RNG's recent activity

  1. Comment on Leak exposes members of Peter Thiel’s secretive ‘dialog’ society in ~society

    RNG
    Link Parent
    Who on this list is credibly accused of doing any of these things?

    Who on this list is credibly accused of doing any of these things?

    4 votes

  2. Comment on Leak exposes members of Peter Thiel’s secretive ‘dialog’ society in ~society

    RNG
    Link Parent
    There's ambiguity about what's being claimed here. It might be cleared up if you can answer my question from above: What am I wrong about? What would I have been right about if "Thiel just wrote...

    There's ambiguity about what's being claimed here. It might be cleared up if you can answer my question from above:

    What am I wrong about? What would I have been right about if "Thiel just wrote their names down"?

    2 votes

  3. Comment on Leak exposes members of Peter Thiel’s secretive ‘dialog’ society in ~society

    RNG
    Link Parent
    I didn't make a statement on whether this "puts them in league" with Thiel or whether that's contemptible. My position is that this isn't sufficient evidence of someone being member of some child...

    yes putting yourself in league with Thiel - who is actively working to undermine Democracy and decency - is grounds for contempt.

    I didn't make a statement on whether this "puts them in league" with Thiel or whether that's contemptible. My position is that this isn't sufficient evidence of someone being member of some child abusing cabal of elites controlling the globe. Many are too quick to jump to conspiracy theories once only held by the far right.

    If Thiel just wrote their names down, then you're right

    I would've been right about what? What am I wrong about? Maybe you meant to reply to a different message?

    3 votes

  4. Comment on Leak exposes members of Peter Thiel’s secretive ‘dialog’ society in ~society

    RNG
    Link Parent
    Where's the source for some cabal controlling the world? Should I sit out of the next election since "they" actually secretly control everything? The evidence certainly isn't contained in the link...

    It’s wild learning that there’s a secret cadre of elites who control the globe.

    Where's the source for some cabal controlling the world? Should I sit out of the next election since "they" actually secretly control everything? The evidence certainly isn't contained in the link above. That some rich people attended the same seminar is not sufficient evidence for wild conspiracy theories.

    7 votes

  5. Comment on Leak exposes members of Peter Thiel’s secretive ‘dialog’ society in ~society

    RNG
    Link Parent
    What is your perception of events where either case is "the illuminati is real"? That wealthy people talk to each other is not some world shattering revelation. That some of the wealthy people...

    What is your perception of events where either case is "the illuminati is real"?

    That wealthy people talk to each other is not some world shattering revelation. That some of the wealthy people turn out to be bad is also not mind blowing. I think with both Epstein and now this people take a kernel of truth and run with it. It's to the point that many good left leaning people think all the worlds governments are part of a cabal of baby eaters or something. This isn't significantly different from pizzagate or q-anon in my opinion.

    11 votes

  6. Comment on Leak exposes members of Peter Thiel’s secretive ‘dialog’ society in ~society

    RNG
    Link Parent
    Who on the list constitutes an "Epstein-class pedolite"? Note that not everything I say here may characterize your beliefs, but it's been something that's been on my mind when I see comments like...

    Who on the list constitutes an "Epstein-class pedolite"?

    Note that not everything I say here may characterize your beliefs, but it's been something that's been on my mind when I see comments like this from good and well-meaning people. I understand generalized anger at "elites", especially reactionary ones. I do worry about the state of contemporary discourse. We seem to determine massive swaths of the population are complicit eating babies or something with the only evidence having been on a mailing list.

    There's something about the Epstein stuff that has led many to tilt towards satanic panic-levels of paranoia. I understand wanting rub the Epstein conspiracy stuff in the right's face, given that narrative is now more effectively wielded against the right than the left. But, I am comfortable challenging irrational thinking when the right did it (pizzagate, qanon), and I'm more than happy to confront it when I see it on the left.

    Yes there are evil elites. Yes, a portion of them are abusive criminals who should rot in prison. But having contact with Thiel or even Epstein does not constitute meaningful evidence of being part of some pedo conspiracy; many other more plausible theories predict this data equally well.

    19 votes

  7. Comment on What internet discussion sites remain? in ~tech

    RNG
    Link Parent
    There is one skill you have that I am envious of: you seem to know how much we should care about something. How much should I care about Jan 6th? White House UFC stadium? The anti-weaponization...

    There is one skill you have that I am envious of: you seem to know how much we should care about something. How much should I care about Jan 6th? White House UFC stadium? The anti-weaponization fund? (my guess for you is "a lot", "not at all", "some")

    I feel like I don't even know where to turn for sober analysis of what's going on, other than following random people online like yourself who seem sane. I just need to know the reasons to care/not care about The Latest Thing™ everyone is worried about.

    2 votes

  8. Comment on What do you think of robots in the military? in ~tech

    RNG
    Link Parent
    I'm not for autonomous weapons, but they don't seem quite as bad as mines which are already used. A mine determines you are an enemy combatant worthy of death for solely having stepped on some...

    I'm not for autonomous weapons, but they don't seem quite as bad as mines which are already used. A mine determines you are an enemy combatant worthy of death for solely having stepped on some small patch of ground. That means a Russian soldier, a deer, or a child playing in the woods 150 years from now.

    11 votes

  9. Comment on What internet discussion sites remain? in ~tech

    RNG
    Link
    Most of the content I engage with is on Substack. Text-focused discussions on whatever you care about. Maybe someday u/skybrian will pick back up his AI blog. Though my vote is for...

    Most of the content I engage with is on Substack. Text-focused discussions on whatever you care about. Maybe someday u/skybrian will pick back up his AI blog. Though my vote is for culture/political writing; I find his perspective to be be uniquely cogent and insightful.

    Some of the biggest substacks are big for a reason; if you want a start, I recommend Bentham's Bulldog and Scott Alexander as they should be of interest to the kind of person who frequents here.

    3 votes

  10. Comment on The road to non-directed kidney donation in ~health

    RNG
    Link
    Update: Labs came back good to go. There is only one donation center within 100mi associated with NKR, so that’s the one I’m going with.

    Update: Labs came back good to go. There is only one donation center within 100mi associated with NKR, so that’s the one I’m going with.

    2 votes

  11. The road to non-directed kidney donation

    ~health Ask
    I've decided to give up my kidney to a stranger and document the process and hopefully my posts can be the kind of resources I wish I had when I first looked into this. Someone here recently...

    I've decided to give up my kidney to a stranger and document the process and hopefully my posts can be the kind of resources I wish I had when I first looked into this.

    Someone here recently linked to Scott Alexander's post on his non-directed donation experience [1] and afterwards I got recommended Jesse Eisenberg's interview on his experience [2]. I think this led to me thinking about the subject and deciding that I at least need to look into this and see if my worries about it are founded. It turns out they are not. Here are the highlights of my research:

    1. Compared to other activities, donating a kidney is not especially risky [1]
    2. It is entirely free; all aspects of the process are free including travel [5]
    3. If anyone in your family needs a kidney, they are at the very top of the list for a living donor kidney [3]
    4. NKR will cover up to $2000/week in lost wages using Donor Shield [5], though if your work allows you to take paid time off, I highly recommend you save their resources for those without that luxury
    5. Non-directed donors can use "chaining" to have their one donation result in 3-7 further donations due to matchmaking on the NKR (this is complicated to summarize, ask if you want information or see the link) [4]

    Step 1: Reach out to the National Kidney Registry (NKR)

    The ideal way to become a non-directed donor is to reach out first to the NKR. They run the family voucher program that protects your family should they need a kidney in the future. They first have screening questions, then there is a questionnaire about your medical history that you complete, and immediately upon completion, they have labs ready for you to take. I reached out to NKR yesterday morning and had labs completed yesterday afternoon at a local clinic.

    As for what's next, my labs will come back and the NKR says I will then choose a preferred donation center. I have absolutely no idea what considerations matter when choosing the best donation center. I assume something local, since I can't fly immediately after surgery and the drive home will be painful.

    If you've considered kidney donation and didn't do it, what held you back? I want to know to 1: see if I can correct a false belief you have about the process or 2: see if I should reconsider this whole thing. Also, if anyone wants to join me on this journey, click on any NKR link and click the donate button and let's do this!

    [1] https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/my-left-kidney

    [2] https://youtu.be/udZi-l8H5jY

    [3] https://www.kidneyregistry.com/for-donors/i-want-to-help-a-stranger-in-need-of-a-kidney/

    [4] https://www.kidneyregistry.com/for-donors/start-a-chain/

    [5] https://www.kidneyregistry.com/for-donors/kidney-donation-blog/does-it-cost-anything-to-donate-a-kidney/

    20 votes

  12. Ask Tildes: are any of you living kidney donors?

    ~health Ask (advice)
    I want to donate my kidney (not to anyone in particular, which would make the process far more straightforward), but I need help navigating the bureaucracy. Here are things I have seen about...

    I want to donate my kidney (not to anyone in particular, which would make the process far more straightforward), but I need help navigating the bureaucracy. Here are things I have seen about living kidney donation online:

    • You can select five people to get priority access to kidneys if they need it (e.g., parents, spouse, kids)
    • They will fly you to where you need to go for screening
    • They will cover lost wages during recovery

    Now I don't know who "they" is, or how to go about getting answers to these questions. Since I'm not tethered to a particular recipient, I can choose wherever to sign up, and I want to make the optimal choice both for myself and the recipient.

    If you are a donor, especially an anonymous donor who's navigated this stuff, please reach out.

    19 votes

  13. Comment on What's something that you missed out on? in ~talk

    RNG
    Link Parent
    Can confirm. Am vegan and had both. MorningStar version tastes just like the real-deal esp air fried. But this isn't due to some amazing feat of food science, it's really that corn dogs are...

    MorningStar corn dogs

    Can confirm. Am vegan and had both. MorningStar version tastes just like the real-deal esp air fried. But this isn't due to some amazing feat of food science, it's really that corn dogs are underwhelming.

    1 vote

  14. Comment on When Richard Dawkins met Claude in ~health.mental

    RNG
    Link
    One crucial part of the conversation on AI consciousness that seems to be missing from the discourse hinges on an idea in philosophy of mind known as mental privacy or just privacy. Privacy is the...

    One crucial part of the conversation on AI consciousness that seems to be missing from the discourse hinges on an idea in philosophy of mind known as mental privacy or just privacy.

    Privacy is the idea that the rich nature of my experiences isn't directly observable from the outside. There's something about my experience that other people can't know without being me. This is why the "problem of other minds" has been tricky; it seems like I have a kind of privileged access to my experiences that you can't have. I have to infer the existence of your mind, but I can experience the existence of mine. It also seems like we can't ever fully resolve questions like "is your green the same as my green?" given that what we are talking about is private.

    If privacy is true of consciousness, then we will never be able to conclusively rule out (or in) that AI is conscious. Maybe passing the "Imitation Game" was thought to be a good data point to infer, from the outside, whether the system in question has experiences on the inside that in any way resemble the private, first person consciousness that we enjoy, but I don't think there's any good reason to think it is impossible for a system to both pass the game and fail to have any "inner life" or consciousness.

    2 votes

  15. Comment on What's something that you missed out on? in ~talk

    RNG
    Link Parent
    It's funny you mentioned this, I feel like some of the people I admired and envied the most in high school still live in my home town doing the same things they were doing back then. Not to knock...

    It's funny you mentioned this, I feel like some of the people I admired and envied the most in high school still live in my home town doing the same things they were doing back then.

    Not to knock the humble way of living life, but time does give me some perspective on what really matters.

    1 vote

  16. Comment on What's something that you missed out on? in ~talk

    RNG
    Link Parent
    Thank you kindly for your warm wishes. I got therapy far later than I should, but it helped a ton despite my skepticism about it. I eventually found my footing and life is going well now.

    Thank you kindly for your warm wishes. I got therapy far later than I should, but it helped a ton despite my skepticism about it. I eventually found my footing and life is going well now.

    4 votes

  17. Comment on Why I find woke criticism of veganism and effective altruism so outrageous in ~society

    RNG
    Link Parent
    So it sounds like you have beliefs that work like this: "If X is used as a pretext for bad people to do something bad, then X solely exists for bad people to justify their bad behavior." I feel...

    So it sounds like you have beliefs that work like this:

    "If X is used as a pretext for bad people to do something bad, then X solely exists for bad people to justify their bad behavior."

    I feel that this kind of inference is neither sound nor cogent. It neither entails nor even raises the probably of the conclusion.

    9 votes

  18. Comment on What's something that you missed out on? in ~talk

    RNG
    Link Parent
    I've had primarily atypical romantic relationships (poly/open etc.) and I have no idea what connection, if any, there is to my earlier years, but I do think it felt like it sucked when I was far...

    I've had primarily atypical romantic relationships (poly/open etc.) and I have no idea what connection, if any, there is to my earlier years, but I do think it felt like it sucked when I was far less sexually and romantically knowledgeable/mature in my early 20s than my peers.

    I feel like my change in view of relationships was partly due to having a major break with my parents' ideology more generally. They were very conservative and very wedded to a particular sect that believed everyone but members of the sect were doomed. When I left, I feel like I questioned absolutely everything from God to monogamy to capitalism to the state, to gender and dove into the punk scene. I completely unanchored myself from everything I had known and jumped in the deep end.

    Over a decade later I'm now comfortably a liberal with a stable life, a positive disposition, and primarily atypical romantic structures (poly/open), but it's difficult to attribute that last attribute to anything in particular. I pay taxes, do my job, donate to charity, and volunteer in my community, pretty basic, well-adjusted stuff, so who knows.

    6 votes

  19. Comment on What's something that you missed out on? in ~talk

    RNG
    Link
    I missed out on a normal teenage life. I was raised in a very conservative home where prior to graduating I couldn't stay out late, go to parties, have romantic partners, etc. I didn't know the...

    I missed out on a normal teenage life.

    I was raised in a very conservative home where prior to graduating I couldn't stay out late, go to parties, have romantic partners, etc. I didn't know the movies people referenced or the music people listened to. I also internalized these restrictions; I didn't go out and have a normal social life in my teens. I feel like I missed out on so many experiences that define one's teenage years.

    I'm not religious now, and I'm not sure if there's even a God out there. I sort of made the mistakes and learned the lessons in my early 20s that most learned in high school.

    Was it bad? Good? I have no idea. It's hard to for me to wish my formative years were drastically different when I'm happy with the person I am today. I do feel some FOMO; I'm a little bummed I missed out, but it doesn't bother me greatly.

    27 votes

  20. Comment on Why I find woke criticism of veganism and effective altruism so outrageous in ~society

    RNG
    Link Parent
    So I'm confused on how this inference works. We have this fact (that I agree with) that: How does that give us a reason to think that EA solely exists to help rich people justify being rich in a...

    So I'm confused on how this inference works. We have this fact (that I agree with) that:

    Sam Bankman-Fried and the network around him tried to convince us he is a genius.

    How does that give us a reason to think that EA solely exists to help rich people justify being rich in a world with extreme income inequality and poverty? How does this inference work, what kind of inference is this? How do we move from understanding a fact we are in agreement about to your conclusion which I deny?

    7 votes