tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13530609.post400141225419217340..comments2023-06-28T06:49:14.863-07:00Comments on A Boy Named Dug: Sour GrapesDughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08827175240352968894noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13530609.post-21480184999942995082010-12-07T15:52:34.980-08:002010-12-07T15:52:34.980-08:00Just to come clear, I'm not trying to be flipp...Just to come clear, I'm not trying to be flippant. I'm just having some fun.<br /><br />I attended a lecture at OSU this morning about "Basin Attractors in Modelling". (Including both mathematical and mental.) The idea is that there are often causality loops that can cause major errors with huge societal impacts. This happens when "because" and "therefore" can be transposed.<br /><br />My own example:<br /><br />- We experience forest fires because of the accumulation of undergrowth because we actively suppress fires because we experience forest fires.<br /><br />A fun Yogi Berra example:<br /><br />- No one goes to that restaurant anymore because it's too crowded.<br /><br />A recent financial meltdown example:<br /><br />- We use computer models to make money because there are profits to be made from keeping the financial markets stable because any instabilities are quickly identified as arbitrage opportunities and eliminated because we use computer models to make money.<br /><br />In this case, the model actually influenced the behavior of the system it was modelling, causing it to undergo a phase change which made the model inapplicable.<br /><br />So what does all that mean? I have no idea except that it was a fascinating discussion.<br /><br />To the point of the blog, my opinion is that the current state of political discourse is not ahistorical in its nastiness. Honestly, some of the stuff in the past is laughably way worse than today. Here's one from 1964:<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkWAhuXtalw<br /><br />OK, if I don't vote for Lyndon Johnson, then the world will end soon in a giant fireball. I remember being scared to death of Ronald Reagan who was without a doubt going to start nuclear World War. I wasn't around then, but I know that the 1856 presidential was won by James Buchanan who was running around saying that unless you voted for him, it would result in civil war. <br /><br />Our political history post-1994 doesn't really look any more or less nasty to me. Partisans will always try to make political hay by claiming the high road and pointing their finger at the opposition's horrible behavior. <br /><br />Here is one thing I do know for sure though. It's a damn good thing that the lecture I attended at OSU this morning was given by a Beaver professor. Had he been a Duck, then the lecture would have been so boring and inaccurate that someone would have undoubtedly burned down the entire building.Kenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14593382299850130711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13530609.post-16388234788875657412010-12-07T14:54:42.757-08:002010-12-07T14:54:42.757-08:00The key is to create as much fear as possible abou...The key is to create as much fear as possible about how the other side creates so much fear. :)Kenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14593382299850130711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13530609.post-18960925409225596252010-12-07T09:00:57.023-08:002010-12-07T09:00:57.023-08:00I guess my point is that a) this seems a *lot* nas...I guess my point is that a) this seems a *lot* nastier than in the past, more personal. I'm all for rivalries, we're not singing Kumbaya here. <br /><br />b) As for my political rant, my point is that I strongly suspect that the reason *why* we are having such nastiness in what should be good-natured competition is the nastiness in our political and social spheres. It seems to date back to the Republican "Revolution" back in 1994. I'm not saying who started it, I'm just saying that this appears to be when the wheels started to come off. <br /><br />I tried very hard not to give a political "rant" but in the end the Republican Party is just so *good* at stirring up fear and loathing of the Other while the liberal side does such a terrible job of it (witness the disaster that is MSNBC compared to the incredibly successful Fox News) that they provided the most ammunition. The Republicans work in lockstep while the Democrats <br /><br />At this point, the only way that government will start acting like adults is if the electorate starts to act like adults. That includes the media, who has some responsibility for whipping up alumni into a frenzy, reminding everyone of every past transgression by the other side, and focusing on the crazy. Quite frankly, they've all become propaganda arms for fear, although as I mention above some not only do it really well, but seem to have been created for that express purpose. <br /><br />What I failed to do was make a better connection between being overly emotionally invested in what should be a game (and is actually big business - look at how much Boise State "lost" by losing a single game) and being overly emotionally invested in a political position. And it doesn't seem to matter any more what the position is, so long as it's your side's position. <br /><br />In the end, Americans don't seem to have a lot of interest in learning to think for themselves, much less thinking for themselves, and that I find troubling. It becomes far too easy for the fringe to take over the conversation. <br /><br />Of course, I, as a cynic of the first rank, believe that we've pasted the point of no return and we're doomed to become if we aren't already. And at exactly the wrong time. Maybe we're going insane because we just can't face the fact that our culture is not only unsustainable but also in dire danger. I guess it's comforting somehow to be more concerned with whether or not your gay neighbors are married in the eyes of *any* authoritative body than to know that we're one collapse of the Western Antarctic Ice Shelf away from a whole slew of Really Bad Days.Dughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08827175240352968894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13530609.post-68942666305593167012010-12-06T19:52:35.378-08:002010-12-06T19:52:35.378-08:00The standard saying is "I support 'x'...The standard saying is "I support 'x' and whoever is playing against 'y'", where 'x' is your team, and 'y' is their local/bitterest rivals. Sad, but that's the way that the media encourages it. (I also think it's really sad to refer to the UofO/OSU game as a Civil War - that just disparages those that lost their lives in the real Civil War.)Mykhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16294743210036569373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13530609.post-91550204412613800742010-12-06T19:36:57.094-08:002010-12-06T19:36:57.094-08:00Odd segue into a political rant, but I like your p...Odd segue into a political rant, but I like your points and agree. Another Beaver fan saying "Go Ducks!". And a (old school) Republican saying WTF! to the current party.Chris Brookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04026943107081673698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13530609.post-87058896209031883672010-12-06T16:26:19.402-08:002010-12-06T16:26:19.402-08:00I am an OSU supporter who will be cheering for the...I am an OSU supporter who will be cheering for the Ducks against Auburn. I will be accompanied by crazy Alabama fans who will also be cheering for Oregon. Dedicated Auburn fans will be cheering for Michigan State against Alabama. Dyed-in-the-wool Michigan fans will return the favor by cheering for Alabama. Hooray for college football rivalries.<br /><br />When did this current trend of cheering against your rival start? I don't know, but the Harvard fight songs from about 110 years ago have some interesting things to say about Yale.Kenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14593382299850130711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13530609.post-30521343186336097132010-12-06T12:19:31.339-08:002010-12-06T12:19:31.339-08:00Well said!
I work with a bunch of Beavers and they...Well said!<br />I work with a bunch of Beavers and they will be rooting for Auburn. I do not get it, maybe being raised in a different country and not going to either college explains it.<br />But I think it's deeper than that. When I was in France, we had a ice hockey pro team in the city I lived. I would be the first to applaud a nice goal scored by the other team. I guess I'm a sport fan, not a supporter.<br />Same thing with politic, I did not understand why the Republican called for Obama to fail and therefore their country! If I'm not the one to bring happiness/prosperity/..., let's all feel miserableLaurentnoreply@blogger.com