EgoEimi's recent activity
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Comment on "Shower thoughts" and other things to ponder in ~talk
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Comment on "Shower thoughts" and other things to ponder in ~talk
EgoEimi LinkI think that cars should different horn tones, including a cute polite one for when people want to go "oops" or "thanks". Horn tones are the language we have to communicate with one another when...I think that cars should different horn tones, including a cute polite one for when people want to go "oops" or "thanks".
Horn tones are the language we have to communicate with one another when we're driving muted by our tinted-glass-and-metal bubbles. And right that language is only that of loudness, aggressiveness, and harshness. It'd be nice to have a richer language.
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Comment on Stromae - Multitude, le film (full concert) (2023) in ~music
EgoEimi LinkThanks for sharing! I recently discovered his music when he was featured as part of the show Arcane's soundtrack—like so many other viewers—and I've been delighted.Thanks for sharing! I recently discovered his music when he was featured as part of the show Arcane's soundtrack—like so many other viewers—and I've been delighted.
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Comment on Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield reverses US policy that would have limited anesthesia periods in ~health
EgoEimi LinkFor balance: from Vox, A big insurer backed off its plan to pay less for anesthesia. That’s bad. Anesthesiologists are incentivized to overbill. Cost overruns would have to be absorbed by the...For balance: from Vox, A big insurer backed off its plan to pay less for anesthesia. That’s bad.
Anesthesiologists are incentivized to overbill.
Anesthesia services are billed partially on the basis of how long a procedure takes. This creates an incentive for anesthesiologists to err on the side of exaggerating how long their services were required during an operation. And there is evidence that some anesthesiologists may engage in overbilling by overstating the length of a procedure, or the degree of risk a patient faces in undergoing anesthesia.
Cost overruns would have to be absorbed by the anesthesiologist, who can appeal.
“Say there is a contract between an insurance company like Anthem and an anesthesiologist,” Garmon told Vox. “What is always in that contract is a clause that says, ‘You, the provider, agree to accept the reimbursement rules in this contract as payment in full.’ That means the provider cannot then turn around and ask [the patient] for money.”
Insurance companies aren't the #1 reason why healthcare is expensive. Health providers here charge a lot.
But the avarice and inefficiencies of private insurers are not the sole — or even primary — reasons why vital medical services are often unaffordable and inaccessible in the United States. The bigger issue is that America’s health care providers — hospitals, physicians, and drug companies — charge much higher rates than their peers in other wealthy nations.
In 2023, the average physician salary in the United States was $352,000. In Germany, that figure was $160,000; in the United Kingdom, it was $122,000; in France, it was $93,000.
When I lived in the Netherlands, I was surprised to learn that a Dutch GP grosses merely €6k a month. A Dutch anesthesiologist? €11k a month.
American GPs gross 2.5x that. American anesthesiologists? 3.5x that.
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Comment on China bans export of critical minerals to US as trade tensions escalate in ~society
EgoEimi Link ParentWhich is in turn driven by the rise of cheap freight and low tariffs, making China and Bangladesh almost as proximal as Ohio or Michigan. I actually agree with Trump that there should be higher...“well yes it’s dumb but I can’t convince the board to pay for me to keep it local”.
Which is in turn driven by the rise of cheap freight and low tariffs, making China and Bangladesh almost as proximal as Ohio or Michigan.
I actually agree with Trump that there should be higher tariffs on China. But it's 20 years too late.
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Comment on Reusing plastic water bottles, to-go containers? Scientists say that’s a bad idea. in ~health
EgoEimi LinkIn parallel: I'd like every company, non-profit, or other org to stop handing out branded reusable bottles at events. I don't need a J.P. Morgan bottle. I don't need an ACLU bottle. I don't need a...In parallel: I'd like every company, non-profit, or other org to stop handing out branded reusable bottles at events. I don't need a J.P. Morgan bottle. I don't need an ACLU bottle. I don't need a '24 [insert city] gay pride bottle.
I already have one bottle that I'm keeping until I'm dead or I lose it.
The stupid amount of reusable bottles I see being handed out or sold seems to run counter to sustainability. And I don't know why bottles/tumblers can be prestigious or luxurious, like Stanley or Yeti.
There's so much reusable bottle hubris.
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Comment on An antitrust advocate reflects on the US Democratic Party's cult of powerlessness in ~society
EgoEimi Link ParentI doubt it's engineered to be political theatre. There are structural flaws emergent from the very nature of democracy, free speech, mass culture, human biology, etc. What we see as political...I doubt it's engineered to be political theatre. There are structural flaws emergent from the very nature of democracy, free speech, mass culture, human biology, etc. What we see as political theatre is just the interactions of these structural flaws that overwhelm our individual best intentions.
There's often an unquestioned cultural assumption in the west that democracy is automatically good and superior to autocracy in every way, and that any flaw is external to democracy.
While reforming the electoral college, implementing RCV, and other things would improve the situation, it doesn't address the fundamental problem of information asymmetry and incompleteness, the easy exploitability of free speech, and the fact that there are many voters who will vote for someone because they think that they have a magic lever switch on egg prices.
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Comment on I think I've failed the United States in ~society
EgoEimi Link ParentI think that as an exercise of empathy, such statements could be reformulated for one's own careers. For educators: "if teaching pays little and isn't respected, why not retrain for a green job?"...I think that as an exercise of empathy, such statements could be reformulated for one's own careers.
For educators: "if teaching pays little and isn't respected, why not retrain for a green job?" which doesn't really address the concerns of pay, respect, administrative support, classroom discipline, bureaucracy, etc.
For tech workers: "if tech companies are laying off people, why not retrain as a plumber or electrician?" which is kinda fair because it's oversaturated, but it doesn't address concerns around instability, lack of workers' rights, outsourcing and offshoring, lack of respect from employers (an AI could do your job for cents! This team of questionably-credentialed Indian and Filipino IT workers can do your job for cents!), etc.
For communities whose entire raisons d'être revolved around certain industries, there is a certain indignity in being told that they're deprecated and irrelevant by extension of their deprecated, irrelevant industries.
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Comment on An antitrust advocate reflects on the US Democratic Party's cult of powerlessness in ~society
EgoEimi LinkThis was probably the most interesting section for me. I've long been wondering, what makes a society, anyway? I'm socially liberal, but I find that liberals and Democrats don't really present a...that [old] left “was committed, or so we believed, to the universal, egalitarian values of the Enlightenment represented by Jefferson, Paine, and Lincoln.”
In the 1960s, a set of disillusioning arguments prevailed on the left, particularly in academia... they “disconnected Lincoln’s proposition from the idea of America and reattached it to the aspirations of those subordinate groups of Americans—women, African Americans, the working class—oppressed, victimized, or excluded by an irremediably corrupt nation.
If America itself is immoral, then who cares what the governing apparatus looks like? ...
Politics, which is fundamentally the forming of a society, itself becomes immoral.
This was probably the most interesting section for me. I've long been wondering, what makes a society, anyway?
I'm socially liberal, but I find that liberals and Democrats don't really present a coherent vision of what society should be besides a pluralistic one — which to me seems like a cop-out "D. all of the above!" non-answer answer that leaves many important questions unanswered, like what makes us even a people? What makes this our country? What is sacred? What unites and connects us? McDonalds and mindless consumerism? Don't say "we're united because we're Americans!" because that just seems tautological.
Is this even our homeland? If we accept the premise that this is native land first and foremost and we're occupiers, then where is our homeland? China, Mexico, Ireland, or wherever our immigrant ancestors came from? And if we all don't share a homeland here, are we just guests to each other?
If the premise of our country as a project is hopelessly tainted, does that also invalidate its many ideals? And if so, then is there anything civically worth aspiring towards, or are we left with only selfish pursuit of our own individual interests?
The Republicans have a vision of what society should be: a conservative, traditional, Judeo-Christian one that I disagree with. But hey, at least they have one.
Now that a whole bunch of new areas have been opened up to critique, from trade to corporate power to mergers to industrial policy to the Federal Reserve, and the expectation among the public is that our political leaders can and should do stuff, well, voters will start to expect our democratic institutions to function. And if we can make the case, that will lead us back to being a society again.
I actually agree with this. I think the election of Trump is a bad thing, but there are many positive signs too. Many voters were willing to ignore his many, many flaws because he had a bold vision to undo the sins of globalization. But there are a lot of people who want the dots connected between global trade, corporate power, domestic economy, and how economy structures society. There is opportunity for Democrats to draw those connections.
The Democrats' message that tariffs are a tax on the working class fell flat. There is a certain indignity in being forced to buy Chinese-made goods as a middle American living in a town that has been hollowed out by deindustrialization, and there are no competitive American-made goods available to buy because the game is tilted in disfavor of American manufacturing.
I'm not sure if going all-in on unions without trying to balance the trade game is politically sustainable. I think that even union workers see and fear the writing on the wall. Why hire an American worker for $18/hr + benefits when you (and your competitors) can hire a foreign worker for 1/4th of that (or less) to make the same product and then import it?
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Comment on China population set for 51 million drop as pro-birth moves fail in ~society
EgoEimi Link ParentI've been thinking about this a bit more, as I piece back together memories of old studies and analyses. The ethics of achieving progress in a developing country are... difficult, to say the...Human beings are not livestock: you can't just forcibly abort babies for a couple decades and then suddenly give the okay and a carrot and birth rate rebounds. They're gonna try with all their might, though, may God have mercy on young women.
I've been thinking about this a bit more, as I piece back together memories of old studies and analyses.
The ethics of achieving progress in a developing country are... difficult, to say the least. I'm glad that I'm not god or the leader of a poor developing country and have to make difficult decisions.
It's thought that China's population control methods prevented its population pyramid from becoming too bottom-heavy with children. Had it not, it probably wouldn't have achieved such rapid economic growth. It hit the goldilocks zone of 1. having a big adult labor force and 2. without impossibly too many youths to feed and school.
Developing countries where youths far, far outnumber working adults experience multiple demographic crises:
- With any modicum of modern medicine, many of the youths will grow up. (As opposed to premodern times when a large portion would've died before adulthood.)
- Lack of educational resources in a poor country; existing resources get stretched extremely thin.
- Too many youths can eat economic growth that could have been otherwise reinvested into development.
- Too many youth in a country that doesn't have enough opportunities from the development pipeline yet. Uneducated, unemployed youths always create political upheaval.
And China doesn't want upheaval: every time the country experiences civil unrest, tens of millions of people die.
In countries that have explosive birth rates, like Egypt and Nigeria, their extremely bottom-heavy population pyramids drive political instability and hinder development.
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Comment on China population set for 51 million drop as pro-birth moves fail in ~society
EgoEimi Link ParentI think that of all the factors that contribute to low birth rates, the strength of women's rights, women's education, and the ability for women to be independent is one. As paradoxical as that...I think that of all the factors that contribute to low birth rates, the strength of women's rights, women's education, and the ability for women to be independent is one. As paradoxical as that sounds. These stories make it out of China because enough citizens cared. In more women-hostile countries, these stories are much more common yet never make it out because their people think they're non-stories.
Chinese women are able to lead independent lives in China: they can pursue education and work any career. Female entrepreneurship is common. This isn't to say that conditions are ideal, but they're much better than any country like Nigeria or Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia has a very high birth rate (above replacement) for being a developed country, and conditions for women there are objectively worse, where women are still pseudo-property of their male guardians that require male guardian permission to do anything important.
China's gender pay gap is 13%. Saudi Arabia's is a whopping 49%.
Interestingly, as Saudi Arabia liberalizes and grants more rights and protections to women, like the right to drive, its birth rate declines sharply.
Looking at countries around the world, countries with weaker women's rights and opportunities have higher birth rates, while countries with stronger women's rights and opportunities have lower birth rates. If there's any signal, it's that crashing birth rates signals significantly improving conditions for women.
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Comment on "Americans get screwed because they can’t read" in ~society
EgoEimi Link ParentChinese is taught phonetically through the use of the phonetic alphabet Pinyin invented in 50s China for the purpose of improving literacy rates and romanizing Chinese, or the older Zhuyin system...Chinese is taught phonetically through the use of the phonetic alphabet Pinyin invented in 50s China for the purpose of improving literacy rates and romanizing Chinese, or the older Zhuyin system if you're in Taiwan. I learned Chinese through Zhuyin, sounding words out. Literacy rates in China used to be dismal; now it's almost 100%, which is impressive considering that learning to write and read Chinese is arguably much more difficult than learning to write and read English. (Grammatically, Chinese is actually simpler, funny enough.)
As an outsider to literacy education, it seems a bit funny that Chinese moved to phonics to improve literacy, and now English is moving away from it. Maybe Chinese and English are different enough that paradoxically both approaches can be right, but right now I feel that one is probably wrong.
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Comment on Japanese workers in their twenties turn to resignation agencies in ~life
EgoEimi LinkAsian agencies sell agency… (by the seashore?) An aside: I find Japanese work culture—and any culture in general—interesting because victims become the tomorrow’s victimizers. Surveys show that...Asian agencies sell agency… (by the seashore?)
An aside: I find Japanese work culture—and any culture in general—interesting because victims become the tomorrow’s victimizers.
Surveys show that many Japanese feel overworked and stressed out by work, yet it seems that they also collectively reinforce and perpetuate the norms that lead to overwork.
Similarly in the west, a 40 hour work week is normal, but there’s little natural to it. We just expect it, so we make it so.
It seems to me that most people, when they reach senior positions, just reenact what they know and are familiar with. But a progressive minority push for a gradual shift.
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Comment on Graduating college, starting work, and being lonely in ~life
EgoEimi LinkI feel for you, and it seems that you've already figured out what your next step should be. Oh most definitely: you should check out Haight-Ashbury or anywhere in the "progressive crescent"....I feel for you, and it seems that you've already figured out what your next step should be.
I feel like I'll have a way better chance of meeting people who are like me and are my age up there.
Oh most definitely: you should check out Haight-Ashbury or anywhere in the "progressive crescent". Oakland and Berkeley also have the kind of people you want to meet, maybe even more so because they're more affordable for people who aren't super career-driven. I'd recommend Berkeley more because of the ecosystem of doctoral students at Berkeley + Berkeley's cozy, post-hippy vibe. I recommend against Oakland since I used to live there: violent crime is a big issue there, and everyone in my co-op there had been held and robbed at gun or knife point at least once.
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Comment on AirPods or not? in ~music
EgoEimi Link ParentSuper, super useful and, for me, one of the biggest selling points. Saved me hours, sanity, and the need to tear apart my house. I find that it works well if both my AirPods and my iPhone have the...Third, they’re tied into FindMy which makes keeping track of them easier (admittedly, when it works).
Super, super useful and, for me, one of the biggest selling points. Saved me hours, sanity, and the need to tear apart my house.
I find that it works well if both my AirPods and my iPhone have the U1 chip. It's for when I've ditched my AirPods in a pile of clothes, forgotten it in a pocket in one of my three bags or myriad jackets, or left it just somewhere in the house. I just use the Find My scanner thing and it brings me within a foot of my AirPods.
Two AirPods can connect to an iPad (or a Mac with an easy workaround) for movies and music, which is another quality of life feature.
It seems like such a niche, "when am I ever going to use that?" feature but my partner and I use it when we want to listen to something and not bother other folks.
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Comment on Wonder announces acquisition of Grubhub in ~food
EgoEimi LinkI've never heard of Wonder before. It appears to be a small food delivery startup that serves only NYC. I'm very surprised. This comes off as if a local hardware store were announcing that it's...I've never heard of Wonder before. It appears to be a small food delivery startup that serves only NYC.
I'm very surprised. This comes off as if a local hardware store were announcing that it's acquiring Lowes or Home Depot. Like, what. Where did they get all that cash?
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Comment on How self-driving cars will destroy cities in ~transport
EgoEimi Link ParentThat's what I've always imagined them eventually becoming: mini buses with dynamic routes and stops. You just hail an autonomous mini-bus by app, it lets you know when to come outside 2 minutes...That's what I've always imagined them eventually becoming: mini buses with dynamic routes and stops. You just hail an autonomous mini-bus by app, it lets you know when to come outside 2 minutes before, and you hop in. It'll then pick up and drop off several people, but eventually drops you off at the doorsteps of your destination.
The thing about the current state of public transit is that unless you're an affluent professional and live in a desirable area that's within walking distance of a main line that goes straight to the central business district, the public transit experience is tedious, uncomfortable series of disjointed bus and train routes with awkward walks and long, boring waits in between segments.
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Comment on Donald Trump didn't win on the US economy. He won on the perception of it. in ~society
EgoEimi Link ParentGreat catch! That's actually a very telling artifact. Each party's platform is written by their platform committee, made up of party leaders and members, policy folks, and representatives of the...Great catch! That's actually a very telling artifact.
Each party's platform is written by their platform committee, made up of party leaders and members, policy folks, and representatives of the party's key stakeholders. So each document reveals each party's culture.
So for the 2nd page, which is probably the first and foremost thing that the parties' committees discuss and hash out, their respective cultural processes produced these two very different statements.
The Democratic committee settled on a token gesture. The Republican committee was laser-focused on Americans who feel forgotten and left behind.
Everything else about their campaigns play out from these perspectives.
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Comment on Donald Trump didn't win on the US economy. He won on the perception of it. in ~society
EgoEimi LinkIt's difficult to assess whether Trump is an idiot or a genius pretending to be an idiot, but one thing he understands better than Democrats is that politics is theatre. He made an excellent...- Exemplary
It's difficult to assess whether Trump is an idiot or a genius pretending to be an idiot, but one thing he understands better than Democrats is that politics is theatre.
He made an excellent performance of personally intervening with individual companies to bring jobs back to the U.S. He had that whole dog-and-pony show with Carrier that had moved its manufacturing to Mexico, which didn't succeed. And he makes a very loud fuss over trade with NAFTA and China.
It gives the superficial appearance that he cared — and that speaks to the millions of Americans who have lost their job to offshoring, have a family member who has, or live in a town that has been impacted and hollowed out by offshoring.
People in white-collar professions are concerned about outsourcing. If you work in IT and you and your team gets sacked and replaced by a team in India or the Philippines being paid pennies, that's really humiliating.
The Democratic brand is garbage in wide swaths of the country, and this is the reason.
I mentioned in another comment that Democrats suck at storytelling.
Now, relatively few people read the parties' platform statements, but I think that these documents are representative of each party's communication culture because they pass through many critical hands and eyes.
The Republican platform pdf is shorter than 30 pages ad sticks to several bullet points per category.
Check out the Democratic platform pdf. It's 90 pages long and rambling.
You have strictly 1 minute for each document to figure out each party's economic platform. Go!
You've probably figured out what the Republicans' ideas for the economy are. But what are the Democrats'?
Some important people in the Democratic Party reviewed that PDF and said, yeah, this looks good.
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Comment on How Donald Trump won, and how Kamala Harris lost in ~society
EgoEimi Link ParentI've been reading the NYT almost everyday for about 20 years, and they've been slinging constant shit at Trump for the past everyday for the past 8 years.
Hehe, like that. I arrived at this idea through my experience as a bicyclist in Amsterdam. I haven't owned a car in years.
Bike rage is a thing, but it's quite uncommon because it's harder (but not impossible) to be rude to another cyclist when one has to look another in the eyes. When I accidentally made an awkward or clumsy maneuver, I'd just yell, "sorry!"
Sometimes people have their children riding on their bikes too. It's especially hard to get mad at a parent when there are children present.
Cycling in Amsterdam feels very... human. I often bumped into friends and acquaintances on my commute: we'd often wave; sometimes we'd pull aside and have a quick chat, maybe agree to grabbing a drink after work or something.