Random thoughts

[ultimatepsi]

I've been stuck sick in bed for a few days now (but I am getting better now!) and so all the thoughts that normally I might find someone to comment to about, and so clarify the notion and move on, are filling up my head and copulating with each other. Mix in a bit of sickness-induced fuzzy-headedness and this is what comes out. This gets a bit meta

Comments

[randysmith]

Interesting and reasonable thoughts. Nothing deep to say in response, but shallowly :-}: I'd interchange your mod ratings. That way, you need to "pay" more than you're dinging your opponent by to complain about them. It'll make you think twice before doing so. And there are times when it'd be worth it, and you'd take the hit (and you want to allow for those times; negative feedback is a very useful interaction pattern int he world). But you'd make it rarer.

I've played around with images like this for driving; someone cuts you off, you ding them in the database, and take a ding yourself. Both of your insurance goes up fractionally, yours more than theirs. But if someone was regularly cutting people off, their rates would skyrocket, providing nice negative feedback. And if someone was regularly giving into road rage, ditto.

Like I say, just a shallow response :-}.

[ultimatepsi]

I think it depends on the context. (It always does that with me.) For complaining that some one is annoying I use a smaller complainer to complainee ratio, for saying someone viewpoint isn't valuable the ratio is much larger.

[happyfunpaul]

Lots to ponder here, but I'll choose this one particular sentence: "I thrive on complexity, on subtle differences, on parallels and analogies, on more than one way of looking at things." And I'll reply "Remind me to discuss with you 'Generations', 'The Nine Nations of North America', 'Complexity', and other such books that say 'here's a different way to categorize the world'... I'm curious to see how you respond."

[ultimatepsi]

*excitement* More reading material?

books for the Kate

[happyfunpaul]

* The Nine Nations of North America by Joel Garreau, 1982.
[My copy disappeared long ago. The Wikipedia entry provides a decent summary.]

* Generations: The History of America's Future, 1584 to 2069 by Neil Howe and William Strauss, 1991, ISBN 0-688-11912-3
[Should be on my shelf, but seems to have disappeared. Wikipedia entry here.]

* Complexity: The Emerging Science at the Edge of Order and Chaos by M. Mitchell Waldrop, 1992.
[I will loan this book to you.]

While I'm at it, I'll also loan you:
* Hen's Teeth and Horse's Toes by Stephen Jay Gould, 1984 (SJG is good in general, and while this probably isn't the absolute best example of his work, it's the best on my bookshelf :-)
* Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, 2005

Re: books for the Kate

[ultimatepsi]

I've read a bit of Freakonomics at the library. It was pretty interesting.

Silly goat, doesn't it know it's supposed to eat grass

[ultimatepsi]

Thank you.

I know the multiple viewpoints complexity is hard for you, and I respect that you need to draw boundaries around when you're able to approach it, but I really admire that you try it anyway.

As a button I have floating around somewhere says, "The problem with having an open mind is never knowing what will crawl in while you're not looking."

[hanasaseru]

I don't like being silent either, but I can understand the difficulty of expressing complex and varied views all the time. I usually just talk anyway, and try to fuddle through what I'm thinking aloud, but that's partially because I process better allowed

[ultimatepsi]

I'm not upset with you. Also, I think part of why we usually get along so well is that we have a lot in common, and at a more than superficial level. Actually, come to think of it, when we don't get along it's also usually because we have a lot in common. *sigh*

[moozeale]

1) Complexity is good! Your mind is fascinating. You see the world in a different way than most people do, and you're more awesome for it

[ultimatepsi]

No need to apologize. I mostly agree with what you're saying here, because mostly you're agreeing with me.