volkris @volkris@qoto.org
I think the most pressing and fundamental problem of the day is that people lack a practically effective means of sorting out questions of fact in the larger world. We can hardly begin to discuss ways of addressing reality if we can't agree what reality even is, after all.
The institutions that have served this role in the past have dropped the ball, so the next best solution is talking to each other, particularly to those who disagree, to sort out conflicting claims.
Unfortunately, far too many actively oppose this, leaving all opposing claims untested. It's very regressive.
So that's my hobby, striving to understanding the arguments of all sides at least because it's interesting to see how mythologies are formed but also because maybe through that process we can all have our beliefs tested.
But if nothing else, social media platforms like this are chances to vent frustrations that on so many issues both sides are obviously wrong ;)
Joined Dec 2022
While The Guardian and ProPublica put out their increasingly dramatic stories about webs of associates surrounding #SCOTUS sometimes I end up wondering if those reporters have undisclosed investments in red yarn and thumbtack suppliers.
It's like, their bulletin boards still have some extra room, so let's grab more yarn and add the cashier who served the driver who drove the... and on and on.
It comes across as a bit nutty.
A Scanner Darkly vibes to this one
volkris
boosted
apparently i passed a phishing awareness test last week by correctly ignoring a fake linkedin email
nobody tell my boss that i ignored it entirely on the assumption that it was a real linkedin email
volkris
boosted
Not sure if it's a great data point, but after running my #Mastodon instance since November last year and never clearing its media cache (except for once or twice in the first few weeks as I learned how things worked), my cache is a little under 40GiB.
3GiB is post attachments. The rest is profile headers and avatars.
To understand the state of #USPolitics, and US society more broadly, a person has to realize that the process against #Trump isn't merely two camps who want the guy found innocent or guilty after a weighing of the evidence.
No, it is as if there was a murder trial where one side believed they were having beers with the purported victim as the trial was going on.
It's not a matter of legal technicality or weighing preponderances of evidence or reasonable doubt; it's a matter of the country being divided over fundamental fact, here whether a person is alive or not.
It's not a political division. Sadly it's a reality division.
volkris
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I once owned a comedy shop. It was next to a hair salon.
I would often practice my pantomime skills by pretending to be a hair stylist.
But then I was told by the owner to mime my own business.
Cute, from an older article
>But it’s the International Astronomical Union, not the International Geophysical Union. And the people who voted on the new planet classification were overwhelmingly astronomers, even if some proportion (most?) were planetary astronomers.
[Pluto is a Planet](https://www.sciencefocus.com/comment/pluto-is-a-planet}
I always get a kick out of people who ask the exact right question, rhetorically, when the literal answer is squarely the one needed to counter their stance.
Case in point, a clip of #Trump stumping with, "How can [they] put me on trial during an election campaign[..]?"
Well, sure, sir, let's walk you through how the judicial process works in the US, since it sounds like you could use a review, and then cover how your own choices opened you up to that process.
That should be a pretty complete answer to "How?" ... thanks for asking.
But mainly, I think I've heard lawyers say to never ask a witness a question when you're not positive the answer would support your case.
It's good advice in general.
volkris
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DNA Lounge Update, Wherein today is Zero Cool Day
https://www.dnalounge.com/backstage/log/2023/08/10.html
This strikes me as another well thought out critique of #Mastodon developers' choices.
And no, they're not able to just blame #ActivityPub for these things, at least not all of them.
Mastodon's Mastodon'ts. There are a few fundamentally broken things about how Mastodon posts work that are terrible vectors for abuse, as well as b...
There's this bizarre thing that happens all too often where a press report lays out some facts and then a conclusion that doesn't merely give context for the facts or a certain interpretation of the facts but instead outright states the opposite of the facts that were just presented.
I generally see this happen from outlets that aren't exactly top tier sources of #journalism and I end up wondering whether the reporter is intentionally misleading their audience, and if so intentionally applying a strategy whereby simple spin would be noticed but outright contradiction would fly under the psychological radar.
It's a phenomenon akin to a reporter saying it is currently daytime, but instead of discussing how much the clouds may or may not be blocking the sun, instead asserting that it is dark because the sun set a while back.
The sort of thing really does contribute to people in society having such different ideas about what is verifiably true. And it's just so strange to see.
volkris
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Satellite operators poised for $9 billion payday after clearing C-band spectrum
Intelsat, SES are on track to get nearly $9 billion in FCC incentive payments.
You know what's not a great argument to tell somebody who is noticing that they are being gaslit?
"You are not being gaslit."
Yeah, that doesn't really help, to be honest :)
volkris
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It's about time science proves something useful.
https://patreon.com/lowqualityfacts
The latest indictment against #Trump is critically factually wrong right off the hop, on the very second claim in the introduction,.
It claims that "Despite having lost [..] for more than two months following election day on November 3" when the US process of presidential election doesn't choose its winner on that day.
The indictment seems largely built on that factually incorrect foundation, that's at odds with some pretty major elements of the US system for election presidents.
Not that facts matter these days... sigh
volkris
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I saw someone argue that shitposters can't succeed on Mastodon because their posts won't go viral due to the lack of an algorithm.
As a counterpoint to their belief I would like to introduce exhibit A, whatever the hell this account is.
volkris
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@alexwild
More people need to know about Jury Nullification. The judges and lawyers are not allowed to tell you about it, but it's every juror's right to ignore a law that in itself is unjust. It's the last chance for the voice of democracy to be heard in our system.
#USPolitics #Homeless
Oh what a welcoming place Mastodon is.
People calling for action to be taken against a judge for his highlighting the importance of judicial independence and the rule of law are at least consistent, if not self-aware.
volkris
boosted
Tonight's #SpaceX #Falcon9 launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California will be almost an hour after sunset, during nautical twilight. When the rocket climbs into sunlight, it will become visible across much of CA, NV, AZ and NW corner of Mexico. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twilight_phenomenon
I think the most pressing and fundamental problem of the day is that people lack a practically effective means of sorting out questions of fact in the larger world. We can hardly begin to discuss ways of addressing reality if we can't agree what reality even is, after all.
The institutions that have served this role in the past have dropped the ball, so the next best solution is talking to each other, particularly to those who disagree, to sort out conflicting claims.
Unfortunately, far too many actively oppose this, leaving all opposing claims untested. It's very regressive.
So that's my hobby, striving to understanding the arguments of all sides at least because it's interesting to see how mythologies are formed but also because maybe through that process we can all have our beliefs tested.
But if nothing else, social media platforms like this are chances to vent frustrations that on so many issues both sides are obviously wrong ;)
Joined Dec 2022
