Comments for Obstinate and Pliable http://johnsterling.wordpress.com Sic Transit Gloria Mundi Wed, 21 Jan 2009 23:53:14 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 Comment on The Darden GreenPod by Dave Younce http://johnsterling.wordpress.com/2009/01/19/dardengreenpod/#comment-17 Dave Younce Wed, 21 Jan 2009 23:53:14 +0000 http://johnsterling.wordpress.com/?p=109#comment-17 Insightful and well-put. We'll have no more of this silly false modesty. Insightful and well-put. We’ll have no more of this silly false modesty.

]]> Comment on They Endeavor to Amuse Me with Robot Dinosaurs by Nils Jonsson http://johnsterling.wordpress.com/2008/04/05/they-endeavor-to-amuse-me-with-robot-dinosaurs/#comment-14 Nils Jonsson Fri, 01 Aug 2008 22:56:13 +0000 http://johnsterling.wordpress.com/?p=35#comment-14 It is easy to forget how different our lives are from times past and worlds away. Thanks for pointing that out so vividly. I don't remember where I read it (a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/" title="The Atlantic Monthly"><i>The Atlantic</i></a>?) but somebody either wildly speculated about or surveyed people about whether they would prefer (a) a significantly higher standard of living than they have but still lower than everybody else, or (b) a modestly higher standard than they have but superior to that of everyone else. I think the verdict reflected that envy is more powerful than greed: as long as we have more than the Joneses we're happy, even if we both have less than we might. There is evidence of this in the entitlement psychology of heavy consumers at the bottom and middle of the U.S. economic spectrum. It is easy to forget how different our lives are from times past and worlds away. Thanks for pointing that out so vividly.

I don’t remember where I read it (a href=”http://www.theatlantic.com/” title=”The Atlantic Monthly”>The Atlantic?) but somebody either wildly speculated about or surveyed people about whether they would prefer (a) a significantly higher standard of living than they have but still lower than everybody else, or (b) a modestly higher standard than they have but superior to that of everyone else. I think the verdict reflected that envy is more powerful than greed: as long as we have more than the Joneses we’re happy, even if we both have less than we might. There is evidence of this in the entitlement psychology of heavy consumers at the bottom and middle of the U.S. economic spectrum.

]]> Comment on I Want a Treat Because I Want a Treat by Nils Jonsson http://johnsterling.wordpress.com/2008/04/02/i-want-a-treat-because-i-want-a-treat/#comment-13 Nils Jonsson Fri, 01 Aug 2008 22:42:01 +0000 http://johnsterling.wordpress.com/?p=24#comment-13 Fascinating. I wonder if there has been any change in this phenomenon over time due to generational differences. It is said that young people these days are more likely to work within the rules of the status quo, less likely to buck authority, than their forebears of the 1960s and 70s. Would this trait manifest itself in lending credence to an argument even if it were really just an assertion and not an argument? Fascinating. I wonder if there has been any change in this phenomenon over time due to generational differences. It is said that young people these days are more likely to work within the rules of the status quo, less likely to buck authority, than their forebears of the 1960s and 70s. Would this trait manifest itself in lending credence to an argument even if it were really just an assertion and not an argument?

]]> Comment on Comics are for kids by Nils Jonsson http://johnsterling.wordpress.com/2008/03/13/comics-are-for-kids/#comment-12 Nils Jonsson Fri, 01 Aug 2008 22:34:35 +0000 http://johnsterling.wordpress.com/?p=14#comment-12 Didn't know you are a fan! Didn’t know you are a fan!

]]> Comment on They Endeavor to Amuse Me with Robot Dinosaurs by sammm1777 http://johnsterling.wordpress.com/2008/04/05/they-endeavor-to-amuse-me-with-robot-dinosaurs/#comment-11 sammm1777 Wed, 14 May 2008 20:18:09 +0000 http://johnsterling.wordpress.com/?p=35#comment-11 DUDE! You must take a leap of faith...and start posting(blogging) more often. For the sake of the Blogosphere, share your thoughts man! DUDE!
You must take a leap of faith…and start posting(blogging) more often. For the sake of the Blogosphere, share your thoughts man!

]]> Comment on They Endeavor to Amuse Me with Robot Dinosaurs by Quique Autrey http://johnsterling.wordpress.com/2008/04/05/they-endeavor-to-amuse-me-with-robot-dinosaurs/#comment-10 Quique Autrey Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:00:31 +0000 http://johnsterling.wordpress.com/?p=35#comment-10 John, Great post my friend. I hadn't thought about this before. I'm usually bombarded with all the media's coverage of the poverty in Africa, etc. that it is hard to think about what you're talking about here. I'm glad I've found your blog. You have a new fan :) John,

Great post my friend. I hadn’t thought about this before. I’m usually bombarded with all the media’s coverage of the poverty in Africa, etc. that it is hard to think about what you’re talking about here. I’m glad I’ve found your blog.

You have a new fan :)

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