Site Search:
 
Speak Korean Now!
Teach English Abroad and Get Paid to see the World!
Korean Job Discussion Forums Forum Index Korean Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Teachers from Around the World!"
 
 FAQFAQ   SearchSearch   MemberlistMemberlist   UsergroupsUsergroups   RegisterRegister 
 ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   Log inLog in 

How Important is Eye Color in Choosing a President?

 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Korean Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Current Events Forum
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Ya-ta Boy



Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994

PostPosted: Mon Feb 18, 2008 7:04 pm    Post subject: How Important is Eye Color in Choosing a President? Reply with quote

We all know that looks are important, especially in this media age. Height counts. Weight counts...or at least some people didn't like Richardson because he's too cuddly for their taste.

Of the 43 people who have served, how many have had light colored (blue, green) and how many have had dark eyes (brown)?

Choose your numbers, then go here: http://michaelmedved.townhall.com/blog/g/6a8aac43-a680-4370-995e-ddebd808430e

The answer is interesting. And extremely important.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
mistermasan



Joined: 20 Sep 2007
Location: 10+ yrs on Dave's ESL cafe

PostPosted: Mon Feb 18, 2008 7:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

fascinating. hope he follows up w/ research on the losers. kerry,gore,dukakis etc.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
tomato



Joined: 31 Jan 2003
Location: I get so little foreign language experience, I must be in Koreatown, Los Angeles.

PostPosted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 4:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Interesting.
We criticize Korean directors for choosing teachers for trivial reasons, and now the boomerang comes back.

I read somewhere that there is something comforting about a final N in the candidate's name: Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Lincoln, Truman, Nixon, Clinton.


Last edited by tomato on Tue Feb 19, 2008 3:56 pm; edited 2 times in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
stillnotking



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Location: Oregon, USA

PostPosted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 1:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I doubt this means anything at all. Think about it: how many trivial characteristics are there, and what are the odds that at least one of them would show a skewed distribution in a population of only 43 people?

Then there's the logical problem with the "causal conclusion" that Medved so eagerly leaps to: before color photography, the vast majority of voters would not have been aware of the color of a candidate's eyes. Strangely, Medved raises this objection himself but fails to address it at all.

Remember last election, when we were told the performance of the Washington Redskins could predict the outcome? Same deal. It's a statistical oddity -- actually, it's not even an "oddity", it's a completely banal statistical outcome when one considers a range of possible identifying traits rather than a single cherry-picked example.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Ya-ta Boy



Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994

PostPosted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 2:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sorry, still. I'm convinced that people with light-colored eyes are inherently superior and the universe, in its mysterious ways, arranges for them to be elected president. What else does the universe have to do?

AND there's a lot more to tomato's theory as well: Jackson, Van Buren (2 n's), Buchanan, Johnson (not elected), Harrison (2 Harrisons), Wilson.

The secrets of the universe are revealed when you connect the dots.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
stillnotking



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Location: Oregon, USA

PostPosted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 3:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Heh.

Oh, another funny thing about Medved's article is that he says "only 20%" of Americans have light-colored eyes. Well, sure, but non-Caucasian Americans have been de facto ineligible for the Presidency the whole time, and none of them have light eyes, so you'd have to take them out of the sample, which Medved doesn't.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
jkelly80



Joined: 13 Jun 2007
Location: you boys like mexico?

PostPosted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 3:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I heard on NPR that English speakers prefer the sound of names that end with "n", especially when it comes to first names. Hence the explosion of stupid baby names like Cayden, Brayden, Zaden, etc. When those children grow up, I will hate them. But I bet this is also true of last names.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Korean Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Current Events Forum All times are GMT - 8 Hours
Page 1 of 1

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum


This page is maintained by the one and only Dave Sperling.
Contact Dave's ESL Cafe
Copyright © 2018 Dave Sperling. All Rights Reserved.

Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group

TEFL International Supports Dave's ESL Cafe
TEFL Courses, TESOL Course, English Teaching Jobs - TEFL International