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Penn State Cult (Joe Knew)

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Zurp said:
Blarg! Why do I read these low-lifes? I know I'm not the sharpest spoon in the shed, but these are easy things to answer. And they remind me of a converation I had with a cousin yesterday, who just found out that there are conspiracy theories about the Sandy Hook Massacre. (For the record, neither of us believe the conspiracy theories.) I explained the simple version of Occam's Razor, that whatever the simplest explanation is, it's usually the correct one. I think it fits here.

Which is a simpler explanation? That JoePa found out about the goings-on of Jerry Sandusky, and he thought that this would hamper his recruiting, so he covered it up? Or that he knew nothing of what was going on, but everyone else did, and they only pinned it on the poor old man after his death? I think that a lot more work would be involved if "they" have to cover it up, as opposed to if "he" has to cover it up.

Back to the questions you quoted: Why was Penn State blamed? It's been shown that 4 top guys within Penn State covered this up to prevent a loss in recruiting power. This wasn't a couple of players receiving improper benefits. This was the bosses of the school actively deciding not to get Sandusky to stop.

Who benefited from the cover-up? Joe Paterno and Penn State

Who had the power to cover it up? I don't know that anyone had the power to cover it up, outside of those 4 guys.
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you're clearly missing the actual coverup. Governor Tom Corbett was highly funded by somebody associated with The Second Mile. Once Sandusky was discovered, the news got ran all the way up to the governor, who actively covered the whole thing up to protect his career. If that's not Occam's Razor, I don't know what is.
 
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Zurp said:
Blarg! Why do I read these low-lifes? I know I'm not the sharpest spoon in the shed, but these are easy things to answer. And they remind me of a converation I had with a cousin yesterday, who just found out that there are conspiracy theories about the Sandy Hook Massacre. (For the record, neither of us believe the conspiracy theories.) I explained the simple version of Occam's Razor, that whatever the simplest explanation is, it's usually the correct one. I think it fits here.

Which is a simpler explanation? That JoePa found out about the goings-on of Jerry Sandusky, and he thought that this would hamper his recruiting, so he covered it up? Or that he knew nothing of what was going on, but everyone else did, and they only pinned it on the poor old man after his death? I think that a lot more work would be involved if "they" have to cover it up, as opposed to if "he" has to cover it up.

Back to the questions you quoted: Why was Penn State blamed? It's been shown that 4 top guys within Penn State covered this up to prevent a loss in recruiting power. This wasn't a couple of players receiving improper benefits. This was the bosses of the school actively deciding not to get Sandusky to stop.

Who benefited from the cover-up? Joe Paterno and Penn State

Who had the power to cover it up? I don't know that anyone had the power to cover it up, outside of those 4 guys.
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I'm being nitpicky and somewhat OCDish... so feel free to ignore me.
But this is more like a rule of simplicity than Ocham's Razor.
http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/General/occam.html

That said, in this case both aspects of simplicity - parsimony* and elegance** - support what we recognize as the mainstream events. Moreover, the facts available support that as well.
In the absence of any supporting empirical information, the conspiracy theorists posit a grand theory that requires us to assume additional facts and make additional hypotheses.
Actually, I hesitate to even say it's a "grand theory" because near as I can tell they don't have a solidified theory, but rather a mess of "what ifs", "begging the question", and "release the data".
Refusing to offer a definitive alternative explanation makes it rather difficult to deal with them, but is a rather unconvincing use of Schopenhauer's 38 Stratagems.

4. Hide your conclusion from your opponent till the end. Mingle your premises here and there in your talk. Get your opponent to agree to them in no definite order. By this circuitious route you conceal your game until you have obtained all the admissions that are necessary to reach your goal.
...
7. State your proposition and show the truth of it by asking the opponent many questions. By asking many wide-reaching questions at once, you may hide what you want to get admitted. Then you quickly propound the argument resulting from the opponent's admissions.
...
17. If your opponent presses you with a counter proof, you will often be able to save yourself by advancing some subtle distinction. Try to find a second meaning or an ambiguous sense for your opponent's idea.
...
19. Should your opponent expressly challenge you to produce any objection to some definite point in his or her argument, and you have nothing much to say, try to make the argument less specific.
...
22. If your opponent asks you to admit something from which the point in dispute will immediately follow, you must refuse to do so, declaring that it begs the question.
...
38. A last trick is to become personal, insulting and rude as soon as you perceive that your opponent has the upper hand. In becoming personal you leave the subject altogether, and turn your attack on the person by remarks of an offensive and spiteful character. This is a very popular trick, because everyone is able to carry it into effect.
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http://www.mnei.nl/schopenhauer/38-stratagems.htm

In this particular case the "JAQing Off" seems ironically (too soon?) appropriate as well:
It is related to Betteridge's law of headlines[wp][4]:
Any headline which ends in a question mark can be answered by the word "no." The reason why journalists use that style of headline is that they know the story is probably bullshit, and don’t actually have the sources and facts to back it up, but still want to run it.
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http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/JAQing_off


* the number of things assumed
** the number of hypotheses assumed
 
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I believe the definitive alternate explanation is that JoePa was simultaneously a doddering old fool stumbling through life without a clue about his surroundings and an altruistic saint who was the only man capable of leading the university with infallible levels of honor and dignity.
 
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Buckeye86 said:
I believe the definitive alternate explanation is that JoePa was simultaneously a doddering old fool stumbling through life without a clue about his surroundings and an altruistic saint who was the only man capable of leading the university with infallible levels of honor and dignity.
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Don't forget the half that was a fraudulent, ego maniacal, tyrannical bully who would bury anyone who would dare threaten his personal legacy or challenge his authority.
 
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Copied/pasted from the Mid-Majors and their Crazy Antics thread:

BuckeyeNation27 said:
Since my life revolves around Penn State fan misery...I remember them being told they couldn't host us for a night game the last time we had to travel to that [Mark May] hole. I then remember reading somewhere soon after that the rule was going to be changed.
Of course if those memories are accurate, that just means Penn State revolutionized November night game scheduling.
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So JoePa gave us (college football fans):
instant replay
November night game scheduling (potentially)
the forward pass
the cure for cancer
everyone wearing the same color in the stands
academics, and graduation
ice cream (Peachy Paterno)
weekends that aren't ruined
Penn State (as it is today)

What am I missing?
 
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Zurp said:
Copied/pasted from the Mid-Majors and their Crazy Antics thread:



So JoePa gave us (college football fans):
instant replay
November night game scheduling (potentially)
the forward pass
the cure for cancer
everyone wearing the same color in the stands
academics, and graduation
ice cream (Peachy Paterno)
weekends that aren't ruined
Penn State (as it is today)

What am I missing?
Click to expand...
A pair of browned from the inside khakis and a rail. Other than that, pretty spot on.
 
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Zurp said:
Copied/pasted from the Mid-Majors and their Crazy Antics thread:



So JoePa gave us (college football fans):
instant replay
November night game scheduling (potentially)
the forward pass
the cure for cancer
everyone wearing the same color in the stands
academics, and graduation
ice cream (Peachy Paterno)
weekends that aren't ruined
Penn State (as it is today)

What am I missing?
Click to expand...
Moral bankruptcy?
 
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I wish this was something new to report on these pumpkinheads. But it isn't. It hurts all of humanity that these "people" think this way.

http://bwi.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=36&tid=168635042&mid=168635042&sid=890&style=2

Basically, the fact that Jerry Sandusky is a child molester and has been punished as such is not important to them. They have a "hyperthetical" (their spelling, not mine) where Sandusky doesn't get found guilty for as many counts as he did. The result to Penn State is that their sanctions aren't as bad. It's like I've said all along: these dunders would gladly let Sandusky go free if it meant getting their sanctions reduced. I think that if they were given the opportunity where if they sent 409 of their kids to Sandusky they'd get their 409 wins back, the jackwagons would do it. I really, really think they would.
 
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