Interesting Links for 17-12-2014

[andrewducker]

• The good horror movies of 2014
  (tags: movies horror recommendation )
• The supposed dilemma over torture doesn't exist
  (tags: torture )
• Skeptics, deniers, and contrarians: The climate science label game
  (tags: science globalwarming )
• Etsy is now selling pills that make you poop glitter. (Merry Christmas!)
  (tags: faeces awesome funny )
• Idiot fans try

Comments

[andrewducker]

I agree, BTW, that "things men want" is a gross generalisation along gender lines. It's not like women don't read books, watch films and listen to music.

[bohemiancoast]

Lego also holds its value astonishingly well. By which I mean that, to take a random example, 30 year old Duplo that has been played with by dozens, maybe hundreds of kids; without boxes or instructions, in slightly incomplete sets, sells for approximately 70% of its new value.

This might change given time; but at present I'd have to say that Lego is a good choice of toy if you would like it to give something of lasting value.

[octopoid_horror]

Actually, there's a pretty hefty subgroup of adult lego fans who don't buy kits but use online CAD style builder programs to make their dream projects..

[ext_2864067]

I think the article about cartoons and violence is a bit disingenuous. It reads rather like irresponsible parental-anxiety/outrage bait to me.

Death in childrens' animated films tends to be presented and framed in a considerably different way.

Because of that, the statement 'On-screen death and violence can be particularly traumatic for young children, and the impact can be intense and long lasting', linked specifically to that context, requires citation that isn't there.

Also, their comparison with non-animated films excluded 'action' and 'adventure' when they're doing a study about violence in films? That seems highly skewed to me, and their reasoning that films of those genres are sometimes marketed at children to is, frankly, a pitifully poor excuse under closer examination. Of course you're going to see less violence in non-animated films if you cut out the entire 'action' genre. That's just pathetically bad science, and suggests that the researchers either deliberately skewed their research or don't understand film.

[momentsmusicaux]

Deaths of parents are common in children's literature too, either in the set-up (orphans) or in the story itself.

There's a good reason: it's a complex area in chidrens' psychology, and fiction is a safe way to explore it.

[alextfish]

Well. That may be one reason. Another pretty common reason is wanting to write a script where the child protagonist strikes out on their own, or goes on the kind of adventure that might get prohibited by sensible parents, or events happen where the author finds having parents around would interfere with their plans for the child protagonist. TVTropes links to an article exploring one other reason, which claims that it's a way for the author to reassure themselves that their children would cope okay if anything were to happen to them, the author-and-parent!

[momentsmusicaux]

True, it's a useful narrative technique to give the child freedom to act. But it's a bit drastic! Parents could just as easily be absent (the Contes du Chat Perche, where bad shit always happens while the parents are away at market, or Pippi Longstocking, whose dad is allegedly being a pirate king or something), or kids can be away from home (Little Red Riding Hood). Often, dead parents are replaced with bad step parents, giving even more of an impetus for the children to reject them.

Interesting idea about parents killing off their fictional selves! It's interesting to consider what function children's fiction serves for parents as well as for the children!

[momentsmusicaux]

Maybe Seattle should have considered a tram...?

[ckd]

That would be the "surface + transit" option they should have picked, yes. (Also, they used to have a waterfront streetcar line but it was "temporarily" suspended in 2005 because the maintenance facility was demolished to build a sculpture park.)

The Seattle area has historically not done well with transportation infrastructure: the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapsed, two of the floating bridges partially sank, the monorail had an expensive expansion plan that was cancelled after a bunch of money had been spent, etc.

[steer]

So you may have spotted I was less than 100% convinced about that "The supposed dilemma of torture" article. Here's my thinking. I should say at the outset I am 100% opposed to torture in any real-life situation

[andrewducker]

I can see where you're coming from now.

But I think there are two prongs here:
1) The "Torture is immoral no matter what" argument.
2) The "Torture does not work" argument.

(1) fails if dealing with a pragmatist who can imagine situations where the alternative is even more immoral to them.
(2) fails if there are circumstances where torture does work.

Therefore, in order to be as effective as possible, you need both prongs.

(Plus, probably, also the "Even if it works in the immediate sense, it alienates people and creates more terrorists in the long-term." prong.)

[steer]

(2) is far too strong an argument because it only really takes one case to break it. The CIA's William Francis Buckley might be one such case

[andrewducker]

You can always fall back from an absolutel form of (2) to "Torture works extremely badly, and produces incorrect information more often than it produces useful data, and as an investment of time/energy is of very low value".

(But yes, I prefer my approach too)

[bart_calendar]

Yeah, reading through much of the torture report two things stand out:

1. The CIA really didn't want to be involved in these interrogations at all.

2. The CIA was then pressured by the Bush Administration to hire two independent contractors without doing any background checks on them to supervise the enhanced interrogations.

3. When the CIA officers saw what the independent contractors wanted to do they refused to help them and got transferred elsewhere.

4. The independent contractors then took over the interrogations.

5. The CIA itself didn't have that much connection to the interrogations at all.

[ticktockman]

Yes, you're absolutely right. The CIA are the real victims here.

[bart_calendar]

No they are not. But that doesn't mean they didn't get fucked over by Bush/Cheny.

[steer]

It's really worth emphasising again that the report claims the CIA were lying to Bush and Cheny about the nature, extent and success of the program.