"[R]
esearchers found evidence that people are instinctively attracted to the smell emitted by those with similar ideologies. In one memorable instance, a female participant asked the scholars if she could take one of the samples home, describing it as “the best perfume I ever smelled.” The scent came from a man who shared her political views. Just before, a different woman with the opposite views had smelled the exact same sample, declared it “rancid,” and urged the researchers to throw it out. Ideological like-mindedness exerts a biological pull on our attraction, it seems — and deep disagreements can really stink."
I took this
test back in the late 90's early 2000's and I was not surprised then to find myself in the purple. I am a little surprised, today, to find myself closer to the left. A quick inventory however, to use self help lingo, a quick rationale could be that the times, the zeitgeist, the things that define left/right now, have changed and I have changed along with them. As I went around the vortex. I think it also helped, or hurt, depending on your point of view, that I was a regular reader of the Althouse blog. I was traumatized ;) I'm kidding of course.
Upon further review, I believe the test is slightly skewed.
44 comments:
I think very few of us have either an exclusively right or left ideology, so how does that smell thing work? It don't sound like science to me. It does seem true though that nobody likes the smell of a dirty hippie except another one.
Don't most lefties, when washed, smell like patchouli? That smells nice.
I think that if you smell nice all the time, then you aren't trying hard enough.
Had a big-time crush on a girl in high school.
She smelled like that Ralph Lauren stuff that came in the red bottle.
My perpetual boner couldn't have cared less about her politics.
Economic Left/Right: 0.38
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -2.46
Just barely purple, same as Prince.
I tried that test, and I honestly could not find a single question that I could answer with just either agree or disagree. Maybe they are written that way on purpose, but if I chose one of the answers offered it would just not be the truth of my position. On general questions like that it always depends. It's like asking "Is killing wrong?" Well, it depends. If they smell like a dirty hippie, then let them have it.
Now I used to be dirty hippie, so I know what I'm talking about, but I eventually blossomed into a sweet smelling flower of freedom, bearing fruit or uncommon flavor and nutritional content - a virtual tree of liberty, if you will.
Think of all the conservative husbands and liberal wives out there. Doesn't jibe with this theory.
Their experts have Mitt Romney as being more authoritarian than our PGA president. I call boolsheet.
Yes, this test asks questions that seem carelessly worded, what seem to be wanting a specific answer to pigeonhole you. But if you answer each one conscientiously, as it is written, and not as what you think they think they are asking, you may not end up where you belong. Or are they factoring this in? I took the test about seven years ago and ended up where Lem is in the graph. I became more conservative in my views since then, but when I took it a few months ago I was in the same area, hanging out with Gandhi.
I do have a semi-authoritarian outlook in that I think democracies, representative or not, devolve into influence buying, rent-seeking, and oligarchical classes.
This reminds me of Tyler Cowen's book, Average Is Over, where he predicts that over time an overclass of the educated and monied will dominate an underclass. He doesn't think this has to necessarily be a menacing situation, it can be just how things shake out, and he hopes there will a semi-benevolent attitude toward the underclass. On the bright side, he thinks that people will be able to rise up to the overclass on merit. Here's my post his book in a previous thread:
http://comonocreerendios-lem.blogspot.com/2013/10/average-is-over.html
Dogs on the other paw, probly don't have such qualms.
Good point ricpic.
♪ The fun never stops with the ol' factory, make logs! ♪ link
tits
Thanks Deb.
But I must say, to quote that liberal icon, Senator Moynihan, the best attitude toward the underclass is benign neglect. In any case, semi-benevolence won't survive our coming economic implosion. Fascinating to me that the best and the brightest overclass blather on endlessly about the sustainability of the ecosphere but never hint at a qualm about the sustainability of our quantitative easing economy.
Today I am +1.5, -2.51.
Does anyone remember what my score was last time? Someone would have most assuredly wrote it down.
Just for Ss&Gs:
If one voted "Strongly Agree" to everything (and realizing that that answer would sometimes put you in one extreme or the other), his score would be:
0.00 on left/right
+ 4.36 on auth/lib, or strongly authoritarian.
Now, if one voted "strongly disagree" on all the questions, his score would be
0.00 on left/right
-4.36 on auth/lib, or strongly libertarian.
So that seems to makes sense, and suggests to me that there is some attempt at left/right evenness in questions. The authors may also think that strongly held opinions peg one as emotional, and that "authoritarian" and "libertarian" categories are not logically held self opinions, but that is just my read on it.
If one "agrees" with every question, his score is
+0.38 on left/right
+2.41 on auth/lib
So agreeing puts one as slightly leftist and moderately authoritarian
And finally, to "disagree" with every question, his score is
-0.25 on left/right
-2.41 on auth/lib
So disagreeing puts you as slightly right and moderately libertarian.
One could probably vote 25% for each answer and end up with a score of exactly zero.
I think the authors believe that moderately held opinions place one on the left/right scale, and that strongly held opinions are indicative of those solely emotionally driven.
Maybe they are looking for nuance.
I had very few "strongly" agree/disagrees.
Strongly is for the strong.
Trooper is all right, off the chart.
ricpic, I lean conservative and my wife leans left. But, we both have libertarianism that binds us politically.
Lem, That surprises few.
It all begins and ends in junior high -- you either want to be a hall monitor or you don't.
on 1, October 5, 2014 at 3:08 pmjonathanturley
I have deleted comments from Nick to try to stop the personal attacks from resuming on this thread.
on 1, October 5, 2014 at 3:37 pmjonathanturley
Nick,
I have deleted your last two comments that continue the discussion of the personal attacks on this thread. Either focus on the blog topics or take a break from comments. Please.
on 1, October 5, 2014 at 3:47 pmjonathanturley
Nick,
You have again ignored my warning to stop commenting on the personal conflict between you. If you continue, I will have to suspend you from further commentary.
pmjonathanturley must have magical powers to delete comments on Lem's blog.
ricpic, hopefully we'll just toddle on along to our soft landing. It's about the best we can hope for.
(signed)Negative Nelly
Nice analysis, John, thanks.
"pmjonathanturley must have magical powers to delete comments on Lem's blog."
I think you're missing the rather obvious, ampersand; pmjonathanturley is Lem.
Bagoh, same here. Everything is agree-disagree, there was nothing to get excited about. That would guarantee being pegged centrally in one box or another, whatever, still near bullseye, seeing in retrospect the ranking arrayed as a simple grid, authoritarian against libertarian, right against left.
You don't know me. I reject this twaddle.
And yet I am disappointed in my classification.
Saw it at Ace's. Thought it would be short. Turned out to be six pages.
They pegged me red corner, authoritarian left and that's boosh|t, that's boo sh|t 1111!!111exclamationpoint!!1!11one!!!11!11eleventeen!!1!11111
Robert F Kennedy Jr. in in the upper far left red corner.
Full on authoritarian whackjob fascist, that one.
I am wearing this wonderful new perfume. After pedaling through town, up and down the lanes in heavy traffic - it's called:
Bus exhaust.
Inga Dieterich, LPN, is visiting family after "catching a plane" and she's obsessing on me. Think of what a cross to bear she must be on her poor kids. And, it only gets worse w/ age. Ingemouse is a desperate, lonely, FAT, woman. She has put on all that weight she lost from her paleo diet plus 15 or so.
I was a meter reader in Philadelphia.
When I first started, one of the senior guys was assigned to teach me the ropes.
He said, "When you get fleas, get yourself behind the tailpipe of a bus."
Man! Was he ever right about that!
(Works every time. And yeah, he did kind of look like Billy Dee Williams.)
See- the benefits of bus exhaust keep on giving.
Time to hit the showers! Apricot!
I ended up as authoritarian left too. Baloney - as Nick would say.
The questions are absurd since they focus in on "corporations" and ask you a lot of simplistic "Loaded" questions that any conservative would answer Yes/NO with qualifications. For example, "The Death penalty should be used for serious crimes". Well, who believes today that rapists or thieves should be executed? No one. The question is should people guilty of 1st Degree murder be executed. And what does Pot legalization or Gays have to do with anything?
Hey, folks..."Unkown" is Inga/Allie Oop/Annie, Ingemouse, et al ad infinitum.
If I'm wrong, somebody prove it to me. Okay? :-))
I seriously doubt Lem would go to the contortions to post comments from Turley's blog, let alone that are not pure cut & past...and those above, if real, are certainly not...anyone who knows the Turley blog regularly knows that. The name, date, text arrangement is all wrong.
Never mind that I could care less.
BTW...vis a vis WordPress: I know a blogger who has used it for years now without any of the nonsense seen on Prof. Turley's place or Prof. Jacobson's...where I am banned for pointing out the baloney issues.
Gee I wonder how she does it, eh? I hinted at some potential cooperative assistance between the blogger I know, and so does Jacobson, but it was not welcome, or just cloudlessly ignored.
I donated to the Mandy Nagy sustainment fund because she was about to take over administrative management of LI...which would have been a great step forward. I pray for her 100% survival, just as my better half did in 2006, no impairments...she will be a great asset to LI. Heck, I might even get unbanned one day :-0
cloudlessly = cluelessly.
Dang auto-correct!
I am not "all right off the chart."
I am exactly where a normal regular American would be in 1956.
A much better time.
The country has left me I have not left the country.
I feel for my friend nick. Despite his ceaseless promoting the cocoa sipping nancy boy legal blogger will not stand up for him even when he is in the right. Especially when he is in the right. He will betray you every time for his liberal cohorts like another ultra-liberal law blogger I could name who has to destroy commenters who are not ultra-liberals when they are winning the arguments. To the point that they will blow up their own blogs when they are losing the argument. It is called the Charles Johnson syndrome.
That is why I could not abide Turdley's blog. It's a mugs game.
That is to say they will never allow right leaning commenters to be right and expose their protected leftists.
You are spitting in the wind my brother.
Trooper said ...
It is called the Charles Johnson syndrome.
Heh heh.
That was a one-way train wreck to Hades. I loved the guy who always threatened people physically and good ole Charles never did squat...guess he was a fanboi.
Talking out of your ass Trooper. He had weekend bloggers who ran the place give him the ultimatum, Spinelli goes or we go. They are gone. He deletes me and backs me up. Depends on the circumstances. I have had a lotta contact w/ Turley via email. There is a good mix of people there. Turley is a liberal libertarian. You are far right and I understand he's not your cup o' tea. Turley's biggest weakness is women. They whine and he jumps. That's been the problem of late.
I get it. You want a right wing echo chamber. Well, Turley's used to be a left wing one. It no longer is and that's because of him. He goes after Obama better than anyone I know.
DBQ is enjoying herself over there as is MamaM. Aridog has a tentative enjoyment. To each their own. It's exponentially better than TOP.
Hey if you are happy then I am happy for you.
He said condescendingly.
Nick described my participation correctly...tentative is the right term. Like several other "theme blogs" I read them with a grain of salt, sometimes a whole bag of it. Give me time, I will be banned on Turley's just as I was on Legal Insurrection. And it won't be for anything vulgar etc...my ban at LI is based upon emails that I guess were seen as insulting. Probably were. Oh well.
I will much more consistently participate here, on Trooper's, and a couple other blogs, where the conversation is really open.
Aridog, A good mix is needed. I think some folks think going to other blogs as a betrayal of sorts. The Turley blog has improved exponentially since I went there 2 years ago. ChipS was there briefly during the liberal echo chamber days. He can corroborate that.
I agree with the idea of a good mix is necessary for a blog to not be an echo chamber....e.g., boring. I still be around over there, it is not a matter of any loyalty. I voluntarily send money now and then here, but not there at Turley's. I made that mistake at Legal Insurrection ... and discovered I was chump for doing so. Not again.
Personally, I prefer Lem's company anyway :-))
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