Is everything falling apart? • Hacker News Board

Re: Is everything falling apart?

#681

Post by oicU00 » Fri, Apr 29, 2022, 7:17 PM UTC

basisword wrote: post #389

oicU00 wrote: post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh yeah no doubt; I collate trends into reports for rich investors. Lately they have been focused on youth trends, and some numbers are wacky. 40% point drop in 16 year olds getting a license since the 80s as urbanization puts people closer to stuff and ride share appeared. Youth participation in sports, especially full contact sports, had been going down since before covid which just accelerated it, leading to forec…

>> 40% point drop in 16 year olds getting a license since the 80s as urbanization puts people closer to stuff and ride share appeared. Is it urbanisation? I've noticed this trend in the suburbs in my country too and there seem to be a couple of reasons: 1. Driving tests have gotten progressively more difficult and more complex over the last 10-20 years. 2. The cost of learning to drive is insane and getting more expe…

I don’t just use opinion polls, but the sources for the explanations are opinion polls.

Top responses to “why not get your license” point to availability of public transit, ride share, viability of walking, or biking, all of which are not an option for folks beyond the suburban fringe.

Re: Is everything falling apart?

#682

Post by 4ggr0 » Fri, Apr 29, 2022, 7:18 PM UTC

throwaway602ee wrote: post #307

4ggr0 wrote: post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, the thing which bothers me the most is that people don't even try to educate themselves. What do you think my reaction was, when I first heard of trans-people as a young teenager? Of course I laughed a bit and wondered why people think that genders are fictional and why a man would ever be able to be a woman. But with time I got more curious, educated myself, thought about it, and I think I understand it pretty…

> Yeah, the thing which bothers me the most is that people don't even try to educate themselves. Nuance is really important. I mean, I even agree with some of the concerns from social conservatives about transitioning and self-identification and "social contagions" and such. We should try to understand as well as we can, and not push anything on people they may not have felt themselves. It's important to not tell som…

> concerns from social conservatives about transitioning and self-identification and "social contagions" and such. We should try to understand as well as we can, and not push anything on people they may not have felt themselves.

100%. We have to approach this topic not only by accepting it, but also by sincerely discussing certain aspects of it. No teen should undergo surgery because of peer-pressure. On the other hand, teens who are certain that they're trans should receive the help they deserve. Difficult to navigate, but doable.

> If you'd thrown me on a deserted island with no culture, I would've still had gender dysphoria

That's something I have always wondered, and I know that the question is hypothetical, so its up to you to answer - Let's say we live in a world where gender roles and norms don't exist. People visit the doctor they need to see, but socially, people just are who they are. Would gender dysphoria still be a thing?

> Today, I worry they're worse off than it being unknown like it was for me

I know what you mean, that in a way they have a bigger spotlight on them. On the other hand, we have way more knowledge about this topic and newer generations are more open about it, so I don't think its that bad.

> I don't know why I'm writing all of this, so I'm going to stop here.

Was really interesting for me to read about your experience, but I see that a site like HN is probably not the best site for such deeply personal things. Would be really interesting to hear more about your experience. Maybe another time.

Re: Is everything falling apart?

#683

Post by at-fates-hands » Fri, Apr 29, 2022, 7:21 PM UTC

buscoquadnary wrote: post #478

newbamboo wrote: post #471

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why not talk about nuclear war? It’s one of several elephants in the room. The full collapse of a nuclear super power is unprecedented. Who gets the weapons?

Well the USSR isn't around anymore and they had quite a few nukes so....

Which is interesting to note since a majority of the other weapons the former Soviet Union had made their way into several revolutions happening in the Middle East and Africa via several well known international arms dealers.

Not sure if it was just operationally unfeasible to move something like a ballistic nuclear weapon, but from what I can gather, it was one of the few things that wasn't sold off en masse after the collapse.

Re: Is everything falling apart?

#684

Post by c-smile » Fri, Apr 29, 2022, 7:23 PM UTC

ravenstine wrote: post #111

Everything is not falling apart, though certain institutions may be falling apart. In America, there's definitely been a breakdown of belief in its own institutions. Far more people are skeptical of things like journalism and Silicon Valley; it really wasn't that long ago that the former was constantly salivating over the latter, but now it's more of an openly vulture-carrion relationship because that caters to publi…

> Far more people are skeptical of things like journalism...

And mass media in general... Most of people I know lost any confidence in reliability of CNN, CBC, BBS, etc.

Like report on Russian shelling shows video of results of Ukrainian shelling of Donetsk.

I understand that they simply use better (in the sense of more horrible for westerners) picture but that is not a journalism anymore, really.

Re: Is everything falling apart?

#685

Post by msla » Fri, Apr 29, 2022, 7:24 PM UTC

TheOtherHobbes wrote: post #95

trey-jones wrote: post #37

I feel generally that everything is falling apart. I also have an article still pulled up from earlier this week titled Why Pessimism Sounds Smart . It seems pessimists are sometimes wrong! But sometimes they are right too - especially in the last couple of years I have observed incompetence seemingly everywhere I go. But is this the changing world, or my changing perspective? It's really difficult to pin down. At th…

The US is a culture of authoritarian narcissism, and while it feels good - to some people - it's simply not sustainable. In the US it's more important to be rich than to be moral or right. But you can't deny mutuality, interdependence, and rational modelling of collective consequences without getting into some very broken places and bad outcomes.

You think Native Americans are inherently lesser than Europeans?

I did not think I'd see such blatant racism on this website.

Re: Is everything falling apart?

#686

Post by gedy » Fri, Apr 29, 2022, 7:25 PM UTC

LeafItAlone wrote: post #623

nostromo wrote: post #598

We need to return to federalism and bring an end to activist politicians. ( Good luck with that , I know...) The reason the American Experiment has worked so well for a few centuries is because we knew how to leave each other alone. If I'm in New York City, it's really none of my business what's happening in Albany, let alone Albuquerque New Mexico, so long as some basic standards of universal liberty are upheld. Tod…

If you are a resident of NYC, what is happening in Albany (the capital of the state) certainly affects you. If you are a resident of New York, some of your Federal tax dollars[1] are going to New Mexico. Why would what they are doing with your money not be your business? [1] https://www.moneygeek.com/living/states-most-reliant-federal...

Maybe that's their point - do more at state level vs so much tax money & power at the federal.

Re: Is everything falling apart?

#687

Post by ttytg » Fri, Apr 29, 2022, 7:26 PM UTC

csnover wrote: post #395

fallingknife wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> no one is trying to change sex or biological genders Except when they let men compete in women's sports. So if I have to choose between the new lefty version of gender, or what we had before, I'm going to choose the old way because it didn't result in comically ridiculous outcomes like that.

This is such a tired canard. Biological sex is an imprecise and discriminatory proxy for physical performance, and we can do better. Professional boxing already includes an additional objective measure—weight class—to improve match fairness. So not only is it possible to find a better discriminator, there is already one proven approach that can be used as a starting point today. Furthermore, using biological sex as t…

That's all very well in theory, but what classes would you use to replace sex in practice?

For example, in a recent women's swimming competition, Lia Thomas, who is male, was permitted to compete on the basis of his gender identity claims.

Do you consider gender identity to be a reasonable method of categorization? Because that is the specific problematic issue here, not whether different attributes than sex could be used in general.

Re: Is everything falling apart?

#688

Post by 4ggr0 » Fri, Apr 29, 2022, 7:27 PM UTC

kderbyma wrote: post #294

4ggr0 wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So for you Trans-People are a sign that the end is near? If that's your biggest worry I'd really like to be in your situation.

what is your biggest worry for society? Also...what does society mean to you, and would you consider in the context of your reply that there may be different perspectives and possibly multiple societies simultaneously so perhaps clarifying your scope of society and it's impacts.

> what is your biggest worry for society?

Climate change, wealth gaps, and both combined. (Richer people can escape the effects of climate change more easily). I fear that wealth will become even more important, furthering the gap between classes even more.

> what does society mean to you

Depends on what context. Of course for my direct political environment, people living in the same country as I are the biggest society I can lump together. But I'm not very nationalistic so I try to think about what's best for people globally. I think the most important society to me is all humans on earth. Else, every nation or group just looks after themselves.

> would you consider in the context of your reply that there may be different perspectives

Yes, but - I fail to see what group of people transsexuality would be the biggest danger to. Even when it goes against your world-view or religion, there is no harm done at all when someone is transsexual. It just goes against ones opinions.

That's why I disagree heavily with the sentiment that "when men turn into women, that is a sign that the end is near". If transsexuality is more dangerous to a person than climate change, social injustice or other big topics, it really just does feel like fear-mongering and blaming arbitrary boogeymen for what's going wrong at the moment.

Re: Is everything falling apart?

#689

Post by 4ggr0 » Fri, Apr 29, 2022, 7:34 PM UTC

ttytg wrote: post #687

csnover wrote: post #395

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is such a tired canard. Biological sex is an imprecise and discriminatory proxy for physical performance, and we can do better. Professional boxing already includes an additional objective measure—weight class—to improve match fairness. So not only is it possible to find a better discriminator, there is already one proven approach that can be used as a starting point today. Furthermore, using biological sex as t…

That's all very well in theory, but what classes would you use to replace sex in practice? For example, in a recent women's swimming competition, Lia Thomas, who is male, was permitted to compete on the basis of his gender identity claims. Do you consider gender identity to be a reasonable method of categorization? Because that is the specific problematic issue here, not whether different attributes than sex could be…

I know I am being petty, but -

"For example, in a recent women's swimming competition, Lia Thomas, who is MALE, was permitted to compete on the basis of HIS gender identity claims"

At least address her with the correct pronouns, that's the least you could do in such a discussion.

I hope my comment is not interpreted as arrogant, my point is that even if we are discussing biological sex that is no reason to strip people from their preferred (social!) gender.

Re: Is everything falling apart?

#690

Post by Ambolia » Fri, Apr 29, 2022, 7:35 PM UTC

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #455

boh wrote: post #243

Things collapsing has been a predominant sentiment in every modern generation. It's unprecedented because of our collective amnesia, that regards the familiar as a stable starting point rather than a random moment in a volatile reality. Journalism was a tawdry, un-respectable business since its conception, but experienced a brief period of valor around the mid-twentieth century when industry concentration, Cold War e…

I think there is a real danger in just arguing basically "things have always been a shit show, empires collapse, pandemics rage, etc. etc." for a couple reasons: 1. While true, lets not ignore the fact that things get really, really, really bad during those periods where empires do collapse, or environmental damage causes ecosystem collapse, etc. etc. I mean, yes, you could argue "Hey, the Black Death killed a 3rd of…

Furthermore, collapse doesn't happen everywhere the same, nor all at once. It's more like things break down slowly, and never get fixed rather than explosions on the street, until one day you are a third world country.

And third world countries still have very nice neighborhoods, and very rich people. But everything around gets much worse.