R3qn65's recent activity
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Comment on Current studies may overestimate microplastics transferring from containers to food in ~food
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Comment on Supermarket rewards card- yes or no? in ~finance
R3qn65 Link ParentI was thinking about that story just a few days ago! When it first came out I believed it, but I later -- when, frankly, I had become more skeptical of popular science and the media :( -- became...I was thinking about that story just a few days ago! When it first came out I believed it, but I later -- when, frankly, I had become more skeptical of popular science and the media :( -- became convinced that there was simply no way it was true. Thank you for posting something diving into it in more detail.
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Comment on The goon squad. Loneliness, porn’s next frontier, and the dream of endless masturbation. in ~life
R3qn65 Link ParentKind of a weird but fun article, thanks for sharing. I don't even know how to react to this. Great writing on such an odd topic. Edited to add: the article is really good. Much better than one...Kind of a weird but fun article, thanks for sharing.
The gooner goons to reach the “goonstate”: a supposed zone of total ego death or bliss that some liken to advanced meditation, the attainment of which compels them to masturbate for hours, or even days, at a time.
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Well, what could you do? Certain social systems had failed, certain historical trend lines had converged, and now we had these guys to deal with.I don't even know how to react to this. Great writing on such an odd topic.
Edited to add: the article is really good. Much better than one might expect.
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Comment on US President Donald Trump and EU impose new sanctions on Russia: ‘Now is the time to stop the killing’ in ~society
R3qn65 Link ParentI think that's an accurate assessment of his desires. In a very realpolitik sort of way, I get it. It's awful to return to a period in which the strong can do what they will and the weak suffer...I think that's an accurate assessment of his desires.
In a very realpolitik sort of way, I get it. It's awful to return to a period in which the strong can do what they will and the weak suffer what they must (...in Europe, the rest of the world is still like this), but I don't see any reasonable way, short of open war between Russia and the EU/US, to force Russia to both accept peace and return Ukrainian territory. Even in the most optimitistic scenario in which the lines return to pre-2022, that still leaves Russia with Crimea.
For Ukraine, accepting that peace would be a terrible option, but what other choice do they really have?
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Comment on New guidance to feed babies peanuts early and often helped thousands of kids avoid allergies in ~food
R3qn65 Link ParentTotally separate things -- but yeah, you do need to not feed babies (like, baby babies) nuts because of the choking risk. Peanut butter, though, is fine. (As are commercial products including...Totally separate things -- but yeah, you do need to not feed babies (like, baby babies) nuts because of the choking risk. Peanut butter, though, is fine. (As are commercial products including peanut, often designed specifically to introduce the child to allergens.)
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Comment on New guidance to feed babies peanuts early and often helped thousands of kids avoid allergies in ~food
R3qn65 Link ParentYou know, I'm not sure I agree with this. This is a difficult position to take because one ends up just a step away from the antivax camp, but I do think there's space somewhere for regular people...- Exemplary
But implying you and I are qualified to question it isn't valuable.
You know, I'm not sure I agree with this. This is a difficult position to take because one ends up just a step away from the antivax camp, but I do think there's space somewhere for regular people to ask themselves "does this make sense?"
There's an ongoing replication crisis in several fields - particularly psychology and medicine. And while science at its best is impartial and truth seeking... the system also sometimes gets corrupted, such as when the sugar lobby paid for research suggesting that fat (not sugar) was to blame for bad effects on health.
In that environment, I really don't think it's an unreasonable position to suggest that people can apply critical thinking to "science's" position. (In quotes because you can find a study representing nearly any point of view).
Again, though, this is dangerous because it's a short hop from there to outright climate-change denialism and being an antivaxer. I think the way to avoid this is to be skeptical of small stuff while trusting the consensus on big stuff. So, overall scientific movements, for lack of a better term, are probably worth taking at face value. Climate change. Germ theory. Western medicine writ large. But I still think it's reasonable to question small stuff -- especially anything that seems like an absolutist position. (Keep your kid away from peanuts or they'll become allergic and die... Never mind the fact that half of west Africa feeds their kids on pounded peanut paste. Sugar is good for you and fat, any kind of fat, is the devil. Fat, any kind of fat, is good for you and sugar is the devil. And on, and on).
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Comment on Death in D&D 5e, the various revival spells, and their impact on the game in ~games.tabletop
R3qn65 Link ParentYes, it also annoys me that writers don't address this either. :)Want a functionally immortal ruler? Stick an elf in charge of humans.
Yes, it also annoys me that writers don't address this either. :)
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Comment on Death in D&D 5e, the various revival spells, and their impact on the game in ~games.tabletop
R3qn65 Link ParentI know, but even that has implications that aren't explored. Military powers should be fighting over diamond mines. There should be sects of clerics dedicated to getting to 5th level in order to...I know, but even that has implications that aren't explored. Military powers should be fighting over diamond mines. There should be sects of clerics dedicated to getting to 5th level in order to accompany armies and revivify the important soldiers - or, when that isn't happening, the military should probably be grumpy about it.
And yes, 9th level spellcasters are rare, but canonically multiple courts in Faerun have them. By implication, royalty and their friends should be functionally immortal. In part this is because while level 9 spellcasters are relatively rare, once you have one, they can resurrect multiple people per day. And I think the implications cascade down from there.
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Comment on Death in D&D 5e, the various revival spells, and their impact on the game in ~games.tabletop
R3qn65 Link ParentThis has long been among my greatest frustrations with 5e. It's not that I mind resurrection being so trivial to obtain, necessarily - what drives me nuts is how the writers have completely...BUT! The biggest sin is often one of suspension of disbelief. Even if you're more on the wargame side, it doesn't take a lot of players to wind up in "god how is anyone even worried about death? What is the horrible ethical ramification of someone withholding resurrection? How would society warp around this?" territory. It is, after all, a role playing game and "sorry your dead daughter isn't worth my last diamond" is HARD to ignore. It just...doesn't make sense.
This has long been among my greatest frustrations with 5e. It's not that I mind resurrection being so trivial to obtain, necessarily - what drives me nuts is how the writers have completely refused to explore the logical results of this in any of the published materials.
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Comment on Death in D&D 5e, the various revival spells, and their impact on the game in ~games.tabletop
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Comment on Death in D&D 5e, the various revival spells, and their impact on the game in ~games.tabletop
R3qn65 Link ParentWhat's your thought process for allowing only rogues to add dex?You calculate a character's wound threshold (WT) as their hit die type (maximum) plus their Constitution modifier. I further buff Melee by letting them add their AC (each point above 10) and Rouges by adding their AC and Dexterity modifier.
What's your thought process for allowing only rogues to add dex?
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Comment on What is your 'Subway Take'? in ~talk
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Comment on What is your 'Subway Take'? in ~talk
R3qn65 Link ParentI feel like this would almost exclusively punish people who are lawfully using firearms for lawful things. If I'm about to go do suicide-by-cop, what do I care if the ammunition was $100/round?I feel like this would almost exclusively punish people who are lawfully using firearms for lawful things. If I'm about to go do suicide-by-cop, what do I care if the ammunition was $100/round?
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Comment on What is your 'Subway Take'? in ~talk
R3qn65 Link ParentI thought the rest of your post was pretty well argued, but this surprised me. It's not 1946 anymore - Japan is an active and eager partner in the US-Japan alliance.to this day maintains military bases all over the country to keep them in line (I mean, "for protection").
I thought the rest of your post was pretty well argued, but this surprised me. It's not 1946 anymore - Japan is an active and eager partner in the US-Japan alliance.
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Comment on I watched stand-up in Saudi Arabia in ~society
R3qn65 LinkI really enjoyed reading this - the author is quite funny.I really enjoyed reading this - the author is quite funny.
The trip would be like something out of Hunter S. Thompson, our boss said, with one difference: no drugs. Our being beheaded by sword, the usual method of execution in Saudi Arabia, would be bad publicity for The Atlantic, and leave the magazine down an editor at a time when we are already shorthanded. We had, he implied, plenty of writers to spare.
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Comment on Some protein powders and shakes may contain high levels of lead in ~health
R3qn65 Link ParentApologies for not being clear -- I don't mean professional athletes, I mean anybody who exercises 3x/week or more with any sort of goals, progression, etc.Apologies for not being clear -- I don't mean professional athletes, I mean anybody who exercises 3x/week or more with any sort of goals, progression, etc.
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Comment on Luigi Mangione wants death penalty count tossed in US CEO murder case in ~news
R3qn65 Link ParentHaha. I'm imagining some dude going "now I'm rich!" as the cell door closes and his life sentence begins. "...wait... shit."Haha. I'm imagining some dude going "now I'm rich!" as the cell door closes and his life sentence begins. "...wait... shit."
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Comment on Some protein powders and shakes may contain high levels of lead in ~health
R3qn65 Link ParentI totally get where you're coming from, and for a layperson maintaining the same weight, you're spot on. However, for athletes, people trying to gain (or, especially, lose weight), and some other...I totally get where you're coming from, and for a layperson maintaining the same weight, you're spot on. However, for athletes, people trying to gain (or, especially, lose weight), and some other categories like vegetarians and the elderly, protein supplementation ranges from "really helpful" to "basically mandatory." If you're interested we can discuss specific recommendations for each group and why, but I don't want to lecture you if you know (or don't care).
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Comment on Luigi Mangione wants death penalty count tossed in US CEO murder case in ~news
R3qn65 Link ParentThis makes it much less likely that there's some sort of overarching conspiracy to hang him as a fall guy, no?This makes it much less likely that there's some sort of overarching conspiracy to hang him as a fall guy, no?
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Comment on Luigi Mangione wants death penalty count tossed in US CEO murder case in ~news
R3qn65 Link ParentWho is the "they?" He's being charged in New York state court. The judge was appointed by Biden. Mangione was arrested by a group of local police, not some secret group of FBI paramilitaries that...they'd try him...
Who is the "they?" He's being charged in New York state court. The judge was appointed by Biden. Mangione was arrested by a group of local police, not some secret group of FBI paramilitaries that flew in.
I saw in your other comment that you say a small group could've easily handled this sort of conspiracy. How? How is a small group going to orchestrate the arrest, the fabricating evidence, the trial, the appeals?
In the leanest possible version of your conspiracy, it involves dozens of people, most of whom have no connection with the federal government or each other, and would require the conspirators to fake enough evidence to convincingly hold up in what is sure to be a well-publicized trial.
Respectfully, I don't think that the disclaimer "I know this is conspiracy, but [conspiracy]" is enough to justify casting doubts on the morality and independence of the entire justice system like this. It's not responsible to casually (with no proof) spread claims that it's so easy for shadowy actors in the government to just create a fall guy and get him legally executed -- it's exactly the sort of deep-state / "drain the swamp" thinking that led directly to Trump.
As a compounding factor, there's a fair number of researchers who ended up in academia, not out of brilliance or passion or a burning desire to solve scientific problems, but because "more school" was the easiest route forward and they just kept doing that until eventually they ended up where they were.