domain:jessesingal.substack.com
4bpp
Now I am become a Helpful, Honest and Harmless Assistant, the destroyer of jobs
2d ago
MaiqTheTrue
Renrijra Krin
2d ago
My issue with Krav is that it really doesn’t teach fighting. It’s basically a system that can teach you how to use things you know, providing you learned them somewhere else first. And because most schools are not quality controlled in the least, you often have guys who have never been in an actual fight teaching things they don’t understand how to work to other people who know nothing about fighting. BJJ has faults, as does boxing, but at least in those systems, the to-KO or to-tapout rules of competition and the fact that the culture around those arts insists on winning competitions, you can be pretty sure that the guy who’s teaching you how to get the other guy into a chokehold has done so numerous times on an opponent actually working to stop him and knows how to make it work. It isn’t just something he demonstrated in class, he learned it by using it in competition. And that same competition will teach people how to think about fighting. You’ll learn how to see the next technique being keyed up, learn to think 3-4 moves in and how to control range. If you can’t do those things having “efficient techniques” doesn’t matter. If you can’t control range I can be out of range quickly or step in and be inside of where you wanted me to be.
SkoomaDentist
2d ago
Either way, I have libertarian tendencies and I appreciate the opportunity to shoot my head off with a gun.
May I introduce you to the lovely world of C++?
Although Undefined Behavior might better be described as a large caliber chaingun firing explosive rounds…
vorpa-glavo
2d ago
I read The Worm Ouroboros a while back and really enjoyed it. Obviously haven't had a chance to reread it yet, but maybe this post is a good excuse to do so!
I've sometimes toyed with the idea of turning the setting into a tabletop RPG. The only issue comes in how to depict the various ethnic groups on Mercury. I might be misremembering, but it really seemed like they're all essentially human beings, despite names like "demons", "pixies", "goblins", "witches", etc.
There's a lot of great sections, like the Sending (which was awesomely described), the manticore (especially loved the brief lapse into even more archaic language for its description), and the moment when one of the characters insults another by "thou"-ing them instead of "you"-ing them.
You mentioned people being confused by the Olympian gods being on Mercury, but I found it delightful. I was especially enchanted by the concept of a "fosterling of the gods", since I feel like it has a lot of storytelling potential in itself.
I also think that all the names of characters and places have a certain charm to them, even if they're clearly a little more haphazard than, say, Tolkien's names.
fmac
Ask me about bike lanes
2d ago
The penjamin is insane
The lack of friction when you own one for going sober>high is insane
It is profoundly easy to smuggle them in anywhere and then get high anywhere
The potency, is insane
Ironically, one of my favorite things about them is if you're very delicate, you can take tiny hits and "surf" a mild high, which is really pleasant. But eventually you'll fuck up, take too big of a hit, and go non-verbal lol.
I'm so happy these didn't exist when I was in high school
Mantergeistmann
2d ago
Man, and I thought the Walker & Hawkes version of those were a bargain at 20% the price.
sun_the_second
could survive a COD lobby and a gay furry discord server
2d ago
I wonder what answer would run the highest probability of ick-induction in a manic pixie programming girl. Excel? SAS? SQL? An actual but boomer-coded programming language like COBOL?
Javascript, perhaps. You expose yourself as either a frontend webdev who codes lame things such as buttons, or someone who uses a frontend webdev language for other tasks. Ew.
Pasha
Defend Kebab
2d ago
What do you want? To improve your fitness? To learn self-defense? To have something to do as a physical hobby?
All 3 I guess? I am definitely not sort of guy who would enter drunken brawls either by provoking or refusing to just run away. But recently some life changes (ie pregnant partner and then a baby) made me confront that there can be situations where you really have to stand your ground, helped by a couple of unpleasant encounters as well.
I am totally fine with some bruises (I have a pet theory that your body expends a lot of calories healing bruises and getting bruised is a good way to lose weight, never bothered to research this lol) but I definitely don’t want long term head damage(bread and butter of boxing) and serious joint/tendon problems as I know these can be truly awful and permanent from some experience. So the other comment scared me a bit about bjj at this point.
Okay so I'm going to make a general apology @HereAndGone @Chrisprattalpharaptr
Yes, this is laying it on a bit too thick. No, I don't 100% believe everything I say here (call it 99.9 tho), but it's instructive. Directionally-correct. Necessary.
Our societal ability to have conversations about what really matters has become sclerotic due to overreddit.
If you're discussing human evolution, why not drop the Tidus framing and just call them humans? And write a sourced post instead?
Because there is not a paragraph in this book which could not be its own essay with citations, if not its own book, which precisely three other people could actually comprehend and none of whom would read it because I already know them and they already know what I think.
I'm writing for a more general audience. I'm taking a leap. I'm trying to show you what I'm seeing in front of me, because I think you're probably seeing it too and just don't know it yet; are in conflict with yourself about it, and no one else is going to speak the words you need to hear.
Man, I am trying to show you the forest. We rationalist tree-enjoyers have gotten rather out of hand, wouldn't you say?
At times in this book I take hard, perhaps even indefensible positions, because I think that they're angling at the truth and I don't know any other way to impart it. I'm painting. A picture. I understand that we're all trained to quibble over pixels but I'm using oil. Gloss.
Let me show you this thing that is staring at us. C.f. the first invocation from chapter one.
I can, and would, defend everything I'm saying here, were it not beside the point. I value this community because it is the only place where I think I can make an honest fresh argument. It might help to know that in book two we take a step back and come again at everything from a very different angle; portray the same subject in a very different light. I'm hinting at truth where I can but some things can only be said between the lines; or in poëtry.
Today's chapter, about to go up, is sure to upset some people. So remember here that I'm painting with purpose. I don't want to lose readers, but let's please stop focusing on trees. Let me show you what I'm seeing, and then we can fight over details. I'd love to, actually, and don't know anywhere else it can happen.
Put another way: The argument could be made rigorously, and long-form, only in theory. In practice, there's no other way to speak than elision. Else vital truths go unsaid.
I'm being as concise, accurate, and sober as I can here while still managing to say anything worth saying. I am not calculating for provocation or unrest. Those come naturally along with the truth.
But this is The Motte and I should address some specific concerns.
Females too need to develop intelligence for politics
Yes, and they're about to in today's chapter. I'm not trying here to make a point about modern women, but rather to show how these things developed in a way that is intuitively comprehensible.
Polygenic traits frequently have very significant environmental influences (Even in animals, and even in genetically identical animals) which you also do not discuss.
I gesture at it occasionally. Bits of new substances working their way in, etc. And next week's chapter is substantially about cultural environment. But also left untouched are: epigenetics, and memetics more generally. That's more the subject of book two.
I suppose you would argue that I could never prove to your satisfaction that those mice experience the world differently, but that would just a be waste of everyone's time.
Correct. While I'm admittedly partial to an omnigenic model, and don't think it's probably quite the case — some things maybe really only do one thing, and have little to do with anything else — I still think it's generally true that this is a better framework, starting point, for the average (highly-preselected) reader than the usual one we're given. Better to start with omni and work back than start with mono and work forward, which is how it's usually taught. YMMV I guess, but then you're also free to write your own book. What needs to be understood here is that genetics is less a bake than a stew.
What is the cliffnotes version of the data supporting this hypothesis?
Not entirely sure what you're asking here but the basic idea is that more-fit organisms displace less-fit ones, which I shouldn't think is objectionable. The conceit of the mountain and the tides does a lot of work. Social space and physical space map onto each other in Tidus, and tides abstract away famines, plagues, etc. It's a simplifying thought experiment. And also nifty. If you want more details go ask Razib; he'll be happy to tell you where it's all to be found in the literature.
Personally I am at pains to stay anonymous, if such a thing will even be possible five minutes from now. I don't want to divulge sources, or drop hints, or leave background information about myself. The most I can say is that I have an expertise in animal psychology and a great deal of practical experience, from which I'm drawing these insights.
don't know what you're referring to here, but this sort of polygenic interaction is impossible to keep track of with our current level of understanding.
Yes; my assertion was that computers help, not that we've solved the problem. In retrospect I can see how the way I put it was a bit ambiguous.
Were you HelmedHorror on the old site?
The name faintly rings a bell but no.
I find is disquieting how many people reject psychology when it concludes that racial diversity improves team efficiency, stereotype threat or whatever other bullshit and then happily eat up evo psych slop that flatters their own biases.
To be honest, Chris, I didn't expect you to like this. I'm a long-time fan of yours but our politics are different and I think we're just seeing through different lenses. I am happy that you finally showed up in the comments. Though the particular places you've chosen to nitpick don't make a lot of sense to me except through the lens of politics. I know what you don't want to think and why, and I respect the goodness in you which makes you this way.
Can we make a deal? Please continue to call out anything that you think is specifically bogus. Either I will answer your concerns along the way or else I had better get around to fixing my model. It's an unfair card for me to play, I know, but I'd appreciate the scour. In many cases, as you said, we actually just don't know, and in those I find that the default assumptions are at least as unsupported as the ones I'm making here, but mine shed a lot more light on the general situation.
Please forgive any errors in form or syntax as I am in a greatly-weakened state. Especially when I get sick am I reminded that English isn't precisely my first language; only my best. I hope she enjoys such liberties as I take with her. Even so it feels like I'm trying to burst out of a too-tight suit. But anyway I didn't want to let you sit any longer unanswered.
self_made_human
amaratvaṃ prāpnuhi, athavā yatamāno mṛtyum āpnuhi
2d ago
Thank you. I hope my visa officer is that accommodating when I see them in a few months.
Pasha
Defend Kebab
2d ago
Thanks a lot for the detailed reply. I have never thought of bjj as injury prone but this makes a lot of sense. Still a bit better than permanent brain damage I guess but not exactly something I am very eager about. And no I am not really drawn to the nerdy problem solving side of bjj at all. I was actually quite happy with the “drill some basics and apply them very well and hard and fast” part of boxing.
I will check out Krav Maga. I have only seen it in the context of disarming videos and that always looked like some serious bullshido to me. I can see why it feels attractive to teach to law enforcement (although still I don’t see how it’s ever good idea as opposed to running away or shooting the guy with the knife). What do you think about that?
MaximumCuddles
The world-spirit texting on the toilet
2d ago
I know you're American in your heart of hearts, don’t worry pardner.
Quantumfreakonomics
2d ago
From what I can tell, the main factor in Netanyahu's persistence is the failure of the Oslo peace process. Nobody really believed in peace via negotiated settlement after that. At that point they're just arguing over how hard to stomp the boot.
DirtyWaterHotDog
2d ago
By my estimate we have 3 or 4 desis here. (between what I suspect are alts and mains), but most of us are either outside India or will soon be outside India.
DirtyWaterHotDog
2d ago
Sorry, saw this late. But hope you had fun.
Southkraut
The rain fell gentlier.
2d ago
Well fair, that we have.
Though then again, sitting in between France and Czechia, we had both the worst and the best brewers in the world right next to us, and every opportunity to learn what to do and what not to do.
Muninn
"Dick Laurent is dead."
2d ago
Silver Stars: Guardian of Aster Fall Book 8 by David North.
FtttG
2d ago
I have a collection of the Father Brown stories and read the first one, "The Blue Cross", during the week. It was pretty good.
Planning to read "Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang tomorrow.
JulianRota
2d ago
I do live in New York, but just saw this. Wouldn't have been able to make it anyways, I just flew back in from Europe last night at like 10:30pm.
I was trying to tell her that, at some point, I'd known some Visual Basic, but that was so fucking long ago and I was so inebriated that I couldn't remember the name. That's up there, with icky programming languages. Might as well claim I know Scratch.
She might pattern match you to being a high-earning finance bro who doesn't care for nerdy things like programming.
I'd already told her I was in the notoriously lucrative profession of psychiatry, so a bit late for that. I'll have to see if Count is hiring.
When single moms start looking "sensible," it was time to call it a night two hours ago.
You're not... wrong. In my defense, I had never met the ladies before, and they didn't come join us with kids in tow. Them being single mothers was an aspect I only gleaned much later. And if I do write the story up, you will see why the word "sensible" is appropriate, as a relative modifier if nothing else.
self_made_human
amaratvaṃ prāpnuhi, athavā yatamāno mṛtyum āpnuhi
2d ago
If it makes you feel any better, Britain won the last two world wars and is arguably no better off. You probably have the better beer, at the risk of starting a third war.
What would be the likely reaction to Common Lisp?
(It has to be CL, none of that Scheme or Clojure shit.)
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