neb's reply history at Help.com

If you want a concrete answer, research shows that the average person follows their emotional intuition over logical evidence in politically charged situations. Meaning, you can present an eloquent, well constructed and reasonable premise, and people aren’t going to vote based on the factual evidence if they weren’t going to in the first place. It takes a lot to override emotional judgment. It’s possible to predict how someone would vote on an issue based on their party affiliation, with an accuracy better than 80%.

So what do people learn from? One of the strongest sources is authority. We do and think what our parents, bosses, preachers, and principles tell us to. Almost all people learn best when instructed by other people, it’s human nature. Throw the pressure of fear into the equation and you have the switch that drives humanity to the beat of it’s own drum (organized religion, politics, hate groups, neighborhood watches).

Very few people break through that layer of fear, it’s hardwired into our brains as an instinct of social preservation. Those that do usually have other issues with the status quo. If our current state of affairs is diseased, it’s equal parts human physiology and established cultural mores and practices. Either way you slice it, it’s probably going to take a forward thinking government and the collapse of the environment before things change quickly.

My Fiance and myself are in a similar situation. She lives off her student loans and grants, and I pitch in working full-time at my small business. It’s really tough, and we wouldn’t be making it right now if we weren’t getting small bits of help from friends and family.

The Federal Gov’t used to give better financial aid for students before the Bush administration came into power. Right now, the best you may be able to do is find a part-time job. If you decide to take online classes, make sure that they are accredited and count towards your degree. Often, online courses may be counted differently than traditional classes.

I haven’t been following closely, but if Microsoft’s search service isn’t doing well, then it might be their best option for securing a foothold in the online search business.

I’ve found that it helps to apply the color with a stiff brush. If you don’t overload your hair or the brush with color, then there is less of a chance of the dye getting all over the place (if it’s a gel).

I don’t know, but the sweaty guy with the big tongue scares me.

Do you mean that they study too much, or aren’t able to study enough?

If your big on computers, then the pub might not be your thing. My favorite places to meet new people are coffee shops, interest groups, college campuses (as a student or not), professional guilds, ect. If you are very shy, practice being more sociable.

I have a social disability myself, and know that meeting new people can be painful for some. It takes effort to overcome the habits of fear, but the payoff is extraordinary. If you can’t seem to make a connection, try asking close friends or family for help. Often, the people that understand you may see something similar in another, and make a connection.

Good Luck

I think we are in a complex downward spiral, and that it is fueled by a culture of bad habits and the dominance of corporate influence. We certainly could try blaming other countries or entities, but I think that we don’t need to go that far to understand the problem. Our economic woes are probably a result of the majority of consumers taking it in the rear to boost profits for stock holders, which means making the most money off as little substance as possible, and discouraging competition (goodbye mom-and-pop, hello Wallyworld)

At it’s base, the economy is people. Essentially, the root of our problem starts with simple statistics and physiology: the human body works less efficiently when it doesn’t have proper nutrition. The vast majority of available food (supermarket, restaurant) doesn’t cut it (too many carbs,not enough protein, too many chemical additives), so most people are statistically not operating even near their peak. A culture of weak immune systems, lowered intelligence, reduced stamina and drive, add up to a weak economic base.

This ties directly into the next problem. Why is the quality of our food (and most other market goods) so poor? It’s because they are corporate products, and that they are engineered to boost profit margins (carbs are much cheaper than protein), not provide lasting or healthy solutions.

Another good example is the automobile industry, which maintains itself by engineering it’s products to break frequently and predictably. Car manufacturers maintain profits by limiting the lifespan of their product, so that consumers will have to buy a new car every 6-10 years. It also ensures the viability of dealers, as they make most of their money from repairing the vehicles that they sell (new car sales very rarely sustain a dealership). The net effect is that there is a constant drain on the middle class, who are dependent on cars to get to their corporately provided jobs.

To sum it up, we are building a house of cards. A very hollow one at that. Unless something drastic happens to limit the growth of corporate culture, this entire country may turn into a single Enron (if it hasn’t already).

I think nanotech is going to come into it’s own in a big way soon, stick with it. I had the opportunity to spend two months at Rice University in TX over the summer, and worked up a friendship with a grad student working on nanowires and nanosperes. That brief glimpse showed extraordinary possibility, keep at it and you will not be disappointed.