3 ms·

Why would anyone want to become a Chinese citizen? How's everyone discussing linguistics while completely ignoring the authoritarian elephant in the room?

John23832 8mo ago
Because the vast number of people already live under some variation of authoritarianism.
- entropyneur 8mo ago
  Comparatively few people live under worse authoritarianism than the one in China. Definitely not enough to form a talent pool that would make any dent in whatever China already has. Especially when you factor in education quality.
  - zparky 8mo ago
    OP said most people live under some form of authoritarianism, not a worse form than China's.
neither_color 8mo ago
It's not exactly a linguistics discussion, it's a discussion about attracting talent to live/work somewhere. Im not saying whether it's good or bad on China's part, that's a separate issue. Im saying that the possibility of integration is harder than just learning the language.
exceptione 8mo ago
Because we hn people are used to reduce the world to a set of technical parameters. I am not intending to blame or shame anyone here, but to take it more broadly, the discussion around Doge showcased many such problems that arise from unawareness about the limits of our approach: context blindness, taking narratives at face value, narrow focus on technicalities, no consideration for ethics etc. Tech people need to reduce complexity to make it computable, that's our job. Our strong points are the weak points too. Again: no blame or shame. Just wanted to point out we are susceptible in these matters.
lordnacho 8mo ago
How is it that the form of government comes up so often when discussing the decisions of ordinary people? I would think for most people, you care about whether you can fit economically before you consider something that is unlikely to matter. Obviously don't go and try to immigrate to China if you are planning to be a political commentator. But for most people in most places, what will you notice? Are there jobs, how is tax, are the streets clean, are there homeless people, can I see a doctor, is there a lot of paperwork? Will I find friends?

John23832 8mo ago

Because the vast number of people already live under some variation of authoritarianism.

entropyneur 8mo ago
Comparatively few people live under worse authoritarianism than the one in China. Definitely not enough to form a talent pool that would make any dent in whatever China already has. Especially when you factor in education quality.
- zparky 8mo ago
  OP said most people live under some form of authoritarianism, not a worse form than China's.

neither_color 8mo ago

It's not exactly a linguistics discussion, it's a discussion about attracting talent to live/work somewhere. Im not saying whether it's good or bad on China's part, that's a separate issue. Im saying that the possibility of integration is harder than just learning the language.

exceptione 8mo ago

Because we hn people are used to reduce the world to a set of technical parameters. I am not intending to blame or shame anyone here, but to take it more broadly, the discussion around Doge showcased many such problems that arise from unawareness about the limits of our approach: context blindness, taking narratives at face value, narrow focus on technicalities, no consideration for ethics etc. Tech people need to reduce complexity to make it computable, that's our job. Our strong points are the weak points too. Again: no blame or shame. Just wanted to point out we are susceptible in these matters.

lordnacho 8mo ago

How is it that the form of government comes up so often when discussing the decisions of ordinary people? I would think for most people, you care about whether you can fit economically before you consider something that is unlikely to matter. Obviously don't go and try to immigrate to China if you are planning to be a political commentator. But for most people in most places, what will you notice? Are there jobs, how is tax, are the streets clean, are there homeless people, can I see a doctor, is there a lot of paperwork? Will I find friends?