profitable agriculture possible .
4. Snakes .
The alert reader would have noticed that a reliable , sensitive temperature sensor is lacking in the human sensorium . The most sensitive ones are in the elbows and the back of the knees , and these hardly lend themselves to easy usage .
So they bred snakes . Remember , these are the people that domesticated through selective breeding all our present domesticated species .
Snakes then would have been the very first domesticated species .
A living thermometer .
The infra-red sensors of snakes are more sensitive than present thermometers used in hospitals .
The specially bred snakes would have been bred not only for thermo-sensitivity , but for chemo-sensitivity as well .
The forked-tongue could detect not only breakdown products of illnesses exuded through the skin or breath , but location as well . (That’s why it’s forked.)
A basket of specialized snakes would enable a medical practitioner of the era
70 000 – 12 900 BC to give first level medical care equivalent to that of country clinic in our era . Diagnostics would have been superior , since specialized snakes would be doing this . Think programmed bio-chips .
Problem cases would be referred to the local College center .
Poisonous snakes was bred for medicinal aspects of their poisons (still being done today) .
So where are these snakes today ?
Traces of their genetic material should be found in garden snakes in Western Europe .
Obviously , nobody has looked for genetic bottlenecks from this viewpoint .
So this is a verifiable test .
Evidence of deliberate breeding (especially in mitochondrial snake DNA ) should be found . It is doubtful that really highly specialized snakes could survive in the wild (think feral Jersey cow or Merino) , but some would have gotten lucky . Their genetic traces should be traceable .
Cultural remnants :
The Aesclapius is a cultural remnant . (Intertwined snakes is still the Western symbol of medicine .) Not bad for a symbol about 30 000 years old .
Legends , statues and inscriptions of dragons .
Bible : Eden . The snake got the starring role as the baddie , since the victors wrote the history books .
Also note Isis , purging of Ireland of snakes , Feng Shui , etc
Spirals : in rock engravings , etc . Which way does a snake coil up ?
Midwives .
The memes for this civilization is coiled up inside the one set of humans that had to survive : the midwives .
Remember , they thought biologically . The concepts of seeds inside reproducing systems came naturally to them .
The Matriarchs had thousands of years to see their demise coming and to plant seeds
Ho-ho-ho !
The New World Order is guaranteed to be completely different from the Bilderbirger vision .
So , there were some good ones matriarchs and some bad ones .
The good ones tried to ensure the survival of what was good in their civilization .
The bad ones tried to ensure their dominance .
The ensuing civil wars destroyed almost everything .
Most of the good got thrown out with the bad .
The planet is littered with the ruins of their buildings , bioforms and still-active
bio- weapon systems .
Some meme markers that have survived the wars :
Bio-warfare vs numbers . Fear the disease-ridden stranger . If you are not for us , you are against us . Any writing or symbol is dangerous , since it can contaminated with mind-altering vectors by touching it .
Some remnants of these have survived in central-europe : psychotic and schizophrenic inducing chemicals in basic foodstuffs like rye (ergot fungi) . Some very localized near the original labs .
(One particular variant of psychosis inducing behavioural change organisms was localized within about 50 km radius in central Europe : symptoms : fear of persecution : paranoia with very definite cut-off points . A weapon .)
Your attention is drawn to plasmodium induced behaviour changes where the carriers are cats (and dogs as well) .
This would be a civilizing influence in a mild form ( taking risks by trusting ) , but a mind-control form in a strong form (trust unconditionally) . (Oxytocin stimulation)
A horrible thought is that the sites of the Nazi extermination camps (and the very idea) came from people picking up extermination bio-weapon contamination from old weapon sites . Note that the Nazi camps are on a line that would be a natural defensive line about 9 000 years ago .
Old weapons that kill and kill again .
Why the sudden sanity in the late twentieth century ?
Acid rain .
The vectors of madness were in the fungi (forest rhizomes) in the ground .
The weaponized mind-altering fungi , bacteria and viruses were obviously spread as widely as possible over the defensive lines . The ones that could survive thousands of years would be in the old fungi structures underground . These (because they were carrying a non-survival payload) were the first to die in acid-rain .
Remember , they thought like biologists .
They would not pick up a rock and bash you on the head . They would breed some organism that makes you vulnerable to their memes . You then would pick up a rock and bash their enemies ‘ heads in .
Can these organisms recover ?
Of course . They doing so now . See the latest history .
Why did this civilization nearly vanish ?
(See http://andreswhy.blogspot.com “The origins of war and Peace” , “Costs” , “Nazca” , etc)
Your attention is drawn to the putative small comet impact on North America about 12 900 years ago . See New Scientist 26 May 2007 “Firestorm from space wiped out prehistoric Americans.”
This resulted in a short-term planetary climatic stability
(alas , now coming to an end ).
The resulting climatic stability led to usable , profitable , large-scale agriculture .
This led to an explosion in human numbers .
The Matriarchy tried to keep the lid on . Things got ugly on both sides .
The sub-human mutants (partially our ancestors ) won and extirpated their enemies . The late bronze-age cataclysm was but the end stages of a 7 000 year old clash of memes , and was correspondingly bitter.
Think Paris Hilton vs Bill Gates .
5 .Rhythm .
Rhythm is then a very ancient IFF mechanism .
Music is used as a cultural defining mechanism . Era’s and societies are defined by ephemeral harmonies .
If you like my rhythms , we are pals .
6. Musical instruments:
Nearly all human instruments are characterized by causing compression waves around fingertips in sequences and cadences .
Guitar , piano , flute , etc .The reason why they popular is that they are easy to play . The reason why they are easy to play is that pattern-recognition takes place in the fingertips .
A hardwired threat is a cat stalking along slender bough . The cadence of a four-footed stalk is known . The damping of vibrations along a bough of decreasing diameter is known . The speed of the approach of the predator can then be calculated .
In music this translates as impending threat or doom . Can you see how it goes ?
Now you too can design threatening music that operates at instinctive level .
Finger tapping .
This is a variant of “Counting to ten” .
The pressure impacts on the nail-beds causes interrupts in the amygdale , hippocampus and lower stem . Hence the success of some stress therapies using fingerclicking .
You got rhythm if you fingertap and foot/toe tap with the music .
Fingertip to forearm tapping .
You will not find this little item anywhere else .
Endorphin release is proportional to fingertip-to-forearm cadences .
Instead of tapping your fingers on the table , tap them on and around your forearms instead in time to the music . Notice you will automatically start waving your forearms about .
Endorphin release is increased by orders of magnitude .
Why ?
Your forearm is like a branch . You are tapping your fingertips and moving your hands and forearms in a way that signals “ Only friendlies and non-hostiles” about .
Monkey’s joy .
Listen to some music that has a beat . Put your right hand on your left forearm and vice versa . Tap your fingers on the forearms as if you are conducting like mad . Go mad .
Try it .
Notice the flatness if you stop . This is endorphin production being stopped . (Especially with semi9-classical music)
Notice that you move your fingers about 3 times as frequently as your thumbs . To be more exact , e=2.718… more frequently . The reason is obvious .
Notice that all musicians move their instruments if they can . The pianist moves his head and torso as he moves through the virtual canopy . Notice the contortions of a violinist . What does the virtual monkey-mind cluster of a violinist see as she contorts and gyrates ?
7. Counting .
The relationship between mathematics and music is well known .
But why ten fingers? Many different variations have been tried .
The answer is simple : 4 fingers + 1 thumb on each hand .
The thumb gives a better grasp on the branch . The 4 fingers at roughly equal distances split the harmonics of the wave on the branch . This is a physical optimization , inherent in the nature of vibrations . A physical and mathematical law of vibrations .
4=2^2 , 8 = 2^4 . Can you see it ?
A little prediction : the spread of thickness of 4 fingers in homonids will optimize natural harmonies in branches of varying taper .
This means that the thumb is not strictly necessary for rhythm recognition . Notice that most instruments do not require the thumb except for grasping . (Eg the guitar : the right thumb is usually replaced by a plectrum.)
This also means that the thumb could be used for something else , and that is what evolutionary systems did . Thumb systems specialized in acting as reference point for the other fingers . A weight-lifter , javelin-thrower , tennis-player , golf-player , violin-player , etc all do the same thing : their hands analyze the vibration-characteristics of their instrument to find the sweet-spot relative to the other fingers .
8. Golf:
The monkey swings through the air and grips a branch .
The 4x2 fingers hook over to top . Immediately , IFF is done in the fingertips . If no enemy is detected , the thumbs hook underneath . By this time , the branch has deformed under the weight and vibrations set up . Using the positions of the thumbs as reference points , the vibrational characteristics of the branch is analyzed . If the monkey wants to stay and have a firm grip , it must move to a vibrational node of the branch (ie where the standing wave caused by it’s weight cancels out . Usually called the Sweet Spot .) . notice that one hand must get there first , usually overshooting . The overshooting hand is adjusted closer to the sweet spot , then the other hand . This approximation process is repeated until the monkey is satisfied (inside the parameter.)
It moves its hands , the fingers frequently and the thumbs less frequently (ratio of about 3 to 1) until it feels happy .
Now do the same to the golf club .
If right-handed , cradle the club lightly at balance point in the left hand with the fingers underneath and the thumb over the top , the handle to the right . The right hand has a light overhand grip .
Hold the club horizontal (like a branch ) , waggle it gently up and down . With the fingertips on the club , shift your hand alternately to the right until it feels correct . Jiggle the right hand back to correct for overshoot .
Then lock the right thumb in . (Note , locking the thumb is characteristic of all golf-grips . Now you know why .)
This is the interesting bit . While locking the right thumb in place , wriggle the left fingers and thumb until they feel ok . The right fingers can be wriggled as well , but not the right thumb . Do not wriggle the fingers more than 3 times the thumbs at this stage .
9. Piano
An interesting corollary is that you will learn the piano better and faster if you tape the thumbs out of the way .
10 .Birds .
So why doesn’t birds have ten toes ? They have 8 = 3x2 + 2.
Birds can fly , so they don’t have to stick around and develop enhanced harmonic analysis .
11. Stochastic resonance .
The Stochastic resonance mechanisms which evolved in the brain and hands to deal with random branch movements due to weather was essential to the development of language .
Lying and an honest error cannot be distinguished from each other . And it does not matter in the long term .
12 .Sexual Selection.
Men look at women and see at a subconscious level :
1. Her middle/hip ratio is about 0.75 . Enough room for babies head
2.High , conical breasts . They will not smother baby while suckling and running .
3. Well-kept nails . Tactile sensitivity for baby care and nursing .
Women look at men and see at a subconscious level :
1. A taut bum . Good runner . Essential for good hunter .
2.Muscled arms . Good hunter and protector .
3. Symmetric face . Behaviour not too weird .
That’s it . The systems can only count to three .
If you want to overcome any negative impression on any one of these factors , you will have to work hard at it .
I was surprised to see nails pop out as an important sexual selection criterion . Females are always buffing , colouring , shaping , hardening , etc nails .
Shaped nails .
Refer to magnetrons . Shaped guides to various wave-forms can magnify the effect million-fold . Women with wave-guide shaped nails are remnants of the old order . Good or bad ? Unfortunately , nobody can tell . But if you run into one , run like hell .
The groove is only quantum deep , but it is coupled across all time .
So much for this space-time .
Andre
'--------------------------------
Appendix B
Death of an Ur-Language.
Andre Willers
9 sep 2009
Synopsis:
Click ur-language died out because school was too long .
Discussion :
The fundamental problem :
Click is both a language (ie intra-human communication) and perception modality .
Perception Modality :
The sonar returns of clicks had a one-to-one correspondence with reality . But this took a long time to learn . Reality has many things to learn , plus the correlation between visual and click systems .
Low abstraction .
Abstraction is usually a function of intra-human communication , not human-reality interaction .
Low child rate .
This follows , because it simply took a long time to train a child to become "human" , ie pass the humanity tests .
The tests were to Communicate , survive on his own , put group interests above personal interests . These were tested for , using Click language . Rites of passage .
What happened :
The hidden assumption was that Intra-human communication and Reality perception were linked , both being Click–orientated .
The invention of sustainable agriculture (note sustainable , ie climate stabilization) broke this hidden assumption .
It made large populations possible . But long childhoods with personal tuition ?
Humans farmed off the newest children onto the oldest capable children to do the minimum necessary rearing .
Sounds familiar ? Iterate this for a few generations and you have peasants with surpluses . And we are off to the civilization races .
Click-languages vanished in the process . They survived only as Holy Languages for elites with access to surpluses .
The remaining human-human click languages evolved as degenerate click-languages .
Endings , agglutinative , tonal or combinations therof .
Amusing :
Written forms evolved very early (see previous posts on cave paintings) . But they have not even been recognized as writing . Though Chinese ideograms or some Egyptian hieroglyphs could be seen as click encapsulations .
Ditto for Sumerian incisions .
Ditto for Peruvian quipu's.
Really amusing :
As humans become older , they lose their aural discrimination faster than ocular discrimination .
There is a severe auricular limit on aural perception .
You can see well for longer into old age than you can hear . This finally drove the click language into oblivion .
(Aural frequency discrimination starts to degenerate after age 25 , ocular after age 45)
So they threw out the baby with the bathwater .
Can the useful bits be resurrected ?
Some pieces survived . Chi (!xi) . Yoga(!xo!xa) . As elitest remnants .
Can we revive the Ur-Click ?
No problem . At least two complementary or el-cheapo singular pathways are known .
1.GPS (the smarts is in the map) . It can be easily adapted into a translation map .
2.Existing tracking maps for bushmen .
Why should we revive it ?
The benefits .
Humans might have been a tad overhasty in rejecting Click-languages . Abstract languages might be fashionable , but there is something to be said for a language that controls and monitors internal physiological processes .
The major problem would be the long time it takes to learn it .
But see http://andreswhy.blogspot.com " SUOS"
The process can be speeded up by orders of magnitude .
1.Health .
Things like blood pressure , heartbeat , sugar levels , obesity , muscle density , etc could be monitored and controlled by a click language via biofeedback .
Even a simple !xi at inhalation and !xo at exhalation in an athletes training will enhance his performance by about 1% - 10% .
2. Music .
Music can be seen as a poor man's version of click-music .
3. Old cave paintings .
Make some sense of them .
4. Politician talk .
Paying attention to the sounds means that at least some attention is paid to the sense .
5. Short term memory .
Predictable systems are pleasing . The missing bits can be filled in with a high degree of accuracy . Older people are then more conservative . A click system is more predictable . So , talking to old people use more click sounds .
Actual use .
The Algorithm .
1.Keep big mouth closed .This is essential .
2.Click tongue while inhaling and exhaling through nose.
Notice that the clicking falls into a pattern : double clicks at the beginning and end of each inhalation and exhalation . All humans will do this .
Once you start tongue-clicking , the cadence follows . It is deeply hardwired .
3. Why does it work ?
The double tongue-click causes pressure fluctuations right throughout the vascular system . This warns it that O2/CO2 fluctuations are coming . Mitochondria to prepare
4. Energy systems adjust . They learn .
5. For how long ?
Five minutes . See previous posts on long-term potentiation .
6. Why not just rely on heartbeat ?
Breath and heartbeat are not synchronized
7. Keep big mouth closed , and click tongue . Many problems go away .
And so it goes .
Andre.
'-------------
Andre Willers
14 Oct 2010
Synopsis :
The announcement in 2010 of the discovery of the female fossil of Ardipithecus Ramidus pushed back the human ancestral bipedalism to about 4.4 MYA .
Ardipithecus Ramidus was capable of tree-locomotion and bipedal ground locomotion
This has consequences .
See "National Gegraphic" July 2010 , p63 : "The birth of bipedalism"
Discussion:
1.Structure of the Foot:
Sideways splay of the big toe to grip branches .
But also the Os perineum , to enable a walking stride .
2.Structure of the hand :
The palms are short and flexible , allowing Ardi to walk on boughs using her palms .Not the knuckle-dragging used by chimps and gorillas .
3.These two elements enabled bipedalism to develop in trees .
Ardi gripped higher boughs with hands while walking on lower boughs .
See http://andreswhy.blogspot.com "Human Nails" (23 August 2007) reproduced an Annexure A for convenience
4.Structure of the pelvis :
In the Ardi fossil , the pelvis bones had already broadened and shortened to a great degree to facilitate the muscle attachments of the gluteal muscles . This led to an easier evolutionary route for larger brain-sizes in babies .
5.Speech consequence:
Freeing the upper limbs around the thorax from locomotor duties has the unexpected consequence of freeing the breathing apparatus to be used for reliable communication.
Emphasis on reliable .
Speech and then language exploded .
6.Canine teeth decrease consequence :
Lovejoy et al argue that canine teeth (used in ritual combat between males for females) reduced in favor of contractual bonds (ie food) between males and females . It is difficult to see this happening without some sort of language
7. !Click language .
This evolved first because it does not need full-time breath control that only bipedalism enables . And , of course it enabled the exploitation of caves as shelters .
(Hint : teach Chimps !Click)
See http://andreswhy.blogspot.com "Death of an Ur-Language" (9 sep 2009) et al .
In Appendix B
8. Optimal Human Brain Capacity .
Surprisingly , we have some hard data .
1.Herto skull : 1450 CC True Homo Saps . Circa 200 000 Years ago .
H. Neanderthalensis : About the same cranial capacity . About the same vintage .
2.H. Floriensis : Small (about 1000 cc cranial capacity) , but survival data packed into external cultural storage . Dwarfism due to malnutrition , especially essential fatty acids (Omegas) . They were cut off from the sea .
3.H.Saps : about 1200-1300 CC . But remember that the extra to 200 cc is all neo-cortex . The effect is non-linear .
4. So why are we stupider than the original H.Saps ?
Survival .
The system was merrily on its way to a steady state of hyper-smart , super males when Toba happened . Co-operation suddenly became more important than competitition .
The Matriarchy deliberately fostered this , but left the epigenetic systems in .(I don’t think they knew how to zap them out ) .
I am forced to add in that they were aided by hyper-smart male elements . This necessitates Singularity creation .
Can this be possible with only 200cc of extra neo-cortex? I doubt it . Extra computational capability outside of the Local system has to be involved . Co-operation of some sort . So much for the SuperMan .
Brain size , intelligence and aggression were bred out . Some was restored during the agricultural revolution circa 10 000 years ago . Since 1700 AD , there has been some functional genetic restoration ( Aspergers, etc) as epigenetic factors kick in .
There is a threshold : today a hypersmart individual has to involve other humans . (Religion , laziness) . And they are only hypersmart relative to normals .
A calculation for the HyperSmart :
You have 3 data points . Calculate the minima , maxima and optima across 300 000 years in local time .
And you thought Kindergarten was hard ?
Andre
Appendix A
Human Nails .
Andre Willers
23 August 2007
http://andreswhy.blogspot.com
Synopsis :
Human fingernails are intimately linked to rhythm and pattern recognition neural systems . It is also the third most important element in human sexual selection .
Discussion:
Evolutionary roots:
Hominid bipedalism evolved quite early .
Moropithecus (16 to 25 MY ago) showed adaptations to upright posture .
They walked on branches and clutched other breast-high branches for stability .
(See
Science DOI : 10.112 / science.1140779
New Scientist of 9 June 2007 p18 “Four legs new ,two legs much older”
http://andreswhy.blogspot.com “The Squat and the Wobble” )
This adaptation was lost in some streams of homonids , but retained in the homonin (ie our) ancestors . This means that for significant evolutionary time our ancestors clung to thin branches with their fingers curled around the branch and their fingertips pressed against the wood ..
The branch is not only a mechanical support , but also transmits information . The branches are elastically resilient , so waves caused by any large organism walking and stalking about can be picked up by suitably sensitive sensors and the type of organism identified by a neural-network .
The canopy-network is an information-rich network because of it’s resilience . Similar type of signals can be carried by the ground (cf elephant feet ) , but the damping and bandwidth is totally different .
Small wonder that homonins have recreated the canopy in the Internet .
An Internet created by elephants or whales would look completely different .
The finger :
The sensor-network is the pressure-receptors below the nail . The finger part in touch with branch is liable to tissue destruction , abrasion and calluses . Any sensors here are degraded by wear-and-tear .
But , hydraulic pressure transmits around the finger bone to compress the pressure receptors in the nail-bed against the unyielding nail , giving quite fine detail to a neural-network .
Some Corollaries:
1. IFF (Identification Friend or Foe)
This evolved literally at the start of the dinosaur/mammal split , derived from reptiles and has been refined ever since .
Any predator has a particular rhythm caused by putting it’s feet down in particular sequence (gait) .
If the predator is on a branch (or any resilient surface) , the rhythm is transmitted .
Soil can also be a medium , but less efficient (cf elephants)
This neural-network for IFF evolved under the fingernails .
In other words , a lot of rhythm recognition (ie pattern-recognition) takes place in the nerve-plexus under the fingernail .
The survival advantages are obvious .
The primary advantage is in recognizing non-hostiles . False alarms are extremely wasteful , especially in hard times . A trinary classification at neural level of hostile , neutral and friendly would evolve as an optimal solution .
There are circuits directly stimulating flight-or-fight mechanisms . There is a direct tie to the hippocampus and amygdala through stress proteins . There is a direct neural tie to muscles in the arm (from fingernails) and the legs (from toenails) .
This enabled the prey to identify a predator creeping or galloping up to it and take immediate reflex action .
Hyper-length neurons is the latest fashionable term to denote really long nervous connections without synapses .
The rich nexus of nerves under the fingernails have long been a target of human torture . But notice the aversion to nail-less humans or nail-biting . Notice how your attention is drawn to a nail-malformation (like a blue-nail)
2. Grooming.
Unarguably a defining social element in homonins .
But every human is complex of pressure waves .
Heartbeat , breathing , peritalsis are only a few of the passive pressure-waves that can be sensed by fingertips . More active palpations enables joint-crackling , lung and abdominal spaces to be felt by fingertips . Ask any doctor .
By definition , some females would be better at fingertip sensitivity than others . Since most infant mortality involves the gastro-intestinal system , which can be felt , sick babies allowed to be handled by the more sensitive woman are much more likely to survive . No language for this is needed initially .
Nursing and handling babies need sensitive touch .
Those females better at it ( ie well-shaped fingernails) evolve into midwives , since they reduce infant mortality for the group .
The midwife is the first professional .
Indeed , the medical round has not changed much in about 70 000 years .
The dominant female shaman , surrounded by a cloud of students , stalks from infant to infant , subjecting them to tactile examination . Easily remedified complaints (like blockages) or tried and true herbal plants are used to reduce infant mortality . This information is transmitted to the students .
Note self-medication by chimps and gorillas .
3. What drives this language development ?
The problem with previous language-development models was that there is no really , really compelling evolutionary reason why language should evolve .
Hunters do not need it . Noise is contra-indicated . Modern warriors like the SEALs use sign language in combat .
Small-woman groups might have the tendencies , but how does being top-woman of a small , isolated group translate into a planetwide meme-and-gene dominance ?
We have to have a mechanism whereby local dominance is transmitted .
The Answer :
Old-Fashioned Darwin .
The reduction in infant-mortality is the driver .
The transmission of information (ie language) then has an extremely direct relevance not only for a small tribe , but larger groups .
A tactile sensitive female with some language skill creates a positive feedback environment for higher infant survival rates . The language element enables her to teach students that scatter and repeat the process . The tribes that accept or send students to the college outbreed those that that don’t .
There is a crux point here relevant today :
Matriarchs (ie doctors) who tried to keep this advance in-tribe got overwhelmed by those that made it freely available .
Females , following an ancient imperative , would bring sick infants to the friendly neighborhood clinic .
The Matriarchal-Medical societal group outbred all others . And language was essential to the information transmission .
Argh!!
A bunch of doctors huddling together and exchanging jargon is the origin of language. The jargon was expanded to include terms for social competition for resources and status . Language was born in all its glory .
Note that the invention of Peace
(See http://andreswhy.blogspot.com “The origins of war and Peace”)
is a logical consequence of the above scenario during a stress episode like Toba .
Not to mention the College / University idea . Which morphed into Organised Religion .
The Dark Side .
The Rite of Passage (ie to qualify to be seen as human and worthy of procreation ) was an invention simultaneous with the invention of Peace . Youths who could not subordinate their impulses (to fairness , pain , boredom ) to the society , were expelled from the procreational pool , or even killed .
This mechanism (meme-structure) is still active today . (Flunked Varsity ? You’re drafted.) Can’t stand the fraternity initiation ? You are not human . Go flip burgers .
This works fine as long as the governing society is in charge . But by expelling it’s mutants , the society builds up a pool resentful beings of various degrees of humanity.
A sudden change (climate , plague , technology , etc) reduces the defenses of the original system sufficiently to bring about a revolution
Ie the climatic stabilization about 12 900 years ago that made profitable agriculture possible .
4. Snakes .
The alert reader would have noticed that a reliable , sensitive temperature sensor is lacking in the human sensorium . The most sensitive ones are in the elbows and the back of the knees , and these hardly lend themselves to easy usage .
So they bred snakes . Remember , these are the people that domesticated through selective breeding all our present domesticated species .
Snakes then would have been the very first domesticated species .
A living thermometer .
The infra-red sensors of snakes are more sensitive than present thermometers used in hospitals .
The specially bred snakes would have been bred not only for thermo-sensitivity , but for chemo-sensitivity as well .
The forked-tongue could detect not only breakdown products of illnesses exuded through the skin or breath , but location as well . (That’s why it’s forked.)
A basket of specialized snakes would enable a medical practitioner of the era
70 000 – 12 900 BC to give first level medical care equivalent to that of country clinic in our era . Diagnostics would have been superior , since specialized snakes would be doing this . Think programmed bio-chips .
Problem cases would be referred to the local College center .
Poisonous snakes was bred for medicinal aspects of their poisons (still being done today) .
So where are these snakes today ?
Traces of their genetic material should be found in garden snakes in Western Europe .
Obviously , nobody has looked for genetic bottlenecks from this viewpoint .
So this is a verifiable test .
Evidence of deliberate breeding (especially in mitochondrial snake DNA ) should be found . It is doubtful that really highly specialized snakes could survive in the wild (think feral Jersey cow or Merino) , but some would have gotten lucky . Their genetic traces should be traceable .
Cultural remnants :
The Aesclapius is a cultural remnant . (Intertwined snakes is still the Western symbol of medicine .) Not bad for a symbol about 30 000 years old .
Legends , statues and inscriptions of dragons .
Bible : Eden . The snake got the starring role as the baddie , since the victors wrote the history books .
Also note Isis , purging of Ireland of snakes , Feng Shui , etc
Spirals : in rock engravings , etc . Which way does a snake coil up ?
Midwives .
The memes for this civilization is coiled up inside the one set of humans that had to survive : the midwives .
Remember , they thought biologically . The concepts of seeds inside reproducing systems came naturally to them .
The Matriarchs had thousands of years to see their demise coming and to plant seeds
Ho-ho-ho !
The New World Order is guaranteed to be completely different from the Bilderbirger vision .
So , there were some good ones matriarchs and some bad ones .
The good ones tried to ensure the survival of what was good in their civilization .
The bad ones tried to ensure their dominance .
The ensuing civil wars destroyed almost everything .
Most of the good got thrown out with the bad .
The planet is littered with the ruins of their buildings , bioforms and still-active
bio- weapon systems .
Some meme markers that have survived the wars :
Bio-warfare vs numbers . Fear the disease-ridden stranger . If you are not for us , you are against us . Any writing or symbol is dangerous , since it can contaminated with mind-altering vectors by touching it .
Some remnants of these have survived in central-europe : psychotic and schizophrenic inducing chemicals in basic foodstuffs like rye (ergot fungi) . Some very localized near the original labs .
(One particular variant of psychosis inducing behavioural change organisms was localized within about 50 km radius in central Europe : symptoms : fear of persecution : paranoia with very definite cut-off points . A weapon .)
Your attention is drawn to plasmodium induced behaviour changes where the carriers are cats (and dogs as well) .
This would be a civilizing influence in a mild form ( taking risks by trusting ) , but a mind-control form in a strong form (trust unconditionally) . (Oxytocin stimulation)
A horrible thought is that the sites of the Nazi extermination camps (and the very idea) came from people picking up extermination bio-weapon contamination from old weapon sites . Note that the Nazi camps are on a line that would be a natural defensive line about 9 000 years ago .
Old weapons that kill and kill again .
Why the sudden sanity in the late twentieth century ?
Acid rain .
The vectors of madness were in the fungi (forest rhizomes) in the ground .
The weaponized mind-altering fungi , bacteria and viruses were obviously spread as widely as possible over the defensive lines . The ones that could survive thousands of years would be in the old fungi structures underground . These (because they were carrying a non-survival payload) were the first to die in acid-rain .
Remember , they thought like biologists .
They would not pick up a rock and bash you on the head . They would breed some organism that makes you vulnerable to their memes . You then would pick up a rock and bash their enemies ‘ heads in .
Can these organisms recover ?
Of course . They doing so now . See the latest history .
Why did this civilization nearly vanish ?
(See http://andreswhy.blogspot.com “The origins of war and Peace” , “Costs” , “Nazca” , etc)
Your attention is drawn to the putative small comet impact on North America about 12 900 years ago . See New Scientist 26 May 2007 “Firestorm from space wiped out prehistoric Americans.”
This resulted in a short-term planetary climatic stability
(alas , now coming to an end ).
The resulting climatic stability led to usable , profitable , large-scale agriculture .
This led to an explosion in human numbers .
The Matriarchy tried to keep the lid on . Things got ugly on both sides .
The sub-human mutants (partially our ancestors ) won and extirpated their enemies . The late bronze-age cataclysm was but the end stages of a 7 000 year old clash of memes , and was correspondingly bitter.
Think Paris Hilton vs Bill Gates .
5 .Rhythm .
Rhythm is then a very ancient IFF mechanism .
Music is used as a cultural defining mechanism . Era’s and societies are defined by ephemeral harmonies .
If you like my rhythms , we are pals .
6. Musical instruments:
Nearly all human instruments are characterized by causing compression waves around fingertips in sequences and cadences .
Guitar , piano , flute , etc .The reason why they popular is that they are easy to play . The reason why they are easy to play is that pattern-recognition takes place in the fingertips .
A hardwired threat is a cat stalking along slender bough . The cadence of a four-footed stalk is known . The damping of vibrations along a bough of decreasing diameter is known . The speed of the approach of the predator can then be calculated .
In music this translates as impending threat or doom . Can you see how it goes ?
Now you too can design threatening music that operates at instinctive level .
Finger tapping .
This is a variant of “Counting to ten” .
The pressure impacts on the nail-beds causes interrupts in the amygdale , hippocampus and lower stem . Hence the success of some stress therapies using fingerclicking .
You got rhythm if you fingertap and foot/toe tap with the music .
Fingertip to forearm tapping .
You will not find this little item anywhere else .
Endorphin release is proportional to fingertip-to-forearm cadences .
Instead of tapping your fingers on the table , tap them on and around your forearms instead in time to the music . Notice you will automatically start waving your forearms about .
Endorphin release is increased by orders of magnitude .
Why ?
Your forearm is like a branch . You are tapping your fingertips and moving your hands and forearms in a way that signals “ Only friendlies and non-hostiles” about .
Monkey’s joy .
Listen to some music that has a beat . Put your right hand on your left forearm and vice versa . Tap your fingers on the forearms as if you are conducting like mad . Go mad .
Try it .
Notice the flatness if you stop . This is endorphin production being stopped . (Especially with semi9-classical music)
Notice that you move your fingers about 3 times as frequently as your thumbs . To be more exact , e=2.718… more frequently . The reason is obvious .
Notice that all musicians move their instruments if they can . The pianist moves his head and torso as he moves through the virtual canopy . Notice the contortions of a violinist . What does the virtual monkey-mind cluster of a violinist see as she contorts and gyrates ?
7. Counting .
The relationship between mathematics and music is well known .
But why ten fingers? Many different variations have been tried .
The answer is simple : 4 fingers + 1 thumb on each hand .
The thumb gives a better grasp on the branch . The 4 fingers at roughly equal distances split the harmonics of the wave on the branch . This is a physical optimization , inherent in the nature of vibrations . A physical and mathematical law of vibrations .
4=2^2 , 8 = 2^4 . Can you see it ?
A little prediction : the spread of thickness of 4 fingers in homonids will optimize natural harmonies in branches of varying taper .
This means that the thumb is not strictly necessary for rhythm recognition . Notice that most instruments do not require the thumb except for grasping . (Eg the guitar : the right thumb is usually replaced by a plectrum.)
This also means that the thumb could be used for something else , and that is what evolutionary systems did . Thumb systems specialized in acting as reference point for the other fingers . A weight-lifter , javelin-thrower , tennis-player , golf-player , violin-player , etc all do the same thing : their hands analyze the vibration-characteristics of their instrument to find the sweet-spot relative to the other fingers .
8. Golf:
The monkey swings through the air and grips a branch .
The 4x2 fingers hook over to top . Immediately , IFF is done in the fingertips . If no enemy is detected , the thumbs hook underneath . By this time , the branch has deformed under the weight and vibrations set up . Using the positions of the thumbs as reference points , the vibrational characteristics of the branch is analyzed . If the monkey wants to stay and have a firm grip , it must move to a vibrational node of the branch (ie where the standing wave caused by it’s weight cancels out . Usually called the Sweet Spot .) . notice that one hand must get there first , usually overshooting . The overshooting hand is adjusted closer to the sweet spot , then the other hand . This approximation process is repeated until the monkey is satisfied (inside the parameter.)
It moves its hands , the fingers frequently and the thumbs less frequently (ratio of about 3 to 1) until it feels happy .
Now do the same to the golf club .
If right-handed , cradle the club lightly at balance point in the left hand with the fingers underneath and the thumb over the top , the handle to the right . The right hand has a light overhand grip .
Hold the club horizontal (like a branch ) , waggle it gently up and down . With the fingertips on the club , shift your hand alternately to the right until it feels correct . Jiggle the right hand back to correct for overshoot .
Then lock the right thumb in . (Note , locking the thumb is characteristic of all golf-grips . Now you know why .)
This is the interesting bit . While locking the right thumb in place , wriggle the left fingers and thumb until they feel ok . The right fingers can be wriggled as well , but not the right thumb . Do not wriggle the fingers more than 3 times the thumbs at this stage .
9. Piano
An interesting corollary is that you will learn the piano better and faster if you tape the thumbs out of the way .
10 .Birds .
So why doesn’t birds have ten toes ? They have 8 = 3x2 + 2.
Birds can fly , so they don’t have to stick around and develop enhanced harmonic analysis .
11. Stochastic resonance .
The Stochastic resonance mechanisms which evolved in the brain and hands to deal with random branch movements due to weather was essential to the development of language .
Lying and an honest error cannot be distinguished from each other . And it does not matter in the long term .
12 .Sexual Selection.
Men look at women and see at a subconscious level :
1. Her middle/hip ratio is about 0.75 . Enough room for babies head
2.High , conical breasts . They will not smother baby while suckling and running .
3. Well-kept nails . Tactile sensitivity for baby care and nursing .
Women look at men and see at a subconscious level :
1. A taut bum . Good runner . Essential for good hunter .
2.Muscled arms . Good hunter and protector .
3. Symmetric face . Behaviour not too weird .
That’s it . The systems can only count to three .
If you want to overcome any negative impression on any one of these factors , you will have to work hard at it .
I was surprised to see nails pop out as an important sexual selection criterion . Females are always buffing , colouring , shaping , hardening , etc nails .
Shaped nails .
Refer to magnetrons . Shaped guides to various wave-forms can magnify the effect million-fold . Women with wave-guide shaped nails are remnants of the old order . Good or bad ? Unfortunately , nobody can tell . But if you run into one , run like hell .
The groove is only quantum deep , but it is coupled across all time .
So much for this space-time .
Andre
'--------------------------------
Appendix B
Death of an Ur-Language.
Andre Willers
9 sep 2009
Synopsis:
Click ur-language died out because school was too long .
Discussion :
The fundamental problem :
Click is both a language (ie intra-human communication) and perception modality .
Perception Modality :
The sonar returns of clicks had a one-to-one correspondence with reality . But this took a long time to learn . Reality has many things to learn , plus the correlation between visual and click systems .
Low abstraction .
Abstraction is usually a function of intra-human communication , not human-reality interaction .
Low child rate .
This follows , because it simply took a long time to train a child to become "human" , ie pass the humanity tests .
The tests were to Communicate , survive on his own , put group interests above personal interests . These were tested for , using Click language . Rites of passage .
What happened :
The hidden assumption was that Intra-human communication and Reality perception were linked , both being Click–orientated .
The invention of sustainable agriculture (note sustainable , ie climate stabilization) broke this hidden assumption .
It made large populations possible . But long childhoods with personal tuition ?
Humans farmed off the newest children onto the oldest capable children to do the minimum necessary rearing .
Sounds familiar ? Iterate this for a few generations and you have peasants with surpluses . And we are off to the civilization races .
Click-languages vanished in the process . They survived only as Holy Languages for elites with access to surpluses .
The remaining human-human click languages evolved as degenerate click-languages .
Endings , agglutinative , tonal or combinations therof .
Amusing :
Written forms evolved very early (see previous posts on cave paintings) . But they have not even been recognized as writing . Though Chinese ideograms or some Egyptian hieroglyphs could be seen as click encapsulations .
Ditto for Sumerian incisions .
Ditto for Peruvian quipu's.
Really amusing :
As humans become older , they lose their aural discrimination faster than ocular discrimination .
There is a severe auricular limit on aural perception .
You can see well for longer into old age than you can hear . This finally drove the click language into oblivion .
(Aural frequency discrimination starts to degenerate after age 25 , ocular after age 45)
So they threw out the baby with the bathwater .
Can the useful bits be resurrected ?
Some pieces survived . Chi (!xi) . Yoga(!xo!xa) . As elitest remnants .
Can we revive the Ur-Click ?
No problem . At least two complementary or el-cheapo singular pathways are known .
1.GPS (the smarts is in the map) . It can be easily adapted into a translation map .
2.Existing tracking maps for bushmen .
Why should we revive it ?
The benefits .
Humans might have been a tad overhasty in rejecting Click-languages . Abstract languages might be fashionable , but there is something to be said for a language that controls and monitors internal physiological processes .
The major problem would be the long time it takes to learn it .
But see http://andreswhy.blogspot.com " SUOS"
The process can be speeded up by orders of magnitude .
1.Health .
Things like blood pressure , heartbeat , sugar levels , obesity , muscle density , etc could be monitored and controlled by a click language via biofeedback .
Even a simple !xi at inhalation and !xo at exhalation in an athletes training will enhance his performance by about 1% - 10% .
2. Music .
Music can be seen as a poor man's version of click-music .
3. Old cave paintings .
Make some sense of them .
4. Politician talk .
Paying attention to the sounds means that at least some attention is paid to the sense .
5. Short term memory .
Predictable systems are pleasing . The missing bits can be filled in with a high degree of accuracy . Older people are then more conservative . A click system is more predictable . So , talking to old people use more click sounds .
Actual use .
The Algorithm .
1.Keep big mouth closed .This is essential .
2.Click tongue while inhaling and exhaling through nose.
Notice that the clicking falls into a pattern : double clicks at the beginning and end of each inhalation and exhalation . All humans will do this .
Once you start tongue-clicking , the cadence follows . It is deeply hardwired .
3. Why does it work ?
The double tongue-click causes pressure fluctuations right throughout the vascular system . This warns it that O2/CO2 fluctuations are coming . Mitochondria to prepare
4. Energy systems adjust . They learn .
5. For how long ?
Five minutes . See previous posts on long-term potentiation .
6. Why not just rely on heartbeat ?
Breath and heartbeat are not synchronized
7. Keep big mouth closed , and click tongue . Many problems go away .
And so it goes .
Andre.
'-------------
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
Emperor Zuma .
Emperor Zuma .
Andre Willers.
5 Oct 2010
Predictive synopsis:
RSA revolutionary system will bubble up into an encapsulated African Empire .
Time period :3 years , plus rapid consolidation thereafter .
Discussion :
We look at previous revolutions :
Meta view:
How many revolutions do we have to look at to get a reasonable view ?
From dimensional considerations , four is sufficient , but five + is better .
Chaos mathematics and Reserves (Least Error arguments)
Ignore events in 1/3 of time periods into Revolutionary Capsule .
See http://andreswhy.blogspot.com "NewTools"
Abstraction to general principles only become possible when the system has cooled down enough . Cf Big Bang . Symmetry breaking , etc .
There are two types of revolutions :
1.Encapsulated Revolutions :
The system contains its own excesses . A steady state of some sort is established , many times of a the steady state is of a dynamic nature .
2.Open-Ended Revolutions :
The system's excesses has to be contained by outside forces . This is a polite way of saying wars are necessary .
End-state Civilizations:
Encapsulated Revolutions (like Bronze Age , Roman Empire , British Empire)
Their end-states form and guide attempted Open-Ended Revolutions .
This sums up history for the last 5000 years .
Various recent Revolutions:
1.English Revolution . (Cromwell)
Capsule Period:
1649 (JamesI chopped) to 1688 (Grand Revolution) . 39 years . Ignore the first 13 years unless you are expert in chaos systems and watch the next 26 . (ie up to 1726) This is where the British Empire was coalesced .
Notice the Dutch influence .
2.American Revolution (Washington)
Capsule Period:
1776 to 1865 : 89 years . Ignore the first 30 years (ie up to 1806) unless you are expert in chaos systems .
3.French Revolution : (Napoleon)
Capsule period:
1789 to 1815 . 26 years Ignore the first 26/3 years (ie up to 1797) unless you are expert in chaos systems .
4.Russian Revolution : (Stalin)
Capsule period :
1917 to 1989 : 62 years . Ignore the first 62/3 years (ie up to 1938) unless you are expert in chaos systems
5.German Revolution (Hitler)
Capsule period:
1933 to 1945 : 12 years . Ignore the first 12/3 years (ie up to 1937) unless you are expert in chaos systems
6.Chinese Revolution . (Mao)
Capsule period:
1948 to 1986 : 38 years . Ignore the first 38/3 years (ie up to 1981) unless you are expert in chaos systems
7 South African Revolution .
Capsule period:
1994 to (2008+x) : 18+x years . Ignore the first (18+x)/3 years (ie up to 1999+x/3) unless you are expert in chaos systems
Use Bayesian systems .
What does this mean ?
Notice the aggressive pulse during the last 2/3 of the Revolutionary Capsule .
In the African context , it means an Empire based on SA expansion , allowed into a capsule . The capsule is porous , so actual Singularity bleed-through is allowed .
An Emperor is forced to let his subjects evaporate into the Singularity , or else face immediate revolt .
It is rather amusing to note that the Singularity will initiate in Africa . Has already initiated . Humans will end where they started .
Tojours , mes infants .
Andre.
Andre Willers.
5 Oct 2010
Predictive synopsis:
RSA revolutionary system will bubble up into an encapsulated African Empire .
Time period :3 years , plus rapid consolidation thereafter .
Discussion :
We look at previous revolutions :
Meta view:
How many revolutions do we have to look at to get a reasonable view ?
From dimensional considerations , four is sufficient , but five + is better .
Chaos mathematics and Reserves (Least Error arguments)
Ignore events in 1/3 of time periods into Revolutionary Capsule .
See http://andreswhy.blogspot.com "NewTools"
Abstraction to general principles only become possible when the system has cooled down enough . Cf Big Bang . Symmetry breaking , etc .
There are two types of revolutions :
1.Encapsulated Revolutions :
The system contains its own excesses . A steady state of some sort is established , many times of a the steady state is of a dynamic nature .
2.Open-Ended Revolutions :
The system's excesses has to be contained by outside forces . This is a polite way of saying wars are necessary .
End-state Civilizations:
Encapsulated Revolutions (like Bronze Age , Roman Empire , British Empire)
Their end-states form and guide attempted Open-Ended Revolutions .
This sums up history for the last 5000 years .
Various recent Revolutions:
1.English Revolution . (Cromwell)
Capsule Period:
1649 (JamesI chopped) to 1688 (Grand Revolution) . 39 years . Ignore the first 13 years unless you are expert in chaos systems and watch the next 26 . (ie up to 1726) This is where the British Empire was coalesced .
Notice the Dutch influence .
2.American Revolution (Washington)
Capsule Period:
1776 to 1865 : 89 years . Ignore the first 30 years (ie up to 1806) unless you are expert in chaos systems .
3.French Revolution : (Napoleon)
Capsule period:
1789 to 1815 . 26 years Ignore the first 26/3 years (ie up to 1797) unless you are expert in chaos systems .
4.Russian Revolution : (Stalin)
Capsule period :
1917 to 1989 : 62 years . Ignore the first 62/3 years (ie up to 1938) unless you are expert in chaos systems
5.German Revolution (Hitler)
Capsule period:
1933 to 1945 : 12 years . Ignore the first 12/3 years (ie up to 1937) unless you are expert in chaos systems
6.Chinese Revolution . (Mao)
Capsule period:
1948 to 1986 : 38 years . Ignore the first 38/3 years (ie up to 1981) unless you are expert in chaos systems
7 South African Revolution .
Capsule period:
1994 to (2008+x) : 18+x years . Ignore the first (18+x)/3 years (ie up to 1999+x/3) unless you are expert in chaos systems
Use Bayesian systems .
What does this mean ?
Notice the aggressive pulse during the last 2/3 of the Revolutionary Capsule .
In the African context , it means an Empire based on SA expansion , allowed into a capsule . The capsule is porous , so actual Singularity bleed-through is allowed .
An Emperor is forced to let his subjects evaporate into the Singularity , or else face immediate revolt .
It is rather amusing to note that the Singularity will initiate in Africa . Has already initiated . Humans will end where they started .
Tojours , mes infants .
Andre.