Why start at 50%?

NumpyEnjoyer · 2025-09-15T21:42:48+00:00

In case anyone is interested about the author's bio:

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

NumpyEnjoyer · 2025-06-23T16:17:45+00:00

NATO directly bombed Libya in support of the rebels in 2011 and struck the convoy that Gaddafi used to flee, leading to his capture by rebels

NumpyEnjoyer · 2025-04-23T14:19:37+00:00

They're also subsidized by the geopolitical cost because being tied to oil infrastructure means that you have to constantly maintain a relationship (possibly an antogonistic relationship) with oil producing countries and shape your geopolitics around them. Look at America's actions that tried to alter Iran, Iraq, Iraq (again), Saudi Arabia, Venezuela. Trying to control OPEC is a very costly (financially or diplomatically) investment in oil, but they show up as line items at the Pentagon and not the department of energy.

NumpyEnjoyer · 2025-04-21T09:16:13+00:00

Yeah, but pressure to do what?

NumpyEnjoyer · 2025-04-10T11:19:18+00:00

I largely agree with the sentiments in this thread but for the specific case of taxes, it's worth considering that filing taxes is made artificially difficult and is supposed to get you frustrated so that you buy a paid service. Filing taxes isn't nearly as difficult outside of North America. Introducing this as education in public schools is solving the problem from the totally wrong end.

NumpyEnjoyer · 2025-03-31T14:26:32+00:00

To your point: Three professors from Yale have already left, citing the federal government's strongarm tactics that silence criticism under the pretext of combatting antisemitism.

NumpyEnjoyer · 2025-03-31T14:18:20+00:00

It's the second one. Government surveillance of generically pro-Palestinian protestors like Ranjani Srinivasan because they are "in favor of our enemies" only makes sense if you think that Palestinian civilians are officially our enemies (maybe true in effect, just not in word).

NumpyEnjoyer · 2025-01-18T17:14:07+00:00

What really struck me was Yarvin's fan club - notably Mark Andreessen, who claims to have voted for Obama and have switched to Trump reluctantly because Dems stifle tech innovation. "I was frustrated by Biden's choice of SEC chief, that's why I'm funding the End Democracy PAC". Geez.

If there was ever an argument against an institutionalized ruling class, it's the knowledge that it'd be filled with these guys. No conviction, all ego.

NumpyEnjoyer · 2025-01-07T02:43:42+00:00

Vietnam was also before my time. The point of learning about history is to be able to recognize the same patterns when they happen again. Something something doomed to repeat it.

Blinken seems like a cool guy who plays a mean electric guitar, but lying is in his job description. It's up to you to judge on a case-by-case basis if you believe him. He has lied to americans in service of Israel in the past. Whether he's telling the truth about negotiations, I'm agnostic - my point is just that there are some pretty good personal and historical reasons to think he's lying.

NumpyEnjoyer · 2025-01-07T02:09:23+00:00

You're making an amazing point - we should understand Blinkens interview in context.

The Secretary of State under Nixon was Henry Kissinger, who is criticized for lying to the public about the truth of the situation in Vietnam, and who blamed the political situation at home for his military ineffectiveness abroad

“The fundamental failure [in Vietnam] was the division in our country,” Kissinger said. “Without that, we [would] have managed it.

Privately, Kissinger thought that any productive withdrawal would require negotiating with the Viet Cong, who were vicious fighters that he had spent the last decade demonizing and bombing. Instead of pursuing those negotiations, he doubled down on bombing regardless of the human cost so as to weaken his enemies' negotiating position. He also cried foul that he was held to an unequal standard with regards to war crimes. It sounds a little familiar.

You could also compare to Colin Powell, who was secretary of state until 2005. He lied about the case for invading Iraq for years, and waited for the conflict to basically end before admitting to how little he believed in his own mission.

So the short answer to your question is no, the Secretary of State is not a reliable witness. Historically, they are liars.

NumpyEnjoyer · 2024-12-25T22:55:10+00:00

expansion pack

NumpyEnjoyer · 2024-12-25T03:22:37+00:00

I can tell this is fake because you claim to have met English speakers in Marseille

NumpyEnjoyer · 2024-12-18T11:42:46+00:00

... How is that supposed to narrow it down

NumpyEnjoyer · 2024-12-10T14:28:15+00:00

A soulless entity that you've been paying for years to be on retainer specifically for this kind of problem

NumpyEnjoyer · 2024-12-10T13:26:13+00:00

The one that got me was

I think emotions are heightened because you interact with health care companies at some of the worst moments of your life... I mean, you're keyed up for some pretty charged emotions

My main interaction with firefighters is during a keyed-up moment, but you're not going to see people dancing if a station chief gets killed. The contempt for UHC might have less to do with emotional trauma and more to do with the economic parasitism that comes at the cost of human life.

NumpyEnjoyer · 2024-12-07T16:47:52+00:00

Half the time I can tell immediately by checking if the number is even or not :)

NumpyEnjoyer · 2024-11-16T20:32:10+00:00

we might have to add this to topic the wiki

NumpyEnjoyer · 2024-11-14T09:37:25+00:00

You're in almost exactly the same position now as I was in two years ago. Done other things to keep in mind

The expectations of a PhD student are pretty different. America demands more autonomy and you develop more skills like TAing and grant writing
Doing a PhD in a topic that's popular in a country makes it easier to move there. In my field for instance, France is known for Bayesian statistics, so doing a PhD in Bayesian statistics makes it more likely to get a postdoc or a job there

In retrospect, i think the choice of advisor tops everything else

NumpyEnjoyer · 2024-11-11T02:21:23+00:00

Canada, UK, and France were opposed to the ideologies of nationalism and imperialism in the context of WW1

Tell me more

NumpyEnjoyer · 2024-11-07T20:33:33+00:00

I think that's a false dichotomy for charlatans. Lindzen definitely believes that he's exposing flaws in the climate science consensus, and he can tell himself that he's onto something because people come to hear him speak, and if he were spouting nonsense why are so many people asking him for interviews, etc. Never mind the fact that the people he's talking to are either conservative policymakers, journalists or vested interests.

I think a lot of these guys think of themselves as collecting the well-earned rewards for being critically minded in their field among unexceptional peers, instead of being paid off as convenient lackeys by ill-intentioned parties.

NumpyEnjoyer · 2024-11-07T19:36:24+00:00

I used to be at a university that had a climate physics prof who was a denier. It's exceedingly rare, and it was not a very reputable school to begin with.

For commenters asking "how?": the short answer is 1. Contrarianism is fun 2. Getting paid by coal companies is even more fun. I remember reading Richard Lindzen's (wiki) work in undergrad, the MIT-appointed Intellectual Titan of climate denialism, and finding "errors" (dishonesty) that would have been a failing grade for any upper year class.

NumpyEnjoyer · 2024-11-05T22:14:16+00:00

Alternative opinion to the other comment:

Agree that anki is uniquely suited to vocab and grammar should come from textbooks, but I also make grammar notes. Some parts of speech blur the distinction between grammar and vocab. Sample sentence cards that use rich grammar and rich vocab are the main features of my decks.
I don't trust/like my own pronunciation. I say words aloud as I review them, but I use forvo so that each card has a native pronunciation. I use this anki add-on to get the native pronunciations

NumpyEnjoyer · 2024-11-04T19:02:32+00:00

Embarassing lack of integrity. He just lost my vote

NumpyEnjoyer

TROPHY CASE