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It wasn't too long ago that there was a power law in owning people. Somehow that inevitability is no longer with us. It's almost like once we broke the politic

It wasn't too long ago that there was a power law in owning people. Somehow that inevitability is no longer with us. It's almost like once we broke the political will of the slave owning class we removed the need for slaves too.

Supermancho 6y ago
I'm not sure what "power law" you are referring to, although I suspect it's something like "the power of law". That's not the power law being referenced. Re: pareto principle. The idea that the Pareto principle can be up-ended or flattened is fantasy. All you can do is change the logarithmic scale or how you measure.
- buzzkillington 6y ago
  Yes, if you look up ownership statistics for slaves they indeed followed a power law, to the point where the majority of southern whites did not own a slave but felt having the option of owning one was worth starting a civil war over. It also used to apply for numbers of wives before Christianity killed that particular power law. Applying descriptive social statistics as prescriptive policy is idiocy.
  - Supermancho 6y ago
    I'm having trouble following. >>> Power laws are inevitable and acknowledging this is the starting point to finding a solution. >> It wasn't too long ago that there was a power law in owning people. > if you look up ownership statistics for slaves they indeed followed a power law, Your first statement is incomplete, at best. Thank you for explaining. As it stands, not sure how that explanation applies to the assertion. > Applying descriptive social statistics as prescriptive policy is idiocy. Not sure what that has to do with the topic either. The issue is with the articles' assertion that you can avoid the power law via political will, akin to "equality in outcome" or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2081_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2081_(film) Social statistics have to be taken into consideration, or solutions are broken conceptually.

Supermancho 6y ago

I'm not sure what "power law" you are referring to, although I suspect it's something like "the power of law". That's not the power law being referenced. Re: pareto principle. The idea that the Pareto principle can be up-ended or flattened is fantasy. All you can do is change the logarithmic scale or how you measure.

buzzkillington 6y ago
Yes, if you look up ownership statistics for slaves they indeed followed a power law, to the point where the majority of southern whites did not own a slave but felt having the option of owning one was worth starting a civil war over. It also used to apply for numbers of wives before Christianity killed that particular power law. Applying descriptive social statistics as prescriptive policy is idiocy.
- Supermancho 6y ago
  I'm having trouble following. >>> Power laws are inevitable and acknowledging this is the starting point to finding a solution. >> It wasn't too long ago that there was a power law in owning people. > if you look up ownership statistics for slaves they indeed followed a power law, Your first statement is incomplete, at best. Thank you for explaining. As it stands, not sure how that explanation applies to the assertion. > Applying descriptive social statistics as prescriptive policy is idiocy. Not sure what that has to do with the topic either. The issue is with the articles' assertion that you can avoid the power law via political will, akin to "equality in outcome" or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2081_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2081_(film) Social statistics have to be taken into consideration, or solutions are broken conceptually.