Humans are Inherently Stoopid

[maseman]

I was having breakfast alone this morning and was overlooking one of the large steel bridges that go into the south side of Philly. I've driven that bridge probably 100 times in the past ten years to and from the airport. I got to thinking about the Minnesota Bridge collapse and how lucky so many people were to not die. This 15 degree weather would kill anyone that survived the fall into any water.

What the fuck is wrong with us though? That bridge collapse was years ago yet NOTHING has been done to try to prevent another. OK a bunch of inspections have been done. But with the great recession it was such a perfect, no brainer jobs/public works creator.

But NO. THAT is wasteful spending. People in this country would rather fucking die than to increase taxes a little to protect ourselves, our kids, our parents, our neighbors from harm. We funnel BILLIONs into that abortion called defense yet we don't defend ourselves against things in this country that can really harm us.

Humans are supposed to be superior to other animals in cognitive thinking. Maybe is some respects we are. But basic animal instinct is to survive. Yet we really don't try to increase the odds of survival when the opportunity stares us in the face.

[Fumesucker]

1. Clearly, being killed by a turrist is a thousand times worse than being killed by a bridge collapse.

[maseman]

2. Yeah and frankly

as I travel very often for work I think about the integrity of a bridge while sitting on it in traffic than I ever have about a turrist.

[mnhtnbb]

3. The key to the OP is "I got to thinking". Hmm. Americans are being

programmed NOT to think. Slimebaugh has been quite open about it for years: he tells his
"dittoheads" they don't need to think because he'll do it for them. Faux News is nothing
but propaganda. The schools don't teach critical thinking; they teach to tests designed
to make money for the corporations which create them.

[maseman]

4. Good lord you make too much sense

But that is spot on. I was in talk radio 15 years ago when it really started. I was one of the hosts how told people to never believe what they hear on talk radio because most of it is for show. Now look what it has become.

It is really scary when you know you've come across a moron who is a loyal right-wing wacko radio listener. They all spew the exact same BS.

Of course religion has been teaching people not to think for centuries.

[northofdenali]

15. SPOT ON!!!! n/t

But a :hug:

[rurallib]

5. And the governor who cut the fuck out of taxes so the bridge

wasn't inspected is now a leading candidate for president.

[maseman]

6. Yeah sick isn't it?

So how many bridges have to fall down before something is done? Maybe it takes a President or Governor's kid to go crashing down on a bridge before something is done.

As humans we are so much more reactive than proactive. Doesn't make any sense.

[treestar]

7. There is some project going on right near the airport

with a sign saying it is part of the Recovery Act.

[Gregorian]

8. It's worse than you think.

In 1988 I was taking a materials engineering course with a fantastic professor (Dan Walsh). This guy was so common sense, yet brilliant. He traveled around the US as a consultant for some agency, taking photos and assessing bridges. He gave a presentation to us, and gave his assessment, which was one of impending disaster. That was 20 years ago. How many fake and illegal wars have we had since?

We have to work to walk uphill. And we have to try in order to be better. I'm building a shop/garage that I spent many years designing and thinking about. Now there's a crew working on it who are not as careful as I would like. It has become more painful than ever to realize the difference between thinking two steps ahead versus just flogging away at whatever we see in front of us.

What is really going to come home to hurt us is that not everything is obvious at the present moment. The number one issue is population. But that's taboo, so I'll keep it to bridges. We're able to drive over these old corroded things without trouble. They don't all crumble at the same rate. So they can be ignored. Kind of like coronary arteries. Go on, have another cheeseburger. But as we wasted our manufacturing base, threw away the people's money in the form of military taxes, let our schools fall in standards, we still had bad bridges. And by the time these things do become obvious, even ignoring the fact that China has a new infrastructure, we will be in an emergency situation.

The key is that everything isn't obvious. We have to use our brains to see problems sometimes. And with a nation of people, many whom need to see it to believe it, we're doomed to sliding backwards. Actually, backwards wouldn't be so bad if we had some place to go. But we're captive to this modern lifestyle by our very numbers. Population plays a crucial role in our present situation. But it's not obvious to most people.

For me the bottom line is trying to do better. I had the most amazing conversation with my electrician. He's a world class Tango dancer. He's obsessed with perfection. We were standing on the lawn of an absolutely fantastic home that my neighbor had designed and built. A Frank Lloyd Wright if there ever was one. Huge windows opening onto an ocean bluff, with large blue ocean swells in the background. But what he had to say was amazing. If we don't strive for perfection, and something superb, then what are we doing here? We have to do better than just ordinary. I admit this has an angle of elitism to it. But even someone with no money can do this. We're a nation of low quality now. MacDonald's slop. Shit automobiles. Lousy architecture. At least for the most part, up until recently. I see the latest generations producing art. But there is no doubt that Folgers served this country. Langendorf was on the tables. I can't believe it's not butter. And this is where it all ends up. I'm not ashamed any more. This weekend I realized that I'm Picasso. That is what someone else called me. Not by comparison, but as a metaphor. They said I have a right to demand more out of people working for me. And to not feel badly about it. We should be demanding more of ourselves, too. I was a roofer. And I decided to go back to college at 30. Just as I got out of debt. It was hell. Hell. But now, after 20 years, I'm glad I did it. It took me 20 years to realize that what I did was difficult, and good.

I'm not holding my breath. Because ignorance is bliss. And work is hard. So people will sit and smoke and drink, and do anything but think.

And I don't care if people call me names for sounding so holy and elite. It's their problem. I want a better world. But I can't do it alone.

[northofdenali]

16. Please post this as a separate OP - anywhere you choose.

Humans cannot obtain perfection - but we can TRY.

Thank you. :hug:

[Gregorian]

20. Thanks! Did I actually say something intelligent for a change?

I'm still waking up, and read what I said yesterday.

There's no point in striving for less than perfection. It's hard to put it into words. There's a fine line between annoying and condescending, and inspiring.

I'm glad you liked what I had to say. I just wish you could have been at that house. Unbelievable. Last night I got a call from the guy who built it. He's my neighbor. And he's going to have a heart valve repaired in two weeks. I started thinking about perfection again. I used to work in cardiology, and saw those operations. It's that striving for perfection that got us open heart surgery. I can't help but come back to the whole Republican/Democrat face-off as an example of striving for perfection, caring, versus greed and not giving a crap about people in need. Now I'm just blabbing.

[avaistheone1]

9. Shout out to maseman.

We desperately need a stimulus aimed at refurbishing/renewing infrastructure like this. Their are bridges, levees and damns throughout the country that are ready to blow. We are going to have some disasters on our hands that really could be prevented.

I guess purchasing high-speed trains that are not really needed is a much sexier project.

Here is just an example:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2009/08/usa-over-two-thousand-dams-near.html

[CrispyQ]

12. Levees, theirs & ours - a pictorial:

The Dutch:



The Brits:



The Italians:



The USA:



These photos were featured on Common Dreams a week or so after Katrina. It's boggling, isn't it?

[avaistheone1]

13. Holy crap.

The Europeans are eating our lunch once again.

[athenasatanjesus]

14. I thought europe was nothing but failed socialist nations nt.

[KG]

19. americans know cost of everything and value of nothing.

[Odin2005]

10. Most people cannot see past their metaphorical noses.

unless they interact with something directly it's not really "real" to them.

[athenasatanjesus]

11. Fixing the infrastructure goes against personal Freedom nt.

[OneBlueSky]

17. well, some things are being done . . .

the Hudson Valley town I live in has a major state highway rinning through it north and south . . . in the center of town is a bridge over a large ravine in which is located a town park . . . the bridge was inspected after that collapse and determined to be unsafe, and trucks were banned from using it while cars were limited to one lane . . .

last April, they demolished the bridge and started building a new one . . . with a $900,000 bonus at stake for finishing the work early, the contractor worked evenings and weekends, and an entirely new bridge opened in October . . . it's a great looking structure, with colonial style lamp poles on both sides and a surface that is one lane wider than the old bridge . . .

most people here are amazed at how fast this bridge was replaced, and how good the new one looks . . . shows you what can be done when the state, the town, and the contractor all work together toward a common goal . . .

if anyone's interested in watching the demolition of the old bridge, there's a link on this page . . .

http://www.stonypointny.org/html/videotourfla.html

haven't been able to find a good photo of the new bridge, which is a shame . . . it's really nice . . .

[KG]

18. american believe in myths and fairey tales.