robertlagrant

828 ms·

4111.
by robertlagrant 3y ago
Agreed. I have a Linux computer upstairs, and the Wifi dongle (I know, but it's fine!) broke. Buying a new one, or even knowing what to buy, that doesn't require me to USB key some random drivers (probably cloned off GitHub) is a
4112.
by robertlagrant 3y ago
> Scientists and engineers in national labs, universities, and elsewhere show what a real commitment to technological progress looks like. And everywhere. You've only named public institutions for some reason, but a lot of progress
4113.
by robertlagrant 3y ago
> he interesting thing is you used economic values to show their importance, not what innovations or changes they achieved Money is just a way to value things relative to other things. It's not interesting to value something using m
4114.
by robertlagrant 3y ago
> I mean if OpenAI had been born in the Soviet Union or Scandinavia, maybe people would have somewhat different values, it's hard to know. Or in Arthurian times. Very different values.
4115.
by robertlagrant 3y ago
Interestingly, this is a similar experience I have from friends from when I lived in Johannesburg. Smash and grabs and car/parts thefts were very common.
4116.
by robertlagrant 3y ago
The idea is people get Chromebooks, not that people get something of the value of $300.
4117.
by robertlagrant 3y ago
> Through regulatory capture, rent seeking, even just good old hiring goons. Regulatory capture is using the state's power. The state is the one with the power. Rent seeking is the same. Hiring goons is illegal. If you're willi
4118.
by robertlagrant 3y ago
> So if we should not assess the economic system based on whether people keep their money, i.e. pay tax Not just pay tax. People lose money over generations for all sorts of reasons. I brought up tax in the context of "redistributio
4119.
by robertlagrant 3y ago
Power is things like: can lock someone in a box due to them not giving a percentage of their income; can send someone to die in another country; can stop someone building somewhere; can demand someone's money as a penalty for an infrac
4120.
by robertlagrant 3y ago
> Well it's not a matter of the people existing, it's whether they are rich or not. They can exist without the money. I meant people with a certain amount of money. I don't think we should be assessing pros or cons of econ
4121.
by robertlagrant 3y ago
How much an American spends on a car every year seems not that relevant to how much a British tube line signal upgrade costs. Why not compare it to house prices in London, and it'll seem even cheaper?
4122.
by robertlagrant 3y ago
> I’m betting some people will argue that “It’s their store, they can do what they want with it” Behaving as though predicting a response is a counter to it is bad faith.
4123.
by robertlagrant 3y ago
I'd say so. I think phones, bikes, cars, computers, games, glasses, medicines, prosthetics, toys, houses[0], tools, food, holidays, vehicle hire, vehicle type, plane flights, etc etc are a lot better than they were even 20, 50, and 100
4124.
by robertlagrant 3y ago
You need swords to remove kings because they combined power and economy. All potential tyrannies do so: monarchy, socialism, fascism, etc. That's why separating power into the state and economy into the market gets good results.
4125.
by robertlagrant 3y ago
> What is your rule of thumb based on? E.g. [0] > In, for example, the Netherlands the richest people pay less tax [0]. Do you think this is not the case in many other countries? That's a non sequitur from the previous point. How
4126.
by robertlagrant 3y ago
> This is an overly simplistic look, and disregards a lot of history where, unsurprisingly, the reason there was wealth redistribution wasn't "innovation" but government policy The point is that wealth and power aren'
4127.
by robertlagrant 3y ago
> Absent massive redistribution that is usually a result of major political change (i.e. the New Deal), rich people tend to stay rich during their lifetimes and frequently their families remain so for generations after. The rule of thumb
4128.
by robertlagrant 3y ago
I think that depends on the brand. If they like the product, then yes. If the product has terrible battery life, probably not so much.
4129.
by robertlagrant 3y ago
Probably. Or at least that turned out to not matter so much. The alternative, keeping both control of resources and direct power in the state, seems to keep causing millions of deaths. Separating them into markets for resources and power fo
4130.
by robertlagrant 3y ago
> Unfortunately their capitalist asses probably want you to reduce the battery life faster and buy a new device This tactic would work great in a world with only one phone manufacturer.
4131.
by robertlagrant 3y ago
I don't think cherry-picked examples mean much. But even so, you don't seem to be answering the question, which was "how will being a non-profit stop other people behaving unethically?"
4132.
by robertlagrant 3y ago
> No, we don't operate like that. Call me out when I'm wrong technically You're being "called out" (ugh) incredibly politely mostly because you were being a bit rude; "tell me X without telling me" is j
4133.
by robertlagrant 3y ago
> Capitalism may appear to thrive when living in a first-world country, but only does so through exploitation and cutting corners I think this is a common and really fundamental misunderstanding. It works through signalling demand throug
4134.
by robertlagrant 3y ago
That's a good point - outdoor places would appreciate screens like this that you can see in the sun.
4135.
by robertlagrant 3y ago
> Do you prefer everyone (of course with some minor exceptions for higher ups) to be equally "not great, but not terrible" or do you prefer some to have amazing lives, but others to suffer? This isn't the choice. Socialism
4136.
by robertlagrant 3y ago
I think the pictures are pretty good already, but yes, perhaps. If you wanted to dive into more feature work, possibly the next thing is thinking about CEOs who might want a) Outlook integration, and b) a way to shade off their calendar for
4137.
by robertlagrant 3y ago
That's great! Some small things about your website: - "Contact" page says "Kontact" in en-GB locale - Do you need a shopping cart for one product? Just have the "buy it now" and leave the cart out? - Do yo
4138.
by robertlagrant 3y ago
That's not why. It's because a system of private ownership means that the state shouldn't take away stuff people have.
4139.
by robertlagrant 3y ago
That doesn't matter. It only matters if there's a good reason to not measure it that way, and why another measure is better.
4140.
by robertlagrant 3y ago
But you disagree that he should be judged on that?

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