Posted on 09/26/2010 12:59:28 PM PDT by Bean Counter
Ive gotten 95% of my information from the internet over the past 5-6 years. There exists a special mix of intelligence, altruism and collegial respect that can unite to make internet forums worth much more than the price of admission. As such I've become habituated to a variety of sources, bloggers, websites, and internet personalities. Of late it seems these forums have become more shrill and predictable in their aggregate coverage of real life. Recently the signal to noise ratio is so low that I find myself using the internet for learning less and less, and when I do, with increasing occasion shake my head at the content. Buzzwords such as 'fiat currency', 'fractional reserve system', 'banksters', 'hyperinflation' and even 'peak oil' are prevalent, though the analysis and understanding of these concepts seems shallow and repetitive. Worse, the denizens of particular forums (not surprisingly) all seem to drink their own particular form of kool-aid. Given the prevalence of high quality content and thought of a few years ago, the blending and parroting of the major themes that a casual perusal of the resource/energy/finance blogosphere reveals today reminds one of the time shift in the movie Idiocracy. A psychiatrist might label this phenomenon ‘information anhedonia’. An economist would say we’ve reached ‘decreasing informational returns from the marginal blog entry’. I'll just call it ‘clown-fest’.
We evolved to favor the ‘in group’ over the ‘out group’, for resource, defensive, and ultimately reproductive advantages. The internet has spawned millions of ‘in-groups’ – peak oilers, tea-party evangelizers, deflationistas, gold-bugs, Austrian economics followers, anti-abortion activists, and myriad less controversial groups such as ‘Claremount High School Boosters", "Kerr Jar Enthusiasts", “Earthworm Snack Creators” and the like. People gravitate towards groups they identify with. And they usually stay there. (After all, a room full of clowns feels a lot less clown-like).
*SNIP*
It is possible, that with highly polarized issues like finance, energy depletion, and environmental damage, that some leading clowns may act as decoys on the way to (positive?) change. As Dan Ariely wrote about in Predictably Irrational, there is a concept termed asymmetric dominance effect where the existence of a third, extreme value causes what was originally an extreme option to be preferred. The example in the book was (something like) the choice between buying a $250 barbecue grill or a $1000 grill. Ceteris paribus, most people chose the cheaper grill. But if the grill manufacturer put up a super stacked $5,000 grill next to the other two, then people would start to prefer the $1000 grill as next to the $5,000 version it didn't seem so outrageous. This practice, known in professional marketing as 'the decoy effect' may inadvertently apply to what appears to be a clown uprising among the energy/environment/economic tribes. Options for change that at first seem extreme might not seem so extreme in the face of a carnivale barrage.
*SNIP*
If this post has sounded a bit harsh on the status of blogging/education on the major topics of our time, it is meant to be. Those glorifying dystopian futures, and only recommending action steps involving Kruggerands and/or ammunition etc., are probably getting their status/ego boost at an ultimate cost to society. A hijacked pursuit of status and novelty gets firmly in the way of real education and change. Just like time, greed and entropy have caused our political system to become a ‘one dollar one vote’ monolith, the blogoshphere has become a ‘one neuron one vote’ system. Those who have free time and are vocal, novel, confident, and possessive of short memories drown out the less clown-like in their forums - Greshams Law. “Democracies” cease to work in these circumstances unless there exists a strong republic/framework of rules. The watershed moment comes when clowns have become the scout team for the civically minded, rational systems-thinkers who find their voices. Or maybe that already happened years ago and we're mean-reverting.
Joe Walsh!
Yes!
So what is your game tonight? Going to try and bait me into giving you some reason to ban me?? I wouldn’t give you the pleasure.
Amateur. Go find someone else to annoy.
No way - you're our toy.
bfl
I see. Well you just go off in the corner and do whatever makes you moist in your private places. I had the good sense to drop this last night, too bad you don’t have the sense to leave it alone tonight. I cannot imagine why you think your behavior is acceptable from anyone in a position of responsibility like you are.
In any case, please stop with the cyber stalking, and stop baiting me. You are not funny, I am not your “toy” and your conduct is as unprofessional and cowardly as I have ever seen out of any “Mod” at any site. Frankly this is the kind of behavior many of us have come to expect from DU and their ilk; not FR. You really should examine your personal standards of behavior.
The bottom line here is this: you have the “ZOT” key, so use it if that’s what gets you all silly. You don’t need an excuse and you sure don’t need any help from me, just do it if that’s what you think will solve this. If not, then keep your cute little comments to yourself and stop wasting my time.
Back at ya...
Did you know that Stevie Nicks once said Joe was 'the love of my life'?
Joe Walsh, folks. She might as well have said Tom Petty or Joe Cocker...
Yup. One of my favorites. Don’t know who Stevie loves, but I used to be in love with the Welsh Witch.
If she had married Joe Walsh she would have been Stevie Welsh Witch Walsh. Say that three times quickly after downing a six pack. LOL
Yup. The song about his alcoholism. Great song.
I’ve seen a few thread hijacks, but this thread has been kidnapped, wrapped in duct tape, and driven to a deserted warehouse somewhere outside of town.
hmm....it may have been placed beside the ark of the covenant
Maybe we should start a confession thread?
No big deal.
I put away the bottle about 9 years ago - after 30 years of daily indulgence.
The body can only take so much, and in my case it let me know.
Funny thing is, everybody says I’m a lot more goofy sober than I was drunk.
Congratulations on your sobriety. You certainly haven’t lost your sense of humor.
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