Society's ChildS


Microscope 2

Dunning-Kruger Effect: Why some people think they're great when their work is terrible

Mark Murphy
Forbes
Tue, 24 Jan 2017 17:07 UTC
dunning kruger
© Shutterstock
Pat is a programmer at a large software company. At best, he's a middling performer; his code is a mess (initializing variables that are never used, using variable names no one else understands, etc.), he takes longer than he should, and he doesn't even remember his own code months later.

But Pat's poor coding skills aren't his most annoying attribute. What frustrates his manager the most is that Pat is absolutely convinced that he's a great programmer. Last month was Pat's performance review, and after receiving a low score from his manager, Pat incredulously argued:
"I'm one of the best programmers in this department! What kind of rating scale are you even using if someone with my talent can get a low score? There's no way that your performance review form is accurately assessing my abilities. Or maybe you're just assessing a bunch of stuff that has nothing to do with actually being a programmer!"
If you've ever dealt with someone whose performance stinks, and they're not only clueless that their performance stinks but they're confident that their performance is good, you likely saw the Dunning-Kruger Effect in action.
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Stock Up

Trump effect: DJIA hits the 20,000 point milestone for the first time


RT
Wed, 25 Jan 2017 14:59 UTC
DJIA hits 20,000
© Lucas Jackson
The US premier stock index the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit the 20,000 point milestone for the first time on hopes US President Donald Trump's administration will boost infrastructure spending.

The index came close to reaching the historical high on January 6, as investors were inspired by pro-growth policies and tax cuts from Trump.

"A seminal moment. It is just a number but it is a big number, it is certainly a flashy number," said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer of Solaris Group in Bedford Hills, New York, as quoted by Reuters.
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Heart

DC waitress overwhelmed by message, tip left by Trump supporters


Fox News
Wed, 25 Jan 2017 17:28 UTC
Waitress receives $450 tip
The message Trump supporters left for the waitress on their receipt - with a $450 tip
A waitress at a Washington D.C. restaurant received a very generous tip and a warm message on her receipt from three men who were in town for President Donald Trump's inauguration.

Rosalynd Harris, who works at Busboys and Poets in the northwest part of the nation's capital, told The Washington Post she was beaming with confidence Monday after taking part in the Women's March over the weekend.

A group of men from west Texas entered the restaurant and started to chat with Harris. One of the men, who said he was a dentist, complimented her on her smile. Harris, who is black, told the Post she was admittedly a bit prejudice when the men, who were white, told her they were in town to support Trump.

However, Harris didn't expect what would come next.
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Map

Future of Standing Rock Protests uncertain as Trump approves Keystone and Dakota Access Pipelines

Claire Bernish
The Free Thought Project
Wed, 25 Jan 2017 17:14 UTC
standing rock statement, standing rock press release
After President Donald Trump issued Executive Orders greenlighting both the Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipelines, protests erupted from coast to coast — including in the nation's capital — as the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Morton County Sheriff's Department, and clean energy advocates were left scrambling to make sense of the abrupt power play.

Rumors have circulated for months law enforcement would opportune the first chance to forcefully evict water protectors from the camps — whether under the guise of safety, since several sit amid a spring flood plain, or under the premise of illegality despite the location being part of lands granted to the tribe by treaties over a century ago by the U.S. government. Now, thanks to Trump, the future of pipeline opposition camps looks grim.

According to a statement,

"The Morton County Sheriff's Department is monitoring the area of the camps in the event that protestors choose to gather in opposition to the executive action. While the department does not release details of its operational plans and strategies or confirm the number of law enforcement it has available to respond at any given time, the department does have plans to respond and deal with any potential protest actions that may become unlawful. This is prudent when it comes to what the department does and how it prepares for situations."
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Penis Pump

South Dakota declares Pornography a health crisis


RT
Wed, 25 Jan 2017 16:56 UTC
porn viewed on phone
© Edgard Garrido / Reuters
Senators in South Dakota have passed a resolution declaring pornography a public health crisis, joining Virginia and Utah among that states stepping up efforts to highlight the dangers of x-rated adult material.

According to resolution SCR4, passed in South Dakota, porn leads to risky sexual activity, low-self esteem and sometimes eating disorders.

Advances in technology are exposing young children to pornography "at an alarming rate," and pornography is "linked to a lessening desire in young persons to marry," the resolution states.

Comment: For more on porn:

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Magnify

Famed Jamaican relay team, including Usain Bolt, stripped of 2008 Beijing Olympics gold medal over doping violation


Sputnik
Wed, 25 Jan 2017 16:58 UTC
usain bolt
© REUTERS/ Lucy Nicholson
Usain Bolt has been stripped of 2008 Beijing Olympics gold medal, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Wednesday.

Usain Bolt has been stripped of his 4x100metres relay gold medal from the 2008 Beijing Olympics, along with the rest of the Jamaican men's relay team, as a result of teammate Nesta Carter being disqualified for a doping violation, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Wednesday.

"The Jamaican team is disqualified from the men's 4x100m relay event. The corresponding medals, medallist pins and diplomas are withdrawn and shall be returned," the IOC statement reads.

Comment: While the West was on a witch hunt against Russia for a non-existent "widespread state-sponsored doping" program, plenty of other countries around the world were busy cheating their way to gold medals. Perhaps the Western media ought to back off of their canonization of Usain Bolt and the Jamaican sprinters now that they have been shown to be skirting the edges of illegal behavior in order to gain an advantage against the rest of the world.

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Cult

'Scientology knock-off': Whistleblower exposes Access Consciousness as 'cult' that thinks 'children are sexy'

Mary Baines
RT
Wed, 25 Jan 2017 15:33 UTC
Almost two years after Jane started 'personal development' course Access Consciousness, she realized she was no longer "thinking for herself." Nearly £20,000 out of pocket and horrified at the group leader's claim "children are sexy," although not to be abused, she cut herself loose.

Access Consciousness claims to be about self-improvement - promising to assist people with their health, weight, money, sex, relationships and anxiety by helping members, known as 'Accessories,' to become more "conscious."

Since Access Consciousness was created in America in the 1990s, thousands of people worldwide say it has transformed their lives. A quick internet search, however, dredges up accusations by some that it is a scam cooked up by a conman to rinse the vulnerable of their savings, a "scientology knock-off," and even a cult.
Access Consciousness

Comment: It sounds like Gary Douglass is a sexual predator and a conman who left Scientology once he learned enough manipulation techniques to start his own religion cult that he's based on a rehashing of Scientology's ideas. For more on Scientology:

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Camcorder

Cops sic K9 on man while he's filming them arresting his cousin

Matt Agorist
The Free Thought Project
Wed, 25 Jan 2017 16:47 UTC
k9, police dog
Filming the police is entirely legal, in every state. However, all too often, we will see police officers overstep their authority and arrest, attack, and assault innocent people for the constitutionally protected act of documenting their behavior in public. Although the Free Thought Project has covered many such cases in the past, we've never seen police release a K9 on a person filming — until now.

Ohio state troopers were at the home of Dannie Oliver Monday night, to arrest his cousin. Upset at the way police treated him, as he was entirely innocent, Oliver took to Facebook live to document the actions of the police.

While it was unclear as to why his cousin was being arrested, it appeared that he had just pulled up to Oliver's home and was followed there by police. As his cousin is getting taken away, he asked Oliver to call his mother to tell her about the arrest. He then asks Oliver to get his driver's license for him and turn off his car that was still running with the door open.

As Oliver attempts to reach into his cousin's car — while filming — the cop goes on a power trip.

Comment: Yet another instance of excessive force being used against a man innocent of any crime. It seems as if he was attacked by the police because they did not like the fact that he was recording them. Here is the original posting for the video on Oliver's facebook.

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Stock Down

Economist group: US downgraded from 'full democracy' to 'flawed democracy' by #fakenewsmedia "due to declining trust in system"


RT
Wed, 25 Jan 2017 16:54 UTC
protesters
© Stephanie Keith / Reuters
The US has been downgraded from a 'full democracy' to a 'flawed democracy' for the first time due to a declining trust in the political system, a trend which helped to underpin Donald Trump's ascension to the White House.

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) said in its yearly report, released on Wednesday, that Trump's election victory, however, is not to blame for the democratic deficit in the US.

Instead, a waning trust in the political system provided the conditions for the toppling of the established political class by the wealthy New York businessman, according to the report.
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Popcorn

FBI Probing Sundance Cyberattack as Filmmakers Cry Foul Blaming the Russians

Tatiana Siegel
The Hollywood Reporter
Mon, 23 Jan 2017 11:17 UTC
Sundace Film Festival, Park City, Utah
© Tibrina Hobson/Getty
Park City, Utah
"The FBI is reviewing the case. At this point, we do not have any reason to believe the cyberattack was targeted towards a specific film," said a Sundance spokesperson.

The plot is thickening in the tale of the mysterious cyberattack that crippled the Sundance Film Festival's box-office systems over the weekend.

The FBI is investigating the hack and is working with Sundance officials to identify the culprit, a festival spokesperson tells The Hollywood Reporter. Although the festival was able to get its ticketing systems back online within an hour of the Saturday breach, multiple other denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on Sundance's IT infrastructure followed. A DDoS attack works by flooding the bandwidth or resources of a targeted server.

Comment: See also:

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