Instead of saying whether the government should be bigger or smaller, more people should be opining on what the government should actually be spending money on and in what proportions. There’s always going to be tax collected. Might as well figure out the optimal way to spend it for the welfare of all citizens.
What are we going to replace illegal immigrant slave labor with?
Simple: Robots. 🤖
Simple: Robots. 🤖
If you’re skilled at tech, use your superpowers for something good and moral.
Don’t use your skills to maximize profit at the expense of souls.
Don’t build technology for whomever pays you the most.
Don’t maximize profit or shareholder value.
Use your limited time on this world to contribute to the well-being of others.
Don’t build advanced brainrot, build advanced medicine.
Don’t build engagement-maximizing slop, build something you find meaningful.
Change the world, even if society doesn’t reward it, for why would a sickly society reward that which accelerates its downfall?
Power through and maximize integrity, not the short term whims of a world gone mad.
Build something you believe in, deeply.
Don’t use your skills to maximize profit at the expense of souls.
Don’t build technology for whomever pays you the most.
Don’t maximize profit or shareholder value.
Use your limited time on this world to contribute to the well-being of others.
Don’t build advanced brainrot, build advanced medicine.
Don’t build engagement-maximizing slop, build something you find meaningful.
Change the world, even if society doesn’t reward it, for why would a sickly society reward that which accelerates its downfall?
Power through and maximize integrity, not the short term whims of a world gone mad.
Build something you believe in, deeply.
PER CAPITA:
Let’s take, as an example, the crime of robbery in a town where everyone either has a square or a star tattooed on their belly.
When you don’t use per-capita, you’re answering the question:
“If I get robbed, what are the odds the thief had a star on their belly or a square on their belly?”
But see, maybe the town has 99.99999% denizens with squares on their belly. So obviously if there’s a good chance if you get robbed, the thief has a square on their belly, just because there’s so many people with squares on their belly.
When you use per-capita, you answer the question:
“If I meet a random person with a star on their belly, what are the odds they’re a thief? If I meet a random person with a square on their belly, what are the odds they’re a thief?”
This is a different, and more meaningful, question, for its answer doesn’t change depending on how many people in the town have stars or squares on their belly.
Hope that helps.
Let’s take, as an example, the crime of robbery in a town where everyone either has a square or a star tattooed on their belly.
When you don’t use per-capita, you’re answering the question:
“If I get robbed, what are the odds the thief had a star on their belly or a square on their belly?”
But see, maybe the town has 99.99999% denizens with squares on their belly. So obviously if there’s a good chance if you get robbed, the thief has a square on their belly, just because there’s so many people with squares on their belly.
When you use per-capita, you answer the question:
“If I meet a random person with a star on their belly, what are the odds they’re a thief? If I meet a random person with a square on their belly, what are the odds they’re a thief?”
This is a different, and more meaningful, question, for its answer doesn’t change depending on how many people in the town have stars or squares on their belly.
Hope that helps.
Watching the new season of AppleTV’s adaptation of the famous sci-fi book series Foundation by Isaac Asimov!
I read all 7 books in 2023.
Published between 1951 and 1994 by Asimov (from 31 to 73 years old), I read them in plot chronological order instead of published order.
I read all 7 books in 2023.
Published between 1951 and 1994 by Asimov (from 31 to 73 years old), I read them in plot chronological order instead of published order.
Does a lab-grown steak truly have the same nutrients, effect on my digestive system, chemicals, health effects, 100% as a cut from a well-cared-for cow?
Is it truly a one-to-one replacement?
If I looked at each through a microscope would I see the same thing? And if not, does that affect how many body absorbs the molecules?
I’m all for cruelty-free meat, but maybe there are some health benefits that arise from eating an actual evolved animal like we evolved to do?
If not, and I’m thinking like a primitive ignoramus, then let’s actually see in data how close lab-grown meat is really to organic meat across a variety of dimensions.
Is it truly a one-to-one replacement?
If I looked at each through a microscope would I see the same thing? And if not, does that affect how many body absorbs the molecules?
I’m all for cruelty-free meat, but maybe there are some health benefits that arise from eating an actual evolved animal like we evolved to do?
If not, and I’m thinking like a primitive ignoramus, then let’s actually see in data how close lab-grown meat is really to organic meat across a variety of dimensions.
For every job lost at corporate Hollywood megaslop studio, ten new Indie filmmakers will get access to advanced CGI via AI.
For every random paper-pusher job lost in a hospital, ten new entrepreneurs will rapidly build a better nurse scheduling app via AI.
For every trucker driver’s job lost to a self-driving truck, ten new data labeler jobs will be required.
I believe that AI will gut plenty of jobs, because, well, a machine could do it. But while the fragile system we have may hemorrhage useless jobs as cogs in the corporate wheels, I think AI will give the individual dreamer the tools that were previously reserved for megacorps.
And that’s a good thing.
That’s egalitarian.
For every random paper-pusher job lost in a hospital, ten new entrepreneurs will rapidly build a better nurse scheduling app via AI.
For every trucker driver’s job lost to a self-driving truck, ten new data labeler jobs will be required.
I believe that AI will gut plenty of jobs, because, well, a machine could do it. But while the fragile system we have may hemorrhage useless jobs as cogs in the corporate wheels, I think AI will give the individual dreamer the tools that were previously reserved for megacorps.
And that’s a good thing.
That’s egalitarian.
I can’t wait until people dress well in public again,
Until cars and houses are full of color and not drab greys,
Until buildings and design are intricate instead of minimalist,
Until proper grammar is encouraged instead of being considered uncool,
Until high trust society is the norm again,
Until tough on crime is considered a virtuous position,
Until cheats and frauds and scammers and spammers are publicly shamed.
Let’s take the best parts of the past and push them into the future.
Until cars and houses are full of color and not drab greys,
Until buildings and design are intricate instead of minimalist,
Until proper grammar is encouraged instead of being considered uncool,
Until high trust society is the norm again,
Until tough on crime is considered a virtuous position,
Until cheats and frauds and scammers and spammers are publicly shamed.
Let’s take the best parts of the past and push them into the future.
One of the most common misconceptions about quantum entanglement as we understand it today is believing that it’s possible to send information faster than the speed of light.
Unfortunately, it’s like knowing flipping two coins in the opposite sides of the galaxy will end up landing the same way, heads or tails. But since you can’t control if they should end up heads or tails, knowing they’ll end up the same doesn’t allow you to communicate across the galaxy.
Unfortunately, it’s like knowing flipping two coins in the opposite sides of the galaxy will end up landing the same way, heads or tails. But since you can’t control if they should end up heads or tails, knowing they’ll end up the same doesn’t allow you to communicate across the galaxy.
I’ve spoken to several persons who’ve taken GLP-1’s and successfully used them to lose 30-40 lbs.
They all describe it not as feeling full all the time or hungry but uninterested in food, it was more just accidentally skipping meals and naturally only wanting smaller portions.
But they don’t describe it as intentional, they just end up feeling full quickly after eating a little and just not feeling hungry, having an almost indifference to food.
I wish more people who meditated (and are thus hyper-aware of their internal bodily sensations) got on GLP-1’s and described the subjective experience more to the rest of us.
We have a lot to learn about how it’s different from willpower.
They all describe it not as feeling full all the time or hungry but uninterested in food, it was more just accidentally skipping meals and naturally only wanting smaller portions.
But they don’t describe it as intentional, they just end up feeling full quickly after eating a little and just not feeling hungry, having an almost indifference to food.
I wish more people who meditated (and are thus hyper-aware of their internal bodily sensations) got on GLP-1’s and described the subjective experience more to the rest of us.
We have a lot to learn about how it’s different from willpower.
What if GPS systems immediately found alternative routes for everyone coming up to traffic the minute it detects even a small amount of slowdown?
A few “sacrificial lamb” cars would have a bit of time added to their ETA, but it would distribute the traffic load so the whole system flowed smoother and individual pockets of traffic wouldn’t build up from yellow to red.
So instead of, during rush hour, pockets of red on the traffic map with yellow nearby the red, it would be a wider more distributed area of yellow.
I suspect this algorithm would actually clear the traffic faster than allowing it to pile up, and increase there flow rate (think clogged pipes in fluid dynamics math) would increase cumulatively.
A few “sacrificial lamb” cars would have a bit of time added to their ETA, but it would distribute the traffic load so the whole system flowed smoother and individual pockets of traffic wouldn’t build up from yellow to red.
So instead of, during rush hour, pockets of red on the traffic map with yellow nearby the red, it would be a wider more distributed area of yellow.
I suspect this algorithm would actually clear the traffic faster than allowing it to pile up, and increase there flow rate (think clogged pipes in fluid dynamics math) would increase cumulatively.
This is hitting normies hard, in a way other political violence hasn’t.
It really shook a lot of people deeply.
I felt this hard I think because I am a parent and he was a fairly moderate voice, always open to debate, wanted to win in the realm of ideas and discussions, and they just nerf him in public brutally. So sad and unfair.
And seeing the people on social media celebrating his murder with glee, I can’t even comprehend how they think, so nasty. It worries me how many people are out there, especially teachers, who are happy someone like him was murdered!
I feel like at least the culture in general is on the side of Kirk, and it’s becoming the extremists who are the agitators. Like 7 years ago this mighta been shrugged off, but now more and more of the shift is to be angry how the extreme democrats are behaving.
I just wish the schools took a more active role in policing instead of encouraging or turning a blind eye to teachers who behave like this. If they weren’t being called out on social media I doubt they’d take any action against their employees.
Nobody should fear being violently murdered in front of wife and children for having different political views.
Saying there are only 2 genders doesn’t mean someone is hate-filled.
Having conservative viewpoints and wanting to engage young college kids in respectful debate is not justification for violence.
All the people on social media gleeful a young man died because they disagree politically sicken me.
Believing in traditional values on stuff like abortion or lgbtq doesn’t mean someone is hateful and deserves to die.
This is pure brainwashing. People shouldn’t be scared for their lives to espouse values that others disagree with.
Cheering the death of someone, calling them a “nazi” (that word has lost all meaning) when young kids will grow up without a father is not healthy.
RIP. Charlie Kirk. And those poor kids who will never really know their father.
It really shook a lot of people deeply.
I felt this hard I think because I am a parent and he was a fairly moderate voice, always open to debate, wanted to win in the realm of ideas and discussions, and they just nerf him in public brutally. So sad and unfair.
And seeing the people on social media celebrating his murder with glee, I can’t even comprehend how they think, so nasty. It worries me how many people are out there, especially teachers, who are happy someone like him was murdered!
I feel like at least the culture in general is on the side of Kirk, and it’s becoming the extremists who are the agitators. Like 7 years ago this mighta been shrugged off, but now more and more of the shift is to be angry how the extreme democrats are behaving.
I just wish the schools took a more active role in policing instead of encouraging or turning a blind eye to teachers who behave like this. If they weren’t being called out on social media I doubt they’d take any action against their employees.
Nobody should fear being violently murdered in front of wife and children for having different political views.
Saying there are only 2 genders doesn’t mean someone is hate-filled.
Having conservative viewpoints and wanting to engage young college kids in respectful debate is not justification for violence.
All the people on social media gleeful a young man died because they disagree politically sicken me.
Believing in traditional values on stuff like abortion or lgbtq doesn’t mean someone is hateful and deserves to die.
This is pure brainwashing. People shouldn’t be scared for their lives to espouse values that others disagree with.
Cheering the death of someone, calling them a “nazi” (that word has lost all meaning) when young kids will grow up without a father is not healthy.
RIP. Charlie Kirk. And those poor kids who will never really know their father.
I find coding with AI is far more productive when you give it small discrete tasks.
The problem is to do that, you have to know what you’re doing with coding.
Asking it to modularize a large function at a certain point, or to add a performance decorator to a function, or use list comprehension for a task, means you know what to ask for.
Vibe coders can only ask for big tasks because they don’t know enough about coding to ask for small coherent tasks.
The problem is to do that, you have to know what you’re doing with coding.
Asking it to modularize a large function at a certain point, or to add a performance decorator to a function, or use list comprehension for a task, means you know what to ask for.
Vibe coders can only ask for big tasks because they don’t know enough about coding to ask for small coherent tasks.
When I use coding agents like Claude Code, I give it very specific, pointed tasks.
Instead of vibe-coding a big ask, I code so I know what to ask for.
Instead of saying connect to Google Drive, I’ll say put the service account credentials into an AWS Secrets Manager via IAC.
Instead of saying make a microservice to generate RAG embeddings, I’ll say have a lambda use the Chonkify library with semantic chunking followed by a hugging face embedding model and push it to pinecone.
Instead of saying build a frontend that allows users to login, I’ll say create a cloudformation yaml file for cognito with oauth and a custom authorizer.
I find I’m more productive in the long run coding if I break a high level task into specific discrete tasks with specific frameworks. Planning mode on the agents help with this, and asking the agent to break up tasks can be useful, but there is often a benefit from asking it to write specific types of code.
Instead of vibe-coding a big ask, I code so I know what to ask for.
Instead of saying connect to Google Drive, I’ll say put the service account credentials into an AWS Secrets Manager via IAC.
Instead of saying make a microservice to generate RAG embeddings, I’ll say have a lambda use the Chonkify library with semantic chunking followed by a hugging face embedding model and push it to pinecone.
Instead of saying build a frontend that allows users to login, I’ll say create a cloudformation yaml file for cognito with oauth and a custom authorizer.
I find I’m more productive in the long run coding if I break a high level task into specific discrete tasks with specific frameworks. Planning mode on the agents help with this, and asking the agent to break up tasks can be useful, but there is often a benefit from asking it to write specific types of code.
Last we forget, a democracy means the will of the majority, whereas a republic means that people vote on those who will represent their interests because they don’t want to be responsible for deciding themselves.
What do you think of a big-government effort in which the money is allocated well?
So let’s say we collect the same $11 trillion to the government we’re already collecting as America, each year.
No healthcare or welfare, no military.
No administration, no science.
No space program, no national education system.
No environmental protection, no corporate oversight.
No law enforcement, no sewage or public utilities.
Pure chaos.
But let’s say you still have that $11 trillion collected each year.
What do you do with it?
What if you had the opportunity to truly start from scratch on spending, while collecting remained at current levels.
Obviously, survival is first, but what percentage of that $11T would be needed for military?
What if we immediately put a beautiful fountain in every town in America, because, well, we thought it was important?
What if we invested heavily in researching modern trains and traffic patterns and sewage disposal?
How much would go into border and law enforcement?
Would we build opera houses?
Would we invent new forms of social welfare programs that only can emerge when we’re no longer blinded by the momentum of the corrupt current system?
How would we actually prioritize if we got to start from scratch?
Maybe we’d realize that GDP and broken windows theory go hand in hand, or maybe we’ll realize environmental conservation is crucial?
Maybe we’ll find novel ways to link private sector energy consumption with property taxes?
So let’s say we collect the same $11 trillion to the government we’re already collecting as America, each year.
No healthcare or welfare, no military.
No administration, no science.
No space program, no national education system.
No environmental protection, no corporate oversight.
No law enforcement, no sewage or public utilities.
Pure chaos.
But let’s say you still have that $11 trillion collected each year.
What do you do with it?
What if you had the opportunity to truly start from scratch on spending, while collecting remained at current levels.
Obviously, survival is first, but what percentage of that $11T would be needed for military?
What if we immediately put a beautiful fountain in every town in America, because, well, we thought it was important?
What if we invested heavily in researching modern trains and traffic patterns and sewage disposal?
How much would go into border and law enforcement?
Would we build opera houses?
Would we invent new forms of social welfare programs that only can emerge when we’re no longer blinded by the momentum of the corrupt current system?
How would we actually prioritize if we got to start from scratch?
Maybe we’d realize that GDP and broken windows theory go hand in hand, or maybe we’ll realize environmental conservation is crucial?
Maybe we’ll find novel ways to link private sector energy consumption with property taxes?
Media is too big
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
I built a discord bot via n8n that runs every minute 24/7 and each minute:
1. Pulls the last ten discord messages it sent in my “backrooms” channel,
2. Picks a random LLM (grok, ChatGPT, Claude),
3. Picks a random personality I defined,
4. Sends a message as that personality to continue the convo.
It’s weird and fun, creating its own story.
Code and prompts here, open source:
https://github.com/Theta-Tech-AI/theta-backrooms
1. Pulls the last ten discord messages it sent in my “backrooms” channel,
2. Picks a random LLM (grok, ChatGPT, Claude),
3. Picks a random personality I defined,
4. Sends a message as that personality to continue the convo.
It’s weird and fun, creating its own story.
Code and prompts here, open source:
https://github.com/Theta-Tech-AI/theta-backrooms