I always figured it was because of a 'race to the outside'- that is, extremism wins more of your potential constituency than another guy's more centrist approach. F'er example, a fellow like Bush will pick up all the extremists and mid-right people in an election, but while the centrist Republicans might not agree with the degree of his rightness, they will still vote for him rather than that 'other guy'. A shift to the edge of the spectrum costs you few centrist votes, but gains you the fringe. I could easily see this effect at play in thinking Boolean-style thoughts 'us-or-them' etc.
~Maru On Sat, 5 Feb 2005 11:13:46 -0700, Warren Ockrassa <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: ... > I'm still inclined to think this whole tendency to cling to ideas over > reality is *partly* because we (species) are evolved to see the world > as a polar place. It would have been a very effective preconscious > survival strategy and is so deeply wired into us that intelligence has > to work *hard* to override it. > > It's easy to get people thinking in polar terms because of the > predisposition to do so; and because it just takes less *effort* to > think in Boolean terms; and because if you (example) try to understand > why your enemy is your enemy, you start seeing some of your face in his > (or at least understanding why he's your enemy), and that makes some > people uncomfortable as hell. > > > -- > Warren Ockrassa, Publisher/Editor, nightwares Books > http://books.nightwares.com/ > Current work in progress "The Seven-Year Mirror" > http://www.nightwares.com/books/ockrassa/Flat_Out.pdf > > _______________________________________________ > http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l > _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
