Exenith

Keep the regular job. Just buy a cheap van, and rent a 24/7 parking space.

You can figure out the rest. Buy takeaways or use a gas stove for food, use a 24/7 gym for showering/toilet, and go to your job for the internet (alternatively, the library, free WiFi places, or mobile net).

That's probably the cheapest way to live without being entirely homeless (or just buying land/house).

Why? There's plenty of consumer drones around already, heh...

All this self-help woo never worked for me. It probably won't work for you, and I don't think it actually works for the people regurgitating it.

You're probably just spoiled, like the rest of us. You spend all your time around things that are intensely stimulating. Delicious food that you barely have to do anything for, this magical thing we call the internet, beautiful music, captivating movies, hundreds of the most attractive women at your fingertips.

All this stimulation with no effort -- and you think it's a surprise that you don't like hard work?

Having this knowledge, now figure out the solution yourself. Something that you're too spoiled to have done already. :)

Mainstream culture doesn't exist? That's hilariously wrong. Kanye West would like you to twerk to some Hunger Games and The Hobbit, and take a selfie on Snapchat while #hashtagging about it on Twitter. Just don't take a naked one like Jennifer Lawrence. And don't forget to catch The Big Bang Theory next Sunday! Isn't the Harlem Shake so last year? And Psy, oh my God, who listens to Gangnam Style anymore?

If you think mainstream culture doesn't exist, you're probably stuck right inside it -- or so far from it that you don't even realize it's there. Oh well, back to playing some CS:GO.

Would you end 2 lives if it saved millions in the future? Someone concerned with direct empathy wouldn't. Someone concerned with the human condition might.

Anyway, I'm not saying that it was right, because that holds the assumption that he 100% would be helping people. What if you're wrong? What if there's a better way? 2 lives gone and nothing to show for it. In reality, it's pretty likely that he just went a bit fucking crazy. The point is that the creation of Silk Road was likely with the goal of changing the world for the better, and I can absolutely see that happening.

As far as I'm concerned, all of these drug markets are an absolutely fucking wonderful thing for society. Even if you think drugs should be illegal, incredibly violent cartels still exist. Markets like Silk Road can take all their power away.

100,000 people have died so far in the 8-year Mexican Drug War. How would you like if that number turned into 0 without any need for political intervention?

This is what Ross Ulbricht described his goal as on LinkedIn:

"I want to use economic theory as a means to abolish the use of coercion and aggression amongst mankind."

Is that clear enough? The guy studied organic solar cells and EuO thin-film crystals for 5 years as a grad student, describing his goal then as to expand the frontier of human knowledge.

Do you think a person like that would suddenly plunge himself into a crazy get-rich scheme? Let's be honest here: that kind of person meticulously plans these kind of things, and they do it ultimately to help the world in an abstract way -- not constantly empathetic of each individual person, but ultimately concerned with the total human condition.

The notion that there is an ideal form of moneymaking for each person is a piece of self-help dogma, not an evidenced fact. To the best of my knowledge and experience, there's no viable job or business that would sustainably make me happy. There is, however, a very clear life that makes me happy. I know from experience. I want to become financially independent so I can live that life for good -- or any other life if I so choice.

I also have doubts that the benefit is due to monogamy. Hell, I have doubts that the benefit is due to a relationship. It could merely be because the people have a close companion.

How many friends do you sleep in the same room with, wake up to, go to work with, and have fun with? None, right? The thing is, that situation was the norm for most of humanity. It's not a surprise that so many people are neurotic. It's not a surprise that it makes us a bit happier to have that situation partially fulfilled.

I'd like to see a study comparing the happiness of close-knit, tribal, polygamous communities with close-knit, tribal, monogamous communities.

When it comes to a lot of electronic music, there is no recording necessary and the artist is the person who mixes/masters. No need for money there

Side ramble: I've never understood why people paint "real" bands as being lo-fi, guttural, punk and romantic. It's a goddamn privelege to afford all that equipment. Here's your true punk: pirate Ableton and upload a tune to YouTube for free.

Back to the point, for a lot of styles, the only point of a label is marketing. But this can be a very useful tool -- even just acting as a quality filter is useful.

Some rudimentary consideration of what life is like in a tribe would suggest that greediness and hoarding are evolutionary weaknesses. If you take too much for yourself, others in the tribe get pissed off and get rid of you. If you have a tendency to hoard things, you're going to have a hard time managing a nomadic lifestyle that necessitates light enough loads to carry. Not to mention -- things rot, things break, things get lost, and if you've just used up all the natural resources around you, you're screwing yourself quite hard.

This guy is completely innocent and has done no wrong, yet he feels so guilty and tip-toes around everything, just because he has white skin and a penis. That's can only be the result of a movement that is sexist and racist. That's the issue people have.

But I hear you. "He's privileged!" The thing is, he has no control over the privilege that others give him. And no one should feel guilty for something they do not ask for, do not do themselves, and do not have any control over.

The fault with privilege is in the people who give it to others. The only way to fix such a thing is for all of society to stop giving favors to people based on their gender, race and sexuality. What a fucking shame it is that these SJWs are doing exactly the opposite of that.

This is how the status quo of "social justice" has transformed:

Past: "No one should receive positive or negative treatment based on superficial factors, we are all of equal worth"

Present: "White men are all better off, therefore let's treat them like shit and do lots of favours for everyone else to even it out"

If that sounds like a positive transformation, and not a regression, then I am quite concerned. One seems to be an enlightened response, the other seems to be at the level of a teenage middle child.

It's pretty fucking rash to say that an attempt to impress someone is equivalent to objectification and sexism. It might reflect an inability to accept rejection, but I would hardly compare it to subhuman treatment (which is what objectification means -- treating someone without regard to their humanity).

I sincerely hope this trend of reducing every male behaviour to sexism strangles itself.

As someone with a major in Artificial Intelligence, and who seriously just got back from watching Transcendence...

The movie was well-researched, and surely enjoyable for anyone contemplative. But they had to be farfetched to push the story along. There is likely nothing that occurred in the movie that would reflect any potential real-life issue.

I can't believe I'm disputing Hawking, someone who has accomplished more in a year than I will in my life, with what amounts to an appeal to authority. But I have to say this: his concerns are akin to me being worried about the large hadron collider destroying the universe.

So this free website that serves billions of people makes money off the data you knowingly give it to target advertisements. That's what is considered evil nowadays?

Does it escape people that this is the only way we're going to get free social media or search engines? Here are the options the currently existing websites have:

  1. Free and sells data to advertisers
  2. Not free
  3. Nonexistent

If none of those options please you, then it's not some concern about malpractice, it's just being unrealistic.

Am I the only one who feels a real mental disconnect with the people complaining about Facebook? I read interviews by developers there, where it's pretty evident that they have reasonable perspectives (i.e. they aren't evil), then I see a barrage of ridiculous vitriol. I then go to all the sites where people list "why Facebook is evil", and all I can find is misinformation, opinion, and minor understandable things blown out of proportion.

Well, of course you are going to get majorities of risky (or even careful) people in particular subsets of society (e.g. Wall Street, Silicon Valley). However, I find people in general have always gotten upset when it comes to criticism. I find myself getting upset when it comes to criticism, even though "antifragile" is my tendency and ideal. I just don't think most people are wired to take harsh criticism and big risks. Wonder if there are studies out there on the matter?

Let's put that straw man logic more realistically:

  P1. If you want to have a good degree of health without requiring modern medicine, you should eat food that gives you a good degree of health without requiring modern medicine
  P2. Successfully reproducing in an environment without modern medicine requires food that supports or does not tarnish a good degree of health
  P3. Paleolithic humans successfully reproduced in an environment without modern medicine
  C. If you want to have a good degree of health without requiring modern medicine, eating what paleolithic humans ate will support or not tarnish that goal

Of course the problems with your reasoning are numerous. That's why intelligent people who eat the paleo diet don't make them. And they likely wouldn't propose the logic I did here. That's why they use studies comparing the health of hunter-gatherers to neolithic farmers. That's why they discuss scientific studies in support of meat/fat, and in opposition to grains. That's why they get angry at people who misappropriate their views.

That video didn't debunk anything. It's just 22 minutes of straw man. It's never been about eating exactly what hunter-gatherers ate, and it has never followed any assumption that the hunter-gatherer diet is best possible diet.

It is based on evidence that hunter-gatherers showed excellent health, and those transitioning to a neolithic diet showed a health decline. Following that, it takes the sensible action and imitates the fundamentals of the diet, backed up by more cutting-edge studies starting to go against the "high-grain, low fat" spiel. It never claims to be "the best possible diet", nor the actual diet that hunter-gatherers ate. It doesn't need to be either to be a smart decision for your health.

Of course, I get the feeling that this is not really about whether or not the diet is valuable. People tend to take sides on the matter, and videos like these only worsen the problem. Most diets around are healthier than what you normally eat.

Equal opportunity does not necessarily mean equal interest. A complete lack of sexism does not necessarily mean equal interest. You are following the assumption that there would be 50/50 proportions of interest (and therefore skill, and therefore employment) just because a field meets all your criteria of "not sexist". This is an unfounded assumption. No matter what the situation, there is never a guarantee that equal amounts of men and women will be interested in a particular field -- and this is not necessarily a product of a flaw in the field, but could be indicative of societal inertia (things go in and out of fashion with different groups), biological differences, or just random variation.

The first question we must ask is -- if there is a gender divide, why is there a gender divide? The second question we must ask is, is the reason for it actually problematic? do we have evidence that it is sexism? If it is a problem, we must ask can we solve it without causing bigger problems?

It seems we have missed most of these questions, assuming the reasons for the gender divide, assuming that it is sexism, and not considering if our solutions will just cause more problems. This is simply irresponsible. It makes us prone to unnecessary disruption, and our inclination to jump to sides -- either side -- doesn't help.

Because the proportion of men and women is not a measure of how sexist the field is.

It doesn't matter how many women there are in the field. If men and women are of equal worth, then why are you looking to get more women in? The men there aren't good enough for you?

Now, I understand that some women avoid working developer jobs because they get mistreated by some men. That is an issue. But it's not an issue limited to developers, and it's not an issue limited to women. If anyone is treating anyone else like shit, then they should be fired. Sex doesn't come into question -- being a decent human being does. If you're afraid to work a job because someone might mistreat you, then you're afraid of working every job.

Even if we eliminate cases like those of Github/Hovarth, it doesn't necessarily mean there will be a 50/50 split. And it doesn't matter. It's not important how many people of a certain gender there are -- what's important is that people are judged on their skills and character alone. If that means there is a gender divide, then so be it.

I don't like the "read a book" advice. I end up staying up til 6am reading the goddamn book.

That's nonsense. Facebook is in every home. Being bought by them obviously helps Oculus to be in every home. I'm not exactly cheering over this acquisition, but if one thing's certain, it means Oculus is going to be all over the goddamn world -- assuming you guys don't ruin it with your kneejerk assumptions.

This is really a branding failure. Facebook's brand conflicts with Oculus' brand. I'm surprised they didn't see that coming. Reality is complex, but perception is usually stunted. Facebook = evil corporation who only cares about selling personal data. Oculus = good guy, cares about us, cares about VR. This is a load of bullshit, but that's the branding perception. Try to change that, and you get chaos.

All you can go off is that? Palmer Luckey basically denied all of your concerns. Even that quote doesn't mean you'll be forced into Facebook's dungeon. It means they want to come up with their own software metaverse, and yes, anyone doing something like that would want to sell virtual goods and ads. It doesn't mean they stop you from doing anything else with the product -- that would be a ridiculously stupid idea.

There's no indication that they have changed the business model. In fact, that has been explicitly denied. The community is going to fracture, sure: crazy people who jump to conclusions on one side, and reasonable people on the other side.

I'm pretty disappointed in most people's responses. Here's two real, actual taboos that no one wants to touch with a 20ft stick:

1. consensual incest

2. consensual pedophilia

All of these things are just utterly shunned. It would be unspeakable for me to argue in support of these in real life, except with very close friends and in a very detached manner. In fact, this has probably put me on some sort of list (especially considering the stuff I saw on 4chan last night...).

The interesting thing is that I would never want to do any of those things. Yet I know that my own repulsion is based on irrational disgust, and the reason for our shunning is also based on irrational disgust. When we take universal moral baselines -- empathy, compassion -- none of these taboos, assuming the sex is protected and consensual, harm anyone.

We've also got eugenics and polygamy, but I could probably argue for those without being shot. Oh wow, and consensual cannibalism. I'm usually the devil's advocate, but even this shit is starting to make me feel dirty.

I try to avoid these topics, but it's almost sad to see how easily you've all rushed to her side. It seems the magic word of the 2010s is "sexism": utter that word, and people will defend you no matter how little evidence there is, no matter how full of shit you are -- assuming, of course, you are a female.

Is what she described accurate? Maybe so, maybe not. No one fucking knows, and that is the point. Stop being assholes about it until someone, if anyone, has been proven to have done wrong. It's not uncommon for someone to feel sourgrapes about a situation and use "sexism" as a way to manipulate it in their favor. Most of you act like that isn't even a fucking possibility.

You're probably right. It seems like a crutch for some people. Instead of battling through it and becoming stronger, they escape to the Internet and never truly overcome the issue. Personally, getting rid of the bigger pleasures in my life really helped to face the bigger pains. Maybe I'm a unique and special snowflake, but I doubt it.

Funnily enough, I started doing this last week when I realized that I'm on the Internet instead of learning the things I want to be doing -- martial arts, dancing, woodwork, metalwork, mechanics, hunting, chemistry, making friends, learning to fly, adrenaline rushes, etc. The only difference is that I allow the use of Internet cafes.

You do get physical and psychological withdrawals. I've been having fucking night terrors -- I've only had those once in my life, and that's when I gave up a drug addiction. There's an overwhelming feeling of loneliness and emptiness, but I knew this would happen since I don't have much of a social life.

Everything is slow.

At the moment it's not going well, because it's dawned on me that I can't afford the things I've been missing out on -- can't even afford martial arts classes. I've had no motivation to increase my income since I've just been spending time on the Internet.

However, this is what I've been banking on. The deep emptiness will hopefully motivate me to make a real change, as opposed to the shallow and medicated emptiness I felt thanks to the Internet.

Good luck.