richjohnston

Comment Threads

• J Thomas commented on The latest Hugo awards storm
  michennz, I did not think I was refuting you. Pardon me for giving the impression I thought I was doing that. No, I don't think this refutes anything you said. As I understsand it, somebody else said to try not to look like prey. You asked how someone can not look like prey when society has gone to great efforts to train them to look like prey. I intended to say that it's a hard situation and all of us must deal with it as best we can. Not at all disagreeing with you....
• J Thomas commented on The latest Hugo awards storm
  "The UK, which has most certainly gone through the demographic transition, is about the third, from memory, most unequal society on this planet." Yes, but when they had their draconian laws they were a distinctly unequal society with high birth and death rates. So it fits his correlation. If they changed the laws but are still very unequal, that fits too. If they changed the laws before the demographic transition that wouldn't fit, but it doesn't have to fit perfectly. Correlations don't have to be 100%....
• Charlie Stross commented on The latest Hugo awards storm
  The UK's gini coefficient has shot up over the past 30 years, with the steepest rise occurring since the conserva-dem coalition was elected in 2010. It went from 0.26 in early 1979 to over 0.40 today -- from Scandinavian Socialist levels to levels approaching those of a sub-Saharan kleptocracy. In contrast, the UK's demographic transition occurred between 1860 and 1940. (After which, the gini coefficient dropped to the all time low it hit in the 1970s.)...
• micheinnz commented on The latest Hugo awards storm
  Forgiven, and I apologise for my part in the misunderstanding. This is a fraught subject; feels run high. Score one for civilised discourse, eh?...
• J Thomas commented on The latest Hugo awards storm
  Yes, thank you. Civilised discourse FTW!...