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Reedxon The Anti-Amazon Alliance

Also, according to the 2020 Tech survey via Vox Media, who is highly critical of tech:

91% have a favorable view of Amazon

73% trust Amazon with their information

70% say Amazon has a positive effect on society

81% would be disappointed if Amazon disappeared

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/2/21144680/verge-tech-survey...

Reedxon Pelosi: It's time to consider universal basic income pushed by Andrew Yang

Answers: https://www.yang2020.com/what-is-freedom-dividend-faq/

He also talked about the actual implementation a lot during the campaign.

Reedxon How to avoid Amazon: guide to online shopping

Some data to back that up.

91% with a favorable view of Amazon, and that's sourced via a media company:

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/2/21144680/verge-tech-survey...

Amazon the 2nd most trusted brand in America:

https://morningconsult.com/most-trusted-brands/

Reedxon Customers do not ask for software complexity

You listen to all your fans and they always say "You should add this" or "You should add that."
They never say "Take this out, take that out." They say "add more, add more!"

There's an old saying that I love about design, it's about Japanese gardening actually, that "Your garden is not complete until there is nothing else that you can remove." -Will Wright

Reedxon SF vs. Uber Eats: Service stops food delivery to Treasure Island citing fee cap

No, it's insulting.

SF meddled with no regard for the obvious effects of price controls. You would expect to see previously viable delivery options or radius reduced as a result.

Reedxon Career advice for people with bad luck

To dismiss as dangerous is silly. Here are the 12 rules.

Rule 1: Stand up straight with your shoulders back

Rule 2: Treat yourself like you would someone you are responsible for helping

Rule 3: Make friends with people who want the best for you

Rule 4: Compare yourself with who you were yesterday, not with who someone else is today

Rule 5: Do not let your children do anything that makes you dislike them

Rule 6: Set your house in perfect order before you criticise the world

Rule 7: Pursue what is meaningful (not what is expedient)

Rule 8: Tell the truth – or, at least, don’t lie

Rule 9: Assume that the person you are listening to might know something you don’t

Rule 10: Be precise in your speech

Rule 11: Do not bother children when they are skate-boarding

Rule 12: Pet a cat when you encounter one on the street

https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2018/01/jo...

Reedxon Career advice for people with bad luck

Ouch. Bad luck combined with an already risky venture...

> Even though their pizza isn't really as good as the fancy pizza place at the mall

They opened the "not best pizza option" and "nTH restaurant option".

Opening a restaurant is a good example of what to avoid if you want to be resilient in the face of bad luck. It's a fragile and brutal business even in the best of times.

Reedxon YouTube bans coronavirus-related content that directly contradicts WHO advice

None. There is no single source of truth.

Maybe they should just have a disclaimer on every video: "Watch this with a critical eye and a grain of salt. Perhaps a truckload of salt. Use your brain."

Reedxon Preliminary test results suggest 21% of NYC residents have Covid antibodies

Sweden didn't lockdown and might have herd immunity in weeks, according to their chief epidemiologist. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out in the long run.

“In major parts of Sweden, around Stockholm, we have reached a plateau (in new cases) and we’re already seeing the effect of herd immunity and in a few weeks’ time we’ll see even more of the effects of that. And in the rest of the country, the situation is stable,” Dr. Anders Tegnell, chief epidemiologist at Sweden’s Public Health Agency

Tegnell said sampling and modeling data indicated that 20% of Stockholm’s population is already immune to the virus, and that “in a few weeks’ time we might reach herd immunity and we believe that is why we’re seeing a slow decline in cases, in spite of sampling (testing for the coronavirus) more and more.”

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/22/no-lockdown-in-sweden-but-st...

Reedxon Magic Leap reportedly slashes jobs and steps away from consumer plans

I don't know, those could be genuine feelings. Like the first time using VR.

Now their TEDx talk on the other hand... speaking of silly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8J5BWL8oJY

To me that was the moment both Magic Leap and TED (sadly) jumped the shark.

Reedxon Roger Penrose – Is Mathematics Invented or Discovered? [video]

Same question also answered by

Max Tegmark: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybIxWQKZss8

Stephen Wolfram: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUCwtLTUPQ4

Steven Weinberg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpMk9G-ddiM

I particularly liked Max's answer who neatly makes the distinction between the structure (we discover) and the language (we invent). We're free to invent the names, but not the structures.

Reedxon L.A. Times to Furlough Workers as Ad Revenue ‘Nearly Eliminated’

There was a writer on Sam Harris' podcast (I think Matt Taibbi in this episode[1]) who said he was having a really hard time getting interest in any article that wasn't about Trump. Interest virtually disappeared in anything else. The 24/7 reality TV show is what gets attention and it's easy to produce.

So depressing.

1. https://samharris.org/podcasts/140-burning-fourth-estate/

Reedxon The Wolfram Physics Project

Eric says his theory is a work in progress, may be wrong and may even be fool's gold (his words). That's a ways off from claiming breakthrough. And I don't see him selling magic pills or some get rich quick scheme.

It seems to me he's just exploring ideas in the open. That's great. I don't see the problem.

Reedxon U.S. Postal Workers Were on the Front Lines Before. They Were Ignored

At the same token, we probably should rethink the USPS from first principles.

We want delivery to every address, but certainly there is a problem when ~50% of what's being delivered is junk mail[1]

1. https://facts.usps.com/table-facts/

Reedxon Amazon to add 75,000 more jobs amid coronavirus pandemic

His plan was to exempt such goods from VAT, so it wouldn't be regressive.

That said, I wasn't entirely convinced by the Freedom Dividend and wish it hadn't been the centerpiece. What I was more interested in and really appreciated was his overall approach and focus on problems and solutions. An actual problem solver and uniter, not someone perpetuating the WWE reality TV show that is our politics.

Reedxon Amazon to add 75,000 more jobs amid coronavirus pandemic

Really hoping we can get away from marketers. Andrew Yang gave it a good shot, but the DNC and media weren't kind:

https://www.axios.com/andrew-yang-2020-media-attention-acc26...

https://vocal.media/theSwamp/a-visual-history-of-the-yang-me...

The whole structure of the debates and 24/7 news coverage is more about reality TV than any kind of substance. It's geared for soundbites and drama. So someone like Yang doesn't fit into that, but shines in long form formats like podcasts.

Reedxon New nuclear reactor designs promise safe, clean electricity

> Germany is about to open a coal plant (partially) to take over from one of the nuclear power plants we're shutting down

When nuclear is shut down, it's often replaced by coal. See also Japan, with a lot of coal plants coming up:

"It is one unintended consequence of the Fukushima nuclear disaster almost a decade ago, which forced Japan to all but close its nuclear power program. Japan now plans to build as many as 22 new coal-burning power plants — one of the dirtiest sources of electricity — at 17 different sites in the next five years, just at a time when the world needs to slash carbon dioxide emissions to fight global warming."

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/03/climate/japan-coal-fukush...

And a lot of people aren't aware nuclear is the safest form of energy per TWh: https://ourworldindata.org/safest-sources-of-energy

Reedxon Social distancing is bringing drive-in theaters back to life

From their FAQ: "Movies will be variably priced with the most current films in the low thousands - no movie will be priced below $500. This will permit two viewings within a 36 hour period."

I was thinking $20, heh.

Reedxon Japan to fund firms to shift production out of China

We'd see some adaptations though.

Apple would make cheaper, less fancy versions.

A lot of people would stop upgrading every year or two. That's hugely wasteful anyway.

More people would buy used.

Reedxon Dwellito Mini Office

Actually the $31 basic power cord seems the most absurd to me.

Couldn't just make that $0 with a $9k purchase?

Reedxon For 11 Years, the Soviet Union Had No Weekends (2018)

Two working parents has only been a norm since the 80s:

https://www.pewresearch.org/ft_dual-income-households-1960-2...

Prior to that most households were single income.

Reedxon What concept would improve everybody's cognitive toolkit? Kayfabe (2011)

It's worth keeping in perspective. ~99% of his platform has been about other things.

Also, in the referenced video he says he wants to work on further developing the theory now. It's not complete and doesn't claim that it'll work. He says repeatedly that it may be wrong, even pointing out it could be fools gold. He also notes he's not a physicist and doesn't have all the necessary skills.

He's openly questioning, starting to present an idea and working on it.

At this point it doesn't strike me charlatan-like and I don't see how it's dangerous given all of his disclaimers... just seems like an outsider taking an unorthodox approach.

Reedxon Coronavirus and Credibility

Yes, that's not what I was implying though (or at least didn't mean to). I meant they can't both be right all the time. The point being that fans think their side is always right and the other always wrong. When the reality is their side is sometimes right and sometimes wrong.

Certainly in any specific dispute one may be correct. Or both partially correct. Or both wrong. And one may be better or worse than the other in sum.

Reedxon Coronavirus and Credibility

Dismissing it as "both sideism" just allows mediocrity to thrive. On both sides, as it happens. It's an endless loop of "they're the problem, not us". Deflecting any responsibility and avoiding self-reflection. Nothing changes or improves as a result.

Why not demand better on all fronts? None of the aforementioned media are doing grade A work.

Reedxon Coronavirus and Credibility

Do you think the Red Sox are not like the Yankees?

They're just different teams playing the same game.

Fans always defend their team and vilify the other. Always. With every dispute they're able to convince themselves it's the other side that are the cheaters. They can't both be right, but yet each side feels equally certain of their position.

Reedxon Three questions that keep me up at night

1. Are you really the head of the Kwik-E-Mart?

2. Really?!

3. You?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiDY2nXVLZ0

Reedxon Hospitals Tell Doctors They’ll Be Fired If They Speak Out About Lack of Gear

There's also this: "Many hospitals bar doctors and other staff members from wearing protective masks in public areas. Some have been disciplined for pushing back."

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/31/health/hospitals-coronavi...

How do we put a swift end to this nonsense? Surely the public will be overwhelmingly on the side of doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers.

Reedxon Remote Work Can (and Does) Boost Employee Productivity

Yeah, absolute statements about this (and many things) are rather silly. It depends on so many variables - office setup/environment, home setup/env, type of work, personality, coworkers, commute distance, etc.

Everyone will have to figure out what works best for their particular situation. For some that'll be remote, for some office and for others a mix of the two.

I think the important thing is for companies to consider the options in a thoughtful, big picture way. Also not assume that current remote productivity is indicative of remote work during non-pandemic times, heh.

Reedxon Amazon fires worker who led strike over virus

I think we should lean toward the workers, take them seriously and investigate. But it's unwise to go beyond the facts. If claims turn out to be false it'll damage the believability of victims in the future. Being prudent is necessary to have believability tilted in their direction over the long term.

Reedxon CDC Weighs Advising Everyone to Wear a Mask

"masks don't work" and "save them for health workers" was always nonsensical and covering for the fact we had not prepared for a known threat. I don't just mean Wuhan in January, but pandemics generally were a known problem. It's not a black swan event. I get the "noble lie" argument considering the situation we found ourselves in, but that has long term consequences, seeds confusion and erosion of trust.

Asian countries have shown the way here. Let's get moving on adopting social norms and habits around mask usage.