The Trump admin is squeezing Iran's nuts from both sides. Withdrawing from the nuclear deal, then reimposing sanctions is devastating their economy. You cut off the lights and strangle the air supply and something's gotta give. They can't negotiate with Trump. Would you? The Ayatollah never trusted the U.S. He was dragged into the nuclear deal by the more progressive elements in his gov't. Trump claims he wants to talk, but is doing everything to prove the Mullah was right. The US goal in Iran is regime change. The hardliners know it and they're not about to give up power. Israel and Saudi Arabia would love to see Iran slapped. Iran meddles in their part of the world in support of the Shia. We've learned nothing from the past. The hardliners are now Ascending.They, or their proxies were probably involved in the tanker attacks, to show the US that there is a cost to their policies. Iran knows if it goes to war with the US it would be suicide, but the US knows Iran is not Iraq, and has sophisticated Russian weapons and defense systems. It would be nuts to go to war. The best the US could due would be to escort the tankers through the strait. This could be a flashpoint, but the US doesn't have to overreact. It could target just the perpetrators and not all of Iran. Look at the bright side. If the straits become a blocked graveyard where some 20% of the world supplies passes, it could be an incentive and an accelerent to sustainable energy. The pessimist says "it can't get any worse.' The optimist says, cheerily, 'yes it can!'

Whatever self-consciousness is, could it turn out to be a failed survival experiment? Maybe. Maybe not. If a flock of birds, full of individuals becoming individuated, started flying off in every direction would this be a good thing? Would a 'flock' of humans have superior survival skills than our current iteration? Maybe. All things have survival skills. Does consciousness, self-awareness give us an edge? Maybe, but is it useful for much more? We have evolved this interesting tool, but are not necessarily equipped to handle it. Behold! The Man! Now what.. I can only add to the confusion..

Good article about the 'me,' the 'self,' self awareness, and consciousness. https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23931940-100-the-me-illusion-how-your-brain-conjures-up-your-sense-of-self/

Maybe we ask the wrong question. How about what is the meaning of the universe (less arrogant)? Does it have a purpose and perhaps we are just performing our part in that. If not a purpose, perhaps a direction. Is direction purpose? There definitely seems to be a direction. In the evolution of living things, we see a progression of what we call the 'simple' (algae, one celled creatures) evolving to more complex 'tissues' that give up immortality (thru direct connection to the environment) to becoming complex organisms where each tissue (organ) becomes specialized and now depends on the whole organism for survival. Here mortality is introduced. This complex organism develops 'consciousness' (a whole other conundrum) which enables it to manipulate 'nature' (or so it believes).' I once heard it said that the purpose of 'consciousness,' is for the universe to wake up and admire itself. That tickled me. I've come to believe that 'consciousness' is a latent/inevitable property of matter. Perhaps the answer lies in entropy, going from the more organized, high energy, to dissipation. If the universe has laws, that appears to be one of them, though I doubt it or there would be only one universe, one time. So if we figure out what's up with that, maybe there are some answers there. If the universe began with a big bang (low entropy), is this the first time? If not, is there a collapse in store and an infinite universe perpetual motion generating machine? It seems to be expanding and faster. Is that even consistent with physics? Enter dark matter/energy, stage right or left. Life appears to be small packets of highly organized things (low entropy) that eventually (70-90 years) give way to dissolution, like all things, but moves the ball forward. That may be the genius of evolution. This is different from the usual Fri. cafeteria lunch conversation I sit thru consisting of 'how's the fish today?' Thank you for being here. And now, back to my home planet...

I'm new here. I came here because my lunch companions (retirees) talk mainly about whether the fish is better than the macaroni in the cafeteria today. I introduce politics and religion into the mix and it gets semi-interesting, though I am a minority of one in that group. My 2 dogs pretty much go woof, but I find their howling wondrous. After reading some of this, I'm beginning to wonder if the sushi is better than the fish and the macaroni. It is. Never heard the term 'presentism.' Does such a thing exist if our biology requires a small lag time in our experience of 'now' in essence turning into 'then?' I have this thought; entropy explains everything (though I 'm not privy to that explanation). Cheers from Indpls..