# Are feedback systems superior to government regulation? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 28, 2015, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-feedback-systems-superior-to-government-regulation/716189 "2015-03-28T07:03:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2015, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-feedback-systems-superior-to-government-regulation/716189/41 "2015-03-29T17:06:28Z")
If feedback was reliable, homeopathy would be extinct. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2015, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-feedback-systems-superior-to-government-regulation/716189/42 "2015-03-29T17:11:17Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > If feedback was reliable, homeopathy would be extinct. I think that sums it all up right there. ---
**Author:** ![dofe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ba0ec/32.png) [@dofe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dofe)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2015, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-feedback-systems-superior-to-government-regulation/716189/43 "2015-03-29T17:53:34Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > I’ve lived in areas where there effectively isn’t licensing. I’ve had a LOT of food poisoning. Not dangerous for me, but could kill a kid. I’m lucky I never caught Hep C from a nail salon and the worst a cab driver ever did was expose himself. > > I’m happy to be back in the US, where everyday tasks lack that deadly potential. Every time I hear libertarians talk about the evils of government regulation, I have to resist the temptation to buy them a one way ticket to a developing country of my choice so they can truly experience the wonders of unfettered capitalism. Seriously, I spent a large chunk of my life in countries where caveat emptor is crucial for your health and not just good advice. People don’t appreciate government regulation here in the US because they simply have not had exposure to the alternative. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2015, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-feedback-systems-superior-to-government-regulation/716189/44 "2015-03-29T17:59:27Z")
> [@dofe](#): > > People don’t appreciate government regulation here in the US because they simply have not had exposure to the alternative. And because a lot of the people who hold these ideals are the most Dunning of the Krugers. The level of sheer mind-boggling self-assurance behind some of these ideas is nuts. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2015, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-feedback-systems-superior-to-government-regulation/716189/45 "2015-03-29T19:49:32Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I remember years ago being on a tour of that place and it being pointed out that, aside from her obsession with the continuous construction, in many ways Sarah Winchester was a pretty astute lady and kept a tight rein on the staff and on her finances. She didn’t sound like someone who would be easily conned, and the pointlessness of much of the construction seems to indicate a superstitious and irrational obsession one way or the other. Bit of a hijack, but I concur. That’s not just bad designing and building, or contractors padding out jobs - it’s batshit crazy in spots, with a lot of expensive time and material in features that make no sense at all. There really are staircases that go nowhere, doors high up on walls, maze rooms and the like. The contractors didn’t just whip that stuff up and explain it away. OTOH, a lot of features are pointed out as crazy such as the staircase that makes three or four long switchbacks to rise about five feet. It’s a ramp for a very old, arthritic lady who could afford to have one built to her needs. The cabinets in the kitchen that are like four feet by five feet and two inches deep are similarly useful for things like hanging cutlery. Anything can be made weird by taking it out of context. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-feedback-systems-superior-to-government-regulation/716189.md?page=2)