BC SCIENCE
Saved by @Alex1Powell

Ok people, the current hype in #Science around #Archaeology research in #Chiribiquete and #LaLindosa in #Colombia, albeit deserving, it's a clear example of how scientific discovery is colonised and monopolised. We need to have an awkward conversation

 As a Colombian expat in #Science, I was always surprised with how places like Chiribiquete were pretty much unknown overseas, considering their scientific, cultural and biological value, and that almost any Colombian has heard about them 2/n
The last couple of weeks I started an increasing trend of people in "developed countries" talking about discoveries of ancient paintings in the Amazon, and managed to trace back the source to this paper from April 3/n
https://t.co/RixqTL4h0J
As people started reacting more and more to it, media coverage started popping up. At that point a narrative was clear: A British-led expedition just discovered a trove of paintings from the heart of the Colombian Amazon 4/n
https://t.co/8ZMDOVaCrW
The discovery was so F&%$ unbelievable that they kept it under the wraps until a @Channel4 documentary was shot and produced to be released later this month 5/n
https://t.co/iGFOCjn8k0
By now I'm just gobsmacked in disbelief: Colombians have known, researched and fought to preserve this site for decades. Let alone indigenous communities that even today (after millennia) have a direct connection with those sites. What the actual f&%$!? 6/n
You would argue that it's the language barrier to blame, but this happened not only for outlets in English, even @CNNEE that could have easily read and reached to Spanish-speaking sources sold the same narrative 7/n
https://t.co/4siTZOwWhw
So although I have very limited knowledge on the background history of the "discovery" of Chiribiquete and La Lindosa, here's a bit of vindication to the hundreds of people that have given their lives (literally and metaphorically) 8/n
@ccastanouribe is arguably the person who brought Chiribiquete and La Lindosa into the scientific sphere more than 30 years ago while he was the director of @ParquesColombia (National Parks Colombia) 9/n
Other researchers like Patricio von Hildebrand and Thomas van der Hammen spent decades living and exploring such sites uncovering their biological and archaeological richness 10/n
Multiple expeditions have been completed over the decades, efforts have been made to declare it a national park, then expand it (to almost 43,000Km2), and even in 2018 it was freaking declared world heritage by @UNESCO! 11/n
For decades it remained unreported to protect the sites and uncontacted communities that live in the area. As it became public, #LaLindosa was opened to the public as an archaeological park in a way to divert people from damaging #Chiribiquete, that remains closed 12/n
This has always been difficult territory. From the time they initially reported the sites, armed groups have been under control of the region, forcibly displacing indigenous communities, researchers and conservationists 13/n
The worst fears became true and as it grew in popularity, deforestation and forced displacement soared, creating a hostile environment for locals, researchers and conservationists 13/n
https://t.co/v9wQzbde5a
Anyway, hopefully someone from #CienciaCriolla that knows the story way better than I am will jump in to correct me and add what I've missed. If you're curious about our version of the story, here's a thread of sources to finish this off 14/n
This is a great interactive special by @RevistaSemana with great interviews to some of the researchers involved:
https://t.co/AkWuP8eBxf
This is an excellent documentary following one of the most recent expeditions by Colombian researchers by @RTVCco that's available on @RTVCPlay
https://t.co/ytSg4wzs6c
This is a fantastic talk by @maria_mimia, Colombian investigative journalist and @ccastanouribe's daughter
https://t.co/TKHFJ55Kj3
Last but not least, last year @ccastanouribe published with @mesaestandar a book everyone interested in Chiribiquete and La Lindosa should read
https://t.co/sC9GOJAcNW
Forgot to mention that the two first authors of the study behind all the hype are actually Colombian researchers from @UNALOficial and @UdeA but are vastly ignored in most of the coverage, with exceptions like (you guessed it)... a Colombian outlet
https://t.co/860ugx65o5
With this, I leave with this quote from "The solitude of Latin America" by Gabo: "The interpretation of our reality through patterns not our own, serves only to make us ever more unknown, ever less free, ever more solitary"
Since this seems to be getting some traction, I'll keep adding bits and pieces. It is also worth noting that while we discuss this issue, La Lindosa is surrounded by human induced fires and expanding deforestation, losing over 1000 ha of forest
https://t.co/dxYTYO4N6y
Here's some early work by Colombian researchers and Thomas van der Hammen on La Lindosa from 1990
https://t.co/1mMTbQGjHz
Just this year I was able to track at least three scientific papers describing new species from Chiribiquete 1/3:
By Jacquelyn A. Kallunki
https://t.co/14gu0dYu2M
Just this year I was able to track at least three scientific papers describing new species from Chiribiquete 2/3:
By Lima (@unicampoficial), Urbano-Bonilla and Prada-Pedreros (both from @UniJaveriana)
https://t.co/pEpKtRf2aZ
Just this year I was able to track at least three scientific papers describing new species from Chiribiquete 3/3:
By García-Alzate et al.
https://t.co/6njuWoLHAA

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Prof Francois Balloux
Prof Francois Balloux
@BallouxFrancois
@mugecevik is an excellent scientist and a responsible professional. She likely read the paper more carefully than most. She grasped some of its strengths and weaknesses that are not apparent from a cursory glance. Below, I will mention a few points some may have missed.
1/


The paper does NOT evaluate the effect of school closures. Instead it conflates all ‘educational settings' into a single category, which includes universities.
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The paper primarily evaluates data from March and April 2020. The article is not particularly clear about this limitation, but the information can be found in the hefty supplementary material.
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The authors applied four different regression methods (some fancier than others) to the same data. The outcomes of the different regression models are correlated (enough to reach statistical significance), but they vary a lot. (heat map on the right below).
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The effect of individual interventions is extremely difficult to disentangle as the authors stress themselves. There is a very large number of interventions considered and the model was run on 49 countries and 26 US States (and not >200 countries).
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Prof. Gavin Yamey MD MPH
Prof. Gavin Yamey MD M...
@GYamey
I want to share my thoughts, as someone who has been so alarmed by the so-called "dissident" scientists like Gupta, Heneghan, Kuldorff, Bhattacharya, & Ioannidis who consider themselves brave Galileos unfairly treated by "establishment scientists." I will try not to swear. 1/n


I want to talk about 3 things:
‼️Their fringe views are inhumane, unethical junk science that promotes harm
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‼️I am sick of people telling me we have to "listen to both sides." There aren't 2 sides here 2/n

These 'dissident' scientists have consistently downplayed COVID-19, urging policymakers not to take aggressive control measures. They claim it is not a serious threat. Gupta even went on TV saying people under 65 shouldn't worry about it!

RECEIPTS

They have consistently argued that policymakers should just let the virus rip, in an attempt to reach herd immunity by natural infection. Kuldorff *continues* to argue for this even now that we have many highly effective, safe vaccines.


We've never controlled a deadly, contagious pandemic before by just letting the virus spread, as this approach kills & disables too many people. In Manaus, Brazil, 66% of the city was infected & an astonishing *1 in 500* people died of COVID-19
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Brahmasri Samavedam Shanmukha Sarma
Brahmasri Samavedam Sh...
@SriSamavedam
The distinction of measuring the time in a scientific manner is achieved only by Bhāratīyas. Time has been measured from the smallest dimension to infiniteness. Even Time is envisioned as God and venerated. Paramēśvara was extolled as ‘Mahākāla’, the very embodiment of Time.


Nārāyaṇa Upaniṣad envisages Nārāyaṇa as ‘Kālaśca Nārāyaṇa:’, the very embodiment of Time, ages ago. The measurement of Time by Bhāratīyas is as ancient as the very God Himself. Count of many future ages has also been done even from very ancient times.

Since these calculations aren't dependent upon the birth & death of any individual, but are done based on astronomical science, they are thoroughly scientific. Unfortunately, during the British rule, the Bhāratīya way of Time measurement was casted as an illusion...

...with an evil intention to establish their command. Though it is 70+ years since independence, blindly time is still measured as BC & AD or CE in this religion-less land without even making any attempt to comprehend the magnanimity of Bhāratīya Time measurement methods.


Time measurement based on inhalation and exhalation : (image)
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Thomas Oliver \U0001f41d
Thomas Oliver 🐝...
@thomasroliveruk
Neonicotinoids and why they need to stay banned 🐝

#SciComm #ScienceTwitter #SaveTheBees #ClimateEmergency #ClimateCrisis


Neonicotinoids were banned by the EU in 2018 following multiple scientific studies which proved their severe detrimental impact on pollinators. Effects from neonics include reduced immune function, reduced foraging capabilities, and impaired cognition in bees.


The government has approved neonics for emergency use as a seed treatment on sugar beet. Yields have been impacted by beet yellows, transmitted by aphids. They argue that, because sugar beet does not flower and will not attract pollinators, the risk from neonics is acceptable.


Since the ban on neonics in 2018, the infection rate of beet yellows has increased year on year. Aphid populations have been proliferating due to mild winters, with no agrochemicals to solve the problem.

Sounds like a good case for neonics, right?


But this is the start of a vicious cycle. Climate change isn't going away. Winters will continue to get milder, resulting in the need for more and more pesticides to combat growing pest problems. Inevitably, this won't be the last time neonics are authorised for emergency use.
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Michael Lin, PhD-MD
Michael Lin, PhD-MD
@michaelzlin
Fellow academics, when are we going to start fixing our urgent structural problems that strain family bonds and present ongoing barriers to diversifying our educational and scientific leadership? You wonder, what the heck is this guy talking about?
1/n

We’re all very familiar what I am talking about, actually: the impossibility for most academics in the life sciences to do their jobs in a reaonable amount of time, due to more and more demands on writing grants, and to a lesser degree, papers.
2/n

As of yesterday I hadn’t intended to write about this subject, but was wondering as I finished a Saturday of straight work, what happened to all my time? Why has WFH not reduced my pile of tasks to do? Instead why is my to-do list growing bigger and bigger?
3/n

I decided to figure out how much time our jobs actually require. I estimated per year (m=month, w=week, d=day, h=hour):
Teaching: 20h/w x 20w = 400h
Meetings of all sorts: 10h/w x 48w= 480h
Replying to email: 2h/d x 365d = 730h
Attending and giving talks: 2h/w x 50w = 100h
4/n

Papers: If each person needs 2 papers during a 5y stint, and you run a 7.5-person lab, then you need 7.5 papers per 2.5y = 3 papers/y. Throw in a review and it’s 4 papers. If you need 15d at 8h/d per paper, that’s 480h writing papers.
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Architecture in India was an extremely rich form of expression and highly developed science, with a deep heritage of spirituality in it. #FreeHinduTemple


The centre of all architectural development was the temple and temple or Mandir was the earthly home of God, and like the launching pad for the devotee’s consciousness to soar toward the Divine and the spiritual world.


The murti or deity of the Divine would be placed in the temple sanctum, around which all temple activity would revolve.

Such buildings were often elaborately decorated with stone, wood, plaster, etc. and carved or cut to depict the stories from the Puranas or other sacred texts


Temples were always the centre of religious, social and educational activities, practically more so in
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During a span of more than two thousand years, various dynasties were known for constructing glorious temples,


some of which include the Mauryan, Ashoka, Gupta, Satavahana, Chedi, Chandella, Chalukya, Solanki, Pallava, Shola, Hoysala, Vijayanagar, and others.

Many of these temples remain beautiful architectural wonders today.
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RISHI PINGALA:THE ANCIENT INDIAN SAGE DISCREDITED FOR HIS MAJOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO MATHEMATICS & PHI

Have you ever heard about,"The Golden Ratio"?
The Golden Ratio or Phi(Greek) is a mathematical ratio of nature. Mother Nature is the most exquisite artist in herself.


&Its this Phi she uses to create all the beauty in World.
If anyone uses this ratio correctly in their art,it can turn into a spell-binding piece of work.Such is the significance of'Phi'.But my thread isn't about it.Its about somethin called'Fibonacci Series'&who actually made it


Phi is related to Fibonacci series(0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34...)
&this series is responsible for everything dat is beautiful on this planet. Just try to calculate the ratio of any 2 successive numbers ÷ each of them by the number before it in above infinite series.

E.g. 3/2=1.5, 5/3=1.666, 8/5=1.6, 34/21=1.61904 and so on. Did you notice something? The ratio is coming almost same every time. This ratio is called 'Phi 'which is numerically represented as 1:1.618. This Golden Spiral is made in exact proportion of 1:1.618.


The thing I want to emphasize here is that we always find only those things appealing and attractive that have Phi. It's in our subconscious. Isn't it some revelation? We are the part of this Divine proportion of the God or the Mother Nature. Check these:
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Patrick McKenzie
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Most software founders, particularly in B2B, need to get radically better at sales. @Steli , who is the best person for explaining the scrappy stages in the beginning and then building out a team with scripts and processes, wrote a guide to:

For technical founders it is irrationally, obscenely hard to reverse years of programming (ba dum bum) that sales is a value-destroying activity. Sales is CLEARLY a value-creating activity, contingent on you have a value-creating product.

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Secrets of Ganapati (Author - Keshav Sitaram Thackeray)

This article is taken from Keshav Sitaram Thackeray's book 'Dharmachi Devale and Devalcha Dharma'. In it, Bal Thackeray's father is claiming how the Hindu deity of Ganesha is imaginary.
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Buddha is Ashtavinayak and "Ganapati Bappa Morya" is "Chandragupta Morya".

In the era of democracy, the head of state is the President. But in ancient India, there was a Gana culture in the monarchy and the head of that Gana was called Ganapati
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In ancient India, a prince named Siddharth Gautam was born in royalty. He later became the king of Shakya Gana in this Gana culture. In time, Siddhartha attained enlightenment.

Let us now understand the difference between a real Ganapati and an imaginary Ganapati.
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Some clever Brahmin manuvadis made the real Ganapati the imaginary Ganapati.

Buddha was the king of the Shakya Gana, so people called him Ganaraja. He founded Buddhism and became the head of the Shakyas. As the head of Gana, people used to call Buddha as Ganapati.
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But the Brahmins Brahmanized Ganapati and created a false Ganapati. When Buddha used to give the message of Dharma to the people, two words would come out of his message. Chitta and Malla.

Chitta is the body.
Malla means waste
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dan spaceman
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ugh i wanted to do a thread about the wars in Star Wars and how the two outlying wars (the clone wars in the prequels and the cold war/civil war in the sequels) are really weird but i don't feel like it any more.

my first argument is that the Clone Wars were a really complex morally gray moment in Star Wars canon in like, 5 different directions and I'd kind of like to know why Lucas did that.

especially with the direct line that's drawn in the OT with the allegory of WW2 and Vietnam with the rebels being the Vietnamese and the Empire being America. That...doesn't exist in the Clone Wars.

for starters: it's weird it's called the Clone Wars. I get why, because that's what Kenobi calls it in STAR WARS, but the clones are a small facet in the larger story of the war.

the clones basically only exist as a macguffin in AOTC that is...extremely confusing ultimately. Because if you accept that Sidious has this grand master plan to use this war to destabilize the Republic and form an Empire...it's way too complex.
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