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My feeling is that there is too much "media" with too many people trying to justify their jobs. They dredge up anything..true, false, rumor..just to fill space on the air. Bloggers feed on rumor and inuendo, too.
I stopped all the newspapers, and only watch about 15 minutes of news a day. Usually, the first few minutes of evening or morning news hits the high spots and the rest is dreck.
I keep negativity out of my life as much as possible. I feel as though they are trying to rob me of my wellbeing.
Yesterday, in the supermarket, I was chatting with an 85-year old lady, who was pretty pessimistic about the future of the America that she had worked hard through the depression to build with her bare and callused hands. As we talked, I would glance over her shoulder at other shoppers. Obese women pushing shopping carts full of disposable diapers and tater tots and plastic 2-litre sodas. And I thought to myself, what is this random selection of people going to do to turn us around, and make America a better place in the future? It's hard to find a positive answer to that question.
Yesterday, in the supermarket, I was chatting with an 85-year old lady, who was pretty pessimistic about the future of the America that she had worked hard through the depression to build with her bare and callused hands. As we talked, I would glance over her shoulder at other shoppers. Obese women pushing shopping carts full of disposable diapers and tater tots and plastic 2-litre sodas. And I thought to myself, what is this random selection of people going to do to turn us around, and make America a better place in the future? It's hard to find a positive answer to that question.
Selective tunnel-vision, sampling bias etc. I was at a library in suburban Chicago last week and met a local philanthropist, an 18 year old kid who was finishing college next year and a hard working single mom (all in one visit). I think hey had plenty to offer. ---The fact you focus on those individuals, then apply that to the overall population, and then parlay that into some great fear that the future is damned is an exact replication of what I am describing in my OP.
The media is doom and gloom, it's what sells. Nobody wants to hear about the thousands of planes that landed safely, or the cars that didn't get a ticket or wreck. We want to know that someone else out there is worse off than ourselves.
Surround yourself w/happy people. Your outlook will change.
My opinion, but its right!
I like to hear good news every once a while 'cuz the doom and gloom of what you see/read can bring ya down but it is what it is, they tell me reality. This surely was good news to hear and I'm quite sure especially for her family: [SIZE=4]Report: Missing Florida Girl Nadia Bloom Found Alive - AOL News[/SIZE]
(April 13) -- An 11-year-old girl has been found alive, several days after she vanished from her neighborhood near a swampy forest in Winter Springs, Fla., ...
www.aolnews.com/...nadia-bloom-found-alive/19437511 - 23 hours ago
Selective tunnel-vision, sampling bias etc. I was at a library in suburban Chicago last week and met a local philanthropist, an 18 year old kid who was finishing college next year and a hard working single mom (all in one visit). I think hey had plenty to offer. ---The fact you focus on those individuals, then apply that to the overall population, and then parlay that into some great fear that the future is damned is an exact replication of what I am describing in my OP.
Think about what you just said. In terms of random sampling, which venue "selects", a supermarket or a library? Of course, in a library, you are going to find the people that your tunnel-vision wants to find. A supermarket is a better sample of the "overall population" than a library. Everybody goes to the supermarket---even your 18-year old philanthropist. Didn't you just apply three people in the library to the "overall population"? If there are only three people in the whole city who meet your optimistic expectations, the library is where you are sure to find them. And that's not "sampling bias"?
It's like an airline doing a customer satisfaction survey, and asking only people in first-class.
Think about what you just said. In terms of random sampling, which venue "selects", a supermarket or a library? Of course, in a library, you are going to find the people that your tunnel-vision wants to find. A supermarket is a better sample of the "overall population" than a library. Everybody goes to the supermarket---even your 18-year old philanthropist.
Right, I agree I was using sampling bias as well. Me applying those traits to the general population and assume we are on the highway to utopia would be as abusrd as applying overweight-tatertot eating sunday morning shoppers to everyone. Which is why I didn't, but I did enjoy my time talking/observing them.
It's funny. I read this and completely agreed with the OP. I think that far too many times people are more willing to buy into the negative than accept the positive all around them. Crazy! We had this convo at work the other day about all the earthquakes, Myan calendar, the world as we know it ending and it being apocolyptic.
My response was, we've always had earthquakes and natural disasters and realistically IF the world is going to end in our lifetime (2012) there isn't a think you or anyone else can do to prevent it and let's just say (and I'm really just saying) but say the world basically falls apart and it's an apocolyptic ending, and sure you built your shelter below ground and waited umpteen years to come out. Would you really, really want to live in that kind of world? Really?
So, lets all be positive, enjoy what we have and if one morning in 2012 we just don't wake up at least then we can go to our next life knowing we did the best we can.
I don't think this thread is about earthquakes. Some people think humans are doing a good enough job of it, an earthquake scenario in 2012 would come too late.
Dang, perfect example of miserable people. All ya need is some cheese there jturd.
Is there anyone here who can speak plain English, who can explain what he's talking about to me?
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