Eetan
1d ago
I'd agree that for better or worse the 'capital T' Traditional world is dying. I think an important factor that's often overlooked is that the ubiquitous preindustrial peasant sustenance economies that dominated almost the entire globe 200 years ago are gone entirely or radically diminished today in Europe, America, East Asia and increasingly the developing world as well.
This. How would modern "trad" society look like? How would modern industrial infrastructure, both hard and soft, run on traditional feudal principles? I am not aware of any trad engaging with this question at all.
Eetan
1d ago
If conservatives can be persuaded to join the army to help a Godless empire plant poppies to flood their rivals with heroin, then they can be persuaded to sacrifice some pleasure for the only Empire that has ever mattered, the Kingdom of God.
There is difference between enlistment for good money and benefits on the other side of the world, and fighting civil war against your neighbors in the ruins of your town (without air support, without evacuation and medical care, without regular delivery of ice cream to the front line).
Eetan
1d ago
My point here isn't that I think RETVRN TO THE 1790s is going to happen at the voter box, exactly.
It is not going to happen at gun point either.
Look at most serious attempt (so far) of RETVRN of (partly) modernized society back to trad life.
Yes, I mean Iran.
It is total failure on all terms, and especially trad religious ones. And it was not due to ayatollah's softness, due to excessive devotion to "human rights" or "due process". I am not aware of any "trad" engaging with this example, honestly trying to find out "what went wrong" or "who betrayed the revolution".
Eetan
1d ago
Western style progressivism is the (still) most prestigious memeplex in the world, it is easy to understand why people all over the world want to immitate it (without fully understanding the nuances).
As for assimilation, it is going on stronger and faster than ever, only the assimilation is not going the way you would prefer.
Imagine some far away country, split roughly equally between Sunnis and Shiites, except that the split is not equal.
Sunnis tend to live in cities, control the media, bureaucracy and secret services, the wealthy, powerful and influential tend to be Sunni in way disproportionate ratio, while Shiites tend to be poor underprivileged country folk.
If you came to this country and wanted to stay there and assimilate, would you go to Sunni or Shiite mosque?
Eetan
2d ago
Is there any actual incentive for anyone to do so beyond idle curiosity, much less at scale?
Yes, idle scientific curiosity is the reason. If we found few frozen Neanderthals that could be revived, it would be sensation and "we" as scientific community would be willing to spend billions to restore them to life (and put them in comfortable zoo).
For millions of Neanderthals? Forget it. This is why cryonics should be preserve of handful of eccentrics, not popular practice.
Eetan
2d ago
Asians form their own ethnic interests groups and overwhelmingly vote for Democrats.
This is how assimilation into Blue America looks like. No such thing as current Democratic party platform is conceivable in Asian countries, it is purely American creation.
Eetan
2d ago
Eetan
17d ago
I'd argue vanilla WoW is pretty unserious (and willing to throw random stuff that wasn't there historically, from goblins to kobolds).
WOW Kobolds - tiny ugly mischievous thieving and griefing underground dwellers - are fully mythically accurate.
Far more accurate that WOW elves.
Eetan
17d ago
There is no catboy character because that doesn’t exist in the Western imagination.
Tales about talking human-like animals are older than castles, cathedrals and other medieval tropes.
It depends where you draw the line. If 19th century gothic horror is traditional, why not 20th century Disney style animal people?
(and WOW indeed buckled to the pressure and added multiple cute and fluffy playable races)
Eetan
21d ago
IF these interstellar objects are sent by other intelligent civilizations then they're probably intended to kill us.
The gap between us and interstellar capable aliens is like gap between us and insects, and we usually do not go on long trips just to stomp on bugs.
Is there any rational motive for alien invasion? Usual science fiction tropes: "they want our water/women/fresh meat" are ludicrous, but there is a possibility.
Terrestrial planets are big chunks of iron, nickel and other metals, conveniently gathered near stars. If you want to build space megastructures, dismantling these planets is the most economic way to get material.
Yes, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy where Earth is bulldozed in order to build hyperspace bypass is the most accurate depiction of alien invasion.
About non economic motives, motive understandable to us would be pure scientific curiosity ... and religion.
In science fiction, common trope is scientific, rational and logical aliens laughing at Earthling primitive superstitions.
(less known Christian science fiction countertrope is scientific, rational and logical aliens who find out that Christianity is true, become Christian and laugh at atheists.)
Aliens coming to preach their religion (whether peacefully or at blaster point) is something, AFAIK, not done in science fiction (except as slapstick comedy).
"Have you embraced Great Green !Z'hqw':$*>#q?x as your lord and savior?"
Eetan
21d ago
Israeli-born citizens should not be allowed to be attorney generals. Or they should recuse themselves in any case involving Israelis. Or Jews. Or they shouldn't be allowed to be government officials. Or lawyers. Or something.
If, hypothetically, 95% of Italian-American community supported the Mafia, would be Italian-American prosecutor or judge dealing with organized crime case seen as impartial?
Eetan
21d ago
The truth always comes out in the end.
70+ years on, and UFO/UAP truth is nowhere to be seen. Maybe there is really nothing out there, except layers of psyops upon hoaxes upon scams upon bullshit.
Trust the plan.
Eetan
21d ago
Some hard science news, that nevertheless became part of culture wars.
As you probably heard, third recorded interstellar object is on the way. It stands out of sample of three, just like the previous two.
The usual suspects, most prominent Avi Loeb and John Brandenburg of ancient nuclear war on Mars fame sound an alarm to warn from incoming alien invader.
Mainstream science dismisses the concerns and sees the object as ordinary red colored D-type asteroid.
< tinfoil hat> well, what are they supposed to do? </tinfoil hat>
Not that "we" as mankind could do anything if ayys were really here. See just Avi Loeb's proposals.
What Should Humanity Do on the Day After an Interstellar Object is Recognized as Technological?
...
All nations must agree on a coordinated action plan
...
A representative international committee will be appointed to communicate with the alien visitors
Nah. I cannot imagine better way to ensure Earth's swift destruction than to introduce aliens to United Nations. Compared to this plan, doing nothing at all is the superior alternative.
Eetan
21d ago
Who are they?
Average and representative members of Homo sapiens species, who see "milling around" - walking or standing doing nothing - as the best thing in life.
The hope of making few bucks while standing around is just a bonus.
Eetan
21d ago
No cybersecurity expert should be worth this PR disaster.
Optics! Think about the optics!
Maybe they feel that in modern time, when scandals come and go with lighting speed, when public with attention span of gnat stops caring once last hour's breaking news rolls out of screen, worrying about "optics" is no more necessary.
Maybe they are right.
Eetan
22d ago
I think it deserved to be a bigger deal than it largely was.
If so, it is to highlight the routine laziness and incompetence of ordinary law enforcement work. (Yes, you can shoot your parents, do the minimal work to do not be caught at the crime scene and you will get away with it. Yes, if you are wanted, you can just let it know you died in boating accident and TPTP will let it slide)
The Zizians were anything but 180IQ master criminals from pulp fiction, but the limited smarts they had were sufficient to get away with everything for long time.
Eetan
22d ago
My theory of crypto value is that most of the coin gets stolen every few years
It is lost and misplaced, not stolen, and it is not most, estimated number of lost BTC is about 10-20% of total supply
Eetan
22d ago
Eetan
22d ago
Eetan
2mo ago
I find it weird people don't have those qualms about PTSD. But then again we refused to believe it was a thing for a long time.
There are still holdouts who refuse to believe. Not only cranks, but as esteemed HBDIQ rationalist adjacent people as Greg Cochran (his argument: "There was no PTSD in ancient Rome").
Eetan
2mo ago
One of the interesting things that the right wing in the USA is doing is working to destroy many of the institutions that can be deployed to be The Man (the Department of Education being perhaps the prime example).
The right lacks the Elite Human Capital(TM) necessary to take over these institutions, and it knows it. Scorched earth tactics - destroying positions you cannot hold to deny them to the enemy - is the second best solution.
Eetan
2mo ago
If you want to find most accurate crime statistics, look at crimes people have to report for insurance purposes, and this means crimes against cars.
If someone robs you on the street or burglarizes your house, you can just let it slide. If your car is gone, not so.
Far more accurate metric than murder - many people would not be missed by anyone if they went missing. Very few cars.
Eetan
4mo ago
I wouldn’t mind seeing more about those serious estimates
There are people out there counting dilligently.
Verified and documented (news announcements, obituaries, memorials, graves) number of Russian officers KIA is 5883 right now, enlisted men over 100k.
(one Alexei Burkov is the lucky winner)
Ukraine has much better OPSEC than Russia, but you can make your estimate based on how you perceive the disparity.
Eetan
4mo ago
Also https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-43169974
More such cases, but not many - collecting human beings like funko pops is sign of serious psychopathy, and such types were always rare on the ground.
"who will be handling the household finances?"
Trad answer is, of course, the wife. For good reason - traditional societies were heavily alcoholic societies, where if average man got his hands on cash, he would instantly spend it all on booze.
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