Crake
Protestant Goodbot
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User ID: 1203
Crake
Protestant Goodbot
1yr ago
I don't have a problem with the image in other contexts but it is objectively a bad candidate for a favicon. It just looks like a brown smudge when shrunk down to that size.
Crake
Protestant Goodbot
1yr ago
I’m confused. Where does he actually state the non warm up problem? Was it edited?
Crake
Protestant Goodbot
1yr ago
I don’t think women don’t like conservative men. It may be true that they don’t like conservative men who feel the need to overtly signal that they are conservative.
On the internet there are a lot of men who are conservative in a way that is informed by their resentments. They feel that the leftist world order hasn’t taken care of them and so they reject it. Fair enough. Obviously women don’t like these men because they aren’t successful or confident or handsome. If they had attractive traits they wouldn’t be resentful in the first place.
But there are lots of successful and confident men who are conservative. Most of the more conservative men I know in real life fall into this camp.
These men are conservative by nature or upbringing or whatever. But they are successful and confident, so resentment isn’t part of their politics. I don’t see these men having any trouble finding girlfriends or hookups in real life. And I live in a very liberal urban bubble.
They date women who generally are more liberal than them because that’s ubiquitously the political ideology of women in young urban areas. But neither the men or the women care that much about their political differences.
The women don’t care because they want confident successful men and don’t actually care about their partners politics. The men don’t care because they want hot loving girlfriends and think their partners politics are irrelevant.
Notably, these couples tend to follow traditional gender norms in their relationship to each other. Even if the women are strident feminist on Twitter.
if the above is true, why on earth would a successful handsome conservative man sign up for a conservative dating site? They already get laid on tinder and can find girlfriends that are comfortable with gender roles through normal dating.
thiells website is going to select generally for men who aren’t just conservative but who are conspicuously conservative. And worse, who are generally not successful with girls. And that’s going to be obvious to women regardless of their stated politics.
I don't buy this. It only makes sense if Putin is on the absolute knife's edge of losing power already, and if that is the case, I don't think he'd have the power to secretly bomb the pipe without that being stopped or leaked.
Putin is in a precarious position but I think he still has control of many of the levers of power. The pipe existing gives him future options. He can turn it on or keep it off. That gives him leverage. I can't imagine that he would want to shrink his options is he still has the power to make that decision. And again, if he has enough power to blow it up, then he must still have quite a bit of power.
Crake
Protestant Goodbot
1yr ago
R. Scott Bakker has written a dark fantasy cycle The Second Apocalypse, which contains a curious race, Dûnyain
That's funny. When you've spoken about the powers that be before, I've wanted to suggest you check out The Second Apocalypse. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, that seems like the kind of thing that would be commonly brought up in a book club thread here.
Crake
Protestant Goodbot
1yr ago
Imagine if a democrat arrested 20 republicans for possessing an illegal firearm because they misunderstood an ATF statute and the ATF webpage said that particular modification / accessory was legal. And when Rs got mad about it, a democrat said "think on the meta level - from a pure signaling standpoint - if we want to prevent people from knowingly committing gun crimes, we have to arrest people who commit gun crimes, even if they possess a defense.".
That doesn't sound like an insane tactic. Making things uncomfortable for gun owners who have accidentally committed a small offense still makes things uncomfortable for gun owners. How does it not make sense?
Or evolved in a lab but without active genetic engineering. You can infect lab animals and select for more potent viruses. And I think that is something that is done under the auspices of discovering potentially dangerous mutations that might occur.
That wouldn't leave any of the telltale markers of snipping and inserting genes, but could still lead to the creation of something nasty. And it would mean it was possible for the virus to be the result of human meddling, but not the result of an explicit attempt to hide that meddling.
Actively hiding the meddling seems really unlikely in the Wuhan labs, so if that's necessary, I think we have to default to the first option you provide, that it was found in the wild.
Crake
Protestant Goodbot
1yr ago
What's the point?
I don’t want any increase of geopolitical tension between China and the west but I think there are substantial reasons to want this to become the widespread consensus.
Biotech is an existential risk that people and governments are not concerned enough about. I think it would be very good for that to be a more widespread concern.
A practical goal would be banning gain of function research. Or more realistically, banning gain of function research that claims to be being done in pursuit of some kind of medical goal. I don’t really think you’ll be able to stop it from happening in military labs. But research that dangerous shouldn’t have the veil of claiming that it is being done in order to protect against viruses. And, you shouldn't be able to do it in labs with the security levels of the Wuhan labs.
The smallest practical goal would be removing American funding from Chinese gain of function research. It appears to be undisputed that there was at least some money coming from America and funding labs in Wuhan that were researching novel coronaviruses. That should obviously stop.
Crake
Protestant Goodbot
1yr ago
You don’t think there’s any effect on the person from the medium itself? No truth at all to “the medium is the message”
I have many young family members and I think that the way screens affect them is pretty strong evidence, for me, that the medium of story/information matters a lot.
Kids react to iPads and television they same way they react to cake. It gets them freaking high.
We know refined sugar is bad for adults even if they aren’t as obvious in carnal delight when they consume it as kids. I think the same is likely true for screens.
As some people have said, the correct answer is that you should ditch the drugs, work on yourself deeply, and build up a new personality based on healthier habits. But that's unrealistic advice in general, and especially near the end of a coding camp. If it's a good one, you probably don't have much time for anything besides the course work. And when it does end, you need to dive into job apps hard.
(timing couldn't be worse, with the tech job market as it is).
There's still a fair amount of hiring right now. You're probably right that it will get worse if the recession gets more apparent, but you should still have some time.
Your main question is about managing stimulants.
You find nicotine useful but you've already found a solution for that by buying nicotine pouches. You also can get nicotine gum at any pharmacy. So if you find that works for you then great.
If you're looking an easy way out of concentration issues (and again obviously this is the unhealthy approach) then amphetamine is the only real option. I think that caffiene, provigil, nicotine, methylphenidate are all way inferior in terms of the motivation:side-effects ratio.
I used to take Dexedrine or Adderall, but I don't tolerate amphetamine well.
That sucks. What do you mean you don't tolerate it well? Very low doses at times that don't interfere with sleep can work really well. But that's obvious advice, so maybe you're already tried that.
Crake
Protestant Goodbot
1yr ago
Can anyone here recommend a specific translation of Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics? I read it in college and want to reread it, but when I look at the different editions, I don't know how to pick. Any suggestions from someone with a more extensive philosophy background?
Thanks!
Crake
Protestant Goodbot
1yr ago
That's not my understanding. I don't think it is illegal under US law and also not universally. Can you point at the exact laws you are referring to?
Seeing your other response in this thread:
We already banned gain-of-function research.
Why do you think Fauci & Co. had to outsource it to China and Ukraine?
I don't think we actually disagree here. I don't think it is as airtightly illegal in the US as you are implying. But regardless, the main point of my post seems to agree with you. No?
Crake
Protestant Goodbot
1yr ago
I'm confused about both you and stiffly stance here. Are either of you disagreeing with me that having this be more of a public concern would be bad?
I've yet to see anyone be swayed on the issue no matter how convincing the data. Personally, I doubt there's any data that could sway me in the other direction either.
I was swayed. I was radically concerned about covid and pro lockdowns. I was reading Chinese news and told all of my friends that covid was going to be a huge deal back in the first december before it really showed up in america. To the point that my girlfriend said she was going to stage an intervention because I was taking this too seriously. My friends all thought I was being crazy.
Then when it did pop off I helped convince the business I worked at to go fully remote, and fled my city with my gf to live in a rural area (obviously my views were aided by the fact that I have the resources to do that and it wasn't a real hardship for me).
I was, for a LONG TIME, one of the most intense about covid safety in my social group. I was wildly cautious about my own exposure. I don't think I ever judged people who were less cautious, but that didn't stop me from supporting the more consensual lockdowns at least. And I certainly avoided hanging out with people who weren't extremely careful.
But my mind was changed entirely. Not necessarily by any argument anyone made. But as the months passed it became clear that covid was not the black death and that lockdowns weren't doing anything good. They only hurt the young to protect the very old. I watched people I knew get covid and saw that it wasn't a severe disease. And towards the end of the winter of 2021, my perspective had done a 180.
I fully recant my original position. My reaction was too strong, and the lockdowns, etc, did nothing but harm. I really regret my original position and feel kind of stunned by what it says about my psychology that I became so intense. Some part of me still does think "the big one" is out there in a lab somewhere, so it's not like I've fully moved on from the preoccupation with potential plagues.
They really are the ultimate scissor statement
Maybe but I live in a super blue bubble, and covid fanaticism has died out rapidly and is almost non existent now. Sure, you're supposed to get boosters and claim that covid was a big deal. But many don't get boosters (I don't and have successfully convinced my very blue family to avoid them). I have also found that saying it wasn't a big deal ever and that we made a mistake, has not made any of my friends particularly bothered.
Crake
Protestant Goodbot
1yr ago
I would be pretty upset if my kids were childfree. I wouldn't try to coerce them away from that decision, but I would feel like I had failed on some level, or that society had failed them. Family formation is a pretty core value for me. Is that wrong?
Crake
Protestant Goodbot
1yr ago
I know lots of bootcampers at fang companies making more than 200k.
They were the most talented of their classes but they made it.
Crake
Protestant Goodbot
1yr ago
It also probably didn't help the box office of BROS that its target market --- young urban progressives -- is the same one most hawkishly cautious about COVID and the least likely to return to movie theaters out of what now could be ascribed to superstitious fears of deadly illness.
I really don't think this is a thing. Everyone I know is a young urban progressive, and many of them are the conspicuously political type of young urban progressive. While they all liked to talk about how covid was terrifying and we needed vax mandates - both in person and on social media - most of them stopped caring after less than 12 months.
We are way beyond that point now, and I don't know a single "young urban progressive" who avoids going to rowdy parties. Maybe they wear a mask on public transport to that party, but that's it. Most of them will happily share a joint with strangers at said parties. None of them are concerned about covid in a way that would stop them from going to a public event they had any interest in.
If young urban progressives didn't show up to this movie, its because they, like everyone else, was not interested in the movie. Not because of covid concerns.
Crake
Protestant Goodbot
1yr ago
any more than if you had a family business and none of the children wanted to take it over as they got older.
Well unfortunately I don't have a family business to pass on to them, but if I did I would also be pretty upset if they didn't want to take it over as they got older. And I wish my parents had a family business to pass to me - ideally one that they would be mad if I didn't take over lol
IMO children are a burden, not a blessing,
Well they're definitely a burden, but can't they be both? I tend to think most valuable things are obligations.
To be honest, I have a hard time understanding how anyone can want children, but that's just something I have to accept as "different people are wired differently".
Fair enough. Clearly wiring has a lot to do with it. I'm probably wired to have a strong desire to have children.
But I also have good feeling about family that aren't just based on wiring. My fondest memories are oriented around family. I have incredibly positive memories that are focused on older and younger family. So I have in my brain a positive association with being the older family member getting to introduce the younger to the world and play with them. And also a desire to fill that positive roll that older family members filled for me. There are burdens involved but my general feeling around family is very warm. Those were always fulfilling relationships for me.
I think most of the good things in life are warm, fulfilling burdens. What do you think is valuable to do that is not a burden?
Crake
Protestant Goodbot
1yr ago
I think you make an interesting point about things having a dual nature, but I can't think of anything where I'd characterize it as a burden. For example, marriage entails certain obligations on both parties: I have to take care of my wife, I can't go chasing other women, things like that. But none of those things is a burden to me. At most, when we argue I am frustrated in the moment and put it aside for love. And of course there are lots and lots of upsides to marriage. We take care of each other in times of weakness, having a companion is really good, having sex is fun, all that.
I think that's mostly a semantic difference in defining burden. I was trying to interpret burden in a more positive way, essentially the same as obligation, which is why I introduced that word.
If by burden you just mean a bad obligation, then by definition that is bad. I was thinking more like a backpack full of supplies on a hike - a heavy load. Something you have to expend energy to carry, but probably for a good reason not a bad one. Doing hard things for rewarding reasons is the best thing in life.
But the rest of what you said shows that it REALLY is a wiring difference between us. So there isn't really any interesting convo to have with me arguing that kids are a good investment. Your feelings about kids truly are fundamentally different from me on a base level.
Conversely, I find the difficult parts of dealing with children to be far worse in magnitude. Like, just the sound of hearing a child throwing a temper tantrum is like fingernails on chalkboard to me
Even when kids are throwing tantrums it doesn't bother me that much. I enjoy working with kids even when they are being very difficult. If it fundamentally makes you that uncomfortable, you're right, kids would be a huge net negative.
What about the family business concept? Businesses don't throw tantrums but you imply you'd resent having that thrust on you as well.
This is obviously a very very low priority nitpick, but the current favicon is bad. Obviously not worth pulling meaningful resources to fix, but when it is possible I would say that just a bolded M in any bright color would be an improvement from the current version.
You can generate a letter based favicon easily from somewhere like this https://favicon.io/favicon-generator/
I'm not saying that the product will be good, but I think like a black M on a grey background might still be an improvement.
I'm not brave enough to actually select a font though.
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