dmfdmf

93 ms·

841.
by dmfdmf 16y ago
For the sake of argument, let's set aside all of Ayn Rand's real or imagined foibles and supposed moral failures. Moreover, let's set aside her advocacy of selfishness and capitalism as moral and political ideals since these seem to raise
842.
by dmfdmf 16y ago
There must be some level at which you would object, no? On what grounds do you object when the percentage becomes 50%, 80% or even 100%? You've already conceded the principle and a slave is still a slave regardless if he cooperates with h
843.
by dmfdmf 16y ago
I have no problem with high-risk, long-range research projects as long as they are funded voluntarily and no fraud or misrepresentation is involved in getting the funding. You seem to be forgetting that the tax money is take by threat of fo
844.
by dmfdmf 16y ago
The absolute profit numbers are misleading. These companies have huge capital investments, so the return on capital invested is not excessive but about average for other capital intensive industries. All companies try to reduce cost, so no
845.
by dmfdmf 16y ago
I agree and $50M isn't that much to Toyota. Also, there may have been lease or shutdown and cleanup costs of the NUMMI site that probably would have exceeded $50M if no one took it over.
846.
by dmfdmf 16y ago
This is probably Fed spin to calm the mark by providing a non-economic reason for the sell off. No surprise CitiGroup is involved -- the Fed's Plunge Protection Team is going to need to hide their tracks better if they hope to continue to
847.
by dmfdmf 17y ago
I'm curious, what in my comment would make you think that I think otherwise?
848.
by dmfdmf 17y ago
Yes, but what is the brain doing?
849.
by dmfdmf 17y ago
Yes, infinite computing power with current methodologies will never work. The article mentions that the number of possible sentences is of the order 10^570 and current methods attempt to crack that (or sub) solution domains (primarily) us
850.
by dmfdmf 17y ago
Great article.... Like a lot of things it all hinges on P=NP.
851.
by dmfdmf 17y ago
I think his whole approach is flawed... unless he proves that P=NP (with a constructive not an existence proof) his research agenda and the aim of Wolfram Alpha is stillborn. Setting aside his chronic confounding of existence and consciousn
852.
by dmfdmf 17y ago
I think his whole approach is flawed... unless he proves that P=NP (with a constructive not an existence proof) his research agenda and the aim of Wolfram Alpha is stillborn. Setting aside his chronic confounding of existence and consciousn
853.
by dmfdmf 17y ago
Any attempts to "prove" free-will is circular non-sense. FW is presupposed by the concepts "proof", "knowledge" and (human) "consciousness" and even "researchers". Attempts to prove it are in fact a denial of it. They should save their m
854.
by dmfdmf 17y ago
no.
855.
by dmfdmf 17y ago
No surprise here... Edwin Jaynes called this the mind projection fallacy whereas Ayn Rand called it the primacy of consciousness, an epistemological error. If everything is "information" then what are the physicists studying? To quote AR "
856.
by dmfdmf 17y ago
Ayn Rand covers this in her book "Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology". In her theory, focus (or selective attention) is the essence of free-will (the ability to direct the object of our consciousness). Focus also (not surprisingly) p
857.
by dmfdmf 17y ago
Nothing wrong with paper and pen but you need a system to make sure things don't fall through the cracks. I use and recommend the Franklin Planning system now Franklin Covey. http://www.franklincovey.com/
858.
by dmfdmf 17y ago
Microsoft should offer $1M for anyone who cracks the encryption on the MS Bob data. Not sure why they'd do that but it would be a fun contest.
859.
by dmfdmf 17y ago
Wow, a lot of great comments and food for thought. Instead of answering each individually I will make some general comments here. To be clear, I think that online rep is unavoidably going to have impacts in real life. (How many here have lo
860.
by dmfdmf 17y ago
I take the opposite view; this is the return of reputation. The internet ends the anonymity of urban living. Are you a chronic liar, a drunken slut, a responsible employee or a good parent? Soon the world will know so act accordingly.
861.
by dmfdmf 17y ago
I think I hold similar views, except I would say "sound epistemology" not neurology. Do you think P=NP?
862.
by dmfdmf 17y ago
Someone should tell Moldbug that the first thing the fascists do when they get into power is lop off the heads of the intellectuals. He prides himself on his historical analysis so he should research that. Maybe he is delusional enough to t
863.
by dmfdmf 17y ago
I thought I read that there is some dispute over the data.... like the user doesn't own it, can't d/l to excel spreadsheet and you have to use their website and software to analyze and plot the date. The company side steps the issue because
864.
by dmfdmf 17y ago
I think its like asking if French is better than English. Both will get the job done but some people claim French sounds better and is the "language of love". So the point is there may be tasks for which one language is more suitable. I
865.
by dmfdmf 17y ago
I agree Jaynes made some significant, important progress. However, the conclusion that the problem does not exist comes from Kant, its a dodge. The problem is still open because Kant's theory of knowledge is a denial of ALL knowledge.
866.
by dmfdmf 17y ago
The problem of induction. No one has answered Hume, except Kant and he dodged the question. This is the big question, underlying integration of QM/GR, the nature of time, P=NP?, AI, a stable credit-money system, scientific ethics, chicken o
867.
by dmfdmf 17y ago
A rationalization means to come up with reasons to support a belief, idea or action that one knows (or could know) is not actually rational. It is a form of dishonesty mimicking rationality. The issue with smart people is not that they ra
868.
by dmfdmf 17y ago
Clay Shirky "Newspapers and Thinking the Unthinkable"... the invention of the internet has destroyed the cultural standard bearer's authority (NYT, MSM, etc) just like the invention of the printing press destroyed the Catholic Church's auth
869.
by dmfdmf 17y ago
Erik Naggum wrote a piece about Atlas Shrugged that is rife with errors and confusions regarding Ayn Rand and her ideas. Most, if not all, of his errors are addressed in Rand's non-fiction work. At the end of the article Erik wrote "It is
870.
by dmfdmf 17y ago
Right. But that is a big assumption of his position. If there is life on Mars and it is DNA or RNA based I would say the independence assumption is less certain. Then the author can go on happily assuming that the "filter" is probably behi

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