AnEarlyMartyr's recent activity
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Comment on Looking for a clean, simple phone in ~tech
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Comment on Kamala Harris's speech killed any hope she would end the Gaza genocide in ~misc
AnEarlyMartyr (edited )LinkEveryone seems to be talking as if she even has the option. Obama could barely manage to pull official US forces out of Iraq within 3 years. You really think Kamala or the US is gonna manage to...Everyone seems to be talking as if she even has the option. Obama could barely manage to pull official US forces out of Iraq within 3 years. You really think Kamala or the US is gonna manage to get Netahnyahu to stop killing Palestinians? Bibi is in the midst of destroying Gaza while provoking Hezbollah/threatening war with Lebanon and assassinating targets in Iran. It’ll be lucky if there’s even a ceasefire before Gaza is completely flattened and we manage to avoid some spiraling conflict with Iran that sucks in a whole bunch of players into a wide scale regional war. There is very little the US President can really do about this. Israel is still a sovereign country and it doesn’t just jump at the president’s beck and call. Even if there wasn’t all the internal US political stuff that comes up around this issue. Not to mention the internal Israeli political stuff.
Now, Kamala could try betting her career on trying to get Israel to stop killing Palestinians. She would lose her career and Israel would continue on.
I’m not trying to excuse the mass murder of hundreds of thousands by a modern day apartheid state. Nor do I love a Bay Area prosecutor. But people way overestimate how much Kamala could accomplish here, even if she wanted to.
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Comment on Which content-recommending algorithms are actually good? in ~tech
AnEarlyMartyr LinkI can’t answer the actual question. Just share that I have the same problem with the almighty algorithms. I want a nice level of diversity in my options whereas they seem to want to just feed me...I can’t answer the actual question. Just share that I have the same problem with the almighty algorithms. I want a nice level of diversity in my options whereas they seem to want to just feed me basically the exact same thing.
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Comment on Why do people believe true things? in ~humanities
AnEarlyMartyr (edited )Link ParentI think the author seems to be best classified as Liberal but more in a classical European philosophy kinda sense than in a colloquial US politics usage kinda sense.I think the author seems to be best classified as Liberal but more in a classical European philosophy kinda sense than in a colloquial US politics usage kinda sense.
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Comment on Why do people believe true things? in ~humanities
AnEarlyMartyr Link ParentFor what it’s worth, I got a similar vibe from the article. Reading through a bit more of the site, it turns out he’s a lecturer in philosophy at a university in the UK. Which I think helps...For what it’s worth, I got a similar vibe from the article. Reading through a bit more of the site, it turns out he’s a lecturer in philosophy at a university in the UK. Which I think helps explain some of it. Reading through just this article left me a bit on edge as to how straightforward I should take some of these arguments and how intellectually honest he was being as a writer. The rest of the site helps contextualize it a bit. There’s some interesting and nuanced stuff there but I also think we have some underlying disagreements.
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Comment on Californian police can’t stop sideshows. Solution: Make the streets more annoying. in ~transport
AnEarlyMartyr Link ParentIs it still a problem in Australia though? That wiki article seems to indicate there’s been a rise in hoon groups in the 2010s so after laws confiscating vehicles were put into effect.Is it still a problem in Australia though? That wiki article seems to indicate there’s been a rise in hoon groups in the 2010s so after laws confiscating vehicles were put into effect.
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Comment on Kamala Harris lacks charisma and time in ~misc
AnEarlyMartyr (edited )Link ParentIf you’re explicitly disallowing feedback from people in the spaces you’re spending time/online forums and you don’t seem to have much experience yourself with life on the ground in Europe then...If you’re explicitly disallowing feedback from people in the spaces you’re spending time/online forums and you don’t seem to have much experience yourself with life on the ground in Europe then that seems to just create a space where your vague assumption never gets challenged in a way you have to listen to.
For what it’s worth there is a very noticeable difference in my personal experience having lived multiple places in the US both moderate and low income, urban and rural and having lived in and spent time in multiple cities and countries in Europe. This is also true of the experiences of other people I’ve talked to and spent time with, both women and men and pulling from a wide range of lifestyles and incomes.
While Europe is hardly a utopia and obviously experiences can differ greatly even within countries much less between them. So for example the experience of being out in Marseille is quite different from Copenhagen.
However, on the whole and in general, public spaces and being out in public at all hours of the day tends to feel safer. There also tends to be less homelessness and the likelihood of having an unpleasant encounter with someone experiencing a mental health crisis is lower. Also, the crime that one is likely to encounter is much more likely to be petty theft or property crime instead of violent crime.
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Comment on US FCC closes “final loopholes” that keep prison phone prices exorbitantly high in ~tech
AnEarlyMartyr (edited )LinkAbout time, but also still wild that in this age of incredibly cheap and extensive phone coverage the new cap is still ~$1 per 15 min call. Prison services are such an exploitative grift,...About time, but also still wild that in this age of incredibly cheap and extensive phone coverage the new cap is still ~$1 per 15 min call. Prison services are such an exploitative grift, regularly taking advantage of what is a complete lack of options. I remember trying to talk to my friend in prison a couple years back and running into problems because not only were the phone calls ridiculously expensive and required 30 minutes or so to set up an account but also the provider wouldn’t guarantee call quality over mobile networks. I mean what the fuck? What kind of telecom service provider requires a landline connection in 2022? This was not an empty warning, my friend and I were unable to talk because the provider kept dropping my calls.
Maintaining connection to family and friends can play a big part in recidivism rates. The fact that jails and prisons are regularly charging ridiculous amounts, from what are not uncommonly low income families to maintain minimal connections with their loved ones is nuts, though it does make a bit more sense when one remembers that correctional institutions public and private regularly get kickbacks as part of their contracts with the providers. Further incentivizing funneling communication down expensive, poorly managed, Byzantine systems. See also, jails that ban in person visits so they can route more communication through janky, expensive video calls.
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Comment on Struggling with nihilism and the inability to enjoy things in ~health.mental
AnEarlyMartyr (edited )LinkI had similar feelings and was never able to escape them. Even with years of heavy, serious, hardcore drug use, there’s just only so much you can numb even with the best drugs. There’s only so...I had similar feelings and was never able to escape them. Even with years of heavy, serious, hardcore drug use, there’s just only so much you can numb even with the best drugs. There’s only so much traveling you can do to run from yourself, only so much sex to forget yourself.
Philosophy didn’t seem to have many answers, existentialism and absurdism felt like they did an alright job diagnosing the problem but “just embrace it/make your own meaning” felt easier said than done and I can’t think of a lot of happy philosophers.
Like you, I’ve done a lot of therapy, it’s been fine. Some of it has been more helpful than other stuff, a lot of it has felt pretty pointless.
So I did two things, one I resolved to spend more time cultivating compassion and generosity and trying to help people even if I was miserable, and that did do a lot to help, slowly but surely that brought more meaning and helped alleviate some of it.
And two, I went with religion. I decided that if none of it mattered then why should I hold on to ideas and worldviews that I couldn’t prove and that made me miserable. Now I couldn’t all of a sudden find God. I couldn’t pretend to believe things that I just didn’t or that didn’t make any sense to me. But I found my way to a religious worldview that seemed fine to meet me mostly where I was at; that seemed to find where I had ended up to be fairly logical as far as it would go, just incomplete; that was happy to allow my agnosticism and even some skepticism for the areas where I didn’t have any direct knowledge (like what happens after death); and that seemed to have people who were both fairly pragmatic about the world and pretty happy. Basically I ended up in a specific branch of Buddhism, not Secular Buddhism (for all sorts of different reasons), but a branch that seemed workable from where I stood.
I still have some similar ideas of the world these days but I don’t feel the same feelings anymore. My relationship with those ideas has changed. I feel more comfortable living and working within them. Some ideas that I used to hold I’ve become more skeptical of and they no longer seem so self evident. If I have some level of choice in what I believe then I’d rather it was things working towards me being happier. At the end of the day, I don’t really feel anhedonic or depressed these days. My life feels like it has meaning even as I don’t feel like I’ve become more blindly optimistic or blind to the suffering of the world. I still see a lot of flailing in pointless misery in the world. But I don’t really think of myself as depressed anymore, haven’t in a while, I regularly feel joy and almost never despair. I also no longer have a job or a girlfriend or much stuff and live in a monastery in the forest. Soon I will get rid of this phone. I’m much happier these days. Even if I’m not in a constant state of enlightened bliss (yet?).
I’m not saying you should become Buddhist, we all gotta find our own way through. I am saying that if your beliefs are making you miserable find things you can believe that get you closer to happy. Be mercenary about it. Find people who seem happier and figure out what they believe. Though if I’m honest I don’t worry too much about what I believe these days, and I try not to worry too much about what’s “true”, because, well, who gives a shit? I just try and physically and mentally live a life that feels like it brings me closer to wholesome joy. And I make space to be compassionate and generous and kind to others. Whether or not there’s empirical universal meaning there, it feels better.
As u/evie put it so well
But my experience of the world is all I have now. And if I have to make up some arbitrary bullshit to value, because it makes me happy and gives meaning to my life, that's fine. Subjective meaning is still meaning. It still contextualizes and gives relevance, even if you can't prove it with logic and axioms.
Please forgive the typos and slapdash structure, I’m typing on a phone in a hurry.
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Comment on US judge dismisses classified documents case against Donald Trump in ~news
AnEarlyMartyr (edited )Link ParentSome people think they can ride this wave to their own benefit, there’s a long history of more moderate or centrist conservatives thinking they can control these sorts of movements so that they...Some people think they can ride this wave to their own benefit, there’s a long history of more moderate or centrist conservatives thinking they can control these sorts of movements so that they get what they want (like tax cuts and less regulation). Some just want power and money and don’t care about anything else. Some are just true believers in the cause. And lastly, I think some already feel they are in too deep and there’s no safe way out, at least not without sacrificing their careers and reputations.
I don’t think many of them are really thinking long term here. Except maybe the true believers. If the others read more history and paid more attention they’d realize they will almost assuredly get eaten by the monster they’ve helped create and it will only get worse.
Obviously that’s mainly true of the “elite” side. I think the average people side of things, the backbone of the movement, just think things are bad now and Trump will fix it. I imagine the particulars of what’s wrong and how it will be fixed look pretty different to each individual. The Q-Anon people have a different idea of what all that means than the evangelicals do, than the GOP business people do, than the rural working class does, etc. And because Trump and Trumpism (and Fascism for that matter) is really all about aesthetics and projecting strength no one really has to worry too much about what the details are or how it’s going to happen. They get to just fill it in however they imagine it. In fact I bet many people don’t even bother to imagine it. It’s like that old meme
Step 1: Trump gets power.
Step 2:????
Step 3: Profit! -
Comment on Your favorite deeply unpopular music in ~music
AnEarlyMartyr (edited )LinkI like at least some folk punk which feels like the perfect answer to this question as it is unpopular in all ways, being both obscure and deeply polarizing. I’m specifically thinking of Pat the...I like at least some folk punk which feels like the perfect answer to this question as it is unpopular in all ways, being both obscure and deeply polarizing. I’m specifically thinking of Pat the Bunny’s various different projects. He’s a good writer who did a good job capturing a very specific view of the world. What it’s like to grow up a very distressed nihilistic leftist. Then to struggle with homelessness and substance abuse and finally to get clean and find some kind of meaning in a more mundane version of life. However, the vibe is very DIY; the musicianship especially on the earlier stuff is pretty rough; his voice can take quite a bit of getting used to, I don’t know just about anyone, myself included, who liked it on the first listen; and without some sort of connection to the lyrical themes I think it can play as a bit too angsty and self indulgent (though intensely self aware of it). So, here’s a random sampling from the start of his career at 16 to his retirement at 27. I can’t even say these are specifically my favorites by him but there are some of the more “famous” ones and some I just really like here.
Johnny Hobo and the Freight Trains - Whiskey Is My Kind of Lullaby
Wingnut Dishwashers Union - Jesus Does the Dishes
Ramshackle Glory - From Here To Utopia
Your Heart Is A Muscle The Size Of Your Fist
Pat The Bunny - I’m Not A Good Person
Take Me By The Hand And Lead Me Through This Disaster
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Comment on How late is too late for a house party? in ~talk
AnEarlyMartyr Link ParentAhhh I definitely was missing that context, it’s the first time I’ve run across it, but I was also partly just trying to share some of the context for how nuts this was to people who didn’t read...Ahhh I definitely was missing that context, it’s the first time I’ve run across it, but I was also partly just trying to share some of the context for how nuts this was to people who didn’t read French and couldn’t read the photo of the letter even with google translate.
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Comment on How late is too late for a house party? in ~talk
AnEarlyMartyr Link ParentOkay but that actually kinda feels unhinged. The letter wasn’t that rude or anything, I mean a bit passive aggressive sure. But the OP didn’t even hear any noise. The OPs sole relationship to this...Okay but that actually kinda feels unhinged. The letter wasn’t that rude or anything, I mean a bit passive aggressive sure. But the OP didn’t even hear any noise. The OPs sole relationship to this neighbor was this letter. The neighbor was new and was being passive aggressive because someone called the cops on him for noise for a get together instead of talking to him first. A bit out there to send everyone in the building a letter sure, but nothing actively harmful or anything. Also not like this was a pattern of behavior or something. Anyways OPs response to getting this mildly annoying letter is to freeze his piss so he can flood the entryway of the neighbors apartment with it. Which actually is kinda insane.
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Comment on Ten days in December- Germany with kids: Itinerary feasibility in ~travel
AnEarlyMartyr LinkIt’s a bit more movement than I normally like on my trips but it’s nothing too crazy. If your kid is really into WWII there’s the Museum Berlin-Karlshorst which is about the Eastern Front and is...It’s a bit more movement than I normally like on my trips but it’s nothing too crazy. If your kid is really into WWII there’s the Museum Berlin-Karlshorst which is about the Eastern Front and is where the Germans officially surrendered it’s just outside Berlin proper in the suburbs and should be easy to take the S-Bahn to. They have some tanks and other vehicles there too. When I went (~8 years ago) it was pretty empty except for myself but had some cool stuff. Though probably should remember that the Eastern front could be pretty brutal so maybe just keep an eye out for the kids.
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Comment on Divine Hiddenness argument against God’s existence in ~humanities
AnEarlyMartyr Link ParentWell said. I must admit I’m tired of the assumption that seems to underlay so much of, at the very least, the English language discussion of “religion”. Which is that certain strains of very...Well said. I must admit I’m tired of the assumption that seems to underlay so much of, at the very least, the English language discussion of “religion”. Which is that certain strains of very modern Protestant thought are some kind of ur-religion and the only ideas worth paying attention to. This seems especially true in so much of the modern “atheist” movement. Which really just seems to be obsessed with this one particular conception of god and religion and seems to treat it as the end all be all. At the absolute best arguments in this space are picking at low hanging fruit at the worst it’s just boring. Not to mention incredibly ignorant of what is the vast majority of human experience and thought on this topic.
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Comment on Are there any backpacks which are both stylish and functional? in ~life.style
AnEarlyMartyr LinkI think I get what you’re defining as “tech bro” basically something that seems likely to have the term “minimalist” attached to it. Or that looks like Kanye West might wear it these days....I think I get what you’re defining as “tech bro” basically something that seems likely to have the term “minimalist” attached to it. Or that looks like Kanye West might wear it these days. Anyways, my recommendation would be to look further outside of the trendy daypack field. My impulse would be to look at either more outdoor backpack manufacturers, like Kelty or Osprey to name a couple of medium price tier options, or whoever else. Or somewhere like carhartt or maybe even Danner (do they make backpacks?) or some other company associated at least tangentially with workwear. I think they’re less likely to be fielding stuff that looks too “effective altruist” and are more likely to stick to kinda more classic designs while still incorporating functionality. You can also try going even more expensive/boutique heritage stuff if you have the money.
Anyways just my vague thoughts, as someone who hasn’t bought a backpack in years but understands what it’s like to have incredibly picky taste.
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Comment on Extraverted introverts, cautious risk-takers, and selfless narcissists: A demonstration of why you can’t trust data collected on MTurk in ~science
AnEarlyMartyr Link ParentI mean, I think people regularly are more scenario specific than anything else. For me personally, some scenarios I rarely talk, some scenarios I talk a lot. It wouldn't be much of a stretch to...I mean, I think people regularly are more scenario specific than anything else. For me personally, some scenarios I rarely talk, some scenarios I talk a lot. It wouldn't be much of a stretch to call me an extroverted introvert or a cautious risk taker. I sometimes will make big life changing bets on relatively quick timelines but I generally spend time thinking them through and being careful where exactly I take big risks. All just to say that while I'm sure MTurk has plenty of mediocre data, I almost find this paper to say more about the shortfalls of trying to neatly categorize people into personality types and behaviors than it does about anything else. People tend to be big contradictory messes that don't really fit into simple descriptors.
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Comment on What if we discover the answers of the Universe, eliminate cancer, halt aging. What's next? in ~humanities
AnEarlyMartyr Link ParentI mean that's just god reimagined as a computer.I mean that's just god reimagined as a computer.
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Comment on Online shopping - how convenient is it actually? in ~life.style
AnEarlyMartyr LinkFor the most part I figure if I can't find it in a store nearby I probably don't really need it. There are occasional exceptions to this policy, mainly shoes, but I can probably count on one hand...For the most part I figure if I can't find it in a store nearby I probably don't really need it. There are occasional exceptions to this policy, mainly shoes, but I can probably count on one hand the amount of online purchases I've made in the last few years. I like encouraging having physical locations to buy things nearby, employees tend to be paid better than delivery drivers (especially true for local stores), and I like being able to see what I'm paying for before I purchase it. I'm not saying I never buy things online but I do try and really prioritize not buying things online if I can help it.
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Comment on Looking for help scraping and deleting a Reddit account in ~comp
AnEarlyMartyr Link ParentYeah I don't have anything that sensitive out there. I've always been pretty careful, and I'm not really too worried about the archive side of things. It's just too much work.Yeah I don't have anything that sensitive out there. I've always been pretty careful, and I'm not really too worried about the archive side of things. It's just too much work.
Honestly what comes to mind is the iPhone SE. the camera won’t be absolutely stellar but more than serviceable. For all Apple’s flaws they still do simple to setup, clean, and reliable well. It still has a home button which is nice, especially for older people. It’s not too big and I’m pretty sure you can get one new for less than $500.