| Revision as of 05:53, 6 November 2012 view sourceNewburnstown (talk | contribs)9 editsNo edit summary← Previous edit | Revision as of 12:50, 6 November 2012 view source Jytdog (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers187,951 edits Undid revision 521628518 by Newburnstown (talk) You have vandalized my userpage. This is unacceptable behavior on Misplaced Pages. Reporting this.Next edit → | ||
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| This is so important, I think. If we want to solve problems in the world, we have start by clearly seeing the facts - the truth - that define those problems and their causes. Where things are not fully explainable, and we are dealing with probabilities, that has to be clearly acknowledged. (Much bullshit is generated in claims of certainty, in cases where none can be had.) I find bullshit - this disregard for the messiness of the real world and its facts - all over the place. Both on the political right and on the political left. Misplaced Pages's Five Pillars are inherently anti-bullshit, which is why I love them. | This is so important, I think. If we want to solve problems in the world, we have start by clearly seeing the facts - the truth - that define those problems and their causes. Where things are not fully explainable, and we are dealing with probabilities, that has to be clearly acknowledged. (Much bullshit is generated in claims of certainty, in cases where none can be had.) I find bullshit - this disregard for the messiness of the real world and its facts - all over the place. Both on the political right and on the political left. Misplaced Pages's Five Pillars are inherently anti-bullshit, which is why I love them. | ||
| I pretend that I work at a university, however, my activity on wikipedia includes being up all hours of the night on school nights. Which means that I don't actually adhere to any normal university-type schedules or sleeping cycles. Therefore, I am really a paid employee by Monsanto to delete dozens or maybe hundreds of passages that may make Monsanto look bad on all pages that refer to GMOs (genetically modified organisms). I plague wikipedia making sure that it is biased in favor of Monsanto, a giant company that hopes to own all lands, farms, and foods in the United States of America and turn all American citizens into slaves of the Monsanto agricultural industry. So please, make sure you vote how Monsanto wants you to vote, and don't forget, it's all because I am being paid to brainwash you. Thanks for visiting. | |||
Revision as of 12:50, 6 November 2012
Hi, I like to contribute to Misplaced Pages, for the public good. I work at a university. I'm interested in biotechnology, intellectual property, and the public perception of both. Politically, I am more or less a Clinton democrat. I think capitalism is a great engine for innovation and opportunity, each of which make people's lives better; I also believe that government is essential to create a strong safety net, to ensure there is fair competition (including equal opportunity), and to ensure that individuals and companies pursuing their goals don't harm everybody else (i.e. good regulation is essential). So like most Americans I favor a mixed economy. The question is always about balance.
I believe strongly in Misplaced Pages's Five Pillars.
I also believe that US society is rife with communities walled off from each other by the cognitive bias of community members. We don't get our news from the same places, and people unreflectively pass among themselves half-truth jokes and claims that make their side seem wonderful, and the other side seem buffoonish at best and evil at worst. "Our country faces unmitigated disaster if the Other Side wins." . This retreat into bubbles is destroying our ability to have rational discussions about many topics and to strike reasonable balances that can effectively address the real problems we face. The fact that, as Harry Frankfurt has said, "our society is awash in bullshit," does not help. I believe that clearly presented, unbiased information is an antidote and that Misplaced Pages is part of the solution when the five pillars are followed.
If you haven't read it, I strongly recommend Harry Frankfurt's book, "On Bullshit"", which you can read here, as well as his follow-up book, appropriately called "On Truth." In "On Bullshit" Frankfurt says bullshit is speech intended to persuade, without regard for truth, and he says: "Someone who lies and someone who tells the truth are playing on opposite sides, so to speak, in the same game. Each responds to the facts as he understands them, although the response of the one is guided by the authority of the truth, while the response of the other defies that authority and refuses to meet its demands. The bullshitter ignores these demands altogether. He does not reject the authority of the truth, as the liar does, and oppose himself to it. He pays no attention to it at all. By virtue of this, bullshit is a greater enemy of the truth than lies are."
This is so important, I think. If we want to solve problems in the world, we have start by clearly seeing the facts - the truth - that define those problems and their causes. Where things are not fully explainable, and we are dealing with probabilities, that has to be clearly acknowledged. (Much bullshit is generated in claims of certainty, in cases where none can be had.) I find bullshit - this disregard for the messiness of the real world and its facts - all over the place. Both on the political right and on the political left. Misplaced Pages's Five Pillars are inherently anti-bullshit, which is why I love them.