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The Buchstabenmuseum Berlin is closing

buchstabenmuseum.de

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Re: The Buchstabenmuseum Berlin is closing

#32
post #11

This is a bummer - headed to Berlin for the first time in a few weeks and hoped to visit. Any recommendations for similarly geek-oriented side trips in Berlin?

Technikmuseum [0] has many different technology-related exhibitions. And the Spectrum (separate building) has a lot of physics- and science experiments you can actively try out. Loved it as a kid.

[0] https://technikmuseum.berlin/en/

Re: The Buchstabenmuseum Berlin is closing

#33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a deeply non-capitalist perspective to demand that everyone respond to dumb posts with sentiment instead of analysis.

> a deeply non-capitalist perspective This seems to have been said as if it is a bad thing. Is it, or did I misread what you meant?

Well if you are very against capitalism, that would be pretty bad, but ONLY if you are then also a hypocrite working for amounts of money that would make anyone not in the top 20 percent of the world population's eyes pop;

Deduct extra points if you ever accepted stock options, ever tried to start a startup or did a side hustle because you wanted MORE than the bare minimum you need to survive. (Like those capitalist pigs do!)

Or if you are typing this from a mobile phone or laptop computer that costs an amount of money that would be unimaginable to the typical person for most of human history.

Otherwise you're golden. Socialism truly is the superior moral position. It's so obvious we can all agree. And you should lead by example by giving away everything that you might need less than some other random poor person out there.

Re: The Buchstabenmuseum Berlin is closing

#34
post #21

As for why they are closing: > Fixed costs and a lack of financial support are forcing us to take this step. In addition, the general cultural situation in Berlin is very precarious. It was a very difficult decision for us. Via Deepl, original here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DLuAW5DIANV/

> cultural situation in Berlin is very precarious Can someone please elaborate this for someone who is absolutely clueless about Berlin?

Start here, you can use a translator

https://www.rbb24.de/politik/beitrag/2025/02/chialo-einsparu...

Re: The Buchstabenmuseum Berlin is closing

#35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> cultural situation in Berlin is very precarious Can someone please elaborate this for someone who is absolutely clueless about Berlin?

Partial explanation: Gentrification + increased costs because of inflation is my understanding. Berlin has been relatively underpopulated ever since WW2 which seems to have contributed to a de-gentrified situation which allowed an unique culture to grow. But time's are changing. Look at this pop graph: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_population_statistics Still hasn't caught up with the peak in the 1930:s.

>a de-gentrified situation

What does this even mean? Does this mean "low cost of living"? I feel like gentrification due to post-war generational housing shortages is now just a catch all term for increasing cost of living in general.

Re: The Buchstabenmuseum Berlin is closing

#36
post #5

Probably the money gambled away on slop AI startups in a single week could sustain thousands of museums like this for decades

Money spent on startups isn't charity, you do it in the expectation of (in aggregate) profit -- so it's not rivalrous with charities. People who might support museums earn money on investments that they can then use for charities. If you believe that you are better at picking winners (slop startups vs non-slop startups) than the rest of the investment world, then that's a valuable skill that you could use to earn a l…

I agree completely. Museums, culture, and other wasteful/pointless excesses should be deducted from profits - at the discretion of the profiteer - only after the actually useful work of poisoning the drinking water to generate pornography is complete.

Long live the overlords.

Re: The Buchstabenmuseum Berlin is closing

#37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Money spent on startups isn't charity, you do it in the expectation of (in aggregate) profit -- so it's not rivalrous with charities. People who might support museums earn money on investments that they can then use for charities. If you believe that you are better at picking winners (slop startups vs non-slop startups) than the rest of the investment world, then that's a valuable skill that you could use to earn a l…

It's a deeply capitalist perspective to respond to a criticism of the excesses and inefficiency of wild, unfounded capital speculation with 'Well if you so smart, why ain't you rich?!?'

Is that so unreasonable? Lots of people post that Wall Street corporations are dominated by short term, next quarter thinking. If that were true, then shorting those stocks would be a profitable plan. It seems reasonable to point out that if one is so sure corporations were going to tank because of short term thinking, they could get rich by shorting the stock.

Re: The Buchstabenmuseum Berlin is closing

#38
post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Partial explanation: Gentrification + increased costs because of inflation is my understanding. Berlin has been relatively underpopulated ever since WW2 which seems to have contributed to a de-gentrified situation which allowed an unique culture to grow. But time's are changing. Look at this pop graph: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_population_statistics Still hasn't caught up with the peak in the 1930:s.

>a de-gentrified situation What does this even mean? Does this mean "low cost of living"? I feel like gentrification due to post-war generational housing shortages is now just a catch all term for increasing cost of living in general.

Sure it's mostly about cost of living but also relatively good access to abandoned buildings (and perhaps other services) that could be used for non housing purposes. A lot of Berlin clubs and art venues started in buildings that were abandoned if I understand correctly.

I recall that there were interesting similarities after depopulation events like the black plague. Suddenly there's a surplus of built infrastructure.

Re: The Buchstabenmuseum Berlin is closing

#39
post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Partial explanation: Gentrification + increased costs because of inflation is my understanding. Berlin has been relatively underpopulated ever since WW2 which seems to have contributed to a de-gentrified situation which allowed an unique culture to grow. But time's are changing. Look at this pop graph: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_population_statistics Still hasn't caught up with the peak in the 1930:s.

>a de-gentrified situation What does this even mean? Does this mean "low cost of living"? I feel like gentrification due to post-war generational housing shortages is now just a catch all term for increasing cost of living in general.

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