Saturday, December 21, 2024

If direct analogy questions are ever re-added to the SAT, I've got a new one for them!

SAT = "Scholastic Aptitude Text"; it was, and remains, something of a rite of passage for most high school students.


Analogy questions have since been removed from the SAT, but if they're ever returned to the test, the events of the past week have inspired a new one (and in a bonus, there's even a pop culture reference [admittedly, the reference is nearly 50 years old :) ]) -

Donald Trump is to Elon Musk as Grand Moff Tarkin is to__________.

A. Luke Skywalker

B. Princess Leia

C. Darth Vader


One hint (probably not going to be on a test) - the correct answer isn't A or B


Note:

Tarkin was a wholly evil character in the original Star Wars movie who was under the impression that he was in charge.  At least, he thought that until Vader disabused him of that notion.

This isn't a perfect analogy - in the movies, Vader had a spark of humanity...a deeply buried one, but one that was there; Musk hasn't shown any such thing.

He *has* shown a propensity for interceding.

From Business Insider -

Jeff Bezos and Trump had dinner at Mar-a-Lago, and were joined by Elon Musk

Jeff Bezos seems to be trying to patch up his feud with Donald Trump and Elon Musk.

The former Amazon CEO was pictured at Mar-a-Lago with fiancĂ© Lauren Sánchez on Wednesday night in images circulating on social media, as he joined the president-elect for dinner.

[snip]

Tesla CEO Elon Musk was also in attendance, confirming that the meeting had taken place in a post on X, describing it as a "great conversation."

Of course, dinner isn't the only place where Musk has thrown his weight around. He used his influence to defeat a short-term federal spending bill.  The unelected Musk's interference in political matters hasn't been unnoticed.

From Rolling Stone -

Dems Troll Trump by Calling Elon the Real President

Elon Musk has not been elected to any public office, but after tanking Republicans’ most recent attempt at a stopgap funding bill to avoid a shutdown, some right-wing lawmakers are entertaining the idea of installing him as speaker of the House. Democrats, by contrast, are pointing out that if the party — which claims to loathe the unelected bureaucracy — is going to let themselves be controlled by the social media posts of the world’s richest man, they may as well hand him the keys to the White House.

“The US Congress this week came to an agreement to fund our government,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) wrote on Wednesday. “Elon Musk, who became $200 BILLION richer since Trump was elected, objected. Are Republicans beholden to the American people? Or President Musk? This is oligarchy at work.” 

With Cheeto's, I expect him to kick Musk to the curb, or to otherwise bring him to heel...unless Emperor Palatine Vlad brings Cheeto to heel first.


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