Re:Question from an outsider
on
Has Ron Paul Quit?
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
It isn't his views that I find insane. It is Ron Paul.
Perhaps "insane" is too strong of a word. The better term might be "not grounded in reality".
Trust me, as someone who follows elections closely, I am not deriding him for any of his political views. His political ideas and views are typically very sane.
His belief in powerful cabals and conspiracy groups might be a signal to his "insanity".
A sane person tends to dismiss conspiracy theories until evidence presents itself, Ron Paul seems to be open to them until they are disproven.
Well, as probably one of the only people who actually will get the opportunity to see Ron Paul's name on a ballot(he is my congressman), I think I should say something.
Ron Paul is absolutely INSANE. He is an incredibly nice man, and one of the most available congressmen I have ever known. But, once again, he is INSANE.
Now, with that being said, I will still vote for him. Why? Because I agree with some of his positions.
I think that there are two types of people who like Ron Paul. People who follow even his most ridiculous positions....and People like myself and Bill Maher. We don't think he is right, but we think his insanity allows him the ability to be honest. Maybe that is all that matters. That was also a bit of Paul's popularity. I liked the idea of a Republican who didn't approve of the war. I liked the idea of a guy who went back to the old conservative platform of cutting bureaucracies.
But, in the end, the Paul supporters had to realize they were having to try VERY HARD to apologize for Paul. They were twisting the words of a crazy man to support a much more rational platform.
But Paul will leave a legacy. His popularity showed other candidates that they can be more honest. We now have an election where people are going to have VERY different views. We have TWO parties again, rather than 2 groups.
What actually happens is that they get the opportunity to speak with a Professor. The professor holds his tongue and laughs when the man walks out of the room. The man can now say that the Professor couldn't seem to explain how it works(because the professor didn't want to waste an hour explaining electromagnetic theory to an idiot)
I actually knew an EE professor who was familiar with this scam. He told me of one 'invention' that was exceptional. A man claimed that he could 'rewire' motors so as to produce TWICE the output. A friend of the professor(name withheld for obvious reasons) finally begged him to watch a video of the 'inventor'.[The professor refused to meet with the inventor for reasons previously mentioned].
Here is what was happening. The 'inventor' was rewiring the motors so that they were running at half the normal voltage. Anyone who remembers basic electricity remembers that P=VI. Guess what? They were drawing 2 times as much current. He was basically converting a 24V motor to a 12V motor. The professor told me that he laughed so hard that the friend showing him the video wouldn't speak to him out of shame for a month.
So, whenever you see a professor's name attached to something like this...check to see if the Ph.D. actually wrote anything. Typically the crackpot is simply using a brief meeting with the professor to give his lunacy some weight of authority.
You know, it is people like you who contribute to a lot of the problems.
Your major concern is growth hormones in animals. It may cause problems, it might not. Any problem that it does cause is on the statistical fringe.
Now, you ignore one of the biggest problems with modern beef. We pump them full of....antibiotics. Sure, it keeps your beef safer. Sure, there aren't any possible direct side effects in humans who consume the meat. The problem? They are quickly rendering most common antibiotics useless. This isn't a small problem, if you ask any biologist they will tell you about it. This is a huge problem that might effect the health of BILLIONS of people.
So, think about it. If you had to choose between genetically-modified, hormone pumped beef(with no antibiotic usage) or organic, free range beef with heavy usage of antibiotics....which would you choose? This isn't a hypothetical question. If you have less healthy animals(as a side effect of no antibiotics), you are going to want the animals that do survive to be big, beefy, and profitable. This is a real dilemma....
I am going to assume that you would prefer that organic, hormone-free beef. Guess what? That was the wrong answer. If antibiotics fail, diseases will quickly become your biggest fear. Quit thinking up imaginary scenarios that might occur, and pay attention to the ones that definitely WILL OCCUR.
I would rather sleep in an asbestos bed every night than live in a world where we didn't have antibiotics.
Its rather like the idea of a guy who rides a motorcycle to work, because he doesn't want to be in the carpool because one of the carpoolers smokes. You need to look at the statistics, and stop imagining side effects that don't cause a significant level of death.
Even I don't understand wikipedia's articles on math sometimes.(and I have a degree in math)
I had one of my professors tell the following joke...
"Wikipedia is proof that math majors can't find jobs."
Wikipedia articles on math/physics topics really need to develop a whole new format. One thing I would like to see is more casual articles on math topics. Sure, I can almost every popular mathematical proof on wikipedia....but wikipedia is a general knowledge database.
The proofs should DEFINITELY be on the same page, but a lot more care should be taken to make the articles more approachable. I used to use wikipedia in conjunction with my textbook...and several times I wound up preferring the textbook. This wasn't on instructional topics, but on rather general topics. The wikipedia article was simply to confusing, and too technical.
Basically, remember that wikipedia articles DO have an instructional quality. Most mathematicians aren't reading the wikipedia article on the "twin prime conjecture". Encyclopedia articles aren't written for people who know everything about the topic, they are written for people who need information.
**(BTW...this comment is written in the same manner as most of the articles. It has all the essential information, but in a very impractical format)**
I was still a high school student when I first heard about E-ink. Now that I have a degree in Electrical Engineering, I know to refer to it as a "bistable display".
E-ink just seems to be dominating the market.....
The potential for this display is really mind-blowing. Given advances towards color, higher resolution, and faster response time....it is definitely great stuff.
Some people mention that "other e-readers have come and failed", but the new wave of bistable displays is far different from the old LCD screen ereaders of the past. I know Kindle is the big deal, but its the first American E-ink product introduced with any fanfare. When I walk around with my Sony Reader, most people ask me why I have such a large PDA. The point is simple, digital paper technology has the potential to do for books what the mp3 did for music. It wont revolutionize the medium, but it could change the way that people interact with it.
In summation: The kindle has its pros and cons, just like any device..... Pay attention though, some people aren't as much excited about the "Kindle" as they are excited about kindle-like devices. And some of the "problems with the kindle" are not problems with this particular device, but rather problems with the technology.
Some examples 1) No backlight--E-ink displays use reflected light. If you want a light you purchase a book light just like you would for paper 2) Delayed page turn--simply a limit of this technology, they are getting better, but this problem will ALWAYS exist. One reason these displays arent popular in phones or similar technology 3) Lack of color--while this is at the bleeding edge of electronic paper, it is not yet a mass produced feature. Expect to see this is a few generations
If you have ever used this technology for an extended period of time, you fall in love with it. I don't love the Kindle, but I love E-ink.
You miss the point if you are suggesting that people go "get a laptop". This device is e-ink...which is drastically different. It is EXACTLY like reading a printed page, I should know...I have a Sony Reader.
It has been my general experience that while younger people cannot understand why I would purchase a $300 book reader, older individuals immediately see the advantage. I can carry millions of pages in something smaller than most paperback books. It has an instant appeal. It is almost as easy to read the screen as a book(which cannot be said for LCD screens), it has a massive storage capacity, and it has an insane battery life(the battery is mostly only used to change the screen...not to keep it maintained). If you read books, newspapers, blogs, etc on a daily basis why wouldn't you want this device.
Your argument is similar to saying that the MP3 player is stupid. For the cost of an Ipod i could purchase a computer.....we have CD players....why would anyone want to carry around 30GB of music?
Yeah....and unfortunately Sears uses the same system for Sears.com and their in-store ordering system.
Typically wouldn't cause much of a problem, but for some reason Sears tries to heavily restrict its in-store merchandise and works from several "warehouses" that typically deliver 6 times a week to the stores.
Kinda stupid, but it keeps their total inventory in-store low...
Anyways, they still haven't completely restored the system yet....and this is after an incident 3 years ago on Black Friday that caused EVERY SYSTEM to crash....including Credit
BTW...
Black friday is a bad thing
It is typically a more common term for retail employees, and makes reference to the fact that you have one of the highest traffic days(but not highest profit or revenue days) of the year.
The people who typically use that term(at least until it was popularized on the net) are making reference to how much they HATE black friday...
Honestly....what kinda of freak gets up at 4 am to wait in line in the cold and snow to purchase items that are frequently at the same price as the previous week. The retailers run a few items(known as "doorbusters") that actually have a significant markdown and the rest of the stuff is at regular price.....they run out of the "doorbusters" typically as soon as they open but continue to see high sales all day long from idiots who think they are getting a good deal without intelligently shopping around.
It is as if it proves the old adage:"You don't have to give someone a good deal, you just have to tell them that they are getting a good deal"
So?
The problem is as follows:
The Ph.D in mathematics can go do a lot of other things(with higher salary)
The Child development major cannot....
You pay the people with the most options the most money....or you dont have any more of the people with better options
As someone who went through school with "special needs"...I believe I am more qualified than most to talk about this...
They diagnosed me with 2 special conditions 1. ADhD- you all know this one 2. Disgraphia-a fine motor skill disability(handwriting for me is long and painful)
Now, here is where it got interesting. I was also placed in the "gifted and talented program" and the "honors" program. I wasn't a lazy student, and most of my "attention deficit disorder" could be traced to boredom because the classes were taught so slowly. I did, however, need to make use of the "special facilities" for "special needs" students. All i needed was a computer to type on... While half of my teachers understood this, I did occasionally get sent with about 6 other students to the "special education" room. While I was there...they would: Reduce my homework Help me study Give me answers to exams Type my papers for me Ask me to play board games Encourage me to come ALL THE TIME.
Now even at the age of 12 I was insulted, but just like any good human being...whenever I forgot to study for an exam(only once or twice I swear) I would ask to be sent down and get the answers.
Suggestion:: Leave kids behind.... If every kid gets a high school degree who doesn't drop out....doesn't that basically make a high school degree meaningless? I say leave them behind...
You completely missed the original point.
In the real-world, Engineers get better pay than secretaries.
I just earned my Math BS, and I can promise you that it was very difficult
I actually dual majored in Mathematics and Electrical Engineering(the EE comes later)
The problem is that your academic credentials have little bearing on your pay-scale if you are a teacher. While I might agree that in the real-world people get promoted and get raises all the time because of "connections"....I doubt freshly hired Engineers get paid the same as a newly hired secretary. In public education, they have basically decided that all teachers are equal....
Teachers are not getting paid more because of "connections", in many school districts the pay scale is almost ENTIRELY decided by seniority, and your actual are of expertise(or the type of college degree you have) has NO BEARING on your pay.
The only thing that even begins to "balance" it out is that there are NO math and science teachers anymore. If you have the brains to earn a degree in math, biology, chemistry, or physics....you are not going to work for $20,000 a year. I dont care how much you love children.
SO shut up....you dont understand the problem. If I told you that most children are being taught math and science by someone who probably failed out of Bio 101 and Calculus 1 in college....you would be pissed. That "certified" statistic from earlier? That doesnt mean that they have a degree...it means they passed a VERY easy certification exam.
The actual number of math and science teachers who actually have Bachelor's degrees in the field they are teaching? It is lower than you want to imagine
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It isn't his views that I find insane. It is Ron Paul. Perhaps "insane" is too strong of a word. The better term might be "not grounded in reality". Trust me, as someone who follows elections closely, I am not deriding him for any of his political views. His political ideas and views are typically very sane. His belief in powerful cabals and conspiracy groups might be a signal to his "insanity". A sane person tends to dismiss conspiracy theories until evidence presents itself, Ron Paul seems to be open to them until they are disproven.
Well, as probably one of the only people who actually will get the opportunity to see Ron Paul's name on a ballot(he is my congressman), I think I should say something.
Ron Paul is absolutely INSANE.
He is an incredibly nice man, and one of the most available congressmen I have ever known.
But, once again, he is INSANE.
Now, with that being said, I will still vote for him.
Why? Because I agree with some of his positions.
I think that there are two types of people who like Ron Paul.
People who follow even his most ridiculous positions....and
People like myself and Bill Maher. We don't think he is right, but we think his insanity allows him the ability to be honest. Maybe that is all that matters.
That was also a bit of Paul's popularity. I liked the idea of a Republican who didn't approve of the war. I liked the idea of a guy who went back to the old conservative platform of cutting bureaucracies.
But, in the end, the Paul supporters had to realize they were having to try VERY HARD to apologize for Paul. They were twisting the words of a crazy man to support a much more rational platform.
But Paul will leave a legacy. His popularity showed other candidates that they can be more honest. We now have an election where people are going to have VERY different views. We have TWO parties again, rather than 2 groups.
Yeah, this is an old trick.
What actually happens is that they get the opportunity to speak with a Professor. The professor holds his tongue and laughs when the man walks out of the room. The man can now say that the Professor couldn't seem to explain how it works(because the professor didn't want to waste an hour explaining electromagnetic theory to an idiot)
I actually knew an EE professor who was familiar with this scam.
He told me of one 'invention' that was exceptional.
A man claimed that he could 'rewire' motors so as to produce TWICE the output. A friend of the professor(name withheld for obvious reasons) finally begged him to watch a video of the 'inventor'.[The professor refused to meet with the inventor for reasons previously mentioned].
Here is what was happening.
The 'inventor' was rewiring the motors so that they were running at half the normal voltage. Anyone who remembers basic electricity remembers that P=VI. Guess what? They were drawing 2 times as much current. He was basically converting a 24V motor to a 12V motor.
The professor told me that he laughed so hard that the friend showing him the video wouldn't speak to him out of shame for a month.
So, whenever you see a professor's name attached to something like this...check to see if the Ph.D. actually wrote anything. Typically the crackpot is simply using a brief meeting with the professor to give his lunacy some weight of authority.
You know, it is people like you who contribute to a lot of the problems.
Your major concern is growth hormones in animals. It may cause problems, it might not. Any problem that it does cause is on the statistical fringe.
Now, you ignore one of the biggest problems with modern beef. We pump them full of....antibiotics.
Sure, it keeps your beef safer. Sure, there aren't any possible direct side effects in humans who consume the meat.
The problem? They are quickly rendering most common antibiotics useless. This isn't a small problem, if you ask any biologist they will tell you about it. This is a huge problem that might effect the health of BILLIONS of people.
So, think about it. If you had to choose between genetically-modified, hormone pumped beef(with no antibiotic usage) or organic, free range beef with heavy usage of antibiotics....which would you choose?
This isn't a hypothetical question. If you have less healthy animals(as a side effect of no antibiotics), you are going to want the animals that do survive to be big, beefy, and profitable.
This is a real dilemma....
I am going to assume that you would prefer that organic, hormone-free beef.
Guess what? That was the wrong answer.
If antibiotics fail, diseases will quickly become your biggest fear.
Quit thinking up imaginary scenarios that might occur, and pay attention to the ones that definitely WILL OCCUR.
I would rather sleep in an asbestos bed every night than live in a world where we didn't have antibiotics.
Its rather like the idea of a guy who rides a motorcycle to work, because he doesn't want to be in the carpool because one of the carpoolers smokes. You need to look at the statistics, and stop imagining side effects that don't cause a significant level of death.
Even I don't understand wikipedia's articles on math sometimes.(and I have a degree in math) I had one of my professors tell the following joke...
"Wikipedia is proof that math majors can't find jobs."
Wikipedia articles on math/physics topics really need to develop a whole new format. One thing I would like to see is more casual articles on math topics. Sure, I can almost every popular mathematical proof on wikipedia....but wikipedia is a general knowledge database.
The proofs should DEFINITELY be on the same page, but a lot more care should be taken to make the articles more approachable. I used to use wikipedia in conjunction with my textbook...and several times I wound up preferring the textbook. This wasn't on instructional topics, but on rather general topics. The wikipedia article was simply to confusing, and too technical.
Basically, remember that wikipedia articles DO have an instructional quality. Most mathematicians aren't reading the wikipedia article on the "twin prime conjecture". Encyclopedia articles aren't written for people who know everything about the topic, they are written for people who need information.
**(BTW...this comment is written in the same manner as most of the articles. It has all the essential information, but in a very impractical format)**
I was still a high school student when I first heard about E-ink. Now that I have a degree in Electrical Engineering, I know to refer to it as a "bistable display".
E-ink just seems to be dominating the market.....
The potential for this display is really mind-blowing. Given advances towards color, higher resolution, and faster response time....it is definitely great stuff.
Some people mention that "other e-readers have come and failed", but the new wave of bistable displays is far different from the old LCD screen ereaders of the past. I know Kindle is the big deal, but its the first American E-ink product introduced with any fanfare. When I walk around with my Sony Reader, most people ask me why I have such a large PDA. The point is simple, digital paper technology has the potential to do for books what the mp3 did for music. It wont revolutionize the medium, but it could change the way that people interact with it.
In summation: The kindle has its pros and cons, just like any device.....
Pay attention though, some people aren't as much excited about the "Kindle" as they are excited about kindle-like devices.
And some of the "problems with the kindle" are not problems with this particular device, but rather problems with the technology.
Some examples
1) No backlight--E-ink displays use reflected light. If you want a light you purchase a book light just like you would for paper
2) Delayed page turn--simply a limit of this technology, they are getting better, but this problem will ALWAYS exist. One reason these displays arent popular in phones or similar technology
3) Lack of color--while this is at the bleeding edge of electronic paper, it is not yet a mass produced feature. Expect to see this is a few generations
If you have ever used this technology for an extended period of time, you fall in love with it. I don't love the Kindle, but I love E-ink.
You miss the point if you are suggesting that people go "get a laptop". This device is e-ink...which is drastically different. It is EXACTLY like reading a printed page, I should know...I have a Sony Reader.
It has been my general experience that while younger people cannot understand why I would purchase a $300 book reader, older individuals immediately see the advantage. I can carry millions of pages in something smaller than most paperback books. It has an instant appeal. It is almost as easy to read the screen as a book(which cannot be said for LCD screens), it has a massive storage capacity, and it has an insane battery life(the battery is mostly only used to change the screen...not to keep it maintained). If you read books, newspapers, blogs, etc on a daily basis why wouldn't you want this device.
Your argument is similar to saying that the MP3 player is stupid. For the cost of an Ipod i could purchase a computer.....we have CD players....why would anyone want to carry around 30GB of music?
Yeah....and unfortunately Sears uses the same system for Sears.com and their in-store ordering system. Typically wouldn't cause much of a problem, but for some reason Sears tries to heavily restrict its in-store merchandise and works from several "warehouses" that typically deliver 6 times a week to the stores. Kinda stupid, but it keeps their total inventory in-store low... Anyways, they still haven't completely restored the system yet....and this is after an incident 3 years ago on Black Friday that caused EVERY SYSTEM to crash....including Credit BTW... Black friday is a bad thing It is typically a more common term for retail employees, and makes reference to the fact that you have one of the highest traffic days(but not highest profit or revenue days) of the year. The people who typically use that term(at least until it was popularized on the net) are making reference to how much they HATE black friday... Honestly....what kinda of freak gets up at 4 am to wait in line in the cold and snow to purchase items that are frequently at the same price as the previous week. The retailers run a few items(known as "doorbusters") that actually have a significant markdown and the rest of the stuff is at regular price.....they run out of the "doorbusters" typically as soon as they open but continue to see high sales all day long from idiots who think they are getting a good deal without intelligently shopping around. It is as if it proves the old adage:"You don't have to give someone a good deal, you just have to tell them that they are getting a good deal"
So? The problem is as follows: The Ph.D in mathematics can go do a lot of other things(with higher salary) The Child development major cannot.... You pay the people with the most options the most money....or you dont have any more of the people with better options
As someone who went through school with "special needs"...I believe I am more qualified than most to talk about this...
They diagnosed me with 2 special conditions
1. ADhD- you all know this one
2. Disgraphia-a fine motor skill disability(handwriting for me is long and painful)
Now, here is where it got interesting. I was also placed in the "gifted and talented program" and the "honors" program. I wasn't a lazy student, and most of my "attention deficit disorder" could be traced to boredom because the classes were taught so slowly.
I did, however, need to make use of the "special facilities" for "special needs" students. All i needed was a computer to type on...
While half of my teachers understood this, I did occasionally get sent with about 6 other students to the "special education" room.
While I was there...they would:
Reduce my homework
Help me study
Give me answers to exams
Type my papers for me
Ask me to play board games
Encourage me to come ALL THE TIME.
Now even at the age of 12 I was insulted, but just like any good human being...whenever I forgot to study for an exam(only once or twice I swear) I would ask to be sent down and get the answers.
Suggestion::
Leave kids behind....
If every kid gets a high school degree who doesn't drop out....doesn't that basically make a high school degree meaningless?
I say leave them behind...
You completely missed the original point. In the real-world, Engineers get better pay than secretaries. I just earned my Math BS, and I can promise you that it was very difficult I actually dual majored in Mathematics and Electrical Engineering(the EE comes later) The problem is that your academic credentials have little bearing on your pay-scale if you are a teacher. While I might agree that in the real-world people get promoted and get raises all the time because of "connections"....I doubt freshly hired Engineers get paid the same as a newly hired secretary. In public education, they have basically decided that all teachers are equal.... Teachers are not getting paid more because of "connections", in many school districts the pay scale is almost ENTIRELY decided by seniority, and your actual are of expertise(or the type of college degree you have) has NO BEARING on your pay. The only thing that even begins to "balance" it out is that there are NO math and science teachers anymore. If you have the brains to earn a degree in math, biology, chemistry, or physics....you are not going to work for $20,000 a year. I dont care how much you love children. SO shut up....you dont understand the problem. If I told you that most children are being taught math and science by someone who probably failed out of Bio 101 and Calculus 1 in college....you would be pissed. That "certified" statistic from earlier? That doesnt mean that they have a degree...it means they passed a VERY easy certification exam. The actual number of math and science teachers who actually have Bachelor's degrees in the field they are teaching? It is lower than you want to imagine