A Simple Pass/Fail Test To Evaluate Substance Over Loyalty

I read this article by Robin Hanson a while back that lists signs that "your opinions function more to signal loyalty... than to estimate truth" and I forgot to share it until now.

It's a simple, but effective, pass/fail test you can apply to commentators in order to gauge substantive perspective. If nothing else, it's a good indicator of when to apply the proverbial grain of salt when someone opens their mouth.

• You find it hard to be enthusiastic for something until you know that others oppose it.
• You have little interest in getting clear on what exactly is the position being argued.
• Realizing that a topic is important and neglected doesn’t make you much interested.
• You have little interest in digging to bigger topics behind commonly argued topics.
• You are less interested in a topic when you don’t foresee being able to talk about it.
• You are uncomfortable taking a position near the middle of the opinion distribution.
• You are uncomfortable taking a position of high uncertainty about who is right.
• You care far more about current nearby events than similar distant or past/future events.
• You find it easy to conclude that those who disagree with you are insincere or stupid.
• You are reluctant to change your publicly stated positions in response to new info.
• You are reluctant to agree a rival’s claim, even if you had no prior opinion on the topic.
• You are reluctant to take a position that raises the status of rivals.
• You care more about consistency between your beliefs than about belief accuracy.
• You go easy on sloppy arguments by folks on “your side.”
• You have little interest in practical concrete implications of commonly argued topics.
• Your opinion doesn’t much change after talking with smart folks who know more.
• You are especially eager to drop names when explaining positions and arguments.
• You find it hard to list weak points and counter-arguments on your positions.
• You feel passionately about a topic, but haven’t sought out much evidence.
• You are reluctant to not have an opinion on commonly discussed topics.

It's telling, and frankly, sad, that few cable news commentators pass this test. Especially when I can't think of any on Fox News, save maybe Shep Smith, and his is more a calculated way to distinguish himself, rather than a pure display of integrity. Also, it's unfortunate that nearly all of the people guilty of being loyalists lack the self-awareness to recognize themselves as such.

[Overcoming Bias]

Hey, Look At That, The Comment Section Isn't Always Reserved For Calling People n00bs. Go Figure.

Sometimes, on a very rare occasion, the best commentary on a social issue topic can only be found in the comment sections on Fark.

This, a comment from someone listed as Ozone at 02:03:58 PM on 8/13/09 on this Fark page.

This morning I was awoken by my alarm clock powered by electricity generated by the public power monopoly regulated by the U.S. Department of Energy.

I then took a shower in the clean water provided by a municipal water utility.

After that, I turned on the TV to one of the FCC-regulated channels to see what the National Weather Service of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration determined the weather was going to be like, using satellites designed, built, and launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

I watched this while eating my breakfast of U.S. Department of Agriculture-inspected food and taking the drugs which have been determined as safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

At the appropriate time, as regulated by the U.S. Congress and kept accurate by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the U.S. Naval Observatory, I get into my National Highway Traffic Safety Administration-approved automobile and set out to work on the roads build by the local, state, and federal Departments of Transportation, possibly stopping to purchase additional fuel of a quality level determined by the Environmental Protection Agency, using legal tender issued by the Federal Reserve Bank.

On the way out the door I deposit any mail I have to be sent out via the U.S. Postal Service and drop the kids off at the public school.

After spending another day not being maimed or killed at work thanks to the workplace regulations imposed by the Department of Labor and the Occupational Safety and Health administration, enjoying another two meals which again do not kill me because of the USDA, I drive my NHTSA car back home on the DOT roads, to my house which has not burned down in my absence because of the state and local building codes and Fire Marshal's inspection, and which has not been plundered of all its valuables thanks to the local police department.

And then I log on to the internet -- which was developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration -- and post on Freerepublic.com and Fox News forums about how SOCIALISM in medicine is BAD because the government can't do anything right.

Bravo.

I Personally Believe That This Is What Miss South Carolina Was Trying To Warn Us About

If you don't know what's wrong with this map, you are probably qualified to work for Fox News.

How the fuck does this happen? Are they drawing their maps from scratch every time they need a graphic? Maybe they are trying to distance themselves from their role in selling the Iraq War by pretending Iraq doesn't even exist.

Either way, they need to look into hiring some fact-checkers. Ha! Fox News with fact-checkers... I made a funny.

Bill O'Reilly, Find Yourself Another Country To Be Part Of

To the tune of the Phil Ochs classic civil rights anthem, "Here's To The State Of Mississippi", I'd like to introduce a new feature on bazookaluca, titled Find Yourself Another Country To Be Part Of. I think you can guess what that means and the kind of people it's directed towards.

And in the longstanding tradition of adopting the folk classic to fit the times, I'll add a verse to state my case as to why the subject in question needs to find a new place to call home.

My first deportation:

Bill O'Reilly

Here's to the ass known as Bill O'Reilly,
For 'neath his smug pretense, the charlatan hides behind,
If you stir up his emotions, a bloated egomaniac you will find.
The populist rage he urges has spun a thousand crimes,
His disservice to the nation should cost him some hard time.
Whoa, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of,
Bill O'Reilly, find yourself another country to be part of.