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AR 23:26 - The Dalai Lama's Buddhist science initiative
In this issue:
BUDDHISM - "placing Buddhism's non-dogmatic approach in a scientific framework"
ISLAM - recent book "equates the slavery, patriarchy, and militarism in the Koran to that of the Torah"
TRUTH - how online experience can breed cynicism ... and darkness
Apologia Report 23:26 (1,392)
August 16, 2018
BUDDHISM
The Enlightened Gene: Biology, Buddhism, and the Convergence that Explains the World, by Arri Eisen and Yungdrung Konchok [1] -- "In this fascinating read, a Western science educator and a Buddhist monk reflect on aspects of biology that seem meaningful from the framework of Buddhist metaphysics. From bad bacteria and microbiomes to epigenetics and karma, from ecology and meditation to emotions and mirror neurons, a wide range of topics relevant to both technical biology and humanistic psychology are thoughtfully considered. Eisen (Pedagogy in Biology, Emory Univ.) and Konchock (Yungdrung Bon Library, Tibet) manage to place Buddhism's non-dogmatic approach in a scientific framework. In the process, the reader gets glimpses of the center in India where the Dalai Lama has been fostering science education among Buddhist monks and missionaries." Choice, May '18
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ISLAM
What the Qur'an Meant: And Why It Matters, by Garry Wills, professor of history emeritus at Northwestern University and a Pulitzer Prize–winning historian [2] -- according to Choice (May '18): "The Koran - a pastiche of fragments and shards collected after Mohammed's death - is a foundational guiding work for world Islam and Wills explains why it matters. In the introduction, Wills equates the slavery, patriarchy, and militarism in the Koran to that of the Torah. Wills goes on to decry the secular and religious ignorance of George Bush, equating his 'animal instincts' with those of Mussolini. Wills maintains that ignorance about the Koran led to the Iraq War and claims that the Iraq venture destabilized the Middle East (he makes no mention of the Arab Spring, which occurred after the Iraq War). Then there are those Wills labels the fearfully ignorant - Pamela Geller, Brigitte Gabriel, Robert Spencer. This reviewer wonders if Wills appreciates them individually or, as he appears to do, simply lumps them in with a president with whom he disagrees. These individuals speak publicly only with armed guards and Spencer was recently inadvertently drugged by an activist at an engagement. Thus these individuals' free speech has been compromised so simply labeling them ignorant is a mistake."
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TRUTH
"The Truth-Affirming Powers of a Good, Old-Fashioned Netflix Binge" by Virginia Heffernan <vpheffernan.com> -- what does it mean when even WIRED magazine becomes cynical about any hope of finding truth on the Web? Heffernan observes that "the spirit of mischief that used to define the web has curdled. In place of pranks and profiteering are now exploitation, malice, fraud, racketeering, and warfare. ... Digital confections ... exploit individuals, corrupt information space, and undermine the reliability of all digital artifacts.
"Lost in the funhouse, we're told to be afraid - and to process every symbol we encounter with heightened diligence. The new catchphrase for web users is 'Verify, then trust.' ...
"For all of us dazed and confused, and tired, then, I propose a brand-new media literacy course. Don't groan yet. It's called the Netflix Binge.... you gorge on hour after hour of highly stylized fiction....
"The idea is simple: to suffuse your neurochemistry with fantasy, works of imagination, made-up worlds. ...
"The Netflix Binge works on the theory that there's nothing wrong with the web that can't be fixed by what's right with it. ...
"The best fiction to mainline is genre fiction, which rests on major chords and pleasing, familiar structures that make it easy. ...
"The Netflix Binge puts viewers in a kind of trance in which we suspend, for a time, our worry over being conned."
Then comes the irony. "When Netflix bingers finally finish a series and stagger out into the light, we often look at our phones. ...
"Netflix Binge students will know the rules and pleasures of fiction, and know them in their marrow. Ideally, they will be suspicious of any effort to force the grit of real life to conform to three acts with goofy villains and heroes made of tin. That stuff should now fall on its face as journalism, but it's also abysmal as fiction, as veterans of the Netflix Binge will immediately recognize." WIRED, Jun '18, pp19-22. <www.bit.ly/2neFkpT>
Perhaps the sidebar that accompanied the final page of the above item signals unintended and ominous meaning. "Gaming Gets X-Rated - and Very Profitable" by Joseph Bien-Kahn informs us that "The thriving erotic-gaming industry that originated in Japan is now going global. Backed by porn giant MindGeek (owner of Pornhub, YouPorn, RedTube, et al.), Nutaku has become a megaplatform of titillating gaming, offering a mix of imports and indie releases. With 10 million registered users - 40 percent of whom play daily - and 70 million monthly pageviews, the platform's output of singleplayer kink has exploded more than 800 percent since 2015.
"Porn-to-play is trending on indie platforms too, largely via mobile. Lewd gaming site Eroges.com has gained 250,000 subscribers since November; 65 percent of its traffic comes from Android. And game downloads on the porn app store MiKandi have spiked 81 percent since 2016. 'Japanese companies are reaching out to us to help them bring their games to the US market,' says Mikandi cofounder Jen McEwen, motivated by a boom in developer crowdfunding on Patreon and Kickstarter, as well as partnerships with Japanese game studios.
"The next erogenous zone is VR. The virtual world Red Light Center claims 220,000 active members, and 'VR' recently became the most searched term on MiKandi." WIRED, May '18, p22. <www.bit.ly/2MnV2Kg>
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SOURCES: Monographs
1 - The Enlightened Gene: Biology, Buddhism, and the Convergence that Explains the World, by Arri Eisen and Yungdrung Konchok (ForeEdge, 2017, hardcover, 296 pages) <www.amzn.to/2ncPW8Z>
2 - What the Qur'an Meant: And Why It Matters, by Garry Wills (Viking, 2017, hardcover, 240 pages) <www.amzn.to/2vjQmyF>
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