I *do* beg to differ, because it's not simply about consequences. It is about empathy, as well. I agree that the low-functioning sociopaths do not think about consequences. They simply keep themselves deluded to the possibility that they're going to be hurt or killed in the commission of their crime. They keep themselves deluded to the possibility that they're going to go to prison. They also don't worry so much that the people in their lives that they DO care about, will also suffer consequences, (like their parents, siblings, dependents, etc.).
But HIGH functioning sociopaths are somewhat of a different story. They're pretty much universally aware that these things are possibilities. They carefully plan contingencies and mitigate them. The work on complex strategies to overcome them. When it comes to the consequence of how people will FEEL about what they've done, and most importantly, how they, themselves, will feel about themselves - they simply don't have any understanding of the concept. A high functioning sociopath may have feelings of empathy or guilt explained to them. They may understand it in a systems-sense. But when they examine their own experience, they will find it not present. It would be like trying to explain the difference between red and green, to a colorblind person. High functioning sociopaths often quickly learn coping and survival strategies, in order to convince people around them, that they DO feel empathy and guilt. It is often to the end of gaining trust, which is necessary, to carry out their various plans. If you've ever met, and dealt with, a high functioning sociopath, (and I am truly sorry, if you have) then you know what I mean.
Yes - by nature, we are averse to violence. It is very easy to program a bloodlust into us - by terror. We seek it as a form of mastery over that which we fear. Sort of like how an addict seeks the drug which controls him.
If we have a fundamental aversion to violence, then why are we entertained by it?
Because we are fundamentally terrified by it. At the same time, this fascinates us. By watching, and studying it, we "master" this fear, in our heads. This triggers the reward mechanism - which is why we feel that rush of pleasure. And you're exactly right, the lack of consequences is what makes entertainment-based violence so much more convenient than the real-thing (for those who are able to tell the difference).
But even a guy like me - who has studied martial arts and fighting all his life, understands that the consequences to engaging in violence are still not worth the feeling of mastery. In the dojo, yes. On the street, the risk is way too high. Even if victory is certain -even if I know that I could make a clean getaway with say, $100 from some guy's wallet, and his blood on my fist. I'm not going to feel good about myself. A little rush of satisfaction of temporary mastery over one person, maybe. But there's no point to it. It's no real comfort - just a chemical illusion.
I just hosted a couple, some cousins, who live in Germany, who were visiting. The woman's family owns a vineyard, and they power the whole thing with solar panels (on the rooftops of the barns), financed by low-interest government-backed loans. They had a horrible hailstorm a couple of years ago, which damaged their crops, AND their panels. Insurance paid to have them replaced and upgraded; though the lost sales from the crops were quite crippling to the business, they have projected that they will recover in 2 more years if things go well.
Conversely, my neighbors invested in solar panels in 1998 on their home. It was state law that the power company had to reimburse them for surplus power they generate. Well, they didn't. The state (Ah-nold) didn't enforce it, and the Bush Administration issued a ruling that said it was okay. They guy lost his shirt. Gotta love the USA. Keep voting for douchebags.
Quick, what's wrong with this picture?: 1. Interest rates on the global market are lower than at any time in history. (for banks, not consumers or small businesses). 2. Solar power panel technology has driven prices down so far, that manufacturers are going bankrupt and folding. 3. Japan and Germany are in desperate need to replace their nuclear electrical power generation infrastructure with something, anything, even if it doesn't work at night. . . hmmmm......
I can't see what would POSSIBLY be the problem here. . . can you?
Say nothing of his family. Looking ONLY at the probability of time he spends on the phone, this guy looks like the WORST fucking manager in the world. I would NOT want to work for this man. He's a CEO? He should be a CTO sure.
Well, yes, in this whole health insurance debate, I've pointed this out, and people just give me blank stares. This is a problem that can't be fixed overnight, or even in a decade. We've really fucked ourselves good and hard with this one; simply by refusing to even publicly discuss the issue for so long.
My diesel Jetta, I can push start, and it will nominally *run*. But the fucking ECU is damn crotchety as hell. I will likely get crappy mileage, no power, no boost from the turbo, because if the ECU goes, there's no MAP, and no input from the MAF. Way to go Volkswagen.
(actually, my '72 aircooled would have run started and run just fine.)
We could just administer such a drug to the religious whackos, and they'd experience enough earthly suffering, that they'd be guaranteed a spot in heaven. Right?
If there is no synchro,(most cars do not have a synchro for reverse) - then the drag on the input shaft will spin that reverse gear the wrong way. Even without disengaging the clutch, you will very likely strip your reverse gear, flinging little bits of metal all around the gearbox, likely destroying most every other toothed wheel in the device, including the differential (if it's a front-drive car), most likely causing one or both drive-wheels to lock-up.
Going green had nothing to do with it. Had Columbia been designed in a sane manner (no SRB's, Kerosine fuel, inline external, with recoverable engines NOT mounted on the orbiter), then vibration and, liquid-hydrogen+foam/ice would not have been a problem. The shuttle was designed the way it was, to meet CONGRESSIONAL (ie. PORK) requirements. The use of Thiokol (ATK) SRB's was MANDATED BY CONGRESS. Not the aerospace engineers who delivered the first several design iterations. The Thiokol involvement was mandated as a porkbarrel project for incumbent Utah senators. (who are STILL bitching and moaning about the loss of jobs at ATK since Ares was canceled).
The shuttle failed, because it was designed by politicians. Not rocket scientists.
Yes, and actually, even though hydrazine is an awesome fuel, very high-performing, and reliable, the costs imposed on its use, due to the safety hazards, are one of the things that make spaceflight so freaking expensive. Think especially, about the precautions needed for decomissioning satellites or other space vehicles.
The US shot a satellite down, a couple years ago, with an interceptor missile. This satellite was going to come down anyway - but the problem was, that this vehicle had failed, while it still maintained a huge onboard supply of hydrazine. There were concerns about sensitive equipment falling into the wrong hands, to be sure. And there's always the international pissing-contest going on about showing-off new weapons and armament capabilities. But I assure you, that the main concern, and the reason why they actually did this - using a brand-new system, that was essentially purpose-built explicitly for THIS task, involving tens of thousands of man-hours of navy crew, as well as tracking-station and ground personnel for MONTHS, was to prevent that huge frozen hydrazine tank from falling on population. The team that shot it down, was very specifically concerned with not just hitting the vehicle, or damaging it - but with directly striking the portion of the vehicle that contained the hydrazine, so that it would discharge in space, in a controlled fashion (boom!) instead of in the atmosphere, or on the ground, in an uncontrolled, unsafe manner.
This operation was hugely expensive. There were side benefits, as I noted. But the biggest benefit was to the safety of people on the ground. That's you and me, and our families. That whole operation would not have been necessary, had it not been for the hydrazine load. They would have probably not taken the risk of a shoot-down, and just let it de-orbit, and fall wherever, had it not contained the hydrazine.
This stuff is very nasty, and I know that just about everyone in the space industry would be very happy if they could find something less toxic and hazardous that would do the same job. Calling it a "green" fuel - would be disingenuous. I think they're more looking for something that's just more sane and safe, easier and cheaper to use.
An empowered, wealthy middle-class is capable of fighting back. However, I think THIS middle-class has been pretty well disarmed. Both in the actual "arms" sense, and in the sense of campaign-finance and influence peddling. The game has been "over" since about the year 2000.
Where my unfortunate wife works, she's classified as "full-time"; where the threshold is, you must clock 32 hours minimum, at least two out of every 4 weeks, and no less than 12 hours on the other two weeks. She is pretty lucky, because she does usually work about 35 hours, steady. Some "full-time" workers are getting shafted down below that threshold.
#1 first and foremost: Don't listen to the others who are telling you that your high-stress job is the cause of your high-blood pressure.
Certainly, it is a HUGE contributor. But there are genetic and physical, and psychological, (and cultural) factors that MUST be in-place, in order for the job to "do that to you".
If you want to continue on your path of self-sacrifice, and become a martyr to fixing other's problems until you are killed in the line of duty, then keep-on-keeping-on, my friend. Your position will make room for another person eager for a paycheck and that special martyr feeling.
I don't think that the job, in itself, is what is killing you. Though if you want to deal with the factors that ARE killing you, you'll need to make some adjustments in lifestyle - which don't necessarily have one thing to do with job performance. And, in fact, may improve it:
1. See a doctor about your high-blood pressure. It happens to lots of us, particularly males, particularly blacks. There are genetic factors that we can't really fight, but long-term, if you don't do anything about it, it will fucking kill you. Every day you live with abnormally high blood pressure, your organs are damaged. Including your bread-and-butter. Your brain. This happened to me.
2. Get on an exercise program. Find one that works for you. 30-minutes of cardio, 3 times per week minimum. If you can't run, bike. If you can't bike, try kickboxing, yoga, whatever.
3. SALT can fuck you dead. It is in fucking everything. It is very difficult to avoid it. It's in most pre-prepared foods, and if you don't have time to cook your own food from fresh ingredients, you're probably consuming more than 1500 mg per day. Most likely more than 3000 mg Your blood pressure can go up as much as 100 mm Hg due to excessive sodium consumption, if you are sensitive - and many of us are, and we have no idea. If you have salt sensitivity, and you try cutting it out of your diet for a few days, you will actually FEEL BETTER - you'll have more energy, you'll find that you can exercise better without running out of breath so quickly, etc.
4. from your dr. there are tons of meds for high blood pressure.
5. Many Buddhist temples will allow non-practicing members to attend meditation, and even instruct non-practicing laypeople in how to perform TM, which is an art that is shown to improve mental focus and relaxation. One factor in high blood pressure is chronic muscle tension. Learning to become aware of one's body, and keep the muscles relaxed on a more regular and general basis has many benefits, and overall lower blood pressure is one scientifically-proven benefit. Also - instruction in Zen may just give you a different outlook on life, and you may stop giving so much of a shit about other people's problems with figuring out how to undelete mail messages they shouldn't have been fucking with.
The fourth problem is that fighter pilots are generally selected from a subset of our population of individuals who are on the near-perfect end of the spectrum of human vision.
The same is not nearly so for those who are selected to drive automobiles.:(
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Obviously. Because they'll need Chinese laborers to build the railroads to haul back all that martian gold.
I *do* beg to differ, because it's not simply about consequences. It is about empathy, as well. I agree that the low-functioning sociopaths do not think about consequences. They simply keep themselves deluded to the possibility that they're going to be hurt or killed in the commission of their crime. They keep themselves deluded to the possibility that they're going to go to prison. They also don't worry so much that the people in their lives that they DO care about, will also suffer consequences, (like their parents, siblings, dependents, etc.).
But HIGH functioning sociopaths are somewhat of a different story. They're pretty much universally aware that these things are possibilities. They carefully plan contingencies and mitigate them. The work on complex strategies to overcome them. When it comes to the consequence of how people will FEEL about what they've done, and most importantly, how they, themselves, will feel about themselves - they simply don't have any understanding of the concept. A high functioning sociopath may have feelings of empathy or guilt explained to them. They may understand it in a systems-sense. But when they examine their own experience, they will find it not present. It would be like trying to explain the difference between red and green, to a colorblind person. High functioning sociopaths often quickly learn coping and survival strategies, in order to convince people around them, that they DO feel empathy and guilt. It is often to the end of gaining trust, which is necessary, to carry out their various plans. If you've ever met, and dealt with, a high functioning sociopath, (and I am truly sorry, if you have) then you know what I mean.
Mostly - these people just convince themselves that it's not going to happen to them.
Yes - by nature, we are averse to violence. It is very easy to program a bloodlust into us - by terror. We seek it as a form of mastery over that which we fear. Sort of like how an addict seeks the drug which controls him.
If we have a fundamental aversion to violence, then why are we entertained by it?
Because we are fundamentally terrified by it. At the same time, this fascinates us. By watching, and studying it, we "master" this fear, in our heads. This triggers the reward mechanism - which is why we feel that rush of pleasure. And you're exactly right, the lack of consequences is what makes entertainment-based violence so much more convenient than the real-thing (for those who are able to tell the difference).
But even a guy like me - who has studied martial arts and fighting all his life, understands that the consequences to engaging in violence are still not worth the feeling of mastery. In the dojo, yes. On the street, the risk is way too high. Even if victory is certain -even if I know that I could make a clean getaway with say, $100 from some guy's wallet, and his blood on my fist. I'm not going to feel good about myself. A little rush of satisfaction of temporary mastery over one person, maybe. But there's no point to it. It's no real comfort - just a chemical illusion.
. . . we can sell them lots of antidepressants. win-win!
Those aren't power lines. Those are electrical fences, for the Joten Trolls.
I just hosted a couple, some cousins, who live in Germany, who were visiting. The woman's family owns a vineyard, and they power the whole thing with solar panels (on the rooftops of the barns), financed by low-interest government-backed loans. They had a horrible hailstorm a couple of years ago, which damaged their crops, AND their panels. Insurance paid to have them replaced and upgraded; though the lost sales from the crops were quite crippling to the business, they have projected that they will recover in 2 more years if things go well.
Conversely, my neighbors invested in solar panels in 1998 on their home. It was state law that the power company had to reimburse them for surplus power they generate. Well, they didn't. The state (Ah-nold) didn't enforce it, and the Bush Administration issued a ruling that said it was okay. They guy lost his shirt. Gotta love the USA. Keep voting for douchebags.
Quick, what's wrong with this picture?:
1. Interest rates on the global market are lower than at any time in history. (for banks, not consumers or small businesses).
2. Solar power panel technology has driven prices down so far, that manufacturers are going bankrupt and folding.
3. Japan and Germany are in desperate need to replace their nuclear electrical power generation infrastructure with something, anything, even if it doesn't work at night. . . hmmmm......
I can't see what would POSSIBLY be the problem here. . . can you?
If nothing else, that's Socratic-as-FUCK.
Say nothing of his family. Looking ONLY at the probability of time he spends on the phone, this guy looks like the WORST fucking manager in the world. I would NOT want to work for this man. He's a CEO? He should be a CTO sure.
Did I accidentally browse to "Popular Science Online"?
Well, yes, in this whole health insurance debate, I've pointed this out, and people just give me blank stares. This is a problem that can't be fixed overnight, or even in a decade. We've really fucked ourselves good and hard with this one; simply by refusing to even publicly discuss the issue for so long.
My diesel Jetta, I can push start, and it will nominally *run*. But the fucking ECU is damn crotchety as hell. I will likely get crappy mileage, no power, no boost from the turbo, because if the ECU goes, there's no MAP, and no input from the MAF. Way to go Volkswagen.
(actually, my '72 aircooled would have run started and run just fine.)
Fuck that.
I'm building an Arc. And Seven Halos.
We could just administer such a drug to the religious whackos, and they'd experience enough earthly suffering, that they'd be guaranteed a spot in heaven. Right?
If there is no synchro,(most cars do not have a synchro for reverse) - then the drag on the input shaft will spin that reverse gear the wrong way. Even without disengaging the clutch, you will very likely strip your reverse gear, flinging little bits of metal all around the gearbox, likely destroying most every other toothed wheel in the device, including the differential (if it's a front-drive car), most likely causing one or both drive-wheels to lock-up.
Being married is actually an effective way to remain without assets.
Going green had nothing to do with it. Had Columbia been designed in a sane manner (no SRB's, Kerosine fuel, inline external, with recoverable engines NOT mounted on the orbiter), then vibration and, liquid-hydrogen+foam/ice would not have been a problem. The shuttle was designed the way it was, to meet CONGRESSIONAL (ie. PORK) requirements. The use of Thiokol (ATK) SRB's was MANDATED BY CONGRESS. Not the aerospace engineers who delivered the first several design iterations. The Thiokol involvement was mandated as a porkbarrel project for incumbent Utah senators. (who are STILL bitching and moaning about the loss of jobs at ATK since Ares was canceled).
The shuttle failed, because it was designed by politicians. Not rocket scientists.
Yes, and actually, even though hydrazine is an awesome fuel, very high-performing, and reliable, the costs imposed on its use, due to the safety hazards, are one of the things that make spaceflight so freaking expensive. Think especially, about the precautions needed for decomissioning satellites or other space vehicles.
The US shot a satellite down, a couple years ago, with an interceptor missile. This satellite was going to come down anyway - but the problem was, that this vehicle had failed, while it still maintained a huge onboard supply of hydrazine. There were concerns about sensitive equipment falling into the wrong hands, to be sure. And there's always the international pissing-contest going on about showing-off new weapons and armament capabilities. But I assure you, that the main concern, and the reason why they actually did this - using a brand-new system, that was essentially purpose-built explicitly for THIS task, involving tens of thousands of man-hours of navy crew, as well as tracking-station and ground personnel for MONTHS, was to prevent that huge frozen hydrazine tank from falling on population. The team that shot it down, was very specifically concerned with not just hitting the vehicle, or damaging it - but with directly striking the portion of the vehicle that contained the hydrazine, so that it would discharge in space, in a controlled fashion (boom!) instead of in the atmosphere, or on the ground, in an uncontrolled, unsafe manner.
This operation was hugely expensive. There were side benefits, as I noted. But the biggest benefit was to the safety of people on the ground. That's you and me, and our families. That whole operation would not have been necessary, had it not been for the hydrazine load. They would have probably not taken the risk of a shoot-down, and just let it de-orbit, and fall wherever, had it not contained the hydrazine.
This stuff is very nasty, and I know that just about everyone in the space industry would be very happy if they could find something less toxic and hazardous that would do the same job. Calling it a "green" fuel - would be disingenuous. I think they're more looking for something that's just more sane and safe, easier and cheaper to use.
An empowered, wealthy middle-class is capable of fighting back.
However, I think THIS middle-class has been pretty well disarmed. Both in the actual "arms" sense, and in the sense of campaign-finance and influence peddling. The game has been "over" since about the year 2000.
Where my unfortunate wife works, she's classified as "full-time"; where the threshold is, you must clock 32 hours minimum, at least two out of every 4 weeks, and no less than 12 hours on the other two weeks. She is pretty lucky, because she does usually work about 35 hours, steady. Some "full-time" workers are getting shafted down below that threshold.
I am on salary, of course, and I'm working 50-60.
The Master recalls fondly, the slave that says; "Yes Master" - moreso than the one who gathers 2% more cotton.
#1 first and foremost: Don't listen to the others who are telling you that your high-stress job is the cause of your high-blood pressure.
Certainly, it is a HUGE contributor. But there are genetic and physical, and psychological, (and cultural) factors that MUST be in-place, in order for the job to "do that to you".
If you want to continue on your path of self-sacrifice, and become a martyr to fixing other's problems until you are killed in the line of duty, then keep-on-keeping-on, my friend. Your position will make room for another person eager for a paycheck and that special martyr feeling.
I don't think that the job, in itself, is what is killing you. Though if you want to deal with the factors that ARE killing you, you'll need to make some adjustments in lifestyle - which don't necessarily have one thing to do with job performance. And, in fact, may improve it:
1. See a doctor about your high-blood pressure. It happens to lots of us, particularly males, particularly blacks. There are genetic factors that we can't really fight, but long-term, if you don't do anything about it, it will fucking kill you. Every day you live with abnormally high blood pressure, your organs are damaged. Including your bread-and-butter. Your brain. This happened to me.
2. Get on an exercise program. Find one that works for you. 30-minutes of cardio, 3 times per week minimum. If you can't run, bike. If you can't bike, try kickboxing, yoga, whatever.
3. SALT can fuck you dead. It is in fucking everything. It is very difficult to avoid it. It's in most pre-prepared foods, and if you don't have time to cook your own food from fresh ingredients, you're probably consuming more than 1500 mg per day. Most likely more than 3000 mg Your blood pressure can go up as much as 100 mm Hg due to excessive sodium consumption, if you are sensitive - and many of us are, and we have no idea. If you have salt sensitivity, and you try cutting it out of your diet for a few days, you will actually FEEL BETTER - you'll have more energy, you'll find that you can exercise better without running out of breath so quickly, etc.
4. from your dr. there are tons of meds for high blood pressure.
5. Many Buddhist temples will allow non-practicing members to attend meditation, and even instruct non-practicing laypeople in how to perform TM, which is an art that is shown to improve mental focus and relaxation. One factor in high blood pressure is chronic muscle tension. Learning to become aware of one's body, and keep the muscles relaxed on a more regular and general basis has many benefits, and overall lower blood pressure is one scientifically-proven benefit. Also - instruction in Zen may just give you a different outlook on life, and you may stop giving so much of a shit about other people's problems with figuring out how to undelete mail messages they shouldn't have been fucking with.
The fourth problem is that fighter pilots are generally selected from a subset of our population of individuals who are on the near-perfect end of the spectrum of human vision.
The same is not nearly so for those who are selected to drive automobiles. :(