{"items": [{"author": "David German", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/111229345142780712481", "anchor": "gp-1347369726761", "service": "gp", "text": "I'm not sure I understand your complaint. \u00a0For many topics, \"Is it bad, and how bad is it?\" seems like a complex and interesting question. \u00a0I'd find it sufficient fuel for a conversation on 2 out of 3 of the issues you mention, even if we never touched on proposed remedies. \u00a0\n
\n
\nPerhaps I'm just easily amused.", "timestamp": 1347369726}, {"author": "Mac", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/282338141871153?comment_id=282365068535127", "anchor": "fb-282365068535127", "service": "fb", "text": "In PC terms, wildly incorrect. In terms of what actually makes a difference in this world, spot on. \"Whadda ya gonna do abouddit?\" -- besides wail? But, in fact, some wailing is useful in raising societal consciousness, which is the precursor to anything useful actually happening.", "timestamp": "1347370029"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/103013777355236494008", "anchor": "gp-1347372606530", "service": "gp", "text": "@David German\n\u00a0It depends on the goal. \u00a0Whether something makes for an interesting conversation is often what we care about, but if you're actually trying to change things it's not doing enough prioritization.", "timestamp": 1347372606}, {"author": "Adrian", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/282338141871153?comment_id=282384618533172", "anchor": "fb-282384618533172", "service": "fb", "text": "It is practically impossible to foresee the many indirect consequences of a policy change. The inability to do so should not limit our right to illuminate the problems we see.", "timestamp": "1347374736"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/282338141871153?comment_id=282422485196052", "anchor": "fb-282422485196052", "service": "fb", "text": "@Adrian: huh?", "timestamp": "1347383842"}, {"author": "Chelsea", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/282338141871153?comment_id=282450718526562", "anchor": "fb-282450718526562", "service": "fb", "text": "Thank you for sharing this. I am particularly interested in your last comment about it not being enough to have a goal. I have been recently involved in training nonprofits in Results Based Accountability which was created by Mark Friedman, the writer of \"Trying Hard is Not Good Enough.\" I highly recommend it to anyone. Most of his material is available for free on line for non profits, but I can't remember how to find it just yet.", "timestamp": "1347390470"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/282338141871153?comment_id=282460241858943", "anchor": "fb-282460241858943", "service": "fb", "text": "@Chelsea: maybe here? http://www.resultsaccountability.com/", "timestamp": "1347392336"}, {"author": "Adam Yie", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/114873051319510815414", "anchor": "gp-1347400015705", "service": "gp", "text": "\"In several conversations recently I've been frustrated by people trying to convince me that some situation is bad... But its not enough to convince me that global warming is an extremely serious threat to humanity without making the companion arguments for what the world should be doing to stop it and what I should be doing to make that happen.\"\n
\n
\nSo you'll listen to my solution for getting every six-year-old a unicorn before being persuaded it's a legitimate issue? Or do I need to sell you on the problem and the solution simultaneously (because you only care about situations with feasible approaches?)?\n
\n
\nIf people are more likely to act about issues they care about then convincing someone 'X is an issue you \nshould\n care about' seems a reasonable prequel to 'here is what you can do to affect X', no?", "timestamp": 1347400015}, {"author": "Todd", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/112947709146257842066", "anchor": "gp-1347401512267", "service": "gp", "text": "I can't speak for Jeff, but when I've had a similar reaction, it's usually to people describing situations that are bad, and then acting as if that proves that their particular solution is therefore correct. It's not that it needs to be simultaneous, or that I necessarily think the problem has no solution, but rather that people often try to bring their favorite solution along with the statement of the problem.\n
\n
\nFor me personally, this gets particularly insidious in the political realm, where the default assumption seems to be that any large problem must be addressed via government action. There are many cases in which I think that's the wrong way to approach a problem, but if I object to government action, people will assume it's because I don't think the problem itself is real, or that I don't care about it.", "timestamp": 1347401512}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/103013777355236494008", "anchor": "gp-1347411209347", "service": "gp", "text": "@Adam Yie\n\u00a0what \n@Todd\n\u00a0said.\n
\n
\nI've had too much of people getting stuck on why it is so important that every six-year old have their own unicorn without being willing to look at how we could achieve that and the tradeoffs that would require. \u00a0If people tended to instead get stuck on their detailed solutions to unicorn distribution I would have the opposite problem, but it seems less common.", "timestamp": 1347411209}, {"author": "Adam Yie", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/114873051319510815414", "anchor": "gp-1347413649979", "service": "gp", "text": "@Todd\n\u00a0Given how thoughtful \n@Jeff Kaufman\n\u00a0is I'd assumed he'd have written that if he'd meant it, but since he's confirmed that reading clearly it's a bug on the interpretation side. =)", "timestamp": 1347413649}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/103013777355236494008", "anchor": "gp-1347414163240", "service": "gp", "text": "@Adam Yie\n\u00a0or the production side.", "timestamp": 1347414163}, {"author": "George", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/282338141871153?comment_id=282539455184355", "anchor": "fb-282539455184355", "service": "fb", "text": "Have I frustrated you in this way in one of our conversations?", "timestamp": "1347414333"}, {"author": "Adrian", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/282338141871153?comment_id=282540918517542", "anchor": "fb-282540918517542", "service": "fb", "text": "Jeff Kaufman, I'm building on Walker's comment. You are making the case that other people should consider the \"overall value\" (positive effects - negative effects) before saying something is bad. I'm telling you that that is an unrealistic expectation because you will never be able to consider all the effects. Like Walker said, there is value in having people raise societal conciousness.", "timestamp": "1347414874"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/282338141871153?comment_id=282542718517362", "anchor": "fb-282542718517362", "service": "fb", "text": "@George: not really. Though your occasional \"we're all doomed whatever we do\" pessimism can border on it. (With global warming I was thinking more about recent conversations with someone else.)", "timestamp": "1347415555"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/282338141871153?comment_id=282543718517262", "anchor": "fb-282543718517262", "service": "fb", "text": "@Adrian: \"you will never be able to consider all the effects\"

If you're saying we should do something differently you should have at least enough evidence that on balance good outcomes are more likely. This may mean running some experiments or at least correlational studies, but figuring out what the various potential effects are and evaluating them is unavoidable.", "timestamp": "1347415888"}, {"author": "Adrian", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/282338141871153?comment_id=282544348517199", "anchor": "fb-282544348517199", "service": "fb", "text": "Jeff Kaufman, you said that you were frustrated by statements such as \"global warming is out of control, housing is too expensive\". If I look at those statements alone, I do not think they are saying something needs to be done differently. They are merely expressing a sentiment, and I find value in those sentiments being expressed, but I don't understand why they frustrate you.", "timestamp": "1347416133"}, {"author": "George", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/282338141871153?comment_id=282545035183797", "anchor": "fb-282545035183797", "service": "fb", "text": "For the record, I don't think we are doomed *in principle* just that it seems like not enough of an effort is being made to avert disaster.", "timestamp": "1347416374"}, {"author": "David German", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/111229345142780712481", "anchor": "gp-1347417562831", "service": "gp", "text": "Bozo: \"X is bad, so we should do Y!\"\n
\n
\nJeff/Todd: \"Have you considered these problems with Y?\"\n
\n
\nBozo: \"WHY DON'T YOU CARE ABOUT X?!!1?\"\n
\n
\nOkay, I understand the frustration now.", "timestamp": 1347417562}, {"author": "Todd", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/112947709146257842066", "anchor": "gp-1347420171997", "service": "gp", "text": "This has happened this year in baseball analysis.\n
\n
\nBernie Miklasz: \"The Cardinals are underperforming their Pythagorean record, which is bad! Therefore they must be inconsistent chokers who only hit well in blowouts!\"\n
\n
\nVEB: \"Have you considered that maybe their run distribution is more a byproduct of chance than moral failings?\"\n
\n
\nBernie: \"You don't think the Cardinals are underperforming?! But they so obviously are! Maybe if you internet guys actually watched the games you would see this very obvious thing.\"\n
\n
\nTodd's head --> desk", "timestamp": 1347420171}]}