Joan Didion has died
nytimes.com
Joan Didion has died
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Re: Joan Didion has died
#2Re: Joan Didion has died
#3Her essay on California's water system is one of the most beautiful pieces of writing about public works I have ever encountered.
Re: Joan Didion has died
#4Her essay on California's water system is one of the most beautiful pieces of writing about public works I have ever encountered. http://archive.pov.org/thirst/holy-water/
Then you'd probably love "Powerbroker: Robert Moses and the Death of New York" by Robert Caro. Long, but he's a master.
Re: Joan Didion has died
#5Her essay on California's water system is one of the most beautiful pieces of writing about public works I have ever encountered. http://archive.pov.org/thirst/holy-water/
Then you'd probably love "Powerbroker: Robert Moses and the Death of New York" by Robert Caro. Long, but he's a master.
Political Fictions is my favorite Joan Didion book, particularly her essay on Insider Baseball., which together with Asimov’s Franchise anticipates 538 and all the other media on elections that ultimately disenfranchise voters.
Re: Joan Didion has died
#6Earlier quoted context omitted.
Then you'd probably love "Powerbroker: Robert Moses and the Death of New York" by Robert Caro. Long, but he's a master.
Political Fictions is my favorite Joan Didion book, particularly her essay on Insider Baseball ., which together with Asimov’s Franchise anticipates 538 and all the other media on elections that ultimately disenfranchise voters.
> anticipates 538 and all the other media on elections that ultimately disenfranchise voters.
Serious question: how does "media on elections" disenfranchise voters? I would have thought that they usefully inform voters, or at least remind voters of the importance of voting.
Re: Joan Didion has died
#7Her essay on California's water system is one of the most beautiful pieces of writing about public works I have ever encountered. http://archive.pov.org/thirst/holy-water/
The book Cadillac Desert and the documentary of the same name (narrated by Alfre Woodard) woke me up to this problem. (I live in CA but grew up back east). It's astonishing that we use so much imported water on our lawns (including during Winter) while watering lawns is not even necessary elsewhere.
Re: Joan Didion has died
#8Earlier quoted context omitted.
Political Fictions is my favorite Joan Didion book, particularly her essay on Insider Baseball ., which together with Asimov’s Franchise anticipates 538 and all the other media on elections that ultimately disenfranchise voters.
> anticipates 538 and all the other media on elections that ultimately disenfranchise voters. Serious question: how does "media on elections" disenfranchise voters? I would have thought that they usefully inform voters, or at least remind voters of the importance of voting.
There are some people that are suspicious of polling averages and models have under-performed Trump vs. the official vote totals. They think it’s a form of “suppression polling” where the opponents supporters are demoralized by a conspiracy of weak polling numbers that suppress turnout.
I believe there are simpler and more convincing explanations for polling errors that seemed consistently biased against Trump, but some people are happy to jump to far fetched conspiracy theories.
Re: Joan Didion has died
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
Political Fictions is my favorite Joan Didion book, particularly her essay on Insider Baseball ., which together with Asimov’s Franchise anticipates 538 and all the other media on elections that ultimately disenfranchise voters.
> anticipates 538 and all the other media on elections that ultimately disenfranchise voters. Serious question: how does "media on elections" disenfranchise voters? I would have thought that they usefully inform voters, or at least remind voters of the importance of voting.
Go read the sources I point to.
In the case of Franchise a computer does an interview of one voter and then calculates who the president should be.
In real life, if 538 was perfect at simulating the election there would be no need to have the election.
The point of Insider Baseball is that ‘horse-race’ coverage and coverage that pretends to give you an insider view of the campaign as the candidates and their staff see it completely avoid any real discussion of who the voters are, what they really want, what really motivates them, what alternatives they really have, etc.
538 in perfect irony applies the techniques and terminology of sports betting to politics.
Re: Joan Didion has died
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
> anticipates 538 and all the other media on elections that ultimately disenfranchise voters. Serious question: how does "media on elections" disenfranchise voters? I would have thought that they usefully inform voters, or at least remind voters of the importance of voting.
Go read the sources I point to. In the case of Franchise a computer does an interview of one voter and then calculates who the president should be. In real life, if 538 was perfect at simulating the election there would be no need to have the election. The point of Insider Baseball is that ‘horse-race’ coverage and coverage that pretends to give you an insider view of the campaign as the candidates and their staff se…
The funny thing is, they're just as often wrong with their sports predictions. No serious sports wagerer I know would ever rely on 538 to make their picks. Gamblers understand that touts serve two masters. Apparently, punters are less gullible than political pundits when it comes to believing that a set of chosen stats represents a neutral, scientific prediction.