Saturday, November 05, 2011
More hidden variables
The worst thing about our total reliance on abstract theories is the constant use of Hidden Variables.
Like the Hidden Global Warmth that keeps rising and rising while actual temperatures drop into the ice age, or the Hidden Sea Level Rise that keeps rising and rising while actual sea level drops, or the Hidden Wage Differential that remains 72 cents on the dollar while actual women earn more than actual men, or the Hidden Equality Of All Children that will magically appear when we spend enough on school administrators, or the Core Inflation that remains zero while actual prices rise by 12%, or the Dark Matter that fills the universe even though we never detect it.
These are, of course, direct violations of old Bill Ockham's rule. He's usually misquoted as saying "Keep it simple."
Wrong. He specifically said "Don't assume extra entities unless you need them." These Hidden Variables are the precise modern equivalent of the multitudes of angels imagined by the medieval scholars Bill was criticizing.
A new example of a Hidden Variable appears in the idiotic discussion of the current Euro crisis. The hidden quantity in the minds of our rulers is a "Robust Recovery." Ordinary people can't see the Robust Recovery; only the Aristocratic Initiates can see it. The minds of ordinary people are clouded by "insubstantial externals" such as starvation, energy shortage, permanent joblessness, and bankruptcy. But in the Realm Of The Multitudinous Angels, we are in Robust Recovery, therefore we need to pour trillions and trillions and trillions and trillions and trillions and trillions into the pockets of the Jewish Mafia to forestall a horrifying "double-dip recession" that would stop the Robust Recovery. (This is, of course, a repeat performance of the 2008 blackmail that created TARP; only the terminology is slightly different this time.) ¶ 4:33 AM
Like the Hidden Global Warmth that keeps rising and rising while actual temperatures drop into the ice age, or the Hidden Sea Level Rise that keeps rising and rising while actual sea level drops, or the Hidden Wage Differential that remains 72 cents on the dollar while actual women earn more than actual men, or the Hidden Equality Of All Children that will magically appear when we spend enough on school administrators, or the Core Inflation that remains zero while actual prices rise by 12%, or the Dark Matter that fills the universe even though we never detect it.
These are, of course, direct violations of old Bill Ockham's rule. He's usually misquoted as saying "Keep it simple."
Wrong. He specifically said "Don't assume extra entities unless you need them." These Hidden Variables are the precise modern equivalent of the multitudes of angels imagined by the medieval scholars Bill was criticizing.
A new example of a Hidden Variable appears in the idiotic discussion of the current Euro crisis. The hidden quantity in the minds of our rulers is a "Robust Recovery." Ordinary people can't see the Robust Recovery; only the Aristocratic Initiates can see it. The minds of ordinary people are clouded by "insubstantial externals" such as starvation, energy shortage, permanent joblessness, and bankruptcy. But in the Realm Of The Multitudinous Angels, we are in Robust Recovery, therefore we need to pour trillions and trillions and trillions and trillions and trillions and trillions into the pockets of the Jewish Mafia to forestall a horrifying "double-dip recession" that would stop the Robust Recovery. (This is, of course, a repeat performance of the 2008 blackmail that created TARP; only the terminology is slightly different this time.) ¶ 4:33 AM
