https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/Battle of Ideas 2014rrees2014-11-09T18:01:39Zhttps://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6722Russia doesn't represent a significan...2014-11-09T18:01:30Z2014-11-09T18:01:30Z
Russia doesn't represent a significant challenge to the West as Putin doesn't wield the same kind of control over Russia as democratically elected leaders do in Europe.
He can order the seizure of the Crimea but his control in other areas of the country are limited.
I think the speaker is trying to say that his power is more about putting Pussy Riot in jail than getting measures enacted consistently across the country. The kind of thing democratic governments with effective and uncorrupt civil service don't even think of.
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6721Russia and China represent a traditio...2014-11-09T17:56:28Z2014-11-09T17:56:28Z
Russia and China represent a traditional national-state challenge to the West far more than IS.
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6720The Cold War ossified borders and sta...2014-11-09T17:55:44Z2014-11-09T17:55:44Z
The Cold War ossified borders and states. Neither side had an interest in making adjustments no matter what the logic on the ground and both were prepared to expend significant resources to maintain the status quo.
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6719Open borders are not incompatible wit...2014-11-09T17:54:39Z2014-11-09T17:54:39Z
Open borders are not incompatible with sovereignty
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6718European freedom of movement isn't ex...2014-11-09T17:54:09Z2014-11-09T17:54:09Z
European freedom of movement isn't extended to Roma
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6717The Scottish Referendum was changed i...2014-11-09T17:53:53Z2014-11-09T17:53:53Z
The Scottish Referendum was changed in a panic from *Yes or No* to *Yes or Devo Max* with no democratic input.
Scottish Unionists have been betrayed.
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6716Democracy and sovereignty cannot be s...2014-11-09T17:52:39Z2014-11-09T17:52:39Z
Democracy and sovereignty cannot be separated if the system is going to be accountable and responsible to its constituents.
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6715Speaker from Brighton (Dr. Tim Stanle...2014-11-09T17:50:11Z2014-11-09T17:50:11Z
Speaker from Brighton (Dr. Tim Stanley, a lot of PHDs on this panel) decries London, which is odd as he effectively lives in a London suburb. I thought he might be from Cheltenham or something.
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6714Ethnicities that are without a state ...2014-11-09T17:44:51Z2014-11-09T17:44:51Z
Ethnicities that are without a state are a disproportionate cause of problems in the world
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6713There are no legitimate forms of gove...2014-11-09T17:44:01Z2014-11-09T17:44:01Z
There are no legitimate forms of government beyond the nation-state and almost every inhabitable area of the earth (and much uninhabitable) is claimed by a nation-state.
It's the most popular and successful form of government in history.
The nation-state is struggling to engage its constituents in larger political visions.
There is also a question as to whether new nation-states can be instituted in the current framework.
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6712[Politics without sovereignty](http:/...2014-11-09T17:41:26Z2014-11-09T17:41:26Z
[Politics without sovereignty](http://www.amazon.co.uk/Politics-Without-Sovereignty-Contemporary-International/dp/0415418070)
Turkey considers the Kurds to be more a threat to its integrity that IS.
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6711An attendee, with no sense of either ...2014-11-09T17:40:21Z2014-11-09T17:40:21Z
An attendee, with no sense of either history or irony, is claiming that social media could have prevented Nazi excesses.
Ignoring the fact that the NSDAP was a popular movement (+1 that anti-semitism) and the way that IS uses social media to promote their own extreme ideology. Facebook hasn't stopped a single decapitation.
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6710So why are nation-states threatening ...2014-11-09T17:37:49Z2014-11-09T17:37:49Z
So why are nation-states threatening to tear themselves apart? [Final panel of the day](http://www.battleofideas.org.uk/2014/session_detail/9003).
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6709The teacher did illustrate that Latin...2014-11-09T17:37:08Z2014-11-09T17:37:08Z
The teacher did illustrate that Latin has such strict rules that expression comes down to plugging the right verbs and endings into the sentence construction. However the exercise fills arid and unrewarding, the answer is inevitable and the process merely tedious.
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6708Latin has some duplicate verb declens...2014-11-09T17:35:15Z2014-11-09T17:35:15Z
Latin has some duplicate verb declensions, which is a bit surprising. That's generally a sign of a language in evolution from a perfect (unique) system to a simplified one. I guess Latin had the Etruscan influence.
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6707The lunchtime session on Latin was ab...2014-11-09T17:32:17Z2014-11-09T17:32:17Z
The lunchtime session on Latin was about rote learning and its alleged superiority to modern teaching techniques.
Yeah, fuck child-led teaching! There's only one way to learn things effectively!
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6706Interesting that most of the particip...2014-11-09T17:30:39Z2014-11-09T17:30:39Z
Interesting that most of the participants on the panel were experts but not intellectuals (with a few exceptions).
A contrast with the other panels.
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6705Bit of a trite point that space profi...2014-11-09T17:29:51Z2014-11-09T17:29:51Z
Bit of a trite point that space profits will be taxed, but where Luxembourg?
At least ethical concerns are acknowledged on planetary mining.
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6704Good question: what is the return tha...2014-11-09T17:28:31Z2014-11-09T17:28:31Z
Good question: what is the return that private investors in space technology looking for?
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6703I know this is purely anecdotal evide...2014-11-09T17:28:03Z2014-11-09T17:28:03Z
I know this is purely anecdotal evidence but all the white males have no problem claiming entitlement as being self-evident.
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6702Audience now also getting into dodgy ...2014-11-09T17:26:48Z2014-11-09T17:26:48Z
Audience now also getting into dodgy territory by conflating the right to explore and Christopher Columbus's exploration of the New World.
My favourite quote on Christopher Columbus is that you've got to hand it to him; because if you don't he'll kill you and take it anyway.
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6701The question of entitlement is met wi...2014-11-09T17:22:25Z2014-11-09T17:22:25Z
The question of entitlement is met with the view that humanity *is* entitled to do whatever it can do.
Definitely seen that attitude in space technologists before.
Some of the panellists appreciate that there is in fact an ethical dimension to exploring and exploiting other planets.
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6700Very weird analogy now on the Pilgrim...2014-11-09T17:20:45Z2014-11-09T17:20:45Z
Very weird analogy now on the Pilgrim Fathers and the colonisation of Polynesia. The motivations for the migration were not all positive or constructive in their nature.
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6699Lots of references to Mallory's "beca...2014-11-09T17:19:45Z2014-11-09T17:19:45Z
Lots of references to Mallory's "because it's there" quote
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6698India is the third largest spender on...2014-11-09T17:19:23Z2014-11-09T17:19:23Z
India is the third largest spender on space technology
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6697A mission to Mars is affordable in te...2014-11-09T17:18:48Z2014-11-09T17:18:48Z
A mission to Mars is affordable in terms of defence spending.
This might be true but then so is fusion and any number of projects. The bigger issue is why are we so motivation to spend on defence with so little oversight or clear goals.
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6696It's not about feeding the hungry or ...2014-11-09T17:16:55Z2014-11-09T17:16:55Z
It's not about feeding the hungry or going into space. Without space technology more people would be starving than do today.
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6695China isn't allowed to be part of the...2014-11-09T17:16:18Z2014-11-09T17:16:18Z
China isn't allowed to be part of the ISS due to American distrust
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6694[Korolev](https://en.wikipedia.org/wi...2014-11-09T17:15:52Z2014-11-09T17:15:52Z
[Korolev](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Korolev) and von Braun were interested in putting main into space and they used military projects to try and advance their own agendas.
I think there's an element of truth to this but I would argue that the programmes used both men more than they used them.
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6693The question of space exploration is ...2014-11-09T17:14:11Z2014-11-09T17:14:11Z
The question of space exploration is more about the programmes that have less immediate goals and aims than the near space ones
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6692Space exploration offers an outlet fo...2014-11-09T17:13:37Z2014-11-09T17:13:37Z
Space exploration offers an outlet for the human need for excitement.
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6691The exploitative economics of the sol...2014-11-09T17:12:38Z2014-11-09T17:12:38Z
The exploitative economics of the solar systems are very different from to a planetary one. What is unsustainable in one might be sustainable in the other.
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6690Kennedy considered nuking the moon in...2014-11-09T17:11:38Z2014-11-09T17:11:38Z
Kennedy considered nuking the moon instead of landing a man on it, aiming to create a new crater visible from the Earth.
I'm not sure if this is true. The Daily Mail seems to have reported it.
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6689Countries are going to invest in spac...2014-11-09T17:09:48Z2014-11-09T17:09:48Z
Countries are going to invest in space as part of their infrastructure spending. They need location services, weather reporting and telecommunications and space technology is an integral part of providing that now.
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6646[The Carrington Event](http://en.wiki...2014-11-03T22:25:01Z2014-11-03T22:25:01Z
[The Carrington Event](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_storm_of_1859) would have destroyed our current form of civilisation, at the time though it only destroyed the telegraph system.
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6645The space exploration discussion
2014-11-03T22:23:50Z2014-11-03T22:23:50Z
The space exploration discussion
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6644Memory is not evidence of identity2014-11-03T22:20:56Z2014-11-03T22:20:56Z
Memory is not evidence of identity
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6643Imagination is the ability to "see" s...2014-11-03T22:20:40Z2014-11-03T22:20:40Z
Imagination is the ability to "see" something that an individual has never seen or encountered or which may never even have existed.
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6642Symbolic and abstract reasoning is tr...2014-11-03T22:19:22Z2014-11-03T22:19:22Z
Symbolic and abstract reasoning is transformative
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6641Intelligence seems related to relativ...2014-11-03T22:18:47Z2014-11-03T22:18:47Z
Intelligence seems related to relative brain size. Absolute size makes no difference.
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6554Only corvids who have stolen other bi...2014-10-28T07:42:49Z2014-10-28T07:42:49Z
Only corvids who have stolen other birds caches hide their own caches if they are observed.
There's a naivety at play where non-thieves don't move caches.
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6553Professor Mark Butler of NICE is huge...2014-10-28T07:41:26Z2014-10-28T07:41:26Z
Professor Mark Butler of NICE is hugely impressive during the discussion.
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6552Eliding Darwinism and Freemarketeerin...2014-10-28T07:37:21Z2014-10-28T07:37:21Z
Eliding Darwinism and Freemarketeering is an example of scientific illiteracy.
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6551For the first time there are drugs be...2014-10-28T07:36:30Z2014-10-28T07:36:30Z
For the first time there are drugs being discovered that can only be tested in humans. We are targeting mechanisms that only exist in human physiology.
We need to talk about the inevitable death that will happen in human-only trials. Our current system minimises risk to people.
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6550Over a century people have adapted to...2014-10-28T07:33:36Z2014-10-28T07:33:36Z
Over a century people have adapted to the causes of cardiovascular disease
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6549Our knowledge of how drugs work in pe...2014-10-28T07:32:44Z2014-10-28T07:32:44Z
Our knowledge of how drugs work in people is really limited to how drugs work in Antipodean backpackers.
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6548Holistic treatments don't fit with si...2014-10-28T07:31:53Z2014-10-28T07:31:53Z
Holistic treatments don't fit with single-problem treatment plans.
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6547Scientific illiteracy is universal, i...2014-10-28T07:31:15Z2014-10-28T07:31:15Z
Scientific illiteracy is universal, it's not just the media. GPs want certainty in the advice that NICE issues.
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6546The key issue in drug prescription is...2014-10-28T07:30:19Z2014-10-28T07:30:19Z
The key issue in drug prescription is medication at end of life.
https://thoughtstreams.io/rrees/battle-of-ideas-2014/#card-6541This are my notes (originally hand-wr...2014-10-27T08:55:24Z2014-10-27T08:55:24Z
This are my notes (originally hand-written) on five sessions of the Battle of Ideas. Most of the talks did not stick to their published synopsis but in terms of content they were on: drug development, animal cognitive abilities, learning Latin in 30 minutes, space exploration and the nation-state.