3 ms·

We live in interesting times. (1/2 of the possible results of an ancient Chinese curse. I think.) We all know that voting is statistically meaningless--in fac

We live in interesting times. (1/2 of the possible results of an ancient Chinese curse. I think.) We all know that voting is statistically meaningless--in fact, even if the vote comes down 50.0 million to 50.0 million, the actual result will be decided by whoever has the better lawyer in the inevitable supreme court spectacle. So really, the only value is in the psychological effect voting has on yourself. Libertarians sometimes say "Don't vote" for this very reason, because voting makes you a participant in a corrupt system. (It's a standard brainwashing tactic to get people to say things they don't believe. Even if they know they don't believe, the honorable sense of "keeping one's word" overwhelms reason.) Therefore, 3rd party votes are completely legitimate, since elections are pyschologically valid and mathematically pointless.

jncraton 18y ago
Voting is not statistically meaningless. Voting gives us a good way to judge where the majority of the nation wants to go. Just because your vote doesn't decide the election does not mean that your vote is meaningless. It carries the same weight as mine, McCain's, or Obama's. This is a good thing.
- mynameishere 18y ago
  Yeah, it is. Math is funny that way. In fact, it is probably a net-negative activity to drive across town to purchase a lottery ticket for 0 (zero) dollars that has a 100 million dollar payoff at 1:100,000,000 odds. Why? Because the time/energy expenditure of driving across town itself is a cost in excess of the likely returns. Voting is the same way, except you get somewhat less than 100M if you win. And, if there's confusion, I'm talking about individuals voting, not groups. This is why sending large checks to favored candidates is not meaningless. It can sway many people, ultimately.
- axod 18y ago
  Yeah I'm not sure the last 2 elections actually went with the popular vote. Was voting in the last 2 elections worthwhile? I'm not convinced.
IsaacSchlueter 18y ago
That's why I wrote in a vote for the Ron Paul/Hypnotoad ticket.
msg 18y ago
Isn't this a bit like saying the kinetic theory of gases is statistically meaningless? Even if the motion of individual gas molecules is pretty random, we can measure and learn something about the direction and speed of the gas as a whole that is not random at all. If Obama, for instance, wins 330-208 in the electoral vote and 52-44 in the popular vote, we can hardly call those statistically insignificant margins below the noise floor.

jncraton 18y ago

Voting is not statistically meaningless. Voting gives us a good way to judge where the majority of the nation wants to go. Just because your vote doesn't decide the election does not mean that your vote is meaningless. It carries the same weight as mine, McCain's, or Obama's. This is a good thing.

mynameishere 18y ago
Yeah, it is. Math is funny that way. In fact, it is probably a net-negative activity to drive across town to purchase a lottery ticket for 0 (zero) dollars that has a 100 million dollar payoff at 1:100,000,000 odds. Why? Because the time/energy expenditure of driving across town itself is a cost in excess of the likely returns. Voting is the same way, except you get somewhat less than 100M if you win. And, if there's confusion, I'm talking about individuals voting, not groups. This is why sending large checks to favored candidates is not meaningless. It can sway many people, ultimately.
axod 18y ago
Yeah I'm not sure the last 2 elections actually went with the popular vote. Was voting in the last 2 elections worthwhile? I'm not convinced.

IsaacSchlueter 18y ago

That's why I wrote in a vote for the Ron Paul/Hypnotoad ticket.

msg 18y ago

Isn't this a bit like saying the kinetic theory of gases is statistically meaningless? Even if the motion of individual gas molecules is pretty random, we can measure and learn something about the direction and speed of the gas as a whole that is not random at all. If Obama, for instance, wins 330-208 in the electoral vote and 52-44 in the popular vote, we can hardly call those statistically insignificant margins below the noise floor.