redbearsam's recent activity

  1. Comment on McDonald’s is losing its low-income customers in ~food

    redbearsam
    Link Parent
    Yep agreed - in Bristol UK I can get 2 mcplant meals for about the same price or even less than a single equivalent burger meal at most other places.

    Yep agreed - in Bristol UK I can get 2 mcplant meals for about the same price or even less than a single equivalent burger meal at most other places.

    1 vote

  2. Comment on Study suggests that the Universe's expansion 'is now slowing, not speeding up' in ~space

    redbearsam
    Link
    Yesterday I read about this and a wall of fire at the edge of our heliosphere, detected a by both voyagers. The reporting on both seemed a little scant even after having searched for alternative...

    Yesterday I read about this and a wall of fire at the edge of our heliosphere, detected a by both voyagers.

    The reporting on both seemed a little scant even after having searched for alternative articles.

    As you say, this discovery seems very significant, but I'd expect more coverage were that the case?

    Regarding the wall of fire, I understand that there are few particles out there, which is why the probes survived the up to 50,000k temps, but I'm not sure i fully understood why these particles so far out were getting so warm? Anyone have a better understanding?

    7 votes

  3. Comment on Debunking “When Prophecy Fails” in ~science

    redbearsam
    Link Parent
    Looks as though your call to Wikipedia has been answered.

    Looks as though your call to Wikipedia has been answered.

    3 votes

  4. Comment on Tips for becoming a tea person in ~food

    redbearsam
    Link
    I'll drink upwards of 10 teas a day, though largely your standard fare. The Earl or something Yorkshirey, so perhaps not the sort of artisinal thing you're after. I would advocate for oatmilk as -...

    I'll drink upwards of 10 teas a day, though largely your standard fare. The Earl or something Yorkshirey, so perhaps not the sort of artisinal thing you're after.

    I would advocate for oatmilk as - generally - the optimum plant milk for a brew.

    8 votes

  5. Comment on There’s a reason US electricity prices are rising. And it’s not data centers. in ~enviro

    redbearsam
    Link Parent
    Inner city infrastructure and building projects where there's high density can pay for themselves - and more. That applies also to infrastructure that serves these dense populations. A tunnel...

    Inner city infrastructure and building projects where there's high density can pay for themselves - and more. That applies also to infrastructure that serves these dense populations. A tunnel under the thames or a bridge over the Hudson could well prove to be prudent investments (Eg by increasing desirability of locations close to either end and encouraging their further development, crucially including greater density).

    I suppose one could say these are raising taxes, just not on a "per person" basis.

    1 vote

  6. Comment on Flights to Los Angeles International Airport halted due to air traffic controller shortage in ~society

    redbearsam
    Link Parent
    Ahhh, backpay is applied. Right right that makes sense of it

    Ahhh, backpay is applied. Right right that makes sense of it

    4 votes

  7. Comment on Flights to Los Angeles International Airport halted due to air traffic controller shortage in ~society

    redbearsam
    Link
    It's not clear to me why any of them are showing up for work they're not being paid for? I guess some absurd law is at play? Or is it just fear of reprisal down the road and insufficient labour power?

    It's not clear to me why any of them are showing up for work they're not being paid for? I guess some absurd law is at play? Or is it just fear of reprisal down the road and insufficient labour power?

    7 votes

  8. Comment on Why are so many pedestrians killed by cars in the US? in ~transport

    redbearsam
    Link Parent
    Resurrecting a dead thread as I've been away. But my first instinct here is to observe that - as I'm sure is common knowledge - Jay walking is a term created deliberately by the car industry to...

    Resurrecting a dead thread as I've been away. But my first instinct here is to observe that - as I'm sure is common knowledge - Jay walking is a term created deliberately by the car industry to claim the street for themselves.

    In some places it's a crime, in some it isn't. But it seems nuts to me.

    In the UK that legal defence doesn't exist outside inter city motorways. It seems wrong to me to maroon pedestrians on the sidewalk. The light is to give them a guarantee at certain times, not to block them the rest of the time.

    ** Obviously your defence is easier if you hit a pedestrian crossing at a red, but the pedestrian isn't committing a crime by crossing anywhere but a green

    4 votes

  9. Comment on Half of people on weight loss drugs quit within one year, Danish study finds – more likely to stop taking the drugs if they were younger, lived in poorer areas, or were men in ~health

    redbearsam
    Link Parent
    I'm not sure it's as simple as just that (though I'd agree it's a part of a solution). Some folks don't have access to higher quality food. Some folks don't choose it.

    I'm not sure it's as simple as just that (though I'd agree it's a part of a solution).

    Some folks don't have access to higher quality food. Some folks don't choose it.

    4 votes

  10. Comment on The case for cultured meat has changed in ~food

    redbearsam
    Link Parent
    Okey dokey. I mean, that is precisely what I think. I guess we can both be content in our own confidence. You know yourself ofc, but I've walked this road. Doesn't really matter what I think...

    Okey dokey. I mean, that is precisely what I think. I guess we can both be content in our own confidence. You know yourself ofc, but I've walked this road. Doesn't really matter what I think anyway eh.

    2 votes

  11. Comment on The case for cultured meat has changed in ~food

    redbearsam
    Link Parent
    Hey, you do you. I certainly found these kinds of arguments persuasive - as did many folks I know - so I'm not in agreement that it's always counterproductive. I can't speak for you, but I know I...

    Hey, you do you. I certainly found these kinds of arguments persuasive - as did many folks I know - so I'm not in agreement that it's always counterproductive.

    I can't speak for you, but I know I used to hate those arguments - in hindsight - because - I couldn't really find a way to get around them that fit with the utilitarian ethical approach I aspired to.

    If you're not interested in engaging then more power to ya. I'll catch ya in some other thread about something else - all good.

    3 votes

  12. Comment on The case for cultured meat has changed in ~food

    redbearsam
    Link Parent
    Fair points. I suppose the counter would be that I didn't want to consider it, until the right comment and the right time meant that I did. And it changed my ethical outlook. This is a discussion...

    Fair points. I suppose the counter would be that I didn't want to consider it, until the right comment and the right time meant that I did. And it changed my ethical outlook.

    This is a discussion board where people exchange ideas and opinions, ideally where they're relevant. I wouldn't describe my comment as sniping. I'd have described it as a logical follow on from the ethical point raised in the comment to which I was responding.

    If it changes no minds on this occasion, so be it - that's just part and parcel of discourse. I thought it was a reasonable expansion and I stick by that.

    3 votes

  13. Comment on The case for cultured meat has changed in ~food

    redbearsam
    Link Parent
    I'm think we're talking at crossed purposes perhaps. I'm saying that whether something is normalized isn't a good metric for whether it's ethical. I used an extreme hypothetical to express that...

    I'm think we're talking at crossed purposes perhaps. I'm saying that whether something is normalized isn't a good metric for whether it's ethical. I used an extreme hypothetical to express that the logic, in a different context, doesn't make sense - from my POV.

    The obvious corollary is slavery; in the 18th century one could have said a very similar thing:

    "And yet, in the context of [slaves], we do, sometimes at least, care about their treatment [whilst keeping them as owned things]."

    The point I wished to briefly touch on, was that when we're identifying whether something is ethical, identifying what we currently do and deciding that's the line is a flawed approach. I see these 3 things as essentially the same.

    1. Keeping slaves is immoral whether or not you treat them well.
    2. Killing children is immoral whether or not you treat them well.
    3. Killing animals is immoral whether or not you treat them well.

    I felt this was reasonable to raise in response specifically to a discussion of the ethics of meat consumption:

    "I like eating meat, and I prefer it comes from well-treated animals!"

    Where - if not following such a statement - would be a place to raise that point? It didn't seem shoehorned in to me?

    2 votes

  14. Comment on The case for cultured meat has changed in ~food

    redbearsam
    Link Parent
    I guess that's a normalized perspective sure. I'm not convinced that makes it a rational position though. I think the analogy holds up quite well and is a useful hypothetical.

    I guess that's a normalized perspective sure. I'm not convinced that makes it a rational position though. I think the analogy holds up quite well and is a useful hypothetical.

    1 vote

  15. Comment on The case for cultured meat has changed in ~food

    redbearsam
    Link Parent
    If someone treated someone else really nicely till they were 10 years old then murdered them, nobody would consider the nice treatment relevant to the ethics of the murder. It would be the murder...

    If someone treated someone else really nicely till they were 10 years old then murdered them, nobody would consider the nice treatment relevant to the ethics of the murder. It would be the murder that defined their relationship in the end, basically to the exclusion of all else.

    3 votes

  16. Comment on The evidence that AI is destroying jobs for young people just got stronger in ~tech

    redbearsam
    Link Parent
    I mean, also, it's kind of a tragedy of the commons type deal; if only you reduce only your costs by hiring no juniors, and no other businesses follow suit then it might work - the wider effects...

    I mean, also, it's kind of a tragedy of the commons type deal; if only you reduce only your costs by hiring no juniors, and no other businesses follow suit then it might work - the wider effects don't come into play. The market incentivizes agents to make decisions that are beneficial short term.

    7 votes

  17. Comment on Most Ukrainians now favor ending the war with Russia through negotiations, as support for fighting until victory has dropped sharply since the early days of the conflict in ~society

    redbearsam
    Link Parent
    "Support for the war effort" and "belief they can secure a total victory" are two vastly different things.

    "Support for the war effort" and "belief they can secure a total victory" are two vastly different things.

    23 votes

  18. Comment on Most Ukrainians now favor ending the war with Russia through negotiations, as support for fighting until victory has dropped sharply since the early days of the conflict in ~society

    redbearsam
    Link
    As other commenters have highlighted already, but to be more succinct: the title does not reflect the content of the poll in my view.

    As other commenters have highlighted already, but to be more succinct: the title does not reflect the content of the poll in my view.

    27 votes

  19. Comment on Ukraine strikes Russia's oil refineries - the effects, politics and what next? in ~society

    redbearsam
    Link
    I still can't really see any route out of this quagmire.

    I still can't really see any route out of this quagmire.

  20. Comment on What's your current PC wallpaper? in ~tech

    redbearsam
    Link Parent
    All but three of these are in my rotation also (the purple cartoony mystery van one having been added just now - thanks). Excellent taste my friend.

    All but three of these are in my rotation also (the purple cartoony mystery van one having been added just now - thanks). Excellent taste my friend.

    1 vote