TheVat

Could be. Makes me think of the Shaw quote "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man."

Also curious re the polling. It is possible some people take the Don't Know off ramp. While I personally have not the faintest clue as to how anyone could not know, given the choice, I recognize that some personalities have a reticence about committing in such surveys. For me, the choice would be something on the order of Would you prefer a long sensual embrace and kiss from Margot Robbie or having Ebola vomited into your face by the reanimated corpse of Joseph Stalin?

FAANG seems to have become a retronym, since two of the companies have changed their names (it would now be MAANA, I guess?). I am never sure how to take stereotypes of "eastern" or "western" minds, but I suspect some folks at companies like Mercedes, Zeiss, Bosch, Porsche et al would dispute that Europeans (well, Germans, at least) can't do complexity, precision and efficiency. (somewhere I hear Basil Fawlty yelling don't talk about the war!) I share his bafflement. Maybe Altman has a Prometheus complex, like some others in the tech world. Are there not people in his circle who can talk him off the ledge? This does seem to verge on delusional.

One possible interpretation is that those who want another Trump presidency really want Trump, while those who want Biden are more equivocal in their support, and blend into a large bloc that really want neither. So an actual election might find that the majority that doesn't want Trump will cast a Biden vote even if they didn't answer surveys as a Biden supporter.

Not sure what almost exponentially is, but maybe not important. I think there's a basic problem in using statistics to hire individuals for a job. This problem is clearer when the statistics are used on women or various ethnic groups. On average, Latinos are 1.45 times as likely to drop out of college in the first two years. So we shouldn't admit them to our school. On average, women are three times more likely to miss workdays due to childcare duties. So we better not hire any women. Etc. Age limits seems to get into similar territory. I see no reason some independent testing office can't be established, for annual competency tests of public officials. And, who knows, if the cream sometimes rises to the top, someday we might get a Chomsky or Bertrand Russell president, ushering in an era of great progress in their 90s. (also biological age is kind of a moving target, given what we are learning about nutrition and health)

I like his approach to visualizing statistics. I think some pushback against him is from the concern that while some trends in how people live are positive, there is the possibility, with so many people, of a societal collapse if politics/economy go awry. If Earth arable land is just providing enough food, then various events like massive wars, climate catastrophes, economic depressions, disrupted supply chains, energy crunches....will swiftly tip huge populations into poverty and starvation. Ten billion people, all living well, will rely on a delicate balance. Especially given that ten billion will be fitting onto a smaller habitable land surface than eight billion live on now. (And most of them longing for a more affluent (high consumption) lifestyle as their countries strive to develop.) Areas of the tropics are heading towards being uninhabitable, and there is also inevitable sea level rise eating away coastal land. I agree overconsumption is the biggest problem, and also the most fixable if leaders are not short-sighted.

Great movie. I have been to many stakings - you have to know where to stand!

Willis was diagnosed a couple years ago with frontotemporal dementia, the most common form of early-onset dementia, and his cognitive issues are not typical of 67 year olds generally. In point of fact, he was already suffering from advancing aphasia a few years before the FTD diagnosis, and did not know when to call it quits for a couple years, signing on to various productions and turning in mediocre performances where he needed constant assistance and special allowances to make it through each day. Only his reputation as a star, and box office power, allowed him to turn in those sad performances. Which goes to a point I wanted to make earlier: people with cognitive deficits do not self-assess well. Which is why I would support cognitive tests for high office, for any age range. I was only objecting to specific age criteria. The world has plenty of people retaining their wits and intellectual activity into their 90s, like Noam Chomsky, John Wheeler, Freeman Dyson, James Lovelock, Bertrand Russell and Charles Townes (who was still working in physics at age 98). These SuperAgers as they are now called illustrate the importance of letting people work if they have the desire to and can contribute.

That sounds about right. Water, for humans, is all about where it is flowing to. A river or stream flows south, it isn't a "northerly stream." Maybe earliest human experiences were with freshwater, simple rafts on water flowing between banks, where the concept is very clear. With wind, otoh, it matters where it comes from - north wind brings cold, south wind brings milder temps, west wind (in a particular area) might bring more rain, or dust, or distant sea air.

I feel there is a sense in which it's true and one in which it isn't. True in that society may have moved on from a mindset that was common when they were young. But some old folks grow and change with the times and remain very much in the world right up until they step out. So it feels ageist to assume that the elderly have fallen behind and lost touch with the changes going on. Some do, but some have a wisdom that is informed by their long perspective across many decades and roll with the changes. (no cut intended with "derailer" btw - I have enjoyed your "derailment" and followed right off the rails myself)

This is where we branched off from the thread topic of gun control. Dim the Derailer. Followed by MigL the Meanderer. I haven't worked out droll monikers for the rest of us, but we're all complicit. We should throw ourselves on the mercy of the moderators. Maybe a split thread. Metrics of Fitness to Hold High Office?

What he said. Plus freaking one.

While I agree there are legit concerns, it's worth noting that the special counsel who wrote that report on Bidens hazy memory and timeline difficulties was a Trump appointee who questioned Biden for five hours. A tired Biden who had been handling that day the outbreak of war in Gaza. And Hur also lobbed powerful emotionally triggering questions in regarding a son who had died, Beau Biden. I think math and timeline difficulties, in that context, might be something plenty of younger people would have, and not be indicative of an inability to reason, weigh options and form sound judgements. It has also been pointed out that Hur's comments on Biden's cognitive capacity in that sort of report were viewed as highly unprofessional and an inappropriate placing of his thumb on the scale. At the very least, I would want an impartial and professional person qualified to administer a test of mental competency, before getting too worried about Joe's brain fitness for the job. Yes, and that points to the vast range of biological ages that can atttach to a chronological age. There are areas in the world where entire populations show physical and mental markers a decade or two decades under chronological age, due to lifestyle, exercise levels built into their lives, and diets like the Mediterranean or Okinawan or 7th Day Adventist. If you look at Biden and Trump, you see one person at the Sardinia "blue zone" end and the other in Bacon Cheeseburger Sedentary Needs Golfcart to walk over 100 feet can't remember correct name of leading primary opposing candidate rants incoherently zone.

Colorless green ideas sleep furiously. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorless_green_ideas_sleep_furiously

Taft required a special bathtub installed in the WH. Not sure what could be installed there in 2025 to remedy Trump's cognitive handicaps. Perhaps a trapdoor. Biden I'm less worried about - maybe because I know his choices of veep, cabinet and support staff are sound and informed by decades of political experience.

It's a practice which has been common for at least a century. Riders, logrolling, omnibus bills....been around for a long time. Sometimes called horsetrading here in the USA. Some legislative measures would never make it without being added in as riders. The Hyde Amendment was a rider. Congress has been trying to legally insure Net neutrality by adding it as a rider on other bills. It can't pass by itself.

Didn't quite get that...until I recalled the thread title. That body language says more Sam than Samantha to me. But I'm just relying on bro stereotypes in that judgment.

(looks in, confused, wanders around opening and shutting doors and drawers, peering under furniture....) Was there a thread on the heritability of autism here somewhere? (I have heard that the rich are quite tasty, if food supplies are running short)

Not at all. I am happy the shoe analogy works. Yes it would be some progress if we could trust people as they look for identity. My only caveat is that it may be difficult for teens, shopping in the sexuality supermarket, to make the best choices. Which may point towards a need for a universal healthcare plan that provides expert counsel in that search. States that withdraw such care now are making things worse, especially for youth who are in the category of confused, searching, and trying to please a peer group.

Because, annoying but true fact, Republicans vote. They show up, without fail, no matter the weather or other obstacles. This has been a vexation for Democrats for a long time: in many elections, registered Democrats just didn't get to the polls in the same numbers. In some cases, there have been regressive election laws and practices that disfavored traditional Democrat bases, but in others it's really just poor turnout. Could be Democrats are less inclined to the kind of zealous cultism and extremism that will reliably get everyone out to vote, or a combination of factors that include cynicism about politics, beliefs that gerrymandering nullify their vote, or just being too busy trying to make rent. And, last but not least, our Electoral College system favors Red states and electing the candidate who lost the popular vote.

Yes, I was going to point out that psychopaths can be quite successful at manipulating others and getting what they want. Which undoubtedly includes reproduction (even if the interest in child nurturing is zero). Women, like men, can make poor choices in mate selection and be duped by superficial charm and attractiveness. E.g. Ivana Trump. 🙂 And there is not a specific clinical definition or clearcut genotype for it, though there are some genes associated with an increased risk of psychopathy. There are some neuroanatomical studies out there that have found distinct brain variants which include a switched off orbitofrontal cortex and limbic system, smaller amygdala and differences in connections from amygdala to pre frontal cortex. But there are also non-psychopaths (and non ASPD) who may have these variations.

I lean towards Bill Maher's stance that we shouldn't have to make excuses for Islam and withhold criticism just because there are anti Muslim bigots running about. Its more extreme factions are notably ugly and anyone has the right to condemn the ugly parts. The repression of women, enslavement, violence to infidels, etc is reprehensible and I'm not going to take some faux-tolerant posture that hey that's a different culture and we will be tolerant of those differences. Nor does anti-Christian whataboutism interest me. Yes, other religions crank out garbage, too, but if I am criticizing Islam then that's the topic and it won't get better for adherents of that religion unless condemnation is strong, focused, and delivered from as many quarters as possible. It's possible that Christianity's advantage (in the limited sense of now being a bit less rapey/slavey/suicide vesty) is partly just time - it's had an extra 600 years to get clear of its middle ages. I agree with @Peterkin that the "more harsh and biblical" excesses of a religion seem to thrive in a theocratic society more than a secular one with multiple coexisting religions. Power corrupts.

Been meaning to ask: don't most people rely on both external social cues and internal feelings in forming a sense of identity? Culture is often more under-the-radar than just outright telling us who to be. We swim in it like a fish swims in water, unaware of most of it. Getting more aware of it has been for me the path that's better lit. And for most people I know. Sometimes the shoe offered happens to fit, as with men in my neck of the woods and handyman/automotive tasks. Not always so good for girls who liked to work with their hands. With my children the role reversal was instructive. It was daughter who spent more time asking me how to fix things. She turned out to be the one more inclined to repairs and getting the hands dirty. And the cultural signals against that were much weaker for her generation.

A woman finishes delivering the eulogy for her late husband and asks whether anyone in the assembled congregation would like to add anything. A man stands up and says, "Plethora," and sits down again. "Thank you," responds the woman. "That means a lot." Why do the Amish never water ski? It's too hard on the horses.

Thanks. I probably would not have made that joke if I had followed the link and seem the painting it was clipped from. 🐑 It is a technical tour de force.