Liberals Are Just Born That Way

[Tsukasa Buddha]

Homo politicus: brain function of liberals, conservatives differs

The match-up was unmistakable: respondents who had described themselves as liberals showed "significantly greater conflict-related neural activity" when the hypothetical situation called for an unscheduled break in routine.

Conservatives, however, were less flexible, refusing to deviate from old habits "despite signals that this ... should be changed."

Whether that is good or bad, of course, depends on one's perspective: one could interpret the results to mean that liberals are nimble-minded and conservatives rigid and stubborn.

Or one could, with equal justice, conclude that wishy-washy liberals don't stick to their guns, while conservatives and steadfast and loyal.

Where is your Free Will now, silly philosophers?

So, who's surprised by this? Maybe it has something to do with "Stay The Course"?

Of course, this just makes me believe even more that politics is less about real problem solving and more about emotions and more fundamental things than the issues at hand.

Of course, this could also be proof that liberalism is a mental disorder .

 

[TragicMonkey]

What about people who are able to change, even good at it, but hate doing it because they like routine, once they've gotten things they way they like? So they can do everything on autopilot while devoting their brain to more interesting thoughts?

Like the traffic example. When I have to take an alternate route, I can and do...but I curse the whole way. So, am I liberal- or conservative-brained?

 

[Darth Rotor]

Of course, this just makes me believe even more that politics is less about real problem solving and more about emotions and more fundamental things than the issues at hand.

And in other news, sunrise follows Morning Civil Twilight.

As to liberalism being a mental disorder, I'd say JFK's version wasn't, and RFK's was.

DR

 

[Gord_in_Toronto]

Not being a citizen of the US of A, I struggle to understand the binary divsion of the World into Left and Right. However, can not the only conclusion of the experiment in the OP be that some class of drivers will run over cats and the other swerve and miss them?

 

[Darth Rotor]

Not being a citizen of the US of A, I struggle to understand the binary divsion of the World into Left and Right. However, can not the only conclusion of the experiment in the OP be that some class of drivers will run over cats and the other swerve and miss them?

It is of course a clumsy shorthand for positions that are rarely that simple.

We borrowed that from the French, I think. IIRC, the leftists refers to the revolutionaries who were from the Left Bank or some such deal.

In other words, we didn't start it.

DR

 

[plumjam]

It is of course a clumsy shorthand for positions that are rarely that simple.

We borrowed that from the French, I think. IIRC, the leftists refers to the revolutionaries who were from the Left Bank or some such deal.

In other words, we didn't start it.

DR

well yeah, we too have the political concepts of "left" and "right" here in the UK
I don't think that was what Gord was referring to.
As an outsider like him I understand his uneasiness about the left-right dichotomy in the USA
So many political discussions in the USA start off with this preconception that someone is liberal and someone is conservative. And whenever we see USA citizens commenting on politics almost always within the first three sentences they make some reference to being or not being a liberal/democrat or a conservative/republican.
Can't you all in the USA see that this is a way that those in power have chosen to shape the debate in order to restrict your room for movement and innovation?
Look at the media: it's ALL liberal/conservative
In reality these two options are just the illusion of choice and therefore the illusion of democracy. This can be seen in how little the policies of the two parties differ.
It's much the same here in the UK
State-Corporate fascism.
And we're all happy slaves

 

[Darth Rotor]

And we're all happy slaves

Speak for yourself.

DR

 

[fuelair]

What about people who are able to change, even good at it, but hate doing it because they like routine, once they've gotten things they way they like? So they can do everything on autopilot while devoting their brain to more interesting thoughts?

Like the traffic example. When I have to take an alternate route, I can and do...but I curse the whole way. So, am I liberal- or conservative-brained?

Perfect description of me there - I want as many things as possible auto-piloted so the brain can be useful not just busy.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

And in other news, sunrise follows Morning Civil Twilight.

As to liberalism being a mental disorder, ...
DR

One man's perceived disorder is another woman's perceived genius.

I couldn't help reading that article's description:

Or one could, with equal justice, conclude that wishy-washy liberals don't stick to their guns, while conservatives [are] steadfast and loyal.

as still negative description for conservatives. Wishy washy is just pure nonsense and not even consistent with the findings of the study. But steadfast and loyal? Great qualities when it comes to relationships, but not so great for intellect and problem solving.

So maybe this explains Bill Clinton?

I have to add an anecdote. I never followed the rules as a kid unless the rules were logical from about the age of 10. I could never see waiting for the light to turn green to walk across the street if there wasn't a car in sight and I always wondered why people would just stand there waiting. (Before anyone brings up the contradiction, in a car you don't have the same flexibility so stopping at a light is not comparable.) I never cared if a teacher threatened to send me to the principal's office because I knew it was a meaningless threat.

 

[TragicMonkey]

It is of course a clumsy shorthand for positions that are rarely that simple.

We borrowed that from the French, I think. IIRC, the leftists refers to the revolutionaries who were from the Left Bank or some such deal.

In other words, we didn't start it.

DR

It comes from the seating arrangements in the Estates General. They tended to form a spectrum from left to right.

 

[Chaos]

It comes from the seating arrangements in the Estates General. They tended to form a spectrum from left to right.

As far as I knew, it was derived from the "parliament" in St. Paul´s Church in Frankfurt in 1848. Conservatives to the right of the aisle, Progressives to the left.

 

[The Painter]

More psycho babble. The whole thing is a load of crap.

 

[TragicMonkey]

As far as I knew, it was derived from the "parliament" in St. Paul´s Church in Frankfurt in 1848. Conservatives to the right of the aisle, Progressives to the left.

I dunno. I was taught it was immediately-pre-Revolutionary France, but it sounds like the sort of thing that would acquire legend anyway. I'm not certain anybody actually wrote down who sat where at any of these things.

Too bad it wasn't the front and the back of the room, though, because then we'd call each other frontists and backsides.

 

[brodski]

More psycho babble. The whole thing is a load of crap.

What would change your mind?

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Origin of Right Wing/Left Wing

Word Origins tells us the terms date back to pre-revolutionary France. In 1789, the French National Assembly was created as a parliamentary body to move control of issues, such as taxation, from the king to the citizenry.

Inside the chamber where the National Assembly met, members of the Third Estate sat on the left side and members of the First Estate sat on the right. The Third Estate consisted of revolutionaries, while the First Estate were nobles. Thus, the left wing of the room was more liberal, and the right wing was more conservative. In the next few years, the revolutionaries would take over and countless noble heads would roll, but that's another story.

Word Detective corroborates the idea that "left wing" and "right wing" date to the seating arrangements of the 1789 French National Assembly. The Mavens' Word of the Day also confirms the phrases' origin.

Word Wizard agrees on the origins of the terms and adds that they have a secondary layer of meanings. "Right" can also mean "correct," while the Latin term for "left" suggests "sinister" behavior. We suspect that those on the political right wing appreciate these connotations more than those on the left.

And according to skeptigirl, right wing today connotates religious fundamentalism and has lost the traditional connotation of fiscal conservatism and minimal government intrusion.

 

[eir_de_scania]

Not to forget, in Europe "left" means socialist or communist. Liberals count as "Conservative light".

 

[Mashuna]

Origin of Right Wing/Left WingAnd according to skeptigirl, right wing today connotates religious fundamentalism and has lost the traditional connotation of fiscal conservatism and minimal government intrusion.

That's becuase you're in the U.S. Tain't the case over here.

 

[Puppycow]

They say that a liberal is someone who is too broad-minded to take his own side in an argument. I think that is true for some people, but others on the left seem to equally rigid in their position.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

They say that a liberal is someone who is too broad-minded to take his own side in an argument. I think that is true for some people, but others on the left seem to equally rigid in their position.

The left has more than a fair share of the critically thinking challenged. I suspect there are more than 2 categories of brain types and the study was oversimplified in its scope.

 

[Bikewer]

I wonder what sort of results one would get if you sat these self-described "liberals" and "conservatives" down and asked them to articulate just what those terms meant.....