Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48485505

Points: 8

# Comments: 0

Agreed, the US definitely needs to do some introspection to sort out its own shit (and stop spraying it on everyone else).

However, that does not mean that China gets a pass. Fundamentally, the Chinese model of governance does not protect the individual. For all its faults, the US model is based upon the idea of individual liberty, which acts as a touchstone and allows it to self-correct whenever it goes to far in the wrong direction. That's something the Chinese model does not do, and means that, short of a revolution, it will continue to be an authoritarian state with all of the malignant features that entails.

I would be surprised however if this project only cost $40,000, when you factor in the cost of labor and maintaining a facility to do this work.

It's hard to take them seriously given the omission of the biggest catastrophe of the 2000s-2020s that underlies everything they do, i.e., wealth inequality, the creation of a parasitic ruling class that uses propaganda to control the political narrative (and seeking AI for even greater control with less support), and the destitution of the poor by the rich, from the manufactured opium epidemic, gig economy, financial crises, etc.

Their sundry list reminds me of the smarty boys in undergrad philosophy who pretend to be great philosophers before they have taken even one step into self-criticism and self-knowledge.

I think it is kind of magical to witness the process. I only experimented a few times, and never aged it, so every was very sharp. The best was a sharp brandy made from a bottle of wine I bought. The worst was using a leftover keg of beer, which bittered the copper pipe, so everything after tasted like gin.

I would recommend people try it. You can make one out of copper pipe from a hardware store, a few fittings and a pressure cooker. Be safe, of course, and remember that ethanol is used as a preventative for methanol poisoning :)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baudoinia

Kids should start off with Commodore 64s, then get late 80’s or early 90’s Mac’s, then Windows 95, Debian and internet access (but only html). Finally, when they’re 18, be allowed an iPhone, Android and modern computing.

Parenting can’t prevent the use of LLMs in grad school, but a similar approach could be taken by grad departments: don’t allow LLMs for the first few years, and require pen and paper exams, as well as oral examinations for all research papers.

You originally made the statement that "Hegel is irrelevant in the age of measurement", to which I objected. Unless you're going to back pedal further, you did find studying Hegel questionable.

I'm not going to go on the attack, but your pronouncements and self-certainty do not sound well considered.

You may not have the time or inclination, but there is a lot to learn from studying Hegel and the history of philosophy. No ‘measurement’ is required.

You’re making a lot of pronouncements that are arbitrary to you