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Albert Einstein: “A Foolish Faith In Authority Is The Worst Enemy Of The Truth”
Albert Einstein said:
A foolish faith in authority is the worst enemy of the truth.
Indeed, scientists have shown that people will go to absurd lengths - and engage in mental gymnastics – in order to cling to their belief in what those in authority have said.
Part of the reason so many are so vulnerable to naive belief in authority is that we evolved in small tribes … and we assume that the super-elites are just like us.
In reality, there are millions of psychopaths in the world … and they are largely running D.C. and on Wall Street.
These people have no hesitation in lying to promote their goals.
The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs told Morley Safer of 60 Minutes and CBS News:
Look, if you think any American official is going to tell you the truth, then you’re stupid. Did you hear that? — stupid.
And studies show that the super-rich lie, cheat and steal more than the rest of us.
Who’s to Blame … Big Government or Big Business?
Conservatives tend to believe that the captains of industry are virtuous and that the government can’t be trusted.
Liberals tend to believe that government servants are virtuous and that corporations can’t be trusted.
But the truth is that psychopaths are psychopaths … whether they’re in the private sector or government.
And there is no such thing as representative government or free market capitalism anymore. Big corporate money has coopted the government; and ill-guided politicians have destroyed the free market.
Corrupt government agencies and officials and corrupt corporations and executives have become intertwined in a malignant, symbiotic relationship.
And they’re trying to grab more and more power and wealth every day.
Big Business Has Turned Into a Criminal Syndicate
Big banks and giant oil companies have more or less become criminal enterprises.
And conservatives are not amused.
Government Has Gone Rogue
If the government were accountable, then government corruption, deceit and wrongdoing would be held to a modest level.
But the government is not accountable.
When bad government policy leads to bad results, the government manipulates the data … instead of changing policy.
Government pumps out massive amounts of propaganda through the mainstream and “gatekeeper” alternative media, movies, video games, and other venues.
The government has launched a war on journalism, and censors and manipulates social media. And see this.
The massive NSA is spying on all of us – including government officials, reporters, and everyone else – as a way to crush dissent.
And people who criticize government policy or government officials may literally be labeled terrorists.
No wonder the American public has lost faith in the 2 party system. And see this.
People of faith shouldn’t be fooled into blindly deferring to government authority.
Bonus:
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Prime Minister: “A Lack Of Courage To Take On Vested Interests Are Pushing Us Inexorably Toward The Next Crash”
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Bloomberg: Trans Pacific Partnership Is “Corporatist Power Grab”, “As Democratic And Transparent As A One-Party State,” Shrouded In “Big Brother-Like Secrecy”
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Head of UN Mission Investigating Syrian Chemical Weapons Debunks One of America’s Main Arguments
»
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An outdated, unneeded, brain wiring for the moral sphere of authority.
I am not sure what you mean Anusocracy.
Meanwhile, this article provoked me to start watching this mainstream biography on Einstein:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcXxHZssCh4
It amazes me how a "loser," who could not get a professional position as a physicist, ended up revolutionizing things so much! I generally enjoy shows about the history of science, since that tends to be way stranger in its twists and turns than the final product is presented to be in schools. The tragedy for Einstein was having to deal with the deep dilemmas that his ideas eventually made atomic bombs possible, and he had to play a role in that, because of justifiable fears regarding what that could mean!
One of the paradoxes of being "successful" is that you then just get harder problems to try to solve! Whether or not human civilization can survive developing science is our biggest problem now, and our prospects do not look so good!
In our early and middle primitive eras, alpha-males were an overall benefit to man's survival. The use force against others benefited the alphas and the abilities of the alphas benefited the others. Hence, authority, through force, promoting the survival of both, became a moral force.
In our late primitive era, with access to many methods of stealing the wealth of others and to technologies of mass destruction, they are no longer needed. Taking from others by force is not the path to progress and civilization.
But the concept of deferring to authority is about as strong as ever - still wired into the brain.
Merry Christmas, GW.
GW, lemme tell you something about people; people go bandying-about wild and exaggerated phrases...i could list them and go on listing them. bromides, cliches , horse-sense & prescience. the point is, when someone assaults ole janus with this particular prefacing of the strange and/or anomalous, 'stranger things have happened, but...', i tend to bow-up...cause i've got something for em...somethin that'll shock em!
and, no matter what they're about to say, i say (and i make a point of aggressively interrupting) , 'why, something stranger still has happened; and now i'm going to tell you all about it...'
and so i do go about telling them of the strangest thing that's ever happened.
and as it relates to what you've posted, it has specific relevance to one albert einstein. he and janus used to engage in titanic back-and-forths...we assailed one another with sporatic barrages of proverbs. we were duelers in the arena of the aphorism, we were.
not to spoil the ending, but janus was always, and invariably, triumphant. sure, alfie knew his physics, but as an aphorist, he wasn't anything but second -- at best -- whence we en guarded and whatnot.
so, this was my answer to Einstein:
integrity and authority are ionically opposed; the more extreme of its other migrating always to the outter-most pole.
that's called metaphysics, bitch! (that's what i said to Einstein when i responded with it)
but alfie was all aces...hell of a guy.
here's a song for the pride of princeton:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6a_1R3w5i4
are you gonna step into line like yer daddy done/
punchin the time and climbin life's own ladder?/
...,
janus
Long ago, decent, earnest people entered politics to protect individual rights. Look through the history books and there were eloquent champions of liberty, freedom, the poor and the downtrodden. The sort of people who would be derided as moralising, bleeding heart commie faggots if they were around today.
At some point politics from both sides became less about the individual and more about national wealth management through the collaboration of the civil services with the corporations. They don't even hide it any more; politicians talk about the economy, job creation, protecting their way of life, investments, and market segmentation all the time, instead of justice, peace, stability, and fiscal responsibility. They act like Wall St fat cats, talk like them, and love behaving like them, with the added excitement of being able to order others to commit murder to protect their interests at home and abroad. These days it is normal to see the government as just one giant corporation with one purpose: wealth creation - GDP growth, and the citizens as serfs who serve the corporate interests of the state, especially the banks.
Odd isn't it? Once upon a time, our forefathers gave their lives to ensure that the government existed to serve the people, to serve you in as unobtrusive way as possible so you can live, pursue your happiness and die in peace. The situation is so farcical today that the only way to get any respect and peace as a person from the various arms of the state is to incorporate oneself as a company. Maybe not even then. From the cradle to the grave, we are monitored, assessed, prodded, scanned, indoctrinated, indebted, and propagandised.
Here's a message to all who have suffered the intrusions, impositions, and the stifling suffocation of the constantly demanding government. Learn to say, LEAVE ME ALONE. LEAVE ME IN PEACE, and support chaps like Edward Snowden who say it loudest.
Edit: As usual, many thanks for your efforts GW. Happy holidays mate.
Well, the key thing to remember is that all models of reality (theory) can never be proven, only falsified. Therefore, distrust anyone who suggests "consensus" of experts establishes validity of an iidea (e.g. that a single variable, say CO2, controls heat transfer and temperature). The great thing about the scientific method is that is can be used by anyone to understand and solve problems. Everyone needs to think for themselves and be skeptical (most ZHers already have these characteristics).
Why should we believe you on that? What are you trying to sell?
your first authorities are your mom and dad - but now you have to consider if you want to change the way things are or hold on to the way things were.
the way things are-are going to change.
I see not a one of you saw the irony in the article.
What is a "scientist" other than an authority in which to have a foolish faith?
I guess that depends on the definition to which you bow. I always thought of a scientist as someone who asks a question, poses a theory, experiments to find the answer, and then maybe presents his research and findings to others. The person is no authority in that scenario, the method and data are.
On the other hand, I suppose it was ironic if you kowtow to some new definition that makes you less and them more. Wouldn't it be really ironic if that definition was wrong?
You make a good point. Give me an engineer any day over a scientist.
so which will it be? engineer or science? reality or fantasy equations? where is my fucking nuclear fusion generator after the billions upon billions poured in? fuck modern physics for the bastard child it became when matter suddenly can act where it is not and space could have properties rather than void of anythig as it is definition would apply.... yeah i am hating, but nothin gets me going like the fraud of einstein and the folly of the relativists... Tesla/heaviside/steinmetz are still winning the war despite what academia may be claiming ... and if you want to deal appropriately with corruption you also have to deal with academia.... dollard may be right... newtonian physics is inappropriate in the world of the dielectric and magnetic lines of force
Finally someone with a brain speaks up on zerohedge- I have waited for this for a long time- Fuck the Mathematicians -Bring back Tesla
mathematics is to science what ivy-leagued economists are to money and value
and dont forget heaviside and steinmetz... forgotten geniuses ... take away their contributions and we would have nothing....
George Washington - why are you quoting Einstain and on the same day peddling b*llocks about the nuclear energy? You either respect the Scientific Method on which our entire western world was founded or you don't...
All to often we try to catagorize things into either/or. Things are rarely that way. The glass is not half empty or half full, it is both.
What glass?
Scientists, mathmeticians, engineers... bah! They don't matter a lick. A good lawyer will convince the jury that there is no glass. Oh hey, look as the #1 profession of our elected officials. Hmmm.
@SWH0001=einstein and the scientific method... what ignorant bs... you must be part of the action at a distance cult,... math is not reality...( had to edit- realized i replied to wrong reply)
Unfortunately, the scientific method is worthless when applied by corrupt government and corporate officials. Which is rather the point of the article, right?
Suteibu - please do your home work on Mr. Washington's nuclear posts. To believe them is to believe that there is a world government run my the Illuminati. Government is incompetent, government is corrupt but government is not a cabal of the super intelligent out to deceive the world on the risks of nuclear energy. To deceive implies that over 2 dozen NGO's are in cohoots. Well the NSA cant even keep a secrete these days. Are you following?
i think the fact that matter can act where it is not and that space (which by definition has NO properties) can be curved are enough deception, but go ahead and cling to the fraud that science has become..... maybe someday, after a couple more trillion we may get the nuclear fusion generator... don't hold your breath....
You should discuss this with the people of Fukushima. I am sure they will give you a lively debate on the subject. The evidence shows that the corruption between nuclear regulators and TEPCO officials for years leading up to the disaster contributed in no small way to the severity of the damage caused by the tsunami. The political and economic concerns of the government and the nuclear industry was also responsible for the lack of timely information and evacuation. And it continues today.
Which part did the scientific method play in this story? Humans, particularly the psychopaths in power, will always be the weakest link and, in the specific case of Fukushima, render the scientific method rather useless. In fact, Japan's undeserved reputation of operating safe nuclear power facilities was likely caused by too much reliance on the scientific method and not enough diligence by the responsible humans.
Nuclear power is a tool but it is still wielded by the human hand.
Had Japan used knowledge derived from the scientific method, they would have asked for help to get fresh water to use as a coolant rather than sea water. That was a biiiiiig fuckup. It also would have helped if they had not built the reactor right next to the ocean.
Actually, the Japanese are well educated and understand the scientific method better than most on this planet. Again, the corporate and government decision makers (both Japanese and American) - those who wield the nuclear tool - were too concerned about the negative fallout on the industry as well as the horrible politics of the situation to deal with it strictly according to the science of the matter. So, they did what all psychopaths do when they are in a big bind...they lied and covered up.
It is not that no one knew what to do, they simply created other options to cover their ass.
What I was getting at is that there very well might not have been any hydrogen explosions at all if they hadn't used sea water for coolant after the tsunami. Then, there would have been no (or at least much less) need to cover their asses. I'm sure the US would have provided assistance had we been asked, and perhaps they could have used fresh water themselves.
If we're going to use nuclear power, I would posit that there needs to be three ground rules:
1) Don't put nuclear power plants in earthquake or other natural disaster zones that could fuckup the plant.
2) Don't put nuclear power plants next to bodies of water that could carry the results of a full meltdown away.
3) Assume the worst case scenario for reactor operation. What I mean by this is that the plant should be built so that if somebody intentionally causes the worst possible meltdown, there is containment. In other words, assume somebody is going to fuckup or sabotage, and build accordingly.
As you probably already know, El Vaquero, those 3 points WERE repeated many, many times, by many, many people, for several decades, and were always deliberately ignored. The deeper problems were that the people who were the best at being dishonest, and backing that up with violence, actually controlled civilization, and they liked nuclear power plants, because those could make atomic bombs. All of those social insanities were nested inside each other throughout history, due to the supreme paradox that warfare was the oldest and best developed social science, whose success depended upon deceits. There is a profound puzzle there, which most people try to solve without all the pieces.
In the case of many civilian power plants, the motive for not adhearing to those guidlines is profit. A friend of mine used to be in nuclear reactor safety. He has recounted to me many times how there were several people who wanted to use thin steel shells to contain any full meltdown as a cost cutting measure. His opinion is that there needs to be an amount of steel and hardened concrete around reactors that is measured in feet, not inches. I tend to agree.
Then you move to Chernobyl. The Soviets didn't even bother with a containment shell there. Such a safety measure would interfere with getting the spent fuel rods out for plutonium extraction. That was a bad reactor design (not just the lack of a shell,) coupled with a whole series of human fuckups.
"In fact, Japan's undeserved reputation of operating safe nuclear power facilities was likely caused by too much reliance on the scientific method and not enough diligence by the responsible humans."
To much reliance on Human Ego. Who questions the Ego or the Science of the North Korean Leader.
You are rambling incoherently. I honestly have no idea what you're talking about. "Illuminati"? Nice number 12 ...
But, here you go:
Daniel Ellsberg: “Secrets … Can Be Kept Reliably … For Decades … Even Though They Are Known to THOUSANDS of Insiders”
Awesome GW and thanks for the link now located in my favorites for quick reference and reposting.
Ah. Mr. Washington. Radiation is not a sceret. It and its effects cannot be hidden. I appreciate your ad hominem jipe. It makes me feel better - you can't refute my point any other way except by attacking the person making the comment. You know that tactic is very popular in political circles.
I will waste my time and refute your points.
#1) The Illuminati is behind Fukushima? I do not ever recall a George Washington post that proclaimed this. Where is your source?
#2) If the Illuminati were behind Fukushima it is one of the most idiotic actions which they could have made. Fukushima IS POISONING the Ocean. Without the Living Oceans 98% of life will be dead. The Oceans are the source for the Oxygen in the air that you breathe.
#3) George Washington has never claimed to be a Scientist. In fact in most of his posts he declares that he is not a Scientist.
#4) George Washington is reporting information.
#5) As for the effects of Radiation there is evidence that "something" is unbalanced in the Ocean. There is a STRONG CORRELATION between the new phenomena and Fukushima.
You can blind yourself if you want. You can deny it all that you want. But that will not change the truth about it.
Personally I an not too concerned with the direct effects of the Radiation. I am very concerned with the CONSEQUENTIAL EFFECTS.
I am concerned that the Radiation is harming the Oceans near the plant irreparably. I am also concerned that the Radiation in the Oceans near the plant is extreme enough to kill off the Plankton.
Plankton are the most important Oceanic Life Form. It forms the BASE OF THE FOOD CHAIN for higher forms of Ocean Life. Furthermore it OXYGENATES the Ocean Waters and the World's Atmosphere.
There are Ocean Currents that bring fresh and healthy Plankton into a close proximity of Fukushima continuously. As a result those Plankton DIE. Thus the ecological balance is off kilter.
Higher Oceanic Lifeforms die from FAMINE. Furthermore the Waters are less OXYGENATED. That means that there is less OXYGEN transpiring from the Oceans into the Earth's Atmosphere...FOR YOU TO BREATHE.
There is EVIDENCE that the Coastal Waters off of British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon are so Oxygen depleted that they are now acidic. There is a dramatic kill off of Starfish, Sea Stars because the acid attacks their Calcium Carbonate Exoskeletons.
Now you can deny this if you please. I really do not care. But if this "Illuminati" did this purposefully then they just signed their own Death Warrant. They are not that stupid.
despite my agreement with this post, if you are going to fault me for no sources, i suggest you post your links as well... actually i don't care about the links cause i have the ability to find them if i want, just wanted to re-emphasize the hypocrisy you are displaying... you want the cake or do you want to eat it... be fair
If the organization or institution is criminal as are the criminals of the US government, then to participate in any way with that organization is criminal. Therefore, voting is not only ignorant, it is criminal.
Put another way: If you have a pet tiger in your house and one day it eats you, who's to blame.
As a survivor, I would sue Purina Tiger Chow for not making a suitably tasty product which forced the animal to find alternate means of nutrition.
Exactly. If government is evil then its supporters are evil.
And therein lies the real truth.
and the truth is man is evil and sinful...
Speak for yourself.
One can only judge humanity in general based on one's own subconscious self-image, so ....
show me a man with no evil and no sin then... provide your evidence because the evidence of sin is quite apparent once you realize that the condition is universally human
The government and the corporations are one and the same. It was different untill the gov't could out do the corporate profits by PRINTING money. The corporations have a carte blanche and the gov't let's them keep a revolving door. Does it really matter. The Democrats and the Republlicans are the same....it has all turned into a Wharing Blender.
Not wishing to appear pendantic, I rarely point out spelling errors, however, I must take exception in this case...
Correct spelling is Whoring Blender.
That is true, casfoto!
http://www.cafr1.com/
ouroboros of incorporated robbery
Organizations with delegated governmental power now overwhelming own the corporations, which have their people go through the revolving doors between those different institutions. Therefore, "We the People" already own almost everything, HOWEVER, the overwhelming vast majority of "We the People" have been conditioned to act like incompetent political idiots.
That the vast majority have effectively been reduced to being Zombie Sheeple IS the main problem, which operates throughout every aspect of every social institution, which already have been BLENDERIZED! The vast majority of people do not understand that, because they have been brainwashed to believe in so much bullshit that they feel that they do not want to understand that.
Understanding the degree to which everything has been BLENDERIZED requires that we should start using more unitary mechanisms to understand society, rather than continue to use false fundamental dichotomies. Citizens are members of an organized crime gang. Since the vast majority of them do not understand that, they act as extremely incompetent citizens, who have allowed the methods of organized crime to take almost complete control over their lives, while the vast majority of them have been more and more marginalized by that process.
The ideas behind a democratic republic are still as good as any which are theoretically possible. However, none of those are workable after enough of the citizens have been reduced to fools, which can be fooled enough of the time. Furthermore, as my comment below explained again, another constant problem is that the controlled opposition against the runaway triumph of the methods of organized crime taking control over governments/corporations is an opposition always tends to try to "wake the sheeple up" by recommending that everyone should become better sheeple, as the way that we could resolve our problems better.
At some point, facing the social facts that governments and corporations have become BLENDERIZED organized crime should start being responded to with unitary mechanisms that face those facts, rather than result in returning to the bullshit "solutions" that believe that should be stopped.
Instead, there should to be an intellectual scientific revolution, which becomes widespread enough that enough people understand that, as citizens, they are really members of an organized crime gang. Such paradigm shifts in perception would not change what already exists, but only enable more people to understand what exists, which maybe then could more effectively change what actually exists.
radical, this is a very nice rant. I have one objection, though:
by claiming "as citizens, they are really members of an organized crime gang" you are mixing facts and judgments
fact is that humans bond together and form bands (or gangs), be them a pirate ship crew or a gang or a city or a nation or even bigger groups, with their interests
with "crime" you are making a judgment
You are right, Ghordius, that my view of the facts blends into that value judgment.
Corporations and unions are both sanctioned by government. In fact, almost everything that is bad is, which is why it is anti-civilization.
The elite desperately need government, the public doesn't at all, but are incapable of rejecting it.
"The elite desperately need government, the public doesn't at all,"
ummmm, not so.
P.S. If Unions are anctioned by the government why did the government destroy them.
The government has unions, not so much the private sector.
Oops, dupe.
I never said half the things people said I did.
-Einstein