Erik Haugen @ech@qoto.org

The annoying thing is that the plot doesn't seem to need this: the Sophons can just act as the Trisolarian's agent here, and send reports back to the invasion fleet. (Granted, I have only read the first book and watched the first season.) When reading the book I think I even missed the part about FTL communication; I thought they were just doing what I described here.

@spoltier eh, sorry about that.

The term has transcended her work. 😂

Science journalism never fails to disappoint.

https://www.vox.com/culture/24108638/3-body-problem-science-physics-theory-explained-how-real-is-it This is one of those "the real science behind the show" things, and it says faster-than-light communication is possible through quantum entanglement. The author completely misses the point of the expert quote cited. #Ansible

@freemo @realcaseyrollins Maybe a happy middle ground is higher deductibles. A lot of people don't need insurance for things that cost a couple hundred, they need insurance for something that costs thousands.

In this way, a lot of people would shop around for a lot of medical purchases, but you'd avoid financial ruin for a huge thing.

@hisham_hm @liaizon "pentagram, which I'm sure people from certain cultures (the US Bible Belt?) have an innate resistance towards."

You called?

@yogthos @graywolf @jimray It sounds like graywolf isn't the one who needs to learn about Communism's legacy.

@graywolf @yogthos @jimray Well, pretty soon maybe we can get AIs that beat the free market when it comes to making resource allocation decisions. *ducks*

@jimray It's sort of baked in that individual efforts like reducing consumption don't work to help climate change. I mean, you should turn off the lights or whatever and buy less anyway, for other reasons. But don't kid yourself: it just makes the power you didn't use cheaper for someone else to use.

@LouisIngenthron @freemo I feel like "leftist" refers to someone on the left who is skeptical of liberalism, e.g. communists or someone overcome by identity/oppression politics (I'll call them CSJ here).

I'm sure it's one of those "ask 100 people you'll get 100 different answers" kind of thing.

@dangillmor ok but I feel like if Trump was trying to install corrupt judges who would do things like help him win cases or elections, he didn't do a very good job.

@largo @randahl Yeah, this is kind of Trump's point, too, I think. For all his other failings I think he's sort of on to something here.

I don't know if Europe needs a federation for coordinating military action. Countries at war seem historically to be able to solve that problem without too much trouble.

@mok0 @randahl I like this "let Mærsk pay for their own protection" sentiment; it is unfortunately outside the Overton window.

@Geoffberner @tess Yes, the kind of "colonization" which means "an adequate supply of housing'. 😂

@Geoffberner @tess RWNJ ancappy-techbro here: You're right Geoff, but I absolutely love this entire thing anyway:
* Absolute smack-down of the performative progressive "glorified park rangers" trash I grew up with. I wish I could have written this brilliant excoriation of that canard. A++.
* More housing! We have more people, we need more housing! This probably isn't the best way to stick it to nimby/statist/incompetent/corrupt city planners generally, but I'll take what I can get.
* One man's "real estate hustle that runs Vancouver" is another's "effective builder of housing where it's needed". I'm sure there are real problems there, but still.
* Be careful you aren't being patronizing. Could it possibly be they actually know what they're doing?
* The mockups look pretty nice to me. 😍

@largo @randahl I suspect if they spent more than 2% GDP on defense they wouldn't even need to federalize to get independence from US. I think one thing we've learned in the last couple years is Europe can easily keep Russia in check if they get their act together.

No need to maintain this dependence on the US. US electorate increasingly seems to also not want them to do this. win win.

@mok0 @randahl Or any cult in the US. Wouldn't it be great if a coalition of sane European countries could protect themselves without US' help?

I think they can easily do it if they have the political will. Why look to the US to foot the bill here? Poland is properly motivated, of course; wouldn't Germany like to see Poland remain strong and independent of Russia? Maybe they should, you know, do a bit more about that to help them?

Same with the Houthis: their Suez-route blockade actually helps US industry. Why is the US taking the lead? One reason, perhaps, is to burnish our credentials as the world's police. But US electorate seems to more and more not want that role: does Europe want us to have that role? China?

I mean, don't get me wrong, I believe these are righteous causes, I'm just not sure why we're the ones paying for them while Europe continues to spend <2% GDP on defense.

You want to stop fascism? <2% maybe isn't the way to do that.

@textualdeviance @DrOinFLA That doesn't seem relevant. You have the same problem with the same solutions in private school.

@argv_minus_one @enobacon "40 minutes of biking per day isn't going to do much good for your health if you spend the rest of the day in a chair." I'm pretty sure this is totally false.

I mean, I think I agree with everything else you're saying here, don't get me wrong.

@baldur OK but what do you mean by "financial advice"? Like, the bulk of the "investment advisor" industry is absolutely clobbered by simple computer programs, and this has been true for many years, long before LLMs. (wealthfront is an example of this, there are others).

I mean, your point remains, I'm just saying.

With that said, though, I think there are some industries on the cusp of being seriously disrupted, labor-wise. For example, I'm a computer programmer, and while LLMs are nowhere near being able to do my job I could see myself getting several times more productive as the fussy parts of my job are automated. This either means a lot more software or a lot fewer programmers. (Probably both)