WordPress mysteriously decided to issue an incomplete post that I was in the process of composing. (Perhaps my flying fingers and/or a mouse that has a habit of occasionally jumping the pointer randomly around the screen also had something to do with it.)
In any event my apologies; the post will be re-issued when complete.
-Ed Walker
Positive feedback is a means of reinforcing a desired response in human behavior. The designers of video games know this.
“…Cow Clicker became a runaway success, with tens of thousands of subscribers eager to be exploited so transparently by clicking on a picture of a cow twice a day … The first evidence of video game-related dopamine release was published in Nature in 1998, and since then scientists have gone on to find that heavy gamers, particularly adolescents, develop larger reward centers in their brains as compared to non-gamers. Humans are built to achieve things, even as idiotic and pointless as acquiring a virtual golden cowbell,”
-Becky Crew, “Let the gamifying begin,” 12 Jan 2012 Cosmos
For more on Feedback, please click the ET Principles tab.
-Ed Walker
As mentioned previously (It’s Just A Systems Thing: An Engineering Thinking Review Of Government As A System), there are compelling scientific reasons to minimize the size and functions of the federal government. Which of the GOP presidential primary candidates best seem to appreciate this?
(Quotes paraphrased):
Newt Gingrich: “I’m a really fascinating and smart and brilliant guy.” Newt thinks he can dream up unique ways to make the federal government run better.
Mitt Romney: “I’m a really fantastic business manager.” Mitt thinks he can manage the federal government better.
Rick Santorum: “I know how to work with Congress to get things done.” Rick thinks he can get congressional representatives to work together to better run the federal government.
Jon Huntsman: ” — おれや分からないスよ.” (Jon likes to speak Mandarin; not sure what he thinks about the economic role of the federal government.)
Rick Perry: “My goal is to make the federal government as inconsequential in your lives as I possibly can.” Rick wants to shrink the size and power of the federal government.
Ron Paul: “The federal government is out of control and we must cut its budget by a trillion dollars.” Ron wants to shrink the size and power of the federal government.
There are many issues to consider when electing a president, but if the economy were the only one, then Rick Perry and Ron Paul are the only candidates who have clearly expressed an understanding of the inherent limitations of government. The other candidates, typical of those with over-sized egos and/or a lack of understanding of basic economics, suffer from the delusion that — if only they were in charge — the federal government would finally be able to do grand things.
-Ed Walker
Beware of “award” notifications from firms such as US Commerce Association.
This is a vanity scam, where a company such as US Commerce Association provides you a handsome award — for a price. A reputable organization will never ask you to pay for an award.
ET’s END OF YEAR BITS and PIECES
Study Stating Vitamins Are Useless An Example Of Junk Science
Reports on the Iowa Women’s Health Study (e.g., “Multivitamins no fountain of youth for women,” 10 Oct 2011, Reuters) hit the major media outlets recently, trumpeting the study’s claim that vitamin supplements are useless, or even harmful. Based on the numerous problems with the study (e.g., “Findings from Flawed Study Used To Discredit Multivitamin/Mineral Supplements,” Life Extension), it should be ignored.
US Health Care The Best In The World? Hardly
As mentioned often in ET, proper economic evaluations require the use of ratios; i.e. what you get for each dollar you spend. To evaluate health care, for example, one metric would be: how long do you live for each dollar spent for health care services? In the US, the answer is not good. “The U.S. healthcare system is more effective at delivering high costs than quality care than other developed nations.” (Ref. “What’s killing America? U.S. ranks 28th in life expectancy (lower than Chile and Greece) while it pays the MOST for health care,” 24 Nov 2011, Daily Mail Online.)
Is The US Becoming A Totalitarian State? The Signs Are Ominous
See “Government Forces Private Citizens to Pour Bleach on Home-Grown Organic Food.”
Atlas Shrugs: The Consequence Of Trying To Make “The Rich” Our Slaves
Engineers spend a lot of effort in designing reliable control systems for autos, aircraft, telecommunication centers, etc. One of the hallmarks of a good design is that it can’t “leak”; i.e. there are no sneak paths which can prevent the control from achieving the desired system response.
When humans try to control the behavior of their fellow humans, however, they often forget that–unlike machines–humans object to being controlled, and will find a way to “leak” around the controllers.
For example, there’s a lot of talk these days about “the rich” paying their “fair share” of taxes to support government services (also see “More Thoughts On Forcing The Rich To Pay ‘Their Fair Share’“). Regardless of your personal beliefs in whether or not those sneaky rich folks are pulling a fast one on the rest of us, it would appear that our government can force them to pay up (by threats of fines or imprisonment), except for one thing: they can leave.
And they are, in droves. But they’re not just the bling-laden cigar-smoking jet setters and corporate titans that you or I typically think of as rich. No, this little-reported but major exodus is composed of a lot of middle-class folks like you and me, who are simply fed up. As stated by a reader in Sovereign Digest #44 (a newsletter of The Sovereign Society):
“My wife and I have already voted with our feet. We moved to South America in May. We do not like the way our country is headed at all by the politicians — Since I have it so good here in a beautiful country filled with kind loving people, and I live for 65% less than in the States — why would I want to go back? Also, as one over the age of 65 I am treated with great respect and dignity here … PLUS, they reimburse me for the 12% national tax every month since I am a senior citizen — Also, my medical care here is just as good, if not better, than in the States for up to 80% less – and I can be seen almost immediately.
“Why would I even consider going back? I’ve been screwed enough by my government, and I was smart enough to get out!!! I worked hard for my money, put my kids through college, played by all the rules, saved my money – and now they want to take that away and give it to people who just expect to live off me and others. No way!!”
The Big Gorilla is the fact, like it or not, that people want to decide for themselves how best to spend their own money. They may be compassionate and caring people, or they may be self-centered and selfish. It doesn’t matter. If we try to make them our slaves they can simply leave, taking their talent, money, investments, and jobs with them.
Corollary:
A Society That Forces Some Of Its Citizens To Support The Rest Of Its Citizens Will Eventually Result In Either (a) A Totalitarian Society, or (b) A Poor Society
-Ed Walker
As can be seen in the sidebar on this blog, I have written some novels, the latest being Double Visions (containing the new short novel Purgatory and my prior novel Nexus).
The novels can be described as psychological mysteries with a touch of the twilight zone, and — the reason for mention here — they contain insights on human behavior from the ET perspective as discussed from time to time in this blog.
As an Engineering Thinking blog reader, it’s likely that you’re looking for more than predictable and superficial plots (fights, car chases, mindless special effects, stalker-of-the-day “thrillers,” etc.). If so, for some thought-provoking and entertaining fiction (according to some reviewers), please visit Journeys to the Edge of Reality.
Double Visions is initially available at CreateSpace and Amazon.
-Ed Walker
As we’ve discussed previously, efficient systems require feedback. Without the feedback of the pain that comes from making an incorrect decision, bureaucrats have no incentive to be good shepherds of taxpayer dollars.
For example, the federal government “invested” $527 million in the solar energy company Solyndra. These dollars have been (according to various accounts) diverted to the pockets of Solyndra corporate officers, squandered, kicked-back to corrupt Obama administration officials, or (at best) lost in a noble effort to put Americans back to work. In any event, taxpayers have seen $527 million of their money go down the drain.
The reason why this sort of outrage happens when the feds “invest” is simple: it’s not their money. As we all know, it’s easy to invest/gamble/have parties with other people’s money. Therefore one could reasonably ask, why not make it a requirement for every government official to have a stake in the outcome of every “investment”? (This is just for argument’s sake. Since there is no apparent Constitutional authority for the federal government to funnel taxpayer money into private enterprises, Solyndra-type expenditures should not even be taking place.)
In other words, if the investment is a bust, as was Solyndra, then the loss comes out of the bureaucrats’ pay checks. Let’s see, $527 million divided by approximately 16,000 direct Department of Energy employees equals about $33,000 per employee. Wow, no bonus this Christmas!
What if the investment is a success? Based on the government’s track record that would be highly unlikely, but if it should ever occur, we the people can work out an appropriate bonus.
-Ed Walker
Concerns about the stability of lithium batteries is nothing new (see exploding laptop toward the middle of this video). Even though battery technology has improved, and problems are rare, when they do occur they can be very serious; e.g., “An iPhone spontaneously combusts on an Australian Flight” by Mike Dunn, 28 Nov 2011, digitaltrends.com.
Suggestion: When powered or being recharged and not actively watched, all devices that contain lithium batteries (which includes most personal computers, cell phones, and other PDAs) should be isolated from your body; e.g. store small devices within a flameproof leather pouch. Devices being recharged should be located away from combustibles.
-Ed Walker
As discussed previously, (e.g. “Feedback, Prices, and Sullen Spouses“), the federal government is not, and cannot be, an efficient provider of goods or services. Yet, some folks ask, what would happen without it? Wouldn’t the poor starve?
No. And here’s one of the best and most concise summaries of why this is so: “America Before The Entitlement State” (by Yaron Brook and Don Watkins, 18 Nov 2011 Forbes.com).
Excerpt:
“After all, the world before the twentieth century–before the New Deal, the New Frontier, the Great Society–was a dark, dangerous, heartless place where hordes of Americans starved in the streets.
“Except it wasn’t and they didn’t. The actual history of America shows something else entirely: picking your neighbors’ pockets is not a necessity of survival. Before America’s entitlement state, free individuals planned for and coped with tough times, taking responsibility for their own lives.”
-Ed Walker
See “Cancer-Causing X-Ray Security Scanners Are Banned“
Excerpt: “Just in time to make you feel better about your holiday travels: full-body airport security scanners that use X-ray technologies are acknowledged to cause cancer. No problem in the US; but now they’re banned in the EU.”
Also see earlier post: “The Public Has Been Misled about Airport Body Screening Risks“
"N. E. Walker is a magician with words ..." -Cindy Taylor, Allbooks Review. Available from Amazon. Learn more at Journeys to the Edge of Reality. | Feedback and Video G… on ET Principles |
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