from Biden on the left to Cotton on the right: Throw all the hypocrites out! the case for consistency in politicians, for example: Bernie, Pence, Cruz

[basquebromance]

In our messy, flawed lives, the nearest we can get to truth is consistency. Consistency is the bedrock of the scientific method. Scientists creep up on the truth by performing controlled experiments and attempting to observe consistent results. In your everyday, nonscientist life you do the same thing, but it's not as impressive, nor as reliable. For example, if every time you eat popcorn, one hour later you fart so hard that it inflates your socks, you can reasonably assume popcorn makes you gassy. It's not science, but it's still an entirely useful pattern.

Consistency is the best marker of truth that we have, imperfect though it may be.

When seeking truth, your best bet is to look for confirmation on at least two of the dimensions I listed. For example, if a study indicates that eating nothing but chocolate cake is an excellent way to lose weight, but your friend who tries the diet just keeps getting fatter, you have two dimensions out of agreement. (Three if you count common sense.) That's a lack of consistency.


Once you have your BS filter working, think about how you begin the process of tackling any new and complicated problem. There's one step you will always do first if it's available to you: You'll ask a smart friend how he or she tackled the same problem. A smart friend can save you loads of time and effort. Many of you have a smart friend or two already, and you are lucky to have them. But my observation is that a startling percentage of the adult population literally has no smart friends to help them in their quest for success and happiness.


I hereby deputize myself to be your smart(ish) friend in the form of this thread. If you already have some smart friends, that'ss great. You can't have too many. What I bring to the party is a willingness to discuss a wide range of issues about success through consistency in politics