Big Blue Huddle

Interesting read.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/author-jia-tolentino-on-american-culture-through-the-prism-of-the-internet


Cheers!

Assuming that Doomsday is something which should concern us rather than something hardly to be feared- I guess that's the product of a word like Doom- I don't think we are any closer than 100 seconds to Midnight today than when we first learned how to convert matter to energy. Those who have been seen as the principlal clock operators have seemed more concerned with slowing rather than accelerating as they realize that they are not exceptions.

If its all or nothing at all, do we really need to worry about it? I sure as hell don't.

Cheers!

But my growth in knowledge has been a bit of a double edge sword. On the other edge of the sword, is a bit of sadness and disillusionment at the amount of ignorance and foolishness in the world. I see people trapped in mindsets that are wrong and unhealthy.  Will things get better in the future? I don

When you first asked that question, squibber, I thought you were being whimsical. Was it directed to me because you imagined my head shaped somewhat more like an egg than that of an aircraft carrier? But as you have moved it to where the Princes would insist it to be, I guess you were being serious. While I am not sure why the question was raised, it is an important and rarely discussed one far beyond anything to do with football. And if you would prefer to let it go at that, let me say that I agree with you and the of Sam Harris quotes. Otherwise, once I get started, I may not stop until I infuse- if not confuse- the issue with my strongly held bias.

Although I remember discussing the question in depth at Columbia Grad School,  what was then called the Faculty of Pure Science, I didn't think it necessary to dwell on it as a creative event, or whether free will is an endowment or natural development thereof because in doing so it seemed we would have to know how space/time, or energy is able to produce mass, and that might take us to 34 numbers after a decimal point. If that's not supernatural, I don't know what is- just kidding.

By its simplest definition, "The ability to choose between different courses of action without impediment"- like do we walk the dog now or later?- the most logical answer is yes.  But I don't think that is what your question involves nor do I think Free Will is unrestricted nor is it often not self-contradictory, or has it been the same thing as for the 108 billion Homo Sapiens estimated to have occupied the Earth since its origin or is it for the roughly 7.8 billion still here today.

The ability to act at one's own discretion, the power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate may exist in theory but as a matter of practical reality, indeed reality per se, I don't think it does. I suppose you are aware of the numerous polls which suggest that humans fear public speaking more than they fear death. I'd love to put that to the test by handing out microphones and loaded pistols. 

It did, however, cause me to wonder what really concerns us, motivates, indeed worries us; that is what most affects our willful behavior in general.It now is believed by many including myself that from the most trivial to the most profound, Free Will acts and decisions are associated in some way with our current self-esteem, that is our overall sense of self-worth or personal value. That is, how much you appreciate and like yourself or not which includes appraisals of your beliefs and behaviors and relationships and impacts on others. I might like to think of it as a voluntary choice or decision to make choices that are not determined by prior causes or by divine intervention, but I don't. I feel that way because I think we choose to avoid it, that is to rationalize which is what we do best.

What I mean by rationaling is justifying one's or another's behavior or attitude with logical, plausible reasons, even if these are not true or appropriate; to invent plausible explanations for acts, opinions, etc., that are actually based on other causes.If we think of Free Will as a factor in future decision-making in respect to our most important economic, social and political issues, I believe that it is essential to understand it in cultural terms. 
It is a well-known and documented reality that people of East Asia ( Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, etc.) rate themselves below other cultures in terms of self-esteem. Indeed, have you never felt a smirk about those East Asian cultures which eschew the notion of lost face to the extent that they prefer to structure their decision-making as a group so as to not to lose face as an individual? To some extent, it also is part of their etiquette to avoid washing dirty linen in public. And is there anything intellectually or emotionally in any culture that challenges us more than to admit that we are wrong or part of something wrong? 

It might be helpful to know that 60 percent of the world's population (4.64 billion) is Asian. of which 1.41 billion are Chinese (Han Chinese not English is by far the world's most popularly spoken language. India is a close 2nd with a population 1.37 billion which combined is 4 times that of the U.S.A. Moreover, South Asians- Indians in particular- are almost opposite to East Asians in terms of willful decision-making and self-esteem. Indeed, there are as many as an entire U.S.-sized population among their much larger impoverished cheap labor force who seek prestige and are happy to remind us of their successes at every opportunity.

You may have noticed that the tens of thousands of Asian students in the USA are not going to Cow Colleges but to Stanford, Wharton, the Ivy League, Northwestern,  and Duke while Indians practicularly own University of Texas at Dallas. 
In both instances, Free Will is being manipulated to attain a group goal and whatever sense of security that may bring with it.  It is well understood, of course, that modern history is dominated by the notion of European exceptionalism, much of which is reflected in America's Eurocentric culture; a meaningful difference of which is in not being inherently group oriented. Rather, we mimick the traditional Northern Europe as the society of strong individuals. 

But that is rapidly changing whether we know it or not, or are ready to accept it.  Asians are rapidly increasing as a proportion of the world's entrepeneurs and scientists. Over the past several decades, China

I am quite aware of that, My Friend. I generally do my venting on Facebook where I have yet to be censored. And of course, Twitter is out of the question as far as I'm concerned.

In any case, all the best to and for you.

Cheers!

Quote from: squibber on January 10, 2021, 02:59:33 PM
Gee, Painter, I would have loved to ask you a philosophical question.

Does free will exist?

Maybe next year.

I would be glad if you did as an NFT, Squibb. I say that because Free Will has nothing much to do either way with the conscious mind. Indeed, I don't think it will be very long in the future when we will find it in our genome if we dare. How is it not obvious that there is free will with or without intellect? Just have a look in the news and join in with Albert Einstein saying: Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity.

Cheers!

Thank you, Gentlemen. I also should have added that this was again by far the best Football Forum. Folks here have the experience, the knowledge, and the disposition to always rise to the occasion.

Many thanks. Happy New Season to all.

Cheers!

Their win/loss record was surprisingly as exactly as I predicted.
They played hard and were in most games this season which pleased me.
I am pleasantly satisfied by both the performance of and relationship to the players to first time HC Joe Judge.
I think that Gettlemen has done done a decent enough job in areas of his influence and should remain GM for at least another year.
I am close to sold on Daniel Jones as the long time Eli successor who may yet prove to be even better.
The immediate re-signing of Pat Graham was a no brainer.
I think Jason Garrett deserves more time with Jones and with an improved receiver corps.
I continue to have hope but definite reservations about Barkley.
I have little enthusiasm about this season (indeed football in general) and couldn't care less as to what happens in the playoffs at any level.

I am trying to generate enough enthusiasm to engage in the silly season which after year's of study and analyses I have come to recognize as 95 percent subjective.

I'll refrain from non-football comment except to wish you all a Happy New Year, or Four or Forty.

Cheers!

I never met Tom, I only wish I had. It is because of guys like him who are so well thought of and liked by so many folks here who I admire and respect that I feel a sense of loss. May your fond memories soften the grief.

Quote from: MightyGiants on August 14, 2020, 07:42:30 AM

I separate them into two groups


Good patriotic Americans who care about their nation.  Since they care about their nation they will do what it takes to protect our nation and our people

Bad self centered people-  These are the ones that often wrap themselves up in our flag but in reality hate our nation.  Their philosophy is, "ask not what I can do for my Country, as what my country can do for me"

I'm with you Rich.  We should stop rationalizing the motives of selfish, meanspirited fools, and draw a line in the sand. While perhaps we all share the blame for an electoral system which allowed a vile, certifiable sociopath to occupy the Presidency and thus to do serious and enduring harm to the physical and psychological health of our people, and to the honor, respect and integrity of our Nation, it has come to this: Anyone who voted for Trump is to be pitied while anyone who continues to support him is to be despised. 


As far as I'm concerned, those who voted for Trump

No one has ever played harder or with more class, or has ever represented his team, the city, and the NFL better than Eli Manning. Frankly, it is hard to imagine anyone other No. 10 calling signals for Big Blue. But he will be missed only in that sense because he is otherwise unforgettable, an icon, Our Hero.

Cheers!

Many thanks for relaying my question to Pat. The only part of her response which surprised me was her suggestion that Jones was having trouble handling pressure. It's not that I doubt her observation, its that it is so contrary to what I have seen in his college game tapes. I am not exaggerating when I say that I never seen a QB face more pressure than Jones did at Duke, and handle it as unflinchingly as he did. He is one tough dude.

As for the batted passes, indeed it was something of an issue last year as he had 12 BPs on the season. Sometimes, he looked like Joe Flacco or Carson Wentz. Is it a tall QB problem? Just kidding. At Duke, it might be attributed to playing behind an overmatched Oline. But, if it is still an issue, it may be related to the length of his windup. That should be correctable.

As for the question of UC vs SG snaps, I wouldn't expect the emphasis to be any different than with Eli at this point or that he would have any sort of problem. However, I agree with Pat that once Jones becomes the starting QB, we will see changes intended to take advantage of his ball handling, mobility and skill as a runner. I can see RPOs and Bash option plays and boots in the future.

While we may see him playing with 11 personnel tonight, I promise you it won't look anything like Cutcliffe's idea of it. Please, no empty sets. And if they should use some 12 or 21, it may be a first ever for him.

With a radio in his helmet, he should have the luxury of getting help from the sideline which he never got at Duke. He was on his own in dealing with odd looks and pressures. I thought he did as well as possible.

In any case, I hope we get a good look at him tonight and that he gives us a good look back.

Thanks again, Ed. You do a really great job as an interlocutor; sounds better than interrogator.

Cheers!

Quote from: gregf on August 06, 2019, 01:54:04 AM
Painter, can you explain what the pistol means? Thanks!

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

In the "pistol formation", the quarterback lines up four yards behind the center, which is much closer than the seven yard setback in a traditional shotgun formation. The running back then lines up three yards directly behind the quarterback, which is in contrast to the shotgun where they are beside each other. That leaves the quarterback close enough to the line of scrimmage to still be able to read the defense, as he would in the I formation, but far enough back to give him extra time and a better vision of the field for passing plays as in the shotgun. But the pistol formation is more versatile in terms of RPOs and Read options if the QB is a legitimate threat to run the ball. Jones is such a threat.

Cheers!

Quote from: MightyGiants on August 04, 2019, 10:37:16 AM
I saw Jones taking snaps under center, in the pistol, and in shotgun

Good to hear because although Jones did play some from Under Center as a Soph, he was in the Gun almost exclusively last year. That may or may not have had something to do with pass protection. In any case, Eli took 41% of his snaps from Under Center, last year despite the Giants 63.7/36.3% Pass/Rush Ratio which not only ranked 5th highest in the NFL but, even with Barkley alongside, was the most one-sided in Eli's career.

I think many of us are assuming that the Giants will look to reduce its pass to run ratio which might only increase the snaps from under Center. That is, if the Oline and especially the Defense cooperates.  As for Jones being seen in the pistol, that makes some real sense. I've noted how well he executed the RPOs which Duke ran on rare occasion. I can just imagine a guy with Jones's running skills being well suited to execute Pistol-set RPO and Read Option plays.

Cheers! 

Were any of Jones's snaps from Under Center?

Cheers!