Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Metaphor In Action


Building on Bill's concern with how metaphor is often used to deceive via Tom's post below, here is a video below of if not the best video from Mike it has to be in the top 3.

Here he is on the Glen Beck channel last year trying to make the mathematical case for stronger fiscal policy in the face of austerity, cuts, and the debt ceiling (still timely!) to the host there who is just not qualified to understand the mathematical relationships that Mike is trying to communicate.

He just can't get it and then he appeals for "help" from the guy on opposite Mike, former Reagan administration budget director Miller who also remains ignorant, admits he finds Mike's math confusing, and then hits the host with the metaphor "gobbledegook" and they both remain in the dark.

It always happens this way.

I especially like the part where Mike tells Miller to take the ear-plugs out!  LOL Mike!



If we ever find ourselves in debate with these morons, suggest that we somehow establish ground rules where they CANNOT use metaphor to make their points.  

True science does not need metaphor or teleology so if these morons really think they are correct, they shouldn't be opposed to this "no metaphors" rule in the debate.

I don't think they can do without it, and any such debate will end up getting even more contentious than we see these people get with Mike here and they may even end up getting violent during the contest; so beware.


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why have default insurance for a financial instrument, U.S. gov. bonds, that cannot default? Is this fraud?

"In the market for credit default swaps, which provide insurance against default, investors currently pay about $28,000 to insure $10 million in U.S. sovereign debt over the next five years. That's up from a week ago, but still well below the peak of about $63,000 in July 2011."

http://www.moneynews.com/FinanceNews/US-Default-People-Laughing/2013/09/24/id/527473

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

question:

Say you draw up a contract agreeing to repay a debt in the future with a specific thing, like gold bars for example. So you agree to pay the debt with 3 gold bars of a certain specification.

When it comes to paying that debt, could you simply hand over legal tender currency instead?

Could the other person refuse to accept the legal tender, and take you to court, or are they obliged to accept it?

Matt Franko said...

Probably only if the contract allowed for "cash settlement" in lieu y...

Some commodity futures contracts are "cash settled" some are not... you may even have to take physical delivery... depends on the contract...

rsp,