thearctic's recent activity
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Comment on Virologists are still bringing dangerous, novel pathogens in from the wild in ~health
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Comment on Virologists are still bringing dangerous, novel pathogens in from the wild in ~health
thearctic (edited )Link ParentTo clarify, we should accept it as true from the perspective of safety. As for studying novel pathogens outside of bats, I suppose the same principle but on a smaller scale also applies. Not...To clarify, we should accept it as true from the perspective of safety. As for studying novel pathogens outside of bats, I suppose the same principle but on a smaller scale also applies. Not everything that happens in the ecosystem is of significant biological interest to human medicine and, given the risk of studying pathogens in animals that humans minimally interact with, there's a question about whether we are getting our money's worth danger-wise. This is essentially the argument that respected people like Lipsitch have made. I'd prefer there be a clear articulation of the value of each of these projects to human medicine before funding them, versus assuming that everything we learn about the ecosystem will be significantly worthwhile and will override the risk of this type of research.
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Comment on Virologists are still bringing dangerous, novel pathogens in from the wild in ~health
thearctic Link ParentI'm all for better understanding the strange biology of bats, but that doesn't necessarily require seeking out novel viruses. As for the lab leak question, the bottom line is that it's a very...I'm all for better understanding the strange biology of bats, but that doesn't necessarily require seeking out novel viruses.
As for the lab leak question, the bottom line is that it's a very plausible theory and that, from a perspective of safety, it should be accepted as true and we should operate under its implications. What that means here precisely, I'm not completely sure, but the risks far outweigh the benefits of ignoring the lab leak theory.
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Comment on Virologists are still bringing dangerous, novel pathogens in from the wild in ~health
thearctic Link ParentIt may seem to make sense to want to document all strains of all viruses in the way that we want to document as much as we can about the animal kingdom, but bat guts are literally specially...It may seem to make sense to want to document all strains of all viruses in the way that we want to document as much as we can about the animal kingdom, but bat guts are literally specially designed to mutate new viruses. Which is to say, these novel viruses are not phylogenetically interesting and are not representative of the general ecosystem of viruses.
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Comment on Long-term experiences with Google search alternatives? in ~tech
thearctic Link ParentI really want to like DDG, but I find the Reddit results a bit worse than Google and for academic stuff it doesn't even come close.I really want to like DDG, but I find the Reddit results a bit worse than Google and for academic stuff it doesn't even come close.
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Long-term experiences with Google search alternatives?
I've tried DDG for some time, but I keep finding myself using !g to find better results. I read a comment on Reddit that you just need to get used to searching things differently, but I'm starting...
I've tried DDG for some time, but I keep finding myself using !g to find better results. I read a comment on Reddit that you just need to get used to searching things differently, but I'm starting to think that DDG just isn't very good. Kagi works well and I use the free version a bit for academic stuff, but I don't see myself paying for a search engine. Anyone have long-term reviews of search engines like Brave, Qwant, etc.?
45 votes -
Comment on Fearing toxic waste, Greenland ended uranium mining. Now, they could be forced to restart - or pay $11billion investor-state dispute settlement. in ~enviro
thearctic Link ParentI think it's fair to argue that they should be compensated for their expenditures in preparation for the project, but it's insane to me to say that they should be compensated for the profits they...I think it's fair to argue that they should be compensated for their expenditures in preparation for the project, but it's insane to me to say that they should be compensated for the profits they would have made. Why can't governments go after categories of businesses they don't like? If you don't like it, try convincing a Greenlandic citizen to vote otherwise. In the case of eminent domain, you get compensated for the value of your land and other short-term financial losses, not the total expected lifetime value of your business.
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Comment on Waiting for a book in paperback? Good luck. Publishers increasingly give nonfiction authors one shot at print stardom, ditching paperbacks as priorities shift. in ~books
thearctic Link ParentI think paperbacks still have their place and the pendulum will eventually swing in their favor. For me, and probably for a large portion of people who don't churn through books but still read...I think paperbacks still have their place and the pendulum will eventually swing in their favor. For me, and probably for a large portion of people who don't churn through books but still read some, the experience of an ebook will never compare to a physical book and a hardcover just isn't as convenient to carry around.
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Comment on The president and the psychoanalyst: what Sigmund Freud saw in Woodrow Wilson in ~humanities.history
thearctic LinkI came across Sigmund Freud's psychobiography of Woodrow Wilson, which seemed like a very strange and unexpected crossover.I came across Sigmund Freud's psychobiography of Woodrow Wilson, which seemed like a very strange and unexpected crossover.
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The president and the psychoanalyst: what Sigmund Freud saw in Woodrow Wilson
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Comment on Philosopher Slavoj Žižek on 'soft' fascism, AI and the effects of shamelessness in public life in ~humanities
thearctic Link ParentInequality in welfare is just the difference in the physical well-being of people based on what they can afford. A world in which everyone has a solid middle class life but people like Musk or...Inequality in welfare is just the difference in the physical well-being of people based on what they can afford. A world in which everyone has a solid middle class life but people like Musk or Bezos are worth a few trillion dollars would have low welfare inequality but high financial inequality.
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Comment on Philosopher Slavoj Žižek on 'soft' fascism, AI and the effects of shamelessness in public life in ~humanities
thearctic (edited )Link ParentThe fundamental problem with the Democrats is that they have no ideology. They've devolved into a reactionary party that attempts to defend decorum (most Americans care very little about political...The fundamental problem with the Democrats is that they have no ideology. They've devolved into a reactionary party that attempts to defend decorum (most Americans care very little about political decorum at this point, myself included) and a status quo that people were deeply dissatisfied with. They have no real solution for what I would consider the three absolutely core problems: the debt, growing financial inequality (this is an issue of the balance of power and agency, not inequality in welfare. Reducing inequality in individual welfare through expansive and eventually unsustainable GDP growth is NOT the solution), and money in politics (Citizens United happened and is now the law of the land, what do we do now? You can't just repeatedly say get money out of politics and have no plan. A slow, multi-generational overhaul of the SCOTUS is NOT a plan).
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How would you rate adulthood?
Life since you entered the "adult world" (be it after college or after high school if you didn't go to college), how would you rate it compared to the life you had before?
39 votes -
Comment on Amazon to close Quebec facilities, insists it's not because of new union in ~tech
thearctic Link ParentI don't think it's much of a loss, and it could even be a net gain. Note that the jobs that Amazon created were more or less replacing other jobs in Quebec, and that operations are being shifted...I don't think it's much of a loss, and it could even be a net gain. Note that the jobs that Amazon created were more or less replacing other jobs in Quebec, and that operations are being shifted to local small businesses.
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A shower thought on cameras
I was looking through some pictures and realized that, starting from pictures taken a few years ago, you won't be able to tell how old a picture is based only on picture quality, even though...
I was looking through some pictures and realized that, starting from pictures taken a few years ago, you won't be able to tell how old a picture is based only on picture quality, even though that's been the case pretty much since the invention of photography.
28 votes -
Comment on What fictional world would you live in, if you could pick any one? in ~talk
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Comment on US President Donald Trump to make historic move towards revoking birthright citizenship in ~society
thearctic (edited )Link ParentVirtually the entire Western hemisphere and sizable chunks of the Old World have jus soli. I'm opposed to getting rid of jus soli since I believe American soil is free and being born on it...Most countries don't have it outside the US and Canada.
Virtually the entire Western hemisphere and sizable chunks of the Old World have jus soli.
I'm opposed to getting rid of jus soli since I believe American soil is free and being born on it entitles you to protection of your natural rights under American citizenship. The alternative I view as fundamentally un-American. I say this as someone who believes in common sense border and legal immigration policy.
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Comment on US President Donald Trump to make historic move towards revoking birthright citizenship in ~society
thearctic (edited )LinkTaken out of context, I unfortunately can see how they might be able to get away with such an interpretation in the current political environment. The original context clearly opposes it, though....The clause often referred to states that "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."
Trump wants to reinterpret the phrasing "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" to mean that the federal government would not recognize automatic birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to parents without legal status, incoming White House officials told reporters on a call on Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss upcoming actions.
Taken out of context, I unfortunately can see how they might be able to get away with such an interpretation in the current political environment. The original context clearly opposes it, though. The intent of that clause of the sentence was to exclude children of ambassadors and foreign ministers, whose families were not subject to US jurisdiction, and, depending on who you asked then, native Indians whose lands were unconquered but considered part of American territory. Even in the extremely nativist time of the late 1890s, it was established in no uncertain terms in US v. Wong Kim Ark that all children of foreigners (edit: born in the US), except in a set of clearly delineated cases not including illegal status of the parent, were citizens of the US. It was further established in Plyler v. Doe (1982) among both the 5 concurring and the 4 dissenting justices that illegal aliens, being physically in the US, were obviously subject to the jurisdiction of the US.
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US President Donald Trump to make historic move towards revoking birthright citizenship
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~finance
thearctic (edited )LinkLower rents will definitely reduce the incentive to build more housing, though it may be the case in certain instances that there already exists sufficient incentive to build more housing. I...Lower rents will definitely reduce the incentive to build more housing, though it may be the case in certain instances that there already exists sufficient incentive to build more housing. I wouldn't say there's no evidence that rent control has a negative effect on housing stock. The 2014 Autor et al. study they cite itself says that eliminating rent control in Cambridge, MA corresponded to a 20% increase in building permits (though that includes both improvements and new construction).
I think policymakers should be mindful that there is a tradeoff, though it may still be worthwhile if having more affordable housing outweighs greater total housing investment (the total of either improvements, construction, or increased sale value/liquidity for current property owners) or if they're confident there's other strong reasons to build housing. Exceptions for new construction gets around much of the concern, but it still risks reducing rental stock, even if total stock remains the same, from landlords selling to owner-occupants. Personally, I'd say it would help if renters more seriously considered moving each year in search of a better deal. Rents will naturally ratchet upwards if tenants don't shop around enough, and American tenants are moving less than they used to.
I'm not necessarily arguing that we should categorically shut down this research, but we should have a strong and clear reason before deciding to fund these types of projects.
Well, if we're doing counter-factuals, you can't ignore considering whether Covid-19 pandemic would ever have happened if we didn't do this research.
I get what you're saying, but ultimately it's a heuristic to say that it's better to not get in the way of science just because of risk. If it's true that it is, then the argument that the benefits outweigh the risks can and should be made on specific grounds.