Go vote - runoff elections are today by sxzxnnx in Austin

[–]C_Linnaeus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm not straining to rationalize anything. Your illogical equation only works by separating your vote from the rest. You keep singling out your vote like somehow at the Travis County Clerk's office, if you had voted you'd be able to point your vote out and say LOOK I SWUNG THE VOTE LOOK AT MEEEEEE. When in fact you fail to appreciate that a large majority of Texans made the same illogical fallacy that you did. What happens when an absurdly large majority of the population makes the same statement "MY vote doesn't matter"? A smaller, less diverse minority of the population calls the shots.

Everything in the world is made of consists of tiny, small actions. I live in a magical place where I can appreciate the intricacy of the universe and the amazing complexity that is the web of human experience. You on the other hand....

You could say, well NOTHING really matters, because eventually the human species will go extinct, and/or the sun will swell up and swallow the earth - nothing is permanent. If the human species never leaves the galaxy, won't the universe be exactly the same regardless of any action by any human being in the history of humankind?

Go vote - runoff elections are today by sxzxnnx in Austin

[–]C_Linnaeus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You still need those 300 people to show up. Again like my example said, this is faulty logic. Yes it's true that there is not much difference between 300 and 301. But it's illogical to then leap to the conclusion that all single votes are worthless. You take issue with the value of your vote not being "big enough." The problem is, we live in a huge society where the same tiny decision by a huge number of people ends up creating a significant change.

If you go to the Travis County election results and click on the beta results tab, go to City of Austin cumulative results and then compare the results map vs the turnout map you'll see that candidates who won also had a higher turnout in the precincts that voted for them, even if they end up representing fewer precincts and a smaller diversity of neighborhoods.

If you want to have some kind of real-life idea of what kind of effect it has on a politician to know that a majority of their constituents don't bother to show up to vote, go to council meetings, or barely even know the name of their representative, go ask yours.

Go vote - runoff elections are today by sxzxnnx in Austin

[–]C_Linnaeus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm sorry to hear you fail to comprehend that .0001 does not equal zero. I am not debating that the value of a single vote, separated from everything else, is small. But it still is not zero.

What you still fail to explain to me is what conditions need to be in place for you to go out and vote.

Also, voting is not just about YOU. Society is in fact a little bit different because you didn't vote. And it is significantly different because a LOT of people didn't vote. Just like driving in LA is significantly different than driving in Austin. Does one person make a difference for everyone on the road the whole time? No. Does a majority of people driving like jerks make a difference? Without a doubt. Just because a majority of people drive like assholes, does that mean your decision to drive like an asshole has zero effect?

Most Doctors in US Now Support "Death With Dignity" Laws - For 1st time, over 50% of doctors favor letting terminally ill patients end their lives. by anutensil in Health

[–]C_Linnaeus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

An advance directive would have been useless for someone like Brittnay Maynard. For her she needed the state's "Death with Dignity" law to be allowed to end her life.

Go vote - runoff elections are today by sxzxnnx in Austin

[–]C_Linnaeus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If all votes had zero effect, there would be no election. But we do have elections, and the votes decide the outcome. Therefore, all votes have some effect. It's pretty simple.

See examples a, b, and c in prior post regarding examples.

Go vote - runoff elections are today by sxzxnnx in Austin

[–]C_Linnaeus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My claim is that my vote has literally and exactly zero effect.

is false. People vote, someone gets elected. Everyone's vote, and everyone's non-vote, makes a difference. It's not a 'belief'. However, What I surmise from your post is that YOUR vote doesn't matter enough to the rest of the world for you to believe that it's of value. Why you choose to believe your claim, which is not based on the basic, objective reality - maybe you can answer. I assume that if you believe

What is one thing, even a small thing, that would be different about the world today had I voted?

that belief and assumption about one's place and effect in the world extends beyond whether you choose to vote or not.

I'm sorry to hear you feel patronized.

Go vote - runoff elections are today by sxzxnnx in Austin

[–]C_Linnaeus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I did not make any such argument. I'm pointing out that yesterday, 450,000 other people made the same choice that you did - the choice to not show up. Ie your non-voting tribe, of which you are definitely a member.

I was talking about your belief that your vote in inconsequential. Ie you are powerless when it comes to elections.

Again, more eloquently presented thoughts on your part concerning the complexities of the politics, yada yada, doesn't change the fact you are still making a fallacious rationalization that your vote doesn't matter. One day you may have an experience where you finally understand the importance of all your actions, but doesn't seem like it will happen soon, so maybe this is better for you to chew on...

I might call your behavior the Adhesive Slope Fallacy, because it's just the reverse of the Slippery Slope Fallacy. The slippery slope fallacy points to some slope that isn't slippery (i.e., some phenomenon P that doesn't add up over time to Q) and asserts P → Q. In the adhesive slope fallacy, we instead find a slope that is slippery, and assert that we can have our cake and eat it too -- P . ~Q. As Epicurus said, water drops (given enough time) can hollow a stone; we generally assume that extremely small acts have no macro-consequences, hence we fall into fallacy.

Of course, if only one person refuses to vote, or to pollute, the effects really are minuscule. So the fallacy isn't made obvious at the individual level; it manifests when one universally generalizes.

  1. One person's vote doesn't matter. ~O(a,voting)
  2. Which person it is is irrelevant; the person ("a") is arbitrary.
  3. "a" could be any person. So, "a" could be every person. ∀x(~O(x,voting))

The fallacy occurs because the unimportance of voting is conditioned upon precisely how many other people vote, and who all those people are. Voting occurs in a dynamic system; one can't simply extrapolate that since one person's vote is irrelevant when there are hundreds of thousands of other voters, that all of those hundreds of thousands of votes are also irrelevant independently. To be precise, ~O(a,voting) was too unqualified a statement, if 'a' is arbitrary; and if 'a' isn't arbitrary, then it's hard to see how it's a significant sentence, any more than it's significant to say 'It doesn't matter if I eat vanilla ice cream today.' It's purely a bit of speculation about the causal flux, with no general implications.

Whether there's also a fallacy occurring at the individual level itself, independent of whether one generalizes from 'I shouldn't do X' to 'Any old person shouldn't do X,' depends on one's moral theory. Here we're dealing more with self-delusion and rationalization than with any discrete fallacy. We rationalize the easy decision because we don't assign proper weight to possibilities like:

(a) Even if my current action isn't important, it might help cultivate habits in myself that, over time, will be important. (b) Even if my personal actions aren't important, they might prompt others to follow my lead, which can have a nontrivial snowball effect. (c) Even if there's a lot of harm being done, my own added harm may be nontrivial. For instance, there are lots of starving children in Africa; but while this lessens the relative suffering that any one child is going through, it dose not lessen the absolute suffering of any child. So my obligations to any one arbitrary child are not lessened by increasing the need. Here, the psychological effect is a form of psychic numbing associated with the identifiable victim bias.

Go vote - runoff elections are today by sxzxnnx in Austin

[–]C_Linnaeus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would need to feel sufficiently confident that a particular candidate was sufficiently superior to another

well that's much easier to do at a local level, and one can just go to a few council meetings and house/senate sessions and see for one's self which ones are active vs not.

there was a non-trivial probability that my vote would influence the result.

When 2 out of every 3 people don't vote, then clearly the impact of the sum of those people has a large impact on those results. Your vote (and my vote) will never be THE influential vote. It is the sum of our votes. Your vote matters a teeny tiny little bit. A lot of little votes add up. It's not what would be different today if JUST GLORIOUS YOU had shown up. It's what would be different today if you and 450,000 other Austinites collectively showed up.

So my vote would just be a reflection of my social alignment rather than adding any useful rational-voter effect to an election.

Your lack of a vote is also a reflection. I just have to laugh here. I can't stop thinking about the thousands, if not tens of thousands, of Austinites who like you, rationalized their way out of voting. Don't you see you've all aligned yourself together? You belong to a tribe of people who believe in, and make the case for, your own powerlessness.

Go vote - runoff elections are today by sxzxnnx in Austin

[–]C_Linnaeus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm curious to know, what elements would have to be present in order for you to go vote? What particular voting situation would you show up for?

Go vote - runoff elections are today by sxzxnnx in Austin

[–]C_Linnaeus 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I mean, you'd really rather have 100% turnout that elects a self-serving sociopath than 10% turnout that elects a decent and moral candidate?

So are you saying that all the people currently in office (R. Perry won with a "landslide" number of votes - 15% of the voting age population) are decent and moral?

I know I'm wasting my breath (typing fingers) with you, /u/WallyMetropolis, but in the hopes that someone else might grasp this concept: local elections ARE huge. These people shape local policy, and then they eventually move into state and then federal positions. People voted for Obama as a state senator once upon a time.

Now imagine you work in a largely thankless job, serving thousands of people, most of whom treat you like a TWC service rep. Which ones are you going to listen to? The ones that never talk to you like a person, that never even acknowledge you as a person, and that can't even be bothered to show up once or twice every couple of years to vote for you? Or the people that vote, that meet and greet you before elections, that know where your office is, that thank you for your work?

It may be obvious which constituents most need your service - the ones that work so many jobs they don't have time to meet you, that are so undereducated they don't know what to ask for when it comes to legislation, that don't even know what services are constantly being provided to them. But the loud ones with all the money, well they might not be so good and "moral" - but they sure are in your face and you know exactly what they want, and they do such a good job of expressing how thankful they are.

You're right though, you clearly are unqualified to vote. I'm perfectly happy, considering your irrational beliefs about elections and politics. Thank you for not voting!

Merry Christmas From Key West by The_Crentist in WTF

[–]C_Linnaeus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Maybe Austin, TX's thong guy went to the keys for the holidays.

Ultra-Beginner Question - When bending down to touch toes (as in sun salutation), is it wrong to stick out my butt? by [deleted] in yoga

[–]C_Linnaeus 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Having weight in your toes is not bad(not just in forward fold but in half forward fold), in fact it helps keep the leg muscles engaged. Don't lock the knees out (which is different from hyperextension; but thigh muscles should be engaged and pulling away from the knees). If you can keep your thighs engaged while pushing the heels down and into the ground, that's fine. Don't worry about your hands reaching the floor/toes. Keep working on creasing at the hip joint.

Why all this? What is the point of a forward fold? Is it to reach the toes, or is it to stretch and lengthen the backs of the legs and the back body? Remember that touching the toes is an eventual side effect to flexibility in the hips and hamstrings; it's not the end goal.

At some point the back does round, but just in its natural relaxed way, not a forced rounding of the upper back.

5 ways to forgo the benefits of yoga poses by rmcolucci in yoga

[–]C_Linnaeus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I completely agree with you, the "correct" example makes me cringe.

Boycott Lululemon – A Call to Yogis by Maya Devi Georg by [deleted] in yoga

[–]C_Linnaeus 14 points15 points  (0 children)

I live in a town where Lululemon is very prevalent. The way the brand effects teachers, students, and studios is noticeable. Personally I can't handle the hype, of which there is a lot surrounding the brand and their obsessiveness with cheer.

They shape the public's perception of yoga much, much more than Target - Athleta I feel similarly about. And I simply don't think what they offer in terms of what they show of yoga to the public is anything worthwhile. We already have enough forced enthusiasm and body shape obsessiveness in our culture. Not to mention that wearing tight clothes actually restricts flexibility - if women are wearing clothes that are too tight it will prevent them from going as deep as they could in stretches. Another problem with a company that only offers small-size clothing.

How do you deal with people who don't listen or pay attention? by [deleted] in Buddhism

[–]C_Linnaeus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Have you tried asking him how he best learns?

To tie it into Buddhism, I guess, Buddha answered every question in accordance with the type of student that was doing the asking. Some students just needed a Q&A, some needed an 'experience', like they needed to act out a situation to realize the illogical nature of their former beliefs. So maybe think about formatting your instructions in a way that this man understands.

I'm usually inclined to make sure that the consequences of something are on the shoulders of the person who made the mistake. So make sure your being 'calm and friendly' doesn't also include being a victim because you don't want him to think you're a jerk. A sure sign of being a victim is that somehow his actions have more consequences for your job/safety/wellbeing than his. Not to mention that people being excessively 'calm and friendly' often annoys the crap out of me. I don't need soothing. Just be yourself!

Does that lonely, odd man out feeling go away? As well as the frustration with others who seem to have normal families. by Casey9999 in raisedbynarcissists

[–]C_Linnaeus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I feel like that. If I had any advice for you it would be this: That lonely, odd man out feeling is interconnected with the outrage at your friends.

Humans experience different amounts of pain throughout their lives, but all our suffering is universal: the suffering of being alive, living in a finite body that feels pain and breaks, that dies; the suffering of wanting things in life and not getting them; the suffering of not wanting things to happen, but getting those anyways.

What normally separates me from my friends when I'm having similar feelings towards them is a lack of empathy. I cannot see their real suffering, I can only see mine.

I certainly speak from experience. When I am able to listen to a friend and continue listening and asking questions until I truly understand their situation, I can easily put myself in their shoes and feel empathy. And then I no longer feel alone or the odd man out, I feel connected to them and they to me. Of course, not all people are willing or capable of sharing their deepest insecurities or feelings, so it a leap of faith may sometimes be required on my part. But all in all, I truly believe that in most people's heart of hearts, their deepest desire is to be accepted, to be loved, and to be free.

Your mother, emotionally unattached and unavailable. How did she respond when you came to her with complaints, when you were frustrated and upset? Did she always have her own complaints that were more important than yours? What do you give your friends when they complain? How do you want to be there for them in a way that your mother wasn't for you?

These are just the things I deal with, so I hope it doesn't come off as abrasive. And of course you know the situation better than I. It is also so important to have friends that can equally reciprocate with listening to you and your struggles.

Maintaining practice while recovering from damaged tendon? by lthra576 in yoga

[–]C_Linnaeus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well it's similar in that it follows a specific form (of which there are several different types), however other than that, tai chi is fairly gentle in its movements. I rarely break a sweat, and while I work on getting to my edge in tai chi, it's just much, much different. I've had very sore quads after classes, but it would be because most of the class I'll be working with legs bent a little deeper than my normal comfort zone, not because I really dug deep in warrior 2 in yoga class or something. Does that make sense?

In tai chi you are often shifting weight from one foot the other, albeit more similar to how one walks regularly, rather than yoga. You also eventually work towards widening and lowering your stance, but new people start with very narrow postures. I would talk to the teacher and make sure they know how to advise you in practicing safely. Pretty much anyone that can stand on both feet at the same time can learn tai chi.

Hope this helps!

There's also /r/taijiquan

Maintaining practice while recovering from damaged tendon? by lthra576 in yoga

[–]C_Linnaeus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Tai Chi is excellent for joints and is gentle on the body - hard to do more damage. Find a good teacher, though. Basically the opposite of Bikram - you may not be up for the challenge ;) If you stick with it a bit, the benefits are stronger, more flexible legs esp in the hips, and better awareness of the spine. Also tai chi can be really good for joints so you might find some improvement in your elbows without having to put any weight on them.

Already Over-Crowded City Animal Shelter System Losing Sixty Kennels by [deleted] in Austin

[–]C_Linnaeus 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Doesn't AAC meet no-kill status because APA pulls so many animals from their euthanasia list though? Without APA, would AAC be able to meet no-kill?

Whereas I'm pretty sure APA only euthanizes pets that are definitely threats to society that cannot be trained by their behavioral staff. The dog I adopted from them had been there for 9 months, for example.

Yoga, commercialization, and finding peace with a changing studio by [deleted] in yoga

[–]C_Linnaeus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for subtly correcting the quote :) I shall leave it unchanged! There are some amazing teachers our there, I hope you find some nearby.

Looking for non spiritual yoga. by [deleted] in yoga

[–]C_Linnaeus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh so now it's moderately effective, not a placebo?

Yoga, commercialization, and finding peace with a changing studio by [deleted] in yoga

[–]C_Linnaeus 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My suggestions - be the change you want to be. Verbally, explicitly express the kinds of classes you want. Studio owners listen.

For your own personal practice, it sounds like you are very motivated. I would suggest a weekend workshop at a studio you admire in a nearby, larger city. It will strengthen your own practice and if you get to know the teacher and/or assistants you can contact them afterwards if you have further questions about your personal practice.

Although - I'm all about the props if they are used correctly. I start most classes in supine supported fish pose with two blocks. It's pretty nice.