2016 elections - because it's never too early

[Admiral Yi]

Are there any recorded cases of idiot savant neurosurgeons?

[garbon]

Also is it actually awful to jump in a lake? Might be quite refreshing at the right time of year.

[Berkut]

Are there any recorded cases of idiot savant neurosurgeons?

That is pretty much exactly what I've been wondering.

He comes across like a complete moron. But he clearly cannot be...right?

[The Minsky Moment]

Cruz said the financial crisis was triggered by money tightening. Then he said we had massive growth under the gold standard. 

There's a lot of silly talk in these debates, but the discussions of monetary policy and banking were utterly inane last night.  One bizarro moment was Caputo's line of questioning about TBTF and the need to protect depositors - not one candidate or anyone else mentioned that TBTF bail-outs have nothing to do with depositors because depositors are protected by a separate and longstanding deposit insurance scheme.  As bad as this candidate field is, I find it hard to believe that not a single one knows about the FDIC; I can only conclude they all remained silent because no one wanted to admit the existence of a longstanding government program (started by FDR no less) which should be kept.  Also no one raised the obvious points about resolution authority etc. because that is under the rubric of Dodd-Frank, and thus categorically EVUL!

The actual answers to that question were horrific - Rand Paul doing his usual nutcase act, and then Kasich and Bush babbling incoherently.   It's only the single most significant economic event of the last 40 years . . .

As for Cruz - he is actually right that tightness in monetary policy was a key contributor to the GR; however, his timing is wrong - the Fed did not tighten in 3rd Q 2008 but (belatedly) cut rates at that time.  I would be willing to give a pass on that timing issue were it no for the fact that everything else he had to say on the subject was complete nonsense.

[The Minsky Moment]

On same subject, another howler was Rubio's claim that big banks "brag" about their SIFI status and get some great benefit from it.  Of course the reality is the complete opposite - the SIFI designation is considered a big negative that institutions lobby like hell to avoid or escape. 

On the general subject of banking concentration, all the candidates again engaged in a curious conspiracy of silence, lamenting the decline of small, community banks while failing to mention that the widespread prevalence of smaller banks in the past was principally due to stringent regulations against inter-state banking (McFadden Act) and the Glass-Steagall rules.

[Malthus]

Are there any recorded cases of idiot savant neurosurgeons?

That is pretty much exactly what I've been wondering.

He comes across like a complete moron. But he clearly cannot be...right?

God made him a gifted neurosurgeon. Just like God made his drunk of a secretary mysteriously disappear, so he would not be upset at having to fire her.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/book-party/wp/2015/11/05/11-times-god-intervened-directly-in-ben-carsons-life-according-to-ben-carson/?tid=sm_tw

God is good to Carson. God will make him President. 

[Razgovory]

If so, God is not good to us!

[frunk]

I like number 11:

11. God helps Carson have an enjoyable African safari.

When Carson received an honorary degree from the Medical University of South Africa, he and his wife planned a side trip: a safari at Krueger National Park. Carson prays to God for good sight-seeing:

The night before this adventure, I remember praying and reminding God that Candy and I had only one day scheduled to visit Krueger National Park — a natural wonderland people come from all over the world to see. I told the Lord I would be forever grateful if he would bless us with an opportunity to observe a wide variety of wildlife in the short time we had allotted. Having been fascinated by wildlife ever since stories and pictures had first triggered a love of books and learning when I was a small boy, I had always dreamed of someday getting a personal look at some of the more exotic African animals in the wild. I never dreamed just how literally my prayers would be answered.

Not only did we encounter lions, elephants, giraffes, zebras, and other hoped for animals, we also spotted rarer species such as green mambas and black mambas. We witnessed such a fascinating range of wildlife behavior that our guide told us he could not remember ever having another single day like it. He said he saw things he had witnessed only a few times in all of his years working in the park.

–Ben Carson, "The Big Picture"

Always good to remind God of what's important.

[garbon]

I wonder what it is like to be "heavy into psychology."

[garbon]

And yeah, Carson sounds like a dick. If he gets granted wishes by God on tap, why doesn't he wish for say big things that would help a lot of people?

[The Brain]

I get all my Carson info from Languish. He comes across as a grade A moran.

[Malthus]

And yeah, Carson sounds like a dick. If he gets granted wishes by God on tap, why doesn't he wish for say big things that would help a lot of people?

The ways of God are truly mysterious. Evidently, he is too busy helping Carson have an enjoyable safari, to help save little children from starvation and the like.  Even God has to have priorities!

[Grey Fox]

Are there any recorded cases of idiot savant neurosurgeons?

That is pretty much exactly what I've been wondering.

He comes across like a complete moron. But he clearly cannot be...right?

No, he can be.

Doctors spend a lot of time studying to become & stay doctors & not much doing anything else.

My co-worker's son is a GP. Dude, own admissions, that he only knows about 2 things: Health & Cars. Anything else he doesn't have time for it.

[garbon]

Well that's an anecdote about a GP. I wouldn't take that as a stand in for a specialist.

[Jacob]

Well that's an anecdote about a GP. I wouldn't take that as a stand in for a specialist.

My anecdotal exposure to doctors - and anecdotes from people in med school - bears out the notion that medical qualifications are not a reliable indicator of sound judgement in any other area, nor of good character.