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Why Peter Thiel Searches for Reality-Bending ‘Secrets’

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Re: Why Peter Thiel Searches for Reality-Bending ‘Secrets’

#71

Post by mythrwy »

KerrAvon wrote: post #15
zozbot234 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So you're just saying that he might be dangerous because of his ego, not necessarily his ideas. Y'know, I'm not going to disagree there. But taking that big ego for granted, a "search for hidden secrets" is still one of the most socially productive ways you might use it for. Jumping on the bandwagon of a dubious social consensus can be a lot worse.

He literally funded Trump. “Productive” sometimes isn’t desirable.

Off topic, but why do so many statements about Trump contain the word "Literally!"?

He either funded Trump in which case one could just say so, or else he didn't.

"Literally" appears to be some sort of emphasis or "alarm" term?

"He's literally Hitler!" (no, he's literally not).

Also, he contributed to a politician you don't agree with. So what? Did someone else "Literally!" fund Joe Biden? Does that "Literally!" make them bad people?

Re: Why Peter Thiel Searches for Reality-Bending ‘Secrets’

#73

Post by kcplate »

mmastrac wrote: post #43
squarefoot wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stupid people can do bad things without thinking, but when intelligent ones do it's always because there is an agenda.

Perhaps to tear down the society we have now to replace it with a Libertarian paradise.

Sounds good to me…

Re: Why Peter Thiel Searches for Reality-Bending ‘Secrets’

#74

Post by JaimeThompson »

s1artibartfast wrote: post #17
JaimeThompson wrote: post #8

It is interesting to me that Peter Thiel doesn't want to live / follow the same rules / laws he would have everyone else live under. Is it that he thinks himself better than the vast majority of us?

What are examples of wanting different rules? I didn't see it in the article

His support of politicians who want to remove the rights homosexuals currently have.

His views on women having equal rights to men are bothersome too.

His stated views on individual rights do not mesh with the company he started to spy on everyone then sell the information to governments.

Re: Why Peter Thiel Searches for Reality-Bending ‘Secrets’

#76

Post by kcplate »

coolso wrote: post #53
KerrAvon wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He literally funded Trump. “Productive” sometimes isn’t desirable.

> He literally funded Trump. You stop here as if to assume this is enough info to prove his productivity was undesirable, and that everyone will understand and degree, but that’s an incorrect assumption. What specifically was undesirable? Most people remember spending $1.50/less per gallon, spending less on everything else thanks to low inflation, the lowest illegal border crossings in decades, lower taxes, finally f…

> You stop here as if to assume this is enough info to prove his productivity was undesirable, and that everyone will understand…

Everyone seems to forget how problematic the Democrat’s nominees were in 2016 and 2020. Support for Trump is not necessary hard to understand for someone like Thiel when the alternatives were Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden. Both candidates were well saturated with scandal, both openly dabbled in pay to play, and both pretty openly hostile to libertarian ideas (although I think Trump was as well, albeit selectively).

Re: Why Peter Thiel Searches for Reality-Bending ‘Secrets’

#77

Post by shalmanese »

someperson wrote: post #44
shalmanese wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Around that time, an anthropologist who had recently returned from Chinese refugee camps saw how people would sacrifice half their disposable income just to own an iPhone. Wait, what Chinese refugee camp? Where? From what war? China hasn't had a mass displacement event since well before the iPhone came out. The reason I'm harping on this is because the author is committing the exact same sin they're accusing the Mc…

Likely referring to the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake that killed a reported 87,000 people (but likely far higher given what we know about the government of China).

The iPhone wasn't available for sale in China until Oct 2009: https://www.cultofmac.com/510563/today-in-apple-history-ipho...

Re: Why Peter Thiel Searches for Reality-Bending ‘Secrets’

#78

Post by coldtea »

bambax wrote: post #69
coldtea wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It doesn't discuss anything else and offers nothing except banalities about the Bible, Jesus (speaking in Parables) and Rene (sic) Girard, a French author who was ridiculed in France for his obsessions and circular thinking, but enjoyed some kind of cult following in the US, apparently. Girard was never ridiculed in France (at least, not any more than any other who became a target at this or that point). He remains…

There are books about Girard that are pretty funny; one of them is this (published in 2010, while he was still alive): https://www.editionskime.fr/publications/rene-girard-un-allu... His fixation is that all of human history can be explained by the fact that people like to copy one another. One of the (many) problems with that theory is that it's turtles all the way down. I don't think Girard can be said to be deep.

>His fixation is that all of human history can be explained by the fact that people like to copy one another.

Well, in the same sense that "Einstein's fixation is that everything in physics can be explained by the speed of light and frames of reference". Or "War and Peace talks about Russia at the time of the Napoleonic wars".

E.g. that "people like to copy one another", is a very crude approximation of "humans being social animals, learning from one another, copying one another, getting entangled in mob behavior, valuing things for social reasons, enforcing laws, rituals, and counter-measures to stop regression to anarchy, mob violence, and social conflict, and so on" -- which in turn is a very crude approximation of the far more detailed, argued, and nuanced treatment of those ideas by Girard as he examines the development of various institutions (religion, morals, governance, etc.

>I don't think Girard can be said to be deep.

The "turtles all the way down" strawman is rather not deep.

Re: Why Peter Thiel Searches for Reality-Bending ‘Secrets’

#79

Post by s1artibartfast »

JaimeThompson wrote: post #74
s1artibartfast wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What are examples of wanting different rules? I didn't see it in the article

His support of politicians who want to remove the rights homosexuals currently have. His views on women having equal rights to men are bothersome too. His stated views on individual rights do not mesh with the company he started to spy on everyone then sell the information to governments.

Interesting, my understanding is that he is prettymuch a bog standard libertarian, and believes in equality under the law for gays and women.

Re: Why Peter Thiel Searches for Reality-Bending ‘Secrets’

#80

Post by s1artibartfast »

tartoran wrote: post #24
KerrAvon wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He literally funded Trump. “Productive” sometimes isn’t desirable.

Was surprised by that too and am wondering what he could have gained out of that. Thiel is an intelligent guy but something about him seems dubious but can’t really point my finger at it.

A lot of libertarians were attracted to Trumps anti-regulation and anti-bureaucracy policy positions.

At a minimum, they got 3 originalist supreme court justices out of it.

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