Both the US and Canada minimize the amount they spend on public transit. The argument wasnt that it wouldn't work if they spent more. The argument is that it won't work for the same or lower price which is what governments are looking for.
But if they have to take the electric buses of the road the instant it hits -20c, we wouldn't know. No reason to think they don't have the same challenges with cold that Canada does.
So let's change the discussion. If you feel computers are capable of mystical behavior, what other inanimate objects are? Can a travel alarm clock or a calculator be mystical?
Well I can tell you almost certainly that the UKs expectations on what to spend on public transit are a lot higher than what Canadian cities have to spend. Over there public transit is viewed as a necessity, over here it is viewed as a last resort. Also do temperatures fall below -30c in the UK? As for Russia, who knows if you can even trust that number.
Please tell me your evidence that dopamine does not shape thoughts and that affects of hormones do not affect human thinking. It seemed to me that they effect human thinking a great deal. Van Gogh's bipolar disorder drove his art. People kill due to schizophrenia, etc.
But what market do you follow? Do you set the wage at what it would be if only Americans were allowed to take jobs at American companies? That would probably be three times what it is today.