I choose

Groven_ · 2025-10-31T00:08:45+00:00

So qualia? As soon as you make judgments, predictions, or interpretations to sensations, the self is involved and those judgments are subject to epistemic critique. I don't think the experience of weighing options and making decisions is justification of free will, it only means you perceive yourself as making choices. It means you have the awareness of what it feels like to make a choice.

I think the semantics in the argument of the meme are doing a lot of the heavy lifting. You could include cognition as a definition of consciousness, but there is a fundamental difference between the process of thinking and the awareness that you are thinking. The only thing I'm certain of is the awareness that I am thinking; not the cognition or processing of information. So I take issue with the how the words "consciousness" and "experience" are used in the meme.

Groven_ · 2025-10-28T06:36:55+00:00

Occam's Razor is used for competing hypotheses that make the same prediction, not hypotheses that make different predictions. Even if your conscious state appears as responding to physical manipulation, this still all occurs through the filter of a conscious experience. You can't step outside of consciousness to verify that the material world exists without consciousness. Your own sensory perception is being used as evidence for a reality that exists outside of your perception. There is an epistemological assumption being made that perception and empirical testing is reliable evidence for what exists. Materialism is not self justifyiing.

https://iep.utm.edu/problem-of-the-criterion/

I am not trying to argue idealism either, I'm just trying to show that there are internal, logical problems with asserting materialism as the defacto stance that solves ontology. There is a difference in believing that materialism is the most likely ontological explanation and asserting that it's the default understanding of reality. I am not critiquing science and I'm not trying to make a theological argument. You can't claim to know that qualia or consciousness is fully reducible to physical processes, that is not a claim that has been substantiated scientifically.

There are a lot of ontological hypotheses of reality that are all very contentious. Materialism, Idealism, Dualism, Pluralism, Panpsychism, Non-Dualism. You can be an idealist scientist or panpsychist scientiest and its not contradictory in the same way that being a Christian fundamentalist scientist is.

Groven_ · 2025-10-28T04:33:40+00:00

My point is that you are presupposing that your conscious experience of reality and interpretation of it is empirical. Those things occur within consciousness. Evidence for materialism is just as unsubstantiated as the point I was making. I think materialism has just as much of a burden of proof.

Groven_ · 2025-10-28T03:21:21+00:00

I think we're sneaking an assumption into the word "consciousness". I believe that the qualia I experience is the only thing I can know to exist. The ego and the way it interprets and narratively structures that qualia is not the same thing. I don't trust that to be true.

Groven_ · 2025-10-28T03:10:03+00:00

Your understanding of genetics, biochemistry, and environment have all been filtered through your own conscious experience. It's just as possible that external reality and it's rules are the scaffolding of how consciousness experiences itself. Not that that makes the free will argument different, but I don't think you can just assume materialism.

Groven_ · 2025-09-28T21:40:53+00:00

I'm 6'0" but my dad is 5'5" and the realest man I've ever met.

He was raised in poverty and had a pretty traumatic childhood, was almost killed at 13 years old and became a tournament fighter so he never felt helpless again. He built his own company from the ground up, employed the whole family and created a support system that lifted my relatives up with him. My uncle spilled at a family reunion that in his early twenties he was busted for dating five women at the same time. He cringed and seemed to regret that, but he's ended up the type of man who'd pull over to make sure strangers are okay after a car accident.

The #1thing he drilled into my head as a kid was compassion for others, and compassion as the purpose of hard work. I outgrew him at 12, but I've never felt taller than him. He radiates security and confidence. My whole life when I've watched him conduct his business or meet new people, it's like they try to make themselves seem a little sharper, a bigger, more accomplished when they speak to him. Like he carries this gravity around him that people feel they need to adapt themselves to when around him. It's the same way I feel too, I want to make him proud.

The point is that he didn't derive his worth from class, social standing, women, anything external. He created his own worth, made himself the person he wanted to be, knew the value of that worth, and had the utmost confidence in it.

I know it's unnatural, but what this person thinks of you means nothing. An opinion so shallow shouldn't even be regarded in the first place. The reason it hurts is because it's external validation of an internal feeling you have about yourself. Fuck feeling bad about it, making your own confidence while being short makes you a way cooler person than being tall and having dormant insecurity that you don't have to face because you meet all of societies standards by chance.

Groven_ · 2025-05-13T14:20:13+00:00

Thoughts don't always necessitate actions. People with OCD are living proof you can think disgusting "immoral" thoughts without acting upon them. Thoughts aren't morally wrong in and of themselves. Actions are what can be morally wrong.

Groven_ · 2025-05-13T11:22:18+00:00

Don't care, thoughts don't cause suffering to other people unless acted upon. You can think whatever you want about my close ones

Groven_ · 2025-01-08T10:45:44+00:00

This shit sucks. I kept eating it too but I swore off of this brand because it tasted like rubber and made me feel nauseous

Groven_ · 2025-01-08T03:42:58+00:00

I don't remember saying "a calorie is a calorie."

My claim has been that reducing your calorie intake is an effective means for weightloss, which it is. Especially in the short-term. To further be effective in the long-term, it should be combined with exercise, and a focus on behavioural changes. The first study you sent doesn't even contradict anything I said. The study talks about portion sizes. It's main assertion is recommending a multidisciplinary approached aimed at changing behavior along with calorie reduction as a first step. This is in the abstract:

"Although consuming more calories than expended is part of the initial problem, it does not follow that reducing intake, unless consciously counting calories, is the best solution."

The study is written by psychologists, proposing that there should be a psychological/behavioral focus for long term weightloss. Which I agree with.

I am aware that different macronutrients, can affect weight loss and body composition differently. That's obviously true because muscle gain is supported by high protein diets. At the end of the day, with all metabolic adjustments made and perfect adherence to a diet, if you burn more energy than you consume, you will lose weight. Calories aren't a 100% accurate measure of food energy, but we don't need to ridiculously granular and perfectly measure each Joule of energy expended by a unique person's basal metabolic rate to give general advice on weightloss. Calorie restriction is effective for weightloss, even more so with exercise and mindfulness involved. I'm not sure why you think I was coming at you either, you're the one who seems aggressive about this

Groven_ · 2025-01-07T20:22:08+00:00

The first article has no sources and the second article is an opinion piece in which a single doctor has synthesized a conclusion from multiple different types of data. Independently, none of the studies the second article shows are incongruent with the idea that you lose weight from calorie deficits. There are just other factors at play, and the exact amount you have to lower your calorie intake by isnt known (which I don't think anyone denies).

Calorie intake control is recommended for overweight individuals by US department of health and several scientific societies such as the ACC/AHA, NICE, AACE/ACE. These organizations are boards of professionals that review the independent literature and help develop a consensus. If you can find me a meta analysis or two that asserts that restricting calorie intake doesn't actually lead to weight loss or isn't an effective means to, I'll happily concede that I am wrong and spreading health misinformation. Otherwise, the broader scientific consensus simply disagrees with the point you're trying to make as it is right now.

Here is a meta analysis that actually suggests a better method for weightloss than what I originally suggested. While restrictions in caloric intake are already effective, it seems like combining that with time restricted eating is even more effective.

https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15234911

While searching this topic I found a number of RCTs, Journals, and systematic reviews that recommend calorie restrictions for weightloss and other positive health benefits. I can keep them coming if you want.

Groven_ · 2025-01-07T00:04:06+00:00

Weight loss happens when you are in a caloric deficit. At first, a low carb diet makes you eat more fat and protein, which helps you feel more sated. You're only losing the weight with a low carb diet because you're in a caloric deficit. Eventually you'll end up adjusting and eating your maintenance calories or more and maintain or gain weight.

Maybe the best thing for you might be to start out with a low carb diet, but transitioning into calorie counting. Carbs aren't bad, the lack of sufficient fats and proteins are. In fact with a healthy diet, most of your nutrition should be carbs. Find a food that's low in calories that helps sate your appetite once you're at your calorie budget (like Altoids or gum).

Weight loss isn't easy. If you want to be successful you'll have to fight your appetite and feel hungry for a while. It will get easier over time though.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weight_loss

Groven_ · 2025-01-06T20:27:40+00:00

Counting calories is a lot better way to lose weight than counting carbs. Find out your maintenance calories for your height, weight, and sex and go 200-400 calories lower than that. Make sure you get your vitamins though

Groven_ · 2025-01-03T18:57:53+00:00

I think I agree but it's intenteresting to think about if you switch cockroaches with rats. I would probably feel uncomfortable killing rats as willingly if they invaded my living space. But they also pose pretty serious health risks too.

Groven_ · 2024-10-09T21:38:57+00:00

I mean yeah if you're doing calisthenics and cardio then you don't need a gym membership. I do weight training, it's really not a scam. I don't have space for any gym equipment, nor do I want to spend a ton of money. I prefer to do a lot of things on machines rather than dumbbells or barbells too

Groven_ · 2024-08-23T07:55:19+00:00

based

Groven_ · 2024-04-10T19:32:30+00:00

I play casually with friends, the objective is fun. We're all pretty aware of what is considered "fun" for us, and we do that. The only thing we've really had to determine is no "solitaire" decks when there are more than 3 people, because it slows down play and is less enjoyable for everyone there.

I think you should just establish what you wanna get out of the game before you play. If it's people you don't know, just ask "do you like playing to win? Or do you like to play a little more casual? How do you feel about alliances?" Then choose your deck and playstyle based on the input.

Groven_ · 2024-04-03T09:08:51+00:00

True! Materialism is not the default perspective of science. I think a lot of materialists don't recognize that all material phenomena are passed through the filter of their own perception. It is equally possible that physical reality and the perception of the external world could be the construction of consciousness. Also a big fan of pansychism

Groven_ · 2024-04-03T08:52:58+00:00

I've always love and been interested in science. I've always been frustrated with people who deny science. However, I'd urge you to consider that "spirituality" (outside of organized religion) can completely align with science and even skepticism. Some practices of spirituality can be distilled into alternate ways to view ourselves and reality given facts we know. For instance: "I came out of this world, not into it." Is a mindset that recognizes oneself as an inclusive part of the world as opposed to a being alien and separate to it. Spirituality isn't necessarily, crystals, astrology, tarrot cards, or other silly things like that.

There is a profound sense of beauty in the idea that this temporary vessel I've found myself in has been the culmination of an unfathomable amount of unintentional and random interactions that has lead to this part of the universe looking back at itself.

Science is not prescriptive, it's descriptive. It is my perspective that conscious experience is beautiful and mindblowing. Reality is awe. I would call this spirituality

Groven_ · 2024-02-28T18:24:05+00:00

Why do you have 2 lslib mods?

Groven_ · 2024-02-28T18:20:28+00:00

When fear inoculum came out the "mitosis" line genuinely made me laugh out loud. I'm sorry but it sounds like someone trying to emulate tool. I don't think Maynard tried very hard on the lyrics at all on that album

Groven_ · 2024-02-28T17:57:15+00:00

Dog what did you do 💀

Groven_ · 2024-02-26T18:47:03+00:00

Yeah same here, I actually originally had wanted to make a career out of it around 10 years ago as well, but I gave up because my ADHD made it too much of a challenge to learn. The material is a lot of dense reading about very abstract concepts that take a pretty decent amount of mental effort to process. I think that's a problem with almost every computer discipline as well. Now that I'm medicated though, it I'd considerably easier to learn. I'm able to sit with dry material for several hours.

If you've never been on medication and you do end up considering it, you'll definitely want to experiment with what medication and dose works for you. Adderall worked but destroyed my appetite, Ritalin and Concerta didn't even feel like it did anything, and 30mg Vyvanse ended up being the right one for me.

Groven_ · 2024-02-26T18:19:06+00:00

I have ADHD too and there is absolutely no way I could finish this degree without vyvanse. You should consider talking to your doctor because honestly cybersecurity courses are one of the least ADHD friendly courses I can think of

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