[tpaine]

I too find humor in the fact that you've now made at least three cute little 'asides', [two of them naming me], -- without the courtesy of a ping - or the guts to answer.

Feel ashamed S-man.

[tpaine]

Lanier:

"--- Collectives can be just as stupid as any individual, and in important cases, stupider. The interesting question is whether it's possible to map out where the one is smarter than the many.


There is a lot of history to this topic, and varied disciplines have lots to say. Here is a quick pass at where I think the boundary between effective collective thought and nonsense lies:

The collective is more likely to be smart when it isn't defining its own questions, when the goodness of an answer can be evaluated by a simple result (such as a single numeric value,) and when the information system which informs the collective is filtered by a quality control mechanism that relies on individuals to a high degree.

Under those circumstances, a collective can be smarter than a person. Break any one of those conditions and the collective becomes unreliable or worse.


Meanwhile, an individual best achieves optimal stupidity on those rare occasions when one is both given substantial powers and insulated from the results of his or her actions.

If the above criteria have any merit, then there is an unfortunate convergence. The setup for the most stupid collective is also the setup for the most stupid individuals.



http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/post?id=1730338%2C3

[SampleMan]

I'm breaking a new rule of mine here, but you might as well know, I haven't read a single one of your last 40-60 posts. I frankly don't get past reading that its from you before I skip it. This one was just an accident, as you were unusually brief. Your posts are a colossal waste of time. You don't answer questions, you don't add anything, you are just a one trick pony stuck on transmit, with an irritating character to boot. Like a broken record of Howard Dean.

As I said before, I don't think you are a total kook like some, but neither do you have anything to offer. My time is too valuable to waste it posting to someone that is disingenuous, while continually questioning my integrity and true intent. You can safely call me a liar tucked behind your computer screen, but just because I can't invite you outside, doesn't mean that I have to dignify it.
If you want to continue speaking to people that are ignoring you, try the bus stop.
This is a courtesy reply, but consider it my last to you, and only by accident will I be reading any of your posts.