Re: The joy of actual numbers, was Democracy

On 08/11/2024 14:34, D wrote:

  On Fri, 8 Nov 2024, rbowman wrote:
 

On Fri, 8 Nov 2024 03:08:16 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>

On 08/11/2024 01:47, rbowman wrote:

On Thu, 7 Nov 2024 21:19:05 -0000 (UTC), Rich wrote:
>

It is simply a reflection of the fact that, in almost all populations,
a small percentage of people have an innate curiosity that drives them
to learn, explore, make something of themselves, and often have an
outsize impact on the world as a whole, while a large percentage
simply seem to have no curiosity nor desire to do anything beyond the
barest minimum necessary to make the next paycheck appear by magic.

>
I got out of Dodge in my early 20s as did many of my friends and my
brother. According to the high school class data many didn't.
>
What surprised me was the number of college educated people in Boston
with decent jobs that had never ventured outside of the 128 perimeter.
Those novelty maps that show Boston and NY with LA and San Francisco on
the west bank of the Hudson are their world view. The 'flyover states'
are a reality.
>
>

And even you seem never to have made it to Europe or Asia.

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Why would I bother with Europe? I do regret not making it to Asia.

 I have travelled all the world, and personally, I don't think there is much to be gained by travelling given all the possibilities we have today in terms of videos, documentaries, the internet etc.
 I've been forced to travel, but most of it I see as a complete waste of time except for the business it generated.

Really? You must be extraordinarily insensitive.
Each place I have visited has a 'feel' that is unique to it, and not something a documentary reveals. And a smell.
--
“People believe certain stories because everyone important tells them, and people tell those stories because everyone important believes them. Indeed, when a conventional wisdom is at its fullest strength, one’s agreement with that conventional wisdom becomes almost a litmus test of one’s suitability to be taken seriously.”
Paul Krugman