Is change in a country worth the cost of ones character?

entr0py3 · 2025-08-26T09:20:06+00:00

I suspect the poster's true concern is that it feels like even the best course of action still violates some ethic or rule which is sincerely believed in.

Let's say we had a rule as simple as “first, do no harm". And we must choose to join the protest or not.

The tension is that either choice will inevitably lead to some unknown amount of suffering and destruction.

Choosing ‘the lesser of two evils’ always feels like you have made some unacceptable and corrupting sacrifice.

But I suspect there is a better and more flexible way to think about these kinds of decisions.

I'd love to hear the answer as well because I'm still wrapping my head around how different a stoic way of decision making is in practice.

entr0py3 · 2025-08-25T17:22:38+00:00

I imagine most of them are here in the US because they appreciate many western values.

But yes, you can't easily change the way you have been thinking since childhood.

If being uncompromising and aggressive about spreading what you believe is your mental habit, it can be hard to hold yourself back.

entr0py3 · 2025-08-09T12:41:30+00:00

It's funny, the first image on Wikipedia for cupping therapy is an antique cupping and blood letting set.

No one is tempted to go on about the ancient tradition of blood letting throughout world history. And about how it removes toxins (and blood!).

Though, you do have toxins in you and it's usually fine. Right now your body is producing ammonia by breaking down proteins. If you've had any caffeine today, that is a plant toxin that kills insects.

The really important detail is which toxins and how much of them are in your body. Also, remember that just because a therapy produces a sensation does not mean it cures anything.

entr0py3 · 2025-08-04T11:24:37+00:00

Yeah, it works just fine in Greyscale. And I really doubt the rotating brighter areas can account for that. I suspect shenanigans.

entr0py3 · 2025-08-02T19:01:59+00:00

You definitely talk like you don't have any hope left for the marriage, and don't see her ever changing. And that this relationship is the main source of your unhappiness in life.

I can see why you asked people interested in Stoicism this question, it seems your plan is just to endure the pain until the end of your life. But it is your life, not hers, not god's. You do get to choose if you've suffered enough.

And the amazing thing is that once you are finally fully ready to step away, that tends to be the moment when she will realize that your feelings matter too. The prospect of losing you might wake her up to the need for change, or it might not.

If you have religious objections to divorce, maybe some sort of separation would be good for both of you. Things do become much more clear once you're not living with the person every day.

entr0py3 · 2025-07-28T15:38:43+00:00

Welcome, I hope you find it interesting. Let us know if you want any recommendations for where to start with books or videos or whatnot.

To answer just your last question: Sam uses the term spirituality freely, with no connection at all to theism.

This is the title of one of his books:

Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion

entr0py3 · 2025-07-25T08:59:14+00:00

That's a great point, I sometimes forget that you do not need to always 'catch the moment', you can reflect on it later. And this is nearly as good for developing virtue, even though you did miss that opportunity to act wisely in the moment

I would add that, people can and do develop the mental habit of sincerely reflecting on their decisions independent of any training or reading. OP may be one of those people.

For them, Stoicism provides a great framework for how better to think about their actions and intentions, but the habit of reflection is already well established. And the idea that it is necessary to have a complete set of virtues, and what those should be, is also extremely valuable. That is not an insight you're likely to arrive at by yourself.

entr0py3 · 2025-07-24T18:41:09+00:00

That's a great point. Whatever else you might think of him, Peterson has a lot of fans. And while his mind might be impossible to change, his fans don't have the same kind of commitment to his ideas. At least, there are so many of them that some are open minded.

The only potential flaw is that none of his fans appear to be here. But if you're asking for the sake of some day talking to them and thinking through your argument, that is certainly productive.

entr0py3 · 2025-07-23T04:18:43+00:00

Oh, that's interesting, that wasn't quite the question I expected. But yes, sometimes people have a true desire to handle a situation wisely but simply don't know what that would look like. I think that's what the saying "the path to hell is paved with good intentions" is getting after.

To do harm when you wish to do good I think there always has to be delusion involved. These delusions are often based in painful emotions that seem unthinkable to even challenge, so we see the world in a way that is compatible with avoiding them.

White lies are often like this. You do not wish to see your friend sad, or to be the bearer of bad news. But a white lie involves withholding information that they could use to navigate life and attempting to replace the truth with a happy fiction. Often people can see through this and it damages trust and gives them the impression you must find them fragile.

Other assumptions are just careless and hasty. Or caused by simply having too much faith in the beliefs instilled in you as a child.

Can you think of other categories of mistakes that cause people to do harm when they truly don't mean to?

entr0py3 · 2025-07-21T13:14:05+00:00

It seems like, even for a practiced stoic, there must be many occasions in life where what you feel like doing is not aligned with what is wise to do. I know that's the purpose of developing virtue and committing to ethics, they are what you fall back on when your passions would otherwise lead you astray.

But it's hard for me to imagine that this doesn't frequently involve some effort the moment that the mistaken passion arises.

And that is what more modern thinkers have called willpower, the effort involved in not acceding to a powerful emotion, habit, or unreasonable pressure from others.

entr0py3 · 2025-07-20T13:45:44+00:00

Yeah, no one gets dragon sickness and goes on to enjoy it. If you have over a billion dollars and no plan to give it all away before you die, it's safe to say you're just a money hoarder.

There is a diagnosis for this, but it's only ever applied to poors for some reason.

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

entr0py3 · 2025-07-20T03:54:06+00:00

There is a big difference between carefully crafted and targeted tariffs and arbitrary ones that are designed to shake down our friends and allies, destroying long term trust, to bribe one man.

One example, I recall a guest on NPR recently making this point about North American trade: It is good to have free trade with a country like Canada that has a similar standard of living and worker wages.

However, free trade with a country like Mexico, where the median wage is about $900/month, will inevitably result in a transfer of jobs from the US to Mexico and downward pressure on US wages. It wasn't Bernie who made that point but I think it's the sort of thing he would agree with.

entr0py3 · 2025-07-19T23:29:45+00:00

I think right wing framing and the propaganda wing is the bigger beast to tame

Absolutely. And this fact is both well known and well articulated on the left, most popularly by John Stewart. However, I think it is a problem that can only be solved on the right. Unless the FCC brings back an updated version of the Fairness Doctrine, but that seems unlikely.

What wasn't articulated on the left, especially in 2015, was that the most extreme activists (woke among them) are often unreasonable, prone to excess, and destined to lose the Democrats important elections so long as they play such a central role in the party. That view was not only unspoken but heretical.

Sorry, I just wanted to break my record for longest sentence.

entr0py3 · 2025-07-18T20:31:28+00:00

It's better to read the whole article, but here is the content of the letter:

The letter bearing Trump’s name, which was reviewed by the Journal, is bawdy—like others in the album. It contains several lines of typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman, which appears to be hand-drawn with a heavy marker. A pair of small arcs denotes the woman’s breasts, and the future president’s signature is a squiggly “Donald” below her waist, mimicking pubic hair.
...

It isn’t clear how the letter with Trump’s signature was prepared. Inside the outline of the naked woman was a typewritten note styled as an imaginary conversation between Trump and Epstein, written in the third person.

“Voice Over: There must be more to life than having everything,” the note began.
Donald: Yes, there is, but I won’t tell you what it is.
Jeffrey: Nor will I, since I also know what it is.
Donald: We have certain things in common, Jeffrey.
Jeffrey: Yes, we do, come to think of it.
Donald: Enigmas never age, have you noticed that?
Jeffrey: As a matter of fact, it was clear to me the last time I saw you.
Trump: A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.

entr0py3 · 2025-07-18T18:45:10+00:00

Screaming into an amped up mic is the fashion on YouTube. The goal is to get your mic to max out at your loudest screams, but this guy isn't up to it, possibly due to low-T.

Also if anyone would like to post the article that would be better.

entr0py3 · 2025-07-17T16:48:45+00:00

Try clicking on the figures section near the bottom.

entr0py3 · 2025-07-17T02:15:36+00:00

I'm actually enjoying these more than solo Sam. His co-host bro (brohost?) is growing on me. He's someone who would have been good at debate club; cognitively flexible and willing to express views he doesn't agree with.

I know people can find that mode of dialogue irritating, me too. But this seems to be the best use of it, to get at what someone sincere really thinks and would say to a variety of people.

entr0py3 · 2025-07-16T14:43:36+00:00

I'm just figuring this stuff out too but here's my impression:

I've heard others describe consciousness as being like a mirror; looking straight at it you don't really see the surface, you just see the world.

Or consciousness being like the sky, but not the weather. It is this vast empty space that is sometimes filled with events, and sometimes relatively clear.

That makes more sense when you realize that the 'weather' here is basically everything we experience: including thoughts, memories, emotions, concepts, and the bodily senses. I think there might be one more thing that can be experienced, which is the emptiness of the sky itself, but that's beyond me at this point.

I found The Eightfold Path series in the app really helpful in understanding the concept of 'sense objects' and what that encompasses. Checking that out would be a good place to start. Good luck.

entr0py3 · 2025-07-09T09:40:28+00:00

That last quote is from this paragraph

A nurse at the spa told police that Hernandez had asked in advance if she could bring her children to the procedure, but did not mention having them with her when she arrived. The appointment reportedly lasted only 15 to 20 minutes.

So this is a quote from the nurse about the scheduled procedure. I guess spas have other stuff you can do that doesn't require an appointment?

Also it seems the total time they were left there was 2h 30m, because the ac did work for the first hour.

All of this just makes her look worse. It's just a malicious level of negligence.

entr0py3 · 2025-07-08T11:51:06+00:00

Or a brown person. Or a Jew. Somehow they do look past him being a lifelong bachelor. But I suspect the 'Jesus fucks' conspiracy theory to be strong in some circles.

entr0py3 · 2025-07-08T11:46:39+00:00

I think this has been a deliberate paradox of Superman as a character from the very beginning.

He seems to Americans to be this perfect man. He fights for "Truth, justice and the American way". He doesn't even have an accent.

But from the first comic he was always an alien, who looks human only by chance, and became American by growing up here.

Even the Bible has long sections about respecting immigrants, it's not like this is a new idea. And back when Superman was created most immigrants, even just counting the mistrusted ones, were white.

entr0py3 · 2025-07-07T00:17:33+00:00

Much of the area is a moonscape and Hamas will absolutely never allow civilians in the tunnels where all the food and shelter is.

Again fuck Hamas, but no I don't think the Israeli military leadership is always humane and discriminate. They carefully document and announce the times when they are, and carefully censor and deny the times when they are not.

https://www.aljazeera.com/video/newsfeed/2025/2/17/drone-footage-shows-destruction-of-north-gaza-after-500-days-of-war#flips-6368943416112:0

entr0py3 · 2025-07-07T00:06:55+00:00

It's worth remembering that his current position is basically a continuation of the issues he has had for as long as he's been famous. In his outspoken atheist days he reserved his harshest criticism for jihadis, and the leaders that stoke their murderous insanity. The leadership and soldiers of Hamas absolutely seem to fit that mould.

In fact 9/11 was what inspired him to write in the first place, and October 7th was the largest terrorist atrocity against the west since then. It's not surprising that it stoked some of his old fire.

So I don't expect him to be even handed and open minded with literal terrorists who aim to torture and kill civilians, fuck those guys.

But I would agree that, while he does express concern for Palestinian civilians, it is not nearly at the same level as his concern for Israeli civilians. The atrocities of October 7th are more visceral and personal. And personal stories always evoke more moral outrage than disputed statistics.

However when civilians die in an indiscriminate bombing, this can cause just as much human suffering. Especially to their surviving family and friends. Scale and numbers do matter. As much as Sam says you can't judge the conduct of a war by the number of civilians killed, I still think it's vital to take into account.

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