Mar 5 2013: One of the biggest obstacles to equality is the irrational hatred of taxation. Redistribution of wealth will be a necessity as long as greed is such a dominant personality trait among humans. This isn't even debatable, there are thousands of years of history repeating itself showing what the ultimate result of greed really is. Libertarians believe in self regulating systems, and I fear it's mostly due to naivety and being surrounded by likeminded people with little input from the world around them. Almost subculture-like in nature. It's unreasonable to think that a totally free system would be free of people who would do anything to become the most powerful force in the world. So that's never going to work, I've heard all the arguments and they're all pointing to a world that never existed. A world where everyone is keen to share and everyone stays informed about everything so that their every dollar (every dollar is a vote in an unregulated government-less system) is spent promoting your idea of positive change. The problem here is that once money becomes the only measure of democracy the votes shift DRAMATICALLY.
Poor people will have substantially less power than the middle class, and nothing is going to touch the rich, they have the power to say "ok, don't like it, buy from someone else." And you can, you can buy from some other corporation whose business practices are equally bad.
You see examples of this even today, people who are outraged by the factory conditions at Foxconn where the apple products are made, they get all fussy and go out and buy an android phone. That's all nice and wonderful, but they're also made at Foxconn or similar factories. And the people who bash apple only to turn around and buy a product made under the exact same conditions are people who believe themselves to be informed consumers. I would say that 95% of the worlds population couldn't give a crap where stuff is made. They look at the prices and go "I'll have that."
Mar 5 2013: I didn't focus that heavily on the negative ones really, or I didn't intend for it to come across as if I was.
I know full well that the US is still a powerful and great country, my point is.. For the longest time it has been THE beacon, the goal for which other countries were aiming. This is a HUGE part of the strength of the US. Once the US loses this, it doesn't just lose the adoration, it loses far more. The US has basically been crowdsurfing on the rest of us, and we were eager fans holding it afloat, we basically gave them the world. They did us a magnificent service during and after World War 2 (I'm from norway, we got a LOT of assistance from the US after the war to help us get back on our feet and we love the US for it. we have a huge debt of gratitude.) The thing is, the US no longer has that capacity, in addition it has sullied its name as a peace keeper, most of the world now views them as aggressors. They have cut back hugely on what brings innovation and progress, so many things over the past 40 or so years have been destructive to the US both within its borders and internationally. I'm not thinking about wars here either, I'm thinking about how greed became a virtue and everything else kinda just fell by the wayside.
The US was built from cooperation. These days there's way less of an incentive for cooperation, rather the opposite. Competition is all well and good, but if you want progress you have to stand together and move forward. As long as the US is deadlocked in a race for the bottom, the rest of the world is going to continue on its path and the US will become slightly less relevant every passing year.
I do believe that America will figure this out for themselves eventually, I just don't know how much damage they have to endure before they snap out of the stalemate they've created. They lag behind on pretty much ALL global policies all in the name of individuality, which isn't at stake in any way shape or form because of science.
Mar 5 2013: I really love that guy and I wish he was the next host of the "remake" of Carl Sagan's Cosmos. Don't get me wrong, I love Neil DeGrasse Tyson, but the youthful awe that Professor Cox instills in everything he talks about would most likely be more appealing to youngsters. That was what sparked my love for science as a child. Carl's enthusiasm and love for the intricacies of everything. Cox has that same love, I feel. And now, more than ever, we need someone to inspire our youth and maybe also adults, who I think needs inspiration more than anyone, to take action, to set goals for their and everyone else's future. "Grown ups" need to grow up and look at our world as it is, not as it kinda almost was when they were growing up and everything seemed fantastical and wonderful, cause everything seems fantastical and wonderful when you're a child, everything is new. When we grow up and become jaded, we no longer maintain the curiosity, it fades, but we really should do everything we can to keep ourselves curious. "Grown ups" have control of the money and we're wasting it all on selfish personal gains. If we all embraced curiosity we'd gain riches beyond our imaginations within our lifetimes, easily. We'd probably be able to retire our entire manual labor workforce if we wanted to within the next 20 years if we really went deep into robotics. Michio Kaku talks about an age of abundance, that will never exist without science, and the more we spend on science, the sooner we can kick back and relax, do what we always wanted to while our machines did the heavy lifting.
Who knows, maybe we'll even solve aging. But I guess in the end, having a mercedes today, or spending time and money fighting gay rights or enforcing archaic laws is more immediate and satisfies our urges RIGHT NOW. Who wants to live to see their grand kids grow up anyways..
Mar 5 2013: I think you nailed it with the comic book analogy. I play video games (a lot) and have done so since I was about 5 or 6, I am now 34. The way I see games, and have always seen games, is whenever I kill someone or something, I go "cool, objective completed." I don't go "Aaaaah torrents of blood hahahaha HAAAHAHAHAHAAA BRAAAAINS!!!" which is the way a lot of people believe gamers think. Yes, video games are brutal at times, even disgusting, but when you're playing it, that's not what you're seeing. Yes, sometimes the violence is kinda awesome, sometimes people get thrown across the room and end up getting hooked on some geometrical anomaly in the level and we chuckle our asses off, then a foot comes off and it gets even dumber. This is hilarious because it kinda just is, and it is completely disconnected from reality.
As an example, I recently saw David Attenborough's documentary series Africa. I say I saw it, but I had to stop after episode 2 and the close up view of the death of a baby elephant that we were introduced to earlier in the episode.. This was far too much for me to handle. A guy who laughs his ass off at decapitations in games.. Totally devastated by the death of a baby elephant.. Tears, snot, the whole thing. Had I been the type of gamer that, especially, the right wing anti gaming lobby believes me to be, I would take pleasure in seeing that death.
Same happens when I see people being attacked in the streets, I get completely paralyzed by fear almost instantly. Same with injustices happening to the weak and elderly, just completely crushes me.
I don't have a lot to back up this claim, but I think that being put into hellish situations in games actually boosts our empathy. Gamers _live_ in the narratives whereas people who enjoy passive media such as movies or tv(not as much books as they are much more interactive) have no input what so ever in the unfolding events. No choices made. Passivity breeds passivity. That's my theory.
Mar 5 2013: What she talked about with the Chinese who told the US to "take your time" is so true, but it is an invisible truth if viewed from the US because you still think you're out in front, miles and miles out in front of the rest of the world. This isn't even remotely true anymore. Most nations in Europe have been baffled by your race to the bottom, your relentless opposition to change and progress, it blows our minds. You're basically ruining everything you've built up and all because of what? Crazy traditions, fanatical religious groups, an unhealthy focus on the negatives taxation etc. etc.
You should check yourself before you wreck yourself. Had you been able to view the US through the eyes of someone from the more developed european countries, you'd be shitting yourselves. From where we're standing, the US is a couple of years away from basically destroying yourselves. And that is to the detriment of EVERYONE. There was a time when the US was seen as pioneers, a beacon of light for nations across the world, and you might like to think this is still the case, but the light is fading and people are starting to look elsewhere.
There are two ways of looking at this. The right will go "when was the last time we were great, let's go back to that time" cause all they want is to go back to the fictitious epoch of the american golden age.
The correct way to look at it is; The US was great because it forged ahead. Almost recklessly at times, the fact that you spent less than a decade on getting to the moon, THAT is what a world leader does. THAT inspires the entire world and makes them go "man, those americans sure do have it going on."
I miss that. I miss it a LOT. Without it the EU is going to take over your role as the world leader. We already have when it comes to science, most of your scientists are looking towards europe where science still gets funded.. And your businesses, as is mentioned in this video, are sending jobs out of the country. You're losing..
Mar 4 2013: I think the people who find this to be "begging" or beneath someone's standards is mostly due to them having a poor appreciation for music. My guess is they're people who has no interest in it to begin with - their relationship with music is through the radio. These aren't people who have spent time trying to find new music to fall in love with or to. These aren't people who delve into challenging music to broaden their horizon. These aren't people for whom art is a big deal. I also suspect that some of them would be OK paying half of a monthly salary for a painting their coworkers and friends would envy.
I can see why it would seem like begging. Asking for money from people for doing something which they see little value in, it seems odd, yet if you hired a clown for your kids birthday party, you would have to pay him/her and you wouldn't question it at all. Same with a gardener, many of them love their jobs, why should they ask your for money? They just had free access to your well thought out beautiful garden.
The attitude towards musicians baffles me. These are people who squeeze every bit of emotion out of their hearts and puts it into art for your enjoyment. You can't put a price tag on that, and if you do, you have NO understanding of the arts. Good art is equal measure love and agony. Show your appreciation the way you can, do not diss others for showing theirs, or the artists for asking for it/receiving it.
I find it somewhat disgusting that we have become a society that rewards greed as long as it's rich guys doing nothing of value yet getting billions a year, yet people who actually add value, artists, the everyman, working class etc. They are moochers and beggars. This has to END. If people spent their resources on rewarding beauty rather than blindly being led down the path to the "american dream" or similar status related goals made by the rich to ensure the working class stay motivated, the world would instantly become a better place.
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A comment on Conversation: Is capitalism sustainable?
Poor people will have substantially less power than the middle class, and nothing is going to touch the rich, they have the power to say "ok, don't like it, buy from someone else." And you can, you can buy from some other corporation whose business practices are equally bad.
You see examples of this even today, people who are outraged by the factory conditions at Foxconn where the apple products are made, they get all fussy and go out and buy an android phone. That's all nice and wonderful, but they're also made at Foxconn or similar factories. And the people who bash apple only to turn around and buy a product made under the exact same conditions are people who believe themselves to be informed consumers. I would say that 95% of the worlds population couldn't give a crap where stuff is made. They look at the prices and go "I'll have that."
A reply on Talk: Jennifer Granholm: A clean energy proposal -- race to the top!
I know full well that the US is still a powerful and great country, my point is.. For the longest time it has been THE beacon, the goal for which other countries were aiming. This is a HUGE part of the strength of the US. Once the US loses this, it doesn't just lose the adoration, it loses far more. The US has basically been crowdsurfing on the rest of us, and we were eager fans holding it afloat, we basically gave them the world. They did us a magnificent service during and after World War 2 (I'm from norway, we got a LOT of assistance from the US after the war to help us get back on our feet and we love the US for it. we have a huge debt of gratitude.) The thing is, the US no longer has that capacity, in addition it has sullied its name as a peace keeper, most of the world now views them as aggressors. They have cut back hugely on what brings innovation and progress, so many things over the past 40 or so years have been destructive to the US both within its borders and internationally. I'm not thinking about wars here either, I'm thinking about how greed became a virtue and everything else kinda just fell by the wayside.
The US was built from cooperation. These days there's way less of an incentive for cooperation, rather the opposite. Competition is all well and good, but if you want progress you have to stand together and move forward. As long as the US is deadlocked in a race for the bottom, the rest of the world is going to continue on its path and the US will become slightly less relevant every passing year.
I do believe that America will figure this out for themselves eventually, I just don't know how much damage they have to endure before they snap out of the stalemate they've created. They lag behind on pretty much ALL global policies all in the name of individuality, which isn't at stake in any way shape or form because of science.
A comment on Talk: Brian Cox: Why we need the explorers
Who knows, maybe we'll even solve aging. But I guess in the end, having a mercedes today, or spending time and money fighting gay rights or enforcing archaic laws is more immediate and satisfies our urges RIGHT NOW. Who wants to live to see their grand kids grow up anyways..
A reply on Talk: Jane McGonigal: The game that can give you 10 extra years of life
As an example, I recently saw David Attenborough's documentary series Africa. I say I saw it, but I had to stop after episode 2 and the close up view of the death of a baby elephant that we were introduced to earlier in the episode.. This was far too much for me to handle. A guy who laughs his ass off at decapitations in games.. Totally devastated by the death of a baby elephant.. Tears, snot, the whole thing. Had I been the type of gamer that, especially, the right wing anti gaming lobby believes me to be, I would take pleasure in seeing that death.
Same happens when I see people being attacked in the streets, I get completely paralyzed by fear almost instantly. Same with injustices happening to the weak and elderly, just completely crushes me.
I don't have a lot to back up this claim, but I think that being put into hellish situations in games actually boosts our empathy. Gamers _live_ in the narratives whereas people who enjoy passive media such as movies or tv(not as much books as they are much more interactive) have no input what so ever in the unfolding events. No choices made. Passivity breeds passivity. That's my theory.
A reply on Talk: Bruno Maisonnier: Dance, tiny robots!
A comment on Talk: Allan Savory: How to fight desertification and reverse climate change
This, if true, which it seems it is, is a humongous game changer. In every way imaginable. Just.. Wow.
A comment on Talk: Jennifer Granholm: A clean energy proposal -- race to the top!
You should check yourself before you wreck yourself. Had you been able to view the US through the eyes of someone from the more developed european countries, you'd be shitting yourselves. From where we're standing, the US is a couple of years away from basically destroying yourselves. And that is to the detriment of EVERYONE. There was a time when the US was seen as pioneers, a beacon of light for nations across the world, and you might like to think this is still the case, but the light is fading and people are starting to look elsewhere.
There are two ways of looking at this. The right will go "when was the last time we were great, let's go back to that time" cause all they want is to go back to the fictitious epoch of the american golden age.
The correct way to look at it is; The US was great because it forged ahead. Almost recklessly at times, the fact that you spent less than a decade on getting to the moon, THAT is what a world leader does. THAT inspires the entire world and makes them go "man, those americans sure do have it going on."
I miss that. I miss it a LOT. Without it the EU is going to take over your role as the world leader. We already have when it comes to science, most of your scientists are looking towards europe where science still gets funded.. And your businesses, as is mentioned in this video, are sending jobs out of the country. You're losing..
A reply on Talk: Amanda Palmer: The art of asking
I can see why it would seem like begging. Asking for money from people for doing something which they see little value in, it seems odd, yet if you hired a clown for your kids birthday party, you would have to pay him/her and you wouldn't question it at all. Same with a gardener, many of them love their jobs, why should they ask your for money? They just had free access to your well thought out beautiful garden.
The attitude towards musicians baffles me. These are people who squeeze every bit of emotion out of their hearts and puts it into art for your enjoyment. You can't put a price tag on that, and if you do, you have NO understanding of the arts. Good art is equal measure love and agony. Show your appreciation the way you can, do not diss others for showing theirs, or the artists for asking for it/receiving it.
I find it somewhat disgusting that we have become a society that rewards greed as long as it's rich guys doing nothing of value yet getting billions a year, yet people who actually add value, artists, the everyman, working class etc. They are moochers and beggars. This has to END. If people spent their resources on rewarding beauty rather than blindly being led down the path to the "american dream" or similar status related goals made by the rich to ensure the working class stay motivated, the world would instantly become a better place.