Monthly Archives: February 2017

When a scientific field reaches the stage in which constructed explanations are replaced with facts, it is a step forward. Of course, all sciences have their implicit epistemological framework. This is something that should be at least admitted, but there is a pressing specific issue: the projection of values onto evolution in both common understanding and serious discourse. It is important not to retain fiction when facts are available, especially when that fiction is dangerous.

There is no intention to evolutionary process. Nature is not an entity that intends in the way that we intend. Traits do not evolve for purposes, contrary to what we often project onto them. The traits are not means to behavioral ends, especially reproductive ends. By projecting means-to-reproduction narratives onto evolution, we strip away the beauty of life, rendering fascinating existences nothing but a nihilistic game of chemicals and competition. Beyond that, however, it is dangerous. Why? It is dangerous because it enables systemic hatred.

Lets start with the phrase survival of the fittest. What can you do with that phrase? Well, lets break it down. The most fit to survive will survive. It is ambiguous. It could mean that what tends to replicate itself and not get killed will be most abundant. This is fair, and it is no more political than saying radioactive elements will decay until they are stable. It is intuitive if it does not replicate itself, it will not be around long, and if it gets killed, it will not have the opportunity. This is how it should be interpreted, yet it is almost never stated in such a basic way. Even in biology, and especially in psychology and other health sciences, it gets twisted.

Lets go back to the most fit to survive will survive. What if it was just slightly tweaked: the best will survive, or the fittest should survive. Here, a value judgment was added. There is no best, no quality, if it is viewed as a statement of tendency, but there is if survival is seen as good rather than neutral. From here, simultaneously, one can interpret that survival is the end goal, rather than a statement of tendency. Then, retroactively, the constructed end goal of survival makes traits and behaviors a game of competition, in which the best gets to live.

This can adopt any prejudice one wants to incorporate. It can be turned into an argument for eugenics, for sexism or against the disabled. It can enable human-centrism if mental capacity is held as a measure of value. It can be turned into an argument for gender roles and heterosexuality by pitting men and women as inherently different (viewing gender as entirely nature and disregarding nurture), using selective biological facts as evidence and generalizing to such an extent that everything is binary with no middle ground. The middle ground, androgyny, is a deviation in this view. Relationships that do not lead to procreation are a deviation as well. And deviations do not lead to survival, do they?

It also makes the case for capitalism, perhaps explaining why the twisted interpretation of evolution is the prevailing one. By adopting the value-infused interpretation, you can absolve yourself of any guilt you might have about exploiting labor, concentrating power, hoarding wealth while the majority struggles to get by, pitting people against each other or devaluing expression in favor of anything that further increases your wealth and power. You do not have to feel bad about causing deaths, stripping creative joy from peoples lives and inhibiting mutual fostering and collective growth. You fought hard from the bottom and made it to the top. You earned it because you just had the ability. It is just facts; it is just how it is. You cannot be held responsible because it is nature.

This is why it is so important to understand the phrase survival of the fittest, and evolution in general, completely free of value judgments, even one as simple as survival is good, because from there, many flavors of hate and structural oppression can co-opt the concept of evolution to justify themselves. It may seem tedious to make that distinction, but in the grand scheme of things, our lives and livelihoods depend on it.

Read the original:

We must redefine archaic evolutionary language - Virginia Tech Collegiate Times

The latest evolution of the Park Hotel on the Capitol Square is ready for its formal dedication.

A ribbon cutting is planned for 11:30 a.m. Tuesday to mark the completion of the renovations.

More than a year of renovations to the 213-room hotel at the corner of South Carroll and West Main streets wrapped up in fall 2016 with about $8 million being spent to update the building's exterior, according to project documents filed with the city. Building permits filed with the city also show another nearly $4.9 million being spent on a complete interior renovation, though the number may be higher but the Mullins family, which owns the hotel, declined to disclose the total amount spent on the project.

George Wiesner, general manager of the Park Hotel, said the building's freshened outside look should have a lifespan of about 30 years, though interior amenities, including rooms, will be updated as needed to keep the hotel looking fresh.

Another major interior overhaul comparable to those just completed likely won't happen again for at least another decade, said Brad Mullins of the Mullins Group, a real estate and management firm. His family, which acquired the hotel then called the Park Motor Inn in 1976, began discussing renovating the property about four years ago.

"We wanted to reposition it again as a premier property on the square," Mullins said. "It is a legacy to our family and it was the first hotel on the Capital Square."

Wiesner said the Park Hotel, which carries the Best Western Premier brand, the hotel chain's top offering, is focusing on business customers as well as hosting events seeking full services including catering. The hotel provides lodging to about 100,000 guests and hosts about 400 events annually.

Wiesner said the hotel offers amenities sought by today's business travelers. He said guests have complimented the hotel on its updated offerings including ample ports in rooms to recharge portable electronics and fast, reliable wireless internet access.

No floor was untouched and the hotel remained open throughout the renovation. Elevators were updated and provide continuous service from the main floor through ninth floor of the hotel.

Wiesner said upper floor rooms were renovated first and work later moved onto the lower floors. The former Top of the Park restaurant on the eighth floor, which closed in 2001 and now is used primarily to host events, was expanded and can accommodate events of up to 120 people.

"The last part to get done was the lobby and bar," he said.

Mullins said building new is easier than renovating a property that remained open.

"It reflects out commitment to downtown Madison and to our employees who could keep working during the project," he said.

Some of the updates that won't be seen by guests include the new locker rooms for the hotel's 120 employees and a modernized heating and cooling system.

Wiesner is confident future guests will appreciate what has been done to the hotel.

"The work done here far exceeded our expectations," he said.

More here:

Latest evolution of Downtown Madison's Park Hotel has business customer in mind - Madison.com

Recent speculation has suggested a new stable will soon be coming to the WWE that could cause some problems to members of the Monday Night Raw roster.

The rumor indicates that Triple H will be starting up a new stable like Evolution on Raw, and the reported members so far are The Game, WWE Universal champion Kevin Owens, and Samoa Joe.

The original Evolution had four members; Triple H, Ric Flair, Randy Orton, and Batista. If the new Evolution is going to follow the same path with four members, here are three superstars who could fill up the last spot in the stable perfectly.

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Finn Balor has been out of action since SummerSlam last year when he injured his shoulder in a match against Seth Rollins for the Universal championship. However, it is speculated he could be making a return anytime soon, just in time for WrestleMania 33.

Balor's wrestling style is very different to that of Owens and Joe, which will help to create a dynamic to the stable, and his relationship with Triple H back in NXT will fit in well with what appears to be a trend with the rest of the group's members.

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The Demon King's injury occurred during a match with Rollins last summer, and it looks like The Architect could be the first casualty of the new stable. This could be a good angle to turn Balor heel and add him to the group.

If WWE truly wants it to make it a new Evolution, a way of doing this would be to add Charlotte to the stable and reignite the Women's revolution in the process as well. She has the pedigree to be part of such a group as she is the daughter of The Nature Boy, Ric Flair.

Keeping a Flair in the stable would show its links to the past, and her in-ring ability shows she deserves to be part of what is bound to be a historic group under the leadership of The Game. It would also allow The Nature Girl to become an even more dominant figure in the Women's division than she already is.

When the original Evolution formed back in 2003, Randy Orton was the youngest member as he was only in his early 20s when the group came together. A current NXT superstar who could fill this role isPete Dunne, who is only 24-years-old.

Dunne made his name at theUK Championship Tournament that WWE held last month and only debuted in NXT earlier this week with a win againstMark Andrews. His inclusion in the new Evolution stable, however, would show the company's confidence in the British superstar and why they held a UK tournament in the first place.

The Bruiserweightcould be used in a similar fashion to what Orton was,using the group in order to climb up in the WWE. He has the charismato be a successful heel in the company, and the stable could be a good stepping stone for future success in the WWE.

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See the article here:

Three superstars that should be a part of Triple H's new Evolution stable - GiveMeSport

February 26th, 2017 by Zachary Shahan

Miss some of our stories thispast week? Below were the 20 most popular, followed by my 30 favorites of the week. Also, remember, you can get our free daily newsletter to not miss anything oryou can get our free weekly newsletter to always catch these roundup posts.

How about my favorites? As always, its hard to decide, but here are 30:

100% wind electricity in Denmark is insane in such an awesome way.

Speaking of 100% renewables, gotta love the UKs Squeaky.

But Big Renewables are spreading all over the world now, not just in Europe, with this weeks biggest stories being a 1.8 gigawatt solar project in the UAEand an overall solar pipeline of 5.7 gigawatts in the Middle East & North Africa region.

Dereks review of the 2017 Hyundai Ioniq Electricwas superb definitely worth a read if you missed that.

I love Joses monthly electric car sales reports on Europe and China, and also thought Chinas electric bus sales update was stunning.

Norway is still in a league of its own relatively speaking, though, with 37% of new cars now being electric.

LG Chem lifting its battery production capacity is another good sign.

And I think I have to like my own original piece for EV-Boxs rEVolution blog, which is a preview of what I will talk about in Amsterdam next month.

The electric car revolution may be far ahead of the electric plane revolution, but its certainlyexciting to see the initial seeds of commercial electric airplanes.

A 100 car all-electric taxi fleet is hard to not get overly excited about as well, and that was matched by Maven getting 100 Chevy Bolts in LA, but both of thosewere beatenby Dubai ordering 200 Teslas for electric taxis.

Of course, the many Tesla quarterly updates, especially regarding Model 3, were interesting to read. Plus, there was that earlier cool news of Tesla hiring 150200 people a week at the Gigafactory.

Firstsolarwind hybrid power plant in US? What took so long?

Speaking of late arrivals, I also loved Susans take on renewable energy fromthe EU finally getting into Russia as well as her piece on who benefits if Russian oil sanctions end.

On the flip side, looking at oil & gas, fracking seems to be causing more leaks than expected, and oil & gas wells being linked to childhood leukemia is clearly depressing even if its not surprising.

Speaking of disturbing shit we have a White House that intends to destroy the state, a newhead of an EPA that used to copy & paste letters from the oil & gas industry as his states attorney general. Preterm births, deaths, and suffering are certain to rise under Trumps and Pruitts EPA.

TeslaMondo is maybe my favorite blog so funny and so good at pulling critical points out of the haze. This ones a must-read.

This is just awesome: $1.8 Billion Of Indias Coal Tax Invested In Renewable Energy So Far.

As is this: 7,000 Railways Stations In India To Go Solar.

Despite all of the wonderful stories above, this one might be my favorite of the week: Hidden Taxes.

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Tags: Chevy Bolt, China, Denmark, Donald Trump, EPA, Europe, Ford, GM, Hyundai, Hyundai Ioniq Electric, India, Russia, Tesla, UK

Zachary Shahan is tryin' to help society help itself (and other species) with the power of the typed word. He spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as its director and chief editor, but he's also the president of Important Media and the director/founder of EV Obsession, Solar Love, and Bikocity. Zach is recognized globally as a solar energy, electric car, and energy storage expert. Zach has long-term investments in TSLA, FSLR, SPWR, SEDG, & ABB after years of covering solar and EVs, he simply has a lot of faith in these particular companies and feels like they are good cleantech companies to invest in.

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7000 Solar Train Stations Self-Driving Car Evolution 100% Wind Electricity In Denmark Tesla Model 3 Updates ... - CleanTechnica