Bill Maher doesn’t know how science works

[Moonbeam]

Controversy = attention = ratings boosts = higher pricing for advertising = more cash for Bill.

A formula that every well-known conservative talking head practically lived/lives on and by, ie- every single talking head at FOX, Limbaugh, conservative AM talk radio etc. Don't see why Maher is any different. In the end, all trails lead to the double bottomed line.

That being said, it's much easier for the right to create controversies because they're mostly, if not all of it based on lies and misinformation. Much harder for the left to create controversy based on facts and truths, although Trump really did make things much easier for the left just from being who he is.

It seems that Maher is stuck in the middle of it all, playing both sides in order to, among other reasons, keep his ratings (income) from suffering due to the way the current political winds are blowing.

Personally, I've never considered Maher's dry wit as being comedic, he seems to be more of a third rate D list version of guys like Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.

Always plenty of money to be made collecting an audience of people who don’t know they feel worthless and helping them th laugh at the inferiority of others. We didn’t get to feel worthless by never being ridiculed so getting even by doing it to others is a worldwide pass-time. Hating one’s self makes people bitter.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Spoiler alert: Maher's always been this way. This is the same man who had Milo Yannipolus on and challenged him on none of his points. He's always been an idiot asshole, it's just his irreverent schtick gets people to think he's really being deep and witty.

This. Maher is liberals' Rogan. I've never understood people's enjoyment of any talk shows (they're all shit and have always been shit). But even as far as they go, Maher's has been one of the worst for a long time. I've never understood the appeal. I tried helping some of the liberal people on here that for some fucking reason watch Maher, have a wakeup call by pointing out that someonsidiot was a religious viewer (and is a big part of how he ended up like he did). But people kept defending Maher's trash behavior and other bullshit.

At some point the onus is on you (meaning the people that kept defending Maher when it was long ago apparent who he actually is) to recognize this shit.

 

[darkswordsman17]

You are doing the exact same thing he is doing and you, like him, aren’t even aware of it. You’ve uncritically accepted the rights narrative about the “diseased left”. Just how much social media do you consume?

Seems like he just subs to Jordan Peterson's Only Fans. Which is why he's so fucked in the head.

 

[trenchfoot]

Always plenty of money to be made collecting an audience of people who don’t know they feel worthless and helping them th laugh at the inferiority of others. We didn’t get to feel worthless by never being ridiculed so getting even by doing it to others is a worldwide pass-time. Hating one’s self makes people bitter.

I used to have a really hard time determining the difference between being constructively ridiculed and being ridiculed to make the ridiculer feel good/better about themselves because pointing out my failures as a human being, especially when being comparatively ridiculed to others of whom I strived to emulate was always a humiliating experience.

So I decided that one way to escape from this negative experience was to make myself the most severe ridiculer of them all of myself and to strive to appease that father of all ridiculers. I found that being ridiculed of me by myself turned the humility I felt into humbleness. The pain I felt from being ridiculed by myself morphed into a desire to better at every aspect of what I wanted to be in life, including being a better person. And that right there led to a whole new perspective that led me to see things more broadly and much less personally, a much more positive view of things came into being where making lemonade out of lemons is a way of life, where giving of oneself can produce worthwhile pain and suffering. Living life is good in that way. You get used and exploited being that way, but the return on investment is the lifelong friends that you make along the way, something that money can't ever buy.

Apologies from drifting off-topic, just something that popped out of my head.

 

[Moonbeam]

Missing link. However, if you have to go back to 2016 for an example I think you've already proven my point. Also, if you are questioning if it's "gotten worse" I'm 99% sure you don't have an actual example of violation of free speech because it's binary true/false condition.

Edit: as expected 100% not even close to a violation of free speech. Please familiarize yourself with what the actual 1st amendment says.

Do me a favor and pretend what I say is just me not knowing the right words for what you know I mean.

There is a growing desire on the left to drown out the efforts of those with opposing views on the right access to having their opinions heard. That includes sticking fingers in ones
Ears and shouting insults. The other day I was told by someone not to mention Jordan Peterson in the house she lives in rent and bill free. I will honor that demand because her peace of mind is more important to me than my need to speak but it does amuse me. She is someone I love. But that house she so fiercely defended against such a dangerous threat is owned by me.

 

[dank69]

Do me a favor and pretend what I say is just me not knowing the right words for what you know I mean.

What you mean is that you want "silencing free speech" to mean whatever you think it should mean instead of what it actually means, OR

you mean you don't like these things/behaviors you see and can't find a way to express how you feel they are dangerous and/or misguided without making comparisons with 1A violations.

I'll assume you mean the latter, in which case the reason you can't express it properly is because you have accepted an equivalency that does not exist. Nobody has a right to take a shit on a college campus stage and I'm not sure why you seem hellbent on fighting for someone else's right to do so. That's a lie, I do know it's because for some reason you've also allowed yourself to believe Dr. Peterson’s shits contain valuable gold nuggets if we polish them the right way.

There is a growing desire on the left to drown out the efforts of those with opposing views on the right access to having their opinions heard. That includes sticking fingers in ones
Ears and shouting insults. The other day I was told by someone not to mention Jordan Peterson in the house she lives in rent and bill free. I will honor that demand because her peace of mind is more important to me than my need to speak but it does amuse me. She is someone I love. But that house she so fiercely defended against such a dangerous threat is owned by me.

I will send you one internet cookie for not kicking someone you love out of your home because she doesn't want to eat shit. People for some reason have pretty strong reactions to being fed shit.

 

[Pontius Dilate]

You lack a central insight that prevents you from understanding me. I see the human condition as in a way you can’t.

You should lead with this on every post. Conveniently sets expectations for the reader regarding your ego and the lock it has on your simplistic view of the world and human beings.

 

[pmv]

I brought this up in another thread that the core to Bill's change of heart came down to money. Several of Bill's in person shows that he does across the country, several have bern canceled due to covid and more so during the omicron outbreak. That seems to have set Bill off in a rage. Canceled appearances, lost income, Bill got pissed. First, Bill had to jump through hoops getting his home solar system approved and up and running. That nightmare of red tape was too much. Then, Bill finally got back to the road with his personal appearance shows, then along comes omicron to screw up Bill's plans. Bill has adopted the mindset of most republicans, feeling that covid is not a big threat to the general public, and people get covid but most people recover. Bill himself had covid and his experience with the virus was minimal. So it comes down to frustration, unwarranted cancelations, and loss of income. And for Maher, that loss of income is pretty severe considering his salary for one personal appearance show. How is Bill to donate one million to a presidential candidate if his shows are getting canceled? And Bill has no control over it?

Interesting. People's views do usually turn out to be a function of material self-interest, it's true. The only complication to that is that people can also identify their self-interest with a larger group interest, and the group people identify with can change.

 

[cytg111]

Do me a favor and pretend what I say is just me not knowing the right words for what you know I mean.

There is a growing desire on the left to drown out the efforts of those with opposing views on the right access to having their opinions heard. That includes sticking fingers in ones
Ears and shouting insults. The other day I was told by someone not to mention Jordan Peterson in the house she lives in rent and bill free. I will honor that demand because her peace of mind is more important to me than my need to speak but it does amuse me. She is someone I love. But that house she so fiercely defended against such a dangerous threat is owned by me.

Its pretty fucking simple is it not? Its reactive. Its reactive to "Jews will not replace us" and other neo nazi fascist racist shittery rising on the right, on the conservative side of the isle. And yea, not all of them be Hitler Jugend or Gestapo but, when marching, looking to your right and there is a KKK, looking to your left be a Nazi... and your name be Jordan fucking Peterson? Then fuck you too Peter. And lets be real honest about it, Peterson knows EXACTLY where is subs was coming from. He TOOK THE MONEY. So. Fuck him.

You lack a central insight that prevents you from understanding me. I see the human condition as in a way you can’t.

What is this superiority bullshit right here? Are you for fucking real? Yea, 100% pal ... you ego is SO DEAD... totally not bringing about illusions of grandeur.

 

[pmv]

I don't understand why people struggle to grasp that scientific results change. Science is the piecemeal explanation of the world at large. It's no different than when you go to your doctor's office and they start out thinking that X is going on but then a MRI or CT suggests that Y is actually what's happening and then you get a biopsy which says Z is happening and that is the final conclusion. The docs are not bad docs nor are they lying to you each step of the way. It's that they are getting increasing amounts of information to work with. It's not hard to understand. It would be great if we could snap our fingers and understand everything perfectly from the start. However that's not how science actually works.

I think that's overly-simplistic, and it neglects the social and institutional factors that influence the behaviour of science-communicators and also doctors. That's the _ideal_ but it's often not the only thing involved in reality.

 

[Moonbeam]

What you mean is that you want "silencing free speech" to mean whatever you think it should mean instead of what it actually means, OR

you mean you don't like these things/behaviors you see and can't find a way to express how you feel they are dangerous and/or misguided without making comparisons with 1A violations.

I'll assume you mean the latter, in which case the reason you can't express it properly is because you have accepted an equivalency that does not exist. Nobody has a right to take a shit on a college campus stage and I'm not sure why you seem hellbent on fighting for someone else's right to do so. That's a lie, I do know it's because for some reason you've also allowed yourself to believe Dr. Peterson’s shits contain valuable gold nuggets if we polish them the right way.

I will send you one internet cookie for not kicking someone you love out of your home because she doesn't want to eat shit. People for some reason have pretty strong reactions to being fed shit.

Indeed they do. They just can't wait for an opportunity to allow themselves to dump on the world guilt free. We need to excuse the horrible ugliness of our hate and never come close to seeing where it comes from, the utter contempt we were held in when we acted out as children. That personal delusion you indulge in is the reason for me, just like you, you can never go back to religion. Few voluntarily return to a mental prison. But nothing stops envy of the escaped or a desire not to allow any others to get free. Trust that live is good.

 

[pmv]

What is this superiority bullshit right here? Are you for fucking real? Yea, 100% pal ... you ego is SO DEAD... totally not bringing about illusions of grandeur.

Yeah, that's why I eventually gave up and put him on ignore. I found I was skipping past all his repetitive, self-praising posts (I could write them for myself - "something, something, self-hatred, something, something, inner child, self-praise, blah, blah", so might as well just not see them.

 

[Moonbeam]

Its pretty fucking simple is it not? Its reactive. Its reactive to "Jews will not replace us" and other neo nazi fascist racist shittery rising on the right, on the conservative side of the isle. And yea, not all of them be Hitler Jugend or Gestapo but, when marching, looking to your right and there is a KKK, looking to your left be a Nazi... and your name be Jordan fucking Peterson? Then fuck you too Peter. And lets be real honest about it, Peterson knows EXACTLY where is subs was coming from. He TOOK THE MONEY. So. Fuck him.


What is this superiority bullshit right here? Are you for fucking real? Yea, 100% pal ... you ego is SO DEAD... totally not bringing about illusions of grandeur.

Nothing I tell you wont tell you how superior I am because you wear your inferiority complex on your sleeve. O course I am superior. Unlike you I am aware of that same feeling within me and am thus better able to ignore it. And, boy oh boy, let me just tell you how fantastic that makes me. I am so fantastic, in fact, that a puny nothing of a worthless worm like you looks to be an ugly duckling or maybe a caterpillar. Run along now and go munch on a leaf, you beautiful beautiful boy.

 

[Moonbeam]

Yeah, that's why I eventually gave up and put him on ignore. I found I was skipping past all his repetitive, self-praising posts (I could write them for myself - "something, something, self-hatred, something, something, inner child, self-praise, blah, blah", so might as well just not see them.

If I felt as worthless as you do I would lash out at anything that challenged that assumption. Oh wait, I do.

 

[cytg111]

Nothing I tell you wont tell you how superior I am because you wear your inferiority complex on your sleeve. O course I am superior. Unlike you I am aware of that same feeling within me and am thus better able to ignore it. And, boy oh boy, let me just tell you how fantastic that makes me. I am so fantastic, in fact, that a puny nothing of a worthless worm like you looks to be an ugly duckling or maybe a caterpillar. Run along now and go munch on a leaf, you beautiful beautiful boy.

I think its time for one of your exorcisms again, your head is spinning.

 

[Moonbeam]

People for some reason have pretty strong reactions to being fed shit.

Your job, should you chose to accept, it is to really understand why. How can what other people think affect you? That people dont like eating shit will not do. First comes the belief you know what shit is. Then comes the prize, justification. Everything that you analyze for truthfulness will be done from an assumption you make that can never be proven correct. Down that path lies hopeless despair. Perhaps that's not in your wheelhouse.

 

[MtnMan]

I never thought he was funny, but I did agree with "some" things he has said, but found the majority to just be lame. I used to watch "real time with BM" when we had HBO, but primarily for his guests.

 

[Bitek]

I think Bill needs to get out of CA for a little while. Many of his COVID rants are very CA centric, and CA has been on the opposite end of the spectrum from FL, and ridiculous in their own regard.

As far as social issues go, he's usually a bit ahead of the curve. He was with the danger of Trump (esp when Malcolm Nance is on) and I think he is here too with the far left woke nuttiness that can tank the party's image.

Fortunately, I think far more Democrats are towards the center and he's just missing it due to his perspective. Yes it's worrisome, but the D party is not defined by the woke mob on Twitter.

 

[Moonbeam]

I think Bill needs to get out of CA for a little while. Many of his COVID rants are very CA centric, and CA has been on the opposite end of the spectrum from FL, and ridiculous in their own regard.

As far as social issues go, he's usually a bit ahead of the curve. He was with the danger of Trump (esp when Malcolm Nance is on) and I think he is here too with the far left woke nuttiness that can tank the party's image.

Fortunately, I think far more Democrats are towards the center and he's just missing it due to his perspective. Yes it's worrisome, but the D party is not defined by the woke mob on Twitter.

Not so defined by whom? Nice dream you have there. The center of the Democratic party will bring no real change. The authoritarian left will help the right stay in power. Only true progressives that aren't triggered by fear have any political change that can make a real difference. Those are all based on Democratic ideals. Equality not based on gender identity, justice based on the recognition that not everybody in your own tent can't be guilty of things, equality of opportunity, not of outcome, etc etc etc. There are the woke and then there are the real woke who appropriated the name.

 

[dank69]

Your job, should you chose to accept, it is to really understand why. How can what other people think affect you? That people dont like eating shit will not do. First comes the belief you know what shit is. Then comes the prize, justification. Everything that you analyze for truthfulness will be done from an assumption you make that can never be proven correct. Down that path lies hopeless despair. Perhaps that's not in your wheelhouse.

How can what other people think affect me? I don't know, how can 74 million Americans thinking Donald Trump would be a better president than Joe Biden affect me? I clearly can't think of millions of examples of how what people think can affect me. It isn't me who thinks Peterson is shit. It is many people way smarter than me and qualified to actually judge how full of shit he is. Perhaps you know better because Rogan or Maher don't think Peterson is full of shit. I don't provide justification, experts do. You dismiss expert advice out of hand. That's a great way to make sure you never find truth.

 

[Moonbeam]

This. Maher is liberals' Rogan. I've never understood people's enjoyment of any talk shows (they're all shit and have always been shit). But even as far as they go, Maher's has been one of the worst for a long time. I've never understood the appeal. I tried helping some of the liberal people on here that for some fucking reason watch Maher, have a wakeup call by pointing out that someonsidiot was a religious viewer (and is a big part of how he ended up like he did). But people kept defending Maher's trash behavior and other bullshit.

At some point the onus is on you (meaning the people that kept defending Maher when it was long ago apparent who he actually is) to recognize this shit.

Just so you know, compared to my opinion of talk shows yours looks like faint praise. I just don't happen to need so badly to tell everybody how much more sophisticated my tastes are than theirs. I'll make an exception for you.

 

[balloonshark]

I had to quit watching him this past year. I got tired of the fox-like rants and how he won't STFU and let his guests talk. I also got tired of hearing about his damn solar project until he whined so much on tv and used his fame to get the project done.

 

[Moonbeam]

How can what other people think affect me? I don't know, how can 74 million Americans thinking Donald Trump would be a better president than Joe Biden affect me? I clearly can't think of millions of examples of how what people think can affect me. It isn't me who thinks Peterson is shit. It is many people way smarter than me and qualified to actually judge how full of shit he is. Perhaps you know better because Rogan or Maher don't think Peterson is full of shit. I don't provide justification, experts do. You dismiss expert advice out of hand. That's a great way to make sure you never find truth.

More truth as it appears inside a paper bag:

How can what other people think affect me? I don't know, how can 74 million Americans thinking Donald Trump would be a better president than Joe Biden affect me? (Indeed, how. You don't believe in Democracy, that others are free to elect someone of their own choice, that people don't have any choice at all if they can't also chose badly?) I clearly can't think of millions of examples of how (you allow) what people think can (to) affect me(you). (Meanwhile what you chose that affect to be based on past indoctrination and prejudice, all unconsciously assumed to be correct, you decide from that world view the quality and nature of what that affect is on you. A leopard jumps through your window and suddenly you will have other pressing affects to attend to.) It isn't me who thinks Peterson is shit.(It is and you are about to provide justification, a primary concern who had respect beaten into them and are looking for guilt free retribution.) (It is many people way smarter than me and qualified to actually judge how full of shit he is. (Because you grant them the opinion they have that ability and wisdom you lack. I make no assumption that intelligence and freedom from bias are anything alike. It is the quality of a child-like mind, or so I've heard, that's a required ticket to heaven.) Perhaps you know better because Rogan or Maher don't think Peterson is full of shit. (I don't know anything. I listen to occasional bits of their stuff and I don't hear what others say about those bits. Does that mean I automatically assume all criticism of them is false? No.} I don't provide justification, experts do. (As you clearly already said you allow experts to allow you to apply your own justification. It is what you are doing regardless of what you want to call it) You dismiss expert advice out of hand. (No, I question it when I does not accord with what I can plainly see.) That's a great way to make sure you never find truth. (Indeed, questioning authority is an excellent way to avoid falling into orthodoxy that leads to a rigidity of opinion.)

 

[dank69]

More truth as it appears inside a paper bag:

How can what other people think affect me? I don't know, how can 74 million Americans thinking Donald Trump would be a better president than Joe Biden affect me? (Indeed, how. You don't believe in Democracy, that others are free to elect someone of their own choice, that people don't have any choice at all if they can't also chose badly?) I clearly can't think of millions of examples of how (you allow) what people think can (to) affect me(you). (Meanwhile what you chose that affect to be based on past indoctrination and prejudice, all unconsciously assumed to be correct, you decide from that world view the quality and nature of what that affect is on you. A leopard jumps through your window and suddenly you will have other pressing affects to attend to.)

Who says I don't believe in democracy? You asked for an example of other people's thoughts affecting me and I gave you 74 million of them as just one example out of millions more examples. You can believe that you can enlighten yourself out of the consequences of the thoughts and the actions that follow from them but I prefer to operate in the real world where putting you hand on the hot stove will burn you whether you believe it will or won't.

Just because I don't agree with their choice doesn't mean I think they should be denied that choice. Denying others their choice is the conservative jam these days in case you haven't noticed, and is another example of people's thoughts directly affecting other people.

It isn't me who thinks Peterson is shit.(It is and you are about to provide justification, a primary concern who had respect beaten into them and are looking for guilt free retribution.) (It is many people way smarter than me and qualified to actually judge how full of shit he is. (Because you grant them the opinion they have that ability and wisdom you lack. I make no assumption that intelligence and freedom from bias are anything alike. It is the quality of a child-like mind, or so I've heard, that's a required ticket to heaven.)

I don't grant them anything. They have credentials. The same types of credentials you yourself claim Peterson has when talking about why you think he is someone worth listening to.

Perhaps you know better because Rogan or Maher don't think Peterson is full of shit. (I don't know anything. I listen to occasional bits of their stuff and I don't hear what others say about those bits. Does that mean I automatically assume all criticism of them is false? No.} I don't provide justification, experts do. (As you clearly already said you allow experts to allow you to apply your own justification. It is what you are doing regardless of what you want to call it) You dismiss expert advice out of hand. (No, I question it when I does not accord with what I can plainly see.) That's a great way to make sure you never find truth. (Indeed, questioning authority is an excellent way to avoid falling into orthodoxy that leads to a rigidity of opinion.)

What you can see? What does what you can see have to do with whose opinion you believe when it comes to pandemics or climate or most other things? It seems like you are saying you trust your feeling over actual evidence. Feel free to clarify if you think that isn't the case. Question authority or question expertise? Because most propaganda requires conflating things like these in exactly this way.

 

[Moonbeam]

Who says I don't believe in democracy? You asked for an example of other people's thoughts affecting me and I gave you 74 million of them as just one example out of millions more examples. You can believe that you can enlighten yourself out of the consequences of the thoughts and the actions that follow from them but I prefer to operate in the real world where putting you hand on the hot stove will burn you whether you believe it will or won't.

Just because I don't agree with their choice doesn't mean I think they should be denied that choice. Denying others their choice is the conservative jam these days in case you haven't noticed, and is another example of people's thoughts directly affecting other people.

I don't grant them anything. They have credentials. The same types of credentials you yourself claim Peterson has when talking about why you think he is someone worth listening to.

What you can see? What does what you can see have to do with whose opinion you believe when it comes to pandemics or climate or most other things? It seems like you are saying you trust your feeling over actual evidence. Feel free to clarify if you think that isn't the case. Question authority or question expertise? Because most propaganda requires conflating things like these in exactly this way.

I look at things differently. I died and woke up. I understood in a flash what it is to be the Alpha and Omega.

Hi, you beautiful person. I am going to take a nap.

Laters.