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PoliGAF 2016 |OT3| You know what they say about big Michigans - big Florida

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Slayven

Member
This might be getting a little ahead of myself but...on November 9th, after America has voted and Trump has soundly lost. What do you think he does?

Go into hiding? He should, but I doubt he will. But he'll certainly become the biggest laughing stock of the last 100 years.

Real talk, I firmly expect him to sue over the results and talk about how it was rigged or something. Then fade away
 
There was an article I read once (I can't remember where. May have been in a psych class I took during undergrad) about behavior in cults. It was an attempt to explain a counterintuitive observation that, when a cult is centered around predictions for the future (ie. The world ends in May!) And these predictions fail, the members cult actually becomes more devoted, not less. You would expect the cult to get weaker after failing, but the members only become more certain that they are right.

It compared the process to evaporative cooling in physics. That is, when you have a liquid, molecules in it are constantly evaporating. Since only the fastest ones have the energy to escape from the bulk of the liquid, that means that every time one particle escapes, the average speed of the remaining particles goes down. Which means the temperature goes down. The same principal was at work with cults.

Every time some evidence contradicted the predictions of the cult group, some people would leave. However, since those people were (basically by definition) the ones most weakly devoted to the cause, the average devotion in the group went up with each shock to the system. Eventually you end up with a core group of true believers who have to deny basically all of reality because all the other people wised up to the reality.

/r/Sanders4President has been a great demonstration of this phenomenon.
 

Fox318

Member
The world's most depressed Republican:

Jv8S57Q.jpg


KJEdWco.jpg

Then why did he just fundraise for Cruz?
 

HylianTom

Banned
Lindsey Graham is pretty easily my favorite Republican.
Agree (maybe as far as senators go). I can't ignore his throbbing war-boner, but watching him play the role of GOP-Cassandra, yelling "NOOOOOOoooooo......!" in super-slow motion for months on-end has been entertaining. I'd be much more likely to feel bad for him if his party weren't so damn incorrigible.
 
Lindsay Graham at least has a sense of humor and some goddamn self-awareness.

Also, let us not forget his pretend clap during that Obama SOTU. If I were to direct a film about Obama's presidency, that'd be a centerpiece image. Especially with McCain's surly-ass look on his face right next to Graham.
 

Slayven

Member
There was an article I read once (I can't remember where. May have been in a psych class I took during undergrad) about behavior in cults. It was an attempt to explain a counterintuitive observation that, when a cult is centered around predictions for the future (ie. The world ends in May!) And these predictions fail, the members cult actually becomes more devoted, not less. You would expect the cult to get weaker after failing, but the members only become more certain that they are right.

It compared the process to evaporative cooling in physics. That is, when you have a liquid, molecules in it are constantly evaporating. Since only the fastest ones have the energy to escape from the bulk of the liquid, that means that every time one particle escapes, the average speed of the remaining particles goes down. Which means the temperature goes down. The same principal was at work with cults.

Every time some evidence contradicted the predictions of the cult group, some people would leave. However, since those people were (basically by definition) the ones most weakly devoted to the cause, the average devotion in the group went up with each shock to the system. Eventually you end up with a core group of true believers who have to deny basically all of reality because all the other people wised up to the reality.

/r/Sanders4President has been a great demonstration of this phenomenon.

Sounds like you have the makings of Thesis
 

NeoXChaos

Member
There was an article I read once (I can't remember where. May have been in a psych class I took during undergrad) about behavior in cults. It was an attempt to explain a counterintuitive observation that, when a cult is centered around predictions for the future (ie. The world ends in May!) And these predictions fail, the members cult actually becomes more devoted, not less. You would expect the cult to get weaker after failing, but the members only become more certain that they are right.

It compared the process to evaporative cooling in physics. That is, when you have a liquid, molecules in it are constantly evaporating. Since only the fastest ones have the energy to escape from the bulk of the liquid, that means that every time one particle escapes, the average speed of the remaining particles goes down. Which means the temperature goes down. The same principal was at work with cults.

Every time some evidence contradicted the predictions of the cult group, some people would leave. However, since those people were (basically by definition) the ones most weakly devoted to the cause, the average devotion in the group went up with each shock to the system. Eventually you end up with a core group of true believers who have to deny basically all of reality because all the other people wised up to the reality.

/r/Sanders4President has been a great demonstration of this phenomenon.

bernieis45.com established June 7th 2016
 

sc0la

Unconfirmed Member
This might be getting a little ahead of myself but...on November 9th, after America has voted and Trump has soundly lost. What do you think he does?

Go into hiding? He should, but I doubt he will. But he'll certainly become the biggest laughing stock of the last 100 years.
Remove the mask and reveal it was Bill Clinton all along.

I mean, it's at least partly because of conversations just like the one you just instigated.

This post is like a Jehovah's Witness saying "it's so interesting to me how people don't like talking about religion."
lmao

I had to pretend not to be home when the JWs came around this weekend. The imagery in this post is spot on.
 
Sounds like you have the makings of Thesis

Haha, if only. But that psych class was basically elective. Psych isn't my field.

It was my favorite non-major class from college, though. It was entirely focused on why smart people can still frequently end up being wrong and believing stupid things. It involved watching a lot of Penn and Teller and stuff like that. Good times.
 

Clefargle

Member
Sanders fans are the new puppy running along yapping all the time dreaming of steak because their 1st meal was hamburger. We're the grumpy old dogs who finally got a decent home after 8 years of being stray and just want a slightly better can of Alpo because we know the alternative is going back to the pound for another four years.

I dislike this characterization. I am a millennial and support Bernies ideas, I just come from the south and know that he doesn't have the support to win. I know firsthand how conservative this country can be and even though I want his policies abyone following the numbers on 538 could see he was never gonna pull this off. So I've been basically agreeing in principle with everything my peers post about Bernie on social media. But also warning them to not get too attached on this one candidate as America isn't ready to elect a nonreligious leftist socialist. Also been trying to showcase sanders lack of diverse support for months but many don't want to hear it. Even though I know European style programs work really well from my time in the Netherlands, I recognized the real political issues of implementing them in the us. I'm not grumpy or satisfied with Clinton, I'm just aware of the sharp divide between online enthusiasm and votes.
 
Agree (maybe as far as senators go). I can't ignore his throbbing war-boner, but watching him play the role of GOP-Cassandra, yelling "NOOOOOOoooooo......!" in super-slow motion for months on-end has been entertaining. I'd be much more likely to feel bad for him if his party weren't so damn incorrigible.

How he wasn't constantly looking like he was about to breakdown and cry because the world was about to end during the undercard debates was amazing. And how Radical Islam was his Wallstreet, and pivoted to it during every possible question. Like when they were talking about "Religious liberty", he said "Whether you're the wedding cake baker or the gay couple or the Baptist preacher, radical Islam would kill you all if they could." lol
 

ApharmdX

Banned
This might be getting a little ahead of myself but...on November 9th, after America has voted and Trump has soundly lost. What do you think he does?

Go into hiding? He should, but I doubt he will. But he'll certainly become the biggest laughing stock of the last 100 years.

Trump will go back to being an eccentric billionaire. He'll be fine. I'm sure he doesn't like to lose but running for president is a hobby for him. He's never held office in any capacity.
 

Slayven

Member
Haha, if only. But that psych class was basically elective. Psych isn't my field.

It was my favorite non-major class from college, though. It was entirely focused on why smart people can still frequently end up being wrong and believing stupid things. It involved watching a lot of Penn and Teller and stuff like that. Good times.

The reasons why people do shit will never not be interesting. Especially people in herds
 

stupei

Member
Sometimes I wonder if establishment has just come to mean any organization that's run and managed better than the Sanders campaign has been. That at least would apply to Planned Parenthood.

And most things really.
 
Like who? They are all bad policy wise. At least Graham has this silly, likable demeanor and seems to be in a constant state of depressing decent.

My mayor.

If you're talking national leaders, I guess I can see Graham as a fair choice. I liked Mitch Daniels as a Republican governor, and even more so after we got an asshole Republican instead with Mike Pence.
 
There was an article I read once (I can't remember where. May have been in a psych class I took during undergrad) about behavior in cults. It was an attempt to explain a counterintuitive observation that, when a cult is centered around predictions for the future (ie. The world ends in May!) And these predictions fail, the members cult actually becomes more devoted, not less. You would expect the cult to get weaker after failing, but the members only become more certain that they are right.

It compared the process to evaporative cooling in physics. That is, when you have a liquid, molecules in it are constantly evaporating. Since only the fastest ones have the energy to escape from the bulk of the liquid, that means that every time one particle escapes, the average speed of the remaining particles goes down. Which means the temperature goes down. The same principal was at work with cults.

Every time some evidence contradicted the predictions of the cult group, some people would leave. However, since those people were (basically by definition) the ones most weakly devoted to the cause, the average devotion in the group went up with each shock to the system. Eventually you end up with a core group of true believers who have to deny basically all of reality because all the other people wised up to the reality.

/r/Sanders4President has been a great demonstration of this phenomenon.

Can confirm. My girlfriend's family is in the Unificationist Church (Reverend Moon cult)
 

ant1532

Banned
Sometimes I wonder if establishment has just come to mean any organization that's run and managed better than the Sanders campaign has been. That at least would apply to Planned Parenthood.

And most things really.
It's not too difficult to understand what establishment refers to
 

User 406

Banned
There was an article I read once (I can't remember where. May have been in a psych class I took during undergrad) about behavior in cults. It was an attempt to explain a counterintuitive observation that, when a cult is centered around predictions for the future (ie. The world ends in May!) And these predictions fail, the members cult actually becomes more devoted, not less. You would expect the cult to get weaker after failing, but the members only become more certain that they are right.

It compared the process to evaporative cooling in physics. That is, when you have a liquid, molecules in it are constantly evaporating. Since only the fastest ones have the energy to escape from the bulk of the liquid, that means that every time one particle escapes, the average speed of the remaining particles goes down. Which means the temperature goes down. The same principal was at work with cults.

Every time some evidence contradicted the predictions of the cult group, some people would leave. However, since those people were (basically by definition) the ones most weakly devoted to the cause, the average devotion in the group went up with each shock to the system. Eventually you end up with a core group of true believers who have to deny basically all of reality because all the other people wised up to the reality.

/r/Sanders4President has been a great demonstration of this phenomenon.

Also, Sega fans.

latest

But yeah, this is why excessive worry and overreaction to increasingly frantic diehards is really pointless and embarrassing.
 
My mayor.

If you're talking national leaders, I guess I can see Graham as a fair choice. I liked Mitch Daniels as a Republican governor, and even more so after we got an asshole Republican instead with Mike Pence.

That's good. I'm sure there are pretty good mayors and other local/state republicans who aren't tied down by the pressures and policies of national GOP politics.
 

User 406

Banned
I thought we were talking about GAF until that last sentence.

kiddddding

wouldn't that apply to many online communities though

Well, the central issue is how well the group handles information that contradicts their worldview. GAF does ok, I think, but GAF is also so damn large that the characterization of it in its entirety having any particular mode of groupthink is really oversimplifying. Now the Dreamcast Technical Pages, hoo boy.

Look, I'm just saying, if you wanted to design an experiment that would slowly distill ordinary videogame fans down the most rabid in-denial cult, it's hard to do better than Sega's console business from the Genesis to the cancellation of the DC, sorry not sorry :X
 
Can confirm. My girlfriend's family is in the Unificationist Church (Reverend Moon cult)

Can't say for certain, but that may have been the exact example the the article was motivated by.

Also, Sega fans.

latest

But yeah, this is why excessive worry and overreaction to increasingly frantic diehards is really pointless and embarrassing.

Yeah, I guess that's the big takeaway. Don't worry about the crazy Sanders fans. The rational ones exist, you just don't realize it any more because they switched teams by now.

I thought we were talking about GAF until that last sentence.

kiddddding

wouldn't that apply to many online communities though

Hahahaha. But yeah, I think it could be applied to a shit load of things. I've just had the idea keep popping up lately in my head every time I looked at that subreddit. Still, though, a valid critique of my comparison would be that I don't think /r/s4p has had its subscriber count go down much, which I think would be a prediction of the evaporative cooling hypothesis. But I suppose it could be that the people who "evaporated" have stopped being active, but haven't bothered unsubscribing yet.
 

stupei

Member
It's not too difficult to understand what establishment refers to

It is certainly not difficult to feel or think of something when one hears establishment, but to universally agree on what we all understand it to mean seems rather impossible given the broad usage at this point.

Like "hardcore" or "casual," it's an arbitrary yet loaded term that evokes something for everyone, although the definition and idea of what it means is deliberately vague. It is merely the Them in the "Us vs Them" that remains nebulous enough to assign any face necessary on a given day.
 

JCX

Member
Can someone explain all the "HIlary stole Arizona!" articles I'm seeing on facebook from websites I've never heard of?
 
That's good. I'm sure there are pretty good mayors and other local/state republicans who aren't tied down by the pressures and policies of national GOP politics.
As someone who associated (perhaps associates still in my mind) with the GOP, I can say amen to that. The national GOP platform and policies are so incongruous to my current thinking that it sickens me.
 
Thanks, that's what I thought. It's just weird to see people attributing it to Hilary when this has been a known issue for a while.
Yeah. It's why I've taken issue with his message of "Everyone is against us and the establishment is out to get us" because it leads people to believe the DNC or the Hillary campaign is rigging elections. You don't say that kind of stuff about a party whose nomination you're trying to win.

Essentially the conspiracy thought about Arizona is this:

- Bernie fought hard to win Arizona
- There were long lines and registration errors on Election Day
- Hillary won Arizona because she got out the early vote
- Hillary and DNC rigged the election

That's not evidence, and it doesn't even make sense because the DNC doesn't run elections. Also, it's not as if long lines or registration glitches only hurt Sanders supporters. There were likely just as many if not more Hillary supporters who also didn't get to vote as a result of these issues, they're just not as vocal online about it.

If only they'd use half as much energy fighting the people who are actually responsible for this stuff...
 

Iolo

Member
That's not evidence, and it doesn't even make sense because the DNC doesn't run elections. Also, it's not as if long lines or registration glitches only hurt Sanders supporters. There were likely just as many if not more Hillary supporters who also didn't get to vote as a result of these issues, they're just not as vocal online about it.

Wrong on its face. No one supports Hillary.
 

royalan

Member
I haven't followed the Arizona stuff too closely, but didn't the reduction in number of pulling places primarily effect urban areas? If that's the case, how could anyone logically claim the DNC rigged the vote for Hillary? Urban centers are where Hillary's been killing Bernie this whole time.
 
I haven't followed the Arizona stuff too closely, but didn't the reduction in number of pulling places primarily effect urban areas? If that's the case, how could anyone logically claim the DNC rigged the vote for Hillary? Urban centers are where Hillary's been killing Bernie this whole time.
Because i just started paying attention to politics 2 months ago and think all of the problems in the world stem from the corrupt, evil woman running against the guy I like because people on reddit tell me what to think

By the way, here's my evidence: why wouldn't she rig the election?

BOOM Try to answer that one hillailures.
 
I haven't followed the Arizona stuff too closely, but didn't the reduction in number of pulling places primarily effect urban areas? If that's the case, how could anyone logically claim the DNC rigged the vote for Hillary? Urban centers are where Hillary's been killing Bernie this whole time.

Logic has never gotten in the way of a good conspiracy theory.
 
Never thought I'd have the smallest amount of empathy for Ted fucking Cruz but Trump finds a way.

Then I just heard him on CNN talk about Democrats being politically correct on terror and all that quickly went away.

You should never ever your in life feel bad for Ted Cruz. Feel sorry for his kids.
 

Brinbe

Member
Probably already posted, but this is fantastic.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/24/politics/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-cnn-poll-2016-election/

Overall, 56% say they think Clinton would win a match-up between the two leading candidates in November while 42% say Trump would take it. Democratic voters are more convinced that Clinton would win (87% say she would) than Republicans are about Trump (75% say he would win), and Republican voters who aren't currently backing Trump are particularly skeptical of his chances. Among that group, 40% say Clinton would win, 57% Trump, vs. 92% of Trump supporters who think he would win in November.

The new poll also asked which of the two candidates was better described by a range of potential presidential attributes. On those, 55% say Clinton would make a better commander in chief vs. 36% for Trump, and 51% see Clinton as more in touch with middle-class problems vs. 36% for Trump.

The more that Cruz/Trump talk about foreign policy, the wider this gap will get.
 

Holmes

Member
Sanders' campaign was also registering Indies as Dems as early as last weekend to vote, but it was passed the deadline and they were just given provisional ballots or turned away at the polls.
 
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