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truro

79 karma · joined December 8, 2019

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truro··on I Don't Want to Interact with Stochastic Parrots
"...ven reading LLM-slop is less tiresome, then reading..." You meant "than."
truro··on Ask HN: Should the Only Christian Have to Work on Christmas Day
If your employer slaps you on your cheek, offer the other one.
truro··on Study finds mRNA vaccine direct genomic integration event
Main page of the International Journal of Innovative Research in Medical Science has a spelling error. Not an important study or an important "journal."
truro··on Virgina Data Center Sales and Use Tax Exemption Information Packet [pdf]
https://www.vedp.org/search?keys=data+center
truro··on Imgburn.com spread malware (sombody bought mirror website)
https://forum.imgburn.com/topic/25480-how-to-delete-the-adwa...
truro··on Imgburn.com spread malware (sombody bought mirror website)
Proof? Show your work.
truro··on Aliens Cause Global Warming – Michael Crichton [pdf]
Pseudoscience has run amok.
truro··on Ask HN: How do you develop and cultivate your critical thinking?
Not thinking has never worked well.
truro··on Ask HN: How do you develop and cultivate your critical thinking?
First- and second-level American History. Each class succeeding year, I suspect, some of the students took the course just to sit in on the fallacies section. We used David Hackett Fischer's Historian's Fallacies and Copi's text to narrow some of the fallacies more precisely to history throughout the history course.
truro··on Ask HN: How do you develop and cultivate your critical thinking?
I taught Informal and formal fallacies as part of my history classes. While formal and informal fallacies are an important first step, you should consider taking a collegiate-level logic course. Of course, one may study on his own, if you can focus and set aside time to do so; but a rigorous classroom course improves one's ability to transfer the nuances of logic to real life.
truro··on Reading dies in complexity: Online news consumers prefer simple writing
Given that 60% of the American population reads at eight-grade level or below, and that 20% of the American population is illiterate, this is no surprise.
truro··on Any descent alternatives to Grammarly premium?
Get a good grammar textbook (several available to buy) or buy the Chicago Manual of Style. These will help you learn grammar, spelling, and puncuation instead of relying on software.
truro··on Meet Elon Musk, unassuming inventor of internet success story [pdf]
Rock Spiders. Be a dull world without 'em.
truro··on I am plain stupid. Is there anyway to change that?
Your writing skills are excellent, thoughtful, and quite succinct, which is significant. Stupid doesn't know how to write well, let alone put thoughts down meaningfully.
truro··on Two thirds of young people say work damages their mental health
The poor, poor things.
truro··on Two thirds of young people say work damages their mental health
Poor, poor things.
truro··on We should not be celebrating marijuana use
All studies mentioned in the article are very small; this assumes, of course, they are accurate, which most studies are not. (https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/jo...)
truro··on Ask HN: Anyone else suddenly become a 'prepper'?
In the words of Robert F. Kennedy: "Those who survive will envy the dead."
truro··on Ask HN: Books Worth Rereading Periodically?
Deschooling Society - Ivan Illich One-Dimensional Man - Herbert Marcuse Tools for Conviviality - Ivan Illich On Liberty - J. S. Mill The Annals - Tacitus The Histories - Tacitus
truro··on Ask HN: People who are financially independent, what does your day look like?
Read (a lot), write (a good bit), exercise for an hour a day, work in the garden, feed and watch birds, think, and enjoy leaving work behind.
truro··on [dead]
Guy writes like he's in high school. Where can I buy tickets to this "end of the world" thing?
truro··on I don't have crippling Anxiety, but Anxiety is crippling me
It's probably quaint to this generation, but decades ago, I learned how to manage (not eliminate) fear, worry, and anxiety by reading Dale Carnegie's How to Stop Worrying and Start Living. It's still published. Though his anecdotes are from the thirties and forties, it's a fun read. It worked for me.
truro··on Trump and Cesar – The Roots of Populsim
Again, saving the middle class is myopic at best. There are prevailing forces beyond the reach of a middle class salvation narrative.

You are not considering economic and social issues, political and national issues, legal issues promoted by a new conservative court, and other nations actively working to undermine the republic--all of which are not controlled by a middle class, despite the romantic idea that they somehow are.

truro··on Trump and Cesar – The Roots of Populsim
Your suggested analysis is a bit superficial. Many similarities to the decline of the Roman empire certainly can be aligned with the American empire; many cannot. I would suggest the mood of alignment exists, instead of specifics. Your "Trump-Julius" alignment is too contrived. Panem et circenses would be better aligned with food stamps and gaming/films/parties/recreational drug use. Our cultural norms are closely aligned with the decline of the Roman empire; but the alignment of the current form of our government is too dissimilar.

The founders of the United States were classically-educated students of Roman history and its decline; additionally, Gibbon had just been published. To that end, much of our constitution was fashioned to make it exceedingly difficult for a dictator to arise spontaneously. But even Jefferson and Madison recognized the potential for a slow, but steady, erosion of the constitutional protections to produce one--especially if originating in the general populace. They were obsessed with the "potential dictator." (read the Federalist Papers)

All republics eventually collapse into something else: oligarchy, dictatorship, or dissolve completely into fractured smaller groups. In that sense, yes: we are doomed. Our decline has already begun. But the similarities to Rome's decline are more general, more cultural, and less specific. The books by Kyle Harper and Peter Turchin also provide additional aspects of our potential collapse that align with Rome.

I doubt very much that anything can alter our decline. Your suggestion that the blue and white collar "come together" is simply wishful thinking. We've seen what populist movements produce and it is not auspicious.

Rather than lecture you, I suggest you read (thoroughly) Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (you're going to have to really pay attention: Gibbon is not for those who do not know how to read) and The Federalist Papers. Those two will give you a better understanding of the contrast between the United States and the Roman empire. You should also consult Harper and Turchin for further insights.

truro··on Ask HN: How do you deal with social media
Never understood the need for social media. Seems weird to me to be concerned with what others are doing in their lives. FOMO? Really? But, I'm a social assassin. I'm also a grammar and spelling Nazi. To wit: alot should be a lot.
truro··on Proof we are Living in a Simulation
Please revise using symbolic logic, as your argument expressions are not clear. Such an argument is best analyzed using symbolic logic.
truro··on It’s hard entertaining a populous with brittle ears
Should be populace, not populous.
truro··on Ask HN: What was the biggest contributor to your happiness in the past year?
Re-reading Gibbon's Decline and Fall, Tacitus, Cassius Dio, Suetonius, Adam Smith, Marx, and others. Home repair projects long-neglected.
truro··on Ask HN: What was the biggest contributor to your happiness in the past year?
Re-reading Gibbon's Decline and Fall, Tacitus, Suetonius, Cassius Dio, Adam Smith, Marx, and others. Home repair projects long-neglected.
truro··on Ask HN: What's your favorite “forgotten” technology / software?
Norton Your Eyes Only. Early desktop encryption software for Windows 3.1. Also, Menuworks for DOS. Graphical User Interface which was editable for personal or corporate use.
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