The New Class: Savages Amidst a Technology They Don't Understand

[jordan179]

From Daniel Greenfield, "Government Is Magic," Sultan Knish, October 27th, 2013:

Our technocracy is detached from competence. It's not the technocracy of engineers, but of "thinkers" who read Malcolm Gladwell and Thomas Friedman and watch TED talks and savor the flavor of competence, without ever imbibing its substance.

...

The ObamaCare

Comments

[x_eleven]

It's often argued that the reason why the America of the early to mid 20th century could build "skyscrapers and fleets within a year ... and build them well," is because the products were simpler. It is true that the products were simpler. But it was also true that the tools we had to build them were also simpler. Today we have computers, design programs, word processors, spreadsheets, simulators and fabricators. The men of the last Civic-Heroic generation worked with slide rule, pen and paper, and tools wielded by hand. The difference is that they were focused on getting their jobs done, while we are focused on looking good while making the motions of doing them.

Great things were done with even less than that. St. Peter's Basilica was built with less. The slide rule had not yet been invented. Galileo had not yet published his works on what would later become known as Kinematics and the Strength of Materials

[akilika]

My Little Pony... you know, despite having an actual ascended creature of massive power and wisdom in the position of permanent God-Empress, worshipped and feared by all, she seems to leave almost all affairs to local rule. Which, despite the fact that every aspect of nature needs to be handled manually, appears to deploy itself with a feather-light touch in all matters but weather

[luagha]

And yet, the ponies seem to have a need to worship Celestia's power (and a need to fear Luna's during Nightmare Night, even if they know it's all a joke).

Even if it doesn't turn out so great when Celestia tries to step in and save the day against Queen Chrysalis.

Problems are generally solved through willing collective action, even if it may be guided by a leader.

[jsl32]

MLP FIM is a techno-distributist Schizo Tech-topia.

[jordan179]

The series plainly shows that Pony society favors medical technology and disfavors military technology, which I suppose is possible because they are more peaceful than would be a hypothetical race of omnivorous sapient apes and are also protected by a Physical Goddess. Note: they do have a military, just a small one rarely needing to engage in large-scale fighting. Most of the things which really threaten the ponies are powerful extradimensional beings, anyway; most of the lesser threats are strong but disorganized individual monsters.

[eric_hinkle]

Might also be because the ponies as individuals have some pretty good options for defense. Earth ponies are stronger and tougher than the other ponies (and they're not weak; even Rarity has been shown easily hauling carts of precious gems that the bigger Diamond Dogs could barely budge); Unicorns have magic which seems to provide quite a few options; and the pegasi can both fly AND control the weather. Imagine fighting someone who can round up half a dozen friends and then they start throwing lightning bolts and tornadoes at you.

[jordan179]

That's a good point. Plus, as the series shows, the Ponies have good morale in an emergency. They are after all in-canon descended from the survivors of the Age of Discord, and if you take the Expanded Universe, from the survivors of earlier dark ages as well.

[eric_hinkle]

Yeah; given the sort of things that wander Equestria (to say nothing of them having Tartarus, Hell itself, literally right underhoof), for the ponies to be as decent and kindly as we've seen, they must know how to handle themselves!

By the way, just saw Equestria Girls on DVD and uggh. I don't hate it, but... just bleh. The show is aimed at kids and yet manages to provide some fun moments and jokes for older viewers. The movie really doesn't, at least not with me.

And I have to agree on the phoniness of Sunset Shimmer's display of remorse. I think I'd sooner trust the Joker's promise to stay honest. Then again, that gives the fanfic writers something to use in their own work.

Equestria Girls

[jordan179]

Eh, Equestria Girls isn't all that bad in itself, but it's weak in terms of plot and background compared to any of the two-parters from the series. There's too much that's unexplained and that nobody questions, though admittedly Twilight and Spike as aliens have no reason to notice the oddities, and are kind of busy at the time.

Why are the Celestia and Luna analogues the principal and vice-principal of a school? Are they avatars of the same cosmic forces as in the Ponyverse? (This is hinted at by Celestia's lack of reaction to the near-destruction of the school in magical combat beyond making Sunset, Snips and Snails rebuild the facade (which, btw, would be an outright illegal punishment in our world).

Why are there no adults visible save for the school staff? (A real prom would have chaperones, and parents would drop by the school). I get the impression that the lives of the students off-campus are very different from that of teenagers in our world. (Twilight would definitely not notice this as strange, since in the

Re: Equestria Girls

[eric_hinkle]

Thanks for the response! I'll see if I can respond at the greater length it deserves, maybe over on my own LJ if you don't mind.

And concerning 4th season, a rather surprising spoiler I just read is as follows: at the start of the season, Luna and Celestia disappear and remain missing through at least the third episode.

This may be one very special season, indeed.

Re: Equestria Girls

[jordan179]

Regarding the absence of the Senior Alicorns, that sounds as if it might be an interesting plot development, assuming that they are doing this for a better reason than "We just want to focus more on the other toy ... I mean ponies." Obvious reasons for this could include their having been abducted by some enemy, or possibly even leaving for a while as a test to see how well Cadence and Twilight can handle problems while they're gone. It seems pretty-obvious to me that Celestia has been actively-searching for a Vicereina for some time now, with Sunset having been a failure in that regard and Twilight a happily-welcomed hope. Which makes sense: the more Alicorns she has to help her, the easier it is for her to resist any personal Nightmarish tendencies, and for that matter the easier it is for her to occasionally lie back with some coffee and donuts :)

(Luna's return also helps Celestia, but then she presumably had to retrain Luna, as Equestria has changed a lot over the last millennium, and Luna is potentially-unreliable given

Re: Equestria Girls

[luagha]

"On the other hand, there is no racial division corresponding to the Earth Pony / Pegasus / Unicorn one from the Ponyverse. "

Oh ho ho. :) Fluttershy specifically says, "I don't know where you came from, but around here, people stick to their own kind!"

It's just that instead of 'unicorn/pegasus/earth pony' it's all the high school cliques - jocks, populars, geeks, hippies, audio-visual, etc.

Re: Equestria Girls

[jordan179]

That's a good point. And the cliques probably sort themselves out more or less by groups which in the Ponyverse would correspond to sub-species.

Re: Equestria Girls

[eric_hinkle]

I remember we had quite a few mutually hostile cliques in my old high school.

[jordan179]

Though, admittedly, Twilight's general disinterest in most members of the opposite sex is probably a combination of being a perfectionist with very high standards, particularly in terms of intelligence; being totally obsessed with her studies; and having been almost a total hermit up until the last few years. Most stallions probably either don't appreciate her or would (as she's become obviously more influential) be sucking up to her just to benefit from the connections; the few who genuinely get her might be terrified by her intelligence and magical power. Being an Alicorn will probably lead to the first problem going away, but the second and third problems being far, far worse. It can be lonely at the top (which is probably why Celestia herself makes such a huge effort to be friendly and approachable).

[eric_hinkle]

the few who genuinely get her might be terrified by her intelligence and magical power.

Heh, this is OT but it reminds me of a rhyme someone quoted once concerning what Twilight's dating opportunities would be like if she could meet the older male fans of the show who like her:

"The Odds are Good;
but the Goods are Odd."