Find the Pattern

I was just talking to a friend who said he booked a trip to Ireland on Aer Lingus. This made me wonder what would happen if that airline merged with, oh, let’s say Continental Airlines. This new company, potentially named Conaerlingus, would get people’s attention. But would you be concerned about your flight going down?

For some reason this reminds me of one of the great mysteries of life: Why do attractive women pay for massages? For most of us, there’s a good reason we pay another human to rub us for an hour. If we didn’t offer money, or reciprocate with some rubbing of our own, no one would take the job. But if you are a hot woman, lots of people would volunteer to spend an hour rubbing your nearly naked body for free. So in a sense, an attractive woman isn’t paying for the same thing everyone else is. For her, the massage is always free, and she’s paying someone to pretend it isn’t.

Moving along, I have long maintained, and have been mercilessly mocked for, my opinion that voting is irrational for an individual. While I support the system as a whole, wherein potential revolutionaries are transformed into docile citizens via the illusion of having some influence on election outcomes, it is irrational to vote as long as many others do. Here’s a better take on this idea from some people who have something I don’t, i.e. credibility:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/06/magazine/06freak.html?_r=1&n=Top%2fFeatures%2fMagazine%2fColumns%2fFreakonomics&oref=slogin

What did my three topics today have in common? (There is a real answer.)

[Answer:  All three topics are things that happen before you get screwed.]

Comments

[keri]

Why bother voting if the person elected wasn't the one voted for anyways?? Perhaps you Americans should take a step back to the paper ballot?

ps. the Conaerlingus was pretty funny ;)

[Richard Hare]

"Conaerlingus"! Wahey! Are they re-running 20 year-old Jasper Carrott shows over in the US?

[Ron Davison]

Beautiful women don't pay for a massage. They pay for a massage to stop.

[J]

Most men give crappy massages. Plus, at the sight of a beautiful naked woman they give two perfunctory rubs before wanting to rush into other activities.

[amenot]

Correction to my previous post:

Scott ADamds' the "Unified Theory of Everything Financial".

[amenot]

From the today post (Nobel Prize), the common pattern of the post "Find the Patern" is:

Scott Adams' the "Unified Theory of Everything".

[amenot]

Voting or not-voting:

The last 2 elections: many rational & smart people did not vote, or voted for third party: the result was decided by irrational people: a moron won.

[Justin]

Just found an interesting link about voting that I thought would pertain to the voting discussion: http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2007/10/a_wrinkle_in_the_voter_turnout_1.php

Sorry if this has already been alluded to.

[Catherine Jones]

I'm an attractive woman. I pay for massages because I'm happily married and trying to stay that way, and my husband isn't always available for the job.

[Jabba]

"...wherein potential revolutionaries are transformed into docile citizens via the illusion of having some influence on election outcomes..."

Isn't that backwards? Wouldn't the illusion of controlling an election turn a docile citizen into a potential revolutionary?

[Archer]

The NYTimes is a very credible source for say... al qaeda? For the Massage well whomever is doing massage for the lovely woman may indeed enjoy and getting paid for it... sounds good all around.
Good men died for us to have the right to vote... to decline to do so may be an exercise of that right but those who practice leave the choice of leaders to a dwindling number and increasingly extreme minority who will choose to vote. We will inevitably end up with politicians who not of owning a credit card let alone worthy of holding a position of power. Bush may not be the best but he's a damn-site better than a group who is known to take money from communist countries.

[PJD]

Pleasuring women!
(Read the link)

[fuzztop]

> ...been mercilessly mocked for, my opinion that voting
> is irrational for an individual.

I think your premise is flawed, Scott. Voting is a team sport; always has been. It doesn't matter if an individual vote changes only .00001 percent of the outcomes; that's not the point.

We vote en masse to both establish and promote common notions of how we desire to be governed. I vote alone, but I also vote with those of like mind. Which, it seems to me, is a rational and reasonable way for a democratic republic to ascertain the will of the governed.

[jerry w.]

You certainly are a cunning linguist to mention an airline renamed only a few weeks

after NASA (they're not only about space shuttles) finished a huge multi-year and multi

million dollar research project about airline safety. NASA sandbagged the report then

destroyed it, saying it would be damaging to the airlines with the loss of passengers.

If that's the case, what are the next "LOST" passengers supposed to say? Who knew?

But on the other hand, you sure are a master-debater. Woody Allen once said:

"Sex is like poker, if you don't have great luck, you better have a good hand".

I'd have to add..... "or at least be good about talking about it.".

http://boskolives.wordpress.com/

[mason]

Cute answer.

Personally, I figure voting is fine and all, not because your vote determines who wins, but so anytime you vote for the loser you can always tell people "it's not my fault, I voted for so-and-so." Didn't work so well for Nader fans in 2000, but normally it's golden.

Seriously though, if you can convince all the apathetic people to stay home, you've just swept a huge portion of the electorate out of the picture, making it possible for a small but very energized group of citizens to make a strong positive impact at the polls. This is why I think Ron Paul has a better chance than anyone seems to realize. He's one of only 2 republican candidates (with Mike Huckabee being the other) whose supporters, though few in number, are actually excited about seeing their candidate get elected.

Keep doing what you're doing man! Get the apathetic to stay home and out of the way of our Ron Paul Revolution!

http://www.ronpaul2008.com

[daloon]

Beautiful women pay to get massages from
A: people who know what they are doing
B: people who know that there is no implied promise of returned favors.

As for voting- yes it is unlikely that my particular vote will be the deciding one- however it does matter if I help creat the feeling of civic duty within my social circle (who are likely to be from the same segment of society, income distribution, and political views) thus helping my particulare segment of the population to be better represented. The important thing about voting is not what you do- but what you do compared to what others do. Low young voter turnout is only a problem because theres good turnout in other population segments- making for uneven representation. But then again in the US electoral college and the state representetive system already screws virtually all minorities out of political power- because you don't just need 10 % of the pop to agree with you, you need them all in the same state.

[Sara]

It's all masturbation.

[GLK]

The flipside of a growing number of intelligent people not voting is that morons then become the voting majority. Hmmm? That explains a lot!

[Ramas]

What did your three topics today have in common?

- Bush (you can figure it out).

[-Luigi]

Credibility, or the difference between external image and inner substance. Declined in three different ways.

[Alan]

when people tell me I HAVE to vote because people gave their lives defending my right to vote, I point out that what they died for was my right to CHOOSE and so long as I choose not to vote rather than not being bothered, then I have fulfilled my rights and honoured those we will honour on Sunday.

and in answer to your question, they are all illusions of free will.

[syn]

Voting within your family counts - you are making palpable decisions that affect you.

Voting within your village counts a little bit - you are making decisions that affect you a little bit.

Now, voting for empire counts for shit - it is like licking dead skin, the real decisions are made for you. No matter how you cut it, you loose. Check your IRS bill. You vote with the herd to feel important, but the guy you vote for is far removed from your reality so he sit there in the office and serves his own interest. I know you can find examples where you made a difference. But I say to you, exception proves the rule.

If you were half-smart, you will vote for disbanding the IRS and, by extension, the empire.

But you are not, and I am scared shitless.
---------------------------------------------------------

Yeah! rage against that machine! (Dont forget to wash your Che shirt)

[BobD]

Do you know what the merger of El Al and Alitalia will be called? VelAl Tellya

[Seth]

economics?

[Regis]

Couldn't identify any pattern, but I'm sure the answer has to do with one of the following:

* Absence of free will;
* Flaws in the Theory of Evolution
* Your new book.

[Squigs]

Wow! Talk about missing the point.

Democracy doesn't work by choosing the best candidate out of those available!

It works by preventing those who clearly wouldn't have a chance from running in the first place. But it will only work if enough people vote to make it worthwhile. Each person who votes reduces that possibility marginally. The cost of voting is turning up at the polling booth. The cost of not voting is a small possibility that a candidate with bad hair might consider running the next time. The risk is too great.

[fabulom]

I do not understand why voting should be considered an economical waste of time, even after reading the linked essay. Take a look at a similar process: If you do any statistics, you collect random samples. Even though a single sample isn't worth much, the aggregation is what generates worth. No one would say something stupid like "picking a sample is irrational". In fact, you are quite happy if the aggregation of the samples show a significant trait instead of a "win by a single sample".

Voting is very much the same. It's collecting a lot of opinion samples to get a better understanding of what people want. If people omit to vote they lower the quality of the process. If too many people omit voting, the opinion sample is not worth anything at all. So it is very rational and beneficiary to give a vote. With each vote all other votes gain worth. Just get rid of the ego's illusion that it is you alone whose vote counts. Voting is a community effort.

My two cents what all three topics have in common: They share a funny way to jump to a startling and amusing conclusion that do not hold up to inspection.

[Kev]

An old joke, but done better the first time when the idea was that Aer Lingus would merge with Cunard cruises. As with many Irish words, its hard to get your tongue around.

[Pietro]

Today's 3 topics have this in common: SEX.

Topic 1 is about oral sex (Cunnilingus - ConAerlingus)

Topic 2 is about women paying for *not* having sex

Topic 3 is about anal sex (i.e. either way you vote, you get sodomized by politicians)

Was that correct?

[Johno]

In Australia it is very rational to vote. It is a crime not to vote, punishable by a $50 fine (not a serious felony, of course, but one which the authorities follow up with perhaps unnecessary relish). You know for sure that failure to vote will cost you dosh, so you head on down to the local school and you do your thing.

[e-Mino]

All three items have in common that people are irrational / act in an irrational way at some time or other.

P.S. Check this out for not an irrational, but rather a philosophical question : http://e-mino.blogspot.com/2007/09/philosophical-question.html

[neopolitan]

People will always find a pattern, it's how we are built. Pick any three or more random subjects and you will find a pattern or at the very least a flow, such that one subject leads into the next and then there will be a link with the third and so on. Here's a sort of example from Monty Python:

"Tonight's the night I shall be talking about of flu the subject of word association football. This is a technique out a living much used in the practice makes perfect of psychoanalysister and brother and one that has occupied piper the majority rule of my attention squad by the right number one two three four the last five years to the memory. It is quite remarkable baker charlie how much the miller's son this so-called while you were out word association immigrants' problems influences the manner from heaven in which we sleekit cowering timrous beasties all-American Speke, the famous explorer. And the really well that is surprising partner in crime is that a lot and his wife of the lions' feeding time we may be c d e effectively quite unaware of the fact or fiction section of the Watford Public Library that we are even doing it is a far, far better thing that I do now then, now then, what's going onward christian Barnard the famous hearty part of the lettuce now praise famous mental homes for loonies like me. So on the button, my contention causing all the headaches, is that unless we take into account of Monte Cristo in our thinking George the Fifth this phenomenon the other hand we shall not be able satisFact or Fiction section of the Watford Public Library againily to understand to attention when I'm talking to you and stop laughing, about human nature, man's psychological make-up some story the wife'll believe and hence the very meaning of life itselfish bastard, I'll kick him in the Ball's Pond Road."

cheers

neopoloitan

[Tathagat]

Hot women pay not for massage, but for not getting sexually aroused while massaging them.

Commonality: Why don't people follow my advice....

[BobNL]

I won't try to follow your twisted mind and predict what the three subjects have in common. What strikes me though is that you have now found a second argument for your apparently irrational opinion to not vote.
It is well known that people first have a feeling or an opinion about something, and then afterwards rationalize and think of arguments to support that opinion. I get a strong impression that this is happening here.

Ofcourse your one vote does not decide who wins, but it does help to point out how big the difference is between the parties and thereby how the power is divided.

Off topic 1: get elected as president, then your vote counts.

Off topic 2: one of the reasons I keep reading this blog are the comments. Some of them are as good as the posts.

[Jim]

What do your three posts have in common? They are all insubstantial attempts at filling the day's blog entry. The cunnilingus joke is a bit childish. The massage items was silly; surely you have had both a proper massage and a "stroking session of an intimate nature," so you should know the difference. Beautiful women probably get both kinds, but they pay for the one that requires skill rather than pure enthusiasm. Your third topic - on not voting - is a substantial and interesting topic, but you've done it many times.

[Dalebert]

Same reason a man pays a prostitute. He's not paying a woman to have sex with him. He's paying her to leave as soon as the sex is over. With the attractive woman, she's paying the man to JUST give her a massage because she doesn't want to have sex. Men don't have sex. Woman have sex and men are constantly trying to get it FROM them.

As for realizing the futility of voting, you are getting dangerously close to taking the red pill. You're almost an anarchist!

http://anarchyINyourHEAD.com

[yes]

Aussie chick, best post I've read on this blog :).

[Kevin Kunreuther]

[What did my three topics today have in common? (There is a real answer.)]

Whoa, good puzzle today.

Mensa would be proud ... and horny.

Back to the question ...

Right off the bat, I'd be a wiseacre and say, "Nothing at all." Taking another swing for the fences I would venture all three topics are about pre-conceived notions:
1)How much faith one would have for and what type of service one would expect from, a newly created air service unfortunately named ConAerLingus
2)What an attractive woman and the person servicing her expect from the massage experience
3)How much importance one places on the voting process and the importance of their one individual vote

So, did I at least make it to first base?

[Noel]

Vanity:
Nobody really thinks the plane would go down. But if it did, you'd be a posthumous laughing stock.
The attractive woman doesn't want to be laughed at for allowing a free grope.
Civic duty = faultless facade

[Luke]

Maybe it has something to do with people doing things despite the fact they don't have to, or know it is not the best idea.

Topic 1: People are probably likely to go for an airline they like the name of without looking into their flight accident record. It would be smarter to look into their records, but who the hell is going to do that?

Topic 2: Even though the woman can get free massages she pays for them anyway, she is blinded by the natural course of business.

Topic 3: Even though our votes don't make a difference we vote anyway, yet again we are participating in the economic system.

So perhaps its about three façades in life. Illusions! We've all been hypnotised!

http://thisdevilsworkday.wordpress.com/

[Joe]

Someone made an accidental gafe in the office yesterday, saying "did anyone hear that Al Queda has opened a new airline...?" I'm not sure who she meant, but it was funny anyway. There were many jokes, such as, "why are you not packing our bags?"

A successful English alcoholic once said, "democracy is the worst form of Government, accept for all the rest."

Massage is not sexual, well unless it is "that kind" of massage.

These comments are all related by the fact that they relate in some way to your post. I've no idea what you are talking about.

[jerry w.]

Here's a great comment on voting, but from a person + a country not known for it:

"Those who cast the votes decide nothing.

Those who count the votes decide everything."

- Joseph Stalin

The Supremes swept that messy situation under the carpet in 2000,

and yet the festering lump is still visible (in the White House).

http://boskolives.wordpress.com/

[mbutu]

Cognitive Dissonance

Hypnotism

Free will

Evolution

Peer pressure

[Madmarleyboro29]

The Common Thread.

I could be wrong.

Voting is irrational, because you're gambling on the one with "exceptional" standards. The one, who's perfect in any light, any angle....any situation of stress. No such thing.

Massages with Attractive women (or to them). Pointless. If they're that friggin' great, you'd never rub them right to begin with. If they're that high on the pedestal, your hands wouldn't qualify anyways. They are essentially, another Perfect Candidate for the Job as President. They might have flaws too, but if elected, they'll rub YOU the wrong way.

To Conaerlingus (funny). It's the average Joe's thought, that no matter which way the world flies, it's entertainment....and we're nothing but passengers (chuckling at the screw ups.....but still, such sarcasm....maybe even wit, is all we have).

A Moist Robot, getting searched at some airport, for toting along their Blackberry. Stuck at some checkpoint, most likely in your socks...thinking...the girl with big hooters got to pass....why pick on me? Then you pair up such "delay" thought....with current administration...current security risk levels.....and all that's left is "Can I have my shoes back?!".

So here's my shot in the dark. The Common Thread.

Did you get stuck in an airport?

[George Brickner]

Back in the 80's during the first Saturday Night Live years, one of the jokes was about KFC:
Colonel Lingus Fired Chicken
(I don't remember the "finger licking good" punchline)
I think Jane Curtin read the joke.

[rd]

that you wrote this post connecting random topics
if that fails too then just paroles, paroles, paroles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkJ6lLvMXZw

[Rickie]

"An excellent voting theory, but one I will not apply in the upcoming elections in Australia, because here voting is compulsory.
Therefore our incentive is that if we don't turn up, we get fined."

...too right. That really sucks.

And attractive women would may for proper massages as I dare say the free ones would be less likely to involve a simple backrub or anything. xD

[Tracy]

Women pay to get massages because "free" massages never turn out to be actual massages. They tend to wander away from the designated areas very very quickly.

[Spring]

Common Thread? They all have to do with BUSH, one way or another...

[ming]

this will one day soon, become the most popular blog on the planet

[RJ]

Scott, I read the article about voting, and it just seems so stupid to me. Just because most elections are not decided by one vote means your individual vote doesn't count? Huh?

By that logic you would have to conclude that taking bites of food and swallowing them is irrational, because since no one single bite ever fills you, each bite is meaningless and counts for nothing.

Credibility or not, I'm sorry, this just doesn't pass my sniff test.

-RJ

[James Andrix]

That there is economic value to trust and professionalism?

[D. Mented]

First idea; predictable, but still funny.
Second - need you ask?
OF COURSE nobody wants to massage an attractive woman for free. The payment is sex, not money, and when that's an interesting option, the woman will usually go for it. The rest of the time, paying a proffessional who knows how to break up adhesions, avoid causing nerve jams (hint - always stroke *away* from the spine, never toward it) and actually relieve the tension of restraining the fist of death while hearing the same stupid come-ons all day long, isn't such a bad deal.
Third idea;
That's the first sensible argument I've ever heard against voting (not all that persuasive, but at least not completely whiny and childish)
I still vote - in honor of all the women who fought so hard for my right to do it. But I'd support the kind of alternative our founding fathers promoted. (Removing a corrupt government by force of arms when necessary)
Pattern? Sorry, too sleepy and rattled to even look for one.
D. Mented

[Aussie chick]

I live in a country where it is compulsory to vote and you get reliably hit with a reasonably large fine if you don't do it. Even if you're out of the country on election day you have to make sure you get your postal vote in on time. In my opinion this is a perfect way to reconcile the tension between needing people to vote in order to have a working democracy and it being (or appearing) irrational for any individual to actually make the effort. If you're going to get fined for not voting, it's entirely rational to vote, end of story.

As it turns out, voting under compulsion is not regarded as an annoying chore. People willingly do their duty as citizens and enjoy a little community spirit, balloons, barbecues, election night parties and whatnot along the way. Most people feel that it's good to have compulsory voting because the alternative is putting up with the kind of nonsense that goes on in the US and other places where idiots can get elected with the support of a tiny minority of citizens and you have to put up with the ridiculous antics (and expense) of politicians trying to get everyone "out to vote" in the run-up to the election.

This begs the question, though, why it would be rational for any citizen of any country except the US to vote, given that the world is effectively governed by the President of the US, backed up by nukes, no matter what the rest of us might think. Maybe if some of you guys don't feel like voting you could let all the other citizens of the world have the right to vote in US elections -- we all care who your elected officials are, even if you don't!

[Jason Allen]

The attractive woman is most likely paying to not be touched by unattractive people. She wouldn't want to catch ugly cooties, now would she?

[Jason Allen]

The attractive woman is most likely paying to not be touched by unattractive people. She wouldn't want to catch ugly cooties, now would she?

[Steve]

Most obvious answer is YOU.

Second is that there was no mention of your book...

[Keith Wooly]

They all fly in the face of reason?

[Big Swede]

I think it is about knowing what you are actually buying: - When flying with an airliner you buy not only transoprtation but also a sense of security (or possibly image if you go for the cunnilingus one).
- When a beautiful woman buys a massage "she's paying someone to pretend it isn’t"
- When you are voting your effort isn't buying democracy or "change", you're buying yourself a pat on the back.

[~C4Chaos]

"A rational individual should abstain from voting."

LOL.

dogmatic people are by definition non-rational. therefore, the majority of religious people are non-rational. we all know what happens when non-rational people go to the polls. we all know why presidential candidates make fool of themselves in the mainstream to win over non-rational people.

in a society where non-rational people grossly outnumber rational people, one-vote one-person ensures that the non-rationals always win. even if rational people vote.
ergo, voting if for non-rational people. good thing that there's no shortage of non-rational people running around.

and that's why the U.S. will have a woman president or an african american president, way before an atheist president.

~C

[Dan]

Ask Al Gore what happens if a few dozen people don't vote because they think it won't matter.

Pretty women don't pay you to massage them; they pay you to leave.

Conairlingus would still have to worry about tail wind

[JiNX-01]

My first reaction is that you're raising your usual argument that we are all moist robots lining up to vote while hoping to get a chance to get a massage from that most unlikely of creatures: a politician with sex appeal (and yeah, JFK was attractive, but look what they did to HIM).

Either that or you're having a special at your restaurants.
Or selling another book.
Or @#$&ing with our minds.

Oh, wait, this wasn't multiple choice, was it?

[Mark, CMT]

Why do hot women pay for massages? Because they, like other intelligent people, know that work done by a trained professional is worth paying for. Certified and licensed massage therapists are health care professionals; they do much more than just "rub your body for an hour" (just as doctors do much more than just look at you naked).

[Daniel]

An excellent voting theory, but one I will not apply in the upcoming elections in Australia, because here voting is compulsory.
Therefore our incentive is that if we don't turn up, we get fined.

[Diana W]

On the topic of voting, I have always considered bitching rights as one of the prime motivators for voting. For example, I voted, but not for George Bush, so I can proudly say that the trillions in deficit and thousands of deaths under his watch were not my fault. Those who either voted for this moron or didn't vote at all must bear the blame for the mess we're in.

But looking at it more pragmatically, there are many examples of where an individual's contribution seems insignificant, but collective contributions are hugely important. It's easy to say that my wastefulness makes no difference to global warming, but collectively this attitude is killing the planet. And just try to tell the IRS that your taxes only amount to a rounding error of the total and are therefore too insignificant to bother paying. Looking at it from the other standpoint, I help one child through Childrens International. Will helping one child grow up healthy and educated change the world? No, but millions of people each helping one child will.

[Maarten]

Uhmm... the hot woman would get a massage in a plane that's going down while voting? Or something like that anyway

[Gabriel Tellez]

When living in New Zealand in 2003, I lived with a woman (beautiful, a little bit fat) and her 3 children (16, 8 & 5). The woman was a professional doing massages in the afternoon to get more money so she could buy a big flat TV.

I was 21, computer systems student, and it was my first time catching a trans-continental flight MEX-LAX-AKL (16 hours in total)...I was scared about crossing all over the Pacific Ocean in a plane with the Frodo image on the outside (Air New Zealand).

In the same year ex-president Vicente Fox was trying to negotiate migration policies between USA-MEX. Those policies were product of a successful marketing-political campaign to give the power to the most stupid president Mexico has had (among other stupid ex-presidents). So when I had the chance to vote on the 2000 elections for president I chose not to vote. After 7 years many people regret their voting choice because Fox's government was a very good chance to change things in Mexico; so that demonstrates not to vote is a good choice when your vote doesn't make any difference in the result.

So, dear Scott in this post you related 3 patterns that were present in my life in the second half of 2003. What relates them is CHOICE...

I usually don't post comments in blogs but your today's post is very interesting (at least for me). By the way, I'm not buying your new book, but I'm buying a Dilbert mini-wall calendar so I can contribute to build a better world for everyone (at least everyone on your surroundings)!

--

p.s. Migration policies for Mexican illegal aliens will be pending forever unless politicians in Mexico realize that the problem-solution is on the inside (corruption, unemployment, lack of education) instead of negotiating with the US government. On the other hand, legal immigration of lots of specialists is representing a very dangerous situation for Mexico. The country needs them to get a better development, but the vast majority chooses not to stay due to social-political situations.

[stygyan]

The idea behind attractive women paying for massages is deeply logical, although it seems the contrary.

Let's put an example: me. I'm not a woman, but being as cute as I am I haven't any problem in getting free massages. My boyfriend likes to rub my naked body, in fact. But, oh yes, there's a but, he DOESN'T KNOW.

I mean, it's a good way to start a good f***, but I won't trust my back (aching due to the efforts I do with the crutches, being with a broken leg at the moment) to anyone. I need to put my back and shoulders in hands of a expert massager, one who knows how to release muscular tension and so on.

The pattern behind the three stories... let me see. You don't want to pay for what you get. You want to pay for the thing you THINK you're going to get.

[nwest]

Scott, if you feel that one person can't make a difference in voting, then you probably don't bother picking up your trash either. Besides, you're only one person, and it would require the cooperation of everyone on earth to ensure we have a clean environment. By your logic, there's absolutely no reason to do our part to keep our planet a clean place to live. One person can't make a difference!

[GJW]

Here is Australia we have to vote, its compulsory with a fine if you cannot come up with a good excuse.

Sooooo, I vote because it's cheaper than staying home.

Its economically rational, just not related to the real world. Kind of like most economic theory really.

[Okgenuine]

for the price of a ticket, you buy the right to fantasize how you'd spend the winnings

That's a better theory than what I could've come up with. As far as voting, it's a lot like posting on your blog lately. There's so many opinions, why would mine matter? But really, it gets you thinking on your own which helps you keep your mind sharp. So it's really a health issue.

What do those three topics have in common? Idk, but it's a neat game.

[Keyser Soze]

The thing the three topics have in common are illusion.

The illusion that two companies would merge for a funny name
The illusion that her massage ISN'T free and
The illusion that your vote counts.

What do I win?

[hgb]

d'oh. My guess is irrationality, but it looks like "Bob" beat me to it.

To add to his first point though, not only is it irrational to be afraid of plane crashes given the odds, it would also be irrational to be afraid of a plane crashing because of the name of the airline.

[Helm2Lee]

You mean I've been voting since 1978 and I've never gotten my keg of whiskey for it????? (They can keep the live pig, unless they can deliver it to me in bacon form)

My wife is a massage therapist. A decent, therapeutic massage is more than just some random rubbing, and an attractive woman is not going to lie mostly naked for an untrained stranger to simply run his/her hands over her. Plus massage therapy doesn't pay real well on a weekly basis, so you can't give away too many freebies and make a living.

Still, what's to stop an unattractive middle-aged man with a separate income from getting the necessary training and running a part-time free massage service for attractive women? That's discrimination -- the older overweight people who probably need the massage a lot more will object to having to pay more for the service.

Plus there's always the chance that Michael Corleone will send one of his hit men in to shoot the guy you're working on in the eye. Quite apart from the ricochet risk, that's bad advertising.

Helm

[bob]

The answer is...

KITTIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Bolt]

The pattern, or the thing that is in common between the three topics, is influence.

The new name "Conaerlingus" would influence people not to fly with their planes in fear of them going down.

A hot woman could influence someone to rub them for free, but don't, most of the time.

And American people have been influenced into believing that their vote can influence elections.

Did I win? ^_^

[Me]

What did my three topics today have in common? (There is a real answer.)

Masturbation (can i say that on the net?) All three you're doing for your own pleasure but getting nothing out of it.

[Steve Y.]

There's way too much thinking going on. Scott continues to make trite observations about the economic behavior of human beings in the hopes that he can wangle another paying gig from the Wall Street Journal editorial page. As Hollywood teaches, we have to look beyond the subject matter to motivation.

[Per Rutquist]

I guess you didn't read to the end of the article you refer to. The conclusion was that people do have an interest in voting.
In a country like the US, where five or ten people out of 300 million vote, you can bet that if you vote (and check your demographic group in the exit polls), you will benefit from it. The politicians know who votes, and they don't care about the rest.

[Transplanted Lawyer]

Isn't the common thread more about NOT getting screwed?

1. The airline name contains a reference to oral sex, which is not what most people think of as "getting screwed."

2. The attractive woman is paying for the massage so that she does not have to have sex with the masseur afterwards.

3. People who don't vote don't lose the time and effort expended in voting, and the government still treats them the same as if they did vote.

[Jenn]

The way I see it is, voting when our one vote doesn't matter is important the same way carrying on with the illusion of choice when there is no free will.

[dayj]

If voting changed things, it'd be illegal.

[Jennifer]

Women are paying for not having to deal with the "I'm just rubbing your back to get sex" question that comes after the "free" massage with some guys.

Or alternately, a whole lot of boyfriends just plain won't put out when it comes to massages, even if you offer sex. None of my exes would give me a backrub for longer than 2 minutes before they demanded that I give them one. And then pop their zits.

Nope, I have no taste.

[levi civita]

Voting within your family counts - you are making palpable decisions that affect you.

Voting within your village counts a little bit - you are making decisions that affect you a little bit.

Now, voting for empire counts for shit - it is like licking dead skin, the real decisions are made for you. No matter how you cut it, you loose. Check your IRS bill. You vote with the herd to feel important, but the guy you vote for is far removed from your reality so he sit there in the office and serves his own interest. I know you can find examples where you made a difference. But I say to you, exception proves the rule.

If you were half-smart, you will vote for disbanding the IRS and, by extension, the empire.

But you are not, and I am scared shitless.

[black spot]

You should come to the UK. Some of the MPs only get in by about 24 votes.

Why use an amateur for rubbing if you want it just right?

All three are about Bill Clinton.

[EagleSongs]

Jake wrote:
"...if your candidate wins, you get to vicariously participate: 'Ha, ha, we won!'"

Conversely, if your candidate loses, voting gives you the right to complain about the winner. If you didn't vote, you have no excuse to bitch about it.

No vote = No bitch

[Rudy Phelps]

We've all heard this argument against voting before (ie: My ONE vote won't make a difference,) and the counter-argument, "every little bit counts". I think though, that both of these miss the actual point of voting.

Your individual vote isn't SUPPOSED to count for anything/ decide the election. It always seemed to me that the idea of voting and democracy was to run things according to the will of society as a whole. Voting was just the most obvious way of trying to determine everyone's opinion. Of course your vote is (most likely) not going to tip the scales either way, but I always saw it voicing my small opinion rather than actually making a decision.

As for the connection, I don't think I see it, but I do like Raj/Thorsten's suggestion: "All three topics contain "rational" suggestions that might be at odds with what society considers beneficial for itself." I'd just say that the suggestions appear rational until the flaw of the argument becomes apparent.

[Dio]

because hot chicks want a rub down from someone who is skilled, and if your skilled then it is certainly a sellers market. you will have plenty of hot woman willing to pay you to touch them and then there is this one who wants you to do it for free? sorry lady, your FOL.

[Ray Smuckles]

Hey, we covered this a couple days ago:
http://achewood.com/index.php?date=11052007

move along, move along.

[Dan]

The common thread is that they each tickled your libido for some reason.

[Rodolfo]

All of them are written by a cartoonist.

[Jeff]

All three have to do with "lip service"

- Pretending that voting matters
- Paying someone to pretend the massage isn't free
- and of course, Conaerlingus

[Mark]

They have in common that you spend your free time pursuing flights of fancy about odd-ball theories when you could be more usefully employed mining coal.

[james]

Two words:

Appearance matters.

[GeraldNZ]

I've read some of the seminal economic articles on why people vote (I think one was Gary Becker). Only a lazy economist would just assume that people are being irrational: a hard-working economist has to work out what people are getting out of voting.

The behaviour of married couples has shown that many make labour supply decisions that imply that they have a shared utility function, or that their own utility function is influenced by the income or utility of their spouse. Just as we are influenced by a spouse's welfare, I think there must be some degree of internalisation of the welfare of the wider community and an ant-like tendency to act in its interests. Why else would people give their lives for their country? However, particularly for western societies, this is usually a weak force compared to the strong force of personal material welfare. Fortunately, voting is interesting and you get to talk about it with friends and family, who may chastise you for not doing it - or you may just be left out of the conversation if you don't (people are generally reasonably good at detecting lies by people close to them).

There seems to me to be a danger in the US approach of voting for every public position right down to the local dog-catcher (not literally) - don't you get bored with it?

[DanW]

The common thread?

None of the three tidbits refers in any way to a magic goat.

[QwkDrw]

Truthiness. Business mergers do create odd names. Many people do pay for things they don't seem to need. And voting does have better odds than the California State Lottery

!!
http://www.givemeamomentblog.blogspot.com/

[pavakgirl]

Sadly, or comically, however you look at life...the masses that vote are never what MY opinion would reflect. Probably not yours either. But does it get me out to vote? Heck no man! I have better things to do with my time. Unlike others, I do not complain about it though.

[kt]

They all have something to do with cognitive dissonance?
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/11/07/2340255&from=rss

[Hovie]

The common thread might be that in a large society, an individual's opinion does not appear to matter. An individual cannot influence all the forces around them, and doesn't necessarily understand how those forces work, or how to live among them.

[Bri]

Any attractive woman who accepts an offer of a “free” massage pays the high price that she must be on guard throughout the massage that the massage is not crossing over to an attempt at sexual contact. Not exactly relaxing. In short, attractive women pay for the massage to remain just a massage. Male masseurs accept the payment as compensation for keeping a massage (which they would otherwise do for free) just a massage.

As for voting, I disagree that it is irrational for an individual to vote. I agree that a single vote has so little effect that it seems to have no effect. But it still has an effect. In the aggregate this imperceptible effect of each vote results in a large and noticeable effect. Maybe the most important aspect of a person voting is that it works to encourage mass voting which does result in a perceivable effect. I notice where I live that people seem more interested in whether you’re going to vote than for whom you are going to vote. The more people I tell that I’m going to vote, the more say, You know maybe I’ll go vote too. Most people I speak to hold the same or similar political views. Thus, by voting, and telling people I’m voting, I do my part to increase the vote for my side. Though, I agree, sometimes it seems that my vote has the same effect on an election as the flutter of a butterfly in China effects the weather in Albany.

The connection between all topics: A company or person will often forgo an economic gain (or willingly sustain an otherwise avoidable economical loss) when it results in an improvement in how people perceive them. This is true even where the improved perception will result in no appreciable economic gain.

I believe you have my contact information if there should be a prize in it for getting the right answer.

[Chad Adams]

I want to comment on your opinion that voting is irrational.

I follow the logic and I agree whole heartedly except for one thing that keeps getting left out of this argument.

If you tell people that voting is irrational one of two things could happen. 1. people want to be seen as rational so they don't vote. Or 2. people are actually rational and they don't vote. Either way you influence a large group of people not to vote which because it is a large group of people does infact effect the election. AND either way what ends up happening is that the outcome of the election is determined by irrational people.

[Fuzznsmoo]

So you do actually read the comments, no matter how irrelevant to the topic at hand. Kind of scary in a way. I figured all serious bloggers used stunt doubles. Of course your stunt double could be writing the blog as well - who would know?

[Akeem L.]

I have usually voted for a reason I didn't see. I figured that it was better to live in a precinct with a high voter turn out regardless of result. Would politicians ever care if they were screwing people who never voted? I probably set records for the least amount of time behind the curtain. My thought was that it was better to cast a blank ballot than no ballot.

Thinking about it more, this was probably giving politicians way too much credit.

I guess I've voted my last.

I also love exit polls as they only cover the demographic of voters who don't tell them to f*** off, which I always hoped was a small demographic. I also like to pretend that those who do respond are lying more often than not.

[Scott (not Adams)]

The common thread: None of them are obviously related to promoting your new book?

[Mark]

Knowing that your vote can't possible matter, yet caring more about not wanting to be perceived as an anti-social, curmudgeon, and voting anyway; may be irrational waste of time, but people do it fairly often.

Knowing that the name of your airline can't possibly have any effect on safety or on-time performance, but still not naming your airline "Conaerlingus", no matter how slick that name may be, may be irrational, but people do it every day.

Knowing that you could get a free massage from Scott anytime, and yet paying another person to do it, to preserve your reputation, may be irrational, but millions upon millions of hot women do this every day.

Only people with a monkey brain and both a penis and a vagina are free of the distortions of human perception. If only there was a book that made this all clearer.

[Citrus]

It took me 8 minutes to vote. I counted. Since my polling place is on the way from my train station, I didn't even waste any commuting time. It's a lot better use of 8 minutes than sitting on my couch and staring at the television.

And, the reason why an individual should vote is that the system only works if everybody does it. Anyone who declines because they doubt the power of their own influence is actually part-way responsible for breaking the whole thing.

I think that people who don't vote should be required to pay those of us who do vote. If you're going to break my system, you should pay me for the privilege.

[Wizard Tim]

In Australia, it is mandatory to vote in a General Election, you are breaking the law if you do not.
In the Northern Territory, because it is a territory and not a federated state, it has no say in Federal matters, so they don't even bother to count the votes cast.
Vote or else, but who cares which way, 'cos no one's going to count it!
Brilliant.
They must be taking lessons from Dogbert.

[Andrew Netherton]

I'm going to guess that all three topics are linked by your breakfast; all three went through your head during your morning repast, spurned on either by whichever "Good Morning"-style TV show you were watching, newspaper you were reading, or bizarre pre-coffee chatter your wife was telling you about what she dreamt about last night.

Either that, or distaste: a joke of bad taste, the distaste of not being the person rubbing the hot woman's back, and the distaste of being mocked for your (probably fallaciously) logical argument against voting.

[Robin Burchett]

Scott:
The value in voting is not that your single ballot may miraculously tip the scales the correct direction and save your town/state/nation from some horrific catastrophy. As a regular voter, I know that I am by no means informed enough to make wise decisions.

This is my heruistic, which I think you'll appreciate:

I generally vote Democrats, unless they give me the creeps; they're more likely to believe in science than the Easter Bunny.
I often vote for Republicans, if they aren't too churchy, and have a more libertarian bent.
I vote for Libertarians when they're available. I know that they're insane, but they won't be elected, so it's a safe vote.
I usually vote for a minority member, especially if they're Republican. If a black lesbian chooses to be a Republican, you know she's given it some thought.
If all of the above fails me, I vote for the person with the funniest name.

Of course I'm smart enough to know that I don't have all the information I need to vote wisely. But in the runnup to an election, I find myself noticing information that relates to the innitiatives being decided, and having conversations with people about the issues. If something matters enough to me, I send money.

The above two sentences summarize the value to me in voting. It is a ritual that reinforces my self perception as an engaged member of my society. From that, flows a host of behaviors that do matter. I help out a lot at our neighborhood school, and the purpose I take with me there, and try to inspire others in, is that we have to get these kids ready to be engaged, responsible citizens - not just prepared to get a job.

If you know your voice doesn't matter, and cynical politicians prove you right by flagrantly abusing the public, you might not like it, but it's not really a problem. (If there's no solution, it's not a problem, just a bummer.) But your declaration that your opinion matters creates a framework, within which, certain situations or actions by our government ARE a problem. And faced with a problem, you can take action and create solutions. You might even get mad as hell and really make a difference. Of course, you can make a difference without ever voting. But don't underestimate the power of a ritual.

Some related assumptions:
The higher voter turnout, the more chance that elected officials will act as though the public is watching them, gives a damn, and is relevant.

The argument that voting exacts a cost is ridiculous for most people. We're so rich and waste so much time, it just doesn't matter. The opportunity cost of missing a Lost re-run does not impress me.

[Eva]

I don't suppose you do vote, and everything you say to convince others it's not worth voting is so that your own vote is worth a tiny bit more as a percentage of the whole?

You don't vote because you expect to tip the election alone, but because you know that million of people face the same decision, and your vote will all add up to somthing. Voting is doing your part, even if it is a small one. To do otherwise, when you have an fairly well-educated opinion on the subject, is shirking. (Psychologists call it social loafing)

[CLB]

Hi Scott

Curiosity got the better of me so I read the comments before posting my own. “Perceptions” was my first thought for a common theme too. Though I suspect you have a trickier answer in mind.

Therefore I’ll submit:

Your common theme? “How would you know?”

1) How would you know if a change in name reflects something more?

2) How would you know if you ARE a hot woman?

3) How would you know if YOUR vote would be the one to make a difference?

[kromagon]

If El Al and Alitalia merged, it could be called Well I'll Tell Ya . . .

[Pam]

So, here's a theory on Part 2 of your post. Attractive women are attractive often because they have the money to spend on things that (they think will) make them attractive -- clothes, jewelry, personal trainer, make-up, yoga class, herbalist, reconstructive surgery, tanning, hair cut & dye, etc. A regular massage appointment with a good masseuse would fit into that same category. Massage, when done well, improves circulation, helps relieve stress, and in getting rid of muscular tension, makes the body look more even and thus more attractive. I'm in favor of rolfing myself.

[JimmyB]

The pattern is:
Women can get Men to do ANYTHING.
Lick, rub or vote

[Pender]

A little off topic, but my wife is a masseuse, and she noticed a couple trends.

The male masseuses she works with have a harder time getting clients then the women do. Most guys don't want to be touched by another guy (as a guy, I understand this). But the funny part is that a lot of women don't want to be touched by a guy either. We're just guessing, but we think their are three reasons that might explain this.

1. Even very attractive women can be very sensitive about how they look, and don't want to feel judged by an unknown man.

2. The thought of your masseuse enjoying your massage as much as you are is kinda creepy.

3. Being alone and nearly nude in a closed room with an unknown man can be frightening.

The other trend? The massage industry has a higher percentage of lesbians than any other profession we can think of.

[Lake]

As near as I can tell, the only thing that the three posts have in common is the fact that the titles given in each more strongly impact the views and feelings of the participants than the actions themselves.

The passengers can't think of the airline without grinning about a naughty joke first. The hot woman isn't being easy, she's demanding a legitimate business transaction. The voter isn't wasting his or her time, he or she is doing his civic duty.

[Eric Miller]

The real question: Would attractive women fly Conaerlingus? If so, would they do it for free? If I fly Conaerlingus, do I get to vote on the women passengers?

[the_brett]

The perception of being indirectly part of something that feels good.

[Peter Sommers]

Regarding the economic rational for not voting. I disagree with their logic. Every vote for the loser counts because every vote for the loser changes which votes for the winner is the are the ones that count.

Since its impossible to predict down to an individual vote, there is incentive to make sure your vote is there should it be needed.

(your past arguments against voting because we don't have the knowledge to make an informed decision makes sense but the solution is trying to get more information - provided your interested in participating in the process in the first place - not excluding yourself from the process.)

[Carl]

Are there any chapters dedicated to pictures of beautiful women getting massaged in "Stick To Drawing Comics, Monkey Brain" (which is available from all good booksellers?)

If not, it would be a good addition to your next book.

[Jeff]

The pattern? Superstition and free will. You're too predictable.

> But would you be concerned about your flight going down?

Nope. That would be superstitious.

> Why do attractive women pay for massages?

Because the men that would give the attractive woman a massage for free have other motivations. The woman doesn't want to deal with that. So, she pays someone to perform the massage without the emotional baggage.

> my opinion that voting is irrational for an individual.

I completely agree. However, I vote every damn time because our political system is a game and votes in aggregate is what counts. I vote to help offset the mindless sheep of the religious right that go to the polls in droves to vote for the candidate that their various spiritual leaders told them to vote for.

From my perspective, my vote cancels one of the crazies. It's the political equivalent of tackling one of those people and pinning them to the ground all voting day so they can't vote. Just having that image in mind when I vote is enough of a reason for me to vote.

[Neil Mix]

All three will inspire enough righteous indignation in humorless people to cause them to publicly gripe about your stupidity?

[Gus]

in common? 1. thinking about it 2. simulating it 3. doing it (getting screwed).

Why bother? The picture in the article actually makes a case. As does the story about the blossoms. If all you are is a drop in the bucket, why bother. But if no drops went in the bucket, it would be empty. It is by being a tiny participating part of a larger force that makes it a force at all. With out you that force is just that much weaker.

If you can't be bothered to participate because one person can't make a difference you probably don't participate when your neigbours go missing in the night, when your sister drops by with bruises on her body, when drug dealers walk your street....

GET INVOLVED. BUILD UP A GROUP THAT SAYS WE DON'T LIKE THIS SH*T. HAVE YOUR VOICE HEARD.

Which is almost like voting isn't it?

[Pender]

Depends on what kind of massage your refering to.

An attractive woman should never pay for an erotic massage.

As far as a REAL massage, the reason that attractive women pay for massages is because they want a massage, and not some horny guy fondling them.

[Jake]

Well, the common theme seems to be the economics of socialized self-interest. The beautiful woman doesn't want to be seen bartering on her beauty, or not participating in the market the same way as everyone else, voters want to be seen voting when that's the market currency, and you might not want to appear in salaciously tinged headlines for your airline choice. Well, you might...

[JP]

Someone else already said this, but it was buried in the middle of a longer comment.

According to an expert (my wife), hot women pay for massages so they don't have to have sex after it.

[daniel]

Could the communality be: erotic erection elections? I did not think so....

[EternalMarksman]

Not trying to mock you in the least, but here's my answer.

If the airline did merge with another, these people would not have free will, for they would notice the airline without thinking about it, thus taking away the illusion of free will.

The people wanting to massage the hot women would hove no free will in wanting to do so, not even thinking about it. There is no free will here either.

The people voting seem urged to do so, and don't know why. Their vote doesn't really matter. It's an illusion of free will that they went to the voting booth, and get to celebrate if their party wins.

There. I just proved that no one has free will.

Now, because you have no free will, I expect you to reward me.

[John]

All three have to do with doing something because it feels good.

[robert]

None of them mentioned your book.

[Yak Boy]

Just because your vote may not be the deciding vote, doesn't mean it doesn't count. In fact, if anything, the wider the margin in an election, the bigger the message the votes on the winning side of the ballot are sending. Landslide victories tend to shape policy going into future elections; away from the losing side's policies and towards those of the winning side.

So, the converse is also true: voting for the losing candidate is an endorsement of their policies. And if your vote helps make the election a close one, the winning candidate is more likely to adopt policies closer to their rival's, hoping to win a larger share of the vote, lest they face another nail-biter at the next election.

The NY Times article also suggests to me another reason why you shouldn't assume your particular vote doesn't matter. According to the article, ALL economists hold the view that their individual vote doesn't count, and therefore ALL economists refuse to vote unless forced. That means that economists are, albeit voluntarily, disenfranchised.

So, whilst few elections are won by a single vote, there's probably plenty that are won by, say, one hundred votes. In such an election there might be one hundred and one economists eligible to vote, and since economists are so universally of one mind we'll assume they would all have voted for the same candidate. Of course, in this hypothetical scenario that candidate happens to have lost the election, because ALL economists are smart enough to realise their vote doesn't really count.

And that kind of grouping of people is really the key. Whilst individuals may think they are unique when they decide not to vote, chances are that they fall into a certain demographic that is, as a group, less likely to vote. For example, if you happen to be a single parent who has to work long hours and look after young children, you're in a category that's pretty likely to not find the time on polling day. So, rather than one vote, which didn't really count anyway, not being cast, you have a whole demographic that's disenfranchised. And that means that demographic doesn't get the attention it needs and deserves from the politicians.

[Klayman]

Funnily enough, here in Elbonia aka Argentina, voting is an obligatory constitutional right.

Yep, just as you read, it's your Right to Vote, but if you don't you get fined/jailed/otherwise screwed over. The real pathetic thing about all this is, that if the elections don't go the way the powers that be want it, it's bent and twisted into that direction, no matter what or who the majority really wanted and voted.

While the Government keeps trying to sell every last bit of the country with one hand, it steals openly with the other by investing in ludicrous and ridiculously overprized projects, disregarding even the most basic needs of the population, like health, education, work and security. Yet, it wins election after election with a landslide. And the only other (historically) available option is military "intervention" and Dictatorship. And not too long ago, that was a sad truth.

So everything is done in the name of democracy, with people lining up for hours to cast a vote they know wont matter, neither individually nor collectively, for people they know will rob and maim them and their property in one way or the other, 'cuz if they don't they get screwed by that very same government.

And you write about the futility of your individual vote. Jesus Christ, you really have no idea how lucky you are.

Dissapointed, but used to it
Klayman

[Rob]

Not sure about the pattern, but your Aer Lingus/Continental Airlines merger scenario brought to mind a humorous local example:

Good name for an outdoor mall located in Clay Township, Indiana? Clay Terrace, of course.

http://www.simon.com/mall/default.aspx?ID=860

[roleh]

"come together"

[himanshu]

ok ok. go ahead with another lecture on cognitive dissonance. i always know its rubbish but can take one more. having a mouse with scroll function makes it easier.

[GLK]

The commonality of your topics is, Freakonomics.

Yes, voting is an ineffectual display of abject futility utilized to make the glowering masses feel like they have a modicum of power over the things that will ultimately be decided with, or without, their blessing. All for the greater good of course.

[Diana W]

They all involve merging and the benefits it brings. First is corporate merging, which in this example results in a much funnier name. The second topic has individuals physically merging, with obvious perks. And the third involves the merging of individual votes, and how the masses elect people rather than individuals electing them. Might not be what you were looking for, but it works.

[Remek]

I've got it! I've got it!

They all have in common: They are NOT PENIS-RELATED jokes!!!

[Dan]

Everyone should vote, there is no excuse!
Your tax dollars have payed for this election weather you vote in it on not, so you might should get your money's worth and vote.
Oh, and with regards to voting, people may feel their vote is unimportant for various reasons, and one of the highest reasons on the list might be because there are so many votes one vote doesn't matter.
some other reasons might be:
--I'm lazy
--The candidate/party I would vote for will win/loose by a huge margin regarless of my vote
--There is no difference or I haven't bothered to read the platforms candidates are running under so i don't care who wins.
--There is no candidate/party I respect enough to vote for. all polititians are corrupt.
--The system is corrupt/biased/doesn't work (same argument)
While it may be easy to justify that your one vote doesn't matter, clearly the huge number of people who don't vote in a given election could make even an unpopular party win by a land slide. You could argue those people's votes would be split according to the same distribution as the people who did vote....but that depends entirely on why they aren't voting. Or conversely why the voters are voting. I agree that social pressure to vote because its your social duty is a large factor, but it is not the only factor.
I would argue that the non-voters are particular segments of the population. For example, recent immigrants/citizens almost always vote, especially if they came from somewhere without a vote/democratic system that works. That is a fact. Those people (immigrants) would clearly share common views (on things like immigration policy) and may all vote for one party.
Another example, if a large number of intellegent dilbert reading voters decided not to bother voting because you don't vote and you advocate against it. I think I could argue dilbert readers make up a segment of the population that works in offices and share many common views and would mostly vote for the same party and would not be split along the same lines as the voting population as a whole. Their decision to not vote would therefore make a huge difference in the overall election.
Internet voting could have a Massive impact on elections if the results of the voting are announced by the media AS THE VOTES COME IN! UP TO THE MINUTE! It could make voting exciting and more appealing to the induhvidual!
I think it is clear that when an election is more exciting due to political scandle there are higher voting turnouts. When a political party or polititian screws up badly people do come out in force to vote that person/party OUT! That alone is proof that the current system at least partially works.
So go out and VOTE people. If you don't vote then you have no business commenting on the government or government policy.

My brain is nowhere NEAR engaged enough to take a stab at this, but if I were to do so, in the method of say... poetry interpretation ("There can be no wrong answer," says the lecturer, as he gives you an "F"), I'd say it has something to do with projections. Personal projections of images, as you want other people to perceive you, and acting in self interest. It's more about the perception everyone else has of you than what you think of yourself.

To elaborate:

Aer Lingus would for that exact