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#21
General Discussion / Re: Digital Nomad, Academic Ed...
Last post by apl68 - Today at 07:16:21 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on November 13, 2024, 03:39:06 PMSpain and Portugal are happy to take digital nomads. Outside of the major cities the CoL is very low.

The major Iberian cities have been showing signs of having had their fill of digital nomads.  Outside the big cities, there are probably places where it's a different story.  Digital nomads have worn out their welcome in a number of hot spots, so it would be wise to check whether any of the places you consider has already had a surfeit of them.

My mother couldn't say enough good things about Costa Rica when she spent a couple of summers studying abroad there back in the late 1990s.  In terms of outdoor activities, they've got some fantastic nature preserves to visit.
#22
General Discussion / Re: Herd your cats here
Last post by apl68 - Today at 07:10:45 AM
I saw a cat up under my doorless garage when I stepped outside for my morning walk a couple of days ago near daybreak.  This morning I saw two of them there.  Probably just neighbor cats wandering around.  I do hope they didn't have any plans to set up housekeeping there. 
#23
General Discussion / Re: 2024 Elections Thread
Last post by marshwiggle - Today at 06:55:13 AM
Quote from: Kron3007 on Today at 06:23:48 AM
Quote from: lightning on November 13, 2024, 05:07:34 AM
Quote from: Kron3007 on November 13, 2024, 03:23:48 AMGrowing up, everyone always wonders how the Nazis came to power and how ordinary Germans let it happen.  Now we have a pretty clear picture.

I'm not saying Trump is Hitler, but he clearly shows authoritarian signs and has used many of the same tricks.  It's amazing (and tragic) to see this play out in real time and I really fear for America and the world. 

I just hope I am wrong.

One of the explanations for the average German interwar Weimar was that the average German was destitute, in part due to hyper-inflation.

This is the part that really bugs me. The average US citizen of the last ten years was nowhere near as bad off, economically, as the average German was, in the Weimar Republic. Relative to Weimar, the average US citizen was affluent. 

Yet, the so-called bad economy and inflation in the USA lifted Trump back into power.

For this reason, I don't like comparisons to the average German during the rise of Hitler, because not only was the US economy much better than Weimar's economy, we also have access to information, so we can't say "I didn't know" which is the other apologist reason for the average German allowing Hitler to come to power.

Yes, we are worse than the Germans.

I also hope that I am wrong.



I think the other issue is that we have too much information, but not necessarily good information.

If you start googling vaccines, it is fairly easy to conclude that they definitely cause autism and should be avoided, especially if that's what you want to believe.

We live in an era with so much information that if is becoming hard to know what is true, and so easy to find support for whatever you want to believe.

Couple this with the general distrust of science and expertise I see growing and it is a recipe for this.

More information is really part of the issue.

Steven Pinker has a good article about dangerous truths.

Here's an interesting point:
QuoteShould we treat some ideas as dangerous? Let's exclude outright lies, deceptive propaganda,
incendiary conspiracy theories from malevolent crackpots and technological recipes for wanton
destruction. Consider only ideas about the truth of empirical claims or the effectiveness of
policies that, if they turned out to be true, would require a significant rethinking of our moral
sensibilities. And consider ideas that, if they turn out to be false, could lead to harm if people
believed them to be true. In either case, we don't know whether they are true or false a priori,
so only by examining and debating them can we find out. Finally, let's assume that we're not
talking about burning people at the stake or cutting out their tongues but about discouraging
their research and giving their ideas as little publicity as possible. There is a good case for
exploring all ideas relevant to our current concerns, no matter where they lead. The idea that
ideas should be discouraged a priori is inherently self-refuting. Indeed, it is the ultimate
arrogance, as it assumes that one can be so certain about the goodness and truth of one's
own ideas that one is entitled to discourage other people's opinions from even being
examined.


By trying to "protect" people from ideas that could be "dangerous" academics, media, and others ultimately encourage a culture of misinformation and "alternative facts", since no source can be counted on to be totally transparent with all of the facts.
#24
General Discussion / Re: 2024 Elections Thread
Last post by lightning - Today at 06:53:21 AM
Quote from: Kron3007 on Today at 06:23:48 AM
Quote from: lightning on November 13, 2024, 05:07:34 AM
Quote from: Kron3007 on November 13, 2024, 03:23:48 AMGrowing up, everyone always wonders how the Nazis came to power and how ordinary Germans let it happen.  Now we have a pretty clear picture.

I'm not saying Trump is Hitler, but he clearly shows authoritarian signs and has used many of the same tricks.  It's amazing (and tragic) to see this play out in real time and I really fear for America and the world. 

I just hope I am wrong.

One of the explanations for the average German interwar Weimar was that the average German was destitute, in part due to hyper-inflation.

This is the part that really bugs me. The average US citizen of the last ten years was nowhere near as bad off, economically, as the average German was, in the Weimar Republic. Relative to Weimar, the average US citizen was affluent. 

Yet, the so-called bad economy and inflation in the USA lifted Trump back into power.

For this reason, I don't like comparisons to the average German during the rise of Hitler, because not only was the US economy much better than Weimar's economy, we also have access to information, so we can't say "I didn't know" which is the other apologist reason for the average German allowing Hitler to come to power.

Yes, we are worse than the Germans.

I also hope that I am wrong.



I think the other issue is that we have too much information, but not necessarily good information.

If you start googling vaccines, it is fairly easy to conclude that they definitely cause autism and should be avoided, especially if that's what you want to believe.

We live in an era with so much information that if is becoming hard to know what is true, and so easy to find support for whatever you want to believe.

Couple this with the general distrust of science and expertise I see growing and it is a recipe for this.

More information is really part of the issue.

I don't have a problem with too much information. I have a problem with lots of people who see a newspaper article with a picture, from a space probe, of a diving board on Mars, presented as evidence of water on Mars. And, they believe it.
#25
General Discussion / Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Last post by ciao_yall - Today at 06:51:59 AM
Good morning!

QBW2LL last word toroid. LB screwup-plinth.

Happy solving!
#26
General Discussion / Re: 2024 Elections Thread
Last post by lightning - Today at 06:51:41 AM
Quote from: Kron3007 on Today at 06:23:48 AM
Quote from: lightning on November 13, 2024, 05:07:34 AM
Quote from: Kron3007 on November 13, 2024, 03:23:48 AMGrowing up, everyone always wonders how the Nazis came to power and how ordinary Germans let it happen.  Now we have a pretty clear picture.

I'm not saying Trump is Hitler, but he clearly shows authoritarian signs and has used many of the same tricks.  It's amazing (and tragic) to see this play out in real time and I really fear for America and the world. 

I just hope I am wrong.

One of the explanations for the average German interwar Weimar was that the average German was destitute, in part due to hyper-inflation.

This is the part that really bugs me. The average US citizen of the last ten years was nowhere near as bad off, economically, as the average German was, in the Weimar Republic. Relative to Weimar, the average US citizen was affluent. 

Yet, the so-called bad economy and inflation in the USA lifted Trump back into power.

For this reason, I don't like comparisons to the average German during the rise of Hitler, because not only was the US economy much better than Weimar's economy, we also have access to information, so we can't say "I didn't know" which is the other apologist reason for the average German allowing Hitler to come to power.

Yes, we are worse than the Germans.

I also hope that I am wrong.



I think the other issue is that we have too much information, but not necessarily good information.

If you start googling vaccines, it is fairly easy to conclude that they definitely cause autism and should be avoided, especially if that's what you want to believe.

We live in an era with so much information that if is becoming hard to know what is true, and so easy to find support for whatever you want to believe.

Couple this with the general distrust of science and expertise I see growing and it is a recipe for this.

More information is really part of the issue.

I don't have a problem with too much information. I have a problem with lots of people who see a newspaper article with a picture, from a space probe, of a diving board on Mars, presented as evidence for water on Mars.
#27
General Discussion / Re: 2024 Elections Thread
Last post by ciao_yall - Today at 06:48:53 AM
Quote from: kaysixteen on November 13, 2024, 10:11:14 PMThank you for your encouragement.

Obviously the type of things you cite are 'real journalism'-- I sub to several myself.  But my question remaineth-- how do you get the target audience to bite, to take a break from Fox, etc., and investigate these real journalistic sites, esp since people like my pastor have well propagandized their flocks to view such real journalism entries as, well, 'fake news', if not outright evil?

That's a great point.

"The Greatest Generation" was supposedly marked by propaganda in that they saw the ugly outcome and were thus suspicious of anything too emotional or manipulative. So that had a tempering effect on news because they would turn off anything too shrill.

Now everyone wants their dopamine fix, and coupled with Confirmation Bias, we are  where we are.
#28
General Discussion / Re: 2024 Elections Thread
Last post by Kron3007 - Today at 06:23:48 AM
Quote from: lightning on November 13, 2024, 05:07:34 AM
Quote from: Kron3007 on November 13, 2024, 03:23:48 AMGrowing up, everyone always wonders how the Nazis came to power and how ordinary Germans let it happen.  Now we have a pretty clear picture.

I'm not saying Trump is Hitler, but he clearly shows authoritarian signs and has used many of the same tricks.  It's amazing (and tragic) to see this play out in real time and I really fear for America and the world. 

I just hope I am wrong.

One of the explanations for the average German interwar Weimar was that the average German was destitute, in part due to hyper-inflation.

This is the part that really bugs me. The average US citizen of the last ten years was nowhere near as bad off, economically, as the average German was, in the Weimar Republic. Relative to Weimar, the average US citizen was affluent. 

Yet, the so-called bad economy and inflation in the USA lifted Trump back into power.

For this reason, I don't like comparisons to the average German during the rise of Hitler, because not only was the US economy much better than Weimar's economy, we also have access to information, so we can't say "I didn't know" which is the other apologist reason for the average German allowing Hitler to come to power.

Yes, we are worse than the Germans.

I also hope that I am wrong.



I think the other issue is that we have too much information, but not necessarily good information.

If you start googling vaccines, it is fairly easy to conclude that they definitely cause autism and should be avoided, especially if that's what you want to believe.

We live in an era with so much information that if is becoming hard to know what is true, and so easy to find support for whatever you want to believe.

Couple this with the general distrust of science and expertise I see growing and it is a recipe for this.

More information is really part of the issue.
#29
General Discussion / Re: 2024 Elections Thread
Last post by marshwiggle - Today at 05:12:00 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on November 13, 2024, 08:27:36 PM
Quote from: kaysixteen on November 13, 2024, 06:20:16 PM3) Jennifer Rubin had a good column in the WAPO this week, where she argued that Democrats need to set up an alternative multi-media system to counteract MAGA disinformation.  This is of course a great idea... but how do they get the MAGA faithful to tune in, log in, to such alternative sources of real information?

It's called real journalism, rolled out by The New York Times, The Economist, The New Yorker, and other sources of real information.

One interesting site is Ground News. I'm not a subscriber, but am thinking about it. It's a news aggregator, but what's most useful about it is that it shows how much certain stories are covered by various media outlets.

"Disinformation" is only partly about whether the facts are correct; it's also about whether certain facts are ever allowed to see the light of day. Whether it's Fox or MSNBC, what doesn't get covered is as important as what does.


#30
General Discussion / Re: 2024 Elections Thread
Last post by kaysixteen - November 13, 2024, 10:11:14 PM
Thank you for your encouragement.

Obviously the type of things you cite are 'real journalism'-- I sub to several myself.  But my question remaineth-- how do you get the target audience to bite, to take a break from Fox, etc., and investigate these real journalistic sites, esp since people like my pastor have well propagandized their flocks to view such real journalism entries as, well, 'fake news', if not outright evil?