Harrikie's recent activity

  1. Comment on Quizzle – Can you guess the word in fewer than twenty questions? in ~games

    Harrikie
    Link
    I asked "is there more than one" and it responded with a no. spoilers I meant to ask the bot whether this is a one-of-a-kind object/person, but by guess is that it thought I was asking if the word...

    I asked "is there more than one" and it responded with a no.

    spoilers

    I meant to ask the bot whether this is a one-of-a-kind object/person, but by guess is that it thought I was asking if the word "towel" is singular. I guess the question wasn't super clear?

  2. Comment on Hasan Minhaj offers detailed response to New Yorker story: “It was so needlessly misleading” in ~tv

    Harrikie
    Link Parent
    The difference is context and poignancy of the jokes. Sure if Jerry Seinfeld never had airline food at the time he made that joke, or John Mulaney never met Bill Clinton, it's whatever. Nothing...

    The difference is context and poignancy of the jokes.

    Sure if Jerry Seinfeld never had airline food at the time he made that joke, or John Mulaney never met Bill Clinton, it's whatever. Nothing really changes. But making jokes that pokes at more serious issues like racism, the absurdity and tragedy of it all, carries emotional poignancy that is carried even further when the comedian claims as true stories. For me, it helps me process through the memories where I had to endure bigotry and elicits empathy for people who has to deal with it, including the comedian. It also carries a bit of righteousness, that racism is absurd and wrong, and still hurts people today.

    But if those jokes that were built on misrepresentations? Lies? It wouldn't nullify everything, but I would at minimum feel emotionally manipulated. And it would be cowardice to hide behind "It's just a joke" when also trying to elicit sympathy and make political statements using lies.

    13 votes
  3. Comment on Eliminate elections for a better US democracy in ~misc

    Harrikie
    Link
    I can't read the article because of the paywall, but this reminds me a podcast episode on Capitalisn't that explored a similar line of thinking, but more of creating citizens assemblies that are...

    I can't read the article because of the paywall, but this reminds me a podcast episode on Capitalisn't that explored a similar line of thinking, but more of creating citizens assemblies that are randomly assigned rather than elected. Highly recommend listening to this. As a more modern example of randomly delegated political assignments, there was an experiment in Reoun, France that randomly selected citizens for a citizens assembly that produced 100 proposals for the city.

    I was very skeptical of random selection having any role in politics, but the arguments in the podcast convinced me that it can have a place, at least at the local level. One of the arguments is that having a direct hand in the process and being assigned responsibilities makes the citizens to be more engaged with politics. It's a good argument and I was intrigued that the citizens of the assembly were not only engaged with the process but also asking hard introspective questions to the governance group like why certain experts were brought in for certain topics. I was also heartened by how they made sure some of their fellows with more minority opinions were heard in both within the discussions and the proposals themselves.

    I am still skeptical that this will work in many parts of the world. After all, this experiment is a very very small sample size and France citizenry I like to think is more civic minded than let's say those in the US. But certainly it's worth exploring. And maybe I have the causal direction wrong; maybe low civic engagement won't doom the assemblies but the assemblies will increase civic engagement.

    5 votes
  4. Comment on Men are lost. Here’s a map out of the wilderness. in ~life.men

    Harrikie
    Link Parent
    Sorry I wasn't clear! What I was getting at is that 1) There are many boys, as adolescent boys do, are discovering themselves and feeling lost. 2) Many of them find gender identity to be an...

    Sorry I wasn't clear! What I was getting at is that 1) There are many boys, as adolescent boys do, are discovering themselves and feeling lost. 2) Many of them find gender identity to be an important part of who they are. 3) Telling these boys to reject that part of themselves and just be "themselves" can be confusing or seem like a vague, empty platitude 4) it is more useful to encourage a more measured, "healthy" concept of masculinity as a foil to the toxic masculinity of modern society 5) and with this as a starting point, further encourage self-discovery to help them just "be yourself". Maybe they will find that gender norms and standards in general are guidelines at best and suffocating at worst naturally as they explore concepts outside of toxic masculinity. I hope that was more clear.

    8 votes
  5. Comment on Men are lost. Here’s a map out of the wilderness. in ~life.men

    Harrikie
    Link Parent
    First, glad to see F.D.Sig in this thread. Second, I agree that gender norms and standards are something that society needs to ditch all together in the future. However, I find it short sighted to...

    First, glad to see F.D.Sig in this thread. Second, I agree that gender norms and standards are something that society needs to ditch all together in the future.

    However, I find it short sighted to in the near term to abandon the idea of masculinity all together. There is a dangerous amount of far right rhetoric promoting a version of masculinity that is harmful not only to women and gender minorities but also to men themselves. If the "other side" of the argument is ditching masculinity all together, I don't think young boys who are lost and trying to discover themselves in a increasingly lonely world, will feel comfort in that. From my personal experience, a kind of "positive masculinity" was a stepping stone that I felt secure in when I was younger; I rejected "men don't cry" but accepted the strength of stoicism and emotional vulnerability, sought help from others but also recognized the values of self-reliance, and rejected aggression for quiet self-confidence. Of course recognizing that these traits are not unique to any masculine ideal eventually led to gender abolitionism. To many boys who are discovering themselves, they need a starting point and telling them "just be yourself", while I wholeheartily agree with the sentiment, can be unhelpful and confusing to those who feel they don't know themselves.

    6 votes
  6. Comment on Antitrust case - Will the US Microsoft Activision merger go through? in ~tech

    Harrikie
    Link
    Disappointed that the comments here so far doesn't seem to be discussing the article. It is interesting to see that one CEO seems to almost sabotaging the deal (Kotick) while the other seems to be...

    Disappointed that the comments here so far doesn't seem to be discussing the article. It is interesting to see that one CEO seems to almost sabotaging the deal (Kotick) while the other seems to be struggling to counter FTC's arguments. Kotick wins whether or not the deal goes through since he gets 3 billion dollars if it doesn't go through, so not super surprising.

    My money is still that this will not be blocked by the US given how lax anti-trust enforcement has been (and the judge has a clear conflict of interest with her son working at Microsoft), but good to see that it's not a total given and there is some friction from the FTC. Given how UK blocking the deal was a surprise, it would be neat to see the same on the US side.

    6 votes
  7. Comment on What, in your opinion, are the best true wireless earbuds for the price? in ~tech

    Harrikie
    Link
    This one is a bit outdated, but in terms of pure sound quality Crinacle has a guide here: https://crinacle.com/guide/tws/. A YouTube video to go along with it:...

    This one is a bit outdated, but in terms of pure sound quality Crinacle has a guide here: https://crinacle.com/guide/tws/. A YouTube video to go along with it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Q4A0u4hOG4. Important note here that Crinacle is an audiophile and he doesn't really discuss or talk about things like comfort and additional features like noise-cancelling, only whether he thinks they sound good or not.

    From my personal experience, I think a refurbished Galaxy Buds + is a great budget option (~$45 dollars on Amazon as renewed). I've been using it for a while and its battery life is great with pretty good sound quality. I do have a Samsung phone though and I think the experience is a bit worse on other phones.

    3 votes
  8. Comment on Competitive Overwatch players of Tildes: What's a tip you'd love to share? in ~games

    Harrikie
    Link
    Maybe a hot take, but unless you are in masters or above, ignore the meta and specialize in few heroes. In metal ranks, most people don't know why certain compositions and heroes are meta and...

    Maybe a hot take, but unless you are in masters or above, ignore the meta and specialize in few heroes.

    1. In metal ranks, most people don't know why certain compositions and heroes are meta and therefore lock themselves in a composition or hero even when it is not optimal for their current match.

    2. Specializing in a small number of heroes means you can better understand the limits of those heroes and maximize your effectiveness. It's good to be flexible, but it's better to first master a few heroes then expand.

    3. Don't blame teammates, take personal responsibility. Don't be disheartened by throwers. Your team has 4 players who can be throwers (assuming you're not throwing). Enemy has 5 potential throwers.

    3 votes
  9. Comment on US Supreme Court rejects challenge to Native American child welfare law in ~life

    Harrikie
    Link Parent
    Perhaps, but at least for Neil Gorsuch he has a history of siding with tribal nations/American Indians and respecting their sovereignty. He has consistently sided with the liberal side of the...

    Perhaps, but at least for Neil Gorsuch he has a history of siding with tribal nations/American Indians and respecting their sovereignty. He has consistently sided with the liberal side of the Supreme Court multiple times (for a prominent example, see McGirt v Oklahoma). At least for him it's genuine.

    11 votes