Freemason Open House

It was reported recently that the Port Lincoln Freemason lodge will be opening its doors to the public for the first time, claiming that this is an attempt to convince the public that it is not a society full of secrets.

The degree of contradictions in this statement is staggering, and while it is a somewhat bold attempt to polish the image of the often maligned group it fails to address major concerns about their organization.

The past master of the lodge explains that he only wants the public to know that:

"It's a group of men that believe in a supreme being and have a common interest in life, which is based on strict morals and a betterment of life."

He then continues, and admits that it is part of an widespread attempt to attract the next generation of Masons.

Mitt Romney - A disaster in logic

I will resit the temptation to accuse the republicans of relying almost solely on flawed logic.

From Mitt Romney:

"Now we have more chronic long-term unemployment than this country has ever seen before, twenty million people out of work, stopped looking for work, or in part-time jobs that need full-time jobs, we've got housing prices continuing to decline, and we have foreclosures at record levels. This president has failed."

Post hoc ergo propter hoc I say. Meaning - after this, therefore because of this.

Too much democracy

For those who haven't been here, Indonesia is a strange place. In many ways it is a great place to live, but for those of you who have never been outside of Europe or North America you have never seen pollution, traffic, or blatant corruption until travelling through some of the cities in Asia, Jakarta being no exception.

In recent surveys Indonesia scored as one of the happiest countries on earth, but it is also a place that can quickly flare into full-scale riots, as seen a few weeks ago although not widely reported in western media.

Obama's Speech - Cognitive Dissonance

First post in a new series about logical fallacies and cognitive dissonance in the political space.
In this first post we take a look at a seemingly innocuous speech given by Obama on Feb 15, 2012 in Milwaukee, WI.

Briefly stated cognitive dissonance is when a person simultaneously holds two conflicting beliefs, ideas, feelings, or values.The theory holds that a person will sub-consciously work to reconcile the conflict by altering their inner state so that it is in alignment. Even short, cognitive dissonance leads to behavioral modification.

In the speech, Obama is addressing a blue collar crowd, and makes mention of the long running trend of US manufactures outsourcing jobs to countries with lower costs, specifically China.

Revolutioinary Notes #2 - What is a revolution?

Before going too far on this topic it is important to step back and clarify what this subject is about. To first ask 'What is a revolution?'

     Tseu-Leu asked: If the Prince of Mei appointed you head of government. to what wd. you first set your mind?
     Confucius: to call people and things by their names, that is by the correct denominations, to see that terminology was exact.
     "You mean that is the first?" Said Tseu-Leu. "Aren't you dodging the question? What's the use of that?"
     Confucius: You are a blank. An intelligent man hesitates to talk of what he does not understand, he feels embarrassed.
     If the terminology be not exact, if it fit not the thing, the governmental instructions will not be explicit, if the instructions aren't clear and the names don't fit, you cannot conduct business properly.
     If business is not properly run the rites and music will not be honored, if the rites and music be not honored, penalties and punishments will not achieve their intended effects, if penalties and punishments do not produce equity and justice, the people won't know where to out their feet or what to lay hold of or to whom they should stretch out their hands.
     That is why an intelligent man cares for his terminology.       

Some people in the past have recognized the importance of tending to their words. As the quote above illustrates Confucius saw definitions as an important factor in maintaining the stability and cohesion of a society. Something often lacking in his Greek counterparts. And where we see Confucian ideas taking root and going into action for 1000's of years, no one has ever set aside the smallest piece of land to try out Plato's republic.

How Hypocrisy Leads to Behavioral Change - part 1 background

A recent tool in the behavioral modification arsenal used by governments and other large institutions is the dissonance paradigm of hypocrisy.

This is a very subtle technique that was developed out of cognitive dissonance theories. To state it briefly, cognitive dissonance is when a person holds two mutually inconsistent cognition. What research has shown is that people will modify their beliefs or self-concept to eliminate this conflict, without being aware that any modification has taken place.

A simple example can be shown from The Fox and the Grapes parable by Aesop. In this tale a fox see some grapes high up in vine and wishes to eat them, when the fox is unable to find a way to eat the grapes it then concludes that the grapes are probably not ripe anyway, and would just taste sour. In cognitive research research this is called the "adaptive preference formation"

Revolutionary Notes #3 - Revolutionaries are Liars

Revolutionary leaders do not exist, but their spokespeople are liars.

Don't misunderstand, this is not to say that the voices associated with the heads of revolutionary movements are not sincere in their intent - that is unknowable, can only make judgement based on a person's actions. Nor does it mean that there is any deceit in the promises of a new world they have made to their followers.

What it does mean is that there is an inherent (self) lie in assuming that any vision can fully encompass a new socio-economic system, fully formed, with all of its moving interconnected parts.

So why don't revolutionary leaders exist?