The Republican Brain?

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Cortopassi
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Re: The Republican Brain?

Post by Cortopassi » Tue Nov 05, 2019 5:35 pm

Understood.

There are so many science based things that are likely proven wrong already or will be proven wrong over time.

But,,,the thing that doesn’t seem to be in dispute (by most?) is that climate is changing. The point of disagreement is how much are humans at fault, right?

If climate wasn’t changing, then why are there larger, more destructive fires in CA than even 10, 20, 30 years ago? If not climate, then poor management by humans which is even worse.

I dispute that we can do much at all about it and instead will have to adapt. I don’t fault that a lot of the scare tactics are causing good things to happen, like renewables, and looking again at nuclear.

Just don’t tell me it is settled science. Like cholesterol and saturated fat, there are champions for certain positions that have a hard time changing their mind until literally those people die over time.
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Re: The Republican Brain?

Post by Mountaineer » Tue Nov 05, 2019 6:26 pm

Cortopassi wrote:
Tue Nov 05, 2019 5:35 pm
Understood.

1. There are so many science based things that are likely proven wrong already or will be proven wrong over time.

But,,,the thing that doesn’t seem to be in dispute (by most?) is that climate is changing. 2. The point of disagreement is how much are humans at fault, right?

If climate wasn’t changing, then why are there larger, more destructive fires in CA than even 10, 20, 30 years ago? 3. If not climate, then poor management by humans which is even worse.

I dispute that we can do much at all about it and instead will have to adapt. 4. I don’t fault that a lot of the scare tactics are causing good things to happen, like renewables, and looking again at nuclear.

5. Just don’t tell me it is settled science. Like cholesterol and saturated fat, there are champions for certain positions that have a hard time changing their mind until literally those people die over time.
1. Yep
2. Yep
3. Yep
4. Ummm, perhaps. I don't think the entire life cycle is being examined by the "environmentally woke". e.g. lithium mines for all the batteries are destroying the environment but not many are talking about that; just that electric vehicles are wonderful.
5. Yep
Simonjester wrote:
Cortopassi wrote:
Tue Nov 05, 2019 5:35 pm

If climate wasn’t changing, then why are there larger, more destructive fires in CA than even 10, 20, 30 years ago? If not climate, then poor management by humans which is even worse.
it is the "even worse"
https://www.americanthinker.com/article ... fires.html
DNA has its own language (code), and language requires intelligence. There is no known mechanism by which matter can give birth to information, let alone language. It is unreasonable to believe the world could have happened by chance.
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Re: The Republican Brain?

Post by Cortopassi » Tue Nov 05, 2019 8:20 pm

Any person on this board would make a better representative, senator or president than the people who are there now. Why can't government work this way? Dammit, you all have rational responses and are smart people. Who the hell do we have representing us and how do we change that?
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Re: The Republican Brain?

Post by vnatale » Tue Nov 05, 2019 8:33 pm

Cortopassi wrote:
Tue Nov 05, 2019 8:20 pm
Any person on this board would make a better representative, senator or president than the people who are there now. Why can't government work this way? Dammit, you all have rational responses and are smart people. Who the hell do we have representing us and how do we change that?
Because none of here have to answer to anyone.

https://quotefancy.com/quote/918286/Tho ... ou-deserve

People like voting for people who get for them and politicians want to give. But the willingness to pay seems less than the desire to get.

The book I just finished reading (of which I recently quoted one paragraph, asking for an opinion of it) made the point that democracy may not be the greatest (not that any other forms are better, just that it may not be great) because it caters to people's baser values, i.e. what they want. And, everyone wants.

Today I was independently thinking about it how just about all our politicians telling us what they are going to give us but never ask us to pay, sacrifice.

Of course, the Democratic Party is well known for this. However, after 9/11 when the country was probably at its peak in being willing to sacrifice what was the leadership of the Republican president, "Go shopping." !!!! And, followed up by going to a needless war AND cutting taxes!

If any of us were in their positions would we truly be any different? Yes, in many ways. But if we wanted to be re-elected we'd have to conform to the way it now is.

Vinny
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
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Re: The Republican Brain?

Post by Mountaineer » Wed Nov 06, 2019 5:00 am

Mountaineer wrote:
Tue Nov 05, 2019 6:26 pm
Cortopassi wrote:
Tue Nov 05, 2019 5:35 pm
Understood.

1. There are so many science based things that are likely proven wrong already or will be proven wrong over time.

But,,,the thing that doesn’t seem to be in dispute (by most?) is that climate is changing. 2. The point of disagreement is how much are humans at fault, right?

If climate wasn’t changing, then why are there larger, more destructive fires in CA than even 10, 20, 30 years ago? 3. If not climate, then poor management by humans which is even worse.

I dispute that we can do much at all about it and instead will have to adapt. 4. I don’t fault that a lot of the scare tactics are causing good things to happen, like renewables, and looking again at nuclear.

5. Just don’t tell me it is settled science. Like cholesterol and saturated fat, there are champions for certain positions that have a hard time changing their mind until literally those people die over time.
1. Yep
2. Yep
3. Yep
4. Ummm, perhaps. I don't think the entire life cycle is being examined by the "environmentally woke". e.g. lithium mines for all the batteries are destroying the environment but not many are talking about that; just that electric vehicles are wonderful.
5. Yep
.


Addendum on lithium mining impact on people and the environment:

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/lithium ... ent-impact
DNA has its own language (code), and language requires intelligence. There is no known mechanism by which matter can give birth to information, let alone language. It is unreasonable to believe the world could have happened by chance.
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Re: The Republican Brain?

Post by Maddy » Wed Nov 06, 2019 7:43 am

Cortopassi wrote:
Tue Nov 05, 2019 8:20 pm
Any person on this board would make a better representative, senator or president than the people who are there now. Why can't government work this way? Dammit, you all have rational responses and are smart people. Who the hell do we have representing us and how do we change that?
I ran across an article earlier this week which argued that it's the plan of the Elite to move the western world toward a technocracy-style government in which the "best and the brightest" run everything. It claimed that the progression toward a society run by computer algorithms is being widely embraced by the younger generation.

On that subject, I've noticed that over the last decade (some of which was spent teaching), young people have become increasingly disdainful of subjective decisionmaking. Even in those areas where computer models are vastly inferior to good ol' human judgment and intuition (e.g., employee performance measures), there's a noticeable preference for a depersonalized, formulaic process in which decisions, both large and small, are left to a computer. In part, I think this is the result of a fundamental insecurity on the part of today's young people (who must, at all costs, be liked), as well as a reluctance to go out on a limb. Also, the radical egalitarian ethic that seems to prevail in this age group tends to cause massive cognitive dissonance when in the course of business these people are called upon to discriminate in some way between one person and another. If you leave all the decisions to a computer and you can never be called upon to account for your bad judgment, and you can never be accused of being racist, transphobic, etc. Heck, you don't even have to have interpersonal skills.
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Re: The Republican Brain?

Post by Cortopassi » Wed Nov 06, 2019 9:24 am

Maddy wrote:
Wed Nov 06, 2019 7:43 am
Cortopassi wrote:
Tue Nov 05, 2019 8:20 pm
Any person on this board would make a better representative, senator or president than the people who are there now. Why can't government work this way? Dammit, you all have rational responses and are smart people. Who the hell do we have representing us and how do we change that?
I ran across an article earlier this week which argued that it's the plan of the Elite to move the western world toward a technocracy-style government in which the "best and the brightest" run everything. It claimed that the progression toward a society run by computer algorithms is being widely embraced by the younger generation.

On that subject, I've noticed that over the last decade (some of which was spent teaching), young people have become increasingly disdainful of subjective decisionmaking. Even in those areas where computer models are vastly inferior to good ol' human judgment and intuition (e.g., employee performance measures), there's a noticeable preference for a depersonalized, formulaic process in which decisions, both large and small, are left to a computer. In part, I think this is the result of a fundamental insecurity on the part of today's young people (who must, at all costs, be liked), as well as a reluctance to go out on a limb. Also, the radical egalitarian ethic that seems to prevail in this age group tends to cause massive cognitive dissonance when in the course of business these people are called upon to discriminate in some way between one person and another. If you leave all the decisions to a computer and you can never be called upon to account for your bad judgment, and you can never be accused of being racist, transphobic, etc. Heck, you don't even have to have interpersonal skills.
Linking back to the books thread, this is appropriate. I've read the first two in this series and the final book comes out today I think. I found it interesting. Got it from my daughter.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scythe_(novel)

"Scythe is a 2016 young-adult novel by Neal Shusterman and is the first in the Arc of a Scythe series. It is set in the far future, where death by natural causes has been virtually eliminated thanks to advances in technology, and an advanced computer system known as the "Thunderhead" controls society. The Thunderhead is a form of artificial intelligence who does not make mistakes or have regrets. "
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Re: The Republican Brain?

Post by Maddy » Thu Nov 07, 2019 8:02 am

Cortopassi wrote:
Tue Nov 05, 2019 5:35 pm

But,,,the thing that doesn’t seem to be in dispute (by most?) is that climate is changing. . .

If climate wasn’t changing, then why are there larger, more destructive fires in CA than even 10, 20, 30 years ago?
Was there ever a "golden age" in which the climate was NOT changing?
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Re: The Republican Brain?

Post by Libertarian666 » Thu Nov 07, 2019 8:32 am

Simonjester wrote:
Cortopassi wrote:
Tue Nov 05, 2019 5:35 pm

If climate wasn’t changing, then why are there larger, more destructive fires in CA than even 10, 20, 30 years ago? If not climate, then poor management by humans which is even worse.
it is the "even worse"
https://www.americanthinker.com/article ... fires.html
Correct.
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Re: The Republican Brain?

Post by Maddy » Fri Nov 08, 2019 10:38 am

I can't speak to the situation in California, but around here, harvesting of timber on state and federal land is a major culprit. The right to harvest is bid out to private timber companies which more often than not leave an obscene mess just waiting to ignite. The state and federal bureaucrats who are supposed to be managing this process turn a blind eye to all this, understanding their mandate is to maximize the profits realized by these contracts.

These public lands are generally divvied up into sections that are earmarked to support various public funds. Schools are a big one. Interestingly, those people who are screaming the loudest about "climate change" are often the same ones who are clamoring for ever-more-money for schools and other bottomless pits. If those folks were required to actually set foot on these vast wastelands of ignitable slash which provide the funding for the public sector, their little heads just might explode.
Simonjester wrote: California would be the opposite, here the environmentalists prevent logging and clearing on private and public land to save any and every animal big or small, that can be used to shut down logging and clearing. at the same time the government puts out every fire it can, creating a completely unnatural type of growth. The natural pattern for fires should be low slow and cool, trees are far enough apart that only a few burn all the way up, the fire cant jump and the underbrush and grass are benefited by the burn... in CA the trees burn hot and fast because they are to close and have to much underbrush, they burn up into the tops of the trees jump easily through the fuel, and the fire will get so hot it generates its own wind and scorches everything including the topsoil and tree roots, imagine a rolling blast furnace that can catch things on fire just from the heat blasting out in front of it...
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