Politics vs. Creativity

I strive to absolutely, positively never ever allow the fact that I'm a completely biased moron affect my approach to a given situation. I can use my mallet to bludgeon a problem into wimpering submission using either my left or right wing.

I think it's true. I remember back in the early 90's when there was so much resistance to recycling efforts - it being a left wing agenda designed to sap profits away from corporations and all, and my company, which was Raytheon at the time, started recycling. I was surprised at the time, considering the conservative nature of engineers. But, as it turned out, the company actually made a small annual profit on their recycling. Obviously someone had taken the initiative to crunch the numbers and see what the impact of recycling would be on the bottom line, instead of just going with their gut reaction against it.

As for your example, I think you would have to be incredibly bone-headed to purposely design something not to be efficient, given the market forces at work these days, even if you were completely cynical about it. Whoever designs the next Hummer is not going to make his stockholders happy.

pff, your like John Kerry!

Yeah there's no need wondering anymore, it's kind of an unwritten law that people are going to let their own bias get in the way of crystal clear problem solving. Look at how Edison and Westinghouse ended up, Edison was willing to kill over it and did! (with the use of the electric chair, a judge, jury and a convicted felon sentenced to the death penalty, but you get the point) There are always those on the left wing and right wing, then there's folks like me who aren't even on the ostrich. I'm just cheap and miserly and save electricity not because I care about global warming or the environment, but because I hate other people having my money.

See you are biased against people running their cars on hydrogen, so you refuse to solve problems for those that want to.

Well spoken Dave. I couldn't agree more.

Excellent post! Welcome to the fold.

I am leaning to power being the real motive behind politics. Money is one thing that can make it happen, but having power over the populace insures the money stream.

With enough power you can insure a revenue stream.

politics is everwhere.

its obvious.

"Politics is the most interesting thing you can do. It beats following the dollar."

JFK.

But to answer your question..........if your boat is sinking follow the rats............

G'morning duckie.

Would having Happy birthday sung to you by Marilyn Monroe count as politics?

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://ak.static.dailymotion.com/dyn/preview/160x120/2063725.jpg&imgrefurl=http://dailymotion.alice.it/video/x188do_marilyn-monroe-happy-birthday&h=120&w=160&sz=13&hl=en&start=123&um=1&tbnid=vM5-8wWd43cl1M:&tbnh=74&tbnw=98&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmarilyn%2Bmonroe%2BJFK%26start%3D120%26ndsp%3D20%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DN

milo

My Dear Milo

To answer your question.........damn right it would!

Even better if she hummed it.

hmmmhmhmmmmhmmhmmmmmmmmm......!

What say you?

OOps. apologies.....that was the Canadian National Anthem I had her humming........

Somehow, I find it difficult to imagine someone so pure of heart and keen of intellect to NOT be influenced in their problem-solving by their own internal dialogue. Whether politics, religion, ethical standards, morality, greed and avarice, the quest for power, even adventure-seeking, whatever, it will seep into the thought processes used for other purposes. So...that would be a "yes".

I find it hard to imagine anybody pure of heart or keen of intellect...Spitzer maybe, but he got blown out of politics............Oh! how hard the mighty do fall, silver spoon, sporting section and all...............

A political agenda can motivate someone to continue to attempt to make their creativity match their agenda, despite the facts. I don't believe in GW, but I hate having to spend money, so I demand more efficiency and durability just to save money. If there was a way to save money or make money, thereby lowering cost, by eliminating CO2 I would be all for it. Those with a GW agenda don't care about increased costs as long as what they build fits the agenda. I would not resist any innovation that improved the product without increasing costs and prices, whether the innovation was to fight GW or not.

Some recycling is not cost effective and should not be mandated. Other recycling is profitable and will be done simply because it makes money and people and companies want to do it. Those with agendas would force unprofitable recycling by law and that drives up prices and angers people.

"I sometimes wonder if ones political agenda conflicts with their creativity." The writer seems to assume that those who do not believe in GW are less creative. Therefore, being less creative, the implication is that perhaps they should not have jobs designing products. So perhaps he feels that engineers who do not believe in GW should be fired and not allowed to be engineers. Does he mean that only those who are in political agreement with him should be allowed to work at creative jobs? Sounds like a good Stalinist point of view.

The writer seems to assume that those who do not believe in GW are less creative.

The writer was not assuming anything or making a comment about global warming. I used the example as an example. Global warming came to mind because it is often a topic in this CR4 forum.

It bothers me sometimes when there are questions about a problem (that is not political), that the answers often turn into a political discussion and more than often, the persons question never gets answered. I must admit I may get caught up in it on occasion; but to express myself politically I write a blog and comment on others outside of this group.

I pose this topic because I guess I didn't expected to find so much political perspective.

And yet by merely posing the question, you have exposed yourself as the Stalinist you apparently are...to SOME. For shame, you varlet!

Personally, I try not to let my critical thinking be deflected by such drivel as politics, but it's not totally unavoidable. For instance, I happen to believe that profitable recycling is a good thing, as it will be done simply because of the profit motive. But I also think that unprofitable recycling is necessary, and should be encouraged, if not mandated, because landfill space is not infinite. Besides, consigning even marginally useful "stuff" to a trash heap is distasteful to me, I'd much rather see it be made into something serviceable.

After a difficult start recycling in Ontario is working out. Some dumps have seen a 60% reduction in the amount of landfill.

It also started a whole new industry.

This is one of those cases where politics and entreneurship worked together quite well. There's still a ways to go but at least its a beginning and hopefully scenes like this will be a thing of the past...ie...most of what you see below is recyclable. The bear, incidentally, died after drinking ethylene glycol.

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I started telling people >20 years ago that we would eventually look at landfills the way we regard ore deposits today. Mining rights will have a different outcome, but the same meaning! Personally, I regret the loss of the bear...

You may be innocent of that attitude, but there are some out there who would deny jobs based on political beliefs. It has happened and still does in many places, including here.