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Ask HN: What has melted your brain recently?

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Re: Ask HN: What has melted your brain recently?

#161

Post by neonsunset »

BizarroLand wrote: post #151
peyton wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> is a typical dog whistle for a lot of people who are racist How do you know this? Do you associate with racists? Or did somebody tell you that racists profess basic unitarian universalist values? If so, why were they telling you?

It's a known thing and questioning common knowledge is generally the tactic of a contrarian or a manipulator with the intent of diffusing the conversation.

"Known things" and "common knowledge" are specific to your context of existence.

The tactic to weave in the threads of logical statements or irrefutable facts together with person's/organization's agenda is used by everyone from radical individuals to sects to popular political parties.

However, you cannot turn this argument on its head by saying that a reasonable statement shared by "bad" people makes it bad or invalid by association.

Also, did you know hitler too would agree that sky is likely blue?

Re: Ask HN: What has melted your brain recently?

#162

Post by twiceaday »

raxxorraxor wrote: post #64
ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #2

1) Execs complaining that it's hard to find skilled workers nowadays, while doing their best to make the company an unattractive workplace and not bother retaining existing workers who are leaving (including me soon). Guys, it's not rocket science, just ask your employees what's bothering them. If people are leaving by the numbers, then you have some serious issues that need to be fixed, otherwise the churn will neve…

> And the voters who keep voting for the same parties, time and time again, despite the corruption scandals and evidence of gross incompetence across the board Hardest nut to swallow if you are interested in politics. To a large degree it is due to a dysfunctional media. I have no better ideas how to create and fund a better press that is still independent though. Politicians need to get on board of the circus becaus…

Better press already exists for anyone who wants it. Almost nobody wants it. It lost the popularity contest to more entertaining and pandering versions. You have to give people what they want. If you want change you have to change what they want. That's the hardest pill to swallow.

Re: Ask HN: What has melted your brain recently?

#163

Post by derbOac »

That we really are living in unprecedented times. If you look any of a number of indices, things really starting changing for humankind as a whole about 150 years ago.

A lot of this I knew before, but didn't grasp how many things changed, how dramatically, and how recently. It kind of is like living through the onset of the dawn of agriculture or something, but compressed into 150-200 years.

I think people (myself included) aren't aware of how much uncertainty we're facing as a civilization.

I don't actually mean that positively or negatively, just blew my mind.

Re: Ask HN: What has melted your brain recently?

#164

Post by neonsunset »

Giorgi wrote: post #146
neonsunset wrote: post #51

Reality check I got after being accused of having anti-minority opinion while arguing for protection of all categories of people, just without double standards and without giving priority to some over others. This got me instantly banned from a community I had professional interest and participation in, which made me realize the damaging effects of culture wars that are about to get worse for major corporations. With…

It was on Reddit, was not it? I got banned from a sub just because of having opinion that contradicted OP, when I asked which rule did I broke, My account was suspended on whole Reddit... I have been member since Digg exodus and never had any problem till that day. Unfortunately Reddit is ruled by moronic mods who can perma-ban your account, and admins can't be bothered. If your opinion is not in line, your IP is goi…

It was Discord but the behavior matches the one you've described about Reddit. Unfortunately, it's not used for in-depth technical discussions relevant to my sphere and you can't use WayBackMachine on Discord to preserve knowledge which is unfortunate.

It's funny that while discussing the incident, some other people would get agitated when you mention that unjust bans are by all means should be evaded.

Never understood people who ready to jump on anyone disobeying the law in letter but could never care less about actually following it in spirit.

Re: Ask HN: What has melted your brain recently?

#165

Post by neonsunset »

usrn wrote: post #154
neonsunset wrote: post #51

Reality check I got after being accused of having anti-minority opinion while arguing for protection of all categories of people, just without double standards and without giving priority to some over others. This got me instantly banned from a community I had professional interest and participation in, which made me realize the damaging effects of culture wars that are about to get worse for major corporations. With…

I think it's probably too late for this and you're better off bracing for the inevitable conflict.

I am. That's why these messages are posted :)

It's important to not stay silent thinking conflict is pointless because it means that tolerance to things you consider harmful only invites more of that in the future.

Naturally, pick your battles and all, but voicing your opinion encourages other people agreeing with you to do the same. And, in the end, you are no longer alone in your protest.

Re: Ask HN: What has melted your brain recently?

#166

Post by neonsunset »

ant_li0n wrote: post #121
honkdaddy wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel like this is a classic case of American exceptionalisms. Americans have an absolutely bonkers relationship with race and often assume that other Westerners around the world feel the same way. The _only_ reason the phrase "All Lives Matter" has any remotely political juice to it is because of the riots that occurred in America two years ago; the phrase itself is entirely innocuous and is really something most r…

I'm pretty ignorant of this, but was the phrase "All Lives Matter" really out and about in normal use for a long time? Or did it rise in popular use after "Black Lives Matter"? If it's the first one, yeah I agree w/you. If it's the second, well...

If you're pretty ignorant of the topic, then why do you know about the fact that "All Lives Matter" phrase only rose to prominence after "Black Lives Matter" movement in the US?

This is a pointed question led with dishonesty. It's important to ask oneself what was the motivation behind trying to manipulate other readers' perception instead of just dropping the "I'm pretty ignorant of this, but..." part in the first place.

Re: Ask HN: What has melted your brain recently?

#167

Post by lcordier »

donclark wrote: post #97
lcordier wrote: post #16

Not sentient yet... but already capable of deception, this trend will only "improve". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvNvj7ku5pY Is my job safe from GPT-3? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_EF42H2ZC0 Probably, AI is an energy hog just like Crypto ;)

WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT SENTIENCE OR CONSCIOUSNESS IS, “alloception” — the perception of another. https://kk.org/thetechnium/alloception-i-saw-someone-in-ther... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApUl4_QgaeU https://twitter.com/weirddalle/status/1537094117729218563 https://www.reddit.com/r/weirddalle/ edited formatting

I will concede I am not qualified to judge AI sentience/consciousness, but I'll venture to guess that it probably falls on a spectrum.

> "But eventually, I believe, someone will be right, and there will be someone in there. It will be a True Alloception. And many others will also see it. But not everyone."

I guess it will be determined by the size and skills of the set of people who see it.

Re: Ask HN: What has melted your brain recently?

#168

Post by mikewarot »

pasabagi wrote: post #68
neonsunset wrote: post #51

Reality check I got after being accused of having anti-minority opinion while arguing for protection of all categories of people, just without double standards and without giving priority to some over others. This got me instantly banned from a community I had professional interest and participation in, which made me realize the damaging effects of culture wars that are about to get worse for major corporations. With…

I think there are two points: first, 'all lives matter' is a typical dog whistle for a lot of people who are racist , even if you are not. If you're going to argue that line, you have to try and put some clear water between you and them. The second point is that, in an unjust society, not accounting for the effects of that injustice on people (say candidates for a job position) compounds that injustice. So like, if y…

>a typical dog whistle

The "magic words" used to silence critics and shut down discussion.

Re: Ask HN: What has melted your brain recently?

#169

Post by saltcured »

rsyring wrote: post #13

Age. I turned 40 and realized I probably wasn't on the upswing of life anymore. I've developed a small but weighty sense of "time is running out" that I didn't have before. I want that to be a motivator to do good and meaningful things and not a growing sense of foreboding. That necessitates contemplation of life, faith, priorities, etc.

Similar to another poster below, I found new modes of existential crisis from not just age but witnessing another's decline. A long-time friend's surprise death by brain cancer started me off with what feels like your observation about time running out.

But watching elderly relatives as their minds melt into dementia and delirium has certainly been more cataclysmic. No matter how much you know about the possibility in theory, the qualitative experience of it in intimate practice is quite another thing. As I've heard from several social workers in the past few years and felt myself, grief wells up for the person who is still in front of you as you keep recognizing the loss of different parts of them or of your relationship to them.

The hardest part may be contemplating the limits of caregiving. I have newfound respect and awe for doctors, nurses, et. al who have to face this throughout their career. You have to acknowledge many limits in yourself and in the patient, including inevitable suffering which you cannot prevent no matter how much clever planning nor deep understanding you can muster.

Re: Ask HN: What has melted your brain recently?

#170

Post by lcordier »

derbOac wrote: post #163

That we really are living in unprecedented times. If you look any of a number of indices, things really starting changing for humankind as a whole about 150 years ago. A lot of this I knew before, but didn't grasp how many things changed, how dramatically, and how recently. It kind of is like living through the onset of the dawn of agriculture or something, but compressed into 150-200 years. I think people (myself in…

I watched these today, maybe they will resonate with you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bxzo79SjpE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nkv5mpBA8o4

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