Hacker News: aabeshou

New comment by aabeshou in "Why some nations are rich and others poor (2016)"

aabeshou — Mon, 22 Jun 2020 23:24:30 +0000

Disparities in wealth in Latin America and Africa can be traced directly to their history of exploitation and colonization. That there are other countries that have had brutal occupations and have prospered more is irrelevant to this fact. Myriad historical factors, including the other ones that I cited in my comment (such as treatment in global trade, ongoing exploitation, allyships with dominant powers, etc), still distinguish these countries and their histories. There is no checklist approach to history, the details matter and when you look at the history of impoverished areas in Latin America and Africa, it is plain to see the connection to their present circumstances.

New comment by aabeshou in "Why some nations are rich and others poor (2016)"

aabeshou — Mon, 22 Jun 2020 22:51:58 +0000

The imperialism that has transpired in Latin America and Africa is different from that in Asia, so the consequences have been different. Some areas of difference include: the degree of plunder and destruction; how the occupying country treats the colonies; the degree of future exclusion in global trade; which dominant powers it finds among its allies.

If we don't consider a country's history of being exploited and oppressed, then we are in danger of creating an ignorant and bigoted explanation for the differences in outcomes.

New comment by aabeshou in "Why some nations are rich and others poor (2016)"

aabeshou — Mon, 22 Jun 2020 21:46:56 +0000

My comment describes the damage that imperialism has done and the consequences it's had for global wealth distribution.

You say that Cuba has done bad things too.

Therefore imperialism doesn't have consequences?

Can you fill in the blanks for me in your nonsequitur?

New comment by aabeshou in "Why some nations are rich and others poor (2016)"

aabeshou — Mon, 22 Jun 2020 21:43:56 +0000

South Africa has the single worst inequality in the world [0], and up until very recently there was apartheid ruled by the descendents of dutch colonizers. This still fits the pattern of imperialists coming in, and enriching themselves at the expense of local populations. It's just that in this case the occupying population hung around permanently. But they're still hoarding the wealth.

[0] https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/07/africa/south-africa-elections...

New comment by aabeshou in "Why some nations are rich and others poor (2016)"

aabeshou — Mon, 22 Jun 2020 21:39:39 +0000

how about the history of imperialism where some countries came in, exploited the local population and their natural resources, and reaped the benefits of historical, compounding wealth?

how about the history of how those wealthy countries then turned around and squashed democratic uprisings in order to install oppressive, right-wing regimes that were more friendly to their interests?

how about the history of trade sanctions which further cripple countries which are already disempowered and exploited?

these social darwinist explanations always seem to miss the simple facts of history

New comment by aabeshou in "Cameo's CEO on how he plans to disrupt Hollywood"

aabeshou — Mon, 22 Jun 2020 21:32:34 +0000

thats genuinely hilarious, money well spent

New comment by aabeshou in "Cameo's CEO on how he plans to disrupt Hollywood"

aabeshou — Mon, 22 Jun 2020 19:44:38 +0000

yeah I would feel sad for someone who's not rich who paid thousands for a shoutout from someone

New comment by aabeshou in "Cameo's CEO on how he plans to disrupt Hollywood"

aabeshou — Mon, 22 Jun 2020 19:27:22 +0000

> Is everyone insane or is there something I'm missing.

in a sense, much of the world is insane because they pursue narcissistic types of social status.

but I also do think this is just fun - putting aside the idea of getting a cameo as a status symbol, it's just fun to get a message from some public figure whose work you admire.

New comment by aabeshou in "No Paint"

aabeshou — Wed, 17 Jun 2020 16:29:38 +0000

wow these are literally good!

New comment by aabeshou in "Show HN: Findka – Personalized recommendations for any type of content"

aabeshou — Tue, 16 Jun 2020 21:05:02 +0000

Id be surprised if you get much signal out of demographic info.. but I would think music correlates more with general aesthetic taste which may transfer.

New comment by aabeshou in "Show HN: Findka – Personalized recommendations for any type of content"

aabeshou — Tue, 16 Jun 2020 18:16:43 +0000

I agree. I think it's definitely worth trying and maybe you can update the algorithm later to take advantage of the domain correlations you find.

New comment by aabeshou in "Show HN: Findka – Personalized recommendations for any type of content"

aabeshou — Tue, 16 Jun 2020 18:13:11 +0000

It's an interesting idea. Do you have reason to believe that people's preferences in different areas are correlated? Not saying they're definitely not, but that's my first skeptical thought.

New comment by aabeshou in "Maillard reaction"

aabeshou — Mon, 08 Jun 2020 22:59:08 +0000

thanks, that was interesting. i'm still curious about why maillard reacted food is more nutritious/bioavailable, that article didn't seem to address that. the OP may have but i got exhausted scrolling

New comment by aabeshou in "Maillard reaction"

aabeshou — Mon, 08 Jun 2020 19:04:55 +0000

this article was terribly written. totally meandering, unorganized, rambling. I was desperately curious to understand it but it barely explained anything and went around in circles, with gratuitous jokes that just served to further delay the info.

New comment by aabeshou in "Nitrome to convert its Flash game library to HTML5"

aabeshou — Wed, 27 May 2020 17:21:00 +0000

thats awesome! what technology are people using these days to make "flash" games?

New comment by aabeshou in "Negative News Distorts Our Thinking"

aabeshou — Mon, 18 May 2020 17:32:59 +0000

the choice of metric that defines "how the world is" is where the subjectiveness lies, as my comment explains. the article was generally about "how bad the world is." if you find some result specifically about people's estimates of specific metrics, e.g. child mortality, poverty, etc, then we can have the discussion you're trying to have.

New comment by aabeshou in "Negative News Distorts Our Thinking"

aabeshou — Mon, 18 May 2020 17:22:58 +0000

you absolutely should not expose yourself in a way that harms you excessively. noone is helped by your torment.

I like Dr. Bronner: "1st: If not for me, who am I? Nobody! 2nd: Yet, if I’m only for me, what am I? Nothing!"

I think we all have to find an appropriate personal balance.

New comment by aabeshou in "Negative News Distorts Our Thinking"

aabeshou — Mon, 18 May 2020 17:14:17 +0000

it's inherently a subjective question, based on what you value. if you value access to technology, then you'll think things are better than ever. if you enjoy arguments based on "average" and "median" then you might find some data to support an optimistic worldview. but if you look at the lot in life of those who suffer most, you will find a different story. if you value access to healthcare, access to leisure time, access to peace, you will find a different story. everyone has to make their own judgment of the world but in my opinion the articles tone is inappropriately optimistic

New comment by aabeshou in "Negative News Distorts Our Thinking"

aabeshou — Mon, 18 May 2020 17:10:44 +0000

police disproportionately harass and kill black people, and unarmed black people, and you can find this in about 2 seconds in a google search

EDIT: apology for the personal attack, I have deleted it.

New comment by aabeshou in "Negative News Distorts Our Thinking"

aabeshou — Mon, 18 May 2020 17:06:36 +0000

that's why I say self-care is important. there's no point in torturing yourself over everything. we have to vary how much responsibility we want to take based on how hopelessly things feel outside our control. but deluding yourself into thinking the world isn't bad is just putting your head in the sand. yeah, it sucks, but we're all in this together. By being aware, if the opportunity arises to do something about it (e.g. by lobbying a presidential candidate, or a president), then you will be able to. If you don't know about it, you can't do anything even if some opportunity arises.