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.
Yep.......This guy has been blind for a freakin decade.
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......
Tipping point USA: November 4, 2008
...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.
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.
They are just now figuring out the Federal Government of the USA wouldn’t survive an openly illegitimate election? Real Brain Surgeons, there.
We lost this country whe they removed the TenCommandments from the town square. There are no guide posts for a civil society to follow
‘...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.
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.
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.
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!
At least 20 years ago.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
While you’re shouting out Garland, let me say he and his snooping minions can go dine on a big bag of richards.
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
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