thearctic's recent activity

  1. Comment on A Minecraft Movie | Official trailer in ~movies

    thearctic
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    The boiler plate music and editing that every blockbuster trailer now has is pretty horrendous. Even worse than "iN a wOrLd...". Otherwise, the movie seems like a fun, simple movie to watch with...

    The boiler plate music and editing that every blockbuster trailer now has is pretty horrendous. Even worse than "iN a wOrLd...". Otherwise, the movie seems like a fun, simple movie to watch with the family.

    2 votes

  2. Comment on Thoughts on a Democratic postmortem in ~society

    thearctic
    Link
    I think you hit the nail on the head of much of what went wrong. I would partially disagree with a few things: Foreign policy: I think it mattered more than you'd think. Not necessarily because...

    I think you hit the nail on the head of much of what went wrong. I would partially disagree with a few things:

    • Foreign policy: I think it mattered more than you'd think. Not necessarily because there was a large constituency voting solely on that (though there was certainly a much larger portion of the electorate that cared quite a bit about Gaza beyond just Muslim Americans), but that it dramatically shifted the vibe among hyper-engaged Millennials and GenZ that you heavily depend on for canvassing, organizing, evangelizing, and keyboard-warrioring . Gaza made it difficult for most people who are highly engaged in politics to feel actively good about voting for Harris. I mean, the fact that there exists an intellectually-defensible, though arguably weak, argument as to how Trump would be marginally better is really bad. The electorate more broadly is also anxious about getting entangled with foreign conflicts, and it's empirically true that we had less conflict under Trump than Biden and that Ukraine was a strategic failure (whether Trump would've done better may be another question).

    • Immigration: I would just add that the Latino vote was largely lost because of mass illegal immigration, not purely social issues. It was their communities that felt the brunt of the chaos and the Biden administration handled the border logistically poorly.

    • Scolding: horrendous strategy from the Dems that definitely hurt them much more than it helped.

    • JD Vance: Picking Vance was a base pick and a gamble, but it paid off handsomely I think. The base loves him and it made the non-full-out-crazies in the Trump camp feel like they were voting for something than against something. He was smart to be on a constant media blitz and to routinely go to adversarial settings; if you go into a room where everyone hates you, you only stand to gain.

    • GOTV: The Trump campaign's get-out-the-vote I think was just much stronger. They kept hammering home that they should get 5 or 10 of their friends to go vote.

    9 votes

  3. Can/should Tildes pull out of search engine results?

    ~tildes Text 75 words
    The other thread about potential spam on the site got me thinking, can/should Tildes hide itself from Google and other search engines (aside from just the main page) to avoid the tentacles of SEO...

    The other thread about potential spam on the site got me thinking, can/should Tildes hide itself from Google and other search engines (aside from just the main page) to avoid the tentacles of SEO from infiltrating the site? I'm not sure how feasible that is, but I know reddit has the option to prevent your profile from getting indexed by search engines so perhaps that could be applied to the site as a whole.

    23 votes

  4. Comment on What’s behind the sudden surge in young Americans’ wealth? in ~finance

    thearctic
    Link
    I'm curious how much bitcoin has contributed to this. I know a decent number of people who did very well for themselves (on the upper end, pretty much printing money) through cryptocurrency over...

    I'm curious how much bitcoin has contributed to this. I know a decent number of people who did very well for themselves (on the upper end, pretty much printing money) through cryptocurrency over the years.

    4 votes

  5. Comment on Hamas was created and supported by Israel to oppose the seculars, divide Palestinians, and destroy the two-state solution in ~society

    thearctic
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    The takeaway is that Israel is not a good-faith actor or a reliable partner in peace. We should treat them more like Turkey or Saudi Arabia than Canada or the UK—a practical geopolitical ally we...

    The takeaway is that Israel is not a good-faith actor or a reliable partner in peace. We should treat them more like Turkey or Saudi Arabia than Canada or the UK—a practical geopolitical ally we support to the extent that they directly support US interests. The idea that America should provide unconditional support (I don't think people understand what "unconditional" means, they just go along with it because it sounds nice) to any country is ridiculous, let alone a nation that is, by the standard we apply to other countries, a state-sponsor of terror.

    47 votes

  6. Comment on California bans legacy admissions at private universities in ~society

    thearctic
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    It's true that elite universities rarely admit unqualified candidates for legacy reasons, but it's also true that most rejected applicants, according to these universities themselves, are...

    It's true that elite universities rarely admit unqualified candidates for legacy reasons, but it's also true that most rejected applicants, according to these universities themselves, are qualified. It's so competitive to get into these schools and the bulk of acceptances are made off of marginal differences, that the actual causal factor between someone getting in or not getting in to a school like Princeton often is legacy status.

    4 votes

  7. Comment on At least sixty-four dead and millions without power after hurricane Helene devastates south-eastern US states with landslides and flooding, washing away roads and bridges in ~enviro

    thearctic
    Link
    It's concerning to me how relatively little coverage this is getting in the news for an issue of this scale.

    It's concerning to me how relatively little coverage this is getting in the news for an issue of this scale.

    7 votes

  8. Comment on California bans legacy admissions at private universities in ~society

    thearctic
    Link Parent
    It depends on the university. Some schools, it's a pretty minor factor. At other schools (ex. Princeton), it's a major factor.

    It depends on the university. Some schools, it's a pretty minor factor. At other schools (ex. Princeton), it's a major factor.

    4 votes

  9. Comment on Aug 2024 - "America isn’t ready for the wars of the future" by Mark Milley (ex-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff) and Eric Schmidt (ex-CEO of Google) in ~tech

    thearctic
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    I'm personally pessimistic that there will be any MAD paradigm with robotics in warfare. The thing I'd say that makes MAD work with nukes is that there existed no gradations between "normal" bombs...

    I'm personally pessimistic that there will be any MAD paradigm with robotics in warfare. The thing I'd say that makes MAD work with nukes is that there existed no gradations between "normal" bombs and nuclear bombs; the weakest nuke was still many times stronger and more devastating than a conventional bomb (on that note, the first deployment of tactical nukes I think may risk ending MAD). With automated robotic weapons of war, I think it will be too much of a gradient for us to perceive it as causing mutual destruction, rightly or wrongly.

    6 votes

  10. Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of September 16 in ~society

    thearctic
    Link Parent
    Looking at this survey, economists across the board think debt is something to worry about to some degree or another. Even a "saltwater" economist like Krugman says that the debt to GDP ratio...

    Looking at this survey, economists across the board think debt is something to worry about to some degree or another. Even a "saltwater" economist like Krugman says that the debt to GDP ratio needs to be stabilized, which would require sustained levels of post-war growth—a solution that one can object to on its own grounds (environmental, social sustainability, wealth inequality concerns).

  11. Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of September 16 in ~society

    thearctic
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    To correct something, the video points to a clip where Trump seems to have confused the fiscal deficit and the trade deficit, but they seem to have misunderstood him saying that the role of the...

    To correct something, the video points to a clip where Trump seems to have confused the fiscal deficit and the trade deficit, but they seem to have misunderstood him saying that the role of the trade deficit in the fiscal deficit is understated.

    Their dichotomy between "orthodox economists" and "modern monetary theorists" disagreeing and, therefore, it being an open question whether America's debt trajectory will cause serious problems is strange. Almost like saying that there's great debate between physicians and anti-vax theorists and that therefore it's up in the air whether vaccines are safe. Also, a little quibble: orthodox and classical economics are not synonymous; orthodox is everything that's not fringe, while classical economics is the school of thought started by Adam Smith.

    2 votes

  12. Comment on Data center emissions probably 662% higher than big tech claims in ~enviro

    thearctic
    Link Parent
    Speaking of, can anyone with expertise comment on the technical feasibility and reliability of carbon accounting?

    Speaking of, can anyone with expertise comment on the technical feasibility and reliability of carbon accounting?

    1 vote

  13. Comment on America is losing Southeast Asia: Why US allies in the region are turning toward China in ~society

    thearctic
    Link Parent
    Good God, this is exhausting. You quoted a Hadith, which is essentially gossip of what the Prophet said or did in his time. The Hadith literature is expansive and often contradicts itself or even...

    Good God, this is exhausting. You quoted a Hadith, which is essentially gossip of what the Prophet said or did in his time. The Hadith literature is expansive and often contradicts itself or even the Quran. Here is a quote from the Quran:

    Surely those who believe, and those who are Jews, and the Christians, and the Sabians, whoever believes in Allah and the Last day and does good, they shall have their reward from their Lord, and there is no fear for them, nor shall they grieve. [2.62], repeated in [5.69] and [22.17]

    There's also the famous quote, which was the basis of religious pluralism in the Islamic world throughout history:

    Let there be no compulsion in religion, for the truth stands out clearly from falsehood. So whoever renounces false gods and believes in God has certainly grasped the firmest, unfailing hand-hold. And God is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. [2.256]

    Of course, things are not all sunshines and roses. The Quran talks about the Jews in many other instances, but mainly to say that they are ungrateful, arrogant, and are going to burn in hell, which is par for the course for a proselytizing religion.

    It's quite ridiculous to read SEA countries shopping around for allies and/or holding the US account for its support of what is either an ethnic cleansing campaign or a genocide as Jew hatred. It's also ridiculous to suggest that the Islamic world is any sense fundamentally violently opposed to Jews, when the Jews have been treated worse in the West on average over the course of the last 2000 years than in the Islamic world.

    22 votes

  14. Comment on A tool to determine which US city you should live in in ~life

  15. Comment on A tool to determine which US city you should live in in ~life

    thearctic
    Link
    Neat tool from a Reddit post I came across while Googling. Got Winston-Salem, NC. Manually tweaked the settings afterwards and got Albany, NY.

    Neat tool from a Reddit post I came across while Googling. Got Winston-Salem, NC. Manually tweaked the settings afterwards and got Albany, NY.

    3 votes

  17. Comment on At the University of Michigan, pro Palestinian protestors have "Shut Down" student government, by being elected to it in ~society

    thearctic
    Link Parent
    I'd agree the economic incentive itself isn't terribly strong, though it is objectively real, in the way that the gravitational effect of Venus on Earth's tide is weak but certainly there. If the...

    I'd agree the economic incentive itself isn't terribly strong, though it is objectively real, in the way that the gravitational effect of Venus on Earth's tide is weak but certainly there. If the issue is muddy and complex, a handful of these small changes can amount to a meaningful effect on whether you're slightly in favor of something or slightly opposed to it. It's also such an inoffensive request that the stark opposition to defense divestment itself raises questions about whether it may be more important than expected.

  18. Comment on At the University of Michigan, pro Palestinian protestors have "Shut Down" student government, by being elected to it in ~society

    thearctic
    Link Parent
    The most profound impact of divestment is disaligning incentives. It's easier to be critical against war when you stand to gain nothing from it.

    The most profound impact of divestment is disaligning incentives. It's easier to be critical against war when you stand to gain nothing from it.

    10 votes

  19. Comment on Kamala Harris's speech killed any hope she would end the Gaza genocide in ~society

    thearctic
    Link Parent
    Nuclear powers are still subject to game theory, especially when they're democratic to some degree or another. The difference between a 1 percent chance of destruction and a near 0 percent chance...

    Nuclear powers are still subject to game theory, especially when they're democratic to some degree or another. The difference between a 1 percent chance of destruction and a near 0 percent chance of destruction has profound ramifications for decision-making. Sanctions would undoubtedly collapse the Israeli economy, given how much of the Israeli economy depends on the US and close US allies. Russia, Iran, and North Korea are a different story.

    7 votes

  20. Comment on Kamala Harris's speech killed any hope she would end the Gaza genocide in ~society

    thearctic
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    The US backs Israel militarily and this emboldens Israel to continue to do things that literally no country of its size could get away with. If the US stopped supporting Israel or made its support...

    The US backs Israel militarily and this emboldens Israel to continue to do things that literally no country of its size could get away with. If the US stopped supporting Israel or made its support conditional, then Israel would have to act in accordance with the regional power structure, which does not leave any room for a genocide or an ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people. This "leverage" concept is propaganda through and through, to get people of conscience in the US to trick themselves into thinking that we're doing the right thing here.

    21 votes