NelsonRushton
Doctorate in mathematics, specializing in probability theory, from the University of Georgia. Masters in AI from the University of Georgia. 15 years as a computer science professor at Texas Tech. Now I work as a logician for an AI startup. Married with one son. He's an awesome little dude.
I identify as an Evangelical Christian, but many Evangelicals would say that I am a deist mystic, and that I am going to Hell. Spiritually, the difference between me and Jordan Peterson is that I believe in miracles. The difference between me and Thomas Paine (an actual deist mystic) is that I believe the Bible is a message to us from the Holy Spirit, and the difference between me and Billy Graham is that I think there is noise in the signal.
User ID: 2940
NelsonRushton
2d ago
Lost all credibility for me when he said that of there was a Palestinian state that the fighting would stop. "From the river to the sea Palestine will be free" means the entire area of what is now israel will be "free" of Jews. And where are these Jews supposed to go? It says in hamas's 1988 charter where they are supposed to go (to their graves) and they have never changed their tune. When Fatah renounced terrorism, Hamas became the most popular party among the people of Gaza, and they won the 2006 Palestinian elections on a platform of terror and hatred. As Douglas Murray said, it there was a Palestinian state it would be a Nazi state.
NelsonRushton
1d ago
Ideally they would be welcome in a muslim country. They could go to Egypt. No wait Egypt has a fortified barrier with Gaza -- more heavily fortified than their border with Israel -- to keep them out of Egypt. They could immigrate to Lebanon. No wait they were kicked out of Lebanon for inciting terrorism. They could go to Jordan. No wait they were kicked out of Jordan for inciting terrorism. Maybe they could to Kuwait. No wait they were kicked out of Kuwait for inciting terrorism. I'd say they can go to hell but they would probably be kicked out of there too.
NelsonRushton
2d ago
If I understand the analogy correctly this is an important question. I think part of the answer is that it's a tragedy if the commons. You pay a personal cost for combating wokeness, but your individual vote, campaigning, etc. is unlikely to have a discernable effect: if policy is going to change it is going to be the work of thousands or millions of people a d will happen with or without your effort. Even taking the time and effort to show up at the voting booth on election day incurs a personal cost with no personal gain.
The same thing is true of as a soldier in battle, of sticking your head up over the sandbags to fire a shot at the enemy. The war will be won or lost no matter what you do, but you risk getting shot when you engage with the enemy. Your motive is one of principle one, while the risk is a material one. When enough people withdraw from honor and principle and cling to the material, nothing else can happen but what we are seeing.
Great post. I wish you would post more.
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