December, 2022 archive
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Once again, we are reminded that politeness takes practice.
Click Bait 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Nancy Darling discusses why we click what we do. A snippet:
Think about these three headlines:
1. Dogs need daily exercise.
2. Feeding dogs too many treats can lead to vomiting.
3. Throwing balls to dogs causes obsessive behavior.
Which would you click on?
Headline 1 is something you probably know—it doesn’t make you curious and it isn’t worrying, so you’re unlikely to seek more information.
Headline 2 is worrying, but not really surprising. I might click to see what they mean by “too many.” (I was surprised to read that my dog’s favorite liver treats are only supposed to be given a few at a time, several times a day. Oops.). A post on common human foods poisonous to dogs—chocolate, grapes—is more likely to get clicks.
But 3? I would definitely click. Why?
Folloq rhw link for her answer.
And, remember, “social” media isn’t.
Stray Thought 0
I near as I can tell, the most significant (and harmful) effect of “social” media has been to turn us into a society of exhibitionists, all jumping up and down screaming, “Look at me!“
Geeking Out 0
It’s been difficult for me to get into the Christmas spirit this year, perhaps because I’m watching my country fall apart before my eyes . . . .
But I finally got around to decorating my computer.
That’s Ubuntu MATE with the Fluxbox window manager. I’m listening to Ten Years Later on the QMMP media player as xsnow decorates my screen. Dolphin is shaded near the top the screen as snow accumulates atop it.
Grasping at a Broken Straw 0
The Las Vegas Sun editorial board if we can’t get rid of the guns, we have to get rid of the prejudice.
I reckon their hearts are in the right place.
And, in other news, pigs, wings.
Maskless Marauders 0
Northeastern University runs the COVID numbers and finds that “the median death rate for counties with the strongest Republican leaning was between 40% and 300% higher than the counties that leaned Democrat,” because, to be blunt, (these are my words, not theirs) some persons chose science and some persons chose stupid.
A snippet (emphasis added); follow the link for the rest.
As part of their research, the team created models based on death counts from the country’s 2,000 counties that looked at factors ranging from socioeconomic status to obesity. Even when controlling for every other variable, the team found that political affiliation factored heavily in the death rate.
We are a society of stupid.
The Peruvian Parallel 0
The editorial board of the Bangor Daily News sees a striking similarity.
“Reactionary Populism” 0
David decodes de code.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Yet another oxymoronic (emphasis on the “moronic”) “responsible gun owner” allows politeness to become child’s play.
Muskrat Love 0
Hypocrisy much?
“Less than 12 hours later, multiple technology reporters have been suspended.”
I suspect I’m not the only person who has come to suspect (to put it rather mildly) that Elon Musk doesn’t know what the heck he is doing and also does not understand the concept of accountability, which is not surprising if one has never been held accountable for anything ever.
Afterthought:
Driftglass sees a pattern here.
