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Master of Stupidity

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Toba Beta

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“Pops added,"you know, they say if you don't vote, you get the government you deserve." "And if you do, you never get the results you expected," (Katherine) replied.”

HumorFunnyPoliticalResultsDemocracyHumourLogicElectionVotingSatireParadoxWise SayingsPoliticiansElectionsSad But TrueGovernmentsFalse HopeGeneral ElectionsDisappointmentsGadflyElection ResultsI Hate PoliticsGeneral ElectionI Didn T VoteI Voted
Book:Brushstrokes of a Gadfly
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“The inconsistencies that haunt our relationships with animals also result from the quirks of human cognition. We like to think of ourselves as the rational species. But research in cognitive psychology and behavioral economics shows that our thinking and behavior are often completely illogical. In one study, for example, groups of people were independently asked how much they would give to prevent waterfowl from being killed in polluted oil ponds. On average, the subjects said they would pay $80 to save 2,000 birds, $78 to save 20,000 birds, and $88 to save 200,000 birds. Sometimes animals act more logically than people do; a recent study found that when picking a new home, the decisions of ant colonies were more rational than those of human house-hunters. What is it about human psychology that makes it so difficult for us to think consistently about animals? The paradoxes that plague our interactions with other species are due to the fact that much of our thinking is a mire of instinct, learning, language, culture, intuition, and our reliance on mental shortcuts.”

ThinkingPsychologyBehaviorEthicsLogicCharityDecision MakingParadoxAnimalsCognitionRationalismIllogicalRational Thought
Book:Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It's So Hard to Think Straight About Animals
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“The librarian was explaining the benefits of the Dewey decimal system to her junior--benefits that extended to every area of life. It was orderly, like the universe. It had logic. It was dependable. Using it allowed a kind of moral uplift, as one's own chaos was also brought under control. 'Whenever I am troubled,' said the librarian, 'I think about the Dewey decimal system.' 'Then what happens?' asked the junior, rather overawed. 'Then I understand that trouble is just something that has been filed in the wrong place. That is what Jung was explaining of course--as the chaos of our unconscious contents strive to find their rightful place in the index of consciousness.”

LifeOrderLogicChaosLibrariesJungFilingLibrariansDewey Decimal
Book:Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?
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“The real purpose of the scientific method is to make sure Nature hasn't misled you into thinking you know something you don't actually know. There's not a mechanic or scientist or technician alive who hasn't suffered from that one so much that he's not instinctively on guard. That's the main reason why so much scientific and mechanical information sounds so dull and so cautious. If you get careless or go romanticizing scientific information, give it a flourish here and there, Nature will soon make a complete fool out of you. It does it often enough anyway even when you don't give it opportunities. One must be extremely careful and rigidly logical when dealing with Nature: one logical slip and an entire scientific edifice comes tumbling down. One false deduction about the machine and you can get hung up indefinitely.”

NatureLogicScientific Method
Book:Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values
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