Is THIS the Problem ?

I just want to express a bit of gratitude for the people who I'm interacting with.

You're a good foil for me. You help me process my thoughts and feelings.

This GoT analogy isn't doing much for me. Do you honestly expect to rule the world or be killed because you tried to do so? The chances of either thing happening are infinitesimal. The overwhelming probability is that you are going to talk on the internet and then eventually die for reasons that have nothing to do with the words that you typed on the internet.

I am just explaining how the world works. I'm not intending to talk about myself.

Look at yourself Rococo .... do you not see that you are here "participating" in a Politics and Society forum without giving any indication of how you would run the world or want it to be run ?

I guess it shouldn't shock me that there are people on the internet all day who actually think they are playing the GoT.

Our behavior is biological in the sense that we have evolved to have brain, etc., and those organs function in a certain way. If you believe that we are individually hard-wired to believe exactly what we each believe right now, and those beliefs can't be altered because of our biology, then I repeat that further discussion would seem to be pointless.

You talk as if I am playing coy. The reality is that I don't exactly know how I would run the world or exactly how I believe the world should be run. I reject outright the idea that I shouldn't push back on your view of the world unless I myself have all the answers. I see no evidence that you would be an optimal choice to run the world, but that doesn't mean I have all the answers.

There isn't even agreement on how to best run a high school, let alone the entire world.

If I ruled the world I would
Make following test cricket compulsory at school
Require an understanding of foundational AI/logic before posting on the internet about anything to do with logic/AI/etc ever
Add Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance to the curriculum
Teach importance of high quality alcoholic drinks over low quality ones (although that follows from the previous ones)
but first I would ban anyone from ever ruling the world

Definitely not this.

Have you read it?

Most haven't but you objected more than to test cricket and to banning anyone from ruling the world so it considerably raises the chances you have.

I disagree completely. And I am confident that your beliefs will ultimately change when it becomes more common to do so. You are not an "early adopter" Rococo. Not a risk taker. You are one of these people who stays in the middle of the pack with no firm positions which require you to stick your neck out.

We are hierarchical creatures. Generally speaking, there is perceived safety in the middle of the pack. Those at the very top are fighting to the death for control of the system and those at the bottom are at greater risk of death via competitive forces.

Nature creates outliers for the benefit of the pack. Someone like Greta Thunberg who has Aspbergers is missing the social filter which causes people to remain silent in the middle of the pack. Someone like Donald Trump who is willing to lead a reduction in the size of the pack.

Like most people, you are a conformist. Your beliefs will change when the pack beliefs change.

GoT offers some good reference points which many people have been exposed to and are therefore useful in explaining real life phenomena.

Trump seems to be a good analogy for the Night King. Boomers are a good analogy for the White Walkers.

There was a very high and unnatural death rate among those sought or held the crown or wanted to name the person who held it. Aerys, Robert, Joffrey, Renly, Stannis, Ned, Tywin, Tommen, Margery, Cersei, Daenerys, Varys. None of them died of old age except Melisandre who had achieved her purpose of helping defeat the Night King.

Look at us .... we all know that the world is growing darker by the day. Yet who stands against the darkness ?

Good luck with anarchy.

As one who tries to adhere to the scientific method, I'm not familiar with any successful anarchical experiments. Perhaps you would like to enlighten the forum as to how rules and decisions should be made ?

Personally, I prefer that the world be ruled by humans instead of the gravitational force of money which is the current paradigm.

Personally I'm a fan of the democracy

Risk aversion is not solely biological, though; it’s a lack of faith.

Risk taking is associated with having a strong sense of destiny and a dissatisfaction with the status quo, both of which come from the spirit.

Otherwise, self transformation would be impossible.

Seems like there is some maneuvering between an all mighty ruler and anarchy.

It really just seems youre a bit bored who's been watching game of thrones and is imagining fun ways to play dictator in real life than anything useful. The anarchy bit has also been thrown around by a few tyrannical **** stains to scare folks - which you probably also found out.

Maybe I missed something, but nobody that I know of in the forum stans for anarchy.

One can oppose a powerful central government without being an anarchist.

You and I do not have compatible views of the world.

I see things through the lens of the scientific method. Observation ==> Hypothesis ==> Experiment ==>: Results ==> Theory.

You announce things which have no observations supporting them. This idea of a "spirit" which is independent of biology and genetics. It makes zero sense to me.

There are plenty of people who take risks without faith. Thieves. Con men. They are the most ruthless, predatory and narcissistic creatures among us. They don't have faith in anything other than themselves.

In other words not unlike our current President. And folks like Elon Musk who you want to run things. What could possibly go wrong??

Democracy is nice in theory. It worked decently in the USA for a few centuries, the majority of which were not especially democratic as women were not allowed to vote for most of its history.

But now, it is basically naked feudalism with the democratic institutions having been sold off to the highest bidders. The democratic features are ritualistic, not substantive.

The media is owned by the wealthy. The SCOTUS is owned by the wealthy. Both major political parties are owned by the wealthy and thus access to representation in govt is owned by the wealthy.. The country has only done one thing consistently well for half a century ..... concentrating wealth in the hands of fewer and fewer people. The system is collapsing under its own weight.

The popularity of the US Congress and media are both abysmal. What recourse do the people have ? We're beginning to see the seeds of revolution. The election of Mamdani is a symptom of the impending death of the malignant status quo. He may turn out to be a fraud like Obama, but the demand for the policies he represents are real and growing. Unfortunately, that result is not going to be extended to a national level very easily. The path to a party getting 60 seats in the Senate and overcoming the filibuster is going to be slow.

The problem with democracy is that it requires an intelligent and educated population in order to make good decisions. People are simply not smart enough to make good decisions for the long term. The USA is squandering all of its goodwill while dictatorial China is becoming the world leader in renewable energy and positioning itself to be the next most credible global superpower. Our democratic process has resulted in the embarrassment of an elected POTUS going in front of the UN Assembly and declaring climate change a hoax.

Someone has a biological / genetic disposition for alcoholism and becomes an alcoholic. Years later they overcome this and get sober.

How do you explain this in your model?

I never said that I wanted Elon Musk to run the world.

The person who I think best embodies the world's priorities is Johan Rockstrom. He's a sustainability guru. He doesn't want the responsibility of running the world like Musk does.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johan_Rock...

There is a place for people like Musk who are tremendously driven and have a track record for assembling and managing teams for the purpose of delivering desired results. We just need leadership which steers that energy in a direction that is good for our species ..... not allowing him to purchase important media outlets like Twitter and setting loose an army of climate denying bots.

I like Lincoln's management style ..... building a team of rivals. He leveraged the value of his political opponents and brought talented and powerful people into his administration. I wouldn't try to destroy Musk. I'd put a leash on him and harness that drive in a different direction.

It's a competition between their desire to survive and the forces which give rise to their self destruction via substance addiction.

People have a variety of variables which influence their decision making and it's a matter of understanding the hierarchy of those variables.

Death is scary and final. There is no motivator like aversion to death. But in some cases, people don't have enough to live for in order to do the work to conquer their self destructive habits. They don't value themselves or what they have to offer the world enough.

Define “decision making” in your model.

I’m assuming your model has no inclusion of a self, so how can “you” decision make without a self?

Bad assumption. Where does that come from ?