shirgall

Economics is the study of value, specifically why and how humans place a value on some thing or idea, and why and how they trade/interact/negotiate to amass value for themselves. It all depends on what you want to emphasize.

There ain't nothing like faking a pronkial spasm to throw off a predator.

"Skinny" goes in and out of vogue, I recall my grandparents remarking that "skinny" had a bad connotation, like "skin and bones."

Well, there are subtle differences, I just felt those were more virtuous words.

Conflict between classes is termed a "political struggle". Getting enough people to agree with your position is "generating consent". It's all about garnering enough influence to make government do what you want it to do. Sorry that this conversation has gone down a rathole, I don't think I'm adding value anymore. :/

Let's say I invent a new type of steel with amazing advanced in properties. Let's call it "Reardon Metal". Nothing stops me from making it and sharing it with the world if they want to buy it. Nothing should compel me to give it away, or give away it secrets. And there's nothing wrong with me holding my trade secret to my chest. Almost every entrepreneur goes through a version of this. Some choose to patent things. Some place their advances in the public domain. There's nothing really terribly wrong with either course of action. The entire world has benefited from the process. But, the reality of the situation is that they have to nurture and develop something new and garner enough capital to make it happen, or it never gets anywhere. The real shame is great ideas that fail, but the real benefit is that good ideas challenged by the marketplace have that chance to be great.

I got married when I was 35, after having several relationships that lasted more than a year. I am amazed he hadn't had one that lasted what, for me, would have been 5-6 dates. Perhaps Roosh is rushing things a little.

I don't think Stefan insulted you, I think he challenged you to back up your statements. When he works with folks on the verge of an emotional breakthrough this is a valuable technique. I think the dead/alive, vacuum/matter and light/dark bichromatic discussion took way too much time. The problem is the prefix "non". That necessarily makes things bichromatic. It's either black or white, no shades of gray. (I know, that's what bichromatic means, I'm talking to the audience.) Remember that naming something a fallacy is not an argument. You have to go one step further and point out how in the case presented it is a fallacy. If you don't, you commit the "fallacy fallacy." Frankly, I think the entire discussion could have gone better if it had been described as "soothing versus agitating communication." It's proponents could be labelled "soothsayers" which is a great "breaking the ice" kind of intro.

I'd add to that the concept that some kinds of evidence have even more merit when they can be independently replicated, or at least independently verified.

What I'm getting at is that you are not describing a philosophical struggle but instead a political one, and political struggles are all about gaining consent, not discovering truth.

Everyone with power they didn't earn.

Friedrich Engels was the co-author of the Communist Manifesto. I think he was more the idea man than Marx, although Marx gets the credit. Marx was more like a skilled writer than anything else. At any rate, these two wrote of the proletariat (the working man) and its struggle against the bourgeoisie (the capitalists). There are even divides between wage earners (paid-by-the-hour workers) and salary workers. By putting class against class they made a political struggle, which some can take advantage of by championing the poor, unwashed masses for their own good.

I didnt claim it nullified NAP... I was pointing out a perception of force initiation not apparent to the layman.

A lot of pubs fit that bill.

News is reporting of relevant current events by interviewing or presenting primary sources, in context with historic events and relevant situational details. Aggregators curate news from others, but do little original work of their own.

There are things commonplace now that could not be had for any price two decades ago.

The condition TheFuzz is referring to is more subtle. For example, he and I have observed hundreds if not thousands of times in training where people have drawn a pistol from their holster. We can tell when someone is starting that motion. To others not familiar with it, it would appear to be precognition when we see it and react to it. Similar things happen when someone prepares to throw a punch, pull out a knife, or fight handcuffing. For example, ask TheFuzz if he should be nervous about someone standing behind a car door, feet shoulder width apart, standing erect, hands up but low near the center of the chest, shoulders oriented straight at you, and watching your hands. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA-xIssgT-o (IPSC master at work)

The Huffington Post is a news aggregator, not a news source, but it's good to see the attention.

Personal safety, especially your long-term health, has to be offset by the rewards of the job or it is just not worth working there. Try to get firmer answers on when things will be fixed and perhaps that may address your justified fears for your own safety.

Yes, but the supposed dollar value of my house doubled in less than 10 years, and then dropped a third in less than 4 years. I don't think that kind of volatility was due to the improvements I made on the house. Student loans could be defaulted on until recently, and many are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. The bottom line, though, is that inflation is a wealth tax on the middle class, the upper class have many ways to protect themselves from inflation, and the poor have more debt that benefits from inflation and less dollar wealth that is hurt by it.

There is always an improved standard of living to strive for. Compare our lives now to those of royalty 100 years ago. Heck, I can compare my life at 18 to my life at 36 to my life now at 47.

I would be disappointed if a second salvo aimed at the expected response was not already prepared. As my instructor, er, instructed, "Know where the attack will come, and have an appropriate counter in place." This is Breitbart territory.

But you have cited a classic divide between the great unwashed and the intelligentsia. It may not be intentional, it just rings of the classic political struggle Engels writes about.

Student loans, mortgages, and car loans are no small chunk of change, but, yes, the banks settling up at the end of the day for the reserves to be covered is the real game of thrones.

Part of why it is not philosophical is that you have broken people into classes, which are in conflict, which is a *political* struggle, not a philosophical one.