Unintended consequences
 

The law of unintended consequences

"The law of unintended consequences, often cited but rarely defined, is that actions of people,�and especially of government, always have effects that are unanticipated or "unintended." Economists and other social scientists have heeded its power for centuries; for just as long, politicians and popular opinion have largely ignored it"

Here's my example - any others?

President Bush Boosts Porn Industry With Economic Stimulus Plan linky

Re: Unintended consequences
 

Well it sounds like their economy isn't the only thing being 'stimulated' .... :D

Re: Unintended consequences
 

So G W has been replacing his Porn collection ;) I hope it was not with TaxPayers money Very bad george :D

Re: Unintended consequences
 

I always thought he was a tosseur.....

Anyhoo, any other examples?

Re: Unintended consequences
 

When the US government (why is it always them?) increased the sentence for pushing marijuana, it had the unintended consequence of incentivising the dealers to move to pushing heroin, which had carried as high a sentence but was more profitable...

Re: Unintended consequences
 

i always thought he was a d..k head.;)

Re: Unintended consequences
 

Unintended? ... I'm reminded of the term 'mens rea' and 'compus mentus'.

Could the mentally ill use this as a defense in criminal cases? ... Maybe we'll find out when Bush is held accountable for <deleted by CIA> :erm:

Re: Unintended consequences
 

Artificial sweeteners cause weight gain

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7233459.stm

Re: Unintended consequences
 

Yup, I've found that Aspartame stimulates my appitite particularly well, comes in handy for when I want to steal everyone elses food from the communal fridge.

another good link ... http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=...ound-the-brain

Re: Unintended consequences
 

Asda does diet pop without Aspartame now which is good :)

Re: Unintended consequences
 

Given what I've heard about Aspartame, I'm not sure increased appetite would be my major concern:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspartame

Re: Unintended consequences
 

Denny's is known for being open 24 hours a day, every day, always. The story goes that in 1998, for the first time in 35 years, Denny's decided to close its doors on Christmas, but there was a big problem: since Denny's was always open, many stores didn't have locks on the doors, so they couldn't close.

Crime is a large and growing problem in Russia, and one of the biggest threats is in the area of auto theft. To combat car theft, automobile owners installed car alarms. The result? Thieves waited until the owner approached the car to turn off the alarm, and then shot him, took his keys, and drove away in the car

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/01..._consequences/

Re: Unintended consequences
 

Re: Unintended consequences
 

How about British workers getting mightily upset and going on strike after Gordon Brown claimed 'British Jobs for British Workers' and they found out it was, as usual, just so much hot air. I'm certain Brown didn't intend that to happen....

Re: Unintended consequences
 

http://uk.health.lifestyle.yahoo.net...you-fatter.htm

Interesting study, although I don't understand this bit:

"...[the researchers] tracked 474 men and women aged between 65 to 74 for around nine and a half years."

Why did they choose to study people in this age range?