Shake on It? Of Course!

My good friend Devin Thorpe of Thorpe Capital Group writes this morning about venture capitalist Brad Feld who:

joins Donald Trump in what I view as being a small, but growing trend to avoid a very traditional greeting among friends, business associates, church goers and others....and I had to comment. I mean, really, why wouldn't you shake hands?

1) You could be one of those megalomaniacs who refuses to participate in social norms to display their dominance ( like dogs try to do when they're humping your leg ). In which case, well, I don't want to do business with you.

Or ( and, perhaps, "and" )

2) You're afraid of "germs"... and you think that not shaking hands is going to keep you safe. Which tells me two things: you're given to flights of ill-informed fancy... and you think you can exercise unnatural control over your surroundings. Neither thing bodes well for you, and I still don't want to do business with you.

You see, I am not biophobic (a softer term for afraid of germs — because "germs" is a loaded word) by any stretch of the imagination. I understand that of the billions of microbes that inhabit the same space I do, only a rare few are in the least bit interested in me — and of those, only a tiny fraction are out to do me harm. The human race evolved to deal with microbes and infections, and I'm not about to short-circuit the system of bio-feedback attempting to un-plug from it. We need microbes, and people who fear them — people like Feld, Trump, and a few other noteworthy nutjobs — are living in a world that doesn't exist. And if they're comfortable with one fiction, who knows what other fictions they enjoy... contract fictions? milestone fictions? banking fictions?

Wanna do business with me?

Let's shake on it.

Amazing: The Lyrebird Song

From the Proceedings of the Athanasius Kircher Society:

This video apparently made the rounds on the internet several months ago, but it is so wonderful that we feel compelled to pass it along for those who might not have seen it yet. Earlier this year, to celebrate David Attenborough’s 80th birthday, the public was asked to vote on a favorite moment from his countless TV documentaries. This clip of the Australian lyrebird was voted the most popular. We won’t spoil it by trying to describe it.

It's a must-see video clip.

DNA vs The Book of Mormon: The Illiterati Weigh-in

So I use customized Google news feeds to keep-up on subjects of interest to me... one of which is the keyword "mormon". And last week (when I was too busy to blog it), this little gem from PhysOrg.com pops-up on my newsreader, stating that DNA contradicts Mormon scripture. Now, I'm familiar with the general discussion... but I can't imagine a poorer distillation of the relevant facts could be composed.

It's a short article, so I'll just do some in-line commentary below. But I must warn you: the level of snark in my commentary is high — but commensurate with the myriad failures of the article.

The Mormon Church teaches American Indians are descended from a lost tribe of Israel, but modern DNA test results contradict that tenet.

First off, the least they could do is get the name right. Next, they should differentiate between folk religion and actual doctrine... many Mormons believe that the people spoken of in the Book of Mormon are the primary ancestors of the aboriginal peoples of both North and South America. But it's a view not supported by a thorough reading of the Book of Mormon. And finally... "modern DNA test results" ... is DNA testing old enough to have anything but modern DNA tests available? I think the author meant "recent DNA test results".

The DNA tests reveal the ancestors of the American natives came from Asia, not the Middle East, thereby casting doubt on many of the historical depictions found in the Book of Mormon, a 175-year-old book of religious facts the church regards as literal and without error, The Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.

And since I'm being picky, the author should be told that the Middle East is almost entirely within Asia... I believe, however, that the DNA tests concluded that the ancestors of Native Americans are of East Asian and not Semetic origin. And I'm not sure that we've ever considered the Book of Mormon to be without error... in fact, on several occasions the author/compilor of the book pleads with readers to forgive any errors in the book, and not to condemn the doctrine found therein.

The Book of Mormon is the central doctrine that divides The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from other Christian faiths.

It's a bald statement... but not entirely without merit. So I'll throw the author a bone on this one. He got something (more or less) right.

Critics now insist the Mormon Church admit its mistake and apologize to millions of Native Americans it converted. Church leaders, however, dismiss the DNA test results as heresy, noting the prophet Joseph Smith proclaimed the Book of Mormon the "most correct of any book on Earth."

Oh, good heavens.

The Mormon leaders say the DNA test results are being twisted to attack the church.

Not to mention being twisted by inept UPI copy jockies.

Okay... that's not fair... the author could have been under all sorts of deadlines, or may have been over edited ... I don't know. So it's a cheap shot, and I'm sorry. But it just seems that news organizations really need to go the extra mile to get the facts straight... And that starts with naming the actual study being discussed, the parties that were involved... perhaps even adding some value beyond regurgitating said facts.

If you want some good laughs, though, you should check-out the discussion thread on the article.