I'm not Bothered: My Battle with Smarty-Pantsness

I have this really bad habit that drives a lot of people I know crazy, but I ain't bothered. Whenever I read something, or hear something, or and told something, my brain immediately goes "is this true?". And if it turns out to be true, my next question is "what explains it?". This reflex, much like swatting away flies, has gotten me far, but does not always make those around me happy.

So I comment on people's memes that have inaccurate information in them, I tell them their most deeply held beliefs, that they have organized their lives around, are bunk, and I frequently tell people, I will have to look that up later. They insist that I trust them, or I believe them for once, but that is not the issue for me, this is not a question of trust. If you have engaged me in a topic, I owe it to myself, but also to you, to have a full understanding of it. But rest assured, I know the difference between facts and opinions, and if you have a strongly held opinion, you are well within your right to hold it. But if you base your opinion on incorrect facts, I would just like to politely correct them. 

People can look at, and accept the same facts, and come to different conclusions, but it would be nice if we could agree on those baseline facts. I suppose that is why when the revolution comes the intellectuals are always the first to go. Facts are inconvenient, they are messy and get in the way of a good story. Who needs historians reminding the Minute Men that we've seen this anti-immigrant story before, or economists telling Republicans trickle-down economics does not work ever, or scientist warning us that global warming is real and we are causing it, or sociologists demonstrating that when you put a marginalized group on marginal land and cut them off from society and provide them few opportunities for advancement or integration you get violence and there are thousands of years of evidence in a variety of societies that shows this. 

These realities are inconvenient to power, to people's sense of self, to the bottom line. But it does not change the facts. So sometimes when you are trying to correct the record and popular misconceptions you'll annoy people. But that's ok, because I'm not bothered.

Uber America

I read articles suggesting that airbnb is contributing to high rents, and not the result of it. Because you know, who doesn't want strangers in their house when they are not there, or worse, when they are. It used to be called a break-in, now it's the only way to make rent. Just finished an article that notes most professors at US universities are adjunct, the "Uber of higher learning", who still have Masters or PhD, but accompanied by low pay and no job security.

Article after article noting that a 4-year degree is now the equivalent of a high school diploma, and that college grads have lower unemployment, yet are often working jobs that do not require a degree and that do not pay enough to cover their rent and pay back the loans. Everyone's a consultant, an independent contractor, a freelancer. So in short, you go to school, you get that degree, you land the job, all so you can charge people to sleep on your pull-out and drive an Uber at night to make ends meet, you know, the American dream. Well at least you have your freedom.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/laurie-jones/students-in-debt-professo_b_8402560.html