AspiringAlienist's recent activity
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Comment on Great shows with a truly satisfying ending? in ~tv
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Comment on Great shows with a truly satisfying ending? in ~tv
AspiringAlienist (edited )LinkWhile most of the shows mentioned are -beside the satisfying ending- also satisfying or conventionally good in their entirety, I’d like to offer a show that’s really rescued by its ending. Well,...While most of the shows mentioned are -beside the satisfying ending- also satisfying or conventionally good in their entirety, I’d like to offer a show that’s really rescued by its ending. Well, in my humble opinion at least.
Dollhouse is a show with such an interesting premise. Its episodes differ a bit in quality. And it was cancelled halfway season 2. The epilogue Epitaph One*, which is considered kind of the finale, really wrapped everything up in an amazing way. Actually the best part of the show.
*edit: I meant Two, per @3d12’s comment
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Comment on Great shows with a truly satisfying ending? in ~tv
AspiringAlienist Link ParentAvatar is so good. The ‘spiritual grammar’ of the story -for lack of better words- make the themes and characters really come alive for me. It’s one of those shows that needs a rewatch every few...Avatar is so good. The ‘spiritual grammar’ of the story -for lack of better words- make the themes and characters really come alive for me. It’s one of those shows that needs a rewatch every few years.
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Comment on What is your favorite museum? in ~talk
AspiringAlienist Link ParentIt’s hard to pinpoint and I agree that the feeling is different. There’s something aesthetically pleasing to a beautiful painting or sculpture. Most contemporary art makes me think or has captured...It’s hard to pinpoint and I agree that the feeling is different. There’s something aesthetically pleasing to a beautiful painting or sculpture. Most contemporary art makes me think or has captured my gaze somehow. Sometimes it’s the concept an artist wants to convey, sometimes it’s just a way of (over)stimulation that just hits different. E.g. funfairaffair by Funda Gül Özcan (2017) is just this crazy moving diorama with accompanying soundtrack. Or anything really by Ai Weiwei, both because of the impressiveness or strangeness of the pieces, while also being political statements.
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Comment on What is your favorite museum? in ~talk
AspiringAlienist LinkI like local museums with contemporary art and changing exhibitions. Used to have some kind of pass to go unlimited to local museums when I was a student, which made going to a new exhibition...I like local museums with contemporary art and changing exhibitions. Used to have some kind of pass to go unlimited to local museums when I was a student, which made going to a new exhibition possible as a lunch activity (and made it painless to leave early if I didn’t like it).
The Louvre gives this strange feeling of massiveness besides having great pieces. Especially the hall with sculptures left an impression.
The American Museum of National History in New York is really cool. Worth it already for the planetarium and the dinosaurs, but there’s so much more to explore.
Museums that are centered around historic houses are always of interest to me. It’s a different type of experience than your typical museum, interesting nonetheless. For example Freud and Mozart houses in Vienna, the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam and the Terror Haza in Budapest.
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Comment on The perverse consequences of tuition-free medical school in ~finance
AspiringAlienist LinkI. Choosing a career is more likely influenced by personality and personal story, and could be loosely modeled after the hedgehog principle in my opinion. This encompasses the idea that companies...I. Choosing a career is more likely influenced by personality and personal story, and could be loosely modeled after the hedgehog principle in my opinion. This encompasses the idea that companies will move from good to great if they are passionate about their product, they are good at making their product and if the product makes enough money.
Let’s say that you are equally interested in family medicine and dermatology and every other aspect is equal, except the amount of money you’ll be making. What would you do?II. The field of medicine is romanticized to lure young and hopeful idealists into a pyramid scheme. Once inside, you would be a fool to not try and get to the top. Or at least get the most out of it. Getting free tuition gives you a lot of options, including leaving the field debt free. Maybe that’s the merit of these donations. And that people still continue to practice medicine even after having freedom of choice after medical school stems hopeful; maybe the selection process for these tuition free schools does select individuals that are more likely to stay.
III. Inequality in health care, but they meant inequality to get access to medical education. If your goal is to make health care more equal, how about changing how the system works.
IV. For which audience is this article written. What is the point? As long as medicine is a for profit zero sum game (as is everything in the - regulated - free market), nothing will really change. And somehow the diversity in physicians (i.e. primary care vs other) gets pulled into the discussion, as well as the diversity in races (white vs other) and diversity in income (poor vs rich).
V. Top down deciding how many vacant positions are available for preferred specialties and forcing the rest into primary care specialties might be an option, however, I am too unfamiliar with the US system to really guess at which place within the system such a policy has to be implemented. Alternatively, maybe a ‘forced’ period of employment might be an interesting solution, akin to obligatory military service and for example the Aravind Eye Hospital business case (getting top education in an unique hospital in India, in exchange for working for them for a certain period).
TL;DR Everybody wants to get money. Money is more easily got if you had it in the first place. Health care is no exception.
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Comment on Which debut albums from the 2020s do you recommend? in ~music
AspiringAlienist LinkFred Again.. blew up the past years, his debut album contains highly emotional tracks worth listening to: Sabrina (i am the party) or Kyle (i found you), beside of course Marea (we’ve lost...Fred Again.. blew up the past years, his debut album contains highly emotional tracks worth listening to: Sabrina (i am the party) or Kyle (i found you), beside of course Marea (we’ve lost dancing).
IDKHow has some great energetic happy indie rock tracks with sometimes serious themes.
daði freyr technically had an debut album in 2019, but his English debut album in 2023. They gained popularity after Eurovision. The funny dances combined with actually good singing voice and just good catchy pop vibes make him very easy to listen to in my opinion.
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Comment on How accurate is the conventional wisdom about dopamine? in ~health.mental
AspiringAlienist LinkI am trained in neuroscience, but the finer details are no longer part of my daily job. The explanation of @eyechoirs match my view of the role of dopamine in the brain with regard to your...I am trained in neuroscience, but the finer details are no longer part of my daily job. The explanation of @eyechoirs match my view of the role of dopamine in the brain with regard to your question.
The brain is not like an experience machine, you drop in some happy neurotransmitter and you feel happy, or you dump in some sad juice and feel sad. Really understanding the brain is hard if not impossible. At best, we measure activity and deduce which neurotransmitter is responsible in X area of the brain. Most studies take proxies of proxies (fMRI, or behavior in other species). I’m partial to the electrode implanting stuff.
What has been found by putting electrodes into the brain of monkeys, is that firing in neurons with dopamine receptors in the part of the brain associated with reward is more related to cues signaling reward is to be expected, or either unexpected rewards without cue. See:
Schultz, W., Dayan, P., & Montague, P. R. (1997). A neural substrate of prediction and reward. Science, 275(5306), 1593-1599.This phenomenon is strongly implied in the near-miss effect, which is why gambling has the potential to be so addictive. Cues that are signaling incoming reward (slot machine playing 7, 7 … bar), will tickle your reward center, even without giving the reward. So let’s try again, and again, and again.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~health.mental
AspiringAlienist LinkMaybe someday I’ll do a bigger write up regarding this endlessly fascinating topic. It seems to me, like with all human belief systems, that one size does not fit all. As hearing voices is a...Maybe someday I’ll do a bigger write up regarding this endlessly fascinating topic.
It seems to me, like with all human belief systems, that one size does not fit all. As hearing voices is a pretty hard symptom to treat, trying to deal with them in some way (finding meaning and distraction in other parts of life, give the voices themselves positive meaning) is an important part of recovery, from the medical viewpoint that is.
Don’t get me wrong, antipsychotics are one of the most effective medications in whole of medicine and ideally are a part of recovery. But there’s a group that will keep symptoms and/or is hard to motivate to keep taking antipsychotics.
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Comment on Six distinct types of depression identified in Stanford Medicine-led study in ~health.mental
AspiringAlienist LinkInteresting endeavor to try an grapple with the difficulty of the heterogeneity found within the major depressive disorder diagnosis. At best it links some fMRI findings with a clinical reality...Interesting endeavor to try an grapple with the difficulty of the heterogeneity found within the major depressive disorder diagnosis.
At best it links some fMRI findings with a clinical reality that’s already known; i.e. there are more biological seeming depressions, and more psychosocial/psychological determined depressions. At worst it’ll be used in the softening of the ontological uncertainty of the depression diagnosis concept. We got fMRI findings now; it’s a real ‘thing’.
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Comment on Just wanna talk about drinking less in ~talk
AspiringAlienist LinkIf you like ginger, there’s a whole array of ginger based drinks that give some kick without being really sweet. Of course you have your ginger ale and ginger beer, which are still sweet, but if...If you like ginger, there’s a whole array of ginger based drinks that give some kick without being really sweet. Of course you have your ginger ale and ginger beer, which are still sweet, but if you can get your hands on some quality concentrate and mix it with sparkling water.. the spiciness will warm you. You could probably make it yourself if you want.
If you like tea, you could probably find a blend that has a bitter flavor profile.
And depending on your locale, there could be some good tasting 0% alcohol beers.
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Comment on Apple Music's 100 best albums list in ~music
AspiringAlienist LinkVery surprised to see Burial in this list. While his influence on ‘intelligent dance music’ (for lack of a better term) is unparalleled, it’s not the easiest music to listen to. Definitely an...Very surprised to see Burial in this list. While his influence on ‘intelligent dance music’ (for lack of a better term) is unparalleled, it’s not the easiest music to listen to. Definitely an album to listen to in one sitting. Now I at least expect Aphex Twin to be somewhere down the list.
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Comment on South Korea health alert raised to ‘severe’ over doctors walkout in ~health
AspiringAlienist Link ParentWell, I don’t really know the state of South Korean health care, but probably a safe bet that they don’t really regulate which patients may ask for evaluation at the ED, resulting in a lot of time...Well, I don’t really know the state of South Korean health care, but probably a safe bet that they don’t really regulate which patients may ask for evaluation at the ED, resulting in a lot of time and energy spent triaging. Some care could be better delivered by a family medicine doctor instead of in a hospital.
A better work-life balance to keep doctors in the work force longer should be a given. If you squeeze the last bit of life out of freshly graduated doctors, their replacements - even if in larger numbers - will not necessarily last longer, no? It will not fix the problem, but ignoring this factor will exacerbate the problem sooner than later.
In my own locale, I don’t see strikes (yet), but I feel like the willingness to put up with inhumane working conditions grows less and less each generation, making it increasingly difficult to fill positions in hospitals, which in turn results in better working agreements in some situations - but not all.
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Comment on South Korea health alert raised to ‘severe’ over doctors walkout in ~health
AspiringAlienist LinkGood that they stand up for themselves. The government chooses to increase the risk for the patients by acting in this way. Increasing working hours in an already unhealthy work-life balance is...Good that they stand up for themselves. The government chooses to increase the risk for the patients by acting in this way. Increasing working hours in an already unhealthy work-life balance is insane.
There’s ample evidence that working with sleep deprivation leads to more risks. It’s just malpractice waiting to happen.
Increasing the student influx now, will not help the current situation of scarcity, which also poses the problem: Who will train these extra people? The overworked junior doctors? And if it effects anything, it will be 4-8 years in the future.These are the results of political choices: Do you want a socialist health care in which doctors are motivated to work in public hospitals with healthy working hours, normal compensation. Or do you keep going with a winner takes all system, which incentivizes private practice, places an inhumane amount of workload on the junior doctor workforce, and in which health care is seen as a product.
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Comment on Recommendations for medical history in ~humanities.history
AspiringAlienist LinkShrinks: The Untold Story of Psychiatry by Jeffrey A. Lieberman with Ogi Ogas (4.1/5 on goodreads). It gives an easy to read history of psychiatry in the United States, by a former president of...Shrinks: The Untold Story of Psychiatry by Jeffrey A. Lieberman with Ogi Ogas (4.1/5 on goodreads). It gives an easy to read history of psychiatry in the United States, by a former president of the APA. There’s also some form of critique on the DSM V, if that’s of interest.
Not a book, but the podcast Bedside Rounds has some great medical history stories. For example this episode is on vaccines during the small pox epidemic: https://pca.st/episode/3964f32e-09d5-4577-aa11-58091a74648d
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Comment on Advertisers want to place ads next to content that is 'Brand Safe'. The end of Jezebel is a case study of how that impacts hard hitting news sites in ~tech
AspiringAlienist Link ParentThe power of ad based content probably is the societal breakdown. Find me one teenager that isn’t glued to twitch streams, TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram etc etc in their free time. Funding the...I don't know how we break through that except through other societal breakdowns first.
The power of ad based content probably is the societal breakdown. Find me one teenager that isn’t glued to twitch streams, TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram etc etc in their free time. Funding the system, while also suffering the losses of independent information.
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Comment on Advertisers want to place ads next to content that is 'Brand Safe'. The end of Jezebel is a case study of how that impacts hard hitting news sites in ~tech
AspiringAlienist LinkI don’t think Jezebel is a good example. However, the analysis that advertisers and marketeers have a disproportionately large power in media is worrying and also fitting/supporting 404media’s -...I don’t think Jezebel is a good example. However, the analysis that advertisers and marketeers have a disproportionately large power in media is worrying and also fitting/supporting 404media’s - and other independent platforms - own standpoint.
I am not really knowledgeable on this subject (I binged Succession and watched the pilot of Madmen), but I feel like that while advertising’s power has been around for a long time, since the inception of online-only (social) media outlets, a lot of ‘content creators’ are almost solely dependent on advertising income. From the standpoint of advertisers it only makes sense; just do what gets the most money. The switch to becoming independent by finding ways to secure other cash flow sources seems the logical one to try and break free from this broken system, see for example 404 media.
The second part seems to focus on actors that game the system. It seems that advertisers don’t lose enough money (maybe because brands still pay the advertising companies regardless?) that they change their practices, which is extra worrying; potentially legitimate sites are dropped in favor of ad optimized fake blogs? Seems to be bad for everyone involved (except the intermediary ad companies of course).
An tangential afterthought: It’s not hard to grab attention with extremes, but it’s also common sense that it will scare advertisers. The better part of the time on the internet is spent watching pornography or lewd images, but mainstream advertising companies wouldn’t touch that market. I presume that brazzers and the likes still exist because some people are paying for the content with cash instead of only attention.
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Comment on The myth and reality of Mac OS X Snow Leopard in ~tech
AspiringAlienist LinkI might’ve missed it in the bullet points, but wasn’t the Mac App Store a game changer during this time period? Wikipedia states that Snow Leopard was the first Mac OS version that supported it....I might’ve missed it in the bullet points, but wasn’t the Mac App Store a game changer during this time period? Wikipedia states that Snow Leopard was the first Mac OS version that supported it. It changed the way the OS was distributed (made for some very annoying upgrade problems when I didn’t upgrade to Lion, and the download disappeared from the App Store).
To me it felt like Apple getting ready to draw OS X further into the walled garden that they were creating with iOS. The time period of Snow Leopard could very well be the tipping point in this regard.
While I only used Leopard on a hackintosh machine, it signified a great improvement in design and performance for me, if I looked at earlier versions of the OS or the Windows OS releases of that time. Snow Leopard was for some probably an improvement (Mac App Store, starting to turn into the Apple ecosystem we know today), for others the last ‘good’ OS X version (that followed the Leopard style, and was less handholding and controlling than later versions).
So even if Apple changed release strategy, the walled garden won’t magically open up again.
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Comment on Loved, yet lonely - You might have the unconditional love of family and friends and yet feel deep loneliness. Can philosophy explain why? in ~health.mental
AspiringAlienist LinkI feel like the psychoanalytic theories of Lacan are missing as a way to understand loneliness. In which the fulfillment of desire - trough the object of desire, in this case ‘somebody who...- Exemplary
In cases like this, the only way to recognise your unmet needs or desires is to notice that your loneliness has started to lift once those needs and desires begin to be met by another.
I feel like the psychoanalytic theories of Lacan are missing as a way to understand loneliness. In which the fulfillment of desire - trough the object of desire, in this case ‘somebody who alleviates loneliness’ -, doesn’t change the incompleteness every subject feels. You could write a whole new article on these ideas I’d bet.
To stay within (French) philosophical themes, I’d suggest to flip the script with regard to looking at loneliness. Firstly, the article is very much focused on the loneliness the author experiences (or rather alienation of their original peer group), and what their needs and desires are, and how Others should or could meet them to alleviate loneliness. It’s written down a bit more nuanced by the author, but this seems to be one of the messages I could distill.
I mentioned flipping the script, because instead of putting the individual subject first, French philosopher Levinas puts an important focus on the Other. I see possible ‘solutions’ for loneliness in his ideas.
While a bit difficult to explain - and understand -, Levinas thought that nothing makes sense, if not in relation to the Other (or object, or someone other than subject/I). He even sees a moral obligation to answer to the need of the Other, whenever the subject looks at the defenseless face of the Other. Levinas calls the Other infinite, that there is a divine quality to the Other.
For me, the above simply means that interactions (that happen face to face), carry a spiritual meaning of some sort. Not in the religious or supernatural sense. Because besides our own interaction with Others, is there anything higher or more precious to achieve in this world? It means to me that saying ‘hi’ to a stranger is answering to a need of the Other. It means that providing care is answering to needs of the Other. It means doing no harm is answering to needs of the Other. It means in a split moment forgetting to be (a subject), but living through the Other.
Surely, it’s not something I am aware of everyday, but this article reminded me of what makes me feel lonely. It makes me feel lonely to only do things for me, to only perceive my own subjective reality. To hope that Others fill my needs.
I don’t propose living purely prosocially or altruisticly, but I hope to shake up some thinking. Because honestly, do we as humans thrive by all focussing on ourselves and hoping that we as an individual will thrive, or are we not born as defenseless creatures that needs care from Others to thrive?
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Comment on How to use the YouTube website? in ~tech
AspiringAlienist LinkFor iOS (and probably for MacOS, but I don’t use it), Orion browser automatically blocks YT ads for me.For iOS (and probably for MacOS, but I don’t use it), Orion browser automatically blocks YT ads for me.
Oh right!
Whenever I watch shows with similar feeling ideas - Westworld comes to mind - I keep thinking “I should rewatch Dollhouse”.
Nothing really seems to match the vibe. Thought-provoking is exactly the right word.