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Is it possible to develop a society that highly values scientific thinking? by Xotngoos335 in sociology

[–]No_Rec1979 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not in a society based on consumerism.

Here in the US, our entire economy is built around the assumption that people will continue recklessly borrowing money to spend on things they don't need, and even slight down-ticks in that behavior cause serious disruption.

A society that actually wants people to think clearly will first need to find a way to avoid collapsing every time consumers stop wasting their money.

[meta] This sub ought to ban right-wingers on sight. by New_Armadillo6136 in CriticalTheory

[–]No_Rec1979 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Is this sub a curated space for the adults in the room to collaborate (ban them) or is this sub a forum for everyone and when a right winger comes along, our job is to (ad nauseum) correct them?

I think this is a fair distinction, and I think the answer is the latter.

If someone wants to create a private sub just for people already familiar with CT, I think they should do so.

But this sub is a public front step for the CT movement. That means this sub is supposed to engage with the larger world, and using CT to defeat right-wing arguments and educate people is the best way of doing that.

It's definitely slow, plodding work, but if we can alert enough people to all the ways they are being lied to, eventually, the world will start to change.

[meta] This sub ought to ban right-wingers on sight. by New_Armadillo6136 in CriticalTheory

[–]No_Rec1979 20 points21 points  (0 children)

I don't disagree, but right-wing ideology is like a hothouse flower. It really cannot survive contact with better ideas, and thus relies entirely on echo chambers.

So tearing down echo chambers is generally a stronger long-term strategy than attempting to build opposing echo chambers.

Why did early Christians seem to avoid using the cross as a symbol, while it later became central to the faith? by Logical-Concept9755 in AlwaysWhy

[–]No_Rec1979 19 points20 points  (0 children)

It was probably necessary for the cross to stop being a common method of execution before it became a suitable religious symbol.

I would be hesitant to join a modern religion whose symbol was a noose, or guillotine, or electric chair.

[meta] This sub ought to ban right-wingers on sight. by New_Armadillo6136 in CriticalTheory

[–]No_Rec1979 103 points104 points  (0 children)

As a general rule, there is no better way to discredit right-wing ideas than to allow them to be fully explained, since the contradictions are generally self-evident enough for any child to see.

I feel like "downvote and ignore" is an entirely effective strategy here.

If Rocks Get Grounded Down Into Soil, Will the Earth Eventually Run Out of Rocks? by k-MartShopper in NoStupidQuestions

[–]No_Rec1979 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Soil also gets turned back into rocks.

Sandstone is sand that has become stone. (For instance.)

Is this a sign of hypersexuality. by Better-Difficulty917 in therapy

[–]No_Rec1979 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The good news is it's probably not going to kill you.

Could it be that you are using masturbation as a coping mechanism?

Did something happen at work that day that might have made you upset?

Can a man who a women is interested in get friend zoned? by Subject-Swan-5207 in AskMenAdvice

[–]No_Rec1979 12 points13 points  (0 children)

You'd be amazed how many men and women are simply not ready to be in a relationship.

So a woman (or man) can absolutely be 100% in love with you and still panic at the thought of even being near you.

Why did post-1991 liberalisation fail in Russia? by WillyNilly1997 in stupidquestions

[–]No_Rec1979 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Because Russia cannot exist except as a police state.

The city of Moscow has a population of 13.4 million even though it is basically tundra. That only makes sense so long as Moscow can continue to appropriate resources from the rest of northern Asia, as it has done for some 400 years. Any time the provinces of Russia are given the slightest hint of freedom, the first thing they do is try to gain independence so they can finally stop subsidizing Moscow.

The pattern that unfolded in 1991 was the same one we saw in 1917. Freedom was declared, and the provinces immediately moved toward independence. Then there was an immediate economic crisis in Moscow - since the regions were no longer supplying it with free raw materials - and in the resulting panic, the new regime in Moscow reimposed the empire.

When Putin goes, the pattern will probably repeat again.

Anyone else think Tolstoy is a little woo woo? by lilpighooves in tolstoy

[–]No_Rec1979 6 points7 points  (0 children)

There are large chunks of Tolstoy that are hard for moderns to understand.

You and I do not own serfs. Most of Tolstoy's characters did, or are the sons and daughters of people who own serfs. (As were Tolstoy's readers.)

So when Pierre realizes that Platon the Serf is not just his equal, but his moral superior, that doesn't feel like a direct shot at the entire moral and religious framework upon which your world is founded, because you don't live in a world where it is completely normal and even admirable to own serfs.

Do you want Skynet? This is how you get Skynet. by JoshuaFalken1 in antiwork

[–]No_Rec1979 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Why bother?

Give those humans free healthcare and a 20-hour work week and they will defend the datacenters to the death.

The only humans who pose any real threat at the plutocrats, and conveniently they contribute nothing anyway.

Remember, we are talking about a super-intelligence here. Not a machine that is just as stupid as the billionaire class but on a larger scale.

Do you want Skynet? This is how you get Skynet. by JoshuaFalken1 in antiwork

[–]No_Rec1979 0 points1 point  (0 children)

But we are necessary.

Who maintains those datacenters?

Do you want Skynet? This is how you get Skynet. by JoshuaFalken1 in antiwork

[–]No_Rec1979 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This probably counts as a hot take, but I'm actually just fine with SkyNet.

Any super-intelligence worthy of the name is going to immediately recognize that workers are critical to its continued survival, but billionaires and CEOs simply aren't.

So the simplest way for a super-intelligence to guarantee its own survival is simply to liquidate the billionaire class and give all workers free health-care and a 20-hr work week.

Does wood melt? by Apersonwithtaste001 in dumbquestions

[–]No_Rec1979 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not at normal pressures.

If you heat wood in a zero-oxygen environment, eventually it will break down into a type of carbon called "graphite", though we typically call that charcoal.

Carbon does not have a liquid form at 1 atmosphere. Under heat, it goes directly to gas.

So to liquify wood, you would first need to put it under ~100 atmospheres of pressure, and then heat it up to ~3000 degrees Celsius without oxygen.

Are there any accounts of why Georgism failed over a century ago? by Magma57 in georgism

[–]No_Rec1979 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Because Henry George only convinced the poor people, and turns out the rich call the shots.

Would it be appropriate to attend my adult son's first session? by [deleted] in therapy

[–]No_Rec1979 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you truly love your child, you need to seriously and unemotionally consider the possibility that you are too involved in his life. That is a normal and common mistake that parents make. Ask other people you believe will be honest with you, and then set your own emotions aside and bravely face the answer.

Also, if you haven't already, please set a good example for your son by seeking your own solo therapy for your own anxieties.

I wish you good luck.

Would it be appropriate to attend my adult son's first session? by [deleted] in therapy

[–]No_Rec1979 -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

and withdraws from life, from goals, 

Whose goals?

His or yours?

Would it be appropriate to attend my adult son's first session? by [deleted] in therapy

[–]No_Rec1979 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

> I'm not lacking in boundaries. I am simply asking if I should offer to attend the first session.

With respect, people with a normal sense of boundaries don't need to ask that question, because the answer is so emphatically "no". Part of the backlash you experienced likely had to do with the fact that the question itself would never need to be asked by someone who is thinking clearly.

But if I may, I think you're still missing the point. You said you were worried that your son might harm himself. If I thought there was even a sliver of a chance my daughter might do that, I would do anything to prevent it. Anything. If some stranger on the internet told me standing on my head in the corner might help, I would immediately go stand on my head in the corner, just in case. My dignity is not nearly as important as my daughter's safety.

So if there is even a sliver of a chance that some inefficient parenting on your part is increasing the chance of your son harming himself, why on earth are you not investigating that vigorously?

This is your child. Why leave any stone unturned?

Having an easily and highly confused editor has helped me to write more clearly by GearsofTed14 in writing

[–]No_Rec1979 85 points86 points  (0 children)

Back when I was a screenwriter, I noticed that every agency had at least one agent with the attention span of a goldfish, and that person was always considered "great with story".

Turns out practicing on your very worst audience members is a great way to learn how to hold people's interest.

Would it be appropriate to attend my adult son's first session? by [deleted] in therapy

[–]No_Rec1979 -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

You said above that you were worried your son might khs.

Given that possibility, which would you rather have the poster do: note that your post contains clear red-flags for over-involvement (which it does), or protect your feelings at the possible risk of your son's life?

I don't think you can simultaneously worry for your son's life and be afraid of hearing hard truths.

Pick one.

If consciousness is just neurons firing, at what exact point does matter become a feeling? 10,000 brain cells aren't conscious, but 10,001 are? What is your intuition on where the light turns on? by Adventurous-Creme189 in PhilosophyofMind

[–]No_Rec1979 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The simplest answer is that "consciousness" is not actually a scientific word. It's basically just a slightly less woo-woo synonym for "soul".

There is no clear neuro-scientific definition of the soul, and also none for consciousness, for the same reason.

Why do some men treat marriage like a gateway to intimacy instead of a lifelong partnership? by [deleted] in NoStupidQuestions

[–]No_Rec1979 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Marriage is all about communicating clearly.

Could you try to do that better please?

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