Not-A Does Not Imply B

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/26/not-a-does-not-imply-b/

June 26, 2011, 12:40 PM

Just a thought suggested by some economic discussions I’ve followed, including the comments on this blog: many people seem to have a hard time accepting that there are intermediate positions, in particular that you can question free-market, hard-money dogma without being a wild man. To say that some inflation can sometimes be a good thing does not mean advocating hyperinflation; to call for deficit spending in slumps does not mean saying that debt and deficits never matter; and so on.

[...]

I really do worry about the state of reading comprehension. Or maybe it’s just that extremists can’t grasp the notion of non-extreme positions held by other people.

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My comments:

One factor is our educational system, where teachers have to teach to the tests, where there is only one correct answer allowed. And many teachers, esp. in the elementary grades, are conservative women who may be nice, but are not deep thinkers. They teach elementary school because that is an acceptable job for a woman. And parents often/usually teach their children not to think.

Another factor is the hyper-competitive nature of U.S. culture, where you if you are not the single number 1, you are considered a failure. So if someone doesn't agree with you 100%, they are seen as attacking you.

There may be biological factors of brain development, but such factors are usually affected by environment/culture/learning.


Growing Up or Growing Down?
copyright 1987 Patricia M. Shannon

Most people I know are like ants in a hill,
not thinking, just acting as part of the mass.
Like half-alive puppets they walk in a daze,
when they try to converse, they just talk in cliches.

They say they worship different gods,
sometimes none at all.
But their gods are all the same,
"everybody else" and monetary gain.

Mixed feelings I get when I play with a child,
so eager to learn and so ready to grow;
such sorrow I feel when I see how we crush children's spirits
in order to make them like us.

[.....]

..