My combined theory of board dynamics Polarization.

[Nathan]

I just made this up, i'm taking a chemestry class, which isn't really relevent, but i think this is good stuff:

Alright, it works like this:

To start. You have a bunch of people you believe strongly enough in their beliefs that they are willing to search out the web in order to bring to light other people. In general. They don't care what those people are saying of course.

There are some moderates. you'd think they'd be a factor, but they arn't, because of an effect that i call the "radical selective ignorance" effect.

This effect, and it's rather dramatic, is based on the simple princible that there are many different degrees of people, but the radicals on either side, who generally start the posts, would rather respond to the most radical or simply the dumbest of their opponents.

This has the combined effect of tossing the middle out of the crowd, because the middle is to a sense ignored by either side. The moderates go home because there is nothing to talk about for them.


So, it's either this or JP5 is a board troll. I can't decide.

[lizardfish]

Pretty smart for 19.

I say JP is a troll though

[trot]

I don't know what a board troll is, but JP if you are one I think you should own up.

Cheers,

Trot

[Tedminator]

huh.. interesting theory, Nathan.

One can only hope the moderate opinions will be heard.. otherwise this place will end up like Iraq with extremists having the run of the place and driving away all the moderate people.

[Force-of-the-Truth]

This isn't a boast, but I think I'm about as much of a moderate as any regular, which isn't necessarily a good thing. If there is some other label that fits me, I haven't found it yet (and I've looked through a lot of them). Sadistic-Savior and some other posters insist that I am a liberal, but I don't support this at all, so I'm not a liberal in the American sense:

"there emerged the conception of a social welfare state, in which the national government had the express obligation to maintain high levels of employment in the economy, to supervise standards of life and labor, to regulate the methods of business competition, and to establish comprehensive patterns of social security."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_..._United_States

I'd come closest to being a libertarian, but my strong support for alternative energy and opposition to abortion would not generally be considered libertarian.

[Justinian]

I think you're right in a mundane, street-friendly perspective but the subject encompasses far more than that, I'm afraid. I'm not going to bother to take a shot at it because I'm tired, have not set out to do so and haven't really thought it out. I'm sure just as much as the way people think and react to political knowledge will have to do with this.

[Jake]

Originally Posted by Nathan";p=&quot

I just made this up, i'm taking a chemestry class, which isn't really relevent, but i think this is good stuff:

Alright, it works like this:

To start. You have a bunch of people you believe strongly enough in their beliefs that they are willing to search out the web in order to bring to light other people. In general. They don't care what those people are saying of course.

There are some moderates. you'd think they'd be a factor, but they arn't, because of an effect that i call the "radical selective ignorance" effect.

This effect, and it's rather dramatic, is based on the simple princible that there are many different degrees of people, but the radicals on either side, who generally start the posts, would rather respond to the most radical or simply the dumbest of their opponents.

This has the combined effect of tossing the middle out of the crowd, because the middle is to a sense ignored by either side. The moderates go home because there is nothing to talk about for them.


So, it's either this or JP5 is a board troll. I can't decide.

I argue with the leftists because they are the people who have demonstrated that they are capable of doing the most damage to our country. Moderates don't count for much - in an odd way, I have more respect for a leftist (especially the few intelligent ones) than I do for a moderate. What does a moderat stand for? Take the two "extremes", add them together, divide by two, and voila, that's what moderates stand for.

[Joker]

[quote="Jake";p="355504"]

Originally Posted by Nathan";p=&quot

What does a moderat stand for? Take the two "extremes", add them together, divide by two, and voila, that's what moderates stand for.

Just like extremist, moderates stand for what they believe is right, it's just that what they believe may not fit neatly into a liberal or conservative category. Take myself, for example. I support liberal causes such as gay rights, and affirmative action. I don't think the Iraq war was justified, and I support a strict separation of church and state. However, I also support many conservative causes, such as gun rights (though I do support some restrictions). I'm also pro-life.

That's kind of the problem with Americans bipolar poltical system. If you don't neatly fall into either a liberal or conservative category, people think you stand for nothing. But that just doesn't really make sense.

[Jake]

[quote="Joker";p="355720"]

Originally Posted by Jake";p=&quot

Just like extremist, moderates stand for what they believe is right, it's just that what they believe may not fit neatly into a liberal or conservative category. Take myself, for example. I support liberal causes such as gay rights, and affirmative action. I don't think the Iraq war was justified, and I support a strict separation of church and state. However, I also support many conservative causes, such as gun rights (though I do support some restrictions). I'm also pro-life.

That's kind of the problem with Americans bipolar poltical system. If you don't neatly fall into either a liberal or conservative category, people think you stand for nothing. But that just doesn't really make sense.

My problem with moderates is that they don't have any principles, they are just in the middle of whatever range prevails. What would a moderate nazi have been like? A moderate cambodian communist?

[Nathan]

Wow, someone just dug up a post i made 3 years ago. Thanks, Ted. Have i really been posting on this board that long? ( I'm worried somoene is going to dig up the even more loopy ones. lol. )

Originally Posted by Jake";p=&quot

My problem with moderates is that they don't have any principles, they are just in the middle of whatever range prevails.

Just because they fall into the middle range doesn't mean they have no principles. But the fact that they're running for office does, that's a different story entirely....

What would a moderate nazi have been like? A moderate cambodian communist?

I'm guessing they'd have been shot.