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A letter to our daughter

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Re: A letter to our daughter

#161

Post by khuey »

EC1 wrote: post #124
tomschlick wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the US you can change your name to anything. The guy can change just as the girl can but it is very uncommon for the guy to change his last name. Honestly, why are you disappointed?

"Chan is a diminutive suffix; it expresses that the speaker finds a person endearing. Thus, using chan with a superior's name would be condescending and rude. In general, chan is used for babies, young children, and teenage girls. It may also be used towards cute animals, lovers, and close friends. " It's otaku humor.

In Japanese ... his wife is ethnically Chinese.

Re: A letter to our daughter

#162

Post by theworstshill »

bababouy33 wrote: post #95
prezjordan wrote: post #2

> We will give 99% of our Facebook shares -- currently about $45 billion -- during our lives to advance this mission. We know this is a small contribution compared to all the resources and talents of those already working on these issues. But we want to do what we can, working alongside many others. Ninety. Nine. Percent.

That would leave him with $450 million left over. Four hundred. And fifty. Million.

He earned it.

Re: A letter to our daughter

#164

Post by bduerst »

vezzy-fnord wrote: post #86
ryandrake wrote: post #63

Something's always bugged me about relying on philanthropy as a source of funding the public good, as opposed to the public funding the public good through taxation and the democratic process: In the former case, the public doesn't really have much of a say about where the help goes. We must rely on the judgment (and personal values) of a few rich people and hope they pick charities that maximize the benefit. Would t…

You're becoming too clouded in fuzzy ideals and missing the ugly reality that there is no virtuous public and democratic society, but the state. You say we must rely on the judgment and values of a few wealthy, but then completely ignore the whole landmine of public choice. Not that "having to rely on a few rich people" is even true.

That's a little nihilist.

Traditionally the state has been a form of wealth redistribution, because while it may not be a true democracy, citizens still vote, and could potentially vote to have the majority of the wealth redistributed equally amongst themselves.

But instead we have a power struggle between those with the means to sway others and the idealists. While I'm sure the idealists will probably never attain their utopia, if they don't continue to share their dream we'll end up living someone else's self-serving one.

Re: A letter to our daughter

#165

Post by EC1 »

khuey wrote: post #161
EC1 wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Chan is a diminutive suffix; it expresses that the speaker finds a person endearing. Thus, using chan with a superior's name would be condescending and rude. In general, chan is used for babies, young children, and teenage girls. It may also be used towards cute animals, lovers, and close friends. " It's otaku humor.

In Japanese ... his wife is ethnically Chinese.

Doesn't matter in the context of the joke. Has nothing to do with his wife, only 'chan'.

Re: A letter to our daughter

#166

Post by brbsix »

bababouy33 wrote: post #152
6stringmerc wrote: post #35

Okay, maybe it's just me, but after reading the introduction and getting through the list of extremely difficult "Can we..." challenges followed by the "We must..." directives, the first quote that popped into my head was a variation of “a poor man is crazy, but a rich man is just ‘eccentric.’” I get the desire to solve the world's ills, of society's shortcomings, of essentially fixing the thousands of years of evolu…

>Our generation grew up in classrooms where we all learned the same things at the same pace regardless of our interests or needs. What are honors classes? What are remedial classes?

The variety and pace of public schooling is still very consistent when compared to the past practices or current alternatives (e.g. homeschooling, self-study, peer learning, tutelage).

Re: A letter to our daughter

#167

Post by Kluny »

imglorp wrote: post #160
6stringmerc wrote: post #35

Okay, maybe it's just me, but after reading the introduction and getting through the list of extremely difficult "Can we..." challenges followed by the "We must..." directives, the first quote that popped into my head was a variation of “a poor man is crazy, but a rich man is just ‘eccentric.’” I get the desire to solve the world's ills, of society's shortcomings, of essentially fixing the thousands of years of evolu…

Does it matter whether or not he's a narcissist or whatever reason why he does it? Or Gates or Buffet do? I say bravo, and am looking forward to the benefits of giga-scale philanthropy.

I dunno - careless philanthropy can cause more damage than the orginal problem.

Re: A letter to our daughter

#168

Post by cup »

acchow wrote: post #9
cup wrote: post #4

"Medicine has only been a real science for less than 100 years, and we've already seen complete cures for some diseases and good progress for others." Thats a bit unfair. Scientists have been painfully working to advance the field of medicine for centuries.

I think "real science" refers to reproducibly, experimentally driven science.

Arab scientists were performing reproducible and successful removal of cataracts 800 years ago. Surely thats 'real medicine'.

Re: A letter to our daughter

#169

Post by ucha »

6stringmerc wrote: post #35

Okay, maybe it's just me, but after reading the introduction and getting through the list of extremely difficult "Can we..." challenges followed by the "We must..." directives, the first quote that popped into my head was a variation of “a poor man is crazy, but a rich man is just ‘eccentric.’” I get the desire to solve the world's ills, of society's shortcomings, of essentially fixing the thousands of years of evolu…

Frankly, I find this is a very cynical approach to the lecture of this letter.

Most everyday Joes might not have the means to change the world but it is certain that when turn into billionaire, they rarely pledge the quasi-totality of their fortune to improve the well being of others.

If this is narcissistic, just let it be and be appreciate that for once, a great deal of money will be put to good use. The world is full of Koch Brothers, Saudi princes and European heirs to prove that most billionaires are more concerned about evading taxes rather than giving back.

Re: A letter to our daughter

#170

Post by yongjik »

austenallred wrote: post #23
prezjordan wrote: post #2

> We will give 99% of our Facebook shares -- currently about $45 billion -- during our lives to advance this mission. We know this is a small contribution compared to all the resources and talents of those already working on these issues. But we want to do what we can, working alongside many others. Ninety. Nine. Percent.

I mean, what else are you going to do with $45 Billion? Build a really big house? I've had the opportunity to rub shoulders with a few billionaires over the past few weeks, and it's remarkable how differently they think about money than the people who don't have it. Sure, they may buy a nice car (or jet), but after a certain level the only thing you can do with that kind of money is plug it back into something meanin…

...Meanwhile, Samsung's owner Lee Kun-Hee is still officially alive (even though nobody has seen him in months after he had a heart attack), because the company still hasn't tied up all the loose ends for transferring the company's ownership to Lee's son while paying as little tax as possible.

So, yes, you can do a lot worse (to your society) with $$billions.

(Sorry for the rant. Please carry on.)

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