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I Met Paul Graham Once

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Re: I Met Paul Graham Once

#321

Post by cmos »

jhp123 wrote: post #282

I'm not a target of tech's fascist turn, but my head is still spinning from the change of direction. When I entered this industry it was for hackers, nonconformists, weirdos, nerds, people who don't care about titles or clothes or what your genitals are. What particularly stings is that the vipers at the top tricked people into giving away an enormous amount of intellectual property. Zuck is removing tampons from the…

It's time for tech to go back to its roots and starve the kings and 'noblemen' of our talent.

Stop working for billionaires.

Re: I Met Paul Graham Once

#322

Post by samastur »

Freak_NL wrote: post #140
watwut wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There are real questions about bathrooms, women's sports, and when medical interventions are called for. Yes there are real questions, but there are also real answers. Currently, 99% of people asking questions have literally zero interest in answers. They do not care about what research say or whether there is harm or not. They ask questions to convince the audience about their political project. They do not care a…

Besides, the whole bathroom thing is so old hat. You know what I hate in a bathroom? Other people. Of any gender. Thankfully, stalls have doors. I miss the days of Ally McBeal when unisex bathrooms were hip and the future.

Unisex bathrooms mean women get to clean the bathrooms again because men can't be bothered to aim or sit.

Re: I Met Paul Graham Once

#323

Post by gedpeck »

yread wrote: post #310
gedpeck wrote: post #294

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But if someone acts inhuman then it’s justified. Russia’s war crimes are well documented and they started the war. When you are the baddies then expect to be called so.

Wait are we still in the thread discussing that it's childish to call one side baddies?

It’s not childish to call bad people bad.

Re: I Met Paul Graham Once

#324

Post by mellosouls »

ziddoap wrote: post #311
mellosouls wrote: post #306

Earlier quoted context omitted.

PG is not a hero. He's just a guy. The downgrading of exceptional individuals like PG to mediocrities is no healthier than placing them on pedestals.

> The downgrading of exceptional individuals like PG to mediocrities is no healthier than placing them on pedestals. Recognizing that we're all just people is certainly healthier than placing people on pedestals.

It's obvious he's a person, the parent comment implies that's the extent of his achievements.

Re: I Met Paul Graham Once

#325

Post by gedpeck »

itsoktocry wrote: post #304
gedpeck wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Biden hasn’t been convicted of felonies. He’s not an adjudicated rapist. He doesn’t refer to his daughter as a nice piece of ass. He isn’t banned from running a charity. He hasn’t bribed any porn stars. He hasn’t accepted $30 billion in bribes. He hasn’t taken secret documents to illegally keep in his bathroom. He hasn’t met with Putin alone without an interpreter or any other U.S. official present. He hasn’t made fu…

[flagged]

Which of the accusations are wrong? Do you deny these well documented things?

Re: I Met Paul Graham Once

#326

Post by itsoktocry »

watwut wrote: post #83
slibhb wrote: post #41

I thought this was better than most essays in this vein. I do fundamentally disagree with the author. People can think poorly of you for whatever reason they want. If someone hates trans people, they can, and you can't stop them. The whole "war on hate" thing was a bad idea; you can't forbid hatred. It predictably didn't work, and it's good that we're turning away from it. Adding on, the trans issue isn't simple. The…

> There are real questions about bathrooms, women's sports, and when medical interventions are called for. Yes there are real questions, but there are also real answers. Currently, 99% of people asking questions have literally zero interest in answers. They do not care about what research say or whether there is harm or not. They ask questions to convince the audience about their political project. They do not care a…

[flagged]

Re: I Met Paul Graham Once

#327

Post by Glyptodon »

ethbr1 wrote: post #24

Great, cohesive, and clear essay! Hear hear. One thing that I think is underappreciated in our current times, that gets lost on both the left and the right sides -- an individual is more important than their identity . - A specific trans person can also be an asshole. - A specific white man can also be a saint. Extremists on both political sides will scream about the reasons one or the other of those statements is wr…

I call it the "could I share this with my grandmother" test. I don't like things that are supposed to have a point or make a good argument but fail the grandmother test.

Re: I Met Paul Graham Once

#328

Post by gedpeck »

snowfarthing wrote: post #301
snowfarthing wrote: post #273

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"If you want to discuss Biden then start another thread. This one is about Donald Trump." You cannot talk about Trump without putting him in context. The fact is, the reason why we have Trump for President again, is because the person who replaced him was so horrible, that Trump looked better in comparison. And what's more, conisdering what I said -- and what you are responding to -- I have to bring up Biden, because…

"Harris’ moral and ethical failings are nothing compared to Trump. You can do what I did and not vote and not support either candidate. Stand up for truth and righteousness and stop trying to justify your support for a person as shitty as Trump. It’s a choice to defend shitty behavior. When you do so you end up smelling like shit." She implicitly supported Biden. She was complicit in all the lies that were pushed abo…

[flagged]

Re: I Met Paul Graham Once

#329

Post by wastle »

subarctic wrote: post #91

I have to say that this is a very well written piece. The story in the first half does a good job of showing the author's personality and making him seem very relatable, at least if you are a typical HN reader. And it's a good story and didn't have me thinking "get to the point", especially since the title doesn't make you expect anything more than a good story. Then halfway down, he drops the words "I'm transgender…

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Re: I Met Paul Graham Once

#330

Post by petsfed »

gedpeck wrote: post #191
haswell wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To me, the issue boils down to pragmatism and utility. It’s just human psychology; people tend not to change their minds when someone screams at them and otherwise disrespects them. If the goal is to move society in any particular direction, that requires some degree of successful communication, and throwing respect out the window directly counteracts the goal. If the goal is just to hold some moral high ground for t…

My personal view is as follows. American society has reached a point of no return. Something has to give before a new equilibrium has been found. As an extreme example look to Nazi Germany. The repugnant views that were normal in 1939 Germany weren’t normal in 1960 Germany. A similar (though far less extreme) change will happen in the U.S. I have no desire to change anyone’s mind about their political views. Anyone w…

I'm going to be pedantic for a second, as a sort of dark coping mechanism:

>Anyone who supports a known rapist and felon and who openly takes bribes can not be convinced of anything

Clearly, they can be convinced of something, just not anything you or I might consider good.

In all seriousness, I think the truly disturbing thing about this whole sorry situation is just how many people don't actually hold any durable ethics or morality, just rank self-interest. Pearl clutching over the death of American dreams like economic mobility is a sideshow to the death knell of American idealism. America is not the shining city on a hill we thought it was, and honestly, it never was.

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