By Ravi Perera –
“What did the others know of history? Passing ripples, little eddies, and breaking waves. They wondered at the changing forms of the surface and could not explain them. But we had descended into the depths, into the formless, anonymous masses, which at all times constituted the substance of history; and we were the first to discover her laws of motion. We had discovered the laws of her inertia, of the slow changing of the molecular structure, and, her sudden eruptions…” – Darkness at Noon- Arthur Koestler
“These forfeited food surpluses fuelled politics, wars, art and philosophy. They built palaces, forts, monuments and temples. Until the late modern era, more than 90 percent of humans were peasants, who rose each morning to till the land by the sweat of their brows. The extra they produced fed the tiny minority of elites-kings, government officials, soldiers, priests, artists and thinkers-who fill the history books. History is something that very few people have been doing while everyone else was ploughing fields and carrying water buckets”- Sapiens- Yuval Noah Harari
So complete has been the failure of the ostensible ‘elite’ of this country that a very large percentage of the voters have now decided to place their fate in the hands of the NPP, a combination of political groups predominated by the JVP, a political party putatively Marxist. In the context of global realities, Marxism is not what it was usually associated with. China will display a huge portrait of Karl Marx (a German Jew) at their May Day parade, the next day the ‘politburo’ of the Chinese Communist party may take steps to bolster its stock market, a mechanism which has enriched millions of Chinese in the past two decades.
This failure of our ‘elite’, constituted broadly of political, financial, managerial and even professional classes, is all encompassing. In the seventy-five years since independence we have only proven our inadequacies, a consistent failure. So vacuous are the ‘elite’, that a game of Cricket played by few teenagers has become an icon of elitism. Blind to the dilapidation all around them, they gather from all corners to act the goat under the sweltering March sun, declaring their faithful adherence to a supposed tradition originating in a game of Cricket between Eton and Harrow, two public schools in England. Oblivious to the gaping differences between the achievements of the English and them, unembarrassed about the illegitimacy inherent in the colonized attempting to mimic the habits of the colonizer, this melee has become our elite’s most visible statement. After all the hoopla of seventy-five years, Sri Lanka has managed to reach a Per Capita GDP of about 4000 US dollars, while the United Kingdom is more than dollars 50,000 per Capita. That sobering fact alone should have made our elite pause before imitating something so incompatible with their character make-up.
What the ‘elite’ sanction the plebeians follow, now every boy’s school in the country has begun its own ‘big’ match, a rowdy free for all!
What is history?
It being commonly said that a people are a product of their history; a shared culture, a particular language and a certain way of looking (at the world), the relevance of the subject matter needs no emphasis.
By its very scope and substance history invokes controversy. On a given set of historical dates or events there could be cautious agreement among historians, however, when it comes to interpreting them, or understanding their relevance, differences of opinion, sometimes irreconcilable, arise.
Who owns the land of Israel? Does it belong to the very first Sapiens, hunters and gatherers, who inhabited the area? Does possession confer ownership? Who determines the issue?
There could be broad agreement as to the day on which the Second World War commenced, at least when the guns began firing. Then again, months and even years before that, economies were militarized, armies mobilized, and countries occupied forcibly. And, as to the guilty party, it depends on who you speak to; it is a truism that the victors write the history. Were the Axis powers to be blamed solely for the carnage of that world-wide war (1939-45)? Did the peace terms dictated by the victorious Allies after the First World War (1914-18) make the sequel inevitable? History throws up more questions than answers it seems.
Closer to home, let us look at the story of our political journey, post-independence. Departing fundamentally from what had gone on for more than two millennia, we now had to elect our leaders; no more kings. This is a change deeper going than usually given; we did not foreswear the Kingly system; it was taken away by foreign intervention. The vote, a new idea, empowered the people as never before in their history. In the new system, the voter’s character and outlook became the key factor. A democratic system was put in place, however, democratic impulses were alien, almost from the very beginning election violence became a common feature in the hustings. Winning, whether by means fair or foul, was all that mattered. A few powerful families who were well placed for electoral battles, were able to consolidate political power. Reflecting long accustomed feudal habits, politics descended into a family business.
Without much difficulty we can tabulate the dates on which every election was held since 1948, list the candidates, give the winners, the number of voters polled and the percentages of the votes obtained by them. However, that degree of clarity will not be possible when we attempt to decipher the philosophy, policies and achievements of the various governments so elected. Here, we will come across contrasting interpretations and opinions. If we were to dig deeper into questions like the responsibility for the election violence, the mismanagement of the country or the gradual erosion of public institutions, opinions will be wildly divergent.
Uncertainty is present in all history, more so of days gone by, events to which we are not witness. If what is reported to us now, in real time, is conflicting and even challengeable, how much more doubtful the history of days lost in the mists of time!
For ancient history we are dependent on those who recorded them, in times when literacy was limited only to a handful. Very few of those present then could have challenged the veracity of the words being carved on stone, and if the carving had the king’s endorsement none would dare! For ancient history we are dependent on limited sources, one or two stone carvings or surviving scrolls. Even these scanty histories were rarely contemporaneous, the recorder writing about events happening few generations back, based on what has been passed from mouth to mouth. We do not know whether the exacting academic standards of today were demanded of the recorders then. Whether it was dispassionate scholarship, or propaganda by an interested party, remains open. Newly developed sciences of carbon dating and even DNA are shifting many previously held opinions of history.
The change
Until about the 15th Century most civilizations evolved more or less on their own, what happened in Rome mattered little to the Chinese, the Incas had no concept of the Egyptians, for those living in ancient Judea, Rome, its imperial master was only a concept, very few Judeans had travelled further than a few kilometres of their birthplace. When, with all the advantages we enjoy now, there are so many misconceptions about other nations, what the ancients thought of faraway lands would have been mainly in the realm of mythology. Each civilisation, isolated in its own location and trapped in its own thought processes, resisted change, assumed itself perfect and declared itself content.
With the advancement of technology, particularly in transport and shipping that began around this period, global trade volumes multiplied, men travelled the world, colonisation followed. In the five Centuries following, the world changed, old attitudes and methods were challenged like never before. Today, you can fly around the world faster than the time it took a pilgrim fifty years ago to travel from Colombo to Kataragama. Then, a trip to Kataragama was undertaken with a certain solemnity, one of those special journeys of your life. Now this journey could be done in half a day, leave early in the morning to return to Colombo for lunch.
In today’s shrunken world, barriers have no place, we know everything about everybody else. Comparing and contrasting comes easy; what is the other’s Per Capita income, productivity, efficiency, skill level, corruption indication? If you want to compare relative physical strengths or athleticism of different nations, we can look at the Olympics medal tally or the rankings at the Soccer World Cup. There are innumerable statistics on life expectancy, calorie intake, consumer choices available to a citizen, quality of services of a country, the strength of a nation’s Passport, which all go to tell a complex story.
Our cultural imperatives as well as historical records indicate an agrarian society principally absorbed in rice cultivation, our staple and the prime source of carbohydrate. It appears that Sri Lanka’s ancient systems were passively immobile, continuing more or less on the same model from King Vijaya to Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe, two thousand years later. A King and his feudal “lords” ruled the country. The economy was basic, nearly all efforts being absorbed in the growing of rice. Other economic arrangements, land holding and the legal system were also unyielding to changing times. We don’t have much of an idea about our war methods, military formations or tactics; relative to the European continent, proper wars were few and far between in this island. Perhaps an unwarlike nation pays little heed to arms; the bow and arrow and the sword, remained the standard weaponry through the Centuries.
Whatever changes that happened only came by way of foreign agencies; guns, commercial crops, land titles, a judiciary separated from the executive and later the vote, the parliament, Marxism and political parties were foreign ideas. Although Sri Lanka bears no comparison with the nations credited with these ideas and institutions, we adopted them nonchalantly. We would read about them, talk about them, however, did we understand the essence of the concept? As later events have shown, the adoption was reckless; every concept was misapplied, while every institution was misused in this country. The ‘Politburo’ (political bureau) for example, is an idea that owes its origins to revolutionary exigencies of the Bolshevik Party of Slavic Russia. The Bolsheviks were unrelenting atheists, openly at war with the idea of religion. Subsequently, the Soviet Union went on to become a global superpower. Although the two nations are complete opposites, in little Sri Lanka even small Muslim parties have ‘politburos’ now!
The denouement
When European ships arrived on our shores, we reached a moment of truth. The foreigners may not eat rice, but were not any less vigorous. Their King may only be a figurehead, but their administration was no less effective. They were not given to meditation, but were not lacking in initiative and new ideas. In short, they were very strong and we were pitifully weak. To get a sense of the buffoonery and the corruption the Europeans perceived in our so called leaders of yore, one has to only refer to the records of their encounters.
The European conquests were not achieved solely by feats of arms, the foreigners came with a host of fresh ideas, which were eagerly embraced by the natives.
Essential to the new political ideas that came from the West was the rejection of the autocratic rule of Kings and their feudal systems. In this island, the attitudes were very different, the King was perceived as a munificent presence endowed with infinite wisdom. The King is gone, in his place, we have an apparatus called the State.
Since people make the history, it goes without saying that history cannot march ahead of the people. In other words, history cannot deliver something that the particular people are not capable of or are not suited for.
When compared with other similar countries, our post- independence journey has been run-of-the-mill. A lot of hype and big talk, but statistically a poor performer. Despite repeated failures, most people still see greater State intervention as the way forward. Take the case of the Srilankan airline which adds millions of rupees every day to our accumulated debt, further impoverishing us all. Yet, in the common belief, the airline is owned by the State, therefore, it is a national asset. A small matter; a new plan and a change of management, and, everything will be good.
Yes, a history cannot rise above that people!
The NPP promises to reverse a historical trend. Everybody else has failed. We have reached a dead end.
For a forlorn nation, a leap of faith awaits.
Nathan / March 16, 2024
Since people make the history, it goes without saying that history cannot march ahead of the people.
I like it, because it sums up our hope, – rather, our destiny.
Thank you, Ravi Perera.
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nimal fernando / March 17, 2024
“So vacuous are the ‘elite’, that a game of Cricket played by few teenagers has become an icon of elitism. Blind to the dilapidation all around them, they gather from all corners to act the goat under the sweltering March sun, declaring their faithful adherence to a supposed tradition originating in a game of Cricket between Eton and Harrow, two public schools in England.”
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Shhhhh …… You’re upsetting all the Ranil supporters here!
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All ye Ranil supporters who take shots at everyone else under the sun …….. want to take a shot at Ranil? ……. Mum’s the word, eh? :)))
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“What the ‘elite’ sanction the plebeians follow”
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When Ranil called the Aragalaya Fascist …….. and Native wholeheartedly agreed.
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Are you calling Native a plebeian?
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He won’t like it!
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nimal fernando / March 17, 2024
An excellent piece: a pleasure to read.
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“The NPP promises to reverse a historical trend.”
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For better or for worse …….. change is possible ……. JR made shamelessness respectable, a trend his successors and the nation adopted. ……. JR didn’t have greater intelligence than others; he had better shamelessness ……. to do things others would’ve been ashamed to do
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“we know everything about everybody else.”
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That’s only true of Sinhala_Man …….. because – to his credit – he keeps at it religiously ……. with great persistence ……. that Hedda Hopper would’ve envied …….
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I would like to know everything about OC’s gals ………. but know nothing ……..
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davidthegood / March 18, 2024
nimal fernando, you say that reversing the historical trend in NPP promises is possible . Knowing the murderer robbers who will control election results for their safety, your account does seem very much like a leap of faith. But real faith is in the unseen God who birthed his sinless son into the world to take on himself all the sins of all human beings made in his image, so that those who look to Jesus can be set free from karmic sin and into heaven in the covenant exchange for eternal life that he promised. Believers have done that leap of faith.
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nimal fernando / March 19, 2024
“But real faith is in the unseen God”
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DG,
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Truth be told, ……. right at this moment, if God can’t introduce me to Amber Heard or a young Brigitte Bardot ……. I have no need for him at all.
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Sad but true! ……. What to do, that’s life.
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Wish he was a matchmaker than a saviour …….. well, come to think of it …….. it’s another way a saviour can save lives …….
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Ruchira / March 16, 2024
“For a forlorn nation, a leap of faith awaits.”
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Yes!
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A leap of faith…. awaits…
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Nothing more… Nothing less…
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When everything else has failed, it is faith that keeps us going…
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The faith that the Sun somehow will rise tomorrow too…
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I like the cryptic narrative of Ravi Perera.
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From the battle between the ‘blue eyed boys’ to Sri Lankan air lines; a sordid tale of failure, full of nothing but vice and hubri…
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Kudos Ravi Perera…!
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Douglas / March 16, 2024
All these “ISMS” – “Maxism; Communism; Socialism; Liberalism; and, Neo-Liberalism;” etc. must now be either forgotten or given up and EVOLVE a NEW system that would be based on MORALITY and JUSTICE and get its roots embedded in Economics, Political and Social life of the people.
The system we ask for on the above basis – MORALITY and JUSTICE (taking roots in economics, politics, and social life) can be termed – PEOPLISM.
Let us LEAP towards that PEOPLISM with faith and determination.
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old codger / March 16, 2024
“Despite repeated failures, most people still see greater State intervention as the way forward. “
I am reminded of the irate guy who, after two days in a gas queue at the height of the Aragalaya, called for Litro Gas to be nationalised……
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leelagemalli / March 17, 2024
OC,
some more food for thought.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJkp0VSuhbw
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old codger / March 17, 2024
LM,
Did you know Chaturanga Abeysinghe is charging Rs. 9000 for a 7 hour course? Nothing wrong with that, if he wasn’t a JVP member.
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leelagemalli / March 17, 2024
Good morning OC, the weather over here is turning better for today.
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I dont know about the fees about his courses, however, I know the guy is another panacea style person by nature who seems to know everything better than any experienced politicians in the country.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzQfIhNwfsQ
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observed one good thing in him Lately he corrected that it was JVP and today it hs been changed. At least the guy is not dodging as others permamenty do. Perhapss, it is the immaturity. He is rather NPP not a JVP if I am updated. Theere is a big gap murderous JVP and NPP as Dr Harini Amarasooriya mentions in LONDON.
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leelagemalli / March 17, 2024
cont.
The kind of bold reactions never came from LALKANTHA or the like blood soaked sinior JVPrs so far. That is though not diachomized to our BANDARAWELA joker.
There is a growing conflict between Lal Kantha and AKD so as some issues within SJB is public secret. However JVPrs as their blood thirsty history, would never come to sense in terms of buidling consensus easily.
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Bandarawela JOKER will take decades to even educate himself about the situation. He thinks I may be the real threat to NPP. WHo stupid the bugger should be. I had some respect to this beast until shortly, now I dont respec thim anymore.
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Chanthuranga ‘s web space hiring market is highly lucrative. His platforms are hired by indians today, that is he earns huge sums for his pocket. I myself watched a program of Dr Jayasankar (NAM india) with the background being displayed the name Chathuranga.
May be he is key fund donator to NPP election campaigns as KUDU-Lanza and other illegal men inlcuding Dilith Jayaweera spearheded it funding SLPP (pohottuwa) campaigns in 2019.
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leelagemalli / March 17, 2024
This is how some youth think in SRILANKA.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuw7938TXPg
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chiv / March 17, 2024
OC , what do you think about recent study conducted by CPC questioning 1250 potential voters from 25 districts, where one in 10 wants to dump democrazy and go with authoritarian rule. Does it mean people are tired or 6.9 million getting ready for another round of Hitler.
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old codger / March 17, 2024
Chiv,
To most of us, democracy, discipline, honesty, etc are things one expects, until one gets nabbed by a traffic policeman. 🤣🤣
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Sugandh / March 19, 2024
O.C, leelagemalli, Chiv:
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What do you make of AKD’s verbiage on multi-community government (quoted from his address at a recent NPP party Vavuniya district summit);
https://www.ft.lk/news/AKD-promises-a-multi-community-Government/56-759601
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“There are Tamil leaders advocating for unity who are inclusive and free from extremism and racism. It’s crucial to gather these voices. If there are instances of Tamil racism in the north, it’s important to isolate those responsible and liberate the Tamil community from such harmful ideologies. Similar actions have been taken in the south,”
“The safety of the Sinhalese in the North and the Tamils in the South must be assured,”
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Seems that the safety of the Tamils in the North (and East) is not on his radar!!!?
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chiv / March 19, 2024
Sugandh, to be honest, I’m not expecting any thing different from any of the current SB politicians, AKD included.
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old codger / March 19, 2024
Sugandh,
Whatever his true intentions may be, AKD is a politician. He says different things to different people.
We can only see what he really is if he gets into power. But by then, it may be too late. People always think that the grass is greener on the other side…..
However, AKD does admit at the start that the Tamils have problems simply due to their being Tamils, and then goes on to praise India as an example to follow (though I doubt he had Hindutva in mind). Why doesn’t he say such things in the South?
I wonder what the fascist fake-JVP supporters on this forum think?
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leelagemalli / March 19, 2024
Suga,
I think we can’t imagine them going forward without any alliance, bowing to a multi-party government. I respect only Dr Harinin Amarasooriya, but that is not sufficient. She is well educated and multifaceted thinkers. Nevertheless her thoughts regarding recent trip of JVP to india was a not matured.
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. I respect NPP but not JVP. JVPrs took the life of my brothers and made their mothers eternally sick. That is why they did not allow Dr Amarasooriya be part of the delegation to India.
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The JVP is like the AFD in Germany. Most of them are envious of others. No matter what, they continue being spiteful. They twist the truths.
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Look at the way people like Wasantha Samarasinghe and Nalin Hevage behave in the discussion rounds. HONEY budgers seem to attack every animal. No decency. So the radicals. How can they deal with Sri Lankan people who are radicals for so long? The NPP will also have some problems with the Janata Vimukthi Peramuna hardliners.
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leelagemalli / March 17, 2024
This is how SH positions SB Thattamalala in his politics. Ape Hamuduruwo…. Ape Hamuduruwo…. Ape Hamuduruwo…. Ape Hamuduruwo…. Ape Hamuduruwo…. Ape Hamuduruwo…. Ape Hamuduruwo…. Ape Hamuduruwo…. Ape Hamuduruwo….
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https://www.romeo.com/messenger/chat/109190769
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leelagemalli / March 16, 2024
D,
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7R4xMxOJLmk&t=644s
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Entire world is turning a mess as of today.
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Nathan / March 16, 2024
Douglas,
Your prescription is not for humans, I suppose.
You don’t expect Morality and Justice in them, do you!
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leelagemalli / March 17, 2024
Uncle Nathan,
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Douglas socialize round the clock with his KADAMANDIYA people. So beyond that he cannot know it. His knowledge is stagnant like that of Panini Pandita. Their abilities have no room for facts.
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This society is a mess, even old people have no protection from their grandchildren. They abuse them to make YouTube dollars.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vU8ZpNKvj0E
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Douglas / March 18, 2024
Dear LM: I pity you. My socialization with Kadamandiya is a much better place to know facts of life than that of the elitists with whom you go to bed and smell foul of the common man.
Please close your zipper. It shows a bad sight and smells bad.
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leelagemalli / March 19, 2024
Douglas,
:
Why ot be that impolite ? What did I do ? telling the truth is not punishable in europe, I have no idea about my motherland.
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I always respected you as a senior guy. Even used the term Mahathmaya.
Your issue is you cant differentiate things the way they are. That is typical to our sinhala-genes. What else should I have said about srilankens?
most of our people are if not beasts ?look around your area, and try to clear your doubts. I did it last time in Kaluthara and Mirissa. There, my hypothesis became even clearer.
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Be them right or wrong, most of lankens are mixed thoughts. So, how can NPP alone expect them to vote only fo rthem. I wish them to join with others. Some sort of tolerance should be offered. And corurption issue can be fixed, if entire nation would come together because people are too corrupted.
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ramona therese fernando / March 16, 2024
Very well written, RP. Well analyzed, and so true,….most of it! Royal- Tho is and embarassment, and we have indeed reached a dead end in country rulership. Yes, JVP_NPP is the prophesied party to bring us back to true Lankan roots and ability together with global networking.
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Yet there are some misconceptions in your essay. No, the Europeans did not bring fresh ideas to our land. They brought twisted ideas. They sophisticated themselves on our ideas. They took Buddhist/Hindu concepts and developed their scientific bases. Modern day psychology was one of them from the analysis of the body and mind techniques from the teachings of the Buddha. They forced their ideas onto us to make profit. We were not a weak land, but they took us over with their guns. Democracy was learned with the democratic patterns of our peaceful nations ruled by collectivism style kings.
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ramona therese fernando / March 16, 2024
Yes, stone-age man who have resided on the land from stone-age to now, own the land. Africans own their land. Indians own their land. Chinese own their land. Europeans own their land. Their genetics are over 75% ownership, plus/minus 25% blood of any invaders. Likewise the Palestinians have owned their land since stone-age, from the Levantines who at some point changed their name to the Hebrews, and then changed again their names to Palestinians (who mostly now non-idol worshiping Islamists…..exactly as their Father Abraham wanted them to be in 2166 BCE).
“Genetic studies reveal that modern Palestinians share genetic continuity with Bronze-Age Levantine populations and exhibit similarity with both contemporary Jewish and Arab-speaking Levantine groups.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_of_the_Palestinians#:~:text=Genetic%20studies%20reveal%20that%20modern,and%20Arab%2Dspeaking%20Levantine%20groups.
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ramona therese fernando / March 17, 2024
Correction : Their genetics are 75%ownership, plus 1%- 25% blood of any invaders.
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Lester / March 17, 2024
“We were not a weak land, but they took us over with their guns.”
That’s the key. The Europeans took gunpowder from the Chinese, who were using it for fireworks, and used that in the development of guns. Something like a spear or sword is useless against a gun. The only remaining barrier to conquest was terrain, in places like the upcountry.
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chiv / March 17, 2024
Jester, picking from where we left. So as per Merton’s “self fulfilling prophesy”, you claim to be a Ashkenazim Jew ( most probably a Dravidian Iyer from Toiletnadu). Too bad, see a real doctor. Looks like a busy day at work , with that sputtering tool of yours.
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leelagemalli / March 17, 2024
Chiv,
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Jester is said to be the reincarnation of Eagle Eye and Mahindapala who broke all records as Sinhalese racists. These crazy dogs can only destroy the Sinhalese nation. I have no words.
Did you notice that NPP scholar Dr Harini Amarasooriya clearly says that minorities were discriminated by sinhalese knowningly or unknowingly ? The kind of truths are jokes to Lester and Ruchira-baba.
:
Any racists hires the cheap guy (Ruchira) to hold the torch for any cyber crime. There is no limit to his profitable services. To me, all these people are like blue flies on garbage heaps in Vanathamulla.
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Lately Ruchira Boy hit me and the OC that we don’t even know what “inside trade” means: every time I go back home he or like that fills the Sri Lankan coastal areas (Beach Boys) as far as I know. Easy cash winners through the oldest.
Our Sinhalese are constantly being misled by stupid people.
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Lester / March 17, 2024
Leela,
“Our Sinhalese are constantly being misled by stupid people.”
You are always welcome to strap on the C-4 and join the other side.
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Ruchira / March 17, 2024
Leela’s Dick – I am glad my words hit you and some others that include the core of the grand old party, the goo and pee, where it hurts the most. Truth is painful. It’s time you learn to accept and live with it. I also noticed that you have begged to differ elsewhere on a different thread. That’s good. You will find the practice (of begging) useful when you find yourself begging for mercy soon. Have a good day!
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Lester / March 17, 2024
Beggar, I have nothing to say to you. Go back to your job, cleaning toilets or whatever it is. Probably runs in the family.
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leelagemalli / March 17, 2024
What else can you expect from a fool who only knows anti-Tamil slogans? You have no good arguments or links to support what you oppose. Many of us feel you are just hired by Rajapakshe rascals to save their bums.
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We don’t need to clean, but white people clean our toilets if I open up the reality of our life style over here.
I have hired german and police students to clean my vehicle and garden. As the “leaf blowers” you will envy of our lifestyles. It’s in your genes. I am srilanken and not a sinhalese basta. I would never call me as a sinhalaya, but a srilanken forever. .
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Ruchira / March 17, 2024
No matter how hard one tries to hide the FOB mindset comes out at the end.
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leelagemalli / March 19, 2024
Go to a mirror and look through it.. You should be a stinky bastard. Not a single comment is without hatreds. Everything you have commented above is beyond civilized.
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The phrases Off the Boat (FOB), Off the Boat (OTB) are sometimes derogatory terms – but the difference is not clear to Colombo slum dwellers.
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They can only attack others. I was just saying that if Tamil Nadu is called the TOILETNADU then why on earth can we not look in the mirror. This bitch#s son will never see it properly.. if not today when? It is no one but the Sinhalese who is destroying the Sinhalese nation.
Are there people inferior to us in Asia today? sinhalaya baluwela….
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We begged the Bengalis. But today, there is no praise for those who sacrifice to save the last coin That’s where we went wrong.
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One behind the other… next disaster will be JVP-LED GOVT:… Good luck to this hell. !
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Ruchira / March 19, 2024
To begin with if you knew how to muster up couple of meaningful sentences, perhaps you could insulted people properly. May be you could take a few lessons from your police students…
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chiv / March 17, 2024
Jester, you can’t get away that easily without doing your home work. Did you find the answer to ECFMG and FLEX??? Didn’t you the one claim that, I’m studying for USMLE ??? Only a retard like you, can make such stupid comments. Now you can enlighten us with your real quantification, other than meditating.
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Lester / March 17, 2024
Chiv (beggar), I don’t know what you want man. I told you I don’t need cleaning services. Kindly bugger off to your slum dwelling.
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chiv / March 18, 2024
Jester, enlighten us with your real qualification, other than meditating. “I don’t know what you want man”?? nothing, other than telling us, what is ECFMG and FLEX. Even cleaning people know that spotting few obese individuals in Aragalaya , doesn’t mean “PROSPERITY and SPLENDOR. Lankan parliament is full of morbidly obese, does it mean there is no child malnutrition in Lanka. People attend medical schools to know what Marasmus , Kwashiorkor or Marasmic – Kwashiorkar is all about. FYI, your head circumference is not same as your waist. By the way people in the Indian slums are now a days armed with smart phones and govt provided laptops, whereas you only have a sputtering brain and a toy to play. I’m almost done with you, unless you need more home work to be assigned , from me.
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SJ / March 19, 2024
C
Please for your own sake avoid discussion at such low level.
You will only lower yourself to that level.
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chiv / March 19, 2024
Thanks SJ, I sure will try.
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leelagemalli / March 19, 2024
Thank u Chiv🙂
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SJ / March 18, 2024
Is getting back to one’s job such a bad thing?
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Lester / March 19, 2024
It used to be about obedience. These days the servants are overconfident.
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chiv / March 19, 2024
Yes it used to be, not any more. Unlike few, now a days they seem matured , confident, sensible and more than anything, completed college education.
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SJ / March 19, 2024
If the masters can be, why not servants?
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LankaScot / March 17, 2024
Hello Ramona,
Can you tell us which modern Scientific Disciplines are based on Buddhist/Hindu Concepts. Please don’t use Carl Jung – who was a complete fraud with nonsensical ideas. He was influenced by Buddhist Philosophy, but then so were Madame Blavatsky (another fraud) and her naive sidekick Olcott.
You have ignored Greek Scientists like Thales (Ca 600 BC), Anaximander, Pythagoras, Democritus and many more from the 6th and 5th Centuries BC. You also ignored the Arabic Scholars ( read Jim Al Khalili on “Pathfinders: The Golden Age Of Arabic Science”) that kept and improved on the Corpus of Greek Knowledge that was passed on to Europe in the Middle Ages leading to the Renaissance. Hindu astronomers like Varaha-mihira were 1000 years after the Greeks. Can you name any Indian or Sri Lankan scientists writing in 600 BC? Sri Lanka had many brilliant architects and builders as witnessed by Anuradhapura and the system of tanks (Wewa) and canals in ancient times. These unnamed people managed to provide water all year round more than a thousand years ago – why can’t Sri Lanka do it now?
As for “ruled by collectivism style kings” like Kashyapa who killed his father by bricking him up?
Best regards
/
old codger / March 17, 2024
LS,
“These unnamed people managed to provide water all year round more than a thousand years ago – why can’t Sri Lanka do it now?”
Good question, but simple answer. Sri Lanka can support 3 million people, provided they all work in the rice fields and compulsory public works like irrigation maintenance. That was the system until colonial times.
Till the mid-50’s, òne hydroelectric station was good enough year-round, because few could afford electricity, let alone phones, TV, aircon, fridges, washing machines, .you name it.
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Lester / March 18, 2024
LankaScot,
There are many parallels between quantum mechanics and Buddhism. The subject itself is beyond my understanding, but you might refer to people like Nalin De Silva. Here is one such explanation: “Western Science and Buddha Dhamma” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Pwg6zFfNWk&t=107s.
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LankaScot / March 18, 2024
Hello Lester,
Quantum Mechanics is a Science – Buddhism is a philosophy/religion. Don’t believe people like Deepak Chopra who admits he doesn’t understand Quantum Mechanics and uses it as a “metaphor” in his own words.
I started to use Tunnel Diodes in electronics back in the early 1970s. This may sound stupid to ask – show me a Buddhist explanation of Tunnel Diodes. Here is a short explanation – https://www.utmel.com/blog/categories/diodes/tunnel-diode-definition-features-and-tunneling-process
The Universe, Earth, Tunnel Diodes and you and me are real -we don’t need mystical explanations for how matter behaves. The Utility of Science is in its use to predict the behaviour of matter, thus advancing our understanding and application of novel materials and devices.
Best regards
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Lester / March 19, 2024
LankaScot,
QM has both a metaphysical and scientific interpretation. The scientific interpretation is obviously more useful – we can use it to create semiconductors/other devices. Aside from applications, how about something like wave-particle duality?
– Interconnectedness and Non-Duality: In Buddhist philosophy, reality is often understood to be characterized by interconnectedness and interdependence, where all phenomena arise in dependence on causes and conditions. This perspective shares some similarities with the wave-like nature of quantum entities, where particles are understood to exhibit wave-like behavior and exist as probabilities until measured.
– Complementarity: Wave-particle duality implies that particles can exhibit both particle-like and wave-like behavior, depending on the experimental context. Similarly, in Buddhist philosophy, phenomena are often understood to be multifaceted and dependent on the perspective from which they are observed. This idea of complementarity resonates with certain Buddhist teachings on the nature of perception and reality.
– Impermanence and Flux: Wave-particle duality reflects the dynamic and uncertain nature of quantum entities, which can exhibit properties of both waves and particles. Similarly, Buddhist teachings emphasize impermanence (Anicca) and the transitory nature of all phenomena, including mental and physical states. This recognition of impermanence aligns with the fluid and ever-changing nature of reality described by wave-particle duality.
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Ruchira / March 19, 2024
Lester – thank you for that concise explanation drawing parallels between Quantum physics and Buddhism. I think I once tried to highlight the phenomenon of wave-particle duality as an example of how the idea of matter is ill defined, perhaps to LankaScot, because he is the one who usually delves into such topics. But my understanding of Quantum Mechanics (or even Newtonian physics for that matter) and also of Buddhism is quite limited. But you seem to have done a reasonable job there. Funny how people think you are a fascist. I’ve also heard can’t remember from whom that Buddha has explained and even stated the radius of the hydrogen atom as per writings in one of the pitakas. Not sure if its true or the context within which Buddha may have said such thing. Do you have any idea of it…? I mean is there any truth to it…?
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Lester / March 19, 2024
Ruchira,
I think it’s the carbon atom. A fascinating story from “Lalitavistara Sūtra.”
https://www.npr.org/sections/krulwich/2010/10/07/130408706/the-buddha-counts
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Ruchira / March 19, 2024
Lester – great! Thanks. I was wondering if its just another cooked up story.
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Lester / March 19, 2024
“Funny how people think you are a fascist.”
The same people who supported the LTTE (including financially) and refuse to call it a terrorist organization. I have asked them numerous times to comment on suicide bombings, child recruitment, ethnic cleansing, etc. See the white space below for their reply.
–
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Ruchira / March 19, 2024
Lester – hypocrisy at its best. Some seem to think its a class act. By the way do you know from where this fake stories and propaganda that includes defaming history comes from? Initially I thought they may be originating from a section of the Tamil Diaspora that tries to give some intellectual validity for their demands but since of late I am having some doubts as to if our own University of Jaffna is the origin of them.
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Ruchira / March 19, 2024
LankaScot – It’s true that Buddhism is a philosophy not a science. But isn’t science backed and precedee by it’s own philosophies? You have also asked: “…show me a Buddhist explanation of Tunnel Diodes.”
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Tunnel Diodes are inventions. An instrument. A tool. They are a result of applications of science, basically technology. Not science itself. You can’t expect a Buddhist explanation to exist for every single application of science or an instrument.
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I am not much into explaining religion through science. But there’s something that is beyond materialistic and mechanistic explanations of the natural world as described by natural sciences. Quantum mechanics I believe are beginning to understand this.
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Even in genetics the understanding has been changing for example the interacction between the environment and genes, the subject of epigenetics. Can these be explained by Newtonian physics?
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Science is full of theories and models and in my view far from perfect.
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Ruchira / March 19, 2024
LankaScot – Since you brought up Deepak Chopra, I know he uses the term Quantum a lot, without the things he tries to describe having got anything to do with quantum physics.
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That said in his rather somewhat old book titled “Quantum Healing” (I know ) he gives the example of spontaneous remission of cancers. How does it occur?
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According to him it’s because of mechanisms that science still have not discovered. He coins the term hidden physiology for this. A physiology that is not yet known to medical sciences that makes spontaneous remissions possible.
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He also provides various other psychological phenomena to support some of his claims. I haven’t personally checked any of them to independently ascertain if they are true or not, but I don’t think he is lying about the examples he provides.
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So you can not write off everything that Chopra says as mumbo jumbo though his attempts to use quantum physics, a subject he isn’t an expert of, has no merit, that is not a reason to throw everything he says away.
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The bottom line here again is there’s much to be discovered about the natural world we live in that we seem to hardly know anything about.
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LankaScot / March 20, 2024
Hello Ruchira,
Short answer Deepak Chopra lies a lot. He got caught out by Richard Dawkins and had to confess that he didn’t understand Quantum Mechanics and used it as a “Metaphor”.
If you believe that there is a Supernatural explanation for anything then you have to show evidence for the existence of such a thing. If you can’t and still maintain your beliefs – that is “Faith” and cannot be falsified and is therefore not scientific.
I sat in Ward 48 amongst all the Cancer Patients. All were having medical treatment in an attempt to, if not cure the Cancer, lessen the pain and mollify the effects of Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy. Some were having Palliative care (but not much) whilst others were being fed intravenously due to their poor condition. Some had days to live, some weeks, some months, but most at these stages (IV usually) had very little chance of dying of old age (or spontaneous remission). Medical Science understands much more about Cancers and their treatment. Many can be successfully treated, however some Cancers especially Lung Cancer are very aggressive – my friend’s father died of Mesothelioma (in the UK) despite 2 lung transplants.
TBC
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LankaScot / March 20, 2024
Continued
Roger Penrose is one of the best Theoreticians in Physics. His book The Road to Reality is a wonderful materialistic explanation of modern physics, For many years Roger has been investigating Brain Structure and Consciousness. Quantum effects do not negate Scientific Materialism, however those on the religious spectrum will attempt to appropriate cutting edge theories like Roger’s to their own ends. And also remember nothing in the article has been proven it is all speculation (some more probable than others).
Have a think about the Latin phrase cui bono (who benefits) when you read articles like the one you referenced. Here is a quote from their About Us Tab
“Evolution News & Science Today (EN) provides original reporting and analysis about evolution, neuroscience, bioethics, intelligent design and other science-related issues”
Intelligent Design is not scientific and is a product of the Religious Right in (mainly) the USA. Read between the lines in Web sites like these – what is their Agenda?
Best regards
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Ruchira / March 20, 2024
Hello LankaScot – I wasn’t interested i n the given news site but the academic work that it quotes. Here’s Roger Penrose on Consciousness that the site makes reference for your attention:
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“Consciousness in the universe: A review of the ‘Orch OR’ theory” by Stuart Hameroff and Roger Penrose
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Paper is accessible FOC here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1571064513001188
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I didn’t read it in full as it is too long and I hardly have any background in quantum physics but read the abstract, the intro and the conclusion, that should give you an idea of what the paper is all about.
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And WRT to spontaneous remission of cancers I think you complete misunerstood what I tried to say. If you reread I wasn’t trying to imply that there’s any divine intervention involved.
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TBC
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Ruchira / March 20, 2024
LankaScot- Cont’d from above…
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Here are some excerpts from the abstract of the Roger Penrose’s paper:
.
“The nature of consciousness, the mechanism by which it occurs in the brain, and its ultimate place in the universe are unknown. […] This orchestrated OR activity (‘Orch OR’) is taken to result in moments of conscious awareness and/or choice. The DP form of OR is related to the fundamentals of quantum mechanics and space–time geometry, so Orch OR suggests that there is a connection between the brain’s biomolecular processes and the basic structure of the universe. […] We conclude that consciousness plays an intrinsic role in the universe.”
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Please refer to the possibilities of the nature of consciousness given in the introduction of the paper with emphasis on possibility (C)
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That i believe is exactly what Lester has been trying to explain. The paralles between Buddhism and Quantum physics.
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Nature can’t be fully explained through realism (scientific materialism) or idealism (Descarte’s (I think) dualism. It is somewhere inbetween. We live in an interconnected world. This is the view that Iain McGilchrist the Scottish Psychiatrist I referred to on an earlier day too take in his book Divided Brain and Making of the Western World. But you mistook it at that time too, thinking I was trying to get at colonization.
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Ruchira / March 20, 2024
LankaScot – Here’s some thought provoking article of Rogers.
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https://nautil.us/roger-penrose-on-why-consciousness-does-not-compute-236591/
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You are right nothing’s still proven. It’s all speculative. It means the verdict is still open.
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Here’s how the author of the above article put it:
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“The science of consciousness feels stuck, and here’s a theory—however speculative—that suggests a possible way forward. The fact that Penrose is asking so much of us—not just to accept quantum coherence in microtubules but also his contention that consciousness can only be explained by still-undiscovered laws of physics—may simply be too far-reaching to ground a new scientific theory.”
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I tend to agree with him… which hasn’t got anything to do with Chopra’s mumbo jumbo.
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Chopra probabbly is an Ultracrepidarian.
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old codger / March 20, 2024
LS,
“Intelligent Design is not scientific and is a product of the Religious Right in (mainly) the USA. Read between the lines in Web sites like these – what is their Agenda?”
Reading between the lines is compulsory.
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Ruchira / March 20, 2024
LankaScot-
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You’ve written: “If you believe that there is a Supernatural explanation for anything then you have to show evidence for the existence of such a thing.”
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That is not what I meant please read again.
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“If you can’t and still maintain your beliefs – that is “Faith” and cannot be falsified and is therefore not scientific.”
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I am not referring to faith. I am simply asking can science explain spontaneous remmission of cancer? It’s a simple yes or no question.
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“I sat in Ward 48 among…”
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You have given an account of your experience in a cancer ward for what purpose?
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I don’t deny that medicine understands and could even treat many cancers.
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But can it explain spontaneous remissions? Is the question being raised!
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Ruchira / March 19, 2024
LankaScot – materialism still seems to dominate science, that doesn’t mean it’s well settled. Read this news report for example. There’s nothing much technical in it except that materialism is being challenged and the challenges do not necessarily come from mystics and various kinds of charltans. Challenges come from the academia itself. From the mainstream scientific discourse.
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“Brain as a Quantum System: Theory Gets New Traction”
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https://evolutionnews.org/2024/01/brain-as-a-quantum-system-theory-gets-new-traction/
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The author concludes by stating: “How trying to understand human consciousness or behavior via quantum processes will work out is anyone’s guess. But here’s a prediction: It won’t help the cause of materialism much.”
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So don’t be too sure about the materialistic view of the world. It’s too early to settle for it.
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SJ / March 19, 2024
LS
“…people like Deepak Chopra who admits he doesn’t understand Quantum Mechanics and uses it as a “metaphor”….”
When one does not know something at all, one is most at ease to misinterpret it in what which way one likes to.
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Native Vedda / March 18, 2024
Lester
–
I tried to listen to his rambling for about 1.30 minutes …………
Please let us know the essence of what he was mumbling about.
–
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SJ / March 18, 2024
LS
Your annoyance with empty boasts is appreciated, but let us not throw the baby with the bathwater.
*
Buddhist dialectics can claim to be a match to any modern philosophy on the subject.
The concepts of impermanence and rejection of god and soul place it above other theistic philosophies.
The corruption of it by smuggling in rebirth and bonding karma with rebirth are another matter.
*
India was way ahead on many social sciences, and developed its physical sciences mostly independently.
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LankaScot / March 18, 2024
Hello SJ,
I could be wrong, but I am beginning to think that the 3rd Conclave (Buddhist) was hi-jacked by the Hindus. It is difficult to find English translations of what really happened there. Plus, I am not a historian, but interested in history. Many people in South Asia (and the West) have a blinkered view of human development, blaming colonialism for many evils (sometimes rightly) without looking at the real causes. I have asked in this forum and others pointed questions about Buddhist Philosophy and non-self etc, but no-one answers. One professor even admitted “your questions are beyond me”. Dialectics cannot explain QCD Quantum Chromo Dynamics – see Murray Gell-Mann and Richard Feyman. If you can find a scientific explanation of “Negation of the negation” I would be delighted.
Best regards
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SJ / March 19, 2024
LS
“I am beginning to think that the 3rd Conclave (Buddhist) was hi-jacked by the Hindus.”
Rather than hijacked, I fear that social pressure where a vast majority believe in a soul ans rebirth could have compelled some accommodation and hence the distortion of the concept of Karma. It is not easy for one to come to terms with the fact that there is nothing after death. We like to go on forever.
The compromise led to theories of previous births of the Buddha and other such ideas.
Dialectics does not seek to explain everything. If it does then it will be dead. But it is a philosophical method that best addresses the mutability of things.
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ramona therese fernando / March 18, 2024
LankaScot,
–
If the Greek philosophers and scientists were so profound, Western society wouldn’t have had things like crucifixion, the Dark Ages, and the Spanish Inquisition. People like Thomas Aquinas who followed the Greek conceptual analysis of Western civilization could not quite articulate their ideas in a broader sense like our South Asians. So they burned people at the stake for attempting to see beyond their closed equations.
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Europeans came to our shores, stole our ancient enlightened thoughts that allowed us to live as peaceful evolved beings full of conceptual knowledge for millennia upon millennia, and now declare them as their own.
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“…..the Rig Veda being composed c. 1200 BCE, and its Samhita and Brahmanas complete before about 800 BCE.” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_texts#:~:text=The%20four%20Vedas%20(Rig%20Veda,complete%20before%20about%20800%20BCE.
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Kashyapa was just one outlier king out of a multitude of enlightened and prolific ones.
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davidthegood / March 18, 2024
rtf, If Europeans stole our ancient enlightened buddhist philosophical thoughts of peace, nihilism, nirvana and rebirth instead of resurrection of same person after death, I really wish to know what goes to nirvana whereever it is, without missing its ultimate destiny. We had all wars with Elara and Dutugemunu. Also the more recent 30 year war and aragalaya too.
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ramona therese fernando / March 18, 2024
Your mind, dtg, minus mortal body…..you become an integral part of the universe…..no, you blend with and transcend it. Beyond the physics of mere mortal understanding. Opposite to the Abrahamics.
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Elara and Dutugemunu war was only one kingly war in all of Motherland’s history compared to the consistent wars in Europe. Eelam war was a terrorist one brought about by divide and rule policy of British colonists.
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Aragalaya was mostly a peaceful protest due to government forcing Western standards on us to develop unnaturally according to the West.
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LankaScot / March 19, 2024
Hello Ramona,
There is no mind without a brain, mystical mumbo-jumbo I am afraid.
Best regards
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leelagemalli / March 19, 2024
LS,
–
Your posts are interesting Scot.
Many among Sri Lankans fail in their basic school biology knowledge. Most people don’t even know if they have a brain.
They dont know about the skin is another organ that is used for breathe in and breath out. Some argue on unknown things… that is just unknown to their limited capacities. More of them have stopped reading news papers as of today. All sit before TVs or just let it go indifferent. so how can they contriubte to be a knowledgeable VOTER ?
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This is a fact. I notice this in my sister who is now 70, she is very like society lady, her friends and aquaintance are the same.
i ALSO read that somewhere else too. Most of them dont want to see it right. They dont care about clarity of anything. Most of them are made to sit before TV and watch teledrams being telecasted by local TV channels.
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I came to know this is more prevalent in boomer-age group (1945- 1960) and descending to Z-genzers.
They would not requestion “why”.
So long this mindset would be dominating that folk, no matter elections would be called in, nothing would change much.
I am sorry for the minority aragalayites.
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Unfortuatnely, even YOUTH that hang on with IT platforms emulate their parents and teachers as no other nations yet today.
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ramona therese fernando / March 19, 2024
LankaScot,
–
“Although the two are related, he said, they are not the same thing. The mind is not the brain, and the brain is not the mind. The brain is physical, whereas the mind is formless and functions to know objects. In fact, Buddha explained how our deepest levels of consciousness do not depend upon the body at all.”
https://kadampalife.org/2011/07/24/buddha-and-the-brain/
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LankaScot / March 19, 2024
Hello Ramona,
Your knowledge of Voodoo is astounding. You’ll be telling me next that Zombies exist. Your supernatural explanations of Neurochemistry are just that “Supernatural”
“Everything exists within the physical universe. There is nothing beyond it; the substrate of everything is physical. As such, all phenomena are grounded in the physical. Because nothing exists beyond the physical, anything and everything that exists is necessarily physically instantiated, including processes of mind. Even though the association between the two can seem mysterious, nevertheless, there are no processes in mind that are not physically instantiated.” – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9177348/
This is a quote from your link – “When we die our [deepest level of] mind leaves our body and goes to the next life, just like a guest leaving a guest house and going somewhere else”. So what is the transport mechanism? When a guest leaves they either walk or take a Taxi/Bus. The whole article is full of Sophistry with not a shred of objective evidence. You have what is called “faith” which almost always implies certitude even where there is no evidence or proof.
Best regards
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ramona therese fernando / March 20, 2024
LankaScot,
–
Only you keep talking of Voodoo and Zombies. I refer to pure Buddhism.
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davidthegood / March 19, 2024
rtf, Thank you for explanation, opposite to Abrahamics. Jesus told the dying thief at the cross “Tonight you will be with me in paradise” Paul in Phil.1,23 said of his desire to depart and be with Christ. Stephen when being stoned to death said in Acts 7, 56 “I see Jesus standing at the right hand of God the Father” Many other such accounts too are there. Heaven is the abode of the creator God Jehovah into whose presence the believers go and is different from going into being an integral part of the universe, and to an area called nirvana.
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ramona therese fernando / March 20, 2024
David,…..i mean, when one is being tortured to death, one’s mind creates the paradisical realm….one probably goes to that realm on death. Jesus said, “My house has many mansions.”…heaven is one…Nirvana, the penultimate penthouse.
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davidthegood / March 20, 2024
rtf, Jesus mentioned heaven with different aspects as his father’s house and never mentioned nirvana or any other place after death except hell for the devil and his followers. He promised to resurrect believers into eternal life to rule and reign in his kingdom. He loves humans and created them to live with him and not go to anaththa and disappearance.
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ramona therese fernando / March 20, 2024
David,
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Two different perceptions apparently. One has to an analytical religious scholar or be of belief (divine inspiration) to link them together But God in itself might be Nirvana. Every sentient being feels the 4th-D of spirituality, knowing there is something beyond us that is not perceptible to the senses. Some place it on a permanent God that surrounds us that we strive to reach. Others simply blend in with it.
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davidthegood / March 21, 2024
rtf, I agree totally with you about the two different perceptions. Also all humans sense and feel there is something beyond them, and God is mentioned in most religions including Allah of muslims and hindu gods too. The jews and christians believe in the triune creator God Jehovah who sent his son Jesus to earth to take on himself on the cross the sins of the whole world in order to release forgiveness, and then he sent the holy spirit to indwell believers to give divine inspiration to guide them. The Buddha did not believe in God but taught self effort enlightenment which you call analytical religion. Jehovah God never had Nirvana and anaththa as he loves all humans in his family to rule with him eternally.
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old codger / March 18, 2024
Ramona,
“So they burned people at the stake for attempting to see beyond their closed equations.”
Don’t tell me you haven’t heard of Sati? Such a liberating Eastern practice. Do look it up.
And then, there is the charmingly enlightened practice of untouchability, where one can be polluted by a shadow. BTW, in those days, only high-caste women were permitted to wear blouses. Do you find that enlightened?
Ramona, enlightenment was not anybody’s monopoly.
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ramona therese fernando / March 18, 2024
OC…..that was the Indian/Hindu part of our blood brotherhood. In Sri Lanka we were note evolved.
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ramona therese fernando / March 18, 2024
…..more* evolved.
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ramona therese fernando / March 18, 2024
OC,
–
Sati was done out of love for the dead husband and it was for mostly the upper castes. And they were able to do so with plenty of Weed around that lulled the pain and knocked them off. European burnings were done out of punishment, and with no Weed. Caste system came about in degrading form after invaders from the north dispersed the IVC. Previous to that IVC incorporated an egalitarian Buddhistic form of Hinduism.
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LankaScot / March 18, 2024
Hello Ramona.
The IVC fell apart slowly from about 2500 BC until 1800 BC when most Harappan cities were abandoned. How on Earth could you have an “egalitarian Buddhistic form of Hinduism” 2000 years before the Buddha achieved enlightenment?
Have you stolen my Time Machine and gone back to look?
Best regards
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ramona therese fernando / March 19, 2024
LankaScot,
–
The same enlightened mental perceptions/genes retained till Buddha’s time. That’s why so many people converted and it became a religion.
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old codger / March 18, 2024
Ramona,
“Kashyapa was just one outlier king out of a multitude of enlightened and prolific ones.”
The majority of Sinhala kings didn’t come to power peacefully. They killed their fathers, brothers, or relatives to take power.
https://amazinglanka.com/wp/rulers/
Pretty enlightened, eh?
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LankaScot / March 18, 2024
Hello OC,
I can’t believe Ramona’s justification for Sati, she’ll be defending forced Child Marriage in India next.
Best regards
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ramona therese fernando / March 19, 2024
Sati came after IVC, when perceptions became contorted. The pure religion emerged again via Buddha and was fulfilled in Sri Lanka. Same with child marriages.
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old codger / March 19, 2024
LS,
Ramona can defend anything. She can talk mumbo-jumbo with you while doing the opposite with David the Good on another page. All she wants is the last word. Be kind (where possible).😄😄
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Native Vedda / March 18, 2024
ramona therese fernando
–
“So they burned people at the stake for attempting to see beyond their closed equations.”
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What did we learn from them, burning houses, burning libraries, burning businesses, burning people, burning temples, ………………. and we thought we are liberated souls and better than others.
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LankaScot / March 18, 2024
Hello Ramona,
I suppose that all of these Kings and Queens were voted into power?
Best regards
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ramona therese fernando / March 19, 2024
LankaScot,
–
The same enlightened mental perceptions/genes retained till Buddha’s time. That’s why so many people converted and it became a religion.
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Lester / March 18, 2024
LankaScot,
The Greeks did not even conceive of the number 0. Most of Aristotelean physics is wrong. The only accomplishment of the Greeks (outside of philosophy and architecture) as far as I can tell is geometry and even that is a limiting case when you consider that the parallel postulate does not hold for hyperbolic spaces. Meanwhile, Chinese and Hindus (those who studied Vedas in Sanskrit) knew about calculus, irrational numbers, and various aspects of number theory. Of course they also knew about arithmetic.
You must also be aware that Newton (brilliant as he was) was an alchemist and frequently read the Bible. His notion of a “deterministic universe” that underlies “classical mechanics” has been proven to be only a limiting case, superseded by relativity and QM.
For your viewing pleasure, this is the Chinese version of “Pascal’s triangle”, discovered in the 11th century: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yang_Hui#/media/File:Yanghui_triangle.gif.
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LankaScot / March 18, 2024
Hello Lester,
Show me a single differential equation from the Rig Veda (or others).
Best regards
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Lester / March 19, 2024
Hello LankaScot,
To answer your question, there is something in the Vedas called “Dhvaja Ghata” (power) that goes like this: “To obtain the first differential of each term of a quadratic equation, multiply its Dhvaja Ghata (power) by its Anka (coefficient) and divide by one.” I presume that this is essentially the same method that Newton and Leibniz used to calculate derivatives. As a simple example, if you have something like f(x) = 5x^2, then the first derivative is simply f'(x) = 5*2*x = 10x. The “dhvaja ghata” in this case is 2 and the “anka” is 5. Vedic mathematics is indeed fascinating. Shakuntala Devi was a so-called “human calculator” who could do enormous sums in her head (using Vedic math techniques): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhY3hctCuzU. This was before PC’s were in circulation.
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old codger / March 19, 2024
LS,
As usual, our pal Lester mixes a little truth with a LOT of fiction. Note that he doesn’t give a source for his astounding claim. Be that as it may, here is the source:
.
“Vedic Mathematics is a book written by Indian Shankaracharya Bharati Krishna Tirtha and first published in 1965. It contains a list of mathematical techniques which were falsely claimed to contain advanced mathematical knowledge.[1] The book was posthumously published under its deceptive title by editor V. S. Agrawala,[2] who noted in the foreword that the claim of Vedic origin, made by the original author and implied by the title, was unsupported.[3]
“However, numerous mathematicians and STS scholars (Dani, Kim Plofker, K.S. Shukla, Jan Hogendijk et al) note that the Vedas do not contain any of those sutras and sub-sutras.”
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vedic_Mathematics
.
https://www.downtoearth.org.in/indepth/the-fundamentals-of-vedic-mathematics-31020#:~:text=Krishna%20Tirtha%20is%20credited%20with,make%20intricate%20mathematical%20calculations%20possible.
.
These claims are on the same lines as those made by Von Daniken, and are widely promoted by Modi’s Hindutva fans in India.
Try harder, Lester dear. Sorry to prick your bubble.
/
old codger / March 19, 2024
Further to the above, I am amused not only by Lester’s efforts to prove the greatness of Vedic Mathematics, but also by his willingness to use fraudulent Hindutva pundits from India, a country he and his sidekick call “toilet Nadu”.
What next, quotes from the Secret Diaries of the Buddha?
/
leelagemalli / March 20, 2024
OC,
.
ayurvedic doctors and godawedakama-promoters became plenty in the country in every corners with Mahinda Balu Chinthanaya. Hela wedakama came up in that way. Also Kattadiyas and Thakkadiyas become a good symbiosis for the promotion of Mahinda Balu Chinathanaya. That ended up making the country a bankrupted nation within short period of time. So both MaRa and thei rmen should be made accoutnable for the mess.
–
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b6l_fCavwc
–
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF1KsleJHvY
–
Real doctors and surgeons were racially attacked for their rise. That is how they toppled the society upside down in recent time. Mlechcha media whores did the job for the imerge of sinhala-aggrandizement. Today we have become far below to Bangaladesh which was the begging nation some 10 years ago. All the thanks go to medamulana beasts and Lester-like pingonas beocming their promoters.
/
Lester / March 19, 2024
Old Codger,
You haven’t proven directly that “dhvaja ghata” is false. You gave a link to something unrelated. By the way, don’t you know that your “Dravidian” friends have no affinity for Vedas?
/
old codger / March 19, 2024
Lester,
You can go on inserting irrelevant stuff till the cows come home. I am well aware of your tactics.
If your source is fake, your conclusions are fake.
/
Lester / March 20, 2024
Old Codger,
This is the source: “International Journal for Research in Applied Science & Engineering Technology”
https://www.ijraset.com/best-journal/an-overview-of-the-ancient-indian-vedic-mathematics-techniques-869
You spoke too fast. Looks like Merton has struck again. ⚡ ⚡⚡
/
old codger / March 20, 2024
Lester,
That’s another fake, because the author depends on non- existent or recently invented (ie. Bhaskara) Gates. Garbage in, garbage out.
Pull the other one
/
old codger / March 20, 2024
Lester,
I suppose, as usual you preferred not to talk about the author, from an obscure private college in New Delhi. the author depends on non- existent or recently invented (ie. Bhaskara) gathas.
Department of Applied Sciences, Maharaja Surajmal Institute of Technology, New Delhi, Maharaja Surajmal Institute is a private college located in Janakpuri, New Delhi, India. The college is affiliated to Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University.
Hardly an IIT.
Still, it is so interesting to see you having such confidence in a very minor Indian institution. I hope your pal Ruchira does the same.
/
Lester / March 20, 2024
Old Codger,
I don’t know what they teach at the government school. Peer-reviewed means an article is checked by a committee of top scholars before being published. This is a famous journal that is read by academics all over the world.
“International Journal for Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology (IJRASET) is an international peer-reviewed, open-access and multidisciplinary online journal published for the enhancement of research in various disciplines of Applied Science & Engineering Technologies.”
https://journals.indexcopernicus.com/search/details?id=32637
You don’t know the meaning of “journal” or how a paper gets published. You have a lot to learn, or maybe you’re too old.
/
old codger / March 20, 2024
Lester,
Even “Professor” Channa Jayasumana has “peer reviewed” articles.
Still, it is so interesting to see you having such confidence in a very minor Indian institution. I hope your pal Ruchira does the same.
I wonder if your newfound faith has something to do with India offering to help Gota over the Aragalaya?
/
LankaScot / March 19, 2024
Hello OC,
Thanks for the confirmation. I had the same arguments with my Indian friends in Qatar. At University I studied Laplace transforms, Transmission Line Theory, Return Loss, Euler’s formula, 2nd Order Differential Equations, Integration by parts etc as part of Physics and Electronics.
They were all very clever with good Degrees (mostly IT and Electronics) but none of them could produce any evidence, other than anecdotal, for the use of Calculus in Ancient Vedic Literature. They all maintained that the Vedas were many thousands of years old (some even hundreds of thousands) and would quote astronomical conjunctions from the Puranas to prove how old Hindu civilisation was.
Best regards
/
ramona therese fernando / March 20, 2024
LankaScot,
–
Calculus, Geometry, Algebra, Trigonometry are intutive to the Indians, and a natural part of their intellect….they do not need to sit proving them. But others need clear proofs to be shocked into conviction.
/
Lester / March 20, 2024
Ramona Fernando,
Very true. Indians enjoy calculating. The Indian government even set up a channel on Youtube for people to watch maths, science, and engineering videos made by IIT instructors. It’s an excellent resource.
/
LankaScot / March 20, 2024
Hello Ramona,
I can assure you “Integration by Parts” does not come intuitively to anyone. Nor does the Schrodinger Equation –
“The time-independent Schrödinger equation is:∇2ψ+8π2 m(E – U)ψ/h 2=0, where ψ is the wave function, ∇2 the Laplace operator, h the Planck constant, m the particle’s mass, E its total energy, and U its potential energy. It can also be written as:Hψ=Eψ, where H is the Hamiltonian operator.” Equations do not easily translate to text so here is a Link – https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100446949
Now you being of the “same blood” can explain it all to us mere mortals.
Best regards
/
ramona therese fernando / March 20, 2024
Well done by Schrodinger.👌 He postulated it in 1925……..6,000 years after the IVC intuitively did their Vedas Calculus.. Europeans stole our equations and expounded upon it. Good show! Nothing original from them however.
/
LankaScot / March 19, 2024
Hello Lester,
I have read through English translations of the Rig Veda (its all about horses and sacrificial rites to the gods.) and a little of some others. Of course translation is always open to interpretation.
Shree Jagad Guru Bharti Krishna Tirthji Maharaj was the founder of Vedic
mathematics, who discovered the sixteen sutras of mathematics between 1911 and 1918.
None of what you have quoted is ancient. The Atharva Veda appendix, containing Tirtha’s 16 mathematical formulae, is not to be found in any of the existing texts.
There have been many “Savants” throughout history demonstrating feats of memory and mathematical ability – see the film “Rain Man” for an entertaining and poignant example.
Best regards
/
Lester / March 19, 2024
LankaScot,
What about Bhaskara II ((c. 1114–1185)?
“Evidence suggests Bhaskara was acquainted with some ideas of differential calculus.[25] Bhaskara also goes deeper into the ‘differential calculus’ and suggests the differential coefficient vanishes at an extremum value of the function, indicating knowledge of the concept of ‘infinitesimals’.[26]”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bh%C4%81skara_II
/
old codger / March 19, 2024
Lester,
“What about Bhaskara II ((c. 1114–1185)?”
Even you should be aware that that was just a thousand years ago. Hardly “Vedic”.
Stop being irrelevant.
/
Lester / March 20, 2024
OC,
I proved that Vedas contain differential calculus. Now the second part is to prove that even after Vedas, Indian mathematicians continued their work on these subjects.
/
old codger / March 20, 2024
Lester,
“Indian mathematicians continued their work on these subjects.”
Of course they do. Aren’t you the one that constantly claims that Indian education is third-rate? At least be consistent.
/
Lester / March 20, 2024
Old Codger,
Medicine and maths are two completely different subjects. A medical school in the US or UK has billions of dollars worth of equipment. Maths requires a pencil and paper.
/
Lester / March 20, 2024
*hundreds of millions. Billions might be a stretch.
/
old codger / March 20, 2024
Lester,
You still need a time machine to take Bhaskara to 1185 BC.
/
old codger / March 20, 2024
Lester,
Never heard of Vedic medicine, I see
/
Lester / March 20, 2024
Old Codger,
No one is claiming Vedic medicine is superior to Western medicine, so what’s your point? You lost the argument about Vedic maths, now you’re trying to shift the goalpost by bring up red herrings.
Regarding Channa Jayasumana, yes he is very accomplished by any metric. Best of all, he told the UNHCR to bugger off. Brilliant and patriotic man. This is what he said:
“The Tamil Vellalar leaders aspired to be the leaders of the country under the auspices of the British. In 1931 the British introduced universal franchise and the Vellalar leaders found that they could not become the leaders of Sri Lanka.”
“Then they wanted to become the rulers of the Northern and Eastern Province. This was the beginning of the separatist movement,” the Sri Lankan academic said, addressing the 39th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday (18).
/
leelagemalli / March 20, 2024
OC and other rational thinkers,
–
That modaya Channabalusumanaya who risked the innocient life of that Dr. Safi and his innocient family is today behaving like a defeated dog. Safi family just survived it (today). Nor are lanken media giving this a publicity because lanken media fraudsters are funded by stolen funds of Basil.
.
(we all know, truths succeeded and innocent victim of Rajapakse’s self-indulgence) Jayasumanaya assumed, that Safi was busier pressing the falopian tubes of his child delivery patients than doing his medical duties.
If this BP had ever some little knowledge in modus operandi of an operation theatre, bp would not have said like that. Aiyooooooooooooooooo?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b6l_fCavwc
–
But the bugger got educated from a lanken university, and ended up becoming a professor thanks to RAJAKSHE vitamin B (Pagawa).
–
Remember. As of today, BPs have been sidelined in Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna politics like the tsunami hit the West Coast. At the same time, Dr. Safi always became a philanthropist by donating his salary arrears to buy medicines for the people. He proved to be a real buddhist than so called SINHALA-BUDDHISTS by his true acts.
–
Truth succeeds one by one. THt will workd for sure in so call MAHABANKU HORAKAMA. Real stealers will corner in prison cells in next days.
/
old codger / March 20, 2024
Lester,
“Maths requires a pencil and paper.”
Never heard of bitcoin mining either, I see🤣🤣
/
old codger / March 20, 2024
Lester,
“I proved that Vedas contain differential calculus.”,
Yes, by referring to a sutra that doesn’t exist. Perhaps you can also come up with a sutra for cooking BS?
“You lost the argument about Vedic maths, “
Yes, when you proved that Bhaskara was in the Vedas.
/
old codger / March 20, 2024
Lester,,
“I proved that Vedas contain differential calculus”
It seems you don’t know what proof means. It’s like this: If I say that a certain monk had sex with a female monkey, according to the Vinaya Pitakaya, I would post this link to the text :
https://suttacentral.net/pli-tv-bu-vb-pj1/en/brahmali?lang=en&layout=plain&reference=none¬es=asterisk&highlight=false&script=latin
If you say that there are mathematical calculations in the Vedas, you must give a link with chapter and verse, not a third party’s opinion.
You can’t, therefore you lose.
/
ramona therese fernando / March 19, 2024
LankaScot,
–
Ancient Indians sure knew their calculus. Mind you, this is an credible and accredited .eud source from the University of Kentucky.
https://www.ms.uky.edu/~sohum/ma330/files/india_calculus.pdf
/
old codger / March 20, 2024
Ramona,
“Ancient Indians sure knew their calculus” .Saying that and saying they are in the Vedas are two different things.
It’s like using the Bible to explain mobile phones- after they’ve been invented.
/
old codger / March 20, 2024
Ramona,
Even the document you link to does NOT talk about the Vedas. It talks about Aryabhata’s work, for example. Those have nothing to do with the Rig Veda or whatever.
/
ramona therese fernando / March 20, 2024
OC,
–
Aryabhata was the inventor of calculus. He was quite ancient in around 475AD.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.632433
–
https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/resources/calculus-before-newton-and-leibniz
–
Not sure about the Vedas, probably the same intellect was there that was passed down in natural poetic and lyrical form.
/
ramona therese fernando / March 20, 2024
Correction:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.632433
/
old codger / March 20, 2024
Ramona
“Aryabhata was the inventor of calculus. He was quite ancient in around 475AD.”
But not quite Vedic, right?
Trying to interpret the Vedas in terms of modern science is like trying to read Saddam Hussein into Nostradamus’ ramblings. The Vedas, the Bible, and Nostradamus are all ambiguously written.
/
ramona therese fernando / March 20, 2024
OC,
_
Yeah….but none of them produced Calculus like Aryabhata did.
/
LankaScot / March 18, 2024
Hello Lester,
As you probably know Quantum Mechanics does not explain Gravity so Newton’s laws are superseded by Relativity only, but as SJ pointed out, they cover the vast majority of Mechanical Engineering/Architecture problems and their resolution.
Best regards
/
chiv / March 20, 2024
LS and OC, I do not have much knowledge, on matters discussed here. But by coincidence I found one article related to this on, today’s Island on line , article titled ” why bring science into Buddhist discourse?”. by Geewananda Gunawardana , Ph .D.
/
LankaScot / March 20, 2024
Hello Chiv,
I am afraid that, despite what the author claims, it is full of mysticism and half-truths. – from the article “The Buddha explained that the human personality is nothing more than a collection of these material and mental processes that keep the human conscious, and he called it the Five Clinging Aggregates (Panchupadanakkhandha): Form (Rupa), Sensations (Vedana), Perceptions (Sanna), Mental Formations (Sankhara), and ‘Consciousness’ (Vinnana). Science has analyzed these processes down to atomic level and beyond. They are all physio-chemical processes, and there are no mysteries.”
I will be more than enlightened if anyone can give me an example of a neuroscientist that has investigated the “Five Clinging Aggregates” down to Atomic Levels and beyond?
I would imagine that in your professional life you will have met many professional Medical/Psychiatric personnel. Do they use these Aggregates in their diagnosis or prognosis of a patient’s condition?
On the 31st October I wrote in CT “if you examine critically what the Buddha outlined in Anattalakkhana Sutta (SN 22.59) you may come to the conclusion that it is mostly mumbo-jumbo.
https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/buddha-the-scientist-of-suffering-existence/
No-one has answered the questions I raised in the Article
Best regards
/
old codger / March 20, 2024
Chiv,
It’s always a bad idea to try and pretend that religious ideas are backed by science.
/
Ruchira / March 20, 2024
LankaScot-
.
You’ve said: “Quantum Mechanics does not explain Gravity so Newton’s laws are superseded by Relativity only, …”
.
No expert here on quantum mechanics but from the way I have understood neither Quantum Mechanics nor Relativity supersedes Newton’s Laws.
.
They are context specific.
.
Theories of Relativity apply to very large systems (General Theory of Relativity) and very small systems (Specific Theory of Relativity or Quantum Mechanics).
.
Large systems mean at cosmological levels and smaller systems mean atomic and sub atomic levels.
.
Newtonian Laws don’t apply in either of these.
.
Since the problems of mechanical engineering and architecture are not at these levels (very large or very small systems) it’s the Newtonian Laws that apply to them not relativity or quantum mechanics. Same is true for gravity I believe.
.
Correct me if I’m wrong that’s what I know of quantum physics and relativity.
.
So I think trying to explain gravity with quantum mechanics and/or relativity doesn’t make sense.
/
LankaScot / March 20, 2024
Hello Ruchira,
Newton’s Laws of motion apply everywhere. But, there is a however – “However, when applied to extremely high speeds or extremely small objects, Newton’s laws break down.” – https://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/science/physics/concepts/motion/the-laws-of-motion-and-relativity
Einstein tried unsuccessfully to unify all fundamental forces and the interactions between particles in his Unified Field Theory.
“We have two descriptions of the Universe that work perfectly well: General Relativity and quantum physics. Too bad they don’t work together” – https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/problem-gravity-quantum-physics/
The Scottish Physicist James Clark Maxwell developed his Field Theory of Electromagnetism and Einstein his Field Theory of Gravitation including Relativity.
“to this day gravity remains beyond attempts at a unified field theory.” – https://www.britannica.com/science/unified-field-theory
The half life of sub-atomic particles vary due to Relativistic effects. Have a look at this very educational article on Relativity, especially on “The Muon Experiment” – https://physics.weber.edu/schroeder/r5/
Our understanding of the Universe has been greatly expanded by modern Physics, Astrophysics, Chemistry and other sciences, but we have a long way still to go.
Best regards
/
LankaScot / March 20, 2024
Hello Ruchira,
I forgot to mention that when we say superseded we don’t mean that the Laws don’t apply, only that under certain circumstances they have to be modified.
Best regards
/
Ruchira / March 21, 2024
LankaScot-
.
“I forgot to mention that when we say superseded we don’t mean that the Laws don’t apply, only that under certain circumstances they have to be modified”
.
I guess there’s no contradictions then…!?
/
Ruchira / March 21, 2024
LankaScot- thanks for the links provided. Will try to go through them at leisure. But till then couple of concerns:
.
You’ve said: “Newton’s Laws of motion apply everywhere. But, there is a however – “However, when applied to extremely high speeds or extremely small objects, Newton’s laws break down.” –”
.
What does it mean?
.
Einstein’s inability come up with a unified theory – does it invalidate his theories of relativity, general and specific?
.
But I agree with you cocluding sentance that reads: “… but we have a long way still to go”
/
old codger / March 21, 2024
LS
Isn’t it the problem that Newton’s laws explain and predict the effects of gravity, but cannot explain how it works? Basically, what is a force? Rather like an observer being able to predict what time the bus will arrive, but not being aware of what’s going on inside its engine.
/
soma / March 17, 2024
I hope TNA will field a candidate.
Then I will ask my friends and relatives to choose between NPP, Dilith Jayaweera and TNA man.
(Any f***** who has not got his chance to suck up any remaining juice.)
.
Soma
/
old codger / March 17, 2024
Soma,
Hasn’t Derana Dilith done his share of sucking? Check out what he did with his compony George Steuarts Health and its monopoly on PCR kits .
/
SJ / March 18, 2024
Soma
Be careful about over-shedding tears for Tamils.
You may end up as the common candidate
/
soma / March 19, 2024
SJ
I always dreamt of another Kadiragamar.
.
Sadest aspect of our political culture is big Sinhala parties not fielding any Tamil chaps for parliament from Sinhala majority areas (just a few for symbolic sake) and a couple of Sinhalese from Tamil parties.
.
Soma
/
Native Vedda / March 18, 2024
soma
–
“I hope TNA will field a candidate.”
–
As far as I know TNA has been inactive since 2010 or there about.
Only the aging (aged) Trinco Sam is still the sole member of that grouping. Rest of the member parties had left the grouping some months ago. Without any current data or information please stop being the great pollster of this island.
–
I wondered why you picked Dilith Jayaweera your candidate. Through business partnership he is connected to Varuni Amunugama, whose father is Sarath Amunugama who was a former civil servant and politician.
–
Now I understand how nepotism and networking work in this island. Are you also a member of this network? Would you like to be the official b***s carrier to Namal Baby?
–
You will never know Namal’s mother would find him a cushy job, with less responsibility, less work and lot of rewards, …. maybe allowed to have his private office within the presidential palace, …..
/
Native Vedda / March 18, 2024
soma
–
Do you think ramona therese fernando, Lester, deepti, Ruchira, …. are just like you, Ultracrepidarians?
/
LankaScot / March 18, 2024
Hello Native,
We are all Ultracrepidarians 😉
Best regards
/
Ruchira / March 19, 2024
“We are all Ultracrepidarians”
.
But only some of us are Smell-Feasts!
.
Even a lesser number of us are hypocritical smell-feasts.
.
🤣
/
leelagemalli / March 19, 2024
NV,
Thank you.
I couldn’t agree more.
.
Ruchira Baba is the King of Ultracrepidarians. Even uneducated elders knew it better.
–
I never thought he would be this racist. In earlier days, his ideas were good. Now with Lester’s association he became anti-Tamil, anti-peaceful sinhalaya (me).
.
That may be the reason why the uncivilized man is hated by many commenters today. Good luck to him.
/
Ruchira / March 19, 2024
C.V. Wigneswaran probabbly is the biggest of them Ultracrappydarian…
.
Naki Vedda here perhaps is a close second….
/
leelagemalli / March 19, 2024
May the racists be eleminated like TSUNAMI wave hit the coastal areas. That is my only wish !
–
Ruchira baba, you were a decent guy at the begining. Some questioned me how good you were. You took SM to right path too. Thanks for that because SM’s was pathological.
Stalking to me and MF were at its heights sometime back. ALso back in home country, I was persecuted. sick people act like that.
–
But you have now been a racist…where did you get the pill ?
–
. what went wrong ?
–
Did not your company pay you enough ?
Attacking minotirites in public should be banned in this country beause we suffered a lot by a 30-long year civil war. What do you get by attacking them. May you be blessed with brains. Thank you.
/
soma / March 19, 2024
Who are they?
.
Soma
/
Ruchira / March 19, 2024
Soma – People who oppose ultra crappy dravidian fake theories and propaganda.
/
old codger / March 19, 2024
Class:
“Sadest aspect of our political culture is big Sinhala parties not fielding any Tamil chaps for parliament from Sinhala majority areas (just a few for symbolic sake”
No class:
“People who oppose ultra crappy dravidian fake theories and propaganda.”
There are good ways and bad ways to promote one’s ideas. It takes class to know the difference.
/
Lester / March 19, 2024
“Sadest aspect of our political culture is big Sinhala parties not fielding any Tamil chaps for parliament from Sinhala majority areas (just a few for symbolic sake.”
There’s no one to field because the LTTE assassinated the smarter ones. Neelan, Lakshman, Kumar P…. who are you going to nominate, Sampanthan? Sinhala racism is just an excuse (bogeyman) to cover up Tamil fascism. The irony is that the “racist” Sinhalese allowed the TNA for decades to shout for a separate state from the Parliament itself. In all other countries, that is called “treason”, an offense punishable by death or life imprisonment.
/
old codger / March 19, 2024
Lester,
It was Soma who said that.
.
Class:
“Sadest aspect of our political culture is big Sinhala parties not fielding any Tamil chaps for parliament from Sinhala majority areas (just a few for symbolic sake”
No class:
“People who oppose ultra crappy dravidian fake theories and propaganda.”
.
I forgot the third category, those who shoot themselves in the foot:
“The irony is that the “racist” Sinhalese allowed the TNA for decades to shout for a separate state from the Parliament itself. “
/
Naman / March 17, 2024
“ The King is gone, in his place, we have an apparatus called the State.”
This so called STATE has NOT been FAIR to the minority Tamil speaking citizens for nearly 8 decades. STATE has been acting like Israelis indiscriminately killing and maiming them. STATE has been acting more like a MAFIA
/
Sinhala_Man / March 17, 2024
Very intelligent writing, as always, from Ravi Perera.
.
However, having listened to to this for 150 minutes,
.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeXbHY_VM_I
.
I do indeed fear that we have reached a dead end.
.
Dr Harini Amarasuriya has been to England, and spoken in London, using mostly Sinhala. Please don’t dismiss it after clicking on it. More revealing than Harini’s speech are are the responses – none of which, up to now, is nasty spam.
.
However, after seeing this, lots of anti-NPP people may go there and say nasty things. It is very difficult to select what to read among the comments there. It may help if I tell you that you can arrange the comments in one of two ways – “Top Comments” (which is the default), and “Newest First”.
.
And what is the “Top Comment”? When I look, it is always my “Direct” (opposite is ‘Reply’) comment on top. However, that won’t be the case when you look.
.
“Panini_Edirisisnhe”
/
ramona therese fernando / March 17, 2024
I mean, we can sit blaming colonization for all of it and keep demanding compensation, but when we avariciously crave their development, we have only ourselves to blame.
–
Places like the Indo-Chinese countries fought and won against the West’s attempt to further their neo-colonial economic empire. They were true to their people and heritage. Theirs is the exemplar if we seek climate change.
–
Giving monetary “credits” to those who live the rural or forestry life without electricity is the first step. West will be forced to soon follow suit when multiple countries do this. They are in fact looking for a legitimate model for overhaul of their system.
/
nimal fernando / March 17, 2024
“I mean, we can sit blaming colonization for all of it and keep demanding compensation”
–
–
If we didn’t have colonization ……. we wouldn’t know how to sit on chairs …… we wouldn’t have chairs …….
–
Sinhala_Man would be sitting in a tree ……. speaking a strange dialect …….. only monkeys would understand ………
–
Now, he’s an English expert ……… charging 9000 ……. for a lesson ……
/
ramona therese fernando / March 17, 2024
Nimal,
Sorry,……I posted my comment for the wrong article…..it was meant for “Climate Justice: Time For The Global South To Unite.”
/
ramona therese fernando / March 17, 2024
Anyway, we were analyzing the science of the body, mind, and universe when the Colonials were drawing stick figures on cave walls.
/
old codger / March 17, 2024
Ramona,
we were analyzing the science of the body, mind, and universe when the Colonials were drawing stick figures on cave walls.
You shouldn’t take these sunshine stories too seriously. Remember, they came here, we didn’t go to Europe.
This is what the Greeks were doing 4000 years ago:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dokos_shipwreck#:~:text=4%20Further%20reading-,Evidence,known%20underwater%20shipwreck%20yet%20discovered.
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ramona therese fernando / March 18, 2024
OC,
–
They came here because they felt cold. They came there because we had more food. They came here because their religious leaders were persecuting them. They came here because they did not know how to live in democratic and collectivist style that we had evolved to. When they came here, they saw the profound learning and wisdom we had. The copied them and took it back north to evolve their societies (at the demise of ours).
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old codger / March 18, 2024
Ramona
“They came here because they felt cold. “
No, they came here to cut out the Arab middlemen who were making spices more expensive than gold. Nobody wants to spend six months on a cramped ship unless there is some profit in it.
“When they came here, they saw the profound learning and wisdom we had”
Why did this profound learning not enable us to resist effectively, like the Japanese, or even Thailand?
The truth, Ramona, is that our leaders betrayed each other, and the country.
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ramona therese fernando / March 18, 2024
OC…..yeah, it was for the food, for they couldn’t preserve theirs and were starving. Also their elite were sucking up all their money and they needed to capitalize. Our elite used evolved collectivist trends. Japanese caught hold of impending colonizers and tortured them. Thailand they didn’t bother with because they already had Malaysia nicely along the sea routes. Colonizing too many places was counterproductive.
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Mahila / March 19, 2024
OC,
“The truth, Ramona, is that our leaders betrayed each other, and the country.”
Cannot agree with you more!!!??
That happens brazenly even to this very day!!! The HALLMARK of the Sri Lankan, Patriotic Nationalistic LEADERS!!?? None other in any other community, equals or exceeds these Thanakola Munching, Punnakku eating types!?
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nimal fernando / March 18, 2024
“Anyway, we were analyzing the science of the body, mind, and universe when the Colonials were drawing stick figures on cave walls.”
–
“A lot of hype and big talk, but statistically a poor performer.” :))
–
–
Most were colonised ……. at some stage or the other …………
–
When the Romans came the English were hanging from trees …….. but they used their colonization to achieve better results.
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deepthi silva / March 18, 2024
Nimal What I learnt was that the old Celts and other tribes living in Britain at the time of Romans were savage but we cannot dismiss them as monkeys.. They were very to conquer and showed the romans what they were made of. ,bviously in eapons and fightinfg skills n secnd to the al conquering Romans.
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LankaScot / March 18, 2024
Hello Nimal,
The reason for the Roman colonisation was the same as most others – Theft. If you mean that the Romans hanged the English from trees, they would have a hard job. There were no English at that time. There were many Celtic tribes one of which rebelled against the Romans around AD 60- the Iceni.
The Roman Governor Gaius Suetonius Paulinus was fighting the Druids in the Isle of Mona, North Wales when Queen Boudica of the Iceni attacked London. https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Boudica/
“Not content with taking all the property and lands, Suetonius had Prasutagus’ widow Boudica publicly flogged and her daughters were raped by Roman slaves!”.
In your words “but they used their colonization to achieve better results”
To paraphrase the Caledonian leader Calgacus about the Roman methods “They make a Wasteland and call it Peace”. Does it remind you of what Israel is doing in Gaza?
Best regards
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nimal fernando / March 19, 2024
Deepthi, LS,
–
Like I’ve written elsewhere ……… I barely went to school – in the true sense of the term …….. so my “education” is full of holes, like Swiss cheese ……… I get by like Ranil, throwing out a few things I’ve picked up, to make people believe I know stuff. And it’s a trick that usually works. ………If Ranil could’ve ended up as the president with his simple tricks ……. perhaps, I could’ve ended up as God ……. at least to davidthegood, if I put my mind to it.
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My head is in a spin …… after reading what you two have written. I usually keep away from the pedantic nitty gritty ……. and hone in on the larger/bigger picture – how colonization has affected societies throughout history for better or for worse. I knew the Romans were in the English isles, so used “English” as a generic collective term …….. to describe the inhabitants of the time.
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nimal fernando / March 19, 2024
cont
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Sure, stealing/robbery was the main intention of the colonisers …….. but I have to admit that colonial legacy of the English is not all that bad …….. as some Lankans/people make it out to be.
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It’s hard to get one’s mind around the criticisms …….. when people complain about the colonial legacy of the English in perfect top rung English…….. that they have spent every waking hour to master ……..
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“Does it remind you of what Israel is doing in Gaza?”
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Sadly, what’s happening there is so painful for me, I don’t watch or read about it ……. don’t want to feel even more depressed than I’m already ……. about the things going around ……. in the world ……..
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LankaScot / March 19, 2024
Hello Nimal,
There are many things I don’t know about Sri Lankan history and for us Scots it is a difficult language to learn. My 5 year old Sri Lankan granddaughter puts me to shame, but as I teach her English she teaches me Sinhala. The other thing she teaches me is how to laugh at ourselves.
I learned whilst working with people in many so-called “undeveloped” parts of the world not to underestimate their intelligence. Education should be a right for all, no matter your sex, religion, class, caste or nationality.
I watched Ranil’s Interview on DW TV where he lost his temper and resorted to accusing the Interviewer of discrimination against the Third World – you can watch it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jDOyImbUu8
Best regards
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SJ / March 19, 2024
LS
A most appreciated comment.
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nimal fernando / March 20, 2024
LankaScot,
–
Learning Sinhala from your granddaughter should be fine ………. but learning Sinhala from local kids have its perils.
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We have a coconut estate in a predominantly Catholic area in SL ……. some years ago a young priest was sent all the way from Belgium to the local church. He was so keen to learn the language, he tried to learn it from the local kids who were coming to play Cricket in the church yard.
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Within a few weeks of his arrival, with great pride and a sense of achievement, he gave his first sermon in Sinhala. The congregation was utterly shocked and was ready to crucify him. Instead of teaching proper Sinhala ……. the local kids had thought him all the local bad words …….. and his entire sermon consisted of bad words.
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Make sure you double check before you give your first speech. :))
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LankaScot / March 18, 2024
Hello Ramona,
5000 years ago my ancestors in Orkney were living in stone houses with dressers and other furniture, were yours. Have a look at Skara Brae, Ring of Brodgar and the Ness of Brodgar https://www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/
There are still Doctors in Sri Lanka that prescribe Ayurvedic and Homeopathic medicines to unsuspecting patients. Fortunately they usually include Antibiotics (or other so called Allopathic Medicine) in the prescription. Hindutwa Indians use the derogatory term Allopathy to describe so called Western Medicine. Many of my Indian friends confidently told me that Covid 19 would not affect India because they used Turmeric. And also remember the Sri Lanka cure – pouring some concoction into the rivers made by Eliyantha White who died of the disease. Also remember Pavithra Wanniarachchi, Dhammika Bandara and Minister Piyal Nishantha de Silva who were also duped and contracted the virus. There is a cave not far from my house here in Central Province, and I think it has some “stick figures”. Have a look at these cave paintings in Lascaux near Montignac, France from 17000 years ago – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lascaux
Best regards
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ramona therese fernando / March 18, 2024
lankaScot,
_
We had the Indus Valley Civilization of 1-million square kilometers in 3300 BCE. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_Valley_Civilisation
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old codger / March 18, 2024
Ramona,
The IVC was in the Indus Valley, not Sri Lanka.
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ramona therese fernando / March 18, 2024
OC,
Same blood.
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LankaScot / March 18, 2024
Hello Ramona,
“Same blood” – show your evidence please. On another subject – why do you never answer questions? Oops, sorry for my stupidity, you won’t answer this one either😢.
Best regards
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ramona therese fernando / March 18, 2024
LankaScot,
_
All modern-day Indians descended from the Ancient Indus civilisation of South Asia which existed 5,000 years ago, major study finds. The largest ever study of ancient human remains has revealed most people in India today are descended from the once vast Indus Valley Civilisation.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-7432119/Modern-day-Indians-descended-Ancient-Indus-civilisation.html
–
First ancient DNA from Indus Valley civilization links its people to modern South Asians https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/912501 “Ancestry like that in the IVC individuals is the primary ancestry source in South Asia today,” says Reich. “This finding ties people in South Asia today directly to the Indus Valley Civilization.”
Genome of nearly 5000-year-old woman links modern Indians to ancient civilizationhttps://www.science.org/content/article/genome-nearly-5000-year-old-woman-links-modern-indians-ancient-civilization A resulting Indus family tree revealed that although the civilization collapsed nearly 4000 years ago, its genetic stock forms the basis of most people living in India today, the team reports today in Cell.
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South Asian ethnic groups are an ethnolinguistic grouping of the diverse populations of South Asia, including the nations of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Asian_ethnic_groups – :~:text=South%20Asian%20ethnic%20groups%20are,%2C%20Pakistan%2C%20and%20Sri%20Lanka.
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The majority of Śrī Laṅkān individuals studied so far showed an overwhelming presence of South-Asian-specific haplogroups.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10514440/
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LankaScot / March 19, 2024
Hello Ramona,
Please try to look at the original Academic Papers instead of someone else’s interpretation. This is from the original article. It is about one person’s (probably female) ancient DNA from Rakhigarhi – “The genetic profile that we document in this individual, with large proportions of Iranian-related ancestry but no evidence of Steppe pastoralist-related ancestry, is no longer found in modern populations of South Asia or Iran, providing further validation that the data we obtained from this individual reflects authentic ancient DNA.” – https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(19)30967-5
“Her genome closely matched DNA from 11 other individuals who had been found at sites in Iran and Turkmenistan”. One of the main findings of this paper was that the IVC archaeology (so far)had not found any Steppe Ancestry.
Many people on this forum claim that the Indus Valley Civilisation was Dravidian and that they spoke Tamil. Others believe that the IVC was Vedic. Whatever you believe try to look at the evidence.
Best regards
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ramona therese fernando / March 19, 2024
LankaScot,
–
My links are of the.org and .gov types, which means they have accreditations of professional organizations. This science.org website shows that it has been accredited by the general scientific community. https://www.science.org/content/article/genome-nearly-5000-year-old-woman-links-modern-indians-ancient-civilization
_
Your origianl paper does not have a link prefix to any professional organization.
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ramona therese fernando / March 19, 2024
LankaScot,
_
Anyway, your site says “We obtained qualitatively consistent results when analyzing the data using ADMIXTURE (Alexander et al., 2009), with I6113 again similar to the 11 outlier individuals in harboring a mixture of ancestry related to ancient Iranians and tribal southern Indians.”
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This would mean that the IVC dispersed to the north and south…..more to the south as the land to the south was more conducive to agriculture- the north being more mountainous.
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ramona therese fernando / March 19, 2024
LankaScot,
–
And the study you give is not conclusive. It says in the end, “While our study is sufficient to demonstrate that this ancestry profile was a common feature of the IVC, a single sample—or even the gradient of 12 likely IVC samples we have identified—cannot fully characterize a cosmopolitan ancient civilization. An important direction for future work will be to carry out ancient DNA analysis of additional individuals across the IVC range to obtain a quantitative understanding of how the ancestry of IVC people was distributed and to characterize other features of its population structure.”
–
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deepthi silva / March 18, 2024
Romona Whole of India is about 1.3 million Square Miles. Are you saying Indus valley was as big as India !
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LankaScot / March 18, 2024
Hello Deepthi,
India is 3,287,263 square kilometres. Ramona said IVC was about 1 million square kilometres. I know it covered most of Pakistan and some of Rajustan approximately 1,500 km by about 500km so Ramona is nearly right.
Best regards
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SJ / March 19, 2024
LS
When we talk about ancient civilizations, we forget that the settlement was not necessarily across a contiguous territory.
There were intensely populated urban centres and there were people with other ways of life that interacted with the urban civilization. The spread of the IVC is very wide and new centres have been identified recently. But whether they were all concurrent is another issue to think about.
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ramona therese fernando / March 18, 2024
Deepthi,
–
“The total population of the civilization is thought to have been upward of 5 million, and its territory stretched over 900 miles (1,500 km) along the banks of the Indus River and then in all directions outward.”
1,500 x 1,500= 2,250,500. Area of India is 3,287,263 square kilometres (1,269,219 sq mi). So the IVC would have spanded most of India.
https://www.worldhistory.org/Indus_Valley_Civilization/
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Mahila / March 19, 2024
Yes, as large as India, over 2.5 million Kilometres and unquestionably, spanned an area as big as India!
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SJ / March 19, 2024
“2.5 million Kilometres “?
N–S or E–W or peripherally?
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leelagemalli / March 19, 2024
Good morning Scot,
The reason I stay on this forum further is because the comments from OC, Scot, NV, SJ and a few others make sense. Everyone else is wasting our precious time. As NV clearly stated, they are extremely ultrapreditarians.
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When you talk about some people groups in the UK, may I direct your attention to the SYGOINA tribes in Germany? THey speak rumanian dialect. They live in groups. Some of them are busy with circus events, while others live on their own inclinations. I am told by my colleagues (German and English) that their ancestors are from South India. Some say, they are from Turkey. As you know whoever whatever bieng said and doine, we the sinhala and tamils are also from south and east india.
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Is that true about them, Scott?
I believe you are well aware of these things. Unlike other commenters on CT, you like to have overall knowledge about many things and you dont spread untruths. That I really appreciate. Can you please write something about this? We also have small people like the Ahikuntikaya in Sri Lanka. Do you know it already? They may have been genetically related to European sygoinas. Don’t you think so?
Many of them are looked down upon in Germany and Switzerland. They are similar to the “travellers” in Ireland.
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leelagemalli / March 19, 2024
Scot,
.
pouring concotions into the river branches and seek some blessings became popular in recent times with the dawn of Rajapakshe Chinthanaya.
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Consequence was it ended up being GHANAKKA and GOTABAYA getting cornered by the aragalayites. Today no more that much of attetion is being given to those THAKKADIYAS AND KATTADIYAS interwined combination.
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There were some Kattadiyas that were held above by Rajapakshe hedegemony and became wealthier. Can you imagine?, there is a GURA in Kandy, who is said to be an uneducated man of a village, but his wealth is beyond estimation, all these were through DEWALE business. Galthanna Dewale.
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvcTtD2Nl0k
Sorry scot, that is in sinhala, your wife will help you understanding the video
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Look at them how MARA and that family, how they wear ” bangles” and any other ornaments in their fingers and whereever they think they should. These parasites are filled with unbelievable levels of superstions, even if they follow european way of life styles. I have never used necklaces or rings other than my wedding ring in entire my life me being a mid- quantigenerian as of today.
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I clash with my thoughts, why do they do so ? Some anglo srilankens (speically boomers) dont care to much to learn indigenous langagues of the country, but few learn it though later.
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old codger / March 19, 2024
LM
The Roma
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LankaScot / March 19, 2024
Hello leelagemalli,
I went to school with quite a few of the “Travellers” back in the 1950s and 60s. They are also known as Gypsies, Tinkers, Hawkers and other terms (usually derogatory) that I won’t mention. In their travels from India some apparently passed through Egypt (hence Gypsies)
One of my school classmates (a Traveller) was recently admonished by the Sheriff for Assault. He had been attacked by some Druggies and defended himself by stapling their heads with an Industrial Stapler (he is a builder).
His ancestor James McPherson was the last man to be hung in Scotland for Sheep Stealing https://issuu.com/scotlandcorrespondent/docs/scotland_correspondent_issue_41/s/10514349
The Travellers worship a Black Madonna whilst being nominally Roman Catholic, Their language (Cant) is a mix of old Scots, Irish/Scots Gaelic and many words that appear much like Hindi. The Irish Travellers (and the Welsh Roma) seem to be distinct from the European Roma. https://traveller-genes.ed.ac.uk/our-research/irish-travellers Since I arrived in Sri Lanka I have met many people that remind me of the Scottish Travellers. Many Traveller women have dark hair and dark brown eyes. They are very superstitious and engage in fortune telling and palm reading etc. Much like the Sri Lankan Ahikuntikaya.
Best regards
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leelagemalli / March 20, 2024
LS,
Thanks and really appreciate your comments.
It’s really interesting to experience how you really feel when you live in Sri Lanka, as one like you grew up in your earlier days in Scotland. I had a good Scottish friend in the late 90s. He was an opera singer. Unfortunately, I lost my contact to him since i was busy with my job over the years.
–
Do you really understand the Sinhala language? How can you get in touch with Lankens if you live in Central Province? From what you have written, I believe you know Sri Lanka better than the average Lankan. These are your strengths. Your travels and stays abroad cover almost all continents. So you seem to have a better overview of the world. I love watching documentaries about all the indigenous peoples of the world. That are one of my good hobbies. This is how I got to know some Sygoinas and travelers in Europe.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjkKi6uXxYw
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Do you also feel any kind of racism in your area? srialnken burghers left the country because they were heavily discriminated against by lanky racists at the time. I have also met some Sri Lankan burghers in the UK and also in Australia. Most of them loved coming back to Sri Lanka.
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tbd
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leelagemalli / March 20, 2024
cont..
Back to my school days in SL (80ties), we had some exchange students (whites) in our college back then, many of our boys teased these white boys. That wasn’t the case for me in Germany during my time as a student. I was also at Peradeniya for 1.5 years, but I don’t remember those brutal days fondly at all. It is their culture in Sri Lanka to harm others. We as undergrads experienced brutal events that I would never erase from my memories. That’s why I believe that people behave like animals when there is no real law and order.
That’s why I feel like Lanken’s social and cultural problems would never change so easily. Can you imagine that this inhumane, annoying problem in Sri Lankan universities has not been solved even after 3.5 decades? The people’s culture of violence is considered a tradition in this country. Whether on public buses or in markets, people behave like high-level criminals. Women are often mistreated on public buses. This is what I am faced with again and again every year when I return to the country for a few weeks.
.
I moved out of Sri Lanka 3.5 decades ago. It used to be like a culture shock because Nowords could express my thoughts. However, over time I managed to get used to European cultures.
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old codger / March 17, 2024
““I mean, we can sit blaming colonization for all of it and keep demanding compensation”
That could backfire. Okay, they’d have to pay us for a few statues. And maybe give only the Estate Tamils free visas.But what happens when 18 million SB’s suddenly rediscover their heritage and want visas too?
Then too, they’ll have to pay to replant the up-country with pristine jungle, remove all those nasty railway lines and roads…..
Sinhala Man already speaks a strange dialect.
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Mahila / March 19, 2024
That was indeed very Funny or ‘PUN’ny! What about “Out Goes Victoria Dam etc., too!!??
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old codger / March 19, 2024
Mahila,
You mean Vihara Maha Devi Dam?
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SJ / March 18, 2024
“won against the West’s attempt to further their neo-colonial economic empire. “
The countries on their war against foreign occupation, but ‘the neo-colonial economic empire’ is still there.
You should visit Ho Chi Minh City.
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nimal fernando / March 17, 2024
“the Incas had no concept of the Egyptians”
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Long voyages ……. could’ve been a possibility …….. in the past ………. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kon-Tiki_expedition ……. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thor_Heyerdahl
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Sinhala_Man / March 18, 2024
This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn’t abide by our Comment policy.
For more detail see our Comment policy https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/comments-policy-2
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davidthegood / March 18, 2024
Sinhala_Man, why do your comments get removed. Please write simple non attacks so that readers can hear your views too
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Sinhala_Man / March 18, 2024
Dear “davidthegood”,
.
Answer to your question: “I do not know”.
.
I did not attack anybody in that response.
[Edited out]
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LankaScot / March 18, 2024
Hello Nimal,
Recent archaeological evidence has shown what most Native Americans knew. They have probably been there for at least 23,000 years.
https://www.the-scientist.com/new-evidence-complicates-the-story-of-the-peopling-of-the-americas-69928
This one is intriguing https://www.fau.edu/newsdesk/articles/ancient-dna-south-america “Researchers also found strong Australasian (Australia and Papua New Guinea) genetic signals in an ancient genome from Panama.”
Best regards
/