Some thoughts about Politics, Patterns and Blink

{Click the title to go to an explanation of the book Blink}

After reading Anon-Paranoids blog post today Some Random Thoughts I had a few random thoughts of my own.

Thoughts about patterns in behavior, similarities to historical events, and why there are people out there who can't seem to make the connection between what is happening today, what has happened in the past, and what it means for our future. I have heard so many times - too many to count now - the outcry about the Bush/ Nazi Germany comparison. Too many people say "Where are the concentration camps?" Or, "If this was Nazi Germany you would have been killed already for writing you blog posts." Etc. (The same ideas are also spewed with regards to comparisons or cries of fascism.) I think to myself "Can't you see it? Why aren't you getting it? Are you that blind, or just stupid?"

But I don't think these people are either. Not really anyway. Thee is a book called Blink, and its main focus is rapid cognition - that is to say the snap judgments we make. See the link above for more details. However, this idea comes into play a great deal when talking about politics. It explains a lot when a person can't or seemingly refuses to look at the pattern of behavior and go for a ride on the Logic Train.

Some people "get it" right away, others may never "get it" no matter how many times they look it over. I keep repeating the word "pattern" here very purposefully. Patterns play a huge role in cognitive skills, in fact we routinely test our children on their ability to recognize a series of items as a pattern, and then test them to see if they can logically deduce what item, if any, will come next.

That plays well into the pattern of politics, doesn't it? Just take a look at the blogs being posted on a daily basis. People are starting to say "Wait a minute...." they are beginning to realize that if the President does A,B and C then its possible for him to do D,E,F and G, and that leaves the door wide open for X,Y and Z to be the end result.

Unfortunately in this case, X, Y and Z are not going to end with "Won't you come and play with me?"

So if you have been debating back and forth with someone who seems to refuse the idea that we have many bumps in the road coming at us in the future, and you feel like you're talking to a refrigerator, don't worry. The fact is, The light will go on, the light will go off, but they won't do anything beyond whats already built into them. You can tie it all back to cognitive abilities plus a dash of upbringing and ostrich syndrome.

As for the naysayers about Bush Nazi comparisons, if I hear "Where are the concentration camps?" one more time I'll scream. Why?

Because Hitler's Nazi Germany didn't spring up over night you dolts. There was a period of time, much like in this country, where people slowly and unknowingly lost rights and powers and freedoms, and by the time they realized it, it was too late and then the concentration camps began springing up. The German people didn't go to sleep happy and free only to wake up in a camp the very next day.

Those are my thoughts for the day. Take 'em or leave 'em.