Comments by "SkyRiver" (@SkyRiver1) on "Will America’s disregard for science be the end of its reign? | Big Think" video.

  1. Before Facebook, before fake news, before incredible credibility gap, Google asked the general public for ideas that it should fund research into. I suggested a neutral nonprofit agency that would give every internet address that is a venue for information of any type a rating, for factualness of the information they are presenting and hoping to disseminate. . . . Crickets, in fact the crickets were so deafening that they still can't be heard. I can just hear the objections in the form of projections of rationalized complications because of this or that trivial factor. It would have made a difference. Now I am going to present myself, for the moment, as an irrelevant and fictitious personae who views themselves as knowing much more than the established recognized official experts in all matters having exclusively human, causal dynamics, because I do know more than them, so indulge my pronouncements as, though seemingly out of touch with official narratives, not only are they effective, but inescapable, unless you want your escape to be into a realm that is more like what you are presently attempting to escape than it is itself. But then why change something that hasn't worked in such a fine fashion up till now?' That dear reader is up to you. This is my one indulgence: playing Cassandra. Only this particular Cassandra is not only disinterested, but is exceedingly irrelevant, with nary a dog in the fight. I do not know if democracy is a desirable form of government. I do not know if it is a possible from of government. I do not even know with good faith that it has even ever existed as a form of government for a so called sovereign nation in all of history. One two three: but I do know this: . . . In order for democracy to transcend the status of a mere amalgamation of partisan viewpoints: in order for democracy to invoke the very physical epigenetic human potential of a large group to transcend the perception and conception of an individual in the consideration of questions they find relevant enough to hold up to democratic process, this process, cannot take place in a media of lies, rationalizations, guesses, opinion, and all manner of manipulation and disinformation. All you will get in such cases is confusion. Like you have. I refer you to the example of the jelly bean urn, like you find at a stare fair, or charity event. A huge glass urn, filled with so many jelly beans that you can only take your best guess. If the n is large enough, that is, if enough yokels buy a chance and take a guess, the tendency will always be for the average of all guesses to be more accurate than the most accurate individual guess. So to take the average answer would usually be taking the most accurate estimate. This is analogous to the manner in which the epigenetic democratic genius of large human groups can be utilized to succeed where even the best and brightest fail. With this one huge caveat: this cannot take place in a culture of lies, manipulation, propaganda, disinformation, etc. That would be the equivalent of having a hidden softball in the middle of the urn. You would still get a good answer, but not to the question you asked. You can let the superficial idea of democracy destroy the real significance of democracy by protecting every crackpot who wants to spout some idiotic psychotic nonsense or you can value the higher potential of democracy enough to establish iron clad contingencies for anyone presenting any information to the public. Which would necessary include fines and penalties for those individuals and organizations presenting fictions and delusional nonsense as facts. These penalties should include total confiscation of all property worldwide and banishment from the USA. That's what it takes for democracy to function at it's highest potential. Personally I prefer RetrConfucianTechnoMeritocracy sans tyrant and police state. But I can see that you prefer what is automatic. . . . Entropy, . . . go eat you big mac pink boy, drink that coke: swill that liquid barbiturate, you deserve it.
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