tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1178284085080580526.post100150058731801258..comments2024-02-12T23:25:09.583-08:00Comments on Overweening Generalist: Popular Catastrophesmichaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13526042582094867513noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1178284085080580526.post-8004886768501842842012-04-04T16:53:27.399-07:002012-04-04T16:53:27.399-07:00You're more than welcome to write for DDP anyt...You're more than welcome to write for DDP anytime you desire. I always love having your commentary on my site and exposing your genius to a completely new group of readers.Annabel Leehttp://doubledippolitics.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1178284085080580526.post-79529558428630133852012-04-04T15:28:09.729-07:002012-04-04T15:28:09.729-07:00@Annabel Lee: The black humor of Idiocracy has hau...@Annabel Lee: The black humor of Idiocracy has haunted me ever since I saw it. <br /><br />Stupidity can be and probably ought to be thought of as a valuable spur to creativity and innovation. Like the poor, it is always with us. We may as well use it. Mike Judge - the brains behind Idiocracy - has a surreal and bleak satirical bend in his style, and I think he identifies himself as a throwback to smart conservatism. (I think I read that in an interview.) Beavis and Office Space show this veiled disgust too. <br /><br />The mainstream media tends to amplify Idiocy. Supposedly the media reflects statistically the ordinary "realities" "out there," but I doubt this, for many reasons: programmers will do anything to NOT alienate what the numbers show is their demographic, so they tend to pander by showing people stupider than their audience. Think of your own circle of friends and acquaintances: are they even close to the mediated "reality" we see out there?<br /><br />Polling is also suspect, as polls are more often than we'd think paid for by groups that pay to find what they want to find, and sure enough: it works. And then it's mindlessly parroted by corporate "news."<br /><br />All that said, the right wing think tanks have been tirelessly working on behalf of the Owners of the country since the early 1970s, using advanced techniques of PR, confusion, appeals to our baser instincts, sophisticated shell games, buying up media...all to get economically struggling people to vote for the party that supports the billionaire class. And they've had spectacular success.<br /><br />I'm basically with you on the Idiocracy fear. It's at time palpable for me. The very existence of these idiots just making shit up and spewing it on TV (like Palin, who is strictly nails/chalkboard to me), and the idea there are non-readers/non-critical thinkers "out there" on their couches lapping up these inanities...very disconcerting, to put it mildly. <br /><br />Politics has ALWAYS been a set-up for frustration for me, and I'm still engaged. But in defense of my own sanity, I limit my exposure to the Dumb Game.<br /><br />I'll see if I can find the time to write about this ish in a blog post. <br /><br />Thanks for the thoughtful and heartfelt comments.<br /><br />PS: I realized I didn't write something satirical for Double Dip Politics last month. Maybe I can get one in for April?michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13526042582094867513noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1178284085080580526.post-73444054937689541122012-04-04T14:55:50.955-07:002012-04-04T14:55:50.955-07:00@Royal Academy Prof. Eric: I've been planning ...@Royal Academy Prof. Eric: I've been planning on doing a piece on Feyerabend's friend Imre Lakatos, who sought to carry Popper's to some next steps, who addressed Kuhn, deflected criticisms of anti-realism, exposed Milton Friedman yet no one seemed to notice, etc.<br /><br />I read Popper, Kuhn, Feyerabend, RAW, Sagan-Marvin Gardens, Lyotard, D. Hofstadter, Hume, Bruno Latour,and a few others on the philosophy of science, and it's the usual story: I learn more and more, including how much more ignorant I was than the previous day.<br /><br />Any one of us could write an entire blog dedicated to the philosophy of science, write every other day, and never exhaust things.<br /><br />I recently wrote about Seth Roberts in that (far, far too long) post on Self-Experimentation. I think that's an incredibly fascinating return of an olde idea about scientific method. Seth Roberts is my new main squeeze when it comes to the topic, in fact.<br /><br />I always appreciate your supportive energies, Prof. Eric. Thanks!michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13526042582094867513noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1178284085080580526.post-73680245644150059182012-04-04T14:10:50.537-07:002012-04-04T14:10:50.537-07:00As you know, I'm far beneath your intellectual...As you know, I'm far beneath your intellectual level when it comes to these types of things, but you really hit on something that I've been noticing for years. In the early 2000s, the movie "Idiocracy" came out as a comedy. If you are familiar with the movie, it really revolves around people being completely stupid, consumer based, and out of touch with science and reason. <br /><br />When I first saw the movie, I thought it was funny. There was no way that people could ever become that stupid. Fast forward to 2012, and now I'm starting to see a lot of what the movie talks about coming true. Fights over science versus religion are still flaring. You can people championing stupidity over reason and progress. You have people encouraging people to believe in prayer rather than medicine. <br /><br />A lot of the declining outlooks for the USA and other nations can be related to three core elements - education, planning, and understanding. The USA has fallen behind on these key segments of preparing for the future. The movie, while a comedy, is appearing more like reality than I would ever have imagined. <br /><br />Also, long time no talk man ^.^Annabel Leehttp://doubledippolitics.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1178284085080580526.post-76199275885961588852012-04-04T11:46:23.421-07:002012-04-04T11:46:23.421-07:00Another fine post. The other day I found myself h...Another fine post. The other day I found myself hoping you'd write about various views on how science progresses, particularly Karl Popper vs. Thomas Kuhn. You blog today made me think of Popper's hostility towards those like Plato and Kant (let alone Marx) who talked about historical inevitability.Eric Wagnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04312033917401203598noreply@blogger.com