Tr1v14l Pursu1ts: SSDD Ad Nauseum In The East

Maxims, rules of thumb and other observations on human cognition and sociocultural affectations

This will be added to on an irregular basis...

What is said to humans directly is received with skepticism and considered with dubiousness while that which is heard in passing, especially that which most conforms to their mentality or prejudices, is readily believed.
Humans have a certain cognitive latency between exposure to new information or experiences and the ability to think dispassionately and intellectually about it.
Humans have a certain cognitive spectrum starting with the moment of exposure to new information or experiences and ending with some point at which the thing is effectively "in the past" for them.
This cognitive spectrum is linked to the emotional process often referred to as shock, anger, denial and acceptance.
The more and faster information or experiences are presented to people and the closer the quarters and the lesser the distance between people, the more their early reactions in the passionate emotional stage are reflected back to them in the manner of responses to those reactions from others in light of those responses.
The more outrages which are suffered without sufficient time to allow emotional bleed-off, the farther the bar for subsequent reaction and outrage are pushed, and the more further events must progress before reaction and outrage.
It is possible for serious detriments to eventually sit below this threshold for long enough for their damaging effects to build and multiply until their entire society undergoes some reactive convulsion.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

SSDD Ad Nauseum In The East

Abbas wants return to pre-1967.

Israeli government spokeswoman Miri Eisin declined to comment, saying she did not want to prejudice negotiations. But the Palestinian demands appear to exceed anything that Israel would be willing to offer.

You don’t say.

Well, for those dreaming that Abbas would be the man to stand up to the internal pressure cooker of his people’s politics and be anything like reasonable… well, you’re probably already too delusional to let this change your mind or even slow you down a little.

Nevertheless, you might want to remember Aesop’s fable about the dog that lost a bone when he barked at a reflection of himself in the water. Losing what you have to get what you won’t is not a wise trade. Israel is the only side that has done any bending, and given the last time they bent till they broke ended up in the Holocaust, I rather think the drive to survive will not allow another break.

So what happens when spring steel is bent back until it can’t be pushed farther? Well, you keep it there and if you relax your grip for one second, it pushes back and flattens you.

Like I said, Aesop’s fable…