On Sun, Feb 14, 2010 at 9:44 AM, Nicholas Thompson < [email protected]> wrote:
In the fifties, you had to believe that you were right, when you said something. Nowadays, you just have to believe you are plausible. I wish it were that simple. Too many politicians say anything they think they can get away with, plausible or not. Look at the death panel fracus. That was miles away from plausibility. Yet many people jumped on that bandwagon because the press didn't call them on it. They could get away with it so they said it. -- Russ Abbott _____________________________________________ Professor, Computer Science California State University, Los Angeles Cell phone: 310-621-3805 o Check out my blog at http://russabbott.blogspot.com/ On Sun, Feb 14, 2010 at 9:44 AM, Nicholas Thompson < [email protected]> wrote: > Doug, > > Parroting doug ===>We truly are a nation of idiots. We deserve Rush > Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, and Pat Robertson <=== end parroting Doug > > I don't think one has to be stupid to engage in Dialogues of the Deaf. We > do that sort of thing quite well in FRIAM, from time to time, and we are, ex > hypothesi, VERY smart. > > Somewhere along the way, We lost our faith that there is a Truth Of The > Matter. In the fifties, you had to believe that you were right, when you > said something. Nowadays, you just have to believe you are plausible. (I > blame the post-modernists myself ... but now this message is becoming an > example of itself.) > > That having been said, are the Tea-Totallers any worse than the people who > put McCarthy into office in the 50's? > > Nick > > > > Nicholas S. Thompson > Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Ethology, > Clark University ([email protected]) > http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/<http://home.earthlink.net/%7Enickthompson/naturaldesigns/> > http://www.cusf.org [City University of Santa Fe] > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > *From:* Douglas Roberts <[email protected]> > *To: *The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group<[email protected]> > *Sent:* 2/14/2010 9:05:07 AM > *Subject:* Re: [FRIAM] Sources of Innovation > > Pamela, > > I think the healthcare issue goes way beyond just the usual corporate > profit protection, pay for play political game. Look at how polarized the > nation has become over just this issue alone. Look at how many people * > don't* believe that the healthcare issue is really about healthcare > insurance industry profit protection. > > We truly are a nation of idiots. We deserve Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, > and Pat Robertson. > > Model that, if you like. The agents in the individual based simulation > won't need much sophistication. > > --Doug > > On Sun, Feb 14, 2010 at 8:00 AM, Pamela McCorduck <[email protected]> wrote: > >> When Kennedy envisioned going to the moon, no lobby existed to fight >> ferociously for the sole right to take the profits from going to the moon, >> and the sole right to decide who gets to go. >> >> If you read the not-very-deep subtext in this fight, you will see that >> it's not about giving better healthcare to Americans (which we desperately >> need) but about protecting the enormous profits of the healthcare insurance >> industry. It's dressed up in "right to choose," and "privacy between doctor >> and patient," and "keep the government out of medical care," but it's really >> about profit protection. From several different and reliable sources (one of >> them a congressional candidate) I have heard that since early last summer, >> the insurance and pharmaceuticals industries have been spending over $1 >> million per day on lobbying. It continues. You can do the arithmetic. >> >> The media regularly reports on how much better, cheaper, and more >> effective medical plans are all around the developed world. It doesn't >> penetrate $1 million-plus per day. >> >> >> >> On Feb 13, 2010, at 3:55 PM, Jochen Fromm wrote: >> >> Where does all this whining about health care >>> come from? Everyone in Germany has a health >>> insurance, it is obligatory. There is general >>> agreement here that the European (and esp. >>> the German) health care system is better >>> and more social than the one in the US. >>> The USA obviously needs a better health care >>> system. Where is the American optimism and >>> the "i believe we can do it" spirit? I've heard >>> that optimism and positive thinking is a typical >>> American attitude. >>> >>> America is lacking a vision, something like >>> Kennedy's vision to bring a man to the moon >>> and back. Military and NASA won't do it >>> this time. A vision or a common dream which >>> would foster technological innovation. Schmidt >>> mentioned "renewable energy" and green >>> technology. What about a clean L.A. with >>> fresh air? A large scale scientific initiative >>> to create the first AI would be another one. >>> America would have the resources to do it, it >>> has the companies with the largest data centers. >>> It should be proud of Google, Microsoft, >>> Amazon, and Apple. It is difficult to understand >>> why it disputes about health care so long. >>> >>> -J. >>> >>> ----- Original Message ----- From: Roger Critchlow >>> To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group >>> Sent: Saturday, February 13, 2010 6:54 PM >>> Subject: Re: [FRIAM] Sources of Innovation >>> >>> [...] We're too busy defending ourselves from hedge fund vampires and >>> health care ghouls to worry about growth. Say what you will about the >>> undead, they steal their profits fair and square and invest them in the rule >>> of law. >>> >>> >>> ============================================================ >>> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv >>> Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College >>> lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org >>> >>> >> > ============================================================ > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org >
============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
