• garretble@lemmy.world
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    11 days ago

    I keep having this feeling like all these GOP idiots think musk is really super duper smart because he can at a really basic level speak in some technical terms they just don’t understand. So as a result they think he’s just sooo smart.

    This is a party full of ancient people. “A series of tubes” party. So anyone who has a little bit of technical knowledge will sound like a wizard to them with the bonus that they might be able to grift off of it all.

    Or musk is just a rich asshole and they all want to be rich assholes so they cozy up to him.

    • Carmakazi@lemmy.world
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      11 days ago

      I know this is damning to admit here, but back when I was willing to watch Joe Rogan I distinctly remember during Elon’s episode (the one where he hit a joint and tanked Tesla stock, not the latest one), the topic went to electric airplanes. Elon was talking technical about it and Joe was sitting there wide-eyed like he was revealing the secrets of the weave of the universe, sure that aerospace was going to be revolutionized by this man.

      Maybe I’m the stupid one here, but I’m pretty sure he was just talking about how airfoils generate lift. You know, the stuff the Wright brothers figured out in the 19-aughts. Its in high school physics textbooks.

      • krashmo@lemmy.world
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        11 days ago

        Most technology is magic to the average person. It doesn’t take much to sound like an expert.

        • KnightontheSun@lemmy.world
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          11 days ago

          For a number of years now, work has been proceeding in order to bring perfection to the crudely conceived idea of a transmission that would not only supply inverse reactive current for use in unilateral phase detractors, but would also be capable of automatically synchronizing cardinal grammeters. Such an instrument is the turbo encabulator.

          Now basically the only new principle involved is that instead of power being generated by the relative motion of conductors and fluxes, it is produced by the modial interaction of magneto-reluctance and capacitive diractance.

          The original machine had a base plate of pre-famulated amulite surmounted by a malleable logarithmic casing in such a way that the two spurving bearings were in a direct line with the panametric fan. The latter consisted simply of six hydrocoptic marzlevanes, so fitted to the ambifacient lunar waneshaft that side fumbling was effectively prevented.

          The main winding was of the normal lotus-o-delta type placed in panendermic semi-boloid slots of the stator, every seventh conductor being connected by a non-reversible tremie pipe to the differential girdle spring on the “up” end of the grammeters.

          The turbo-encabulator has now reached a high level of development, and it’s being successfully used in the operation of novertrunnions. Moreover, whenever a forescent skor motion is required, it may also be employed in conjunction with a drawn reciprocation dingle arm, to reduce sinusoidal repleneration.

          • sp3ctr4l@lemmy.zip
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            9 days ago

            The missile knows where it is at all times. It knows this because it knows where it isn’t. By subtracting where it is from where it isn’t, or where it isn’t from where it is (whichever is greater), it obtains a difference, or deviation.

            The guidance subsystem uses deviations to generate corrective commands to drive the missile from a position where it is to a position where it isn’t, and arriving at a position where it wasn’t, it now is.

            Consequently, the position where it is, is now the position that it wasn’t, and it follows that the position that it was, is now the position that it isn’t. In the event that the position that it is in is not the position that it wasn’t, the system has acquired a variation, the variation being the difference between where the missile is, and where it wasn’t.

            If variation is considered to be a significant factor, it too may be corrected by the GEA. However, the missile must also know where it was.

            The missile guidance computer scenario works as follows. Because a variation has modified some of the information the missile has obtained, it is not sure just where it is. However, it is sure where it isn’t, within reason, and it knows where it was. It now subtracts where it should be from where it wasn’t, or vice-versa, and by differentiating this from the algebraic sum of where it shouldn’t be, and where it was, it is able to obtain the deviation and its variation, which is called error.

        • vaultdweller013@sh.itjust.works
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          10 days ago

          I have literally baffled people with my knowledge of Neolithic technology, the fact people stuggle with modern technology isnt exactly surprising.

      • masterofn001@lemmy.ca
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        11 days ago

        I understood lift pitch roll yaw etc in grade school when I became obsessed with making paper airplanes.

        I speak house now?

      • tb_@lemmy.world
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        9 days ago

        Angela Collier just released a video about how billionaires really want to be seen as physicists, whilst most of them dropped out of college. “I could’ve become”, “I considered to” and so on.

        They really want to be perceived as smart. I don’t get any brownie points for saying “I thought about getting a PhD”, why should they?
        Especially when they can hire several professors to teach them personally with their billions of dollars.

        It’s a long video, but well worth the watch.

        • futatorius@lemm.ee
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          8 days ago

          Especially when they can hire several professors to teach them personally with their billions of dollars.

          But they never do, do they?

        • msage@programming.dev
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          9 days ago

          Not everyone, only the rich ones.

          I remember Neil deGrasse Tyson, and it was a completely different attitude than anyone rich, no matter how technical or dumb they are.

          Joe is a motherfucking asshole, nobody should listen to anything he says, or anyone else willing to go talk to him.

    • Avid Amoeba@lemmy.ca
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      11 days ago

      This is pretty standard, and not limited to Republicans. A significant part of Jordan Peterson’s appeal came through the same process.

    • osaerisxero@kbin.melroy.org
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      11 days ago

      Hey, don’t paint mister Series of Tubes with that brush, that analogy is still more accurate than 99% of the bullshit about the internet coming out of DC

      • mosiacmango@lemm.ee
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        10 days ago

        Yeah…let’s not canonize Ted stevens. He was a massive piece of shit.

        That meme was him rallying against net neutrality while head of the senate commitee that regulated the internet.

        • osaerisxero@kbin.melroy.org
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          10 days ago

          Yeah, I’m not trying to call him a saint, only that he (or maybe more accurately his staffers) actually took the time to understand the thing he was talking about to some extent.

          • mosiacmango@lemm.ee
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            10 days ago

            Hard disagree.

            Listen to the whole rambling speech. Its a barely contained mess, a geriatric kaleidoscope of madness about of how the internet works, clearly filtered through whatever the Comcast lobbyists told him to think.

    • circuitfarmer@lemmy.sdf.org
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      10 days ago

      I’ve always thought that Elon Musk is a stupid person’s idea of what a smart person acts and looks like.

      He never really says anything of substance, but he says it while using big words and some unfamiliar accent (at least unfamiliar to those idolizing). That’s enough for many really stupid people. The fact he always pretends to be thinking about anything for the first time completes the aesthetic.

      A similar effect can be seen with Trump himself. A lot of dumb people read his nonsensical, stream of consciousness rambling style as intelligence. To someone with a brain, Trump is clearly just babbling with no overall point, except maybe repeating sound bites. But to many of his supporters, the fact he jumps around so much means they can’t keep up, and if they can’t keep up, welp, he must be real smart.

      • WaxiestSteam69@lemmy.world
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        10 days ago

        The same can be said about Trump and his supporters idea of a strong brave man. The bravado and insults are just covering up for fear and insecurity.

    • qantravon@lemmy.world
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      10 days ago

      I think it’s just secular prosperity gospel. He’s rich, therefore he must be smart. Right?

    • WaxiestSteam69@lemmy.world
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      10 days ago

      I was just thinking about listening to an unedited conversation between these two. Musk with his stammering incomplete sentences and Trump with his stream of run on nonsensical sentences. I don’t think I can handle it.

      The only way I can listen to Musk is on Common Sense Skeptic’s YouTube channel where he destammers Musk talking.

    • tal@lemmy.today
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      11 days ago

      GOP idiots

      Speaking specifically about Rand Paul, I’m pretty sure that Rand Paul has an MD, worked as a specialist doctor of some sort prior to entering the Senate, as I remember reading from his first race.

      checks Wikipedia

      Yeah, he’s an ophthalmologist, an eye surgeon.

      Says he went to Duke.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_University_School_of_Medicine

      Duke University School of Medicine is recognised as one of the best medical schools in the United States and the world. It is currently ranked #3 in the country, according to U.S. News & World Report’s rankings for best research medical schools in 2022.[15] Several Duke programs are ranked as some of the highest in the country. Top-ten nationally ranked programs for 2022 include surgery (ranked #2), anesthesia (ranked #4), internal medicine (ranked #5), radiology (ranked #6), pediatrics (ranked #7), obstetrics/gynecology (ranked #8), and psychiatry (ranked #10).[16] Historically, the Duke University School of Medicine consistently ranks in the top ten medical schools in the United States.[17]

      Admission to the school’s medical degree program is highly competitive, with more than 7,500 applicants for approximately 115 openings each year.[18]

      I doubt that he’s an idiot.

      If you’re speaking more-generally about people who may or may not be supporting Musk having a House role…shrugs don’t know who they are, so can’t know much about 'em.

      • reddig33@lemmy.world
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        11 days ago

        Have you heard Ben Carson speak about politics? He’s an actual brain surgeon. And an idiot. Just goes to show that having a medical degree doesn’t make someone a genius.

      • curbstickle@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        11 days ago

        I doubt that he’s an idiot.

        I know quite a few people who are brilliant in their field, yet absolute morons at everything else.

        He’s an idiot. He’s also an asshole.

        Just like his dad.

        • Carrolade@lemmy.world
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          11 days ago

          I may have disagreed with Ron on almost all things policy, but at least the man had a spine and stood up for his values with consistency. Rand does not.

          • curbstickle@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            11 days ago

            Values… Rooted in stupidity. His entire health care position was based on “well it used to be affordable for the poors, so its obviously medicare thats the problem”.

            Ron Paul is a dipshit of the highest caliber.

            But yes, I agree entirely that Rand has absolutely zero values. He’s also a top tier dipshit though.

          • futatorius@lemm.ee
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            8 days ago

            Ron Paul was one of the people trying to incorporate Rothbard’s neo-confederate bullshit into libertarianism. Because nothing’s more libertarian than Jim Crow or outright slavery, right?

            Not that libertarianism itself is much more than what some people think economics is, if they barely made it through the 101 course at a mediocre college.

      • AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.world
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        9 days ago

        He was the son of an influential congressman who also got a medical degree from Duke. You think that might have affected his chances of admission?

      • FiremanEdsRevenge@lemmy.world
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        11 days ago

        Just because you have a degree doesn’t mean you’re smart. That’s like saying Elon is a genius because he’s a billionaire. The two are not mutually exclusive.

        • otp@sh.itjust.works
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          10 days ago

          The two are not mutually exclusive.

          While true, I don’t think that’s what you’re trying to say. Maybe I’m having a brain fart, but not being mutually exclusive just means that he can be both a genius and a billionaire.

      • Gumby@lemmy.world
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        10 days ago

        I briefly had to fill in for some helpdesk tech support for doctors, and oh boy let me tell you, a LOT of them were absolute idiots, at least when it came to technology.

      • garretble@lemmy.world
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        11 days ago

        I feel like if you ask any nurse they know of at least a few doctors in their hospital that may be brilliant at their specific field but absolute dumbasses anywhere else. And often doctors - because they have a doctorate - think they are delicate geniuses themselves (shoutout Seinfeld).

        Like redding33 said: Ben Carson is very stupid, but he can separate conjoined twins like no other.

      • dream_weasel@sh.itjust.works
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        11 days ago

        Heres a hot take: you didn’t have to be that smart to be any kind of medical doctor. Good at memorizing? Hell yes. Persistent? You bet. Good at associations and drawing on things you’ve seen before? Absolutely. Good at reading between the lines and really solving the tough cases? Sometimes. Magic hands? Definitely if you’d like the big big money.

        At the end of the day most doctors are walking on ground someone else already traveled, and of course there are some greats who expand the field, but that’s not everybody. If youve got the tenacity to do any medical degree, kick butt. We need you and you earn your take with pride. You don’t need to win a nobel prize to be valuable.

        It is, however, NOT a job you get for being a great thinker. It’s a lot of college and a lot of residency and a lot of shoveling crap. A lot of thinking? Not compared to other education tracks or professions. You can absolutely be a medical doctor and be an idiot.

        This has been a soapbox rant about professional doctorates.

        • futatorius@lemm.ee
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          8 days ago

          I’d just like to add that, just because original research is not involved, that doesn’t make any of those skills common or easy to acquire.

      • xmunk@sh.itjust.works
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        11 days ago

        On the topic of being an idiot - you know how UHC denies so many health claims? They have doctors on the payroll to deny them.

        It’s surprisingly easy to be an idiot with a fancy title - just look at Elon Musk or King Chuck.

    • neoman4426@fedia.io
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      11 days ago

      Interestingly, no. There’s never been one who wasn’t, but there’s no actual law that says so. Some people floated the idea of appointing Donald then impeaching and convicting Biden and Harris on some bogus charge (or assassinating them, but that was usually an unsaid “wink wink, nudge nudge”) to get him back in. Musk should be out of the line of succession for President at least if it does happen though since unless I’m mistaken the “natural born citizen” part of the requirements still stands

    • Breve@pawb.social
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      11 days ago

      This is one of those Air Bud moments where they point out that there’s no rule saying an unelected person CAN’T be speaker…

      One problem with government is that there are lots of unspoken rules that have been followed as tradition but never formalized.

    • ramsorge@discuss.online
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      11 days ago

      Rules? Hehe. If no one gets punished, what are rules? If no one fights totalitarianism, I guess they want it.

  • Rapidcreek@lemmy.world
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    11 days ago

    First of all, where is Rand Paul’s neighbor now that we need him?

    Secondly, Elmo would be no more successful than Johnson. Which is to say not successful at all.

    • WaxiestSteam69@lemmy.world
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      10 days ago

      Since Elon is a naturalized citizen he’d be skipped in the line of succession. Unless the Republicans want to go ahead and wipe with the constitution.

      • GHiLA@sh.itjust.works
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        9 days ago

        The entire rest of the country is a joke, but for some reason a piece of paper is a stop-gap?

        Lmao, at this point they’d ignore the constitution and never acknowledge it.

        that’s unconstitutional?

        “Off to the fields with this one!”

  • hperrin@lemmy.ca
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    11 days ago

    He would be second in line to the presidency. That’s a scary thought, but honestly, could he be worse than Trump or Vance?

    Edit: never mind, he’s not qualified to be president.

  • DurbanPoison@feddit.nl
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    11 days ago

    Yes please give that man with that barely coherent Pretoria-English × US-attempting hybrid accent the job title of “Speaker”.

    • FundMECFSResearch@lemmy.blahaj.zoneOP
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      11 days ago

      His accent is literally the last thing that matters about him.

      It matters more that he’s literally the richest guy in the world, a massive cunt, massively power hungry, and barely american.

      • DurbanPoison@feddit.nl
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        11 days ago

        Oh, I know.

        It’s just funny, Rand Paul watching him mumble stupid shit at the Trump rally, and then thinking “Wow. What an excellent orator. We should make him the house speaker”.

        Republicans won the house, right? So I doubt the next incumbent house speaker is not going to be a total piece of shit.

        I doubt Elon will even acknowledge a nomination. House Speaker looks like a job where you can’t fly your private jets coast to coast nor tweet all fucking day nonstop.