Idiocracy 30 December 2009
Posted by Lao Tzu in anthropology, customer service, evolution, philosophy, psychology, sociology.Tags: idiocracy
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If you have not seen the movie, Idiocracy, I highly recommend it. The premise is that the average intelligence of society will gradually decline (dysgenesis), and 2 individuals that were frozen in suspended animation are revived in the future and hailed as the smartest people in the world. The movie, as a comedy, received mostly low ratings. However, there is genius in the movie behind the various mechanisms and results that were probably more extrapolative when the movie was made then they are now. Now, most should see these predictions coming to fruition in various aspects of our lives.
I had this theory myself several years ago for several factors, but it appeared to me that average intelligence has been decreasing rapidly at a rate that makes it obvious. I originally thought that perhaps it was just that I was growing wiser with age and everything just seemed dumber than it was when I was younger. I have no doubt that phenomena is in effect as well. But I can point to specific examples that detail the extent of this epidemic. Can you?
So is this happening – are we getting dumber rapidly? If so, what could be contributing to it?
Another theory I have is that we are not dumber, but many people are mentally lazy. This appears to be a reasonable possibility in several common occurrences. This would explain the rapid change. Also, it is not surprising considering that many could be mentally overwhelmed in general due to email, phones, text messaging, ipods, movies, the internet, and relentless and pervasive advertising – a sort of information overload. People could also be addicted to these other forms of interaction such that they subconsciously see normal interaction with others as an inconvenience. This would also explain the rapid decline in customer service.
So, the possibility or appearance that we are rapidly becoming dumber as a society is a new favorite topic of mine.
The Health Care Bill 26 December 2009
Posted by Lao Tzu in business, economy, law, medicine, politics.Tags: health care reform bill, health insurance reform bill
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So the US Government is trying to come to a consensus on a large overarching bill that started out being called a Health Care Reform bill, and has ended up at the last minute being called a Health Insurance Reform bill due to the gradual change in scope and purpose. In this process, the idea of free health care for the poor was not even considered, and a public option for health insurance died in the end. The price tag for this bill is around 800 billion USD – an incredible amount of money that coincidentally resembles the last 2 bank bail out packages. The only significant change is that health insurance providers will not be able to refuse coverage for pre-existing conditions. I don’t understand why this costs tax payers money. Besides, the health insurance providers are only going to pass this expense on to its customers.
So in summary, the Government will have spent $800 billion and not really solved any of our health care problems. The poor and ever increasingly unemployed will still not be able to afford health care. And given the new scope, there is little rationalization for the cost.
On Telecommuting 19 November 2009
Posted by Lao Tzu in anthropology, business, computers, ecology, economy, technology.Tags: telecommute, work from home
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If people and corporations are really serious about going green, then they need to take a serious look at working from home. Having employees work from home is probably the biggest single act individuals and companies can do for helping the environment. Obviously, working from home is not possible for all jobs, but it is for many. It would not be far fetched to estimate about half of the jobs out there can work from home. If these jobs did execute such a plan, think of the impact.
Advantages
- Less traffic congestion
- Less fuel usage
- Less pollution
- Less electricity usage
- More time around family
- Less need for day care
Disadvantages
- Less face time
- Concerns about productivity
There are many creative ways to make this work. Less face time can be compensated by weekly meetings, which will also help address the productivity issue – pressing workers to have something to present every week. Offices could even hot seat desks if necessary. For example, John is in the office Mon and Wed, and Bob is in the office Tue and Thu, and everyone is in the office on Friday for meetings. This is just one idea, and it won’t work for everyone, but it will work for many.
Just Do It.
The Power of Witchcraft 8 November 2009
Posted by Lao Tzu in anthropology, media, philosophy, psychology, religion, sociology, witchcraft.Tags: witchcraft
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John Stossel, a reporter for the show 20/20, did a great 1 hour documentary on the power of belief. Essentially, his point was that people’s desire to believe in things, even if they are not real, had incredible power. This is essentially circular reasoning with a conscious avoidance of critical thinking. I would like to take it one step further, specifically in the areas of witchcraft and satanism. Even if these are not real forces (I am not suggesting they are or are not), the belief alone is sufficient for these tradecrafts to have some effect. As a great example, see this video. This video is also a great example of another current trend – media sensationalism. The show makes a big build up claiming that something incredible happened to this scientist that changed his mind, when nothing REAL happened at all.
It Can’t Take A Village 30 September 2009
Posted by Lao Tzu in anthropology, economy, law, sociology.Tags: babysitting, stop babysitting
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I love the idea of neighborhood friends taking turns watching each others’ children. Instead of paying high price for low quality day care, everyone who has children and lives near people they know and trust (which is not always the case) simply exchange time with each other in a manner that allows their children to play with their neighbors. That’s how I grew up. In such an environment, the concept of, It takes a village to raise a child, can actually be implemented – people watching over each others’ children, and the children benefiting from multiple adult and peer influences.
However, a recent news item discusses how our degrading level of common sense in this society has finally impacted this ancient concept described above. A woman in MI who watches other neighborhood children for a few hours each morning has been asked to cease citing that she is in violation of day care laws.
I guess if she charged money, no one would have said anything.
Common Errors in English 20 August 2009
Posted by Lao Tzu in sociology.Tags: improper english, improper grammar
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I have noticed that the torture of the English language is becoming quite acceptable lately – beyond the typical use of slang, jargon, and colloquialisms. However, allow me to digress and address a few errors that I have seen lately that are minor, but rampant – increasingly so in just the last five years.
Lack of final comma in a series
If you provide a series of items in a sentence, then there must be a comma before the conjunction and the last item in order for the meaning of the sentence to be unambiguous.
For example,
There was a red, orange, green and blue car.
is incorrect. It should be
There was a red, orange, green, and blue car.
The same applies to the use of or.
Why is this important. Here’s another example.
There were three dresses of two colors each – a red and white, a blue and white, and a green and white.
Leaving out the final comma in the first example implies that there are three cars, not four.
One space between period and next sentence
This is incorrect. There should be two (2) spaces between a period (that indicates the end of a sentence) and the first letter of the next sentence. This rule has been around since there were typewriters, and it allows the different sentences to be noticeable at a glance. A potential reason for the change is that HTML text will always insert only a single space, no matter how many spaces you code.
Use of singular verbs for non-truths
When stating a case that is not true, the plural form of the verb should be used, even for a singular subject. For example:
If I was President, …
is incorrect. It should be
If I were President, …
Any other common errors to share?
On John Hughes 8 August 2009
Posted by Lao Tzu in arts, entertainment, evolution, media, movies, philosophy, sociology.Tags: john hughes, maslot hierarchy of needs, maslot's pyramid, the breakfast club
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Courtesy MSN Online
The movie writer, director, producer John Hughes passed away recently (06 Aug 2009). For those that don’t know, Mr. Hughes did not only make movies about culture in the 1980s, the culture of the 1980s were built around his movies. His movies helped make the 80s what they were – deep, happy, and highly artistic. His movies demonstrated how Maslot’s pyramid can be applied to an entire society, not just a single individual. We were at a point, partly thanks to the cold war, where we were not in a real war, the economy was positive, and as a whole, this country had little concerns (except the threat of total global nuclear war) – allowing, I feel, for this country to self-actualize. It appears that DEVO might have been right, and we were at a point where we could only devolve from there.
His most recent movie is Drillbit Taylor. If you have not seen, “The Breakfast Club”, I cannot recommend it highly enough – one of my top 10 movies of all time. It is a timeless summary of life in high school at a depth not accomplished in other attempts. We won’t forget about you.
Is College a Worthwhile Investment 28 June 2009
Posted by Lao Tzu in business, economy, sociology, technology.add a comment
As I predicted, soon, in the US, college would end up being a bad investment from a business perspective. There is now a recent article echoing these concerns. Of course, the real value of education depends on the individual and what they do with it, but the economic value must be evaluated from the resulting salary (multiplied by the probability of getting such as job and the years in service), vs. the full cost of acquiring the education needed for the position (including all living expenses and missed opportunity income and years of service). Hence, there will be a point, if it has not been realized already, where a good paying job that does not require a degree (and there are still some out there), will be a better investment (ecomomically) than a low paying 4 year degree.
There are many examples or individuals acquiring wealthy salaries without a college education (some actors, athletes, musicians, etc.). A common joke when fellow engineers make a brilliant accomplishment is, “Now if I could just hit a ball with a stick, I would be a millionaire.” However, this phenomenon is tempered by the low probability of scoring such an opportunity, based on the assumption that these positions are destined for the creme de la creme – which may or may not always be the case, but it is a safe assumption.
On the flip side, a weekend with a Java book will give someone all the necessary skills for a high tech position that would otherwise be reserved for someone with a 4 year degree.
Michael Jackson’s Legacy 28 June 2009
Posted by Lao Tzu in arts, entertainment, media, music, sociology.Tags: michael jackson
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If you are my age, or older, you are familiar with the many phases of Michael Jackson’s career. And although he was a bit eccentric at times, he was an icon that had great influence on music and pop culture. Although I am not a fan of pop music, I cannot deny his impact. To watch any of his early performances (e.g., the Ed Sullivan show), one can easily see how amazing this person was.
As for the child molestation accusations, it’s common sense. If someone molests your child, you don’t ask for money – and you definitely don’t forgive for money. If the police were smarter, either case would not have gotten as far as it did. The press made MJ a star, and made him a pedophile. His talent not withstanding, the media built him up, and tore him down. And it was not until his death that any media spoke of these accusations as weak. Truly a shame. I hope he is remembered for his positive accomplishments.
