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Escalation of Commitment

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David Canzi

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Oct 19, 2012, 11:30:59 PM10/19/12
to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escalation_of_commitment

This Wikipedia page describes a psychological phenomenon I read
about long ago and have observed in others, and in myself.

People who have already made some investment (eg. money,
time, or effort) in the pursuit of a goal will, if the goal
is unexpectedly elusive, be reluctant to stop and limit their
losses at a reasonable time. Instead they might go on for far
too long increasing their investment in the futile pursuit of an
unreachable goal.

Talk.origins probably has a higher concentration than most
newsgroups of people who like to explain things to others.

What happens when somebody comes along who feigns an inability to
understand anything he is told, no matter how obvious, no matter
how simple, no matter how clearly stated?

See the 0.999... thread.

--
David Canzi | Every reasonable assumption is wrong.

Glenn

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Oct 19, 2012, 11:59:04 PM10/19/12
to

"David Canzi" <dmc...@uwaterloo.ca> wrote in message
news:k5t5tj$mk5$1...@rumours.uwaterloo.ca...
I'll let you know when I get to the end.


Dale

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Oct 21, 2012, 1:23:42 AM10/21/12
to
On 10/19/2012 11:30 PM, David Canzi wrote:
> People who have already made some investment (eg. money,
> time, or effort) in the pursuit of a goal will, if the goal
> is unexpectedly elusive, be reluctant to stop and limit their
> losses at a reasonable time. Instead they might go on for far
> too long increasing their investment in the futile pursuit of an
> unreachable goal.

their called conservatives, they have a vested interest in the status
quo, and should be appreciated for their contributions to society by
progressives in their politics, there should always be a "deal"


--
Dale

Frank J

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Oct 21, 2012, 9:12:03 AM10/21/12
to
If there were no lurkers I would have lost interest ~10 years ago. The
catch is that lurkers are unlikely to delurk, especially if they're
fence-sitters, so I have no hard data here to show that I have had any
effect. But I do have some in my personal life. It's not easy, but
people do come around, especially when I show them the games that anti-
evolution activists play. So my questions to Ray, for example, are not
with any expectation of him replying "I guess you're right, I never
thought of that," but to show new readers how he evades them.

In fact I have been losing interest lately anyway. It's very similar
with gambling. I just don't win enough to keep the interest. So I
rarely risk more than a few bucks that I'm willing to chalk up to
entertainment.

David Canzi

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Oct 21, 2012, 11:14:45 AM10/21/12
to
Dale <inv...@invalid.invalid> wrote:
>On 10/19/2012 11:30 PM, David Canzi wrote:
>> People who have already made some investment (eg. money,
>> time, or effort) in the pursuit of a goal will, if the goal
>> is unexpectedly elusive, be reluctant to stop and limit their
>> losses at a reasonable time. Instead they might go on for far
>> too long increasing their investment in the futile pursuit of an
>> unreachable goal.
>
>their called conservatives, they have a vested interest in the status
>quo,

Reading comprehension: F

pnyikos

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Oct 22, 2012, 4:27:48 PM10/22/12
to nyi...@math.sc.edu
On Oct 21, 9:13�am, Frank J <f...@verizon.net> wrote:
> On 19 Oct, 23:33, "David Canzi" <dmca...@uwaterloo.ca> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> >http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escalation_of_commitment
>
> > This Wikipedia page describes a psychological phenomenon I read
> > about long ago and have observed in others, and in myself.
>
> > People who have already made some investment (eg. money,
> > time, or effort) in the pursuit of a goal will, if the goal
> > is unexpectedly elusive, be reluctant to stop and limit their
> > losses at a reasonable time. Instead they might go on for far
> > too long increasing their investment in the futile pursuit of an
> > unreachable goal.
>
> > Talk.origins probably has a higher concentration than most
> > newsgroups of people who like to explain things to others.
>
> > What happens when somebody comes along who feigns an inability to
> > understand anything he is told, no matter how obvious, no matter
> > how simple, no matter how clearly stated?

Ron O and J.J. O'Shea come to mind, not with respect to "anything" but
with respect to their worst behaviors.

> If there were no lurkers I would have lost interest ~10 years ago. The
> catch is that lurkers are unlikely to delurk, especially if they're
> fence-sitters, so I have no hard data here to show that I have had any
> effect. But I do have some in my personal life. It's not easy, but
> people do come around, especially when I show them the games that anti-
> evolution activists play. So my questions to Ray, for example, are not
> with any expectation of him replying "I guess you're right, I never
> thought of that," but to show new readers how he evades them.
>
> In fact I have been losing interest lately anyway. It's very similar
> with gambling. I just don't win enough to keep the interest. So I
> rarely risk more than a few bucks that I'm willing to chalk up to
> entertainment.

Take a well-earned rest, Frank. I've taken up the anti-Ray cudgels.
See the thread "value of evolutionary psychology" for my latest salvo
against him.

Oh, wait: I haven't seen a reply to my challenge to you to produce a
VALID example of pseudoscience by Behe. I've been arguing with people
here and elsewhere since 1996 about him, and so far I haven't seen a
single example.

Once you do that, and it checks out, THEN you can take a well earned
rest. :-)

Peter Nyikos

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