The Machiavelli Paradox: Why Fools Gain Power (1 Viewer)

[Dans La Lune]

An interesting watch, explaining why the intelligent don't rise to power and fools do. Basically, intelligence requires nuance, understanding, moral considerations, knowledge of the subject... these qualities make people hesitate in making complicated decisions. If you have a black and white mindset and display confidence and mastery of a subject by sheer simplicity of thought, you're more likely to convince others that you are qualified.

Someone who hums and haws because complex situations and topics require nuance and caveats will never be as successful as someone who bullrushes under the banner of simplistic messaging.

Basically for many humans, complex nuanced reasoning < simple-minded reasoning. In addition, those who are willing to cross ethical lines are far, far more likely to rise to the top than someone who displays empathy.

 

[j brown's body]

Seems like he's explaing why a good candidate, who explains the world in simple terms, can be such a terrible president who has to function in a complex world where his simple terms not only don't matter, but might backfire altogether.

A candidate might win office by opposing immigration, and prove his bonafides by saying that they're "eating the pets." Even if people recognize its a racist lie, voters are impressed by his commitment to this cause.

But then, the country needs immigrants and getting rid of them all Is actually against our best interest. The issue calls for nuance.

 

[Dans La Lune]

Seems like he's explaing why a good candidate, who explains the world in simple terms, can be such a terrible president who has to function in a complex world where his simple terms not only don't matter, but might backfire altogether.

A candidate might win office by opposing immigration, and prove his bonafides by saying that they're "eating the pets." Even if people recognize its a racist lie, voters are impressed by his commitment to this cause.

But then, the country needs immigrants and getting rid of them all Is actually against our best interest. The issue calls for nuance.

Most people have the capacity to understand nuanced concepts, but I think the corporate media and politicians want to keep the population relatively dumbed down on their information diet for reasons that Noam Chomsky extrapolated on.

"Manufacturing Consent" is a book written by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky, published in 1988. It argues that the mass media in the United States serve as ideological institutions that carry out a system-supportive propaganda function, often without overt coercion, by relying on market forces, internalized assumptions, and self-censorship.

The book introduces the propaganda model of communication, which posits that the media operate under five filters: monopolized ownership, advertising as a revenue source, reliance on elite sources, disciplinary actions against dissent, and anti-communist ideology.

Chomsky and Herman use this model to analyze various case studies, including the media's coverage of the Vietnam War and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, to illustrate how the media can manipulate public opinion to support corporate and governmental agendas.

 

[tshade]

Gee------I wonder if anyone in power in the U.S. relates to this??????? LOL....

 

[j brown's body]

Most people have the capacity to understand nuanced concepts, but I think the corporate media and politicians want to keep the population relatively dumbed down on their information diet for reasons that Noam Chomsky extrapolated on.

Faithfully and unveeringly reporting DOGE as an effort to weed out "waste, fraud and abuse" being a good example. They so willingly adopted the GOP's terminology for it.

 

[tshade]

Seems like he's explaing why a good candidate, who explains the world in simple terms, can be such a terrible president who has to function in a complex world where his simple terms not only don't matter, but might backfire altogether.

A candidate might win office by opposing immigration, and prove his bonafides by saying that they're "eating the pets." Even if people recognize its a racist lie, voters are impressed by his commitment to this cause.

But then, the country needs immigrants and getting rid of them all Is actually against our best interest. The issue calls for nuance.

Voters in America have NEVER voted rationally. Emotions have ruled the ballots for over 200 years. Trump is the ultimate proof.....

 

[dmpi]

How do you judge intelligence and competency in others? Some people have the ability to make things look easy when in reality they're quite difficult. Look at elite marathon runners. They run 5 minute mile for 26 miles but if you actually see them run they make it seem so effortless. Ever see great guitar players? Same thing. You can convince yourself you can do it to until you try to do it yourself. Same thing goes for leadership and management roles. People think the job's easy and any monkey can do it. They themselves don't understand the details and nuances of the task. So when you see that 'incompetent' person up there in management just maybe he's actually smarter than he looks. Maybe he can focus on first order effect and not get fixated and tied down by third order effects. It's called relevancy. In my book, I don't care how smart you think you are on paper with degrees or fancy job titles, rather it's how well you perform in the real world. There's some luck involved with life but over time the cream always rises to the top.

 

[j brown's body]

How do you judge intelligence and competency in others? Some people have the ability to make things look easy when in reality they're quite difficult. Look at elite marathon runners. They run 5 minute mile for 26 miles but if you actually see them run they make it seem so effortless. Ever see great guitar players? Same thing. You can convince yourself you can do it to until you try to do it yourself. Same thing goes for leadership and management roles. People think the job's easy and any monkey can do it. They themselves don't understand the details and nuances of the task. So when you see that 'incompetent' person up there in management just maybe he's actually smarter than he looks. Maybe he can focus on first order effect and not get fixated and tied down by third order effects. It's called relevancy. In my book, I don't care how smart you think you are on paper with degrees or fancy job titles, rather it's how well you perform in the real world. There's some luck involved with life but over time the cream always rises to the top.

That performance can work well until a crisis, say a pandemic, comes along.