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Fear: what are you afraid of?


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2007 Mar 17, 8:47am   24,523 views  231 comments

by Peter P   ➕follow (2)   💰tip   ignore  

We the people are primarily driven by emotion. Fear, as the most powerful emotion has undoubtedly influenced major events and decided the course of history. Sometimes, I wish that we can be rational and spend more time thinking.

We should think before we act. Or will that be too late? Perhaps we should just act?

Are we being priced out of the Bay Area housing market as we contemplate? Or is the other side just being silly?

Is "global warming" a clear and present danger? Or is it simply creative environmentalism?

Will the housing bubble burst? Or will there be a soft landing?

Are the poles going to reverse in 2012? Or is that just fear-mongering.

If only we could live without fear, we would have achieved much more as a people.

#housing

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1   Peter P   2007 Mar 17, 8:55am  

Much earlier… expect a deep and fast correction. There is no shortage for housing in the bay area.

Huh? I am sure there will be no shortage of housing after a pole-reversal. :)

http://survive2012.com/

2   B.A.C.A.H.   2007 Mar 17, 9:01am  

The irreligious live in more fear than the religious. Or maybe not, maybe the religious are just using up all of their fear in fear of god. But the hoity poity in the Bay Area are probably the most secular people in the world, so they have a lot of fear to go around.

3   Peter P   2007 Mar 17, 9:08am  

Faith in the afterlife certain alleviates some fear. I also believe that people with clear understanding of their purposes have less fear in general.

However, fear is still an emotion, and being emotional is part of being human.

4   Allah   2007 Mar 17, 9:45am  

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

5   Peter P   2007 Mar 17, 9:48am  

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

That is politician-speak. :)

It has a lot of truth in it though.

6   Brand165   2007 Mar 17, 9:54am  

I fear the militarization of space. I also fear nuclear weapons escaping tight control and getting used regularly in the 21st century.

Power ebbs and flows among societies. That is inevitable over hundreds or thousands of years. But the ability to erase ourselves from the planet is a uniquely recent development in human history.

7   Peter P   2007 Mar 17, 10:00am  

I fear the militarization of space.

Militarization is not a bad thing by itself. Nuclear weapons are what kept us safe from another world war for at least 60 years.

But the ability to erase ourselves from the planet is a uniquely recent development in human history.

But Mutual Assured Destruction is a great invention. I have complete faith on this doctrine. Rogue states and terrorists make me nervous though. But the Good will prevail!

8   OO   2007 Mar 17, 10:17am  

CB,

here's another real estate project ad for amusement
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsannuazns4

It is targeting HONG KONG (particularly the cross-border buyers from China) customers, but the whole ad is in Japanese. WTF!!

Hong Kong people these days must have a very low opinion of themselves, property ads targeting local buyers have to feature a bunch of phantom white and Japanese residents to enhance the image of the condo development.

9   Peter P   2007 Mar 17, 10:21am  

I also fear a fed bailout. I would cry.

You better pre-cry now. :)

10   Peter P   2007 Mar 17, 10:33am  

Muggy, you need to relax. May I suggest sushi?

11   Brand165   2007 Mar 17, 10:40am  

I fear the alligator that occasionally walks through my backyard. And not a Kiyosaki alligator but a real freakin’ alligator.

I forgot the black widows in my 1 car garage. The seams on my convertible are not all that tight, to prevent little poisonous nasties from crawling into the nice warm interior.

12   Peter P   2007 Mar 17, 10:49am  

I’m afraid of looking back in life and not taking enough risks and living too complacency.

That is my greatest fear. Are you my wife posting as OpinionsPlease?

13   Peter P   2007 Mar 17, 10:55am  

I am not buying a house right now because really I want to take a big risk and transform my career.

I am afraid of remaining who I am.

14   Randy H   2007 Mar 17, 11:32am  

I would fear not being existential enough, but I guess that's just the way things are.

15   Peter P   2007 Mar 17, 12:14pm  

I fear sushi.

Your fear is my greed. :twisted:

16   Brand165   2007 Mar 17, 12:21pm  

Peter P says: That is my greatest fear. Are you my wife posting as OpinionsPlease?

Do wives actually ask for your opinion as anything more than a formality? :)

17   Randy H   2007 Mar 17, 12:45pm  

I fear it will actually take until 2112 for people to realized they should have listened to Ayn. Well, I can always hope they don't find my Red Barchetta. Oh wait, wrong album.

18   Peter P   2007 Mar 17, 1:41pm  

I fear terrorists because they are anti-reason. Rogue states are slightly better because even delinquents are capable of reason sometimes.

19   Peter P   2007 Mar 17, 1:43pm  

I fear it will actually take until 2112 for people to realized they should have listened to Ayn.

Check out this article from the Ayn Rand Institute. :)

http://tinyurl.com/78nhr

20   Peter P   2007 Mar 17, 1:45pm  

OT: I broke my laptop and I need a new one. Any suggestion?

I can only use a eraserhead-type pointing device. So any laptop with only a trackpad will not work for me.

Thanks.

21   Randy H   2007 Mar 17, 1:55pm  

Peter P

Yes, most libertarians who aren't Libertarians are Objectivists, although they may not know it. Not coincidentally, you can find articles there that will tell you why big L Libertarianism is also bullshit.

Don't get a Dell. Thinkpads are probably the best I've used, but they are pricey.

22   Peter P   2007 Mar 17, 2:01pm  

Thinkpads are probably the best I’ve used, but they are pricey.

I currently have a Thinkpad. It is a good machine. Perhaps I abused it too much, the display hinge broke and the screen has funny lines.

My previous Thinkpad had a violent death. I loaned it to a relative and somehow it got run over by a vehicle in the parking lot. The screen was shattered.

I may still get a Thinkpad. It is pricey but there is always eBay. ;)

23   Randy H   2007 Mar 17, 2:05pm  

MAD is really just a "prisoner's dilemma" game theory solution for a 2-player sequential move game.

I read somewhere (Maybe in Dixit?) that the Soviet/US game had a pretty high chance of finding an equilibrium solution, from a purely mathematical analysis (and yes, game theory allows for irrationality, random moves, and psychology). I think it was 60% or higher.

Recently I read a similar analysis (in the Economist?) that posited the numerical chances of a 3-player MAD game finding an equilibrium solution. It was about 4%. Adding a third player (China) to a nuclear prisoner's dilemma sequential move game complicates things so much that it is very tough for the players to settle on a MAD policy.

The other problem is that any credibly irrational player is immune to game theory rationale entirely. Luckily few players at that scale are credibly irrational. But we are probably closer to such a player existing now than since anytime in nuclear armament history. By the way, introduction of an irrational player into a sequential prisoner's dilemma game has 100% probability of failure, since the rational thing for the other opponents to do is to preemptively attack and destroy the irrational actor -- however this automatically leads to escalation beyond equilibrium between other players, and therefore -- game over.

Kinda like War Games, the movie. Incidentally, anyone who can handle a simple but very compelling strategy game in that spirit, I strongly recommend Defcon. It's very cheap and you can download it from Steam, and it looks almost just like the War Games movie scenes from the war room. I can only manage to "win" a 3-player game if I play the USSR. And by win, I mean only losing about 70% of my population and 90% of my cities.

24   Randy H   2007 Mar 17, 2:06pm  

I need a Thinkpad in a Toughbook's case.

25   Peter P   2007 Mar 17, 2:12pm  

I need a Thinkpad in a Toughbook’s case.

Just get a Toughbook. ;)

I should not hold the laptop by its lid anymore.

26   Peter P   2007 Mar 17, 2:16pm  

It is sad that pointing sticks are becoming rare in newer laptops. :(

I hate trackpads.

27   ozajh   2007 Mar 17, 2:30pm  

sybrib/Bap33,

Garbage. Religion's whole raison d'etre is fear, the universal and quite rational fear of death.

In fact the Christian church even invented the concept of hell (no mention anywhere in the Bible IIRC), to keep the sheople attending and tithing...

28   Peter P   2007 Mar 17, 2:32pm  

In fact the Christian church even invented the concept of hell (no mention anywhere in the Bible IIRC), to keep the sheople attending and tithing…

Did the Bible mention HELOC? ;)

Is it something that foreshadows the Armageddon?

29   Brand165   2007 Mar 17, 2:35pm  

Um, the standard King James Bible mentions Hell a lot.

30   Randy H   2007 Mar 17, 2:44pm  

It is better to rule in Hell than to serve in Heaven.

I think that quote was either from Milton...or was it a Hedge Fund manager I heard speak recently?

31   Peter P   2007 Mar 17, 2:49pm  

It is better to rule in Hell than to serve in Heaven.

It is better to eat the ugliest fish than to be eaten by the prettiest fish.

32   Brand165   2007 Mar 17, 3:06pm  

Satan sounds like a JBR. :)

Although he is renting in a really bad area of town...

33   tsusiat   2007 Mar 17, 3:06pm  

Hey, I am making a housing blog,

come and take a look if you want,

tsusiat

34   Peter P   2007 Mar 17, 3:26pm  

Although he is renting in a really bad area of town…

That area cannot go down in price because it is hell-locked. :)

Long live Ben Jones!

35   tsusiat   2007 Mar 17, 3:31pm  

CB -

Geddy Lee? Now that's cool...

BTW, what does anyone think of the Trailer Park Boys?

Reminds me of my old paper route....

36   Randy H   2007 Mar 17, 3:46pm  

lol

My old paper route was in the low-rent end of RuralOhioFarmTownsville. I still remember all the street names: A Street, B Street, C Street, Kentucky Ave., ... you get the idea.

37   tsusiat   2007 Mar 17, 3:49pm  

Beaver Creek Road, Lugrin Road, Falls Road, Johnoson Rd, you get the idea.

Other features of the neighbourhood included a drive in theatre and a chinese restaurant....

38   David J   2007 Mar 17, 4:28pm  

ajh said
"In fact the Christian church even invented the concept of hell (no mention
anywhere in the Bible IIRC), to keep the sheople attending and tithing… "

The King James Bible has references to Hell in Deuteronomy, Psalms, Proverbs, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Jonah. All of these Books are in the Old Testament which predates Christianity.

39   Brand165   2007 Mar 17, 4:35pm  

That area cannot go down in price because it is hell-locked.

It's the second most popular destination in the afterlife, and they aren't making any more Hell! Stunning lakeviews (of fire), constant attention (from pitchfork wielding nasties) and more people arriving all the time! Hell is such a premier destination that none of its residents ever leave! Californians and Texans, we are offering a special relocation program just for you--contact our representatives for all the details.

LIMITED TIME OFFER: Now offering a no doc, stated income, interest only loan with a term of eternity! Don't listen to those fools recommending amortizing your borrowed time and settling up in your present life--debt is the path to eternal riches! Now you can spend forever paying back your debt with a low, low monthly payment! You CAN take your mortgage with you after all! Call now, operators are standing by.

:twisted:

Warning: While many find the path to Hell to be a really fun ride, the reset on your Adjustable Rate life may provide some sticker shock. Inferno, Inc. accepts no liability for any material misrepresentations made during this infomercial, nor does it guarantee specific suitability of our One Size Fits All program for your individual immortal soul. Satisfaction may vary depending on expectations of the afterlife, religious persuasion and your state of origin.

40   Bruce   2007 Mar 17, 6:57pm  

I fear a future in which an A4 Quattro costs $175k and a 2/2/2 SFH rents for $9200/mo, or 11% less than buying it.

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