BS: Getting the Whole Story

Subject: BS: Getting the Whole Story
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 20 Mar 09 - 10:53 PM

With the tendency for people to latch onto the latest "news bite" and be diverted from "things that matter" by "scandalous trivia" it is perhaps of interest to have some discussion of - as the late great Paul Harvey was likely to say - "The Rest of the Story."

As an example: A recent survey of "places to live" where life was sweet and full of joy picked Utah as the NUMBER ONE best place in the country "to be happy."

(Link)

Utah, Hawaii, Wyoming top 'happiness' poll

"Survey rated such variables as mental, physical and economic health"

(Unlink)

Does this tell us anything useful, or is it just a "news-bite" to divert us from something that's really going on in Utah?

This might be a bit of a puzzle for those of us who've passed through but didn't stop for long, so we need "the rest of the story" - and the article doesn't really tell us much.

Perhaps a part of the explanations is at:

(Another link)

Utah Leads In Percent of Internet Users with Porn Subscriptions. (Video, with leadin commercial of course.)

(Unlinked again)

Both of these reports are by "respectable" researchers (they say) but there seems to be little in the way of analysis to tell us whether there actually is a direct connection.

Speculation welcome. Are these two items really associated, related, connected, interactive, and/or supportive one of the other?

And other potential but uncertain associations between apparently disparate news items is encouraged, especially by those who have noticed something that might have slipped past the rest of us.

John

Subject: RE: BS: Getting the Whole Story
From: GUEST,Guest from Sanity
Date: 20 Mar 09 - 11:29 PM

Well, John, being in Kansas, I thought this might make you smile...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5T6gyCPDvM

Subject: RE: BS: Getting the Whole Story
From: Amos
Date: 20 Mar 09 - 11:33 PM

Well, the thing is, JiK, there is no whole story in the way they frame the idea. There's a mythology of story telling and cleaving to story that is a wide addiction amongst human beings, because story makes it easier to collapse large amounts of data and not have to deal with it. Unfortunately, it also opens the door to a lot of very plastic versions of reality, and when all you're listening to is the best story, everything you hear is going to be a mishmash. Story is non-rigorous abstraction, and makes life less of a burden on the brain, but it makes for very poor mapping sometimes. There's an awful lot to be said about this human fondness for using story. One good book that touches on the theme is "The Black Swan" by NAssim Nicholas Taleb (Random House, New York, 2007). Recommended.





A

Subject: RE: BS: Getting the Whole Story
From: Amos
Date: 21 Mar 09 - 01:33 AM

Man, GTS, that was byooootiful.


Maybe its a universal language.

A

Subject: RE: BS: Getting the Whole Story
From: gnu
Date: 21 Mar 09 - 07:09 AM

And beeeyond, A.

Subject: RE: BS: Getting the Whole Story
From: GUEST,Guest from Sanity
Date: 21 Mar 09 - 12:40 PM

Ahhh. music soothes the savage beast!

Subject: RE: BS: Getting the Whole Story
From: GUEST
Date: 21 Mar 09 - 03:34 PM

Amos, (and anyone else) ..I guess we don't agree on too much...except a certain appreciation you have for the musical links, I post...so, just for you, I'll post a couple from that group(which I have a certain affiliation with), that you seem to like. I'd suggest that you buy their DVD, and play it loud, on a good, to great system...it will blow you away!!. The engineering is superb, as well as their performances!! If you noticed, the one I posted above was a Capella, no instruments! Here's a couple of more...take your time, and enjoy..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNWgTmkbgtw&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zo5n0HwaRmQ&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6b9xzS_rDo&feature=related

There, you can't say I never did anything for ya'...

and one more for good measure.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rh-q8RNLr3Q
Regards, Even if you are a political 'numskull'...wink!

ENJOY!!!!!
GfS

Subject: RE: BS: Getting the Whole Story
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 22 Mar 09 - 12:13 PM

If you noticed, the one I posted above was a Capella, no instruments!
Good grief, a capella & no instruments, what a novelty!

Cheers
Nigel

Subject: RE: BS: Getting the Whole Story
From: artbrooks
Date: 22 Mar 09 - 01:28 PM

I assume that "best place to be happy" is based upon a survey of the residents of those places, while the one on on-line porn is based on information from internet providers.

Having gone to college in Utah, and going back to visit, from time to time, perhaps I could put those reports into perspective a little. Utah is a beautiful place, with just about every kind of scenery except seashores (I don't count the Great Salt Lake-yuck!) and lots of outdoor things to do. It has about as much "cultural" activities as you will find anywhere outside of a major metropolitan area. The dominant local subculture really doesn't bother you much if you make it clear that you are content with your own religion (or lack of one). The local microbreweries do some very nice things, within the restrictions of the state's silly "max 3.2 beer" laws. On the other hand, I wouldn't want to try to raise kids there, since the Mormon children do proselytize classmates, and peer pressure is powerful. They are, as a group, strongly against population control, so four or more children per family is the norm. The population, Mormon and otherwise, is strongly right-Republican, especially outside of Salt Lake City. These two factors, if one equates Republicans with fiscal restraint, result in the funding per capita for the Utah schools being the lowest in the nation.

As for the porn? Don't expect to find roadside porn shops in Utah.

Subject: RE: BS: Getting the Whole Story
From: Alice
Date: 22 Mar 09 - 02:04 PM

"Does this tell us anything useful, or is it just a "news-bite" to divert us from something that's really going on in Utah?"

This is simply an example of how the general public, and unfortunately the news media, do not understand how to judge surveys and their results.


There is an association of professional scientific survey organizations called CASRO. It represents 350 research companies in the US and abroad who have to abide by a code of standards that help ensure ethical and scientific survey standards.

Getting the Whole Story about a survey also means finding out if the survey was done using standards of practice that make the results reliable. CASRO tries to educate the public and media on how to judge whether a survey is conducted properly. CASRO members must abide by standards, others do not. The media, in this story, looks to me like it is mis-interpreting the survey as a happiness survey.

The survey reported was supposed to measure "well being". The headline then renamed that as "happiness". The reporting of the survey is misleading because it should have reported on a survey of "people who answer questions about their well being" rather than judging a population's "happiness".

Alice

Subject: RE: BS: Getting the Whole Story
From: michaelr
Date: 22 Mar 09 - 04:00 PM

Celtic Woman -- blecch!

GfS, if you are indeed "affiliated" with that enterprise, why don't you tell us The Whole Story about the rumors of near-enslavement. That might make your post relevant to this thread.

Cheers,
Michael

Subject: RE: BS: Getting the Whole Story
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 23 Mar 09 - 10:46 AM

While occasionally I do take a look at those reports on wonderful places to live - and especially the ones that tell you how pleasant your retirement would be if you just lived somewhere "better," the consistently recurring "clinkers" that the raving lunatics never seem to put into perspective are things like "median home prices $850,000" (about 4 times US median) and/or "median family income $600,000" (about 11 times US median).

The report cited included Boulder CO as a "very good place" due to their claim that 55% of the population are college graduates. During two separate 6 month "lifetimes" I spent in Boulder some years ago found four or five "very literate" carpet layers, one decently intelligent tailor, a couple of postal workers, and a waitress or two who actually could make correct change; but the plant where I worked lacked a "native" engineer capable of removing a bolt from a Chevy bumper.

The "best places" survey was, I believe, done by Forbes magazine, so of course the "reader population" that they mythically assume might find their choices "attractive." They don't look too good to a poor retired peasant.

The "porn subscriptions" report was reportedly done by a Harvard researcher, originally as a post-grad student, using the ZIP codes for credit cards used to pay for subscriptions (apparently with the cooperation of the credit card processors(?) or the web sites.)

Neither of the two reports was of particular interest; but the almost simultaneous appearance of the two, in national media, seemed somewhat peculiar.

I thought perhaps others might have found other "coincidentally related" articles that required some slightly odd interpretation to find a way to tie them together - - but perhaps not.

John

Subject: RE: BS: Getting the Whole Story
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 23 Mar 09 - 03:30 PM

I don't think anyone pays too much attention to those 'best place' stories, they show up periodically and are copied as filler by the papers (or, now, the net).

I think the general reaction is, "Well, that's nice," but the story is forgotten next day.

I think Hawai'i is a good place to live when it's below zero in my home city, but, like most places, it has its own culture and I am used to the culture peculiar to where I live now.

Kansas? Gee, I don't know. Might get mighty tired of sunflowers.

Subject: RE: BS: Getting the Whole Story
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 23 Mar 09 - 06:05 PM

One of the airlines did away with its in-flight meal and there was a general outcry. The airline response was 'you all filled in a questionnaire saying you wanted cheaper flights - we were able to do that by taking away the cost of the meal'... it's all in the way that the question is phrased.

If the airline had said 'would you like us to make our prices cheaper by taking away your in-flight meal, no matter how horrible it is?' then they would have had a resounding 'no'. As it was, they just asked 'would you like us to make our prices cheaper?'

If someone asked me 'where would you like to live?' the answer would be quite different than if the question were 'would you prefer to live in Utah or Kansas?'

(My answer to that would be neither, I want to see Nevada)....

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Getting the Whole Story
From: robomatic
Date: 23 Mar 09 - 09:35 PM

On that survey about downloading porn per capita, our local newspaper claimed that Alaska came in second.