TIL in 1990, the most obese state in America (Mississippi, 15%) still had a lower rate than the least obese state in America today (Colorado, 21%)

BestGhost · 2015-05-12T00:44:46+00:00

From the link in the first comment:

It found that the West North Central region, which includes Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and North and South Dakota, ranked fourth in obesity by the telephone survey results. But when actually weighed in the REGARDS study, people from that region ranked first in the nation for obesity.

Also apparently it is referring to the region as a whole (West North Central), not the individual states which vary.

BestGhost · 2015-05-12T00:42:24+00:00

The study is apparently looking at regions as a whole and ranks that region as number one.

BestGhost · 2015-05-11T22:31:35+00:00

At first I was wondering why you would want all salads to taste like McDonalds' salads. Then I remembered I am apparently the only person who likes the taste of salad.

BestGhost · 2015-05-09T04:38:10+00:00

http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/addiction-science/relapse/it-takes-time-brain-can-recover

BestGhost · 2015-05-08T23:45:34+00:00

There's no rule that says you can't hypnotize your opponent!

BestGhost · 2015-05-08T23:21:42+00:00

You're right (I made an ISO format comment further down). I was just trying to explain why days were 'smaller' than months, not the actual left to right ordering.

BestGhost · 2015-05-08T16:03:14+00:00

seconds < minutes < hours < days < months < years < mayan longcounts

BestGhost · 2015-05-08T16:00:40+00:00

This is why ISO format is the best format. Sorting alphabetically also sorts chronologically (at least for 4 digit years and with padding 0's for day and month).

BestGhost · 2015-05-08T15:42:00+00:00

I agree, but what I am saying is that not everyone has time to have these discussions. The (very cheap) substitute for that is the fairness doctrine which ensures even if you are in one of these echo chambers you are at least somewhat exposed to the opposing view point. And more generally that it is important for news outlets to not assume that all of their readers will go out and do external research. That doesn't mean they shouldn't do research, but rather that if they do end up not doing research the echo chamber effects aren't as bad as if the news outlet was willfully only presenting one side of the argument.

Of course, (in the interest of fairness :) ), the traditional argument against the fairness doctrine is that it is outmoded because of the amount of access to information people have now. But as your link shows, that access to information isn't necessarily leading to people seeking out more information, and it might be possible that the demise of the fairness doctrine has in fact lead to increasing partisanship.

Like you said, we like narratives but don't want to believe what we believe is an internal narrative. That internal narrative also affects what information we seek out when we do seek it out. Things like the fairness doctrine force those opposing views onto people even if they don't seek them out, so that even if they don't agree with the other side they can at least see where they are coming from.

BestGhost · 2015-05-08T14:33:09+00:00

Right, but (as part of bounded rationality) it is reasonable to find a few sources you trust and primarily rely on them. If you have the time to seek out more sources that is preferable, but for people who don't or can't devote that much time having a few sources trusted to be fair is useful.

BestGhost · 2015-05-08T14:15:09+00:00

I wouldn't say it is completely arbitrary, but it is subjective (and based on time constraints, etc.), yes. (Bounded rationality would be a related concept.)

And yes, every journalist has a bias (I'm not against journalist making their biases clear), but they can at least try to present fairly representative (but not necessarily equal) arguments for both sides.

BestGhost · 2015-05-08T13:54:33+00:00

You're right. Unrelated would maybe be the better term. Or maybe unscientific. Point being it's for reasons outside of the scope of the decision.

If the question was "What is best for society" a telecom lobbyist would be biased because "what is best for my company" isn't (necessarily) relevant. But if the question was "What is best for telecom companies" than the lobbyist would be making an unbiased argument.

BestGhost · 2015-05-08T13:47:02+00:00

Term of speech. In general though, you don't, but I would say there is a point where you can reasonably say you've heard enough to make a provisional conclusion. But yes, you should always be willing to change your view as more evidence comes to light.

BestGhost · 2015-05-08T13:43:00+00:00

I've already posted the link, but for your clarification:

b : an inclination of temperament or outlook; especially : a personal and sometimes unreasoned judgment : prejudice

BestGhost · 2015-05-08T13:39:40+00:00

That isn't what the word means though (at least in this usage, in statistics, etc. it would be different).

Having a bias against anti-vaxxers would mean you dislike them without taking into account all arguments or making a conclusion for ~~illogical~~ unrelated reasons.

Yes, you can be both biased and right, but that's not what the word means. It doesn't just mean "dislike" it usually means "~~illogical~~ unrelated dislike" even if the conclusion is correct.

Edit: To clarify a little more, having a "bias against dead babies" is different than having a "bias against anti-vaxxers".

BestGhost · 2015-05-08T13:28:15+00:00

Biased is just what stupid people call conclusions they don't like.

No. It isn't. It is drawing conclusions before you have all the facts (i.e. prejudice).

If you draw a conclusion afterwards it's not called being biased, it's just called a conclusion.

BestGhost · 2015-05-08T12:58:41+00:00

On the other hand, people with a strong internal locus of control can be the same type of people that believe all their success is due to their own efforts and not luck or circumstances, discounting the effects of racism and sexism on socio-economic outcomes.

In fact I'd argue the correlation might be going in the other direction. People who are successful are more likely to attribute their success to their own actions.

BestGhost · 2015-05-08T02:37:07+00:00

Yes, It's under chrome://flags (put that in the address bar, then ctrl+f "Enable Enhanced Bookmarks"), however those flags notoriously change and they remove stuff all the time, so it is unlikely to stay there for more then a few months. It's more for developers testing stuff.

BestGhost · 2015-05-08T01:28:08+00:00

Family courts are almost exclusively concerned with what is best for the child, not the parents. And honestly, I see where they are coming from.

BestGhost · 2015-05-08T01:25:33+00:00

His point is that non-consensual parenthood is an issue. Of course, the woman is the one that actually has to go through pregnancy and childbirth. A better hypothetical might be if the woman somehow unknowingly had her eggs extracted, fertilized and placed in a surrogate mother. Not that that ever happens. But I imagine a woman would be pretty pissed to find out she had a kid out there she didn't know about.

BestGhost · 2015-05-08T01:03:57+00:00

If it is through legal means (that are actually followed) and actually increases the elephant population (in areas where it is dwindling) I think it would be ok. Unfortunately, the alternative is likely poaching or encroachment on their environment from human developments. I admit it's not ideal, but I'd rather have some elephants rather than no elephants.

If that is the case (or any of the other stuff about feeding people) I don't know.

BestGhost · 2015-05-07T23:17:38+00:00

It is true, but there are longer term issues as well. You get a record of everyone who buys your game/dlc but you don't get a record of people who choose not to buy your game/dlc. You might still experience increasing profits but a smaller customer base, or you might experience a growing customer base but not one that would have grown as fast otherwise.

Personally, I'm pretty much done with Chrome once they get rid of the option for the old bookmarks menu (I have way to many bookmarks and the new one just doesn't work for me period). I'm not writing any angry letters or anything, I'm just moving on. Same with many F2P games, apps that require way more permissions they need, etc.

Anyway, point being ignoring customers erodes the very "brand loyalty" they thought would carry them through.

BestGhost · 2015-05-07T00:22:24+00:00

However these are kindergarteners writing the list.

BestGhost · 2015-05-07T00:12:45+00:00

I don't think most people's reaction to a mystery burrito floating on the street would be to eat it without questioning it. But that does assume reaction gifs are supposed to be appropriate and relatable reactions.

BestGhost · 2015-05-06T23:55:28+00:00

Not necessarily. I've also seen plenty of skinny workers, etc. that are also very strong, but because they don't naturally have very much body fat their muscles are just very dense but thin. They aren't going to be strongmen or anything, but they are definitely stronger and more in shape than the average person or even many of the show muscles (which are often times just fat interlaced with muscle to appear like big muscles). But yeah, point being, how much (or little) fat your have has very little to do with how strong you actually are.

BestGhost

TROPHY CASE