The author has been posting excerpts from the book on the "Machinist" site which is part of salon.com. The book seems very interesting take on how modern technology has loosened our grip on any sort of objective reality that we once had.
I don't know how I missed this thread. Very interesting stuff.....
VNR's go further than just the news. Do a search for Website hosting. Take note of the top web hosts on each site you go to. Wanna take a bet at which hosts pay the most for affiliate sign ups?
I even fell victim to this. I'm turned my clan web hosting website into an affiliate page. I wasn't doing anything with it, so I thought I would see if I could make a buck or two since it has great search engine placement.
I even pointed Bubba to one of the hosts that I have heard ton's of great things about and he had to cancel by day three because they hadn't even registered the domain after telling him the delay was DNS propogation.
That's nuts and I was even trying to be honest and helpful while making a buck. I'm sorry I referred Bubba, but I am even more sorry because I was about to use them on more of the site.
Second, I like Mac OS, that said I have always had a hatred towards the Mac Zealots. They are nothing more than that in most cases. And as that article explains they can't see that the Mac has downfalls. Now don't get me wrong there are Mac people who are normal and sane, my wife is one of those, but many Mac/Apple people are zealots. This story couldn't be more true
I added this book to my to purchase and read pile last year at the time of this thread. It was a good read. I am passing it to Sarge tomorrow. When Sarge is done I will gladly make this the first book of the GRB national library. I will ship it to anyone who wants to check it out.
I added this book to my to purchase and read pile last year at the time of this thread. It was a good read. I am passing it to Sarge tomorrow. When Sarge is done I will gladly make this the first book of the GRB national library. I will ship it to anyone who wants to check it out.
Very good post, Bubba. That sounds really interesting. Will go and check. Hopefully I can order it.
I read this over the weekend, and it is very good. The biggest problem that I see is that the people who would benefit most from reading this book are the least likely to do so, as it puts forward arguments that they will be predisposed to ignore 😀
The sections on the conspiracy theorists and the tobacco industry are particularly interesting. I keep wondering how everyone who signed on to the Get Government Off Our Backs "movement" felt once they found out that it wasn't a grass roots effort by libertarian groups, but something developed by a tobacco company to try and head off new anti-smoking regulations. It makes me wonder what that consultant group is working on now...
Sarge wrote:I read this over the weekend, and it is very good. The biggest problem that I see is that the people who would benefit most from reading this book are the least likely to do so, as it puts forward arguments that they will be predisposed to ignore 😀
I read the excerpts by the author you posted upthread, geez, almost a year ago. I skimmed over them again recently when the thread was revived. They're good, and as I said way back then, they should be required reading. You're right of course, but I think there are a LOT of ppl that wouldn't read it, wouldn't get the point, or would ignore it if they did. I've come to believe that there's a surprisingly large portion of the population that is incapable of critical thinking, and would have to be dragged, kicking and screaming, to it. We've got to do a better job of giving high-school students an introduction to it.
Critical thinking is not always an easy thing to do, and you really have to approach every new thing you read with that mindset, or you may find slanted material taking up residence in your mind as fact. It's hard to kick it out once it has.
Sarge wrote:The sections on the conspiracy theorists and the tobacco industry are particularly interesting. I keep wondering how everyone who signed on to the Get Government Off Our Backs "movement" felt once they found out that it wasn't a grass roots effort by libertarian groups, but something developed by a tobacco company to try and head off new anti-smoking regulations. It makes me wonder what that consultant group is working on now...
Huh. I hadn't read about that, but I'm not surprised. Clever.
IRT the GGOOB: Yeah, basically RJR hired this consultant group DTI (many of whom were former tobacco PR folks) during the 1990s and DTI set up a fake organization that started talking to other groups predisposed to less regulation (such as the NRA and some of the anti-tax groups) about "getting government off their back" without stating where the organization came from or who was funding it. One of the anti-tax groups really grabbed onto the project and ran with it, which is what DTI wanted all along and "smokers rights" became one of the issues. Many people signed on supporting it, including many politicians, who may not have had they known it was being funded by RJR.
IRT Critical Thinking: It is very much a critical thinking issue. What he points out over and over again in the book is that we almost automatically dismiss the facts and opinions that we don't agree with. What's more, is that we also in many cases, find bias where there is none (a la the Apple fanboys). Any criticism of something we like, or argument against something that we agree with, is often dismissed by us as "bias". People actually like to hear arguments against their position if they are "weak" because it makes you feel good to be able to dismiss the argument which further entrenches you (right or wrong).
We definitely need to do a better job of teaching our children how to use their brains. Not that this is a school responsibility alone, but the reliance on standardized testing reinforces a focus on rote memorization instead of critical thinking. The focus becomes getting more kids to do better on the test instead of teaching them how to think and evaluate.
In the end, the author's point seems (to me) to be that as we surround ourselves more and more with people that think and act the way that we do, we loose the ability to trust people who think and act differently. This is being reinforced in this country by the fragmentation of the media, the popularity of editorial "news" vs actual news, and the inability to know when we are being told the truth vs being sold something by someone with an agenda.
DocJon wrote:Thanks Bubba, I'm interested, but I'll give Atomm first crack, as I have a stack of books sitting here already.
Yeah, that is very wise of you, Doc. And maybe you don´t need it right now, because you don´t have any children yet. But it is good to get prepared for eventual necesseties. You can never start too early, really to get prepared for educating your children in a good way. 😉
We definitely need to do a better job of teaching our children how to use their brains. Not that this is a school responsibility alone, but the reliance on standardized testing reinforces a focus on rote memorization instead of critical thinking. The focus becomes getting more kids to do better on the test instead of teaching them how to think and evaluate.
That´s exactly how I feel. Very good statement, Sarge. 🍻 (I hope you left the flu behind and feel better now.) 🙂
I am convinced about one thing - and this is not meant in an ironically or cynically way - if ppl in North America would drink Mate (beverage) instead of soft drinks like Coca Cola and Dr. Pepper, Pepsi etc. even Coffee or tea, the US would not be in the same situation as it is right now - ppl looking rather for distraction than challange - Mate helps you to stay mentally fit, besides many other things that will improve....
saintchism wrote:Yeah, that is very wise of you, Doc. And maybe you don´t need it right now, because you don´t have any children yet. But it is good to get prepared for eventual necesseties. You can never start too early, really to get prepared for educating your children in a good way. 😉
I might not have much experience in the teaching them to walk, or in the area of changing diapers, but AFAIK, the one I helped raise did NOT become a mass-murderer, so I like to think I positively influenced him there. Well, strictly speaking, it COULD still happen, but even so, delaying it this long is an achievement I'm proud to hang my hat on. Hey, it was a kind of touch-and-go there for awhile. . . 😀