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Re:Cognitive ability is related to supporting freedom of spe... by P0l83q4p1Hw3Ul on Saturday September 10, 2022 @12:38PM (#32792172)
Is Freedom of Speech important for a democratic society to survive?

Right wing extremists would say yes. In fact, this is why they believe we shouldn't allow low cognitive ability immigrants into the country or let them vote.

Re:Cognitive ability is related to supporting freedom of spe... by User23 on Saturday September 10, 2022 @12:55PM (#32792367)
You said it in a tacky way, but the evidence does suggest that the average intelligence of a population is an important limiting factor in civilizational attainment. It’s necessary, but not sufficient.

Likewise, the likelihood of a startup succeeding is gated by the intelligence of its employees. Successful founders know this and hire accordingly.

I’ve yet to see a sound argument for why it’s ok for a company to discriminate on intelligence, but not for a country to. And of course many countries that are seen as having admirable immigration policies, such as Canada, do exactly that through various proxy measures.

Re:Cognitive ability is related to supporting freedom of spe... by Georgelemental on Saturday September 10, 2022 @01:37PM (#32792753)
> I’ve yet to see a sound argument for why it’s ok for a company to discriminate on intelligence, but not for a country to.

In the US, it's officially illegal for companies to discriminate based on intelligence, thanks to Griggs v. Duke Power.

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/overturn-griggs-v-du...

Re:Cognitive ability is related to supporting freedom of spe... by akomtu on Saturday September 10, 2022 @01:32PM (#32792705)
That's quite a comment. It creates a false dichotomy between freedom of speech and democratic society, and uses the word "survive" to appeal to emotions so we want to save democracy from the evil freedom. Then it attaches "right wing extremists" (the absolute evil) to the freedom of speech, suggesting that anyone who is for freedom must be an extremist. The last sentence is a blunder, though, because it suggests that voting for democrats requires low cognitive ability. One thing I'm sure about is that we don't need low-effort populists on HN.
Re:Cognitive ability is related to supporting freedom of spe... by P0l83q4p1Hw3Ul on Sunday September 11, 2022 @08:42PM (#32804604)
I appreciate the effort to analysis my comment, but it seems you misinterpreted, so I'll explain my comment.

One could argue that a democracy by definition must have free speech. Otherwise, it's more of a "vote on the options provided by the ruling class". My question was meant as an actual question, is the illusion of democracy better than democracy for survival?

I use the word survival because it's the first law of life.

I use "right wing extremists" to make fun of people who think free speech is a right wing idea, or that opposing low-iq immigration is extreme.

I didn't mention political parties, nor mean to imply anything.

[dead]
Re:Cognitive ability is related to supporting freedom of spe... by greaterthan3 on Saturday September 10, 2022 @04:16PM (#32794259)
>For example the FBI told social media companies the the Hunter Biden laptop was Russian disinformation

They didn't, they only gave a general warning to watch out for misinformation[1].

Facebook censored the Hunter Biden laptop story on their own volition. Zuckerberg mentioned FBI in that Rogan interview to muddy the waters and deflect responsibility. He didn't actually say that FBI ordered them to do anything.

[1] - https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/fbi-responds-...

Re:Cognitive ability is related to supporting freedom of spe... by jscipione on Sunday September 11, 2022 @02:07PM (#32801828)
None of that clears the FBI and others of wrongdoing, and more importantly none of it refutes my main thesis that freedom of speech and freedom of the press are essential to a functioning Democracy.
Re:Cognitive ability is related to supporting freedom of spe... by tialaramex on Saturday September 10, 2022 @03:43PM (#32793993)
Hunter Biden wasn't a candididate in the 2020 US Presidential Election.