As IF Times

We’re living in odd times. There doesn’t seem to be any parallel time in history for the bizarre things observed in culture and politics today.  The tumult wreaking havoc through the country causes many to wonder about the efficacy of laws and perhaps even the foundations of society.  

Lots of virtual ink has been spilt pontificating on the roots of this tumult with all manner of expert pundits wading in with their socio, psycho mumbo jumbo explanations.  Like most things in life, the best explanation is typically the simplest. 

I have a theory on what ails us.  The root cause of much of the disorder affecting society today is...bad math skills.  Simple arithmetic and advanced mathematics are the essential skills separating humans from every other life form on the planet.  Whereas other animals depend on natural instinct or conditioned behavior to navigate through life, humans have been uniquely endowed with the capacity to reason logically.  Whereas languages may differ between people, there is only one language of reason and logic and that is mathematics.  Logic is generally (but not always) the foundation for the laws that govern a society.  People observe and obey laws if they make sense and are rationally enforced. Hence, rational people obey acceptable laws in a civilized society.

In order for man to control his environment rather than be controlled by it, he had to create inventions and applications in order to do so.  Without being able to measure cause and effect, progress through inventions would not have been possible.  Math and reasoning skills are key in the progress of humankind.  As most probably know, math skills have been on the decline in many education curriculae today,  being eclipsed instead by nebulous studies of social sciences.  This is ground zero for many of the problems we see today in society and culture.

To be exposed to math concepts is not about finding the right quotient per se, it’s more about the logical process of reasoning that allows you to come to a rational conclusion.  If A=B and B=C, then logically, A=C. This most elementary bit of logic should be as widely accepted by all humans as the reality that if you jump off a 10 storey building, you will die.   And yet, for so many people who have influence on our every day lives, this logic is alien to them.   Politicians and those in the media seem to be particularly afflicted with bad math skills because logic is seriously AWOL in their public utterances.   

We know that professional politicians today are strong on their demagoguery skills but almost absent of any logic skills.  Since they are likely to reflect the values of their constituents, who are as likely math challenged, these politicos are allowed to hold high office, effectively proving the narrative of the tallest midget.  You don’t have to make a rational argument if no one understands it.

For their part, the majority of the media plays a big part in the dumbing down of society by ignoring logic in their reportage.  Taking but one issue as an example, we can see how they’ve tied themselves up in a Gordian knot while reconciling the related issues of gay and transgender rights, women’s rights and transgenders in women’s sports.  

Let’s also point out the illogical pleas to save black lives from police violence when statistics don’t support this narrative at all.  In fact, the recent violent and destructive demonstrations have caused more grief to the black community than all police issues to date this year.  Apparently only certain black lives matter. We can also point out the pleas for amnesty for the children of tens of millions of illegal aliens who are in the U.S. because of their parents’ actions.  Children are not responsible to pay for their parents’ actions is the logic.  Compare this with the logic being forwarded that reparations should be paid by whites whose great great ancestors may have owned slaves.  

The tragedy cum comedy of Global warming is still doing its dance on the illogical high wire but that issue is being replaced by the hysteria surrounding another more imminent threat, the Covid-19 pandemic, or for us regular folk, the ‘flu.  The flip flopping on the wearing of masks has brought to stark clarity the lack of logic involved in policy implementation by hysterical authorities left in charge.  At least they’re no longer hoarding toilet paper.  There are so many ‘experts’ pushing their views that it’s hard for a lay person to determine the veracity of any of them.  If masks work, why do we need quarantine and isolation?  If they don’t work, why wear them? Let’s hope they don’t propose virgin sacrifices as a possible cure. 

Most of the cult like hysteria that periodically grips societies should have been eliminated or reduced by access to education.  In the 21st century, people aren’t supposed to be naive rubes every time someone concocts a new existential threat.  This rampant naivete is rooted solely from the neglect of a sound math education.  If the basic foundations of logic were imprinted on all students at an early age, we would not allow politicians and media people to perpetrate the laughable leaps of logic they foist upon us today.  My suggestion is that a minimum test of math and logic be administered to anyone seeking public office or those seeking to be in the news racket.  I’m not talking advanced differential equations; just simple ones like adding 2 digit numbers without removing their shoes.  Now if we could apply this retroactively…. 

source: https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/ezekiel-emanuel-on-finding-vaccine-for-coronavirus-130651498.html

If you didn’t know this man’s background and history, you may at least be inclined to regard his opinions seriously; after all, he is a doctor.  When you find out that Dr. Emanuel was the architect of the spectacularly ill conceived  Obamacare program, then all credibility disappears like a case lot of toilet paper at Costco.

He may actually believe he is acting in support of his hippocratic oath, but the narrowness of his vision and his past support of an impossibly unworkable health plan disqualifies him from ever having a voice in the field of public health care policy.  

He is in the camp of the doomsday set believing that while a vaccine to treat Covid 19 is still at least a year or so away, it’s possible that the US economy should be on full lockdown for 18 months to make sure the virus has genuinely been eradicated.   That he’s even proposing this as a course of action means that he himself may be in need of medical care, probably psychiatric help.  Unfortunately, he is not alone.  It’s now clear that there are numerous heretofore unimpeachable institutions including the WHO and the CDC, that have been wildly wrong in their assessment of the Covid 19 outbreak.  

The sinister consequence of this hysterical panic is not the unfortunate deaths from the outbreak, it’s more so in the tragedies that have been foisted upon an helpless and compliant public.  People can wear masks, they can wear gloves,  they can even wear space suits and they can certainly self sequester as a means of self preservation.  These are all things free people can do to mitigate their exposure.  

But what they can’t do is mitigate circumstances imposed upon them by over reaching government actions in shutting down all economic and social activity. We can’t even know all of the negative consequences of such actions, but I’m certain we’ll see them very shortly.   Suddenly, people are no longer free citizens, instead begging at the favor of the state for some of the most elementary aspects of human activity.  

There have emerged numerous stories of over zealous Barney Fife police action in stopping the activities of people according to the strict letter of newly made up hysterical edicts.  An Orwellian world has appeared overnight as people are scrutinized for not observing enough “social distancing”.  In one case, a man was ticketed for paddleboarding…by himself…in the ocean!  A woman was caught going for a drive….alone in her car; a father handcuffed for playing with his daughter; Overnight, the criminal population explodes!  People are encouraged to snitch on their neighbors for not adhering closely to the new edicts. In France, they’ve banned outdoor exercising!  These are not $25 dollar jaywalking tickets, these are $1000 fines with possible jail time!  By comparison, in some states you’d be fined less for burning down your neighbor’s house. 

The ceding of personal liberties is the true dark consequence of the panic and hysteria that has made most governments into authoritarian regimes.  You can just hear the slightly German accented gatekeeper asking for “your papers please” as you enter a public park.  Taking away civil freedoms is not just a slippery slope, it’s a Six Flags parks amusement ride once every aspect of people’s activities are scrutinized and restricted. 

People can be cajoled in the short term to stay in line for “the public good”, but I suspect only for so long.   I can’t imagine that people will continue so stand six feet apart,  not eat out at restaurants, not go to concerts and ball games, not go to church, nor have weddings, bar mitzvahs, stags, celebrations of life, birthday celebrations, nor farmers markets or just plain walks in the park with their dogs.  As a friend wryly observed, not only can you not smoke in bars, now you can’t even drink in one.

And I think that time is coming sooner than later.  Once people figure out that the alarmists have been allowed too much control over their lives, common sense will prevail and people will adjust and move life back to some kind of normal.  To deny the ability of people to socialize is as much folly as to worry about changing the weather.   People will deny the dystopian world that the alarmists would have us live.