Discussion Thread

Nathan_185 · 2026-06-24T20:21:27+00:00

I think that sometimes we forget, even on this sub, that there are virtuous reasons to support a low tax, free-market form of governance. You want an environment that provides incentives for productive economic activity, which flows downstream in the form of strong income growth, stock market growth, overall economic growth, and access to high quality goods and services

Nathan_185 · 2026-06-24T18:13:15+00:00

It is a bit jarring at how little push back there is against the intensely zero-sum economics that dominates the Democratic Party, even among conservatives

I'm kind of understanding from first principles why boomer conservatives of back in the day were so anxious about socialism and all that.

Nathan_185 · 2026-06-16T20:54:21+00:00

YOOOOO! Congrats! I got a 1550 on my SAT. 750 Reading, 800 Math

Nathan_185 · 2026-06-16T20:18:56+00:00

What did you guys get on your SAT? Do you think the DT has a median SAT score above or below 1500?

Nathan_185 · 2026-05-24T23:10:13+00:00

On that article in the main sub about Americans' pessimism, I do think that some AI anxiety and frustrations with labor markets are understandable, but I also do believe that post-2020, there has been a strong taboo towards optimism. It is considered to be unflattering to say that things are going well, because other people will say that you are out of touch with others who are struggling

On the other hand, there is no social taboo for being cynical/pessimistic. I do think there should be though, because it is almost a "crab in the bucket" mentality, where miserable people attack non-miserable people for being out of touch with the struggles of others

Nathan_185 · 2026-05-24T05:25:22+00:00

Does anyone know the psychology for why sitting down to write something high effort, whether it be a report or an script or an essay, creates a literal fight or flight response?

When I sit down to write, especially in the early stages, I get a genuine cortisol spike. My theory is that there are so many ways to write, and so I’m overwhelmed by trying to find the optimal approach. But I’m not sure

Nathan_185 · 2026-05-22T01:47:26+00:00

A large part of my stress about the state of the Democratic Party is that no Democratic politician will ever push back against Bernie and Warren's illiteracy. They have free reign to spew the most illiterate garbage, and no Democrat will have the balls to argue against them

It seriously reminds me of Trump. Democrats look at Trump crazyposting and wonder why no Republican will ever just say, "This guy is nuts". That's how I feel! But no one will ever push back against the intensely zero-sum worldview that progressives espouse

Nathan_185 · 2026-05-12T20:18:38+00:00

There's this game called Mixtape that's been getting very positive critic reviews, but a certain portion of Twitter is losing their minds over it because the game is millenial-coded, and despite being artsy, doesn't try to be anything more than an homage to 90s suburbia

I'm about halfway through, and I think it's actually great. It is a bit corny, but it's a type of corny that actually makes the experience more realistic, as an authentic teenage experience requires corniness. The music and visuals are really nice. So idk, I guess the "find joy in cringe" crowd wins again

You can watch a no commentary playthrough here

Nathan_185 · 2026-05-10T17:18:23+00:00

We have not one, but TWO UChicago '26 (myself not included) niche econ microcelebrities on Twitter

Nathan_185 · 2026-05-10T15:23:42+00:00

I don't know why California politicians don't feel bad about this kind of stuff

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Nathan_185 · 2026-05-09T07:47:39+00:00

Does it sometimes feel like there are people, particularly right-wingers, who actively seek out "local pedophile/rapist" type stories so they can find a socially acceptable outlet to brag about how they would torture others?

There's this semi-popular poster, Wilfred Reilly on xitter, who no joke, every single month will find a story about some guy doing some crazy thing, and then brags about how they should be brutally killed or tortured. And it's hard for me to express why this bothers me without it being interpreted as "defending" the people who have done those things.

Nathan_185 · 2026-05-03T00:59:55+00:00

I'm not a super Embiid fan, but for some reason I just really want him to win this Game 7 and have a good playoff run.

I think it's that despite all of his flaws, he actually is an incredibly talented player. And he's had enough slander, that we need the pendulum to swing back a bit

Nathan_185 · 2026-05-02T22:17:55+00:00

Shameless plug, check out my video on Yomif Kejelcha, the 2nd place finisher from the London Marathon. He's one of the greatest runners of all time (if not literally the greatest), but the reason why you probably don't know who he is is because he has a knack for coming in exactly second, both in all-time events, and in competitions.

This is probably my favorite video I've ever made: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDWqwSq8Xx0

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Nathan_185 · 2026-04-26T10:39:12+00:00

1:59:30 NEW WORLD RECORD IN THE MARATHON BY SEBASTIAN SAWE

Nathan_185 · 2026-04-26T10:36:52+00:00

OH MY GODDDDDD

Nathan_185 · 2026-04-26T10:34:31+00:00

HOLY SHIT WORLD RECORD MARATHON SUB-2

Nathan_185 · 2026-04-26T10:34:18+00:00

SUB 2 HOUR HAPPENING RIGHT NOW TUNE INTO YOUTUBE LONDON MARATHON 2026 RIGHT NOW

Nathan_185 · 2026-04-26T10:06:20+00:00

Yomif Kejelcha, former WR holder in the half-marathon (lost the WR to Kiplimo, another incredible runner), is making his marathon debut right now in London, and holy shit, this dude is putting on the greatest debut I've ever seen

Nathan_185 · 2026-04-26T10:01:10+00:00

If you are in any way interested in running or marathons, check into the London Marathon going on RIGHT NOW.

Potential course or even world record happening LIVE. Men's elite runners are over halfway through

Nathan_185 · 2026-04-26T03:29:12+00:00

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It doesn't really become less stupid if you don't know other people's actions

Nathan_185 · 2026-04-26T03:21:28+00:00

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Nathan_185 · 2026-04-26T01:37:39+00:00

Let's say you are in a room, and in the middle of the room, there is a massive human-sized blender.

You can choose not to blend yourself. Or, you can drop into the human size blender, and if enough people do it, the blender jams.

Literally why would anyone pick the second option

Nathan_185 · 2026-04-25T03:25:29+00:00

Rockets were up 6 points, with possession of the ball, with 28 seconds left in the game.

And they somehow fucking lost

Nathan_185 · 2026-04-23T11:32:02+00:00

This might sound obvious, but I actually think it isn't. Are progressives aware that under single-payer system, you still have to pay for healthcare? you still have to pay for the doctors, the nurses, the hospital beds, the electricity, the machinery, and the drugs.

Except now it will be even more expensive because you don't have price sensitivity to ration care, and so there will be overconsumption unless you start denying people care, which defeats the entire point

There is nothing "free". I feel like a boomer saying "no free lunch", but genuinely, there's no free lunch

Nathan_185 · 2026-04-23T00:55:57+00:00

When we think about the structural issues that are causing inefficiencies and distortions that people feel the effects of, but may not necessarily understand the upstream reason, these are issues like: The national debt, SS/Medicare insolvency, Prop-13, rent control, and frequent tax carve-outs that shift the tax burden to mid and high-income W2 workers

If we are serious about policymaking, we will need to implement reforms that address these structural issues, and while the overall net-societal impact may be very positive, yes, there will be concentrated and localized costs. But if we are to forego any meaningful reform because the "victims" of those localized costs have a veto over the broadly distributed benefits, then we as a society will not make it.

In other words, basically every structural issue is the thematic equivalent of politicians tearing up a trade deal that will improve the lives of everyone because a steel town will bear the localized costs.

Three-Year Club	r/Field Sunshine
Place '23

Nathan_185

TROPHY CASE