I survived 400ppm, did you?

[Borachio]

That's be rather difficult to tell because we do not know the actual probability distribution of events. My intuition would be yes, it'd pay off, but I have no numbers to back that up.

However, another thing to consider is stability. Suppose you have a 1% chance of losing $100 and you can avert that risk by paying $2. If there are 100 copies of this universe, then you 100 selves will, on average, collectively pay $200 to save an average of $100. So obviously, it might seem to be not profitable to pay that $2. But then, you'd have to consider whether you prefer everyone to suffer a mere $2 deficit or that everyone get to keep that $2 but one have to lose a whooping $100.

Well, this is just the argument for insurance policies.

Whether it's worth insuring oneself (with a company) for any particular risk depends on what it is and how you would deal with the catastrophe in the event of you not being insured.

For example, I don't insure the cash I carry in my wallet. But it is possible to do so.

 

[rugbyLEAGUEfan]

Well, I think Charlie has the perfect reply for you!

What this world needs is a few more rednecks
Some people ain't afraid to take the stand
What this world needs is a little more respect
For the Lord and the law and the workin' man

Now you intellectuals may not like it
But there ain't nothin' that you can do
'Cause there's a whole lot more of us common folks
Than there ever will be of you

There is a lot of truth in this for sure but

The world also needs people without respect for the Lord and the law. It needs intellectuals. It needs non-rednecks. It needs uncommon folks.

Not sure 'ol Charlie would agree.

 

[peter grimes]

Well, I think Charlie has the perfect reply for you!

What this world needs is a few more rednecks
Some people ain't afraid to take the stand
What this world needs is a little more respect
For the Lord and the law and the workin' man

Now you intellectuals may not like it
But there ain't nothin' that you can do
'Cause there's a whole lot more of us common folks
Than there ever will be of you

The whole point of public education is so that there won't be more ignorant people than informed people. It goes back to that whole principle of an informed electorate…

Those lyrics read like the premise of Idiocracy:


Link to video.

 

[Azale]

But unfortunately, ridiculating these dumb people does not actually sidestep my fear of them.

In this world of universal suffrage with the majority coming from the lower education demographics, we are very much at the mercy of their (often poor) choices. It might sound snotty of me, but we've seen how well democracy has been working in USA and Canada lately.

If you had a little more education, you would know it is not the "lower education demographics" you need to fear.

 

[peter grimes]

If you had a little more education, you would know it is not the "lower education demographics" you need to fear.

True, but they get just as much of a vote as anyone else - as it should be.

Bring up the base level of everyone's education, and the threat from the oligarchy diminishes. There's a very good reason those in power don't want free University education for all citizens. They don't want an intelligent, critically thinking population.

So they cling to their guns and religion, and get all fired up over nonsense.

I do it, too (without the guns and religion part )

 

[Cutlass]

But unfortunately, ridiculating these dumb people does not actually sidestep my fear of them.

In this world of universal suffrage with the majority coming from the lower education demographics, we are very much at the mercy of their (often poor) choices. It might sound snotty of me, but we've seen how well democracy has been working in USA and Canada lately.

The irony here, of course, is that the problems of American (even Canadian) democracy are not coming from the poor and uneducated, but from the rich and over educated. That and religious extremists and bigots. If the poor and uneducated voted in much higher numbers we could solve a lot of the country's problems.

 

[Borachio]

Those lyrics read like the premise of Idiocracy:


Link to video.

"The "un" un-nazified the world." Freeing it from the grip of the evil Charlie Chaplin.

 

[rugbyLEAGUEfan]

I think I prefer this guys take on things (fast forward 30 odd seconds)

[YOUTUBE-OLD]ZCqpPj87ekE[/YOUTUBE-OLD]

 

[JollyRoger]

Well, I think Charlie has the perfect reply for you!

What this world needs is a few more rednecks
Some people ain't afraid to take the stand
What this world needs is a little more respect
For the Lord and the law and the workin' man

Now you intellectuals may not like it
But there ain't nothin' that you can do
'Cause there's a whole lot more of us common folks
Than there ever will be of you

Charlie was spending a bit too much time with his brother Jack when he made that reply.

 

[El_Machinae]

The irony here, of course, is that the problems of American (even Canadian) democracy are not coming from the poor and uneducated, but from the rich and over educated. That and religious extremists and bigots. If the poor and uneducated voted in much higher numbers we could solve a lot of the country's problems.

I'd not say that it's the over-educated that contribute to any problems. It's the specialized lobbyist convincing the under-educated politician that's the major problem. Coupled on top of that is the too-specialized financier who's making billion dollar decisions.

 

[peter grimes]

It's a shameful state of affairs when people who don't know what science is wind up on the House Science, Technology, and Research Committee.

I'm not suggesting that every committee member has to have a PhD in a hard science, but at *least* they should be scientifically literate. And they should have to prove that before gaining the seat.

 

[Cutlass]

I'd not say that it's the over-educated that contribute to any problems. It's the specialized lobbyist convincing the under-educated politician that's the major problem. Coupled on top of that is the too-specialized financier who's making billion dollar decisions.

Most politicians, especially at the higher levels, tend to be lawyers. So these aren't undereducated people. But they are people who don't have specific expertise in the areas they are legislating on. Unless, of course, they do their jobs and build that expertise. Once upon a time they could be counted on to do that. And that is also why they have staffs, to gain that expertise. But in the way Congress runs now most of them have neither the inclination, nor the time, to gain that expertise that their predecessors could take for granted. They are too busy raising campaign money and meeting with lobbyists. They don't hear different sides of the story any longer.

But that doesn't address the point ywhtptgtfo made that I was replying to. It is not the voting of the uneducated which has resulted in our current problems. In fact we'd have fewer current problems if more of the lower class would vote. It's the upper class voter, and particularly the upper class campaign contributor, who is the source of our current problems.

 

[ywhtptgtfo]

Most politicians, especially at the higher levels, tend to be lawyers. So these aren't undereducated people. But they are people who don't have specific expertise in the areas they are legislating on. Unless, of course, they do their jobs and build that expertise. Once upon a time they could be counted on to do that. And that is also why they have staffs, to gain that expertise. But in the way Congress runs now most of them have neither the inclination, nor the time, to gain that expertise that their predecessors could take for granted. They are too busy raising campaign money and meeting with lobbyists. They don't hear different sides of the story any longer.

But that doesn't address the point ywhtptgtfo made that I was replying to. It is not the voting of the uneducated which has resulted in our current problems. In fact we'd have fewer current problems if more of the lower class would vote. It's the upper class voter, and particularly the upper class campaign contributor, who is the source of our current problems.

I'd have to go with what El_Machinae said. Even though choice members of the upper class are the actual people ruining our countries, they are able to garner so much power due to the relative susceptibility of the ignorant mass to lies, propaganda, and wishful thinking.

As John Dalberg once noted - Democracy is the tyranny of the majority.

If a country's voter demographics is consisted of the ignorant and under-educated, then wouldn't that country be under the tyranny of the ignorant and under-educated?

 

[Cutlass]

I'd have to go with what El_Machinae said. Even though choice members of the upper class are the actual people ruining our countries, they are able to garner so much power due to the relative susceptibility of the ignorant mass to lies, propaganda, and wishful thinking.

As John Dalberg once noted - Democracy is the tyranny of the majority.

If a country's voter demographics is consisted of the ignorant and under-educated, then wouldn't that country be under the tyranny of the ignorant and under-educated?

But it's really not the under educated that are voting for the worst politicians. Most of the Republican voters are above average in income.

 

[ywhtptgtfo]

But it's really not the under educated that are voting for the worst politicians. Most of the Republican voters are above average in income.

Income does not have a 1:1 correlation with education. What if we analyze the demographics on the basis of education?

 

[Cutlass]

Income does not have a 1:1 correlation with education. What if we analyze the demographics on the basis of education?

In fact, the more education a voter had, the more likely they were to vote for Romney, to a point, though the gap never increased beyond 4 points. However, among voters with the highest levels of education, those with schooling beyond the undergraduate level, support for Obama jumps to 55 percent, and drops to 42 percent for Romney, a 13-point gap not seen where else along that spectrum

Pretty close, if this article is right.

http://www.latinospost.com/articles...-vote-2012-breakdown-age-income-education.htm

 

[ywhtptgtfo]

Pretty close, if this article is right.

http://www.latinospost.com/articles...-vote-2012-breakdown-age-income-education.htm

Postgraduate: 55% versus 43% against Republicans. That doesn't even account for majors.

And of course, we have other factors at play - Immigrants and minorities tend to favour the democrats since the Republicans are actively disenfranchising them.

Unfortunately, I can't get the statistics out for Canada. It'd be interesting to see some numbers in my country.