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Waiters Against Tipping
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Miscellany
- Hits: 2641
The Nephew, newly back, but he has some opinions he'd like to share...
Like about how he never tips cab drivers, "brown people" as he so generously describes them, there's a table sitting not 5 feet away from him as he's telling us this. A table of brown people, to look at them, one of them for sure drives cab.
He uses their tip later to justify his philosophy, never understanding how possibly his moral stance led to theirs...
...But this is not all. He's reformed in his time away, no more tipping period, he doesn't tip anywhere he goes, anywhere, bars, restaurants, it's too much this...
...And it seems to me a bit strange, that for someone who's very livelihood depends on the kindness of others, to decide against reinforcing the economy he's the very best winner in...
More idiocy, less epiphany, the Nephew ....he explains it, tries to defend it, gives up, I can't be bothered to listen. He's an idiot.
Tipping, yes, it's a bit morally suspect, too much obligation, too little discretion. I get that. Too many greedy servers and minimum wage employees. For sure, for sure. But, I have to consider the positives, I depend upon them, (not so much, there are other jobs, but for the moment) - and they are that tipping enables you to appraise the worth of your service and reward it accordingly. If only you could do this in retail, with your internet or telephone bill, your new car, house, ...
So it's not completely without merit...
For more insights into the history and tradition of tipping (and the reasonable controversy surrounding it) go here: http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/11/30/457125740/when-tipping-was-considered-deeply-un-american
Apes do not ask questions
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Ideas & Questions
- Hits: 2339
In an article about apes and language (Koko) I come across an interesting statement - that apes (or Koko, and other apes that have been taught to sign) - do not use their language skills to ask questions.
At first this seems curious, especially since they have of late seem given to lecturing us about climate change, but then I reflect upon it further...
Consider the circumstances of the Ape. Raised largely or entirely in captivity, in an environment that it knows instinctively is "wrong", would it even have the awareness to ask questions? Do hostages, prisoners ask questions? From the moment their imprisoned all conditioning is geared towards "learned helplessness", unlikely (despite the hero's of Hollywood that query their captors from the chair where they're tied and being tortured, this is fiction) that an Ape or Chimpanzee would think to question it's captors...
Animals - all animals, are naturally inquisitive, every animal will explore it's surroundings, recognize change, why then do they not voice their questions?
But take if further. How many people ask questions? Real questions, not "how much did that car cost...?", a polite convention, or "What would Jesus Do?", a philosophical idiocy, or "What are you doing tonight?", "How was your week?", polite commonplace rhetoric phrased as questions, but with no real hope of insight or revelation...no self-respecting ape would stoop so low, these are merely unconscious routines of language and manners, ...
---Perhaps the real surprise is not that apes don't ask questions, it's that so few people do...
20,000 Days on Earth
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Film
- Hits: 1930
Interesting, but I'm a fan. And it you took away the fandom it's be a bit of a slog. You can know too much about your idols, this quest to touch or understand them, it devalues them, there was really no point. I like his work. I like him. That was enough. The documentary adds nothing.
Agnotology
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Ideas & Questions
- Hits: 2282
Agnotology (formerly agnatology) is the study of culturally induced ignorance or doubt, particularly the publication of inaccurate or misleading scientific data.
Read More Here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnotology
&& the classic: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20160105-the-man-who-studies-the-spread-of-ignorance
Curious, we consider that knowledge spreads, but ignorance is forever opposed ... Consider Donald Trump ...
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