flumbaps

5 ms·

1.
by flumbaps 13y ago
I think you're both over-estimating AND under-estimating the rationality of people's behaviour. It is important that going bankrupt is somewhat unpleasant. If it wasn't, then normal people, who are somewhat rational, would ha
2.
by flumbaps 13y ago
> Letting the market allocate resources has a lot of inefficiencies, but it works better than any alternative that has been tried. I don't think we've ever tried having the market solely allocate resources. I think pretty much
3.
by flumbaps 13y ago
I think you're creating a false dichotomy here. It's perfectly possible for a government to encourage people to work in certain areas without descending into tyranny. Most modern democratic governments already regulate their finan
4.
by flumbaps 13y ago
I can imagine that in extreme cases it is useful to have people who follow their own judgement rather than a fixed set of rules. The problem here is that these spies place practically no value on the rights of the public. Which means their
5.
by flumbaps 13y ago
In the future, we may simply not have a use for violent people anymore. War can be automated to some extent. Violence can be abstracted, so it is done via remote control. This is already happening. Humans may just become domesticated, like
6.
by flumbaps 13y ago
Okay, so I agree that money in the bank doesn't do nothing. However, ultimately one of the main reasons why we want a thriving economy is to raise the quality of life for the people. If you look at the trends over time, in real terms,
7.
by flumbaps 13y ago
This discussion is devolving into pointless bickering about where you draw the line between science and technology. If we stop being fussy about the definitions, it's pretty clear that some research/engineering is profitable in th
8.
by flumbaps 13y ago
I think the main potential in analogue computing is to create complex networks of feedback loops where different regions of stability correspond to different machine states. I've seen models of neural network memory where the interconn
9.
by flumbaps 13y ago
a) There is such a thing as cultural awareness. It is not the same as discrimination. If you travel a bit you find that there are actual differences between cultures. If you use those differences as justification to treat individuals unfair
10.
by flumbaps 13y ago
The article isn't intended to name and shame a particular individual. It's meant to warn women about how gender discrimination can affect their career even if they are very careful to work in a meritocratic team of people who trea
11.
by flumbaps 13y ago
I think there's a difference between a logical skip and a judgement call based on a personal experience of a situation.
12.
by flumbaps 13y ago
Because her coach said that was the most likely explanation, and her coach represents an informed distanced opinion with expertise in the area.
13.
by flumbaps 13y ago
It's an anecdote, not a court case. The author and her coach made their best guess based on their judgement of the situation. Obviously they are both privy to a lot of information that isn't in the article (and would be extremely
14.
by flumbaps 13y ago
Yeah, but during medieval and early modern times the church tortured and killed heretics and supposed witches. There isn't even anything in the Bible about doing that. Oppressive theocratic regimes aren't caused by the religious t
15.
by flumbaps 13y ago
Sharia is the laws OF Islam. Sharia is not equal to Islam. Set A contains set B. Set A is not equal to set B. You might as well say that Christianity is the ten commandments, Judaism is the halakhah and Atheism is the American Atheists’ con
16.
by flumbaps 13y ago
Please read again. I have not denied that Islam contains a set of laws. I said that Islam is not exactly equal to a set of laws. Which is correct. I've also stated that, in practical terms, it is the behaviour and beliefs of the religi
17.
by flumbaps 13y ago
Islam isn't a system of laws, it's a religion. Like all organised religions, what's written in its holy books is of far less practical importance than what is preached by its leaders. Adherents don't read and figure out
18.
by flumbaps 13y ago
Of course, yes, everyone is always in complete agreement about what is right and wrong, because humans are always absolutely objective when it comes to moral decisions.
19.
by flumbaps 13y ago
In yearly global death count, terrorism accounts for around 10,000. That would not be a big deal even if all those deaths were in the US (and not scattered over the globe, and mostly in places of high civil unrest). I'm not saying 10,0
20.
by flumbaps 13y ago
The core criticism is always that hipsters are purposefully contrary as a method of attention seeking. Also, being judgemental and having a superiority complex are very different to bullying. Thinking you are better than someone is very dif
21.
by flumbaps 13y ago
People often assume that when someone is dressed unusually they are doing it for attention. I don't know anyone who actually dresses for attention. I know plenty of people who dress unusually though, since I'm part of the rock&#x2
22.
by flumbaps 13y ago
"Putting on airs" is not bullying. Being smug is not bullying. Your Aunt mocking you could be a form of bullying, however, I strongly doubt that your Aunt is representative of the hipster movement.
23.
by flumbaps 13y ago
I don't know, like the article says, it's easy to confuse deep sincerity for irony. Some of hipster/geek chic is about beauty shining through unflattering clothes and awkwardness. Some of it is genuine appreciation for unusua
24.
by flumbaps 13y ago
That's very strange to me - I don't understand why a stranger thinking they are funny or cool would be upsetting. People have different tastes, why does it bother you?
25.
by flumbaps 13y ago
Very often people have their perceptions distorted by their emotions. When someone calls someone a "hater" they are saying that the "hater" is a person who lets their perceptions get distorted by hate, or some other sour
26.
by flumbaps 13y ago
Even though people from all walks of life visit Reddit, that does not mean every demographic is equally represented.
27.
by flumbaps 13y ago
>Effective schooling could never occur on such a federated level. Really? You think that state run education is terrible all over the globe? I don't think the problems with the US system are universal. Certainly here in the UK, educ
28.
by flumbaps 13y ago
I had this cool idea for a sci-fi book (I may one day write), set long after modern civilisation collapses. Humans survive but with all the readily available iron ore used up, we are perpetually stuck in a pre-industrial revolution world. H
29.
by flumbaps 13y ago
Personally I'd rather spend time with a weak, lazy person, than someone who gets angry about weakness. Lazy people can at least be good company.
30.
by flumbaps 13y ago
This isn't an obese person making excuses, this is medical research. Rather than discuss the science, you just seem to be against any medical treatment of obesity on the grounds that you are personally emotionally invested in making ob

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