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--
Al Bradley, C.F. Roswell, GA
"The best friend of earth of man is the tree. When we use the tree respectfully and economically, we have one of the greatest resources on the earth." - Frank Lloyd Wright
Travis cork
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May 12, 2015, 11:33:03 AM5/12/15
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Al;
I did not know forestry-focus was still extant.
Hope you are well.
The following is a thought that I tried to submit to the philosophes on the SAF Linked-In line.
I could not get it past the Custodians of Acceptable Opinion. Of course, as the SAF is a voluntary association, there was no violation of my right to speak. The SAF can censor my opinion any time it likes.
Early this year
an SAF EForester posted the proposed licensing law for foresters in
Vermont.On page 16 we were told that
“[t]he best regulator of this profession is not the marketplace.”
The marketplace
is not capable of purposeful action.The
word “market” is the name that we give to the setting where individuals meet
for the voluntary exchange of goods and services.Only individuals act.Only individuals in the marketplace act.The statement is incompetent. Read Ludwig von
Mises.
If there is a
failure, it is the failure of individual foresters to govern themselves.The “marketplace” is not the cause of the
failure.
Civilization
requires governance, however, not collective governance.Collective governance invariably is run by
individuals who want to force their vision or goals on other individuals.If there is a social contract, it is that an
individual does not initiate acts of violence against other individuals.This includes using collective government as
a surrogate.The individuals in the Vermont
Office of Professional Regulation, by proposing to use collective government to
control the actions of other foresters, have shown that they are not capable of
self-governance.How can an individual
that is incapable of self-governance be qualified to govern others.
Leading with
honor demands that the individual govern himself.
It is
interesting that the Vermont Office of Professional Regulation commands such a
high level of competency (see list of core competencies in A, B,C, D, and E)
while itself exhibiting a lack of competency.
The Vermont
regulations encompass the latest variant of the collective impulse, ecosystem
services.That the ecosystem concept
mischaracterizes the natural world is a reality that is ignored by much of bureaucracy,
academia, and the green advocacy groups.The ecosystem concept is the central theme in every “core” competency in
the Vermont plan for forest collectivism.
Is private
sector forestry unregulated?I have been
a consulting forester for 41 years.Inasmuch as I cannot force anyone to hire me, I must provide a quality
service if I am to stay in business.Further,
I must pay strict attention to supply and demand with its attendant profit and
loss.Are there any individuals more
isolated from profit and loss than tax-funded public sector bureaucrats and academics?
Who really are
the unregulated individuals in the forest.
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Travis;
Well said. I am not suprised your being censored. Anything non-state promoting is these days. It is a shame that all opinions are not allowed. As far as this forum goes. I just dont have the time to post like I once did. I wish someone like yourself would take the list and breath life into it again. I do miss the thoughts of intelligent forestry conversations.
As for me, I am on a contract with Georgia Power. So I am at home finally. That is a great thing.
Al
Lee Laechelt
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May 12, 2015, 7:52:38 PM5/12/15
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Hello Travis, Hello Al.
I too miss the fine discussions we once had, Roy excluded, Ha Ha.
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Al;
When individuals like James Coufal pass for the sages in the Society of American Foresters. innerlecshual (my apologies to Flannery O'Connor) conversation, especially if it questions the received wisdom, is not going to be appreciated.
There is no place for me in SAF. I think this is probably my last year.
As for taking over the list, I miss the inspired debates, but why bother. The forestry schools have ruined forestry for foresters that think like I do. I am a dinosaur and at 70 years of age, am about to be extirpated (tee hee).
MINNEAPOLIS (The Borowitz Report)
– Scientists have discovered a powerful new strain of fact-resistant
humans who are threatening the ability of Earth to sustain life, a
sobering new study reports.
The research,
conducted by the University of Minnesota, identifies a virulent strain
of humans who are virtually immune to any form of verifiable knowledge,
leaving scientists at a loss as to how to combat them.
“These
humans appear to have all the faculties necessary to receive and
process information,” Davis Logsdon, one of the scientists who
contributed to the study, said. “And yet, somehow, they have developed
defenses that, for all intents and purposes, have rendered those
faculties totally inactive.”
More worryingly, Logsdon said, “As facts have multiplied, their defenses against those facts have only grown more powerful.”
While
scientists have no clear understanding of the mechanisms that prevent
the fact-resistant humans from absorbing data, they theorize that the
strain may have developed the ability to intercept and discard
information en route from the auditory nerve to the brain. “The normal
functions of human consciousness have been completely nullified,”
Logsdon said.
While reaffirming the gloomy
assessments of the study, Logsdon held out hope that the threat of
fact-resistant humans could be mitigated in the future. “Our research is
very preliminary, but it’s possible that they will become more
receptive to facts once they are in an environment without food, water,
or oxygen,” he said.
We go through life with the brain that evolution gave us.
Your
response is just what one should expect from a conservative. If you were
curious and open to new experiences, then you would probably know something
about the very rapid advances in what science has learned about human behavior
and the functioning of the human brain. You would know that, sadly, there is a
strong element of truth behind the New Yorker article. Although the New Yorker
article is classified under “humor”.
But you are
not very curious and open to new experiences because you are a conservative.
You are not a conservative because of any rational thought process on your
part. And the same goes for liberals. You are a conservative because of your
genes – just like liberal are liberals because of their genes – not because of logical,
reasoned thought or critical thinking.
If you were
curious and open to new experiences, you would know that one of the basic
assumptions of economics is not true – the one about us all being rational
utility maximizers. Science has found that virtually all of human behavior is
strongly influenced by genetics. Whenever we feel emotions, that is our genes
kicking in. Rational thinking is routinely trumped by emotions and by beliefs.
We are only rational utility maximizers when our thought processes are not
trumped by emotions or beliefs.
A very
simple example will illustrate. The genes that drive our behavior nearly all
selected for back when we were hunter gatherers. Evolution gave us genes that
make us crave fat, sugar and salt – because those were all hard to come by when
we were hunter gatherers. So what does the semi-free market give us when we go
into a modern grocery store – tens of thousands of products loaded with fat,
sugar and salt. All of the major diseases that afflict modern man are caused
largely by our diet – our irrational diet driven by our hunter gatherer genes.
And so it
goes for everything in the market. Rational thought only plays a minor role.
So much for
economics.
When it
comes to emotions trumping rational thought, liberals are probably as
susceptible as conservatives. But there is one major area where liberals have a
major advantage over conservatives and that is in the belief department. There
is lots of peer reviewed research now that shows that conservatives are
incapable of thinking rationally about things that disagree with their
conservative beliefs – their ideology. The specific conservative beliefs are a
function of the environment. The overwhelming belief of American conservatives
is in the whole free market ideology. The ideology is not the result of any
rational thought process, but conservatives are fierce in their belief in it.
Conservatives can not think rationally about anything that disagrees with their
free market beliefs. And the most amazing finding is that the best educated
conservatives are the least capable of thinking rationally about things that
disagree with their conservative beliefs.
No
equivalent on the liberal sides – this is where liberals have it all over the conservatives.
Being much more curious and open to new experiences, liberal are more open to
changing their mind as new information comes in. And the best educated liberals
are the most capable of such rational thought.
So, as a
genetically driven liberal, that is my understanding of the New Yorker article.
And as a
genetically driven conservative, your reaction to the article is that the
author is a mucking thoron.
I call this dilemma
“The Human Predicament”.
When I
joined SAF-News in 1995, I became extremely perplexed and curious about you
conservatives that have always dominated SAF-News and then Forestry Focus. I
had never met people like you. As a good liberal, I could not believe that
there was any significant slice of our population that could not be reasoned
with. And I tried everything I could think of for 17 years to reason with you.
And then I
gave up.
But I
remained perplexed and curious. And then I read “The Republican Brain” by Chris
Mooney.
And I have
read much, much more since then. I am quite horrified by what I have learned.
This is a
true predicament. The logical failings of the human brain threaten our entire
future on this planet.
We don’t go
through life with the brain we would like to have, We go through life with the
brain that evolution gave us.
Cheers,
Roy Hagen
-----Original Message-----
From: Travis cork <tco...@msn.com>
To: forestry-focus-public <forestry-f...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Sun, May 17, 2015 6:51 am
Subject: RE: [forestry-focus-public] forestry-focus-public still around?
MINNEAPOLIS (
The Borowitz Report) – Scientists have discovered a powerful new strain of fact-resistant humans who are threatening the ability of Earth to sustain life, a sobering new study reports.
Travis cork
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May 18, 2015, 4:56:47 AM5/18/15
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The Andy Borowitz of this world may have the capacity to store copious amounts of information in their cranial cavity, but they have little or no capacity to make sense of it, to paraphrase Borowitz, when it comes to making sense of cause and effect, the functions of human consciousness have been completely nullified.
I am not a conservative as you define it. Both George Bush and Obama are disasters. The only distinction between the destruction wrought by republicans and the democrats is that the spoils go to different clientele.
Actually, I am very liberal. As long as you respect the boundaries of private property, I am happy to leave you alone to live your life as you choose. I have no desire to use government's claim to a monopoly in the use of legalized violence to force you to live as I do.
Are you and your ilk willing to extend me the same courtesy?
