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PaperclipPerfector  7d ago (text post)   2668 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for October 16, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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Anyone watch the Roadster demo last night? As expected, it had some peak Elon cringe moments, but you don't have to be a great MC when you have a flying car.

Possibly the greatest product demo of all time.

I considered making a culture war post about this, but I suck at writing.

When I watched it, I audibly gasped; the most incredible feat of engineering I've witnessed since I saw the dual Dragon landings on that ocean platform. That said, I've been amazed to see the polarizing response on all the usual sites. You have a vocal contingent going "HOLY HELL THIS IS INCREDIBLE", but also a sizable movement going "this is stupid"/"what are we gonna use this for?"/"you could've solved world hunger instead", etc.

To me, this could've been a rallying reminder of the greatness of human ingenuity. Instead it's just another scissor statement.

Yeah, the Hacker News thread was a disaster.

I used to think "Atlas Shrugged" was a poorly written strawman. Now I realize that it spoke with the clearest truth about human nature. Weak people hate greatness.

I suppose the worst thing about it from the majority of its lay critics was how its philosophy got co-opted by so many libertarians. Once you get past that, it wasn’t a very bad book, even though I’m not a Rand fan. We live with all sorts of strange moral juxtapositions. One that’s endlessly baffling to me is how people will not view human generosity as a blessing to be appreciated, but a sign of weakness to be exploited. If you’ve ever been weighted down under the impression you’re a bad person because you’ve stopped setting yourself up to be an advantage prop for someone else, just remember in the eyes of these people, you’ll be an asshole no matter what you do. As such, I have no problem being an a-ho to others. Loyalty often lasts only as long as the need does. The fastest way to incur hate isn’t to betray someone, it’s to help them too much.

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