Comments on: Really Missing the Point

By: ASU Eng '70

ASU Eng '70 — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 17:29:17 +0000

To echo UM ‘73, my career was chosen such that I would never get away with ooching towards a solution with woulda, shoulda, coulda. It either works or it doesn’t. Needless to say, not a lot of modeling involved. Sometimes modeling was used to plan out a test program, but never to claim a final ‘reality’.

ps. to Warren: I spend many years working/playing up around DVT in the ’60s and early ’70s. Will buy the beer the next time I’m in the area.

By: UM Eng '73

UM Eng '73 — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 19:07:06 +0000

Studying Engineering tends to impart a certain humility in the human being, not found in the soft sciences.

By: the other coyote

the other coyote — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 20:13:53 +0000

I’ve come to the conclusion that the only answer is to starve the government. If you don’t let it have your money, it can’t screw as many things up. Sometimes I think I could reach common ground with liberals this way… by starting this conversation…

“Hey – let’s agree that you and I are never, ever going to agree on anything. So let’s get the federal government out of everything but national defense, and let the states run everything else. Cut federal taxes to the bone, so we’re only paying for national defense. Now, let’s turn everything else into a local discussion. If you think a welfare state is a good thing, let your state run a welfare state. You can argue about it with other folks in your state. People in my state don’t think it’s a good idea, so we won’t have a welfare state.”

If liberals and conservatives could agree to make hot buttons a local option issue, I think there would be a lot less disagreements. And, I could slam the door shut at the state line and let New York and California go on to hell in their handbasket, with my wallet intact.

By: Kunal

Kunal — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 16:11:50 +0000

Sure, the incentives are to deliver benefits to small, visible, powerful minorities even when those benefits dwarf the costs, as long as those costs are dispersed and less visible.

I think you meant the benefits are dwarfed by the costs.

Excellent post otherwise. Thank you.

By: Bearster

Bearster — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 15:09:39 +0000

I think coyote makes excellent points. However, just as frustrating as it is to see people avoid acknowledging that there are many problems unsolvable by government… it is frustrating to see people avoiding that there really is such a thing as evil in the world. Evil is attracted to government for a simple reason.

The difference between government and any other group of people is: the power to use force.

What is it about compelling obedience that attracts evil?

While there are many people who love nothing more than to figure out how to make a computer do something new, or how to optimize a factory production line, or how to create a new business model… there are many people who love nothing more than to force people to do their bidding, to take from people by force, and to hurt people.

In a laissez-faire capitalist society, this would be a small group of psychopathic criminals. In a culture like ours, crackling at the opportunity to take over industries as varied as auto manufacturing, finance and insurance, and health care, government offers a legal and socially acceptable outlet.

Every envious thug and destroyer who can think past the range of one moment will join government!

“They don’t want to live. They want you to die.” — Ayn Rand

By: dearieme

dearieme — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 14:38:29 +0000

“first in my class at Harvard Business School”: golly, just like the ass who CEO’d Bank of Scotland to its ruin. Founded 1695. Can nothing resist HBS?

By: Henry Bowman

Henry Bowman — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 14:08:29 +0000

The late Michael Crichton gave a very interesting speech a few years back on complexity. Perhaps you've even blogged about this in the past. But, clearly, nature tends to be vastly more complicated that we can hope to model accurately. But, believing that we can is one of the worst offenses we make, but unfortunately one of the more frequent ones.

By: BCM

BCM — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 13:23:00 +0000

Bravo! Very nicely said and well written! Thanks for posting.

By: HS

HS — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 13:10:54 +0000

I like it. Government usually leads to money and power which then drive people to think they can control the most chaotic phenomenon. Maybe one day, a leader will think they are God. Oh wait, they already did, that is why we revolted.

By: MCLA

MCLA — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 12:42:57 +0000

“Washington crackles with people on a mission.”

This is enough to make anyone blood run cold…