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Comment on We have had guns for 200 years but mass shootings only became common in the last 30. So what changed?

Shrinking middle class and people in an endless hopeless pointless life of stress and struggle. Over half the USA can’t read at a 6th grade level. Ignorance and stupidity are the primary leverage force used as a political power base. It is a negative feedback loop. Billionaires are a measure of effective democracy in the USA. Their wealth comes from the lack of laws and how they exploit loopholes. They in turn fund politicians that use misinformation and stupidity to maintain the laws at an inadequate level. No one intelligent would vote for these politician and therefore they thrive on a campaign of misinformation and strive to enact policies that keep the population malleable to misinformation. All one has to do is look for where the dumbest, poorest people are located and the lines are clearly seen. These areas are undereducated with poor opportunities because of their leaders who only work for the billionaire oligarchy at the expense of those the directly represent and everyone else they drag down with them. There are no honest billionaires on this planet.

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CosmicSploogeDrizzle@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I agree completely but just so you know, it’s a positive feedback loop even if the outcome is negative.

A positive feedback loop is one where the input creates an output that then increases the input further, which in turn further increases the output.

A negative feedback loop is one where the input creates an output that then lessens the input, which in turn decreases the output.

Shrinking middle class begets ignorance. Political forces capitalize on ignorance to misinform and manipulate the masses to elect people and enact policies that are not in their best interest. Doing so further erodes the middle class and decreases education, begetting further ignorance, misinformation, and political extremism. Positive feedback loop.

(Sorry if this was pedantic but it reminded me of a very specific learning moment I had with an old science teacher of mine about this exact distinction)

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- SCB@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  
  Shrinking middle class begets ignorance
  
  We literally have the most educated populace in our history.
  
  brookings.edu/…/are-americas-rising-high-school-g…
  
  This isn’t about ignorance.
  
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- EsteemedRectangle@lemmynsfw.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  I’d argue that’s it’s a negative feedback loop because the outputs are less good things: like a well sized middle class and a learned population.
  
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  - otter@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    It’s not about good things or bad things
    
    Negative feedback loop: X is added to the system, which causes less X to be produced. Over time, the rate at which new X appears goes down.
    
    This is the more common one in biology. As something starts to build up in your body, your body makes it so you don’t produce it as quickly (so you don’t ‘overdose’ on the chemicals you are making)
    
    Positive feedback loop: X is added to the system, which causes more X to be produced. Over time, the rate at which new X appears goes up.
    
    This is more rare because it pushes to an extreme. Example might be birth, where pressure on the uterus causes the release of oxytocin, which causes contractions, which causes more pressure, even more oxytocin, etc. till birth is completed
    
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    BreadstickNinja@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    Ooh, now do positive vs. negative reinforcement!
    
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  - CosmicSploogeDrizzle@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    yeah, there’s nothing to argue here. These are scientific definitions of the two terms. A positive feedback loop can be negative in terms of consequences, but it doesn’t change the fact that the loop is defined as a positive feedback loop.
    
    The words “positive” or “negative” in terms of the loop definition do not refer to “good” or “bad”, but rather the mathematical definitions of “additive/multiplicative” or “subtractive/divisive”. A positive feedback loop is an additive or multiplicative function whereby inputs increase outputs which increase inputs which increase outputs.
    
    A classic example is a snowball rolling down a hill that grows in size and gains speed. Whether or not the snowball grows big enough and rolls fast enough to annihilate the school at the bottom of the hill, it doesn’t change the fact that by definition the feedback loop that is generating a larger and larger and faster and faster snowball is defined as positive.
    
    An example of a negative feedback loop could be you getting sick. The input being viral or bacterial particles enter your body, the output is your body temperature increases, which kills the pathogens thereby decreasing the input. The decrease in pathogens then signals to your body that the infection is receding, and you body temperature returns to normal (decreased output). You healing from a sickness is a positive (good) thing, but the feedback loop that did it, is a negative one.
    
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