chroma

69 ms·

571.
Guns and States(slatestarcodex.com)
6 points by chroma 11y ago|0 comments
572.
by chroma 11y ago
For those who missed it, here's the discussion of Paul Graham's original essay about economic inequality: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10826838
573.
by chroma 11y ago
Commentary for those wondering why my comments are gray: As soon as Steve Klabnik tweeted about this thread, all of my comments were downvoted. I see nothing incorrect, nor unnecessary, nor unkind in my statements. If anyone disagrees, I we
574.
by chroma 11y ago
I don't think it's an immoral position or anything, just a mistaken one. I covered why in my last paragraph: > If there's any societal system that has been shown not to work, it's communism. That experiment has been t
575.
by chroma 11y ago
Apologies for not using the exact terms. While I have your attention: Would you agree that PG is not arguing against a straw man? That you, in fact, would like to prevent people from getting rich and end all economic inequality, and that ma
576.
by chroma 11y ago
Out of everything I said, I'm surprised this is the thing that's contested. Just scroll through his Twitter feed. Here are a few recent ones: https://twitter.com/steveklabnik/status/682787891936948224 h
577.
by chroma 11y ago
I don't think PG is attacking a straw man at all. In my career as a software engineer, I've run into a significant number of outright communists. Like most of us, they keep their political opinions to themselves most of the time.
578.
by chroma 11y ago
If I were a demon from Hell, tasked by Satan himself to ruin discourse about opportunity and egalitarianism, I could scarcely do better than calling people "privileged". Think about it from the accused's point of view. Yes th
579.
by chroma 11y ago
Please notice how far afield you went to find a failure of inductive reasoning: Financial markets. Not a bad math proof. Not an incorrect physics theorem. Not even a civil engineering disaster. Markets! Markets aren't exactly known for
580.
by chroma 11y ago
Sorry, but it's stuff like this that causes me to avoid most philosophy. Yes, there are extremely small likelihoods for all kinds of extremely unlikely things. That doesn't make tools like induction any less useful. Sure you can&#
581.
by chroma 11y ago
I'm also not sure what sort of violence the author would classify as not motivated by morality. From the article: > ISIL members believe they are morally justified and obligated to commit acts of terror, while US soldiers accept som
582.
by chroma 11y ago
I think Gizmodo's is a much less rigorous article than the Wired one. It mostly consists of accusations and circumstantial evidence. Every early player in Bitcoin development has these in spades. In a world where Craig Steven Wright is
583.
by chroma 11y ago
This post seems completely divorced from reality. There are many overlooked issues: - To hover, you need a thrust/weight ratio >= 1. Taking off vertically requires an even higher thrust/weight ratio. A modern Boeing 737 has a t
584.
by chroma 11y ago
I agree with much of what you said, but do you have a link to a video containing those quotes? Because I watched the videos from the impromptu conversation with some students[1] and at no point does anyone say anything like what you quoted.
585.
PETA, Ferguson, Jihad, Dr Who, Rape, and Cat Pics: The Toxoplasma of Online Rage(newstatesman.com)
10 points by chroma 11y ago|0 comments
586.
by chroma 11y ago
Note: I'm replying to myself because superuser2 deleted his comment just before I finished mine[1]. I put a decent amount of effort into my reply, so I'd rather not let it go to waste. > I don't know. Let's ask Presid
587.
by chroma 11y ago
> I blame Bush for declaring war in the middle east for what happened in Paris. Not Edward Snowden. Wait, what? It's been almost seven years since Bush left office. 100% of the blame rests on the men who donned suicide vests and mas
588.
by chroma 11y ago
Obvious? I'm still not following. I can't figure out how somebody goes from, "The US is responsible for the death and suffering of my countrymen." to "Let's kill lots of French civilians."
589.
by chroma 11y ago
Even if I was a homicidal maniac, I doubt I'd mass-murder French civilians. That's what confuses me the most about these attacks. Many people have legitimate grievances against NATO forces, but how does that lead to shooting rando
590.
by chroma 11y ago
I think the argument AlexandrB is making is: Compared to pollutants such as campfires and car exhaust, vaping is a rounding error. However much you care about banning vaping, you should care 1,000x more about limiting campfires or diesel en
591.
by chroma 11y ago
Did you talk to him about this? It seems to me that if someone is creating unpleasant or distracting sensations (noise, smell, vibration, flashing lights, etc), the best thing to do is ask them to stop. Wanting to ban the annoying thing is
592.
by chroma 11y ago
In this case, the police were all but certain they had the right man. There was video footage of him stealing the car. He had valuables from the car in his pockets. Likewise, the police were pretty sure the baby was still alive. It had only
593.
by chroma 11y ago
Of course not. From my comment: > I think torture should be illegal… > …I think the "enhanced interrogation" techniques used at Guantanamo are abhorrent. > Again, that doesn't mean [torture] should be legal or system
594.
by chroma 11y ago
I think torture should be illegal and I think the "enhanced interrogation" techniques used at Guantanamo are abhorrent. But I also think there are real-world scenarios in which torture is not only moral, but where it would be imm
595.
The Mismeasure of Science: Stephen Jay Gould vs. Samuel Morton on Skulls and Bias(journals.plos.org)
2 points by chroma 11y ago|0 comments
596.
by chroma 11y ago
I agree. I think future "smart" abilities in guns will be things like target detection. For example, I could see a fire selector for "safe", "semi-auto", and "vital areas only". Flip it to the latter
597.
by chroma 11y ago
I noticed pg linked to this.[1] I don't know his opinions on the matter, but I doubt smart guns will take off. I own several firearms, and I find smart guns completely unappealing. The technology adds cost, increases complexity, reduce
598.
by chroma 11y ago
That's an accurate representation of my views. Though as I said, it's pretty low on the list of things that need fixing. One day –hopefully– humanity will have its shit together. Then the majority of suffering will be inflicted by
599.
by chroma 11y ago
Many pathogens and parasites are amazing creatures. Do you take the same stance with those, or are you only in favor of charismatic megafauna roaming wild? From my point of view, lions, crocodiles, wolves, etc... they're basically micr
600.
by chroma 11y ago
The drop is probably multiple factors, including aging. The study was done in 1975. Someone 28 years old would have been born in 1947. A 33 year-old would have been born in 1942 –the darkest days of WWII. Prenatal nutrition was likely an is

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