Isn't It Obvious

Micah asks the question if we need to expand the boundaries of the progressive left. K Sera and Phill have cynical hearts and will hopefully be proven wrong.

 

Note: This episode was originally recorded in the summer of 2020. Discussions over the presidential elections, DNC primaries, the vintage last year of political discourse (from the publish date of this podcast episode) are in vogue today! Funnily enough this episode is still relevant, despite feeling like it was a time from a million news-cycles ago.

 

Show notes:

The progressive left

Why don’t we have more political parties in the US?

Quite possibly why we don’t have good politicians

What really happens when we recycle plastic?

 

K Sera’s afterthoughts:

- Me when Micah runs for office.

- I’m not sure a three party system can work with our current voting set up, but if ranked choice voting becomes part of the system, a third party can have actual viability.

- Unfortunately, as long as the current system is advantageous to the two parties running the system, nothing will change. Our democracy will remain stagnant and third party voters may as well be burning their ballots.

 

Phill’s afterthoughts

-We are publishing this episode in late summer, but right now (in the late summer of 2021) there is an interesting gambit occurring in US politics. A trillion dollar Infrastructure Bill might be held hostage until the more progress trillion-dollar Progressive bill is passed in the Senate. If this maneuver actually works, the small progressive left might have actually pushed the entire Democratic Party to the left (where it used to belong). If it doesn’t work, it appears we will all boil alive in an inferno of environmental injustice. So, no pressure!

- In our very first episode we talked about how we would love more viable political parties. In this latest episode we talk about how there are warring camps inside the big two political parties. Honestly, the GOP will always have the advantage since their entire motto is “we want the status quo” and if they do not pass a single bill in their entire legislative session the win by default. Meanwhile, we have people in the Democratic Party that are basically considered “moderate” when in any other country these would be solid-conservatives.

-Also, progressive people just don’t vote. If they ever wanted to have more affordable health care, college, housing, and holding corporations accountable for paying their fair share (or I don’t know, paying for their negative externalities that they push onto innocent bystanders) then a progressive candidate should have won the primary. Except they mostly stayed home, and YES I AM STILL BITTER.

Phill asks if sarcasm needs a distinct font for the internet forums. Micah and K Sera mention how useful (or useless) that will be for social media. And also we talk about the police.

 

Shownotes:

What does /s mean?

I like wingdings

In Minneapolis, do police live where they work?

Iowa gas options are confusing

 

K Sera's afterthoughts:

- iS tHiS sArCaSm FoNt?

- Read the entire article before you comment. For the love of all things right and fortunate in this world. This should be a rule for any comment section discussions on the internet. 

- Some police do, in fact, live in the community they work in, but whether that is actually helpful with community relations is uncertain. I guess. 

- Sorry to the one listener from Iowa. Or Wyoming - the take a nap state.

  Phill's afterthoughts: -I think the alternating capitalization letters are not really sarcastic. I always viewed them as "mocking our opponent's perceived arguments in a hypothetical debate"   - For example, a joke about how two negatives can make a positive but the other way around never works (two positives cannot make a negative) can be replied with "yeah right." But if you were trying to use the alternating capitalization method to this joke, it would apply mocking responder and not necessarily giving due to the correct level of sarcastic nature from the response itself. There is a difference!   -While we to talk about social media in this podcast, I also believe that podcasts are an extension of social media. I do not know how I feel about this.   -I like Iowa but I just find their gas options to be super confusing! If you are a listener from Iowa, I would like to say that your state is very nice.   -I do wonder if other police officers in developed nations also have the same problems we do. Sometimes I wonder if this problem (of having a bitter relationship with law enforcement) was already solved in other countries. Perhaps ThIs iS JuSt AmErIcAn ExCePtIonAlism! (ugh, I don't think I could ever agree with this form of sarcasm).

K Sera jokes about humor. Micah discusses the context of jokes and comedians. Phill discusses the how raising a family in a broken capitalist system is inherently unfair to the next generation.

 

Show notes:

Liam Neeson Improv Comedy

Ricky Gevais Jokes about GOD and WW2

 

K Sera's Afterthoughts:

- After thinking over this topic, while I agree it is likely possible, under the right conditions, to make a reasonably funny joke about anything, I can definitively say that I am not the person who should be making such jokes. 

Puns, however, I’m all about. … big fan, big fan.

- Punching up is usually ok. Punching down, not so much. I think that’s a pretty good rule of thumb. As a “suburban princess,” I should probably just keep my fists to myself.

- Oh, and apparently the oldest woman to give birth was 74 years old. Impressive but also potentially kind of sad? How long will that child have their mother and father? Ah well, just something they’ll have to deal with as it comes.

 

Phill's Afterthoughts

-Seriously having children is all about planning. I didn't mean to sound so cruel to those that had children very early on in life (before 21), but it is so odd that in my grandparents generation this was a very common thing (they are not from the United States).

-Jokes and humor is tough to pull off, I was watching some older comedians discuss how "cancel culture" has affected their lively hoods. Personally I think that humor evolves with the times, and sometimes the humor from yesteryear is often cringe-inducing.

-I still think about that Korean Drama sometimes, and while I hate to be so negative about how poverty is rampant in even our modern society, I really hate how people from impoverished nations mention "whataboutism." Look, I want an equitable society and I will damn near complain every day to my dying breath about this. Does that make me ill-content and spoiled? Probably. But demanding that we get our fair share and asking for a quality of life that isn't filled with debt and despair shouldn't be that god damn much to ask for.

Phil asks if Generational stereotyping is just the same as the lazy thinking of believing that Zodiac signs are a real thing. For such a silly question this episode brings a lot of serious arguing.

 

Show notes:

Astrological sign

Flashbulb memory

Generational Theory

 

K Sera’s Afterthoughts:

- Micah keeps conflating experiences with the shaping of personality. While I agree that certain events, particularly traumatic ones, can influence your behaviors, your personality is already developed. Personality and your birthdate are not the same thing.

Using horoscopes or generational designations to determine personality are essentially snake oil being sold to us as a plug and play variable into an equation that predicts behavior - because that is what people want to know and understand. Why do people react in certain ways? In the snake oil salesman’s scenario, the formula is basically: Event (Gen X or Taurus or Year of the Rabbit) = Personality = Behavioral Reaction. 

It should be: Event + Personality = Behavioral Reaction. You can theoretically make sense of a person or “solve” them as long as you know (in full) two of the three variables. 

So while Micah isn’t completely wrong when he says knowing the generation is ‘better’ - Phil and I are arguing that the ‘event variable’ of a generation is essentially just as useful as the zodiac in accurately determining Personality without the context of the Behavioral Reaction; or predicting the Behavioral Reaction without the context of an individual’s Personality. 

- Using generations or horoscopes to determine a group’s personality or behavior to make sweeping generalizations should be met with skepticism. When someone claims “profound knowledge” of others based on the time in which they were born, they’re most likely full of shit.

 

Phill’s afterthoughts:

-Oh I had no idea that this argument was going to get intense. By the way, Micah definitely has a point that the Zodiac signs are total garbage (in terms of predictors) and that Generational events can definitely shape people’s behavior more predictably than if I am a Gemini (that is such a Gemini thing to say).

-I wanted to bring this point up that it really shouldn’t be an ageism issue or a political issue. In reality, the ability to have empathy is one of the biggest indicators of personality traits, and honestly that has nothing to do with age.

-That being said, we will all pay for the previous generation’s sins, now isn’t that obvious.

 

Phillip defends capitalism and unfortunately shares too many falsehoods about how financial and economic systems work. HE IS A FOOL; DO NOT LISTEN TO THIS MAN. Any financial advice that he provides must not be taken seriously.

K Sera asks about the stock market and how it is just rich people feelings. Phillip feels personally attacked and Micah is a socialist.

 

Show notes:

Two Cents

Ray Dalio How the Economic Machine Works

Princess Bride –a battle of wits scene (game theory)

Game Theory

Visit us at our website: www.iiopodcast.fm

 

K Sera’s Afterthoughts:

-Phil!!!!!!!!! (○｀д´)ﾉｼ︵ ┻━┻

-So, Phil clearly knows more about economics than I do. 

-It’s better to invest in things than to hoard money, that’s apparent, and ok, risk/reward games are profitable for those who are good at determining what to risk and when. The problem is, it’s easier for wealthy people to risk larger sums for larger rewards than a poor person who can’t afford to lose that money or have that money tied up in stocks. It’s easy to afford patience when you have more than enough to afford living expenses. 

-I’m not sure if the Princess Bride poison cups analogy was a good analogy, but I like it anyway. Both cups are poison and the only ones who will survive are the ones who have built up a tolerance or an immunity.

 

Phillip’s Afterthoughts:

-I swear to god, this episode took place a year before any of the shenanigans occurred about shorting any stocks. Please do not listen to me for financial advice, I am a fool and I myself have no idea how our economic/financial systems work.

-We didn’t even talk about the insanity of cryptocurrency

-Final thought: look, if you want to invest go ahead. If you don’t want to, that’s fine. But please educate yourself on the risk and reward of your actions. To spread the meme that wallstreet (or wallstreet bets for that matter) is volatile game is doing a great disservice for people that could build wealth and be on the proper side of compounding interest (not the credit-card side). Honestly, this is what got my goat the most in this episode. Look, I am a fool and I have no idea what I’m talking about, but I’ll be damned if I agree to a premise that will actively dissuade people from actually learning how the financial system works to better themselves. It could very well be folly, but certainly don’t agree (or disagree with me), find out for yourself by using your god damn brain and by learning what it means to invest, the risks involved, and please for the love of god have a rainy day fund.

-I don’t know what I’m talking about but I don’t think you need to be wealthy in order to invest. I think the premise that you must have a ton of money in order to play wallstreet is not accurate, but then again what the hell do I know?

-Finally, do not take financial advice from me, ever. Good luck out there, and may fortune favor you personally.

Micah discusses how we need to bring back the FCC Fairness Doctrine, where contrasting views given an opportunity to have their viewpoints presented. Phill and K Sera unwittingly proved Micah’s point by derailing so hard that our derailment had a derail.

 

Shownotes:

FCC fairness doctrine 

 

K Sera's afterthoughts:

- Railroading our railroading. What even happened here?

- Speaking of attention spans… Guys, I miss reading. I haven’t really read books at my usual pace since last spring. I think it is mostly depression that is killing my love for getting immersed in other worlds. But who wasn’t having a hard time in 2020? It’s not that I wasn’t reading anything, but my reading has been mind-numbing web novels and fanfiction for the most part - and let’s be honest, most of that can’t be classified as literary works of our age.

A lot of books I like to read are stories with concepts that challenge my world view or make me think about things in new ways. The last year and a half, I have not been seeking out those stories. My brain just… tunes out as I try to grasp the narrative each time I start a new book. It’s frustrating. Losing a hobby or favorite pastime is a lot like losing a good friend. It SUCKS.

Some old favorites are getting me through this drought, however. Thank you Martha Wells, especially. You got me through some rough days. Also alcohol. Thank you alcohol. (The drinking kind AND the sanitizing kind.)

And thank you, my good friends. We may not always agree, but I genuinely enjoy our time together. You’re good people.

- Also: Lizard-folk rights!

 

Phill's afterthoughts:

-In all honesty I don't see how a Fairness Doctrine would work in today's media. The old rule did not apply to Cable TV, just the old terrestrial air network ones. Also, it did not provide equal time but only that the other viewpoint was presented. With so many logical fallacies I can see this becoming a Kafkaesque exercise.

-Also, I don’t read as much as I would like to, mainly because there are so many competing forms of entertainment that literary novels have a hard time competing for my free time. I used to read quite a bit when I am stuck in an airplane, but now I listen to podcasts!

-Authors who can’t finish their books should pass the torch to someone else. At least then it can be released to the fans and if it flops, it’s because of the new management. If it succeeds, it’s because of proper delegation.

Phillip asks if mob mentality from viral videos is an obviously bad idea. Micah and K Sera have their thoughts. Due to respect of those that are referenced, there will be no show notes that references any of the “flash in the pan” controversies discussed in this episode.

 

 

Show Notes:

N/A

 

K Sera’s afterthoughts:

- Micah’s method of using public shame to pursue “justice” inspires so much rage in me, I want to shake him. You can’t control the mob once the bait is set. I won’t say that our current justice system is anywhere near perfect, but I would still prefer its intended purpose over a mob looking for retribution inspired by passionate outrage. I don’t trust a thousand and more angry and frightened people to pass rational and righteous judgment. While most of the many are content to use words as their weapons, it only take a few stupid fools to follow through on threats of violence, administering “sentences” completely disproportionate to the wrong being committed.

 

Believing that a few vigilante executions constitutes acceptable collateral damage to curb undesirable behavior or beliefs is antithetical to the idea of justice. Revenge isn’t justice. Making an example of someone only makes them a martyr to those who share those values. This is exactly why republicans are using the phrase “witch hunt” to describe the public persecution they are experiencing as the mob seeks to ruin their reputations in retaliation for the anti-social wrongs they may have committed. They perhaps deserve the public ridicule, but they certainly don’t deserve death threats, and unfortunately the former nearly always coincides with the latter.

 

- The belief that shame and a social majority will somehow out compete and slowly choke out undesirable view points seems absurd to me - much as I hope the opposite is true for the ideas I think are truly disturbing and anti-social. You can kill a person, hobble them, silence them, try to beat them or shame them into submission. You can lock people away or try to ‘re-educate’ them to believe what you believe is true and right and good - but you can’t kill an idea and you will never convince them all. Cripple them, they will crawl. Take their tongue, they will write.

 

I’m not convinced we will ever truly eliminate ideas rejected by the majority.

 

Phillip’s afterthoughts

-This was originally recorded in the summer of 2020. Thus, Trump was certainly in the news and the victor of who was going to win the house, senate, and the Whitehouse was still up for grabs. During this time, I reflected upon how viral videos played a role in our sense of justice, and thus the question was born.

-There is an unnerving feeling about how I want immediate justice served. With all the news about people committing fraud and obvious crimes so blatantly and publically (with no follow up or action by the authorities that are purported to serve us) or when people exhibit terrible behavior proudly without any consequence, a terrible feeling of this deep primal need for retribution exists within me. This is not good. Justice should not be a knee-jerk reaction, if we are guided solely on our emotions and instinct, it is a ripe tool to be abused by manipulators and propagandists.

-Mob mentality is dangerous, whether through pitchforks or through keyboards. Ethically and morally, we need to be tamping down on self-righteous actions in fear that it evolves into sadism and cruelty.

K Sera purposefully stirs the pot, Micah takes the bait, and Phillip chews the fat. In this episode we talk about soup, cold soup, hot dogs, and hardcore drugs. And also poop transplants.

 

Show Notes:

What makes Soup, Soup?

Mul Naengmyeon (Korean Cold Noodle Soup)

Fecal microbiota transplant

Chowing Down On Meat, Dairy Alters Gut Bacteria A Lot, And Quickly

 

K Sera’s afterthoughts:

- So, to be perfectly honest, this topic was chosen to instigate pointless debate.

- Also, I hate cereal.

- I should note: some cold cucumber soup recipes require a heating element before being chilled, then served.

- As I listen to our conversations, I catch myself living in these odd behavioral patterns that are apparently annual-ish. I was up for a family reunion this past weekend and as I was sitting around the dinner table with a hotdog in hand, I ask, “So, is a hotdog a sandwich?” purely to stir the pot. The day I return home, I end up having a conversation with the neighbor who kindly looked after my cats while I was gone and I brought up cucumber soup when she mentioned her cukes were growing well. The next day, I get back to work and Phil tells me the next episode from our backlog is up for preview. Lo, it is the soup one in which I mention cucumber soup and the hotdog/sandwich conundrum.

This isn’t the only episode where, a few days prior, I had a conversation about the topic of our next episode with someone else before I knew which episode it would be. It’s a bit unnerving how predictable I can be, and how I fall into patterns of thought without necessarily realizing.

- About my choice not to be an organ donor: Micah and those of you up on your high horses can keep grumbling. You guys might not be particularly attached to your flesh, but I am quite sentimental over my body. It is a part of me, and when it’s done, my preference is that it goes into the earth as whole as possible. In all honesty, the idea that someone else’s parts could be put inside of me and be made to function squicks me out a bit. Sure, if accepting a deceased person’s liver or whatnot was the difference between me living and dying, I’ll probably choose life, but … ideally I’ll never have to make that choice. I dream of the day when we will be able to grow spare organs (unattached and unused by a previous owner) for replacement purposes in the future.

 

Phillip’s afterthoughts

-I wonder how much of me is actually me. Sometimes I think about this far too much.

-A hotdog is not a sandwich. If anything it is a taco.

-Please be an organ donor if you can. I like to think that if my death could save a life, at least this evens out the K/D ratio.

-Finally, please eat healthy. I am terrible at this but after re-listening to this podcast I think that eating healthy is something that needs to be reiterated as often as possible.

Micah asks about bringing video and computer game elements into our classroom. K Sera is skeptical. Phillip remains convinced that it was always a game.

Note: This episode was originally recorded a year prior to the publish release date. It was recorded in the summer of 2021 (with all of the Covid-19 context in the background). These episodes provide a glimpse of how life was like for us during the lockdowns and anti-masks and anti-science of the past administration and their vocal supports/mouth piece. While I am glad those days are over, the battle to convince more Americans to vaccinate still continues.

 

Shownotes:

Number Munchers

The Oregon Trail

DinoPark Tycoon

School is just for jobs?

Do we teach Critical Thinking in school?

 

Phillip’s afterthoughts:

-I sometimes get so caught up with my obsession of how we should teach our students that I forget it’s been more than 20 years since I first experienced High School. The issue here is that while I have plenty of grievances about my time in school, I have to remember that my experiences are now so long ago, and things have modernized since then.

- I still wish that people would come out with better researching and critical thinking skills, but more importantly I wish that empathy can be taught too.

-Lastly, I believe that it really is just a jobs program. I just don’t see any way around it.

Originally Recorded in the middle of Summer of 2020, Phillip brings up the surprisingly self-aware question about being brain-washed. Micah and K Sera are quick to point out that there might be something being too obvious.

 

Show Notes:

N/A

 

K Sera afterthoughts:

Rendezvous With Rama by Arthur C. Clarke was an admittedly good novel, despite our complaints in the episode. Yeah, it’s got some weird going on, but it’s also got some fascinating bits in there as well. I would still recommend reading it. Just the first one. You could (should) skip the sequels… 

-We very quickly determined that we’re brainwashed in the first two minutes. Thanks for the short episode!

Except it wasn’t! Omg, why are we wasting so much time arguing definitions! It’s a trap!

This is where we just leave it to others: What’s the Difference Between Morals and Ethics?

Morality: n. principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior.

Ethics: n. moral principles that govern a person's behavior or the conducting of an activity.

So what exactly does this Venn diagram look like? Maybe something like this? Idk. I’ll just crawl back into my “indifferent universe” hole and leave ideas like “good” and “bad” to their perspective and situational dependencies

 

Phillip afterthoughts:

-This episode was originally recorded a year from the publish date (Summer of 2020, published in Summer 2021). A lot of things happened since then, but our comments about the then-president sound dated now.

-When I mention “universal morals” or “universal ethics” I really wanted to expand on that but didn’t have the right words. Now, after a year pondering it, I still don’t have the right words. I believe that in the hearts of most humans that there is a sense to want to cooperate but not to be betrayed. We want to do the right thing, but we cannot be taken advantage of. I think that this helps explain that a lack of trust (or demonizing the others) could lead to horrible acts of cruelty and violence executed by what would otherwise be normal people. Branding, messaging, marketing… it all sounds so manipulative to me, and manipulation isn’t that far removed from brainwashing.