The biology of gender, from DNA to the brain | TED Talk. Karissa Sanbonmatsu

brentan comments on Jan 19, 2019:

I think it's fair to say the genitals don't determine gender. It's probably best to say the genitals and the gender of the person usually match. Nature isn't always consistent so what to do when it isn't? Be respectful and kind, I guess. I read that DNA does nothing more than create amino acids to make proteins. We have no idea what makes those proteins form such different parts of the body. I'm not sure if we're being told in the talk that the shape of the DNA is playing that part, or perhaps she was saying the knots do it.

Karen Pences school ban goes on to say banned conduct includes, but is not limited, to: ...

brentan comments on Jan 19, 2019:

I wouldn't give tuppence for the pair of them.

I’m just starting Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84. Has anyone else read it and did you enjoy it?

brentan comments on Jan 19, 2019:

I haven't. Has it anything to do with people of IQs around 80 are deemed unemployable?

when are we as a species going to get our s together?

brentan comments on Jan 19, 2019:

I think it will take more than atheism to save us. Perhaps a new reason to adopt old values.

Do you think people can learn to sing?

brentan comments on Jan 19, 2019:

I love to sing along to songs. I have no ability at all and don't care. It is so enjoyable. I say do it. Remember me if you make it big.

oil on canvas

brentan comments on Jan 19, 2019:

The mnd boggles! But it's done well.

Vikings returning home.

brentan comments on Jan 19, 2019:

He probably walks different too.

HOW TO SPOT A DICTATOR - Cruel, Racist, Oppressive, Vicious and Vindictive, Claims Everyone Loves ...

brentan comments on Jan 19, 2019:

OK but one of the features is that they imprison and/or murder you too. At the very least, they shut you up. Lots of us are wondering if that's just around the corner but so far we have the freedom to complain vehemently about what we don't like.

This is my favorite poem of my favorite Latvian classic poet.

brentan comments on Jan 19, 2019:

It's good - dark, lonely, ominous, with a touch of betrayal. Is the first sentence 'Linden (trees) darken *wind's* silence in the leaves?

Hello! I'm new to this site and am delighted to join this group.

brentan comments on Jan 19, 2019:

Hello and welcome! I don't take part and don't know very much about opera but I have certain operas and songs that I love.

Otra canción que me gusta bailar con mi hijos. [youtu.be]

brentan comments on Jan 19, 2019:

Baila, mi hermana........I mean mi hermano.

The death penalty - why dress it up?

brentan comments on Jan 19, 2019:

Here's something about the psychology of capital punishment. It's from Dostoevsky's the Idiot. Dostoevsky had been taken out to be shot by firing squad and reprieved just before the order was given: 'To kill for murder is a punishment incomparably worse than the crime itself. Murder by legal sentence is immeasurably more terrible than murder by brigands. Anyone murdered by brigands, whose throat is cut at night in a wood, or something of that sort, must surely hope to escape till the very last minute. There have been instances when a man has still hoped for escape, running or begging for mercy after his throat was cut. But in the other case all that last hope, which makes dying ten times as easy, is taken away for certain. There is the sentence, and the whole awful torture lies in the fact that there is certainly no escape, and there is no torture in the world more terrible.

I imagined this song as Punk version redo with another verse incorporating the phrase "death bed".

brentan comments on Jan 19, 2019:

Delightful. I won't comment about the song's place in the film, just that the film is great!

Comment notifications

brentan comments on Jan 19, 2019:

I think it's a drag because we assume the notification is for us but there's also the chance somebody is saying something interesting.

R.E.M. - Losing My Religion (Official Music Video) - YouTube

brentan comments on Jan 19, 2019:

I guess I never understood the song. I still don't. I just get a huge sense of love converted to paranoia.

The guillotine If any single item has become the symbol of the French Revolution, it would be the ...

brentan comments on Jan 19, 2019:

I never expected indecent exposure was a way to deal with rioters.

My just learned word "splenetic".

brentan comments on Jan 19, 2019:

Something to do with the spleen, I guess.

You Experience Virtual Reality Even If You’re Not Yourself Virtual Reality.

brentan comments on Jan 19, 2019:

If you haven't already read it, I think you would be fascinated by The Master And His Emissary by Iain McGilchrist.

The death penalty - why dress it up?

brentan comments on Jan 19, 2019:

From what I've read, the death penalty does not work as a deterrent. From an economic perspective, the Chinese method of a bullet in the head was very easy on the taxpayer. The cost of maintaining prisoners for long periods of times must be huge. Granted, there is a lot of employment around supplying prison services but I suspect the net cost is still huge. Then there's the moral issue for society. I think the morality of the situation is judged by the threat level to society in general rather than individual justice.

How does the church influence your life?

brentan comments on Jan 19, 2019:

America is very odd that way. I am very interested in the history of religion and how it has added to our culture. It is, to me, the history of people through the centuries. My country, Ireland, is very secular these days and there is great antipathy towards the R.C. Church, which is understandable after the crimes of the clergy became known.

The weather is getting nice.

brentan comments on Jan 19, 2019:

I'd love to but can't. Who's the statue?

Along the same lines as... "a road less traveled".

brentan comments on Jan 19, 2019:

Look how dangerous that is. Safer to stay with the crowd.

My band's new single

brentan comments on Jan 18, 2019:

Gosh, the number of bands in there - Quo, ZZ Top, Deep Purple and probably many more. But it's well done and cathartic, which can be very good for the head.

Always remember

brentan comments on Jan 18, 2019:

That's deep. The lake might be too.

A sign of the times (funny times that is). [agnostic.com]

brentan comments on Jan 18, 2019:

They never want to talk.

Should sharia law be banned from the West?

brentan comments on Jan 18, 2019:

Yes indeed, ban it outright. We have our own legal system. It took centuries to develop. It's flawed but it's secular and doesn't have the barbarity religion can bring to the table.

I think I need to live by this every day!!!

brentan comments on Jan 18, 2019:

Never mind Be your mind

Why?

brentan comments on Jan 18, 2019:

Eternal optimism, maybe? I think that's a good thing but it sure has its cost.

People are always telling me that they want me to be on the same page.

brentan comments on Jan 18, 2019:

That's a problem because people usually don't want to listen to the experience other people have under their belt. I'm fine with it these days but at my age it's a bit late in the day.

If you had the ability to construct a civilization what would be the the first steps that you might ...

brentan comments on Jan 18, 2019:

I would start by building self-governing communes.

People will love you, people will hate you, and none of it has anything to do with you.

brentan comments on Jan 18, 2019:

The bastards.

The Devil took My Selfie [nytimes.com]

brentan comments on Jan 18, 2019:

I thinkj showing Satan preoccupied with his own image was very clever.

It has been 50 years since this MASTERPIECE hit the screen.

brentan comments on Jan 18, 2019:

The American dream turns into a nightmare.

Freud said that young girls suffer from penis envy.

brentan comments on Jan 17, 2019:

I think the idea was that men had a thing and women had no-thing, a concept familiar in Shakespeare's time (Much Ado About Nothing) and who knows when it started.

How much are our behaviours influenced by how we've been programmed by parents and life.

brentan comments on Jan 17, 2019:

It would be very constructive if your partner was analysing herself at the same time.

I am a longtime fan of Mary Oliver’s poetry, and with sadness I read this morning that she, ...

brentan comments on Jan 17, 2019:

The priestly work of the poet - to attempt to cross the bridge between the known and unknown and articulate the ineffable for us.

And I would like to add, allow others to help you get through it.

brentan comments on Jan 17, 2019:

Pull yourself up by your bootstraps!

Good exploration of the hypocrisy of the "anti"-fascists.

brentan comments on Jan 17, 2019:

I couldn't help thinking about revolution. Lots of us think that violence is justified when human rights are lost. Some criticise IRA violence in the struggle for civil rights in Northern Ireland. Some people see absolutely no justification for any situation ever. But violence against today's relatively powerless fascists seems a stretch.

30 Years After the Rushdie Fatwa, Europe Is Moving Backward – Foreign Policy

brentan comments on Jan 17, 2019:

It might be expedience at best but I suspect a more sinister motive. Perhaps the global economic leaders would prefer a cheaper workforce. That said, I think you get what you pay for but the ordinary person will pay the price. I hate to see our European culture and wonderful ideals thrown under the bus for the profit of a few.

Christian Love.

brentan comments on Jan 17, 2019:

If that's the first appearance, I wonder what the mindset was between the 4th century and the Middle Ages. My guess is that Pauline Christianity understood the Mosaic law was superseded by spirit. The early church in Jerusalem instructed their members to avoid fornication, which included homosexuality, and had nothing to say about punishments (Acts 15:28). There was a case of adultery where the apostle Paul recommended putting a man out of a congregation (1 Corinthians 5:11 but certainly nothing about any theocratic punishment. I think Catholicism went backwards over time by incorporating the Mosaic Law into Christianity.

A successful black women claims a successful black man is so because of his "white privilege.

brentan comments on Jan 17, 2019:

That was a major gaffe and there will always be situations where white privilege isn't the case. Nonetheless, the history of racism in America has always, by definition, been about white privilege. We could talk all day about poor, uneducated white people but at the end of the day, even they knew they had at least a theoretical chance of upward mobility but the law stopped blacks in their tracks with all the power of the state.

Has anyone of you read "The Most Dangerous Superstition" by Larken Rose?

brentan comments on Jan 17, 2019:

No.

Dylan could paint amazing scenes with words.

brentan comments on Jan 17, 2019:

The unofficial anthem of the Jehovah's Witnesses. Great song!

The night is a well,from which I once drew the courage to face the next day.

brentan comments on Jan 17, 2019:

I laugh a wry laugh using your imagery, thinking of us pissing in our own wells and unable to refresh ourselves from it anymore. Darned if I know what to say except the longer we live, the more mistakes we'll probably make. I think wisdom has a large component of compassion in it and we should apply it liberally to ourselves as well as others.

Praise for local libraries; the most powerful engine of democracy and social equality I can think ...

brentan comments on Jan 17, 2019:

Yes, they were a terrific idea.

What's on my mind? The same as most other Brits, Brexit, it's driving me insane!

brentan comments on Jan 17, 2019:

I admire their vote to return to govern their own country. I suspect the price will be high at first but new doors will open where old ones closed. I strongly suspect anyway that if Brexit actually happens and becomes a fait accompli, the E.U. will learn to accept the new situation and back off to a large extent on trying to punishing the British.

Heading to France Friday night, to be in Paris for the weekend war with what is rapidly becoming a ...

brentan comments on Jan 17, 2019:

We get very little about it in Irish media. I have to go on YouTube for some news. Maybe you'll let us know what you think about the situation when you get back?

Why did religions originate in the first place?

brentan comments on Jan 17, 2019:

I think you're right. I think it started in the value of reciprocity in cave-dwellers. The values were later conceptualised as morals and inculcated by community leaders. I thought you had left the forum. Glad to see you're still here.

I notice when I'm out driving how many churches there are.

brentan comments on Jan 17, 2019:

Here's one you might like. It's designed by Andrew Gould, a Greek Orthodox architect :

I have decided that I am over this working for a living malarky.

brentan comments on Jan 17, 2019:

'Be a loyal plastic robot for a world that doesn't care' - Frank Zappa.

WaPo commentary: "I’m a Steadfast Atheist. Here’s Why I Go to Mass Mow." [washingtonpost.com]

brentan comments on Jan 17, 2019:

I completely relate to the guy. I think the common thing between atheists and believers in church is an aspiration to higher things which can range from self-reflection to worship of a god.

If we keep thinking about the material, from where it came?

brentan comments on Jan 17, 2019:

I wouldn't be so quick to anthropomorphise god. The furthest I would go there is that everything might have its own spirit, in the sense of a consciousness. The idea that the universe is created just for us could be egotistical wishful thinking. The notion that there is a justice after death could be just wishful thinking too. I think it would be more helpful if we focussed on organising justice in this world.

A point for irony et c.

brentan comments on Jan 17, 2019:

Betty Crocker must be roasting in Hell.

CHARITY [youtu.be]

brentan comments on Jan 16, 2019:

Christians understand the six Greek words for the different types of love. This particular love comes under the concept of the Greek 'agape'. Agape is principled love. You don't waste that on atheists.

HOLD FAST, SHIPMATES!??????????

brentan comments on Jan 16, 2019:

That's a strange post. What did you have in mind about it?

America - Sister Golden Hair [youtube.com]

brentan comments on Jan 16, 2019:

Super! I guess they settled down in the end.

Elton John-The Bitch is Back [youtu.be]

brentan comments on Jan 16, 2019:

Well now, I never knew what that song was about. To be honest, I'm still not sure.

I saw this and was immediately reminded how doctors and nurses even more so, do not get paid enough ...

brentan comments on Jan 16, 2019:

I guess the buttons are the problem. Like those arrows with a hook on them.

Learning of Early American Irish Slaves in a Conversation with Master Historian Queen Elizabeth ...

brentan comments on Jan 16, 2019:

I read Ronat Lentin's book How The Irish Became White. According to her, the Irish were worse than slaves because they had no value at all, considering black slaves had to be paid for. She says the Irish paved the way for rising in American society initially through violence towards black slaves, taking employment from them by force.

[yahoo.

brentan comments on Jan 16, 2019:

But not legally responsible in any way. I saw The Accused.

Jesus and Mo time again.

brentan comments on Jan 16, 2019:

I guess forcing women to be modest is a good thing.

We have no more right to consume happiness without producing it than to consume wealth without ...

brentan comments on Jan 16, 2019:

But what about winning the lottery?

Deuteragonist The second most important character the protagonist

brentan comments on Jan 16, 2019:

I thought it might be someone who hates Jewish law.

My body breaks 50 but my ideology barely breaks 20.

brentan comments on Jan 16, 2019:

Death's a sarcastic bastard.

In the phrase❤

brentan comments on Jan 16, 2019:

Oh, the effort!

Hugs were needed today! I gave... which also means I received. ?

brentan comments on Jan 16, 2019:

Curious, isn't it? The solution to the problem might not be the solution to the problem.

The best day of your life is the one you decide your life is your own.

brentan comments on Jan 16, 2019:

Best suited to single people.

The last supper?

brentan comments on Jan 16, 2019:

This fits in well with the Passover message. When time is pressing, like the Egyptians are about to annihilate you, you need a take-away.

Understanding is important!

brentan comments on Jan 16, 2019:

Oh gosh, that's black humour!

OK.... Can someone please explain the line between Masculinity & Toxic Masculinity?

brentan comments on Jan 16, 2019:

I think it's all about the change in what men can provide to society. Their strength and their courage were really appreciated in the past. Technology and peacetime have reduced such a need for strength and bravery. Men need to re-train for the future but keep in mind the future might revert back to the ways of the past in a heartbeat. If that happens, Sheldon Cooper will need to turn into John Wayne mighty fast!

The Importance of Being Scared: Polish Nobel Laureate Wisława Szymborska on Fairy Tales and the ...

brentan comments on Jan 16, 2019:

That's a very interesting article. I think it's politically incorrect to speak well of fairy tales but I enjoyed in their magical world as I read them. Perhaps if we want our children to live in safe spaces, they should not be allowed to read them.

Mind your manners

brentan comments on Jan 16, 2019:

I never thought I'd see barbarian and faux-pas in the same sentence!

I love this sky.

brentan comments on Jan 16, 2019:

Excuse me, while I kiss this guy - I mean the sky.

Lin-Manuel Miranda Gmorning to the distance between you and okay The logistics of your morning ...

brentan comments on Jan 16, 2019:

When I wake up, I feel OK. Another day, good to be alive! Generally speaking, I like his attitude of getting out of bed and working towards your goals, learning along the way. I had to smile too at how coffee has become such an accepted part of our ability to get things done.

An example of insane "feminism," and the idiocy of the grievance justice labeled "cultural ...

brentan comments on Jan 15, 2019:

Cultural appropriation, I think, is a two-way street.

How would you like to just soak in this hot tub. Alone or better with a partner?

brentan comments on Jan 15, 2019:

It's a tough choice but I think I'd like it for myself.

Hey Folks.

brentan comments on Jan 15, 2019:

That's a great achievement - well done!

What is that old saying.

brentan comments on Jan 15, 2019:

Which came first - the acorn or the tree? My money's on the acorn. And then the tree will grow from the acorn so it hardly strays at all.

Every so often I read the posts in this category, and it reminds me how lucky I am to be ...

brentan comments on Jan 15, 2019:

There's a lot to be said for being single. Like everything, there's the opportunity cost but I think it's worth it! I'm sure it's a good thing lots of young people don't think the way I do.

What's your favorite song that has a question for the title?

brentan comments on Jan 15, 2019:

Cat Stevens' How Can I Tell You is a lovely song.

There is a place in the mind where the Mind refuses to go.

brentan comments on Jan 15, 2019:

It might be the other way round.

I've found this joke funny since before Tiger Woods even existed.

brentan comments on Jan 15, 2019:

Good one!

How the American opiate epidemic was started by one pharmaceutical company

brentan comments on Jan 15, 2019:

So much for the Hippocratic Oath. And the salesmen, just how sociopathic are they?

Where are you?

brentan comments on Jan 15, 2019:

Ah, breakfast at Dennys!

Passing through again....

brentan comments on Jan 15, 2019:

I'd love to see Benny's show. I'll bet it's really exciting.

Evangelicals sue for right to deny shelter to homeless transgender people / LGBTQ Nation

brentan comments on Jan 14, 2019:

And the other gang want the law to allow them to be lynched! Jesus would horsewhip them.

I saw this posted in a different group, but thought it was also worth showing here.

brentan comments on Jan 14, 2019:

I've heard some people recommend Canola oil.

The Dude abides!

brentan comments on Jan 14, 2019:

I never related to that movie but The Fisher King, wow, that was magical.

Pretty much...

brentan comments on Jan 14, 2019:

I guess we want the other side to find out by experience. Another way of looking at it is the importance of defending the narcissism of small differences

[youtu.

brentan comments on Jan 14, 2019:

I'm sure if Gillette thought there was profit in it, they would recommend men use 5-blade razors and cut their dicks off.

des·cant noun.

brentan comments on Jan 14, 2019:

Here's the end of Richard III's introductory monologue in the eponymous play: Why, I, in this weak piping time of peace, Have no delight to pass away the time, Unless to see my shadow in the sun And descant on mine own deformity. In this context, it means commenting but has a more technical meaning in music. I don't remember it exactly but it carries the sense of a voice singing above the voices of others.

Congrats to the members of Hippie Land.

brentan comments on Jan 14, 2019:

Darn hippies - get a job, and a haircut! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XWmwvT8bCw Well maybe not. Let that freak flag fly.

"I'm quite illiterate, but I read a lot". The Catcher in the Rye.

brentan comments on Jan 14, 2019:

Maybe he was reading the wrong books!

This! A thousand times this.

brentan comments on Jan 14, 2019:

I blame Protestanism for preaching the idea that spirituality and success in life are proportional. I think the epitome of this thinking can be seen in Joel Osteen's ministry.

[youtu.

brentan comments on Jan 14, 2019:

We never hear much about Jewish groups doing something to make Gentiles feel good about them. Perhaps it's explained to some extent by good news not usually being reported.

Man·i·chae·an.

brentan comments on Jan 14, 2019:

Darn heretic!

Bertrand Russell

brentan comments on Jan 14, 2019:

How can we be happy knowing justice is not getting done?

Not a unused word, just a thought.

brentan comments on Jan 14, 2019:

The word has been stabbed in the back!

One of my favorite post-rock bands is from Iceland.

brentan comments on Jan 13, 2019:

That's new music to me and very enjoyable. I like art that points me in a certain direction but doesn't spell it out for me. The closest music I've known in this way is by Yes. Although there are words with syntax and grammar, the sentences are very abstract, simply pointing to aspiration and spirituality.

Upside: I got my Agnostic.

brentan comments on Jan 13, 2019:

Glad you're OK. I won't feel complete until I get that T-shirt.