The Science of Gun Ownership and Penis Size

Mostly this is confirmation of what we already knew:

Size Matters? Penis Dissatisfaction and Gun Ownership in America – Terrence D. Hill, Liwen Zeng, Amy M. Burdette, Benjamin Dowd-Arrow, John P. Bartkowski, Christopher G. Ellison, 2024

In this study, we formally examine the association between penis size dissatisfaction and gun ownership in America. The primary hypothesis, derived from the psychosexual theory of gun ownership, asserts that men who are more dissatisfied with the size of their penises will be more likely to personally own guns. To test this hypothesis, we used data collected from the 2023 Masculinity, Sexual Health, and Politics (MSHAP) survey, a national probability sample of 1,840 men, and regression analyses to model personal gun ownership as a function of penis size dissatisfaction, experiences with penis enlargement, social desirability, masculinity, body mass, mental health, and a range of sociodemographic characteristics. We find that men who are more dissatisfied with the size of their penises are less likely to personally own guns across outcomes, including any gun ownership, military-style rifle ownership, and total number of guns owned. The inverse association between penis size dissatisfaction and gun ownership is linear; however, the association is weakest among men ages 60 and older. With these findings in mind, we failed to observe any differences in personal gun ownership between men who have and have not attempted penis enlargement. To our knowledge, this is the first study to formally examine the association between penis size and personal gun ownership in America. Our findings fail to support the psychosexual theory of gun ownership. Alternative theories are posited for the apparent inverse association between penis size dissatisfaction and personal gun ownership, including higher levels of testosterone and constructionist explanations.

There is something new in here. There is an inverse relationship that is useful for us to use. It IS projection:

men who are more dissatisfied with the size of their penises are less likely to personally own guns across outcomes, including any gun ownership, military-style rifle ownership, and total number of guns owned.

See also:

A Form of Mental Illness

Quote of the Day

Those who carry guns don’t push that belief on others; they simply want the right preserved. Those who hate guns want them outlawed for everyone. That’s the difference between freedom and tyranny. It’s a distinguishing characteristic between conservative and liberal beliefs.

Army of the Poors @ArmyOfThePoors
Posted on X, June 28, 2021

I’m not convinced it is a “distinguishing characteristic between conservative and liberal beliefs.” It certain is A Conflict of Visions. But I see it a distinguishing characteristic between individualists and collectivists. The collectivist somehow believes it is necessary for everyone to have the same beliefs and act in essentially the same way. If the people lobby for teachers to be allowed to carry guns in schools to protect the children, then the collectivists cannot take those words literally. They insist this means we are intent on forcing all teachers to carry guns in schools.

It is very bizarre to me. Some other examples:

  1. They cannot imagine a society where people have the freedom of choice to spend their money as they see fit.
  2. They cannot imagine a society where people are allowed to raise children in a manner other than what the collective insists is the one true way.
  3. They cannot imagine a society where a baker is allowed to refuse baking a cake for an occasion celebrated by the collective which is repugnant to the baker.

I suspect it is a form of mental illness. I once had a relationship where I lived with similar bafflement for decades. I would literally write things down in the clearest possible words. And yet, those words would be warped to mean something entirely different in their mind. I would have them read the words carefully, demanding they show me the words that meant what they interpreted them to mean. After a few minutes, I would convince them I had not said what they claimed I had said. Then, literally 10 or 15 seconds later, they would revert to their original misinterpretation. Even though they had admitted they had wrongly interpreted the words, it was impossible for them to hold on to the literal meaning of the words I used.

I suspect a form of this mental illness infected the Democratic Party. And once it reached a critical mass the craziness caused the implosion of their voting base and the record low approval ratings. Somewhat like the Emperor’s New Clothes, everyone, except the crazy’s themselves, can see the truth and are no longer afraid to say it out loud.

Only Compliance is Important

Quote of the Day

It isn’t important which hill neoMarxists choose to die on. What’s important is that they die on whatever hill the Party chooses for them.

George Orwell didn’t write that all freedom is the ability to believe that 2 and 2 are 4.

He wrote that all freedom is the freedom to SAY that 2 and 2 are 4.

Out loud.

What you are seeing here isn’t credulity. That’s not the point. Many of the people who loudly say that 2 and 2 are 5 don’t actually believe that. Nor does the Party need or even want them to.

Beliefs aren’t important to the Party. Math isn’t important to the Party, either.

What’s important to the Party is compliance.

Here’s how this works:

The Japanese insult, “bakamono”, meaning fool or idiot, is written with the kanji characters for “horse” and “deer”.

This isn’t because the Japanese think of horses or deer as foolish. It’s a reference to a story.

On 27 September 207 BC, the eunuch Zhao Gao tested his power against the emperor’s. He presented a deer to the Second Emperor but called it a horse. The emperor laughed and said, “Is the chancellor perhaps mistaken, calling a deer a horse?” He questioned those around him. Some remained silent, and some aligned with Zhao Gao and called it a horse. Zhao Gao secretly arranged for all those who said it was a deer to be brought before the law. Thereafter the officials were all terrified of Zhao Gao.

The ridiculousness of calling a deer a horse, or a woman a man, or two and two five, isn’t the result of stupidity or madness.

It’s the whole point of the litmus test.

If the Party says a deer is a horse, will you agree loudly and vehemently, or will you dissent? Will you comply with the evidence of your own senses, or with the dictates of the Party?

This is how the Party knows who are its slaves, and who are its enemies, which are the only two categories the Party will allow.

“Transwomen are women” isn’t a statement about biology. It isn’t even a statement about social roles.

It’s an oath of submission. What it really means is “I will comply, please do not hurt me.”

This is the true source of the “black lives matter”/”all lives matter” arguments of 2020. It sounds like a silly disagreement if you listen to the content of the words, because “all”, by definition, includes “black”.

But the content of the words was never the point. The point was to make you utter ritual words as a token of submission. Problem was, the words weren’t ridiculous enough. They didn’t distinguish between those who had a philosophical respect for human life, and those who would obey the Party no matter what.

See, the Party isn’t interested in sincere believers. They are of limited use, convenient before the Revolution, but, afterwards, they will be lined up in front of a shallow ditch and shot.

Why?

Because what the Party wants, the whole point of having the Party at all, is absolute power, commanding absolute obedience.

The obedience of even the most zealous of ideological allies is conditional… he obeys because he agrees. So the power of the Party over him is not absolute. They might, someday, do something with which he disagrees, and then he might disobey.

The Party does not want loyal allies who love it. It wants slaves who fear it. Only fear compels absolute, unconditional obedience.

The Party does not care what is in your heart and mind. It only cares that you kneel.

If you are a structural engineer, and the Party says that pi is 3, you must loudly declare that pi is three, and that anyone who says otherwise must be publicly executed as a capitalist imperialist colonialist running dog.

If you do not, you will be tortured and executed.

But you must also secretly memorize the real value of pi, and use it in all your calculations, because you will also be tortured and executed if your buildings fall over.

You must, however, never write down the true value of pi, to help you remember it, and you must carefully burn any page of calculations using it after you are done. If you are caught with these things, you will be tortured and executed.

You must instead spend 75% of your working time constructing fake calculations, starting with the assumption that pi is 3, and subtly introduce computational errors to lead your answer to the real numbers that you computed in secret.

No one will ever read these, but you must meticulously construct them anyway, because if your neighbor ever gets jealous of you, because your wife is prettier than his, or your state-issued apartment is ten square feet larger, then the secret police will check your work, and your only hope is that no divergence from the will of the Party can be found.

Otherwise… well, you know. Here, in the United States, the Party is an embryo. It doesn’t have the power to torture and kill you. It will do its best, of course, but right now, what it has to threaten you with is character assassination.

Racist, sexist, homophobe, transphobe, fatphobe, islamophobe, anti-semite, microaggression, heteronormative, nazi.

Damage to your reputation isn’t particularly fearsome compared to the Soviet, or the Chinese, or the Cuban methods of handling dissent. It isn’t much compared to what the Sandinistas did, or Sendero Luminoso, or Pol Pot.

But the Party needs to start somewhere. It needs to create fear, and train people in compliance, so it can grow.

The Party is not Marxist-Leninist. The Party has no belief system, and it never did. Marxism-Leninism was only ever about finding ridiculous things to force you to say.

Nowdays, the same purpose is served by obvious falsehoods like “transwomen are women”, and “diversity is our strength”.

Devon Eriksen @Devon_Eriksen_
Posted on X, April 9, 2025

I suspect there is a lot of truth to this. However, I have a question… If there are only two categories of people, then which category do The Party members belong? Or saying it differently, how is it decided who are members of The Party?

I have a nagging feeling there are other flaws in this, but it may be due to some oversimplification for illustration purposes other than fatal errors.

Assuming this is fundamentally true, then we have an interesting takeaway. Resistance to The Party only requires noncompliance. Pointing out the most absurd of The Party assertions widens a crack in the power of The Party. Think of the story of The Emperor’s New Clothes. All it took was the correct observation of a little child to break the false assertion.

This is, of course, an exaggeration of reality, But the direction of the force vector to break The Party is dead on.

Democrat Version of QAnon?

Via email from John Schussler who contributed his comments:

I have a feeling you are probably not thrilled with this, but some of your readers definitely are. I’d be very interested to see a post from you (and the comments to it) discussing the below. Seems to be making the rounds but I have yet to find the original post. Thus far there’s Reddit, plus X, plus others if you Google the first sentence

Then gave me the link Insurrection act — April 20th. Pls read! : r/Political_Revolution and the text below. I am also interested the comments of my readers.

I really wish there was a way to get this into the hands of every American before April 20th.

FROM THE MEDIUM:

Part 1: On April 20th, 2025, the United States may Cross the Point of No Return.

It sounds wild. Maybe even crazy. But every step is already in motion. I’d be happy to be wrong. But if this is correct… you’ll be ready.

On April 20, 2025, the United States may initiate its final steps into authoritarian rule.

That’s the day Donald Trump’s advisory committee is expected to release its findings on whether he should invoke the Insurrection Act — a move that would allow him to deploy the military domestically and allow Trump to impose martial law. (San Francisco Chronicle). Given Hegseth and Noem are the main “advisors”, the conclusion is foregone.

And as his two months in office has already shown, he won’t stop at just a legal opinion.

Expect an executive order even that same day or the next, officially declaring the Insurrection Act, restricting freedoms in the name of restoring control of the border and perhaps in blue-state cities, and setting the larger plan in motion.

Of course, this won’t be framed as an attack on democracy. It will be packaged as a necessary response to crisis — as authoritarian takeovers always are.

But once it happens, there’s no going back.

THIS WILL BE THE POINT OF NO RETURN.

The roadmap for overthrowing a democratic government isn’t new or theoretical — it’s a well-worn playbook, tested and repeated across history by those who crave power more than liberty. After rejecting it initially, being incredulous, I have realized there is too much evidence suggesting this may be what’s happening now to remain silent.

Telling other people what may be happening, so they can recognize it and maybe together we can stop it, is my entire purpose here.

This is Part 1 of what has turned into a series: Their Coup Playbook: How They Quietly Kill the Constitution in the Coming Weeks and Months

THIS IS HOW DEMOCRACY ENDS: HERE’S THEIR PLAYBOOK

It won’t all happen in one night.

Instead, the process will unfold in stages, each step making resistance harder.

Free elections, a free press, and the right to protest will disappear one piece at a time, until there’s nothing left to save.

My entire goal here is to make people aware, so you can recognize it, if it really is what’s happening, and maybe together we can help stop it. It’s all I, personally, can do.

Here’s how it will happen, step by step, after Trump invokes the Insurrection Act with an Executive Order:

1. “Resist!” Demonstrations Grow — Just As Planned

Left-leaning and even more centrist people will be alarmed. Peaceful protests will be organized nationwide, as they already have been being organized now, with growing numbers of people joining protests each week.

The calls to “Resist!” will grow louder, and large-scale demonstrations will begin forming in major cities.

This is exactly what Trump wants. He didn’t invoke the Insurrection Act sooner because he needed his opposition to gather first — so he could use them as a tool for his next step.

He also waited 90 days, instead of invoking it on Day 1 as Project 2025 recommended, so he would have his people in place, and remove those who would oppose them in the government, military, courts, and civil positions.

His cabal is waiting for a strong reaction — they want massive unrest. They need a justification to kick off the next steps in their plan.

2. The False Flag Crisis: Turning Protest into “Terror”

The protests will turn violent quickly. Maybe in a day, maybe during the next big protest the following weekend.

They will turn violent not because of the protesters, but because they will have been infiltrated by agents provocateurs, from militia groups like The Proud Boys, whose goal is to escalate as quickly as possible and give Trump and his cabal an excuse to trigger the next stage.

Expect “terrorist” bombings, targeted assassinations, or high-profile acts of violence, either staged or exploited, to justify the crackdown.

There may even be an extremely high profile assassination of a leading right-wing leader that changes everything in a moment… and the “woke radicals” will be blamed, and the country will rally around more extreme measures to bring back order and control.

The media will be flooded with images of chaos, pushing the public into a state of fear. Calls for “order” will follow.

3. Trump Declares Expanded Martial Law — And Calls for Militia to assist the police and Military

Trump has already invoked the Insurrection Act — so now he now declares even more extensive and repressive martial law, and orders troops into major US cities where most oppose him, branding protesters and opponents as “seditionists,” “traitors,” and the “woke mob”.

He will call on “good Americans” to grab their guns, like the patriots of 1776, and join the militias forming to “restore order” and “take back control” from the leftist threat. Using militias also gets him around resistance from military leaders who might oppose his orders.

The militias already exist — the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, Three Percenters, and others— and they are not some distant fringe. They were at January 6. The most extreme and radicalized are all released from prison now.They are ready to roll, and to answer Trump’s call, which they were waiting for four years ago.

The militia members are your neighbors. The difference between them and you? These neighbors own and have been training with AR-15s. You and your friends? Not so much.

This will be framed as “helping the police” and “keeping order.” Law enforcement will quietly welcome them — or, in some cases, will deputize them, with Trump’s support.

4. Mass Arrests of Opposition Leaders

Journalists, Democratic officials, and activists will be arrested under charges of sedition, terrorism, or “inciting violence.”

Expect Mark Milley, Liz Cheyney, and Adam Kinzinger to be arrested quickly and with great press coverage. How long the show trials take is probably a good measure of how much control Trump has established over the courts.

Key Democratic governors and attorneys general will be removed first, ensuring no state-level resistance.

Law enforcement and military ranks will be purged, with loyalty tests ensuring only Trump-aligned officers remain.

5. Military & National Guard Take Over Major Cities

Expect deployments in Washington, D.C., New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and other blue-state strongholds.

Curfews and lockdowns will be imposed, justified as measures to “restore peace.”

Checkpoints and military policing will become the new normal. Expect them in particular along major highways going to Canada or Mexico, and in red states — to identify and detain seditionists, traitors, and people of questionable loyalty.

Trump’s building of detainment centers in Guantanamo, and expansion of the 106 other ICE detention centers, was not actually intended for illegal migrants. And just a few days ago, Blackwater founder and Billionaire Erik Prince offered to help Trump “privatize deportation camps” as has been being done with prisons per Trump’s Day 1 Executive Order. So now Trump has an extrajudicial place to store the disloyal and those who resist, in for-profit camps guarded by militias and loyal military. Until he decides what to do with them.

6. Press Censorship & Total Media Control

Independent news outlets will face shutdowns or takeovers. Those that resist will see their journalists arrested or harassed.

Mainstream media will be forced into compliance. Blackmail, corporate pressure, and legal threats will ensure they toe the line.

Social media platforms like X (Twitter) will amplify the official narrative, drowning out opposition.

Other social media and lines of communication will be turned off. The Internet will be monitored, people identified from this monitoring for arrest, using Palantir technology. Peter Thiel, who I’ve written about before, is co-founder of Palantir. We will fully enter the surveillance state.

7. Borders Close & Dissidents Are Trapped Inside

Passports will be revoked for critics and opponents. If you’re on a list, you’re not leaving. Especially if you’re of Draft age.

No-fly lists will expand to include activists and journalists.

ICE and DHS will be weaponized — not just against immigrants, but against political enemies.

8. Elections Are “Postponed” Indefinitely

The 2026 midterms will be suspended under the excuse of national security concerns.

Red-state legislatures will eliminate Democratic-leaning districts, ensuring permanent Republican control.

By 2028, Trump (or his handpicked successor) will run unopposed. Elections will be a formality, probably still held. But rigged.

PROJECT 2025 AND THE INSURRECTION ACT: THIS WAS ALWAYS THE PLAN

This isn’t speculation.

The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 lays out a detailed strategy for permanent right-wing control.

It openly advocates using the Insurrection Act to crush opposition and dismantle the administrative state.

Trump isn’t improvising — he’s following a script.

We Can’t Wait — The Time to Act Is Now

We can’t sit back and wait for Trump to fire the starting gun — because once he does, it will already be too late.

We need to prepare now.

We need to plan now.

We need to dismantle his plans before they begin.

We have one month.

That’s it.

The Only Way to Stop this Coup is by Exposing It

The only way I can think of to stop this conspiracy, which is in final planning stages, is through exposure.

If people see the playbook in advance, they will be less likely be manipulated when it happens.

They might question the narrative. “Wait. This is what they said would happen. I thought it was crazy. But maybe…”

We need to spread this narrative far and wide so that when the moment comes, no one can claim ignorance.

Maybe we will be proven wrong.

Maybe we will look silly.

Or maybe… we will have derailed the plan, by telling people what to look for, to recognize the playbook steps as (if) they happen.

Here’s what we must do before April 20:

Empower the press, law enforcement, military, and elected officials to recognize the game that’s being played. They need to understand what’s happening before they are pressured to go along with it.

Share this post, or write your own. Do your own research. Don’t take my word for it. Talk with your friends and family about this crazy conspiracy theory that can’t rally happen… can it? So if and when the steps actually happen, people recognize it for what it is.

Prepare the public so they don’t take the bait. Trump and his cabal want protests to explode into chaos.

They want violence in the streets to justify their crackdown. We must be ready to outmaneuver them — to refuse to be used as pawns in their game.

Stand up to the militias — and stop friends and family from joining them. The Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, and other armed groups will be mobilized as Trump’s shock troops. They will be framed as “restoring order” and “helping the police.” We need to be ready to counter this, to make sure our neighbors, friends, and family don’t get sucked in.

Inoculate our fellow citizens against the propaganda. Most Americans are good people — but good people can be misled. They can be scared into compliance. Our job is to make sure they see what’s happening before it’s too late.

The only way to stop this plot is to expose it, reject it, and make it unmistakably clear to every American what is happening. We must stop these malign forces from enacting their will on our country, the world, and each of us and our families.

WHAT IF WE DON’T STOP IT?

If it is not stopped, and Trump enacts the Insurrection Act, at that point we probably only have 48 to 72 hours to try to stop everything from happening after the Executive Order.

Once martial law is imposed, there will be a tiny window — no more than three days — before resistance becomes nearly impossible.

Stopping it before it happens is the best option.

But what if we don’t?

In my next post, I’ll outline peaceful, strategic ways to resist — while we still can. And what our reduced options are if it still happens.

If we don’t act before April 20, then by April 23, it will already be too late. The next post lays out a concrete action plan — exactly what you can do to try to stop this.”

My first response was to ask Copilot. Copilot was not very helpful. I gave the same prompt to Grok and clicked the “DeepSearch” button. My prompt and the complete response are here. The conclusion and key citations:

Conclusion

The essay’s earliest posting was on March 21, 2025, on Medium, and its claims about the report and advisors have a factual basis in the January 20, 2025, executive order and the roles of Hegseth and Noem. However, broader predictions about authoritarian actions are speculative and lack evidence as of April 8, 2025. Given the sensitivity and controversy, these claims warrant careful monitoring as the report’s release approaches, with potential implications for U.S. governance and civil liberties.

Key Citations

My ten second thought response which I replied in email to John with was, “That is an incredibly detailed delusion.”

If you really want to dig deeper go to the bottom of the original post for the Full Series. There are five long posts on this topic. I did not read them all.

My more thoughtful response with the input from Grok (and lesser extent Copilot), and reading further is that this person, at best, has a vivid imagination. There are connections to reality, but these are only used to jump off into political nightmares which Democrats have been creating and sharing for years.

After spending decades dealing with someone with mental health issues, I see a lot of similarities. They touch reality and then claim far-fetched scenarios are what those touches with reality “really” mean.

You saw similar things with QAnon.

There are enough references to reality that the extrapolation is plausible. And if you are predisposed to belief of that scenario, such as listening to mainstream media for the last several years, then “it all makes sense.” And “belief” is relatively easy.

By picking and choosing the data to incorporate into their belief system they can create a nearly conflict free belief system. Here are some data points they did not take into account.

  1. In general, dictators increase controls rather than decrease them. This enables the easy prosecution and jailing of political opponents. It seems to me the Trump administration is decreasing controls.
  2. The Second Amendment. The Trump administration is a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment. I do not believe there has ever been a dictator that allowed their political opponents access to arms.
  3. The Trump administration is tearing down government structures typically required for indoctrination and consolidating control. For example, the destruction of Department of Education gives more control to states. Indoctrination of the youth is a common component of all dictatorships I have studied. USAID is another means of control which I would expect to be reshaped rather than destroyed by a dictator.

These data points should be sufficient for a rational person to conclude the scenario foreseen by the poster is unlikely at best and probably a delusion or a carefully crafted post with an ulterior motive. My best guess at an ulterior motive is a desire for attention. My second-best guess is an attempt to create an immediate violent response to the Trump administration.

Prepare appropriately.

I sure there are more disconnects from reality, but I just don’t have the time right now to do more research and thinking on the topic. Please contribution in the comments.

A Canadian’s View of The Second Amendment

Quote of the Day

When I was travelling through the South over the past month, I was told by several hosts that they all carry guns. They confirmed that they do not tolerate the nonsense that Jews face elsewhere. America: Never ever give up or water down your Second Amendment. It is the means by which you maintain your freedom from all enemies, domestic and foreign.

Gad Saad @GadSaad
Posted on X, March 7, 2025

Dr. Saad is the psychologist author of the bestselling book, The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense. I listened to it and liked it. I follow him on X and find his sarcasm quite entertaining. He taunts the Canadian censors with his criticism of woke ideologies.

His childhood history as a Jew in Beirut likely influences his views on the right to keep and bear arms.

People Will Tell You Exactly Who They Are

Quote of the Day

It’s a particular and peculiar benefit of free speech that most people will tell you exactly who they are when you let them.

Anon
February 6, 2025
Comment to Whiteness is a Demonic Force of Evil

Interesting. That probably explains why I have had so many people tell me stuff that I am shocked they tell anyone. I let people talk and don’t interrupt them. I also probably don’t react as much to unusual things as most other people.

I’ve had the most racist, homophobic, sexist, anti-Semitic person I have ever heard of rant for many minutes, multiple times. A far-left woman told me that she and I were one of the new humans, superior to ordinary people. One person, who spent considerable time in a psych ward, told me about the CIA reading our minds. One guy raved about extreme conservative stuff and repeatedly told me that he thought I was a conservative, just like him. Multiple women have told me about their “body count” being in the multiple hundreds.

I just listen.

No Clue About Human Nature

Quote of the Day

It’s kinda weird that deplatforming Trump just like completely worked with no visible downside whatsoever.

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias
Tweeted on January 21, 2021

I can’t find the original tweet, but Marc Andreessen @pmarca (and others) have preserved the quote for our enjoyment:

One has to wonder what type of mental deficiency is responsible for believing such a statement would be true. My model of human psychology predicts a white-hot rage in a narcissist. More normal people will be very unhappy and welcome an opportunity to repay the insult, with interest, even years later.

To be fair, democrats are seldom accused of understanding the true nature of humans (or even animals). They are more likely to assert human nature can be changed to match their beliefs.

Practice Being a Non-Conformist.

Quote of the Day

Often it’s perfectly fine to blindly follow rules and guidelines, but sometimes, every once in a while, it can permit atrocities to happen: from cruel conspiracies against that one person in your friend group who’s a little different all the way up the scale to genocidal actions. So it’s absolutely vital to be able to think about the norms we follow, and, from time to time, to break the less useful ones just to make sure we still can. We need to practice non-conformity to make sure we can do it when we need to. It’s always wise to take a minute to think, ‘Do I really agree with this, and could it harm anyone?’ before acting. 

Marie Snyder
January 2, 2025
Stand Out: How to Prevent Obeying in Advance – 3 Quarks Daily

Via email from Chris M.

Following this advice is tougher than you think. This behavior extends from seemly insignificant curiosities to the mind boggling horrific.

For example. Turn off all the lights in a room and shine a light through a pin hole in a wall. Ask the group of people in the room to report which direction the light is moving. After discussing it, they will agree the stationary light is moving and the direction of that movement.

We have examples from the other end of the scale as well. Virtually no one in a group will use their shovel to attack their murderers. This is true even if they are knowingly digging their own graves. Everyone else is digging, so the individual conforms to the norm.

Practice being a non-conformist. It may save your life and/or the lives of thousands or even millions of others.

Global War Over 2+2=4

Quote of the Day

One day, in the near future, a global war break out will with every human on the planet participating.

On one side, their banners will proclaim the war cry, “2+2=4”.

On the other side, their rainbow banners will state, “That’s racist!”

Alice Smith (@TheAliceSmith)
Tweeted on March 29, 2022

While I think this is overstated to make the point, I do think it has more than a little truth in it. And that is very depressing. It is between the sane and insane. It is war about reality and delusions.

Do Chatbots Have Dementia?

Via an email from Defens.

Leading AI chatbots show dementia-like cognitive decline in tests, raising questions about their future in medicine

Almost all leading large language models or “chatbots” show signs of mild cognitive impairment in tests widely used to spot early signs of dementia, finds a study in the Christmas issue of the BMJ.

The results also show that “older” versions of chatbots, like older patients, tend to perform worse on the tests. The authors say these findings “challenge the assumption that artificial intelligence will soon replace human doctors.”

Interesting!

At first, I read the article as saying that as the chatbots aged they developed dementia. When I read more closely, I see they are just saying the upgraded versions don’t show these symptoms as much. This is in comparison to the initial versions. Still, this is interesting.

The most amazing dementia test, in my opinion, is to ask the patient to draw an analog clock face. They should draw it with a particular time. In dementia patients the result will be messed up:

I decided to test a few AI Chatbots. I gave all of them the same request:

Please draw an analog clock face with the time of 3:30.

The rest of this post rather long and image intense so I put it below the following line.

Continue reading

Competing Hypothesis’s on Gun Attitude Flip-Flop

Quote of the Day

The very individuals who have long championed gun control as a solution to gun violence are now celebrating the tragic killing of a CEO by someone who was radicalized and used a 3D-printed firearm. These same voices once lauded an attacker who nearly assassinated Donald Trump. Such reactions reveal obvious inconsistency, suggesting that their stance on gun violence are politically motivated rather than rooted in principle.

🔫UR a Smart Ass, Carl🔫 @Ur_a_Smartass_C
Posted on X on December 10, 2024

“… politically motivated rather than rooted in principle.” is a good hypothesis. I would like to contribute another hypothesis.

These are people who decide right from wrong almost entirely based on their emotions. Children who are victims of a mass shooter causes them to feel bad and this means guns must be bad. If someone they don’t like is murdered with a gun, then they feel good. This associates guns with their good feelings, and they have no wish to condemn the gun.

I think there is a more important point to be made here. There is a nothing but a thin veneer of civilization over these people. The threshold for them to accept the murder of someone is shockingly low. This can explain riots, lynch mobs, and genocide. Blood lust is a real thing and only barely suppressed in some people.

Prepare appropriately.

People Have their Own Falsehoods

Quote of the Day

Democrats didn’t like what voters told them on election night, and they don’t seem to like hearing what they have to say to each other in the fallout. 

If they want to avoid defeat and become a reasonable party again, they will have to learn how to listen to each other, and their voters, again. 

Max Thornberry
November 24, 2024
Democrats turn on each other in battle for soul of the party

I get it that reality is tough. But reality eventually wins.

This gets back to something I have been saying for years. There is a process by which one can determine truth from falsity. Many people not only don’t use a process, but they also can’t comprehend that such a process exists.

For some people truth is what they believe. Many people have beliefs which not only lack evidence but are in despite of evidence. They may not say this explicitly, but they use phrases that mean that. My “favorites” are variations of “people have their own truths.”

It would be more accurate to say, “people have their own falsehoods.” There is some ultimate truth “out there.” But frequently it is tough, really tough, to get at it. Some people have beliefs much closer to truth/reality, but ultimately it boils down to people believe different falsehoods.

Just because everyone is “wrong” it does not mean everyone is equally wrong. I think this truth escapes the majority of the Democrat Party leaders. They can correctly find flaws in the in their political opponents’ beliefs. This does not mean the Democrat Party belief system is correct or even better.

Make Believe Psychology Degree

Quote of the Day

That Mr “Tactical” combined that truly ridiculous man-spreading/crotch shot with all those guns is a blatant confession that he has a very tiny penis & he’s really self-conscious about it.

Sometimes a cigar *isn’t* just a cigar…how many phallic symbols does this guy need?

Kim Votes Blue @nkanow
Posted on X, November 20, 2023

It’s not only another Markley’s Law Monday, it is another science denier (see also here)!

Everyone should know by now that Freud was wrong about the whole penis envy thing. She must have received her psychology degree from the back of a cereal box.

Biggest Popular Delusion in World History

Quote of the Day

#Bitcoin, crypto, and blockchain will likely go down as the biggest example of popular delusions and the madness of crowds in world history. The overall losses when the bubble finally pops will be staggering. It’s not just the speculators who will be left holding a bag of worthless Bitcoin, but also the investors who funded all the infrastructure and related businesses. This is likely the biggest misallocation of resources in human history. Not only will the net losses to society be staggering, but Bitcoin itself will do more to tarnish the reputation of libertarian capitalism and the concept of sound money than any failed government program ever has.

Peter Schiff @PeterSchiff
Posted on X, November 11, 2024

I am in tentative agreement about bitcoin being the biggest popular delusion in world history. The possible exception to this is faith in communism. And the tremendous amount of electricity consumed just boggles my mind.

But the bubble will last as long as enough people have faith in it. It is conceivable that will be decades or even a century.*

But the [dollar | bitcoin] will last as long as enough people have faith in it. It is conceivable that will be decades or even a century.


* Edited as per a suggestion via email from Mike H. only November 13, 2024.

Chaotic Minds

Quote of the Day

You ain’t shit but a bunch of virgins with small dick insecurities, btw go listen to Mando Bel on Spotify and Apple Music

LiL MopHead @AnonUrNot
Tweeted on June 30, 2022

It’s not only another Markley’s Law Monday, it is another science denier (see also here)!

Yes. Their minds really are that chaotic. It is no wonder they don’t trust the general population with firearms. They think everyone else is just as mentally messed up as they are.

It Was the Voter’s Fault

Quote of the Day

Who would have guessed lying about Biden’s cognitive health for 2 yrs, refusing to do an open convention for a new nominee, never mentioning public healthcare & embracing fracking, the Cheneys & a yr long slaughter of children in Gaza wouldn’t be a winning strategy?

Anyone with half a brain? But I thought liberals’ whole thing is being smart? It’s not? They actually just blindly cheer the parade of rickety optics wrapped up in New York Times fonts that is the modern Dem Party?

Well at least it’s time for the dusty hacks & careerists to spread their feathers wide post election and blame Russia and third party candidates. That should fix things.

Adam McKay @ZombiePanther2
Posted on X, November 5, 2024

This was a large donor to the Democrat party. I find this guy most interesting. His take on things, at best half right, at least puts the blame on Harris and the Democrat party.

I find it very telling that all the other whining I see on the web about Harris’s loss is based on introspection. It does not include asking republicans why they voted the way they did. And, one would think, they should especially be asking people who usually vote for democrats why they voted for Trump in this election.

I see, again and again, insistence the voters are sexist, racist, white nationalist, and/or fascist. Nevermind that black men, and all Latinos voted for Trump in greater numbers than in 2020. And in some counties a larger fraction of blacks voted Republican this year than they have since the 1870s! Nevermind these evil voters wouldn’t be pushing lawsuits through the courts that make it easier for individuals own guns and training them on how to defend themselves from the likes of the KKK, men who women, and a fascist government.

Their mindset is it always someone else’s fault. The problem is not they are trying to sell an inferior product. The problem is the people are too stupid and/or evil to buy it. In an individual, this sort of reasoning is a strong indicator of mental illness. It can be argued it means the same thing in a group.

Bezos Clarifies and Becomes a Heretic

Four days ago, I posted about the Washington Post not endorsing a candidate for U.S. President. I had a firm idea on why they decided to do that. But as near as I can tell, 100% of Kamala Harris supporters had another opinion.

Last night Jeff Bezos clarified the reason:

In the annual public surveys about trust and reputation, journalists and the media have regularly fallen near the very bottom, often just above Congress. But in this year’s Gallup poll, we have managed to fall below Congress. Our profession is now the least trusted of all. Something we are doing is clearly not working.

Let me give an analogy. Voting machines must meet two requirements. They must count the vote accurately, and people must believe they count the vote accurately. The second requirement is distinct from and just as important as the first.

Likewise with newspapers. We must be accurate, and we must be believed to be accurate. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but we are failing on the second requirement. Most people believe the media is biased. Anyone who doesn’t see this is paying scant attention to reality, and those who fight reality lose. Reality is an undefeated champion.

I found his opinion peace straightforward, candid, and believable. His reference to reality echos my frequent references to some people. I imagine these people must have a different color of sky in their universe.

Bezos goes on to say the people who believe the decision was in fear of Trump retaliation are mistaken:

I would also like to be clear that no quid pro quo of any kind is at work here. Neither campaign nor candidate was consulted or informed at any level or in any way about this decision. It was made entirely internally.

But that is not what the “journalists” and subscribers want to hear. They insist they need to be told to do what they already planned to do. And if Bezos’ newspaper is not going to do that, then they are going to stomp their feet and pout:

NPR reported Tuesday that The Post has shed more than a whopping 250,000 subscribers since it revealed its editorial board would not formally endorse Vice President Kamala Harris after it had planned to do so. 

A veteran Washington Post insider tells Fox News Digital that Monday’s initial NPR report noting the massive drop in subscribers was “the talk of the newsroom.”

“People are outraged at such a boneheaded decision,” the insider said.

This is further evidence of the emotional basis of their belief system. Their belief system is not based on facts and rational thought. If it were, they would not require the opinion writers of a newspaper to reinforce their faith. They need a power figure to maintain that faith. That their faith leader failed to do this is heretical.

See also Jeff Bezos speaks on WaPo drama: We have to ‘increase our credibility’ (msn.com).

Bezos should be careful. Heretics/traitors are considered worse than simple non-believers.

Communism is no Longer an Economic Theory

Quote of the Day

So the idea here is that the dominance in the Academy of skeptical and irrationalist epistemologies provides the academic Left with a new strategy. Confronted by ruthless logic, harsh evidence, they have a solution: “That’s only logic and evidence. Logic and evidence are subjective. You can’t really PROVE anything. FEELINGS are deeper than logic, and my feelings say Socialism.”

That’s my second hypothesis about the origins of Postmodernism. I call it the Kierkegaardian hypothesis, that Postmodernism is the crisis of faith of the academic Left. Its epistemology justifies taking a personal leap of faith in continuing to believe your Socialist ideals.

Communism is no longer an economic theory. It has failed utterly at that. It’s now a religion. And it’s proselytized in our education systems.

Kevin
October 23, 2024
More Quora Content – The Smallest Minority

Unfortunately, I am of the opinion this change does little, if anything, to make it less destructive. Politics have been an emotional team sport for a long time. Team communism will lose a few supporters, but they will pick up others. And those they pick up will be the type of people who thrive on strong emotions. Seeing those that opposed them piled up in a ditch will only give them a thrill and the wish to see more dead non-believers.

Interesting Psychology Lesson

The L.A. Times and the Washington Post both decided to not endorse a presidential candidate this time.

My initial thought was they had decided to try appearing to be more factual rather than cheerleaders for their preferred political party. Perhaps it would be better for business, right?

But other people have a much different interpretation the decision. From the article linked to above:

… a desire to avoid angering Donald Trump, and/or a move to avoid angering readers.

I never saw that coming. After calling him a threat to democracy, a felon, a rapist, and literally Hitler they are now concerned endorsing Harris will make Trump and/or his supporters angry. Really?

That sounds like the rational of a paranoid person. They have the mindset that Trump is incredibly evil and will use any power he acquires to exact a business and/or life-threatening revenge. And anyone that appears to give Trump the slightest of concessions must be doing it out of fear.

But shouldn’t the failure to endorse Harris result in a concern about invoking her wrath?

See also:

What I find most interesting is that my immediate thought of why they did that apparently did not occur to anyone writing in the legacy news media. I am not a normal person.

Elections are a Team Sport

Quote of the Day

With both political parties over the last few decades, there has developed a more ‘team sport’ mentality of voters within their respective parties supporting the candidate of their side regardless of how the economy is treating them and their families.

Alex Beene
A financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin
October 22, 2024

It has been decades since I went to a public sporting event. The rate of my watching professional ball games on T.V. is probably right at one every 10 years. I can feel the emotional pull, but I find the level of emotional involvement by the audiences frightening. This is what people are like when their mask drops just a little bit. Given just a little different circumstances and these same people would cheer on “their” gladiator team as they fought another team to the death. Or lined up all the capitalists next to a ditch to be shot.

That type of emotion served a useful purpose over the millennia. But like fire it is a troublesome servant and a fearful master*. Our political parties have leveraged it to great effect, and I think it has essentially taken over. Look at the political rallies with thousands of yelling people. Look at both sides totally convinced the other side is evil. Both sides may be more right than wrong in their description of the other.

I look at the political landscape and see overwhelming evidence supporting my need for an underground bunker in remote Idaho.


* George Washington didn’t really say anything like this. See: