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

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

#351

Post by blaser-waffle »

krapp wrote: post #146
jmeister wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trump is a world-class salesman. And this skill is more about instinct than cerebral/deep thinking, which is why nerds “just don’t get it”. Check Scott Adams’ writing on Trump’s persuasion abilities.

>Trump is a world-class salesman. When did Mexico agree to pay for the wall?

Getting them to pay was never a concern -- he's trying to rile up the base.

Plus he's a construction magnate -- get enough traction to get a preliminary budget and start allocating funds to his buddies. Even if it's just a concrete wall for 1/3 of Texas that's big $$$ for his construction cronies.

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

#352

Post by JoeDaDude »

sunaurus wrote: post #42
0d9eooo wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or maybe you just don't want to play the game anymore.

I think this is sadly very true - trying to actually be a kind person really limits how well you can play "the game". There's no good solution to this either - if there was more kindness in the world, then that would just create even more opportunities for the people playing the game to get ahead, because they would have more victims to exploit.

There is an old joke about the game:

Capitalism believes you can win the game.

Communism believes you can tie the game.

Religion believes that you can quit the game.

But they are all wrong, because you can't win, you can't break even, and you can't even quit the game.

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

#353

Post by AnthonyMouse »

fogetti wrote: post #31
AnthonyMouse wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even if that's true, it still implies that everyone else mostly aren't idiots, because otherwise it wouldn't take luck to get rich, all it would take is outsmarting all these idiots everywhere.

Nope. Luck does not imply causality. Everyone can be an idiot (including you) and you can still be lucky. Or there can be a mixture of idiots and geniuses and you can still be lucky.

"Luck does not exist" is not required, because that's just a separate path to getting rich. You can win the lottery and it's pure luck. But if you're really smarter than everyone else then you should still be able to figure out how to get their money even if you only have the ordinary amount of luck.

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

#355

Post by koheripbal »

AbrahamParangi wrote: post #339
screye wrote: post #336

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> really good at the game Called being born rich. Plenty of idiots succeed because success was granted to them the day they were born. ____________ Also, a lot of times when you see an idiot succeeding, the idiot is a face for people to criticize while the master minds go about doing their magic, unseen.

Being rich isn't the same as succeeding.

No, but there's definitely a correlation, on average.

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

#356

Post by koheripbal »

mewpmewp2 wrote: post #40
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 .

Is Donald Trump a good example?

No. Because there are too many emotions for people to think clearly.

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

#357

Post by asdff »

znpy wrote: post #315
PakG1 wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regarding sports. Unfortunately, let's not discount the politics and human nature involved in fielding a team. Some players get to play because of their salary, some players get to play because of their relationship with the coach, some players get to play because they're trade bait, some coaches really are wrong, etc. https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/maple-leafs... Coaches are human too. They are jus…

Regarding sports, most people fail to understand that most professional sport association (like football "clubs") are actually entertainment companies. The sport is just the bait for the spectators. A coach might choose a certain player over another just because the people acclaim him/her. Also, don't forget that scandals about rigged games are quite regular nowadays.

The american model is certainly entertainment focused, but the european football model at least has youth leagues and a lot more local outreach than a given american pro team in their host city.

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

#359

Post by SN76477 »

bpyne wrote: post #349
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.

I have seen the story many times. I think it is brilliant.

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

#360

Post by asdff »

nemothekid wrote: post #337
silveraxe93 wrote: post #313

While I agree with the main thrust of the article (Chesterton's fence, etc.), the author seems to take as a given the fact that Netflix is sliding back into becoming as expensive as cable, because the content providers are setting the prices. But Netflix's value is not from competing against cable on price, it's competing against piracy on convenience . Content providers will never again see the same profits, because…

I’m not sure if that’s a given. People going back to piracy sort of assumes people will happily walk back to watching sketchy streams on laptop screens. I think the bar will pretty high for people who wish to watch on Apple Devices, Rokus or Smart TVs. There has been enough time for people to get locked into walled gardens.

Piracy in 2020 is more polished than first party streaming platforms.
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