Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

The tipping point for legislative polarization
phys ^ | 12/06/2021

Posted on 12/06/2021 4:04:16 PM PST by devane617

A predictive model of a polarized group, similar to the current U.S. Senate, demonstrates that when an outside threat—like war or a pandemic—fails to unite the group, the divide may be irreversible through democratic means. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences as part of a Dynamics of Political Polarization Special Feature, the model identifies such atypical behavior among the political elite as a powerful symptom of dangerously high levels of polarization.

"We see this very disturbing pattern in which a shock brings people a little bit closer initially, but if polarization is too extreme, eventually the effects of a shared fate are swamped by the existing divisions and people become divided even on the shock issue," said network scientist Boleslaw Szymanski, a professor of computer science and director of the Army Research Laboratory Network Science and Technology Center (NeST) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. "If we reach that point, we cannot unite even in the face of war, climate change, pandemics, or other challenges to the survival of our society."

The model—essentially a game that simulates the views of 100 theoretical legislators over time—allowed researchers to dial up party identity, intolerance for disagreement, and extremism to levels such that almost no degree of shock could unite the legislative group. In some situations, the simulation revealed that even the strongest shock fails to reverse the self-reinforcing dynamics of political polarization.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; Israel; News/Current Events; US: Illinois; US: Indiana; US: Wisconsin
KEYWORDS: 2022election; 2024election; 2ndamendment; abortion; anthonyfauci; assistantdemocrat; assistantdemocrats; banglist; boleslawszymanski; china; cop26; covidstooges; darrellbrooks; darrellbrooksjr; darrellebrooks; darrellebrooksjr; election2022; election2024; europeanunion; g20; genderdysphoria; ghislainemaxwell; glasgow; globalwarminghoax; greennewdeal; homosexualagenda; illinois; indiana; iran; israel; jeffreyepstein; kenosha; kylerittenhouse; lolitaexpress; nra; obamacare; panicporn; petebuttigieg; plannedparenthood; politics; righttolife; rino; rinos; scotland; scotlandyet; scotus; secondamendment; vaccinemandates; wisconsin
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-26 next last
I say we're here now. Tipping point was long ago. The real question is how it ends.
1 posted on 12/06/2021 4:04:16 PM PST by devane617
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: devane617

Yep.......This guy has been blind for a freakin decade.


2 posted on 12/06/2021 4:06:37 PM PST by traderrob6
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: devane617

My question is WHY is the Army Research Lab investigating and creating models of political legislative bodies at all? Couple that with their musings on the impact of polarization on climate change, the pandemic, and similar seems to me the US Military wants to (already has in my book) INFLUENCE political legislative functions. bad bad bad......


3 posted on 12/06/2021 4:08:54 PM PST by Gaffer
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: devane617

Tipping point USA: November 4, 2008


4 posted on 12/06/2021 4:11:06 PM PST by seowulf (Civilization begins with order, grows with liberty, and dies with chaos...Will Durant)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: devane617

...war, climate change, pandemics, or other challenges. Those are all political issues. When polarized like the US is, no war would be political viewed the same on both sides. Climate change is a religion, not a science. Pandemics have become an exercise in totalitarianism.

Where is the common ground to unite together? It isn’t there and toothpaste does not go back into the tube.


5 posted on 12/06/2021 4:12:54 PM PST by rigelkentaurus
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: seowulf

Let’s be clear, I want nothing to do with the legislative agenda of the left. If they want to fight for the country, bring it.

Bullets if not ballots.


6 posted on 12/06/2021 4:12:57 PM PST by SteelPSUGOP
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: devane617

They are just now figuring out the Federal Government of the USA wouldn’t survive an openly illegitimate election? Real Brain Surgeons, there.


7 posted on 12/06/2021 4:15:36 PM PST by wastoute (Anyone who believes PsyOps are not involved has never met a PsyOps Officer.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: devane617

We lost this country whe they removed the TenCommandments from the town square. There are no guide posts for a civil society to follow


8 posted on 12/06/2021 4:31:17 PM PST by griswold3 (When chaos serves the State, the State will encourage chaos)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: rigelkentaurus

‘...war, climate change, pandemics, or other challenges. Those are all political issues. “

“other challenges” is dog whistle includes racism, pro-abortion and homo-agenda. That plus the list written are all things leftists demonkkkraps talk in your face about 24/7 x 365. They have to control every waking moment. No other issues exist. Yepp, we are polarized because of the leftists.


9 posted on 12/06/2021 4:35:28 PM PST by Susquehanna Patriot
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Gaffer

They’ve been doing this ever since WW2. Psyops campaigns on the public and private sectors. At first it was to keep the huge military budgets going even though WW2 had ended. At first the military would frighten the public and politicians with wild claims that the USSR was going to send bombers over. Of course when ICBMs were invented the operations went into overdrive because for the first time the USSR could actually strike the USA. But still there was absolutely no need for the Triad defense. A fleet of boomers would have been quite adequate.

The psyops campaigns have been so effective that still today some people think we don’t have enough nuclear weapons at the ready.


10 posted on 12/06/2021 4:45:12 PM PST by Seruzawa ("The Political left is the Garden of Eden of incompetence" - Marx the Smarter (Groucho))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: devane617

When an outside threat fails to unite a divided community, the split may be irreversible. This has been a predictable consequence to well-known principles of social psychology going back ages. The way to overcome internal division is to unite against an external threat.

There was a time, not too many decades ago, when this sort of truism was understood almost without saying.

The idea that someone today is so profoundly ignorant of basic human relations that they need a computer program to reveal this commonplace to
them, bodes worse for our future than the “ finding” itself.


11 posted on 12/06/2021 4:46:37 PM PST by hinckley buzzard ( Resist the narrative.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: devane617

Golly, people. The Government is always doing stuff like this.

When I was in the Army they openly thought us that in 1972 the Officers Clubs were under surveillance to see if there might be some sort of coup to keep Nixon in power, given his popularity with the military.

Of course, no activity was picked up because “everybody” supported the Constitution of the United States.

Of course they are doing this now, except they’re doing it to cell phones, text messages, social media and email.

While I’m at it, let me give a shout out to Merrick Garland, as he or one of his minions is monitoring this site looking for domestic terrorists. You da man, Big G!


12 posted on 12/06/2021 4:47:50 PM PST by JusPasenThru (Let’s go Brandon!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: devane617

At least 20 years ago.


13 posted on 12/06/2021 4:48:00 PM PST by sitetest (Professional patient. No longer mostly dead. Again. It's getting to be a habit.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Seruzawa

I realize they’ve been modeling and gaming for years. It’s just that THIS is so clearly out of their purview (IMO) it isn’t funny. I know there’s a difference between knowing how political legislative polarization might impact how the military might need to prepare for possible outcomes, but this user-gameable model seems to me too big of a potential for misuse.


14 posted on 12/06/2021 4:52:52 PM PST by Gaffer
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: seowulf
Tipping point USA: November 4, 2008

That was probably the tipping point. But you could see the signs earlier than that. Bork. Clarence Thomas. Media trashing Dubya. But you're right, Obama's election was probably the tipping point.

15 posted on 12/06/2021 4:55:56 PM PST by MinorityRepublican
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: devane617

Well, apparently the Republican and Democrat legislative bodies are more than willing to come together to pass trillion dollar budgets and attack anything or anyone associated with Trump.


16 posted on 12/06/2021 5:04:44 PM PST by Mr. N. Wolfe
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: MinorityRepublican

I have always believed it was the 2000 election: Bush/Gore that was the tipping point. I don’t believe the MSM ever got past that election going to Bush.


17 posted on 12/06/2021 5:17:50 PM PST by devane617 (RUN FOR LOCAL ELECTED OFFICE! COUNCIL,SCHOOL BOARD, ETC.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: devane617

You’re probably right. But it’s funny. Dubya is a Patrician who was born in New England with a silver spoon in his mouth. His family has realigned with the Democratic Party. Unfortunately, he is part of the swamp.


18 posted on 12/06/2021 5:21:58 PM PST by MinorityRepublican
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: JusPasenThru

While you’re shouting out Garland, let me say he and his snooping minions can go dine on a big bag of richards.


19 posted on 12/06/2021 5:33:46 PM PST by Alas Babylon! (Rush, we're missing your take on all of this!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: devane617
It's been a long, slow slide. Obama didn't want to work with the Republicans. When they took back Congress they wouldn't work with him. The Democrats hated and loathed Trump, and were determined to deny him everything and drive him from office, but they had to wait until they won back Congress. After they got back the presidency, they really got to twist the knife.

Democrats hated Bush too, but they were still feeling vulnerable and trying to be, or appear, moderate. Then 911 happened and temporarily reunited the country. Now the Dems are more radical, and the country is more polarized

20 posted on 12/06/2021 5:45:55 PM PST by x
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-26 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson