Sorites Paradox

The sorites paradox, sometimes known as the paradox of the heap, is a paradox that results from vague predicates. A typical formulation involves a heap of sand, from which grains are removed individually. With the assumption that removing a single grain does not cause a heap not to be considered a heap anymore, the paradox is to consider what happens when the process is repeated enough times that only one grain remains and if it is still a heap.

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a good marker of a great relationship

to be at ease with your partner

the more offensive and controversial a person is, the nicer they are in person. the moral high ground crowd is usually evil

(?)

https://x.com/sarvielle/status/2046386222369550821?s=20

saw a trailer for Devil Wears Prada 2 and it reminded me of this clip from 2025 ^

the filmmaking industry is led by money-minded investors, leading to more sequels and remakes, rather than fresh and creative films

the trend of xxx 1 2 3, prequel, sequel, live action remake, etc. has been quite obvious

important to always have that unemployed friend to talk to

https://x.com/neet_sol/status/2046567124974325764?s=20

BRICS is no longer an anti-Western coalition. It's becoming a bloc united by green industrial sovereignty, anchored by Chinese tech leadership.

https://www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/brics-in-2025/

you must believe you are the one.

TIL that in 2007, Thailand legally issued a compulsory license to make cheap generic versions of Abbott's HIV drug Kaletra. Abbott retaliated by withdrawing 7 medicines from Thailand. Thailand held firm, and HIV treatment coverage expanded to hundreds of thousands more patients.
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Thailand used a mechanism under the WTO's TRIPS Agreement that allows governments to authorize generic production of patented drugs in exchange for a royalty (Thailand offered 0.5%, a rate informed by WHO/UNDP guidelines for compulsory licensing royalties). At the time, only about 1 in 5 of the 500,000 Thais living with HIV could afford treatment at Abbott's prices. Generic versions cost one-seventh to one-tenth of the patented price.

Abbott's response was to pull seven drugs from registration in Thailand entirely, including Aluvia (a heat-stable version of Kaletra specifically designed for tropical countries without reliable refrigeration). The seven drugs also included treatments for hypertension, kidney disease, arthritis, and blood clots. Activists filed complaints under Thai competition law arguing this was an abuse of market dominance. Abbott eventually agreed to register Aluvia only if Thailand dropped the compulsory license, which Thailand refused. The licenses held. Thai HIV treatment coverage expanded dramatically in the following years.

https://www.nature.com/news/2007/070326/full/news070326-2.html

Extra Sources:

• ⁠Stanford Graduate School of Business case study, "Compulsory Licensing, Thailand, and Abbott Laboratories": https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/case-studies/compulsory-licensing-thailand-abbott-laboratories
• ⁠Globalization and Health (peer-reviewed): "Government use licenses in Thailand: The power of evidence, civil movement and political leadership": https://globalizationandhealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1744-8603-7-32
• ⁠aidsmap, "Abbott to withhold new drugs from Thailand in retaliation for Kaletra compulsory license" (March 2007): https://www.aidsmap.com/news/mar-2007/abbott-withhold-new-drugs-thailand-retaliation-kaletra-compulsory-license
• ⁠Compulsory Licences: Law and Practice in Thailand (academic, PMC): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7122632/
• ⁠Make Medicines Affordable (International Treatment Preparedness Coalition), "The campaign for use of compulsory licensing in Thailand": https://makemedicinesaffordable.org/the-campaign-for-use-of-compulsory-licensing-in-thailand/

reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/s/EQSyVfUkTH

for a moment in 1900s, we formed a large middle class for first time in humanity, but thats now exponentially stripping away, the tiktok generation will be completely controlled, they wont know how to do anything

middle class was never a thing in the past and was only created recently through industrialisation

the middle class is likely to get hollowed out again, because civilisation is always cyclical

https://x.com/CL207/status/2047551794281066890?s=20

you wouldn't be put to the test if it isn't good for you

you will always come out stronger

was reading a thread on death penalty for drug traffickers and comments expanded to why it should/should not be extended to sexual crimes like rape

chanced upon this comment on how its proven to be counter-intuitive so i decided to read up a little more

reads:
Why the Death Penalty Won’t Stop Sexual Violence Against Women in South Asia—And Might Make It Worse

Why is the Death Penalty not the answer to Rape?

The case against capital punishment for child sex abuse

tldr;
• a step back for women's rights because it signals that a women's chastity is all they are which is wrong
• most rape perpetrators are someone close to the victims, making it harder for them to report the crime which might lead to execution of a closed one
• voicing out and causing the death of someone might also cause victims to hesitate speaking up in an already low reporting crime
• death penalty has not proven to be effective in deterrence in practicing states

Mere Exposure Effect

The mere exposure effect is a psychological phenomenon where people develop a preference for things merely because they are familiar with them. Also known as the familiarity principle, this cognitive bias suggests that repeated exposure to a neutral stimulus (a person, object, or song) increases our liking for it.

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aura is the new luxury

Walter Benjamin argued that 'even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element: Its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be. ' He referred this unique cultural context i.e. 'its presence in time and space' as its 'aura'.

https://youtube.com/shorts/3Iss1CksXD4?si=KKzhvM_4eberUe4S

love this!

colour hunting as a side quest

https://x.com/__nmsk13/status/2047650754765464014?s=20