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Politics : Sharks in the Septic Tank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: jlallen who wrote (62623)	10/15/2002 1:10:10 PM
From: Bill	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 82486

Thank you. Nobel ought to stick to science and economics.

To: jlallen who wrote (62623)	10/15/2002 2:01:23 PM
From: Neocon	Respond to of 82486

The Limits of Subjectivity It is a commonplace that our thinking can be distorted by strong emotion, and therefore that bias is a persistent hazard. However, it is obvious that wishful thinking has its limits, or we would have died off as a species. Suppose that, instead of reacting to danger, we whistled a happy tune? We would have been eaten long ago. Suppose that, instead of facing the hard choice of migrating from an inadequate habitat, thus braving hardship, or staying and facing starvation, we sat in our caves and drew on the walls, waiting for the game to return? We would be happily dead. There is a tension between a realistic assessment of the world and our fears and desires, and we do resist unwanted conclusions, but rarely to the extent that we lose all contact with reality. How much less, then, when we don't have much at stake? For most purposes, our vision is pretty clear. For the rest, the issue is mainly one of common experiences and common terminology. We can only understand something new in terms of what we already know, either abstractly or concretely. Thus, the context will, indeed, make quite a difference. And yet there are certain things that are pretty much readily available to all, for example, the experience of shopping, the vocabulary of driving, the classification of territory into city or suburb. Thus, for a whole array of things, assuming a normal adult of the same, or a similar, culture, there should be pretty straightforward communication......