supergauntlet's recent activity
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Comment on New evidence found for Planet 9 in ~space
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Comment on In US lawsuit, ex-Amazon AI exec claims she was asked to ignore IP law in ~tech
supergauntlet Link Parentalso called "being managed out". the classic way to do it for ICs is by extreme nitpicking in pull requests, make sure to use the big red 'CHANGES REQUESTED' button, be slow and inconsistent in...also called "being managed out". the classic way to do it for ICs is by extreme nitpicking in pull requests, make sure to use the big red 'CHANGES REQUESTED' button, be slow and inconsistent in responding to questions. Basically make working actively miserable to burn the person out as fast as possible to make them quit.
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Comment on Inflation in times of overlapping emergencies: Systemically significant prices from an input–output perspective in ~finance
supergauntlet LinkSome of the most important takeaways imo: fossil fuel industry is the single biggest driver of inflation market systems are not ready for large disruptive events like the 2022 war in Ukraine or...Some of the most important takeaways imo:
- fossil fuel industry is the single biggest driver of inflation
- market systems are not ready for large disruptive events like the 2022 war in Ukraine or the 2020 covid pandemic and do not adequeately protect critical infrastructure
- you cant fix supply push inflation by fucking with the demand valve (interest rates)
- CPI calculation as it exists is wildly inaccurate because it just throws away things that are volatile (even though these are frequently big inflation drivers)
- the economy is very interrelated, and inflation in some sections has an outsize effect because costs percolate upward through the supply chain (this is why fossil fuels are such a big inflation driver - everything runs on crude)
The first 2 are especially important. It's why the energy transition is so important. Even if you don't give a shit about the environment it's just simply good economics. The bit about how we need to change some parts of the economy to be more resilient to supply shocks was also interesting - basically saying 'we need a bit more of a command economy in these areas that are particularly load-bearing' because if they don't maintain appropriate inventory levels then the supply shocks cascade and drive widespread inflation.
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Comment on Tildes is changing the way I use and think about online engagement. How about you? in ~tildes
supergauntlet Link ParentI have thought this many many times on tildes. Orangereds are something I look forward to on this site instead of being a coin flip of whether it will make me mad or not.I have thought this many many times on tildes. Orangereds are something I look forward to on this site instead of being a coin flip of whether it will make me mad or not.
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Comment on I bought a house, now what? in ~life.home_improvement
supergauntlet LinkCheck if your power company does some sort of home warranty. I tried to go without and then right after moving in my a/c died and cost like $4k to fix. More recently I've had some issues with...Check if your power company does some sort of home warranty. I tried to go without and then right after moving in my a/c died and cost like $4k to fix. More recently I've had some issues with water heater installation and the home warranty guys have just completely taken care of it. It's not a ton of money a month but very worth it for peace of mind.
They usually won't pay for the full replacement of broken stuff but they will give you a discount which is nice.
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Comment on Thinking about quitting the Internet in ~tech
supergauntlet (edited )Link ParentI would argue this is already happening. I know a lot of people my age or a bit younger that are very proudly not on any social media, or are very very very selective with their media consumption....I would argue this is already happening. I know a lot of people my age or a bit younger that are very proudly not on any social media, or are very very very selective with their media consumption.
That's why I've been saying these companies are playing with fire. If they make things bad enough, people are just going to stop using their website. And then they will see how much better their lives are without it, and they won't go back.
EDIT: also, I'll say that quitting the Internet is just not feasible. however, quitting algorithmic social media is. You should do that. Cut clout chasers out of your life, social media rots people's brains.
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Comment on "The university campus is rapidly becoming a locus of infantilizing social control that any independent-minded student should seek to escape" in ~life
supergauntlet Link ParentWell for coddling I was thinking more along the lines of conflict avoidance and refusal to engage with difficult subject matter, something that is a real problem with young people that corporate...Well for coddling I was thinking more along the lines of conflict avoidance and refusal to engage with difficult subject matter, something that is a real problem with young people that corporate social media's puritanism has made worse. But otherwise I totally agree with you, I think that being a little accommodating would go a long way. Surely some people are just going to take advantage of such a system and we can deal with the assholes but nobody wants to miss deadlines. If it's happening consistently there must be a deeper problem.
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Comment on "The university campus is rapidly becoming a locus of infantilizing social control that any independent-minded student should seek to escape" in ~life
supergauntlet Link ParentThanks for this comment. There's a lot to be said about the problems with higher education these days but this article clearly starts from the assumption that college students are too coddled and...Thanks for this comment. There's a lot to be said about the problems with higher education these days but this article clearly starts from the assumption that college students are too coddled and works backward from there. To be clear they are, just not (mostly) in the ways described in this article.
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Comment on Boeing whistleblower found dead in US in ~transport
supergauntlet Link ParentMost concerning thing still: https://twitter.com/BostonJerry/status/1769750520644694374Most concerning thing still: https://twitter.com/BostonJerry/status/1769750520644694374
Boeing whistleblower John Barnett was planning to drive home to Louisiana after his deposition on Friday 3/8 before Boeing lawyers asked him to stay one more day to finish his testimony.
His body was found on the morning of 3/9.
Barnett was planning to start driving from SC to LA after completing his testimony on Friday 3/8, but that night the Boeing lawyers asked him to stay for one more day of depositions on Saturday 3/9.
Something happened overnight at his hotel, and he was found dead that morning.
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Comment on An influential economics forum has a troubling surplus of trolls in ~finance
supergauntlet Link ParentThat doesn't make sense. The point of economics is to study the economy so that we can make policy recommendations. If we can't do that the field has no meaning. It's more akin to metallurgists...That doesn't make sense. The point of economics is to study the economy so that we can make policy recommendations. If we can't do that the field has no meaning. It's more akin to metallurgists learning how different metalworking techniques work and what they do and then making suggestions on how to improve processes at complete random or based on known bad advice just because "it's what we've always done."
If your idea of economics is just studying patterns and making models that's only half the picture - applying those models is the whole point. And economists are shockingly bad at this. Economics without real world applications is just statistics. The interpretation and recommendation for the future is the entire crux of the profession - how can you make this argument?
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Comment on An influential economics forum has a troubling surplus of trolls in ~finance
supergauntlet Link Parenthonestly this is a better argument than the others. Witch doctors actually help people, something most economists and financial planners don't give a shit about. but I take issue with the idea...N.B. I think true shamans exist and do wonderful things, and we should probably avoid the term "witch doctor" in the same way we avoid using terms like "retarded" or "gay" to describe we don't like
honestly this is a better argument than the others. Witch doctors actually help people, something most economists and financial planners don't give a shit about. but I take issue with the idea that economists that can apply concepts effectively to do bad things are effective. I just don't see how a science that concerns itself with something as all-encompassing as 'the economy' get brownie points for being able to apply previous wisdom to steal from the poor and give to the rich.
Economics has described lots of situations where external intervention into the market is needed to solve a problem - market failures - and knows what to do about them. We know how to actually solve inflation (tax away the excess liquidity) but this idea won't go mainstream. If economics as a profession doesn't start mainstreaming ideas like universal basic income, wealth taxes, land value taxes, housing cooperatives, things we literally have a basic need for as a society to survive the coming decades, it is clearly not a science.
How are we supposed to take seriously a profession that's based around maximizing humanity's success in a world of scarcity if it chooses to obsess over supposed societal benefits of GDP growth instead of the real material conditions people face and their continued decline for decades?
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Comment on An influential economics forum has a troubling surplus of trolls in ~finance
supergauntlet Link ParentYeah, to be clear I'm explaining why the popular perception of economics is the way it is, because the ultra rich want yes men that tell them what they want to hear. I'm not saying that economics...Yeah, to be clear I'm explaining why the popular perception of economics is the way it is, because the ultra rich want yes men that tell them what they want to hear. I'm not saying that economics is totally 100% fake - there are lots of real things to be talked about. It's just that our economy runs on "asymmetric information" (e.g. lying by omission) and so this is true of fiscal advice and economic thought too - it's full of scamming. The loudest voices are the ones that say what the rich want to hear, not what's actually true.
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Comment on An influential economics forum has a troubling surplus of trolls in ~finance
supergauntlet Link ParentDid you... read my post? We said basically the same thing in different ways. There are good economists out there, they're just ignored, so mainstream economics has become this insane obsession...Did you... read my post? We said basically the same thing in different ways. There are good economists out there, they're just ignored, so mainstream economics has become this insane obsession with looting the rotting corpse as efficiently as possible. That doesn't mean the study of economics inherently is useless but much of the 'prevailing wisdom' is wrong. I really don't think it's much of a stretch to call it witchdoctor-esque.
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Comment on An influential economics forum has a troubling surplus of trolls in ~finance
supergauntlet Link ParentIf you knew more about the state of modern economics you would probably agree. There are certainly economists out there interested in reality - look for the ones that talk about rent, home prices,...If you knew more about the state of modern economics you would probably agree. There are certainly economists out there interested in reality - look for the ones that talk about rent, home prices, energy, wage growth by quartile, and so on, these are metrics that actually matter to real people's lives instead of stock market nonsense - but the majority are grifters and scammers that support any economic theory that helps the top 1%.
Take, for example, the proponents of zero interest rate policy and supply side economics. ZIRP obviously doesn't work and just devalues the currency over time while giving the ultra rich too much liquidity, something that was obvious to anyone that actually was interested in macroeconomics but suspiciously missed by all mainstream economists because obviously the lower the rates the freer the people. ZIRP is effectively the latest iteration of supply side economics, as it's intended to stimulate new business growth through decreased investment risk, which also was a clear and obvious failure back when Reaganomics was first implemented back in the 80s.
But we did the same thing again. Why? Either economists are really really stupid or the prevailing winds of the profession support the ultra rich's increasing consolidation of everything. This isn't to say all economists are idiots, far from it. The ones that think things are fucked up, that we need a negative income tax on the lowest bracket and to balance the federal budget with higher taxes on the rich, they're out there. They're just ignored.
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Comment on The costs of a phone-based childhood in ~tech
supergauntlet Link ParentI think my thoughts on the matter can be illustrated really well with an anecdote from my friends that were doing masters in social work: if you do a bachelor's in psychology you basically only...I think my thoughts on the matter can be illustrated really well with an anecdote from my friends that were doing masters in social work: if you do a bachelor's in psychology you basically only have two realistic career paths after graduation, for jobs that would actually use your degree anyway. Go back to school and get an MSW and become a therapist, or go into advertising.
Isn't that a little weird?
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Comment on The small company at the center of ‘Gamergate 2.0’ in ~games
supergauntlet Link Parentyeah not a fan of this weird revisionism as though gamergate was ever legitimately about ethics in games journalism. KIA is still around guys, you can just go look at the old threads. It was weird...yeah not a fan of this weird revisionism as though gamergate was ever legitimately about ethics in games journalism. KIA is still around guys, you can just go look at the old threads. It was weird misogyny against Zoe Quinn right from the start.
Games journalism sucking was also true, but no serious person aligned themselves with gamergate because gamergate was not a serious "movement", it was a flimsy pretense to harass women under the guise of complaining about games journalism and its kind of hilarious to even make this argument because someone did this at the time and very quickly disavowed the whole movement for being a bunch of weird misogynists. A Mr. John Bain? TotalBiscuit also thought "hmm games journalism sucks these gamergate guys have a point" and then looked into it more and went "oh no".
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Comment on 'If anything happens, it's not suicide': Boeing whistleblower's prediction before death in ~transport
supergauntlet Link ParentI look forward to finding out just how stupid Boeing is. I was operating under the assumption that they behaved like an evil multinational and harassed the whistleblower to suicide - if it comes...I look forward to finding out just how stupid Boeing is. I was operating under the assumption that they behaved like an evil multinational and harassed the whistleblower to suicide - if it comes out that they're genuinely stupid enough to have a whistleblower killed while the eyes of the entire world are upon them then I'm going to be impressed by the new paths of stupidity being forged.
Of course, I will also be incredibly insufferably smug to all of the 'nothing ever happens' liberals in my life, but that's just stopping to sniff the roses.
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Comment on Nearly 30% of Gen Z women identify as LGBTQ, Gallup survey finds in ~lgbt
supergauntlet Link ParentI'm not sure they meant it this way, but transition is definitely a choice. I absolutely chose to do it last year in light of the state of the world - I don't know how much longer I'll get to be...I'm not sure they meant it this way, but transition is definitely a choice. I absolutely chose to do it last year in light of the state of the world - I don't know how much longer I'll get to be happy.
In finance, difficult geopolitical situations are inherently inflationary. When people are fearful, they are more likely to live for the moment and not save. I think the same is true in self-expression, when things are scary like they are, the risk calculus changes. We stop worrying quite so much about other people because what if tomorrow morning is our last?
Anecdotally, I'd never seen a man wear a dress in public before the pandemic. Since then I've seen it uncommonly, but occasionally enough that it made me file it away for this anecdote and to ponder internally "do people really give that much of a shit about men presenting femininely?" and now here we are. It is definitely true that interesting times shake up societal norms.
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Comment on Nearly 30% of Gen Z women identify as LGBTQ, Gallup survey finds in ~lgbt
supergauntlet Link ParentThis is a large part of why we need to do the work on dismantling gender norms. Cis people should be allowed to be gender nonconforming too!This is a large part of why we need to do the work on dismantling gender norms. Cis people should be allowed to be gender nonconforming too!
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Comment on Special tag: "Active" in ~tildes
supergauntlet Link ParentDidn't realize it was just two people adding tags, I'll be sure to add more tags in the future when submitting.Didn't realize it was just two people adding tags, I'll be sure to add more tags in the future when submitting.
mild spoilers for the video game referenced
Inhabited by *the disembodied souls* of owl people with antlers. The Stranger was almost totally devoid of life, remember?