Re: Pond & young children.


"Nick Maclaren" <nmm1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:e3sgrj$co0$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In article <4c8b4jF14k803U1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
"michael adams" <mjadams25@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:
|>
|> People in general are very bad at judging relative and absolute
|> probabilities.
|> The dangers of cigarettes as against terrorist attacks for instance.
|> But as far as is known, that's a general feature of human nature, and
|> always has been. Which hardly makes it "hysterical".

Witch-hunts, lynch mobs and pogroms are a general feature of human
nature, and always have been, but remain evil. Sorry, the fact that
hysteria is widespread and common doesn't stop it being hysteria.

....

Describing people's general inability to accurately judge
probabilities as amounting to "hysteria", is itself
verging on hysteria, IMO.

The very fact that the human race has survived for so long
in this supposed "state of ignorance", might suggest that erring
on the side of caution - when making the sort of subconscious
probability judgements which we're apparently making all the time
- has proved positively beneficial. Rather than hysterical.

IMO Witch hunts, lynch mobs, and pograms are a sufficiently
infrequent occurances so as to not qualify as general features of
human nature. Game theory might suggest reasons why this would be
the case. Large social groupings, tribes, nations, or whatever
which constantly engaged in such practices would most probably
lose cohesion and destroy themselves in a fairly short time.


....


|> It's a lose lose situation with no Brownie points either way. If there
|> are no accidents, then people won't thank you for your advice, and if
|> there are they'll try and shift part of the blame on you instead.

That is true, but may I quote Burke? "The only thing necessary for the
triumph [of evil] is for good men to do nothing."

....

You can quote who you wish providing you provide a citation.

On the "Interweb" that particular quote - which doesn't appear in the
ODQ to the best of my knowledge, although many others from the
1777 letter do, appears in at least 2 different forms -

Your own, without the brackets

<quote>

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to
do nothing."

and -

"The true danger is when liberty is nibbled away, for expedients, and
by parts ... the only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good
men to do nothing."

</quote>

with refences to a letter of 1777 to the Sheriffs of Bristol.

The point being, that if the quote had a definite source, and could
be found in the likes of the ODQ, then there would be no controversy
over the wording.

This wasn't a "Ronnie Reagan Speechwriter's Special" by any chance?

1777 being such a special year across the pond, as well.

...

Unfortunately, as far
as the UK's attitudes to living with nature, life and death, and even
child development are concerned, the forces of evil are triumphant.

....

Nope. Death is inevitable. I think there's general agreemant on
that one.

Even for those who subscribe to the idea of an after-life, I think
there's general agreement that you actually need to die first.

....

Mike the ex-sailor doesn't realise the consequences of what he is
saying, but he and people like him are actively paving the road to hell.

God help our children, and the future ecology of the UK.

....

I think many people will agree with the likes of John Ruskin, that
the rot really set in with the advent of Industrial Revolution,
at around the start of the 19th century.

It's only really the fact that computers aren't coal fired, and don't
have clouds of toxic sulphurous smoke belching out of the top - under
normal consitions anyway - that help disguise that fact. And that instead
all the smoke is being belched out of the chimneys of power stations
situated many miles away.


michael adams

....



Regards,
Nick Maclaren.


.

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