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A lot of “idiotic” things have reasonable explanations (2011)

theatlantic.com

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Re: A lot of “idiotic” things have reasonable explanations (2011)

#341

Post by Paperweight »

asdff wrote: post #81
georgespencer wrote: post #17

This article puts it better than I ever could. I had a similar reaction when I read extremely critical press coverage of some VCs in Europe investing in YPlan, which eventually sold for a nominal amount to Time Out London. The synopsis of all the coverage was: "How could they have spent all that money? And how could the investors have been so STUPID?" My friend Fred Destin wrote a great essay on this[1], and I'll do…

Scale this up to anything and you will want to be governed by a benevolent dictator. Not even senators themselves read the full bills they vote on, and I don't blame them with it being hundreds of pages of reading that could easily be parted out to aides, but the electorate certainly doesn't have this advantage. Maybe 1% of voters are truly informed.

Political theory: The study of how to maximize the knowledge of decision-makers while minimizing their conflict of interest.

Re: A lot of “idiotic” things have reasonable explanations (2011)

#342

Post by stevens32 »

tafox wrote: post #227
globular-toast wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These two things are more important than most people are prepared to admit. Very few people ever do the "rags to riches" thing. The few that do are probably good looking. Some people are just born with the ability to be far more successful than others.

I agree, but luckily everyone is born with the ability to define what success means to them.

No idea why this would be downvoted, this is absolutely true - there is not just one version of what a successful life looks like. Deciding how you define success is a principle part of forming yourself as a person.

Re: A lot of “idiotic” things have reasonable explanations (2011)

#343

Post by zimpenfish »

pdonis wrote: post #333
NhanH wrote: post #319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Imperial College paper that kicked off the whole thing has plenty of details on various quarantining scenarios, including full population quarantine and at risk population quarantine, or any combination thereof. Did you read it? Do you not agree with the simulations or what are your objections?

https://judithcurry.com/2020/04/01/imperial-college-uk-covid...

From browsing that site, she seems to be a professional science contrarian - worth keeping in mind when reading that article.

Re: A lot of “idiotic” things have reasonable explanations (2011)

#345

Post by zimpenfish »

mlthoughts2018 wrote: post #271
georgespencer wrote: post #17

This article puts it better than I ever could. I had a similar reaction when I read extremely critical press coverage of some VCs in Europe investing in YPlan, which eventually sold for a nominal amount to Time Out London. The synopsis of all the coverage was: "How could they have spent all that money? And how could the investors have been so STUPID?" My friend Fred Destin wrote a great essay on this[1], and I'll do…

I disagree with the soccer fan analogy. Often in soccer the team manager publicly reveals key perspectives and strategies that always guide their decisions. They also reveal patterns of player selection that link to their perspectives and strategies, often over many years across multiple teams. If Jose Mourinho comes to coach your team, you know right away the player recruitment and selection will be rooted in a very…

> If Jose Mourinho comes to coach your team, you know right away

1. You're about to spend a whole heaping wad of cash on overpriced players that other people are trying to offload. 2. He'll be gone in under 3 seasons with a hefty golden parachute. 3. The toxic after-effects will contaminate your club for years.

Signed, a very bitter United fan.

Re: A lot of “idiotic” things have reasonable explanations (2011)

#346

Post by Paperweight »

AbrahamParangi wrote: post #4

Whenever you see someone who you believe to be an idiot succeeding, it usually means they're really good at the game and you don't even understand what the game is .

Life is a series of realizations that you were playing the wrong game.

Re: A lot of “idiotic” things have reasonable explanations (2011)

#347

Post by blaser-waffle »

AbrahamParangi wrote: post #4

Whenever you see someone who you believe to be an idiot succeeding, it usually means they're really good at the game and you don't even understand what the game is .

Tons of responses and no one has thrown out a link to the Ribbonfarm article about the Gervais Principle.

https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2009/10/07/the-gervais-principle-...

Don't take it too seriously, but there is also many kernels of truth in there.

Re: A lot of “idiotic” things have reasonable explanations (2011)

#348

Post by cvlasdkv »

blaser-waffle wrote: post #310
asdff wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Scale this up to anything and you will want to be governed by a benevolent dictator. Not even senators themselves read the full bills they vote on, and I don't blame them with it being hundreds of pages of reading that could easily be parted out to aides, but the electorate certainly doesn't have this advantage. Maybe 1% of voters are truly informed.

My IT director doesn't know every facet of what is in our environment, and generally is not up to date as to what changes are happening on the day to day. And he doesn't need to be. The point of high-level workers is so they can focus on high-level priorities. They have staff -- legal aids, system admins, business analysts, whatever -- whose job it is to digest that stuff and put it into simple briefings for leadersh…

A lot to unpack here.

> The common man isn't expected to understand tariffs, international banking, military theory, computer engineering, social justice issues, and food scarcity.

What better use is there of the common man's time than understanding societal issues like justice and scarcity? Are you describing how the world is or claiming how it should be? If you do not understand justice, scarcity, etc. how can you claim to elect someone who reflects your views--ignoring that a lot of politics is lesser evil voting?

An uneducated populace voting is a worst-case scenario for a representative democracy.

Re: A lot of “idiotic” things have reasonable explanations (2011)

#349

Post by bpyne »

GlenTheMachine wrote: post #321

A similar story that I love regarding the infamous Van Halen brown M&M contract rider: “Van Halen was the first band to take huge productions into tertiary, third-level markets. We’d pull up with nine eighteen-wheeler trucks, full of gear, where the standard was three trucks, max. And there were many, many technical errors — whether it was the girders couldn’t support the weight, or the flooring would sink in, or the…

Interesting. I wonder who thought to add this test into the contract. It's a simple but brilliant strategy.

Re: A lot of “idiotic” things have reasonable explanations (2011)

#350

Post by blaser-waffle »

nsgi wrote: post #39
AbrahamParangi wrote: post #4

Whenever you see someone who you believe to be an idiot succeeding, it usually means they're really good at the game and you don't even understand what the game is .

So Trump is really good at the political game, for instance?

He sure as hell isn't, but has some understanding of marketing, and access to people and resources (Bannon, Russian propaganda, Republican playmakers via Pence) that could push him over the edge.

How much of his agenda is really his, anyway? He's a punching bag to distract everyone while the real power players get their way.

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