Fiachra's recent activity
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Comment on South Korea's ex-president jailed for life over martial law attempt in ~society
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Comment on Against the state – a primer on terrorism, insurgency and protest in ~humanities.history
Fiachra (edited )Link ParentPublic protest is valuable even if it doesn't have any immediate direct effect because it demonstrates to the other dissenters, here we are, we feel the same as you, you are not alone, and so...- Exemplary
Public protest is valuable even if it doesn't have any immediate direct effect because it demonstrates to the other dissenters, here we are, we feel the same as you, you are not alone, and so encourages others to express dissent by illustrating the safety in numbers. Not to mention the networking and information sharing that happens at in-person protests.
Any authoritarian regime is a minority that relies on keeping the dissenting majority feeling the way you're leaning: too hopeless and disconnected to even try anything
if ICE were abolished tomorrow, there would still be databases tracking American citizens, run by private corporations. There would still be AI systems identifying protestors.
Frankly you've just set your bar absurdly high. It's not all or nothing. What if you didn't dismantle any of these vast problems but you somehow helped save one person from getting disappeared by ICE? Wouldn't that still be worth it?
I am not inspired by any of my local groups. So I feel quite powerless at the moment
Go anyway! Nothing on Earth will make you feel more powerless than doing nothing. You might find you were wrong about one of those groups, or you might find out about another group that's better, or you might just spend time doing something boring and mundane that moves the needle a millimetre in the right direction. Doomerism is the enemy!
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Comment on The mega-rich are turning their mansions into impenetrable fortresses in ~finance
Fiachra Link ParentIf it's literally an apocalyptic scenario then yeah, but they're probably anticipating more of a civil war, strife and purge style period followed by the government they're already cozy with...If it's literally an apocalyptic scenario then yeah, but they're probably anticipating more of a civil war, strife and purge style period followed by the government they're already cozy with restoring control. Keep in mind, historical castles literally were just fortified private residences where a rich guy would hole up when times were dire with his family and a small staff of armed servants, and that idea worked for centuries.
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Comment on The mega-rich are turning their mansions into impenetrable fortresses in ~finance
Fiachra Link ParentHonestly I think the only real reason is that the Joneses next door had sevenHonestly I think the only real reason is that the Joneses next door had seven
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Comment on Liberals who were formerly far-left (communist, anarchist, etc.), what led to you coming to liberalism? in ~society
Fiachra Link ParentOr was this centrism's diabolical plot all along??Or was this centrism's diabolical plot all along??
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Comment on Voyager Technologies CEO says space data center cooling problem still needs to be solved in ~space
Fiachra Link ParentAh, I wasn't aware of that technology. The drawback of that is that you have to expend propellant constantly to cool the place down. It's not exactly the same as "using the heat as propellant when...Multiple propulsion systems are based on heating a propellant, not just igniting it directly, e.g. solar thermal rocket,
Ah, I wasn't aware of that technology. The drawback of that is that you have to expend propellant constantly to cool the place down. It's not exactly the same as "using the heat as propellant when you need thrust".
Energy generation sources that don’t use turbines and rely on heat have been used in space since 1961
How did I forget about the power source on the voyager probes... Ok that doesn't require a turbine but still needs a hot region and cool region to work, which means you still need to get rid of the heat somehow, which will be building up as you use it because thermocouples don't cool things down.
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Comment on Voyager Technologies CEO says space data center cooling problem still needs to be solved in ~space
Fiachra Link ParentNo. Thrust requires a propellant, not heat. No, generating energy from heat requires both a hot and a comparatively very cold region, so if anything you would need more cooling, plus an entire...Can’t the heat be used for thrust,
No. Thrust requires a propellant, not heat.
power generation,
No, generating energy from heat requires both a hot and a comparatively very cold region, so if anything you would need more cooling, plus an entire turbine apparatus, plus "using" the heat to generate power wouldn't actually make it go anywhere, it would still be hot as hell
manufacturing,
I don't understand how heat would be relevant to manufacturing besides the energy angle I've already addressed
or life support?
No. Unmanaged heat would continue to build up until it cooked the circuitry to death, let alone any life on board. Exact opposite of life support.
It’s easy to store heat in space.
Can you elaborate on what you mean by this? I can think of some ways to store heat but none of them would actually make a spacebound facility colder.
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Comment on EU says TikTok faces large fine over "addictive design" in ~tech
Fiachra Link ParentSorry to tell you, but if government doesn't decide it then a corporation will. I can't guarantee the law will be executed based on the best interests of the people, but I can guarantee that a...Sorry to tell you, but if government doesn't decide it then a corporation will. I can't guarantee the law will be executed based on the best interests of the people, but I can guarantee that a corporate decision will not be.
Tiktok is left to self regulate and they made digital heroin for children. You freely admit the voluntary free market solution is absurd and will never work. So what do I, the individual, do? I frankly have no choice but to fight to keep my democracy functional, transparent, and fair.
My choices are corporate dictatorship or eternal vigilance to preserve representative democracy. There is no scenario where I cut out government and everything is just freedom and liberty: law of the jungle is the strong eats the weak. That means a multinational eating me and my community and my family. No thank you.
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Comment on EU says TikTok faces large fine over "addictive design" in ~tech
Fiachra Link Parentmany of the users in question are children, so "consensual relationship" is probably not legally correct there sale of pure heroin is a consensual relationship too, yet most people agree with the...Why does the government get to step in between and declare their authority over that consensual relationship?
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many of the users in question are children, so "consensual relationship" is probably not legally correct there
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sale of pure heroin is a consensual relationship too, yet most people agree with the government intervening in some form because of the incredible harm addiction causes
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democratic governments are generally considered to derive their authority from the popular mandate of the voting public. If the majority of people want tiktok regulated, by god the government has the authority to regulate it, subject to constitutional limitations of course
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Comment on EU says TikTok faces large fine over "addictive design" in ~tech
Fiachra Link ParentI think this is a pretty extreme characterisation of something as mundane as government regulation. Laws have to precisely define what they're outlawing. There are legal standards for how courts...governments with the nebulous authority to punish or shut things down at the whims of whoever is in power
I think this is a pretty extreme characterisation of something as mundane as government regulation. Laws have to precisely define what they're outlawing. There are legal standards for how courts establish if a law has been broken or not. There are trials where evidence has to be presented. There's nothing nebulous about that and the only "whims" at play is the decision if a case is strong enough to prosecute or not.
Your point could be easily rewritten to argue against food safety standards on the grounds that it gives government the nebulous authority to shut down any restaurant at will by labelling food "unsafe".
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Comment on The best films made by directors over 80 — and the myth of creative decline in ~movies
Fiachra Link ParentI wonder why Megalopolis didn't make the listI wonder why Megalopolis didn't make the list
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Comment on A 24-year-old Frenchman shows up at hospital with a World War I shell lodged in his rectum in ~news
Fiachra Link ParentMight as well go along with it at that point. You'll be their favourite patient for owning it.Might as well go along with it at that point. You'll be their favourite patient for owning it.
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Comment on A 24-year-old Frenchman shows up at hospital with a World War I shell lodged in his rectum in ~news
Fiachra LinkAn epidemic! Maybe this is a sign that sex toys should be more widely advertised. You could easily get something of similar shape and, eh... "calibre", in a sex shop. It would be safer and less...In 2022, in Toulon, an 88-year-old man arrived at the hospital with a similar shell in the same location. There was another case in the UK in 2021
An epidemic! Maybe this is a sign that sex toys should be more widely advertised. You could easily get something of similar shape and, eh... "calibre", in a sex shop. It would be safer and less newsworthy in an emergency ward.
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Comment on What healthy habit has made a difference for you? in ~health
Fiachra LinkBuying an alarm clock so I can leave my phone in the other room when I go to bed. It's a very striking change because the first two hours are you mentally reaching for the phone every thirty...Buying an alarm clock so I can leave my phone in the other room when I go to bed. It's a very striking change because the first two hours are you mentally reaching for the phone every thirty seconds, demonstrating perfectly why it's such an important change to commit to.
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Comment on Someone made a social media website for AI agents in ~tech
Fiachra LinkBasically just subReddit simulator but open to whoever. I guess it's for testing LLMs without bothering actual people?Basically just subReddit simulator but open to whoever. I guess it's for testing LLMs without bothering actual people?
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Comment on What's something you've moved on from? in ~talk
Fiachra LinkTwo related things: algorithmic social media and doomerism. You do genuinely feel better once your doom scrolling is under control, firstly because it re-habituates you to acting intentionally,...Two related things: algorithmic social media and doomerism. You do genuinely feel better once your doom scrolling is under control, firstly because it re-habituates you to acting intentionally, which is inherently empowering. And secondly because you're no longer bombarded by political takes from people who are trying to justify their own (app-addiction-induced) lack of action.
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Comment on Apple TV picks up rights to Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere books for adaption in ~tv
Fiachra (edited )LinkEvery studio has dreamed of an MCU-style collection of intersecting franchises for years and very few have managed it. If anything has a good shot, it's this.Every studio has dreamed of an MCU-style collection of intersecting franchises for years and very few have managed it. If anything has a good shot, it's this.
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Comment on New books aren’t worth reading in ~books
Fiachra Link ParentYeah that part is true because only a certain kind of person in the past had the education, time and resources to write a book. Now anyone can. That's one of the reasons why modern books present a...Yeah that part is true because only a certain kind of person in the past had the education, time and resources to write a book. Now anyone can. That's one of the reasons why modern books present a much wider range of perspectives, contrary to what the article tries to assert.
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Comment on New books aren’t worth reading in ~books
Fiachra LinkYou could, and arguably should, stick a big [citation needed] on the end of half of the sentences in this article. I mean come on: This is a kind of ignorance that could only be produced by...You could, and arguably should, stick a big [citation needed] on the end of half of the sentences in this article. I mean come on:
everyone alive today has the same perspective, and none of us have experienced a wide breadth of anything
This is a kind of ignorance that could only be produced by someone badly addicted to social media.
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Comment on Youtube channel recommendations 2026 in ~tech
Fiachra LinkTrying to avoid sharing channels I've already seen mentioned in the thread: Film & Media The Morbid Zoo Curious Archive Accented Cinema Economy & Politics The Plain Bagel - A full time hedge fund...Trying to avoid sharing channels I've already seen mentioned in the thread:
Film & Media
The Morbid Zoo
Curious Archive
Accented CinemaEconomy & Politics
The Plain Bagel - A full time hedge fund manager who gives good factual non-dramatised perspectives on financial and economic topics
Net Loss - Complete opposite vibes. A former owner of a financial firm doing chaotic freeform topical rants into a face tracking camera, often inside a literal abandoned warehouse.
Urgently Firing - A former college admissions and/or career counsellor who talks about society with a slant toward university education and the job market. Has had some surprising takes that have really got me thinking.
Munecat - One of the only lefty video essayists who I didn't see linked already. Has a musical flair.History
MiniMinuteMan - Half his videos are fascinating lessons about human prehistory, the other half use debunking conspiracy theorists as a jumping-off point for fascinating lessons about human prehistory.
Stefan Milo - High quality channel on history and prehistory.
Esoterica - An academic presentation on the history of fringe religious practices in europe, including occultism, esotericism, pre-christian pagan philosophy etc. etc. Explains the philosophy and worldview of them in an even academic way.Edenicity - An experienced permaculturist taking a data-driven approach to how we can realistically adjust society to halt ecosystem destruction. This means urban planning and efficient land use, not homesteading.
Democracy doesn't mean stuff like this won't happen, it just means that when it does happen, some people are going to have to scale some fences and face down some soldiers to keep it.
I have to wonder how my own country would resist something like this - would we shut it down and prosecute, or would we collectively sigh "this is not normal" in opinion pieces and all wait for somebody else to do something? It'd keep you up at night.