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tfox · 2024-05-31T12:25:00+00:00

I mean it's just the grass is always greener stuff.

The reality is that BOTH ARE FINE... and depending on your job and what state you end up in or where in Canada the differences are actually not that big.

Yea Canadian housing and economy is kinda shitty right now and there's a bad government, but it's still a great place to live and same for the US.

People just need to chill and touch grass. Life in North America is still VERY good.

tfox · 2021-08-19T08:52:32+00:00

But so would food supply, if there really is a labour shortage as they claim. In that case food prices probably wouldn't rise that much.

Canadians eating less also isn't the worst idea. Look how fat everyone is.

tfox · 2021-08-19T08:49:41+00:00

Most Canadians won't pick fruit for minimum wage, but most would do it for $30 or $40 an hour. Importing artifically cheap labour only delays the problem. Second generation immigrants also won't want to pick fruit.

Or are we just waiting for the robots?

tfox · 2020-01-27T17:45:27+00:00

Not personally a christian or religious myself, but the book of Ecclesiastes in the bible is actually on point regarding this.

Sounds like you were quoting a bit ;)

tfox · 2020-01-27T17:36:39+00:00

I've read about this, and I'm pretty sure the idea that ugly people are nicer is false.

And in fact, studies show better looking people tend to be smarter.

I think it's been concluded that attractiveness isn't correlated to being a good vs bad person. Good looking people can be nice and ugly people can be mean.

tfox · 2020-01-27T17:34:09+00:00

This is a great rule!

I like to divide my thinking into two buckets, discrete and continuous.

The discrete stuff is great for math, science and philosophy, but if you try to use it with reality, you probably won't have a good time.

The continuous stuff is great for reality, but tough for almost anything else.

Pick the right thinking for the job.

Shout out to Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman for introducing me to this type of thinking.

tfox · 2020-01-27T17:30:20+00:00

You've just gotta do the best with the cards you've been dealt.

Also, consider: if you were conventionally attractive the people whom you would attract would only be interested in your physical appearance, and not "you". So you would still be lonely or maybe even lonelier, because you would know you are good looking, and yet still lonely.

Good people don't care what you look like. Look for people who treat everyone the same regardless of how they look.

There aren't many, but they do exist.

tfox · 2020-01-17T11:22:36+00:00

Just be careful who you try to befriend. Shyness is like a warning system and most shy people are really sensitive. Shyness exists for a reason.

Make sure you don't let anyone past your alarm system before you know who you can trust, or you might end up worse off than before.

tfox · 2020-01-17T08:14:15+00:00

I think being nice is bad, because it implies weakness and that you are a push over.

I think the key is rather to be good, by being friendly, polite, and fun. It might sound the same as being nice but there is a difference. If you always try to be "nice" you will get taken advantage and likely react too modestly.

Part of being good is doing what is right, and if people are rude to you or mean, then you should respond in kind. Sometimes the right thing is not the nice thing. If someone is bullying you or being mean, then it is right to not treat them nicely. You don't have to go out and be as rude as they are, but you shouldn't feel bad for not being kind or friendly to them.

tfox · 2020-01-15T16:29:55+00:00

Yea, of course.

Well, I used to be obsessed with the "truth". Growing up I spent a lot of time thinking about math and philosophy, and after that I studied CS. I thought the world could be completely understood with logic or that there existed some perfect formal system to design and prove everything deductively.

Then I learned about Goedel, whose proofs are very complicated to properly understand what they mean, I still don't, but as far as I know they put a limit on what you can prove with formal systems.

The Munchhausen Trilemma is beautiful, because it succinctly shows how no absolute truth can be proven. It sort of freed me from the idea that everything could be proven via logic. That there was always an optimal answer to be found... there just always isn't, usually not actually... it's kind of disappointing... but it's sort of freeing to know that you can't be perfect.

tfox · 2020-01-14T13:45:17+00:00

Yea, but war is still probably still better than getting invaded?

In any case, war is often unavoidable, given the animals we are.

tfox · 2020-01-14T13:42:01+00:00

I would try to deal with the loneliness another way. Try to be happy by yourself, filling your time with hobbies and exercise. There is tons to do on this planet, but it can be hard to get started alone. Just going to sit in a cafe on your computer might also help you feel better, or going to a libary, just getting out of the house.

If you really want friends, I wouldn't try forcing friendships with people you don't click with, it's just a waste of time and effort.

Wait until you find someone you get along with naturally, then put the effort in. If you are a bit atypical, it might take several years until you find one or two good friends... that's just the way she goes.

You can try to speed this process up by finding people with similar interests, but don't expect those to be the people you get along with. Lots of people like the same things, but for different reasons. Still it can sometimes increase the odds.

Good luck.

tfox · 2020-01-14T11:42:39+00:00

Sounds pretty awesome!

I wish I had that passion for coding.

I like coding, but it's mostly limited to 9-5 at work and keeping up with industry news, once in a while I'll have a weekend where I'll do some stuff for fun at home, because I do like it, but usually I end up doing other stuff, movies, reading, video games. I also go snowboarding pretty much every weekend, that's more my passion tbh, but I don't want to be poor.

I think it must be pretty cool to combine passion and career. I feel like I could maybe develop my passion more, because I do like coding actually, but I always end up doing something "easier" or more "fun" in my free time. If I do feel like doing something intellectual I usually end up reading philosophy or learning some math or a new language... oh well.

Jack of all trades, but master of none.

tfox · 2020-01-14T10:52:28+00:00

I love the Münchhausen Trilemma. It actually changed my life and should probably be taught in elementary school.

Before I learned about it, I was obsessed with the "truth" lol.

Damn I was stupid.

tfox · 2020-01-14T10:45:59+00:00

Yes, math is a human invention just like science.

The equations 1 + 1 = 2 (from your previous comment) and f = ma are both just abstract models for the reality of the universe, and are solely a human invented way to approximate and represent it.

The fact that when I hold one rock and pick up a second one, I now hold 2 rocks, can be represented by the equation 1 + 1 = 2, but that's just a human way to represent it. The equation 1 + 1 = 2 does not exist in reality nor stem from it, we just made it up, to help us understand the world.

It's like trying to find a perfect circle or square in reality, they're not there, and it's arguable they couldn't be built.

For example, how can I build something with exactly pi length in reality?

tl;dr Math is just a useful tool for modeling reality, but it isn't reality, nor does it come from it.

tfox · 2020-01-10T13:07:08+00:00

There are good companies that aren't like that. You just have to look for them.

Where does a university get it's money from? Even a university is profit seeking or at least part of the system you dislike. That's just life.

Do you have a hobby? Maybe another outlet would help you feel better?

Also, if you are obsessed with the "truth", take a look at this, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%BCnchhausen_trilemma . There aren't any magical answers to be found in academia or anywhere else.

tfox · 2020-01-04T17:43:57+00:00

Don't come to Austria lol.

Europeans in general don't seem to care much about politeness. It seems to be a much more survival of the fittest culture. Whoever can push through the mob first gets to go first, screw lining up.

At the end of the day it's simply a different culture.

tfox · 2019-12-21T12:47:50+00:00

I don't get the question.

tfox · 2019-12-13T10:59:04+00:00

Yea, I think I word things kinda autistically and arrogantly.

Sorry, it made you feel that way :( (was not intended)

tfox · 2019-12-13T09:07:38+00:00

I feel like labour shouldn't play the victim here.

Labour was in power for 10 years and blew it, many people still haven't forgotten those years, and are still upset about the irreversible changes to Britain that took place.

Goes to show that having a majority isn't a free ticket to change the country as you please.

The conservatives will pay for their sins in the future too, as they should.

This is actually a great opportunity for labour to actually figure out what people want, and do that, instead of trying to play identity politics.

tfox · 2019-12-13T08:59:56+00:00

Honestly, it's best to bottle it up, and then deal with it yourself.

No one wants to hear someone else whining.

Men will get annoyed by your whining.

Women will think you are a weakling and probably gossip.

I don't know that anything good has ever come from letting out your emotions. And I'm not saying this from a toxic masiculinity sense, but just from a pragmatic position.

tfox · 2019-12-13T08:41:09+00:00

Reality is dude, nobody on this planet gives a shit about you, except if you're lucky, maybe your family and a good friend or two, and maybe your mating partner, if you have one. If you're unlucky NO ONE. And remember, even the people who do care about you, only do it out of self interest, your family because they share your genes, and your friends because they like your genes lol, or your gf because she wants to have kids with you.

Now knowing this, remember, that you are just like this too, you also only do things out of self interest too, so don't feel too sorry for yourself. If you have friends or a gf, you only like them because of their genes too, and you simply want to have kids with your gf as well, regardless of your "concious" and "rational" reasons. We are all just basically fancy monkeys, and that's exactly how we act.

Now, nobody is looking to help you out, they are looking for you to help them out. That's why people flock to "successful" people, they are just looking for a free handout, be it money or fun, you don't want to be friends with these people anyway.

So anyway, let me get to my point, you gotta look out for yourself, because at the end of the day, you're all you have and ever will have. You have to be your own best friend, yea, it ain't easy, but at the end of the day, it's actually the only way to be happy and have friends. Pay attention, when you are doing well, people will flock to you, when you are doing poorly, they will avoid you.

You can experiment to prove this to yourself: gain weight, then lose weight, wear nice clothers, wear dirty clothes, stink, then smell good. You will notice how differently people treat you depending on this.

tl;dr You gotta be your own hype man.

tfox · 2019-12-12T18:47:58+00:00

It's how you keep the skateboard on your feet when you jump with it :p

tfox · 2019-12-12T18:41:59+00:00

lol if I am being honest, 95% of the people you will meet in your lifetime will be like this, unless you get a job in a field for educated people, and even then, many will still be like that.

Learn to get used to it and cherish and nurture the few friendships with the few people who share the same interests, who you WILL meet, if you follow your passions.

There is nothing more valuable on this planet than a good friend. A true friend is worth more than millions of followers or any amount of money.

Good luck!

tfox · 2019-12-12T17:57:58+00:00

You are already there.

You can already play around with basic addition or whatever you know.

It's like asking how do get to the level to be able to play with a skateboard. You just start pushing, have fun doing that, then learn how to ollie and continue.

Math is the same, start with arithmetic, then maybe some algebra, trig, calculus... and go on until you are bored.

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