Q&A
[On ISIS] “This is about America’s national security,” said Ryan Crocker, who was ambassador to Iraq under Mr. Bush and to Afghanistan under Mr. Obama. “We don’t understand real evil, organized evil, very well. This is evil incarnate.
That they are
Question
Why is ISIS different from the theocracy in Iran?
Different waves
Iran is a second wave nation state, whereas ISIS follows peasant Islam. IOW with Iran you are watching 1984, with ISIS you are watching Game of Thrones (not sure if members of ISIS practice incest, but I wouldnt put it past them). We do support Iran’s opening up to the world, its recent talks with the West, obviously.
Anonymous
Is US following a Shite-first policy now?
Maybe
Some make this argument; that after 9/11 US Integrators developed an anti-Sunni strategy, that’s why the political capital gained during 9/11 (which would boost any President’s numbers, and could have been used to invade any country) was used to invade Iraq. It was Saddam who was toppled – a Sunni in a Shite majority country. Now there is rapprochement to Shite Iran whereas Sunni Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt is gone, in Libya Kaddafi, another Sunni, is gone as well. On the other hand, Assad in Syria, an Alewite (a branch of Shite Islam) is still in place. Is there a pattern?
But looking at it on a case by case basis, the argument becomes weaker. Morsi was not opposed by any Western government really, it was Egyptian people who kicked him to the curb. In Syria, IMO US genuinely wanted Assad gone, the problem was US admin and other “neighboring” states in the region were too inept to execute on their wish, they could not support the right people in the right way, at the right time.
Anyway, the theory is interesting nevertheless, and we keep it in the back of our minds, so to speak.
Travis Kalanick (Uber CEO)
We’re in a political campaign, and the candidate is Uber and the opponent is an asshole named Taxi.
Brrrrr
Aggressive.. Fine.. But what’s up with this?
Question
If this new Quantum Mechanics explanation is proved right, does that mean ppl who followed it were idiots?
Certainly not
Feynman, von Neumann, hell no. They saw a representation that explained things, was easy to compute and went with it. They acted very utilitarian (most MBTI Rationals are). The only downside was the larger explanation became odd which would tick off an INTP like Einstein.
And it was odd. Instead of each electron going through one slit or the other depending on the main wave, they say “it goes through both, and makes up its mind later, about where it is, when measured”. Huh? Nature likes conserving energy, and it likes simple.
Question
Why are Southerners in US are streotyped as slow?
Because farming is slow
An ice-hockey player friend once told me “You know what? Baseball is like watching grass grow”. It was so true. Farming is similar, measured in weeks, months, not in minutes or seconds as our post-industrial world is measured in. This pace effects the rhythm of everything; starting from people who grow this stuff, to the communities that are built around them. So farmers aren’t inherently slow. Their life is. Since US South had an agrarian culture, ppl are streotyped that way. The US Civil War between North and South took place between agrarian south and industrial north. Waves opposed eachother as they always do and the newer one came out on top.
Today, much of the US blue state / red state divide is along the same lines, big cities voted Democrat in 2012 election, rurals went Rep. Now Reps want to connect with the big cities.. etc. Not that Democrats have figured it all out, they still carry the baggage of the industrial left, statism, but culturally managed to say some stuff that resonated with these people. Tea Party in GOP carries some 3W elements.
Maybe someone will put it all together one day.
News
People would rather be electrically shocked than left alone with their thoughts.
Define “people”
What is the psychological make-up of the sample in MBTI terms? How many introverts, extroverts were in the sample, how many Ti, Fi, Si heavy types were in there? Such people would not have any problem thinking when alone (or feeling, remembering). This is bunch of mumbo jumbo.