synetic

14 ms·

121.
by synetic 3y ago
I’m curious. Why are you talking about a situation that does not pertain to the premise of the post I made? I’ve stated, I think explicitly, the type of situation I’m talking about and it is not the type of situation you are talking about
122.
by synetic 3y ago
My comment wasn’t about the sometimes you refer to. It wasn’t about what appears to be compelling. My comment was on being presented with something that is compelling. It may not be instantaneous that one is able to determine that the
123.
by synetic 3y ago
I agree with the sentiment but it seems to me that if someone presents a new, compelling argument against a belief you hold then shouldn’t you change your mind immediately? It seems to me that how fast one’s mind ought to change depends on
124.
by synetic 3y ago
I wrote that before reading about this. However, my overall point is that trying to understand Kremlin politics is very difficult and those of us on this site don’t really understand the dynamics. Putin and his cabal are the last generati
125.
by synetic 3y ago
The way the CCP has hindered investigations and attacked those who said it could have been a lab leak makes me think they are covering things up. The CCP did not hinder investigations in prior SARS outbreaks in China.
126.
by synetic 3y ago
I can’t read the article but the sub headline is: Spy agencies remain divided on whether the virus passed to humans via an infected animal or laboratory accident If it was a laboratory accident then wouldn’t that mean the virus was at the
127.
by synetic 3y ago
No public statements by officials of any government or organization can be believed. They may or may not be telling the truth. The story will be spun in accordance to whims/wishes of whoever is spinning it. It could be a coup attemp
128.
by synetic 3y ago
When I commented the comment was grayed out. That was the only indication I had that there were downvotes.
129.
by synetic 3y ago
There are a lot predictions about what will happen. Enough have been made that some will end up being true. Those who made such predictions will be looked upon as insightful. People will ask for their predictions/insights in some fu
130.
by synetic 3y ago
It’s weird to see downvotes on this comment. I think it is without question that me traveling to, say, Yellowstone is just fine but not if too many people do so each year. The damage done would ruin the place. At a higher level I think th
131.
by synetic 3y ago
Apparently it was written with kooks in mind. I’d guess you are right in that they are writing for Congressmen. There are kooks there. Overall, I think it a bad idea for intelligence agencies to write public statements to combat nutty ide
132.
by synetic 3y ago
I disagree with the first sentence. I believe the Ferengi were written to show what they think happens with the sort of unfettered capitalism that the U.S. appears to be on a path to implementing.
133.
by synetic 3y ago
I took Ferengi to be written as a ridicule of those pursuing an Ayn Randian style utopia where everything is a business negotiation. It is not, in my opinion, a reference to Jews.
134.
by synetic 3y ago
When I wrote “lab leak theorists” I had in mind experts who think it was a leak. I was not thinking of kooks. I should have been more explicit. In general, I think it best for intelligence agencies not to write things to counter what loo
135.
by synetic 3y ago
Lab leak theorists don’t believe Covid was developed as a weapon. They believe it was an accidental leak from a lab doing normal, non-warfare virological research. The quoted phrasing makes me think that they know it was a leak but redire
136.
by synetic 3y ago
Why is advocating/celebrating civil rights for a group of people under attack a political message? Shouldn’t civil rights be something everyone wants?
137.
by synetic 3y ago
I gather you disagree with the statement. You don’t think there are any examples of a great product that ended up creating a new demand/desire? It’s interesting that now very few phones have a headphone jack. The vast majority of th
138.
by synetic 3y ago
I have no idea. As AI generated content becomes more prevalent and as bots become a huge percentage of online comments I hope it will lead to people leaving the internet. For the most part I think the dead internet theory will become a re
139.
by synetic 3y ago
When the iPhone came out the criticism was cost and lack of keyboard. When the iPad came out the criticism was the name and it’s just a giant iPhone. When Airpods came out the criticism was that it looks ugly and who would wear them in pu
140.
by synetic 3y ago
It seems hard to argue with that...but what exactly is the meaning of saying people are "absolutely unqualified" to do something which they in fact do constantly and which there is no obvious alternative in order for society to f
141.
by synetic 3y ago
Obviously I used “right questions” not in the sense of saying a question has truth value and some of them have true as their truth value. Clearly I used “right question” in the sense of “insightful question”. That you couldn’t understand
142.
by synetic 3y ago
The widely accepted axiomatic basis for the natural numbers is the first order Peano Axioms. Very few children are capable of understanding how to prove 1+1=2 in this axiomatic system. In this system an axiom says that each element has a
143.
by synetic 3y ago
Indeed. We did not evolve to adequately deal with this new reality.
144.
by synetic 3y ago
Divisions in the Napoleonic wars were far more lethal than a Roman legion. A division today is many times more lethal than a Napoleonics division. A similar advancement has occurred within the realm of dissemination of propaganda but at a
145.
by synetic 3y ago
A child can’t prove 1+1 = 2 because a child doesn’t know enough mathematics to prove it. Doesn’t even understand the basics of mathematical logic or set theory. You know so little about what it means to prove 1+1=2 that you think proving
146.
by synetic 3y ago
And my general experience with anti vaxers is that they generally look into more resources and research and put much more thoughts into their decisions than a regular person. Which I generally view as a positive quality. I put much more va
147.
by synetic 3y ago
It did not already come as you say. We are in a new era. It is now very easy to target specific people over a wide geographic region and to do so cheaply. It is easy for bad actors to hone in on those susceptible to the false beliefs they
148.
by synetic 3y ago
I think a great many people are actually stupid and easily lead astray. There are large numbers of people who won’t vaccinate their children (not talking about Covid vaccine). Such a person is either stupid or a victim of misinformation.
149.
by synetic 3y ago
You are free to make whatever distinctions you want. Most people would say that it is unfair that a person who sells stocks for $50,000 profit pays far less in taxes than a person who lays bricks for a year for $50,000.
150.
by synetic 3y ago
If I make $1,000,000 profit from selling stock I pay much lower taxes than if I made $1,000,000 from selling my labor to a company.

More ›