I love this article.

The first time I read it I felt like someone finally understood.

This is the tricky nature of “value”, isn’t it?

Something can be both valuable and detrimental to humanity.

If you’d gotten this response to asking the question “How is the game played?” to someone insinuating that they knew how the game was played, would you feel that you’d gotten a satisfactory answer?

How is the game played?

We’re In Hell is a fantastic channel with excellent, well researched content. Easily in my top 3 these days, along with PlasticPills and SomeMoreNews.

Thank you!

Care to analyze any of the statements that have been called out? Or maybe copy/screenshot any of the comments discrediting them if you have the time?

I’m not trying to be an asshole, here, but everything beyond the first sentence or two in your comment is just character assassination (ad hominem). Obviously the guy’s credentials are not in law, but that doesn’t automatically invalidate his analysis since we’ve got no concept of who he’s able to consult with behind the scenes.

I don’t have a BlueSky account, so I can’t check the comments for myself, only see the root posts.

If you’re interested in the methodology used, here’s a link to the full study.

Essentially, they didn’t ask if the person thought they were a psychopath; They asked questions to which the answers reveal underlying character traits. Of course, no method of data collection is perfect. If you want to know what steps were taken to filter out insincere subjects, that information can also be found within the full study.

Wow, folded like a cheap card table the minute they got you on the ropes. Nice.

Kenshi

Lucky for you the linked article explains the acronym!

Wait, you’re not one of those people who only reads headlines, are you?

Of course it’s not a good reason, but it’s also not the main complaint. That’s a disingenuous argument.

The problem is that the locations that offer IDs become political footballs.

Imagine that you change the law to require a certain type of ID in order to vote (even though you already have a social security card, it doesn’t count for voting purposes), and that said ID cannot be acquired via mail.

Imagine, then, that the place you go to get the necessary ID is closed down, or intentionally understaffed via defunding/budget cuts. Hours reduced to 10am-4pm Monday through Friday, perhaps, when most people work. The next nearest location may be hours away. It may not be accessible via public transit. It then becomes incredibly burdensome for someone with limited time, transportation, or income to get the necessary ID. Now you’re able to control access to the IDs in lower income areas by shuttering or defunding locations.

This isn’t just a theoretical situation. This occurs.

Now, I think you’ll find that most people are onboard with requiring ID to vote, provided that the barriers to getting the ID do not have a chilling effect on low-income voters.

But that’s not the way things tend to go.

Present a plan that expands access to the ID printing services and watch the resistance to these sorts of policies disappear. Or better yet, mail one to every eligible taxpayer the first time they file a tax return. It’s not particularly difficult.

You’re not being a jerk, you’re being pedantic.

Ignorant is absolutely the better word, and I should have used it.

I think, however, that people are far more capable of gaining intelligence than we give them credit for. I don’t believe that IQ is assigned at birth, and it’s been shown that the entire idea of IQ testing is extremely flawed.

There are people born with learning disabilities, of course, but that’s a whole other conversation.

As much as I love these quotes, I think it’s important to qualify them:

Everyone is born stupid, but people can be educated. If we want an educated populace, we must put in the work to create functional systems of education, and celebrate intelligence as a society. It’ll be hard work, and there are plenty of people out there who would prefer to see the masses remain stupid.

“The way Americans regard sports heroes versus intellectuals speaks volumes” An article by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

“There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.” ― Isaac Asimov

Sorry to be a bummer, but that’s the truth.

I hope you do read it! It’s not the most brilliant prose ever written, but it’s a nice bit of techno-optimism (once you get through the first half) that really impacted me, and my beliefs about what the future could be, when I first read it a couple of decades ago.

Marshall Brain’s “Manna” fits this bill, in my opinion. You can read the whole novella on his website, but I don’t know how long it’ll be available, as Marshall killed himself last November.

Rest In Peace, Marshall.

At first glance, from the thumbnail… I thought it was Christine Weston Chandler.

What a twist that would have been.