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Boaty McBoatface and the False Promise of Democracy

theatlantic.com

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Re: Boaty McBoatface and the False Promise of Democracy

#191
post #2

The solution is simple. Continue calling the boat Boaty McBoatface. Ignore all references to the government's preferred name. They can choose what's painted on the side, but the name depends only on what people call it. If enough people call it Boaty McBoatface its name really is Boaty McBoatface. If your job depends on calling it the government's preferred name then subtly alter the timing of your speech to make it…

Even better, call the boat Sir Boaty McBoatface. Everyone takes a Sir seriously.

[deleted]

Re: Boaty McBoatface and the False Promise of Democracy

#192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The most popular talking vehicle, in the US at least, is named Thomas. This isn't a particularly convincing argument for a silly name. If kids will accept Thomas, surely they'll accept a more serious name than Boaty McBoatface.

I assumed it was Lightning McQueen.

Looks like it's pretty close:

https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=thomas%20the%20tank%...

Re: Boaty McBoatface and the False Promise of Democracy

#193
post #2

The solution is simple. Continue calling the boat Boaty McBoatface. Ignore all references to the government's preferred name. They can choose what's painted on the side, but the name depends only on what people call it. If enough people call it Boaty McBoatface its name really is Boaty McBoatface. If your job depends on calling it the government's preferred name then subtly alter the timing of your speech to make it…

> The solution is simple. Continue calling the boat Boaty McBoatface. Ignore all references to the government's preferred name. This is good advice. In Toronto we have a baseball stadium called the Rogers Center ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogers_Centre ). It was originally called the SkyDome but it was bought by a company called Rogers and renamed. Everyone still refers to it as the Skydome. Corporate branding b…

Even though it's been the Willis Tower for several years now everyone I know still calls it the Sears Tower.

Re: Boaty McBoatface and the False Promise of Democracy

#194
post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Definitely. Ever wonder why New Orleans' airport has the symbol MSY, but is named Louis Armstrong airport? MSY stands for Moisant Stock Yards, in honor of early aviator John Moisant. Im recent years, the city renamed the airport to Louis Armstrong airport, but no one in the city refers to it as that. Everyone still calls it Moisant. Not that we don't like Louis Armstrong, it's always been called Moisant and New Orlea…

I always wondered why that airport was called MSY. However, I can think of one counterexample: JFK airport in NYC. It used to be called Idlewild, named after some golf course I think, but was renamed to JFK (with the airport code JFK) back in the 60s. No one knows what "Idlewild" is any more.

I had heard this in the past but forgot it. Thanks for the story!

Re: Boaty McBoatface and the False Promise of Democracy

#195
In the realm of prank names, this one is actually pretty good. It's not sexist, racist, obscene or infused with hate speech. I can see shutting down a prank name that's got hurtful overtones. But this one is playful and harmless.

Here's hoping that the authorities relent.

Re: Boaty McBoatface and the False Promise of Democracy

#196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd say it's the executive who doesn't take the vote seriously.

It's a bad name. If it were a funny name, or creative, I think there would be a point to make here. But its neither. The only reason to vote for this name is because it would be funny to make them name it something stupid. The humor is only in the anarchy. A mindset that juvenile doesn't deserve to be taken seriously.

I think it's both funny and creative. Got better PR for a science project than we've seen in a long time. Your objection is as immature as if I said you had a bad face and your name was stupid.

Re: Boaty McBoatface and the False Promise of Democracy

#197
post #2

The solution is simple. Continue calling the boat Boaty McBoatface. Ignore all references to the government's preferred name. They can choose what's painted on the side, but the name depends only on what people call it. If enough people call it Boaty McBoatface its name really is Boaty McBoatface. If your job depends on calling it the government's preferred name then subtly alter the timing of your speech to make it…

> The solution is simple. Continue calling the boat Boaty McBoatface. Ignore all references to the government's preferred name. This is good advice. In Toronto we have a baseball stadium called the Rogers Center ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogers_Centre ). It was originally called the SkyDome but it was bought by a company called Rogers and renamed. Everyone still refers to it as the Skydome. Corporate branding b…

The Senator's hockey stadium in Ottawa has been through a few names since it was built in 96: Palladium, Corel Centre, Scotiabank Place, Canadian Tire Centre.

In the past few months I have heard all 4 names used for the facility.

Re: Boaty McBoatface and the False Promise of Democracy

#198
post #2

The solution is simple. Continue calling the boat Boaty McBoatface. Ignore all references to the government's preferred name. They can choose what's painted on the side, but the name depends only on what people call it. If enough people call it Boaty McBoatface its name really is Boaty McBoatface. If your job depends on calling it the government's preferred name then subtly alter the timing of your speech to make it…

Outside of the people who actually work on the ship, how many members of the public are ever going to have any reason to call this ship anything at all after the poll is over?

I mean, it's cute to give the public an opportunity to name something, but half the people who voted in the poll have probably forgotten the ship even exists by now.

Re: Boaty McBoatface and the False Promise of Democracy

#199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I rather like the concept, but I can see it having some interested and unanticipated side effects if you allow people to select their delegate by category rather than individual bill by individual bill. The person that decides whether people's delegates for voting on (e.g.) an act related to surveillance default to being the delegate they selected for "civil liberties" or the delegate they selected for "national secu…

> "I rather like the concept, but I can see it having some interested and unanticipated side effects if you allow people to select their delegate by category rather than individual bill by individual bill." The point is that you can delegate for individual bills, as well as taking back your power to vote on individual bills. You can delegate by category, but you don't need to if it doesn't serve you. The idea is that…

Agree that you can delegate for individual bills, but my point was that most people won't delegate for individual bills most of the time, but probably will choose delegates for "categories" of decision making if the system is set up that way.

Surveillance law is a pretty relevant example, since for most people not on HN it's a relatively low priority, and there's a fairly high likelihood that if they're able to delegate somebody to vote for them on a general area like "civil liberties issues" (for most people, a delegate with a decent libertarian credentials) and "national security" (for most people, a delegate who promises to be robust), the person or committee that decides for whether a particular surveillance bill is considered "civil liberties" or "national security" in effect holds a casting vote any time most of the public doesn't feel strongly enough to make a bill-specific decision. Somebody has to resolve differences between a budget balancing bill popular with the public's preferred delegates for "taxation" issues and a bill with public spending implications popular with the public's preferred delegates for "health issues", "education issues" or "social policy issues" too. Since they're supposed to be administering a process rather than enacting a particular programme of government they were elected on like a de jure executive, they're probably also subject to far less scrutiny.

Of course, the system still has the advantage that the public can step in and overrule their regular representative whenever they feel strongly enough to do so, but not necessarily any more effectively in practice than powers to force a referendum as a form of public veto.

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