Interesting idea...but how long before some toy manufacturers start using that to target kids with ads tailored to them?

Yes the narrative is tailored towards Americans and it is very very persuasive. I believe parts of it are true. I'd be interested in hearing what an Australian thinks about the NRA perspective. All you have to do is visit the NRA web site and look in the archives. I'm sure you can find many different news reports and videos covering the Australia and Mexico situation from their perspective. There will be more coverage of the Australia situation because it is considered a better analogue for what can happen with legislation. In general, there isn't much regard for whatever Mexico does legislatively. Mexico is only brought up as proof of a cultural phenomenon or confirmation of human nature from their perspective.

@lucky760 Yes. If you are going to be on national tv get a decent tailor to fix your clothes...

He kinda just reminds me of a sleight of hand magician..... without.. all.. the magic.

*I arise from the floor off-camera*
But his method of speaking also increases his audience capacity by a large factor. It's a common method in broadcast journalism to imagine a specific audience member and tailor your speaking towards her. Perhaps he's imagining an intelligent child or an elder who's hard of hearing.

Libs need to stop helping repugs understand why they got "shellacked". Let 'em die an ignoble death in ignorance, lest they all have sudden Hannity moments of "clarity" on just who they need to tailor their BS for.

The thinking behind the comment probably comes from political consultants telling him that he needs X amount of support from latios to carry places like Nevada and Colorado, and he's been at X minus 20 all year long. In true Republican style, the solution in his mind is not to tailor his policies or messaging to appear to latinos, it's to wish he just had darker skin and could ride on a wave of support based on identity alone.

The thinking behind the outrage is that this is a constant refrain from the conservative side in general -- that minorities are given huge advantages that whites aren't, and that ultimately the demographic group that receives the most adverse discrimination is actually rich white men.

In no case do I see this as some sort of unfair "overreaction" to what Romney said. Romney was pretty dismissive of the idea that being latino carries any sort of inborn disadvantages in a society dominated by whites, and I'll bet that sends latinos through the roof, because they know just how much discrimination faces latinos in their everyday lives, and they know Romney, who's lived a life of priviledge, hasn't a fucking clue what being on the receiving end of discrimination feels like.

>> ^renatojj:

Not a Romney supporter, but I think he meant people like underdogs, so being latino would give him the underdog advantage? It'd probably outweigh the political downsides of being latino, as she pointed out.

But yeah, deciding our votes by blowing words said jokingly way out of proportion and overreacting emotionally to completely non-political statements is the way to go.

This video has been nominated as a duplicate of this video by rasch187. If this nomination is seconded with *isdupe, the video will be killed and its votes transferred to the original.

*dupeof=http://videosift.com/video/QI-Stephen-Fry-s-Prep-School-Tailors

Very interesting rant, but I truly hope it was written tongue-in-cheek. The comments bring up one of the central holes in the criticism of school subjects' "uselessness", namely "how does one find out whether one likes/is good at this or that?" Moreover, school democratises (or should democratise) knowledge. Thus, a kid growing up in an uneducated household raised on Jerry Springer and Cartoon Network might discover a love for literature, or physics, etc. via good teaching during the obligatory cursus, and follow an otherwise unlikely career path.

The problem with the US system, for the little I know of it, is that it tailors to the lowest common denominator instead of offering diverse pathways of education/career. I don't want to sound patriotic or anything, but I think the system here in Switzerland is not too shabby (although there is plenty of room for improvement). What the wiki article fails to articulate is that in the last three years of obligatory school (13/14-15/16yo) the different sections tailor to different skills, eg home economics and handyman crafts for the "low level" section, and Latin/Greek and advanced math for the "high level" section.

@spoco2 and others, this is NOT your average cinema PSA (despite eric's somewhat misleading title), it's a subtle (and horrendously not subtle) ad tailored for a horror film festival, FrightFest, which is certainly the only place it would be shown.

I think once you put it into context it makes much, much more sense.

That being said: ew.

>> ^Deano:

Just realised they mentioned he admired Gary Oldman. Rise was a dream come true then.


And Tinker Tailor... by the way I love this pic

http://images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/25300000/Tom-Hardy-Gary-Oldman-Tinker-Tailor-UK-Premiere-tom-hardy-25303690-500-333.jpg

You make some interesting points probie! Half-life is my top game of all time too and I'm a bigtime Valve fanboy of course.

I basically agree with everything you said, the games have become more broad, L4D2 and Portal 2, while both excellent, were a little underwhelming... but I guess comparing them to the greatest game of all time is bound to lead to disappointment too...

For the most part though, I think that Valve's overall approach; releasing software for free, bridging the gap between developers and gamers with Steam, and their system of game development in general, is a great approach and it's one that's given me a lot of joy and fulfilment as a consumer.

I'm using their Source Filmmaker software right now to create a short film and all along the way Valve employee's been answering questions on forums, blogging about their favorite videos so far, releasing new content every week etc...

Sure they're just a company and ultimately they want our money but when I look at Valve compared to most other developers/publishers, it's like night and day. Valve releases DLC all the time, for free. Every time I play TF2 (which is now free too) there's always new maps and new weapons. L4D1 and 2 both got new campaigns, in fact another one JUST came out for L4D2, for free! Compare that with almost every other game company and they're charging you for DLC before the game is even out. Or they split their game into 3 separate games! *cough* Blizzard *cough*

I just think there's something they 'get' about where gaming and software is going in general and I for one hope they continue on this ride!

Yes I know I'm a huge fanboy...

>> ^probie:

Still my #1 game of all time. I've always been a fan of the Twilight Zone, Amazing Stories, Weird Tales, etc., so the idea of an every man unleashing who-knows-what-upon-the-world was really appealing. Not to mention the variety of guns, the variety and originality of the monsters, the way each section felt like a real place. [spoiler]You race to the surface dependent on being rescued only to be driven back down underground, realizing as you wander through areas of the facility that no one normally goes that you're now entirely self-reliant. Top that off with other little psychological tricks they used: passage of time (when you first run into the military it's sunny, the next time you hit the surface it's night time), mortality (getting caught and thrown to your doom in the trash compactor, knowing you're about to become a footnote, only to escape again). I still get tingles when I remember dropping down off the roof into that pit of water, hoisting myself up into the pipe and starting to scurry down it when, at the other end, I see a soldier pop open the door and throw in a satchel charge. (Read: OH SHIT!!! backpedal backpedal ) Hell, I'm pretty sure I even held my breath in real life when I dropped back into the water; that's how engrossing the experience was. [/spoiler]

Unfortunately, I think Valve took the idea of spit and polish to absurd levels in every game they've made since, with it culminating in Portal 2. I'm not talking about the story; that was great. I'm talking about the "Here, let us spoon feed you each level by pointing out that this is the only wall that you can put a portal on, oh good, you did it, see? Aren't you having fun?"-type gameplay. The only way they could have been more direct is by putting a giant, flashing sign that says "DO THIS NEXT". [spoiler]To be fair, I felt a small tinge of it again in Half-Life 2, when you reach the bridge and have to make your way across the under-belly of it. I think this was do to the fact that there was nothing there (ie. a convenient arrow sign) to indicate that's what you needed to do. I remember looking around, seeing the path leading down behind the house, following it with my eye to the bridge and thinking "Are you serious??" Sure enough, 2 minutes later I'm grasping on the rusted metal and cursing under my breath at the developers. [/spoiler]
Regardless, something has gotten lost in the translation since Half-Life. Gone is the wonder and sense of freedom I felt; now I feel that I'm only playing the game the way they require me to, and not on my own. They may have been directing me where to go in Half-Life, but they did it with such slyness that it never felt forced, or blatant.
Sadly, I think their cabal process has become a double-edged sword, allowing them to create some of the most memorable video games, but tailoring it to the lowest common denominator. (A great read if you have a minute or two.)
And on that note, I'm off to hunt down some really, really good weed that will make me forget about everything I liked about Half-Life 1. Just so I can replay it again.

Still my #1 game of all time. I've always been a fan of the Twilight Zone, Amazing Stories, Weird Tales, etc., so the idea of an every man unleashing who-knows-what-upon-the-world was really appealing. Not to mention the variety of guns, the variety and originality of the monsters, the way each section felt like a real place. [spoiler]You race to the surface dependent on being rescued only to be driven back down underground, realizing as you wander through areas of the facility that no one normally goes that you're now entirely self-reliant. Top that off with other little psychological tricks they used: passage of time (when you first run into the military it's sunny, the next time you hit the surface it's night time), mortality (getting caught and thrown to your doom in the trash compactor, knowing you're about to become a footnote, only to escape again). I still get tingles when I remember dropping down off the roof into that pit of water, hoisting myself up into the pipe and starting to scurry down it when, at the other end, I see a soldier pop open the door and throw in a satchel charge. (Read: OH SHIT!!! *backpedal* *backpedal*) Hell, I'm pretty sure I even held my breath in real life when I dropped back into the water; that's how engrossing the experience was. [/spoiler]


Unfortunately, I think Valve took the idea of spit and polish to absurd levels in every game they've made since, with it culminating in Portal 2. I'm not talking about the story; that was great. I'm talking about the "Here, let us spoon feed you each level by pointing out that this is the only wall that you can put a portal on, oh good, you did it, see? Aren't you having fun?"-type gameplay. The only way they could have been more direct is by putting a giant, flashing sign that says "DO THIS NEXT". [spoiler]To be fair, I felt a small tinge of it again in Half-Life 2, when you reach the bridge and have to make your way across the under-belly of it. I think this was do to the fact that there was nothing there (ie. a convenient arrow sign) to indicate that's what you needed to do. I remember looking around, seeing the path leading down behind the house, following it with my eye to the bridge and thinking "Are you serious??" Sure enough, 2 minutes later I'm grasping on the rusted metal and cursing under my breath at the developers. [/spoiler]
Regardless, something has gotten lost in the translation since Half-Life. Gone is the wonder and sense of freedom I felt; now I feel that I'm only playing the game the way they require me to, and not on my own. They may have been directing me where to go in Half-Life, but they did it with such slyness that it never felt forced, or blatant.
Sadly, I think their cabal process has become a double-edged sword, allowing them to create some of the most memorable video games, but tailoring it to the lowest common denominator. (A great read if you have a minute or two.)

And on that note, I'm off to hunt down some really, really good weed that will make me forget about everything I liked about Half-Life 1. Just so I can replay it again.

@rbar Spain is at most a mixed economy, with a monetary system controlled by the European Central Bank, that is very far from what a free market ought to be. It's another galaxy.

To me, coercion is the difference between bad and no choice. I never said it was arbitrary, so stop agreeing with what I didn't say, please? I have a feeling you are silently ignoring or reading something entirely different whenever I say the word "coercion". I won't dispute for now your impossible standards of what a choice is supposed to be, I think we have more pressing issues.

If by "powerful" you mean the rich, they can only set rules as much as government lets them, because unless they're criminals, they have no power to coerce in any way. Again, that goes back to the definition of coercion.

"all people always want to improve themselves"... have you ever heard of laziness?

Whether a person doing charity is asking for anything in return is irrelevant to the fact that the receiver of charity can be as dependent on the charity as an employee is to his wage. You are pointing out differences that are inconsequential to the analogy I made between charity and employment.

It's as absurd to accuse an employer of "coercing" an employee based on the fact that he needs the money to survive as much as it is to make you responsible for someone dependent on charity to survive.

In both cases, they are not being denied anything that they are entitled to, so there is no coercion.

No one is entitled to a job, or to charity, or even money to survive. Your right to your life doesn't impose any requirements on others around you to provide for your survival. Maybe if it's an emergency.

I don't understand your question about how to implement the free market on 4 products and 10 companies. A free market is not supposed to be tailored to a certain market, just as free speech is not meant to adjust itself based on how many broadcasting companies and TV shows we currently have.

Let's imagine for a moment that there is no conscious "higher power". (Inconceivable!)
Is prayer still useful? I would argue that it is, though without a "higher power", prayer begins to resemble (or simply becomes) a form of meditation.
I believe prayer accomplishes several things from a practical perspective:
- It forces us to prioritize our desires. If we are praying for something, then it makes us stop for a moment and ask "is this really something I should be asking for?" or "why am I embarrassed to ask for this?" We tend to prioritize good and meaningful things, which feeds into the second point.
- It gives us goals to pursue. Many philosophies recommend mantras as a way of verbalizing what we want such that we tailor our actions toward achieving those goals, consciously or subconsciously.
- It allows us to "get things off our chests". I believe verbalizing our shortcomings and mistakes promotes improvement in future behavior.
- It helps us "count our blessings". The religious template of prayer often includes thanksgiving. Listing out those good things in life is a positive experience.

(I think there are a number of other aspects of religious rites, rituals, and practice that have practical benefits even in the absence of a divine creator.)