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First glimpse inside burnt scroll after 2k years

bbc.co.uk

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Re: First glimpse inside burnt scroll after 2k years

#61

Post by OJFord »

t_mann wrote: post #55
baruz wrote: post #38

They said that the work was a Greek Epicurean work, but described it as finding fulfillment in the pleasures of life. The Greek Epicureans were of the opinion that avoiding pain and suffering was the object of ethical philosophy, which is not the same thing, at all.

> Epicureanism ... declares pleasure to be its sole intrinsic goal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epicureanism What the OP actually says is 'fulfilment can be found through the pleasure of everyday things' which is very much in line with Epicurean thinking.

This is largely all new to me, but this section defining pleasure within your link does seem to align with what GP is saying:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epicureanism#Pleasure

> Epicureans had a very specific understanding of what the greatest pleasure was, and the focus of their ethics was on the avoidance of pain rather than seeking out pleasure.

So whether the description of the work (as GP critiques) is correct, really comes down to whether the definition of 'pleasure' used is as in Epicureanism. Certainly someone unfamiliar would misunderstand it.

Re: First glimpse inside burnt scroll after 2k years

#62

Post by briandear »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #44
generalizations wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> dismantling the welfare and regulatory state Pretty sure that's exactly what the US voted for in the last election, considering that was pretty explicitly promised. I think most of the US is cheering them on as they do it.

That's what 49.8% of the voters voted for. So not really "most" for any reasonable meaning of the term "most".

People don’t elect presidents, states do, and states elected Trump with a 312 to 226 electoral vote margin — so the states overwhelmingly voted for Trump. The purpose of the United States federal government is very strictly spelled out — and the 10th amendment makes it very clear that powers not expressly mentioned in the Constitution are reserved for the states. The U.S. is a republic, not a democracy.

Re: First glimpse inside burnt scroll after 2k years

#63

Post by briandear »

tasty_freeze wrote: post #43
generalizations wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> dismantling the welfare and regulatory state Pretty sure that's exactly what the US voted for in the last election, considering that was pretty explicitly promised. I think most of the US is cheering them on as they do it.

Trump won by a very small margin, 1.5%, and didn't even get 50% of the popular vote. It isn't a "landslide" or "mandate" no matter how many times they claim it. Yes, Trump won, but that isn't grounds for ignoring the constitution. There is a separation of powers and Trump can't delegate powers which aren't his to Musk to delegate to technoboys.

312 to 226 isn’t a “small margin.”

You don’t measure a baseball game by number of hits or strike outs, but by the number of runs scored. The popular vote is literally irrelevant.

Re: First glimpse inside burnt scroll after 2k years

#64

Post by HPsquared »

mmooss wrote: post #37

How do we know the AI output is accurate? What observable evidence is there? From the article: > Inside this huge machine, which is called a synchrotron, electrons are accelerated to almost the speed of light to produce a powerful X-ray beam that can probe the scroll without damaging it. ... > The scan is used to create a 3D reconstruction, then the layers inside the scroll - it contains about 10m of papyrus - have t…

It's doing a search operation, which AI is fantastic at. The operator can then verify the output.

Re: First glimpse inside burnt scroll after 2k years

#65

Post by briandear »

ryeights wrote: post #27
SV_BubbleTime wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I get the ideologues here being mad… but I don’t get mad to the point where people need to pretend this guy isn’t highly intelligent. Doesn’t it make it better that there are really sharp people on the “DOGE” team. Shouldn’t people be more mad at dummies doing it?

Who is saying he isn’t intelligent? And can’t smart people do bad things?

What’s bad about finding waste? Many appropriations are expired yet still keep getting paid out. That’s crazy.

The liberal media echo chamber is preventing people from using common sense. When media and congressional democrats literally call us “Nazis” — it’s hard to take any of it seriously.

“Trump is a fascist”

If that’s true, he’s the first fascist in history to attempt to make the government smaller.

Apparently being interested in free speech and smaller government and reducing waste, fraud, and abuse is fascism.

The people screaming loudest about USAID for example huge hypocrites, or have a very short memory: https://foreignaffairs.house.gov/press-release/icymi-washing...

https://x.com/tracking_doge/status/1888032469699498379?s=46

Re: First glimpse inside burnt scroll after 2k years

#66

Post by HPsquared »

klipt wrote: post #49
tasty_freeze wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trump won by a very small margin, 1.5%, and didn't even get 50% of the popular vote. It isn't a "landslide" or "mandate" no matter how many times they claim it. Yes, Trump won, but that isn't grounds for ignoring the constitution. There is a separation of powers and Trump can't delegate powers which aren't his to Musk to delegate to technoboys.

Unfortunately the only leverage Congress has to stop Executive overreach is impeachment. If they refuse to impeach, then they are tacitly handing the Executive ever more power, essentially moving us from a republic to an elected dictatorship. And given that the GOP has a majority, no matter how slim, it seems very unlikely they will impeach.

The executive branch systematically dismantling itself doesn't sound like "ever more power".

Re: First glimpse inside burnt scroll after 2k years

#68

Post by carefulfungi »

generalizations wrote: post #35
xhevahir wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's good that smart people are involved if we take it at face value that they're trying increase "government efficiency," as opposed to, say, dismantling the welfare and regulatory state; if the latter are their aim, and if we don't want them to accomplish such a goal, we should not be cheered to learn that they're such clever lads.

> dismantling the welfare and regulatory state Pretty sure that's exactly what the US voted for in the last election, considering that was pretty explicitly promised. I think most of the US is cheering them on as they do it.

Why do MAGA conservatives cheer the over-turning of Chevron, dramatically limiting the executive branch's power to interpret law, while also simultaneously cheering Trump's initiative to seize Congress's power of the purse?

What's the internal logic that rationalizes executive regulatory power being unconstitutional with a legal presidential power to unilaterally ignore Congress's funding allocations?

Re: First glimpse inside burnt scroll after 2k years

#69

Post by saulpw »

HPsquared wrote: post #66
klipt wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately the only leverage Congress has to stop Executive overreach is impeachment. If they refuse to impeach, then they are tacitly handing the Executive ever more power, essentially moving us from a republic to an elected dictatorship. And given that the GOP has a majority, no matter how slim, it seems very unlikely they will impeach.

The executive branch systematically dismantling itself doesn't sound like "ever more power".

It is if they are dismantling the pieces for their own benefit. Removing power from the institution and giving it to themselves.

Re: First glimpse inside burnt scroll after 2k years

#70

Post by flir »

SV_BubbleTime wrote: post #24
Erwin wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That CS student was Luke Farritor -- now part of the infamous DOGE team.

I get the ideologues here being mad… but I don’t get mad to the point where people need to pretend this guy isn’t highly intelligent. Doesn’t it make it better that there are really sharp people on the “DOGE” team. Shouldn’t people be more mad at dummies doing it?

I'm not mad I'm just disappointed.

So much potential and he dropped out of school to become a Thiel/Musk minion.

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