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I'd actually love to understand why people trust fringe opinions given that the track record of "people who hold fringe opinion in established fields" is totall

I'd actually love to understand why people trust fringe opinions given that the track record of "people who hold fringe opinion in established fields" is totally abysmal. Even if you were inclined to believe them -- don't you think the responsible option would be to measure the effects of small changes (maybe you implement some degree of tariffs without going for all-out war) rather than coming in with fringe views, making radical change, and all the while believing you are absolutely right? This is the problem with the Lighthizer / Ross / general Trump admin for some people. People who have respect for expert / "established opinion" are gonna look at how these people act and call them idiots. And it's not a meme -- it's because people who respect experts are often experts in their own kind in other fields, and they've seen this behavior before, and hint -- it's come from the idiots.

mistermann 7y ago
> I'd actually love to understand why people trust fringe opinions given that the track record of "people who hold fringe opinion in established fields" is totally abysmal. I wonder what specific meaning you attribute to the words "trust" and "opinions" in this context, and how you believe (unless I am mistaken) you happen to know how "people" "trust" "opinions". "fringe opinions" also seems like a bit of a loaded term to me, the exact meaning of which is left as an exercise to the reader. It also seems to imply that if an opinion is not mainstream, it is wrong, something that history would disagree with. Can you consider the possibility that some of us have evaluated the situation, taking into consideration that only a subset of the facts are available to us, and also considering that many of the "facts" are surely propaganda, and come to the conclusion that while this trade war isn't a pleasant position to be in and is fraught with massive risk, it is the "best" route to go all things considered, and also that some of us may not hold the belief that we are "absolutely right" in our decided stance? > don't you think the responsible option would be to measure the effects of small changes (maybe you implement some degree of tariffs without going for all-out war) rather than coming in with fringe views Given the unlimited time a dictator enjoys, certainly. In a democracy with working timespans of < 4 years, and starting in a position reached by prior administrations who seemed to be happy to not notice the rapidly growing threat of China to America's dominance (for good or ill), no. > and all the while believing you are absolutely right How might you know that Trump's trade team believes they are absolutely right, versus posturing? Is there some irony here? > And it's not a meme -- it's because people who respect experts are often experts in their own kind in other fields, and they've seen this behavior before, and hint -- it's come from the idiots. If it's not a meme, does that mean it is a fact? Or is it something else?

mistermann 7y ago

> I'd actually love to understand why people trust fringe opinions given that the track record of "people who hold fringe opinion in established fields" is totally abysmal. I wonder what specific meaning you attribute to the words "trust" and "opinions" in this context, and how you believe (unless I am mistaken) you happen to know how "people" "trust" "opinions". "fringe opinions" also seems like a bit of a loaded term to me, the exact meaning of which is left as an exercise to the reader. It also seems to imply that if an opinion is not mainstream, it is wrong, something that history would disagree with. Can you consider the possibility that some of us have evaluated the situation, taking into consideration that only a subset of the facts are available to us, and also considering that many of the "facts" are surely propaganda, and come to the conclusion that while this trade war isn't a pleasant position to be in and is fraught with massive risk, it is the "best" route to go all things considered, and also that some of us may not hold the belief that we are "absolutely right" in our decided stance? > don't you think the responsible option would be to measure the effects of small changes (maybe you implement some degree of tariffs without going for all-out war) rather than coming in with fringe views Given the unlimited time a dictator enjoys, certainly. In a democracy with working timespans of < 4 years, and starting in a position reached by prior administrations who seemed to be happy to not notice the rapidly growing threat of China to America's dominance (for good or ill), no. > and all the while believing you are absolutely right How might you know that Trump's trade team believes they are absolutely right, versus posturing? Is there some irony here? > And it's not a meme -- it's because people who respect experts are often experts in their own kind in other fields, and they've seen this behavior before, and hint -- it's come from the idiots. If it's not a meme, does that mean it is a fact? Or is it something else?