fw:đ« normative ethics and anti-realism
Ro.bert
hereâs your weekly dose of treats đ
a weekly list of goodies, ideas, pieces of research, principles, models, and other random stuff curated by Robert
fiery stuff I've been ingesting
Google Trends Ukraine VS Johnny Depp
Why do you waste so much time on the internet?
Skiff Mail: end-to-end encrypted email that protects your inbox and gives you the power to communicate freely.
Shifting the impossible to the inevitable: How can we enable more science fiction to become reality? This piece is intended for five types of readers. Selecting a persona will create a âguided tourâ for that persona, highlighting the sections that are hopefully of most interest and value.
Comparison: the most expensive materials
Philosophy for children
Are there any medical explanations for why Rasputin took so long to die and was so difficult to kill?
Google interview warmup
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Essay Iâm re-reading: Quit Your Job
Snippets
Working even a good job cramps your sense of possibility, imposes narrow objectives, and eats away at the little things that could grow into big things if they werenât so oppressed by the rigors of existing structure. Iâve seen this with my friends, in how they are full of ideas and adventurous spirit a few months after I convince them to quit their jobs. The world is full of ideas and opportunities to explore, but it takes time outside of structure to even adjust your eyes to the landscape of possibility. You are cramped by your job, unable to make the class of investments that is necessary for a life beyond the existing tracks.
If your role in the universe is structured work within order found and built by someone else, those off-road investments are pointless. This conventional work is usually more immediately valuable than anything you could do on your own and it does not require much open-ended exploratory leisure. This efficient pursuit of predictable value is the quiet dignity of the mass of working people. But if we are to solve the bigger structural, spiritual, and intellectual problems which arenât addressed by existing institutions, someone needs to be exploring off of the established road, where there is a high probability of failing to accomplish anything at all, and a significant probability of discovering and exploiting the next big breakthroughs.
This is part of why we need an active leisure class in society. Productive exploration requires the application of skilled personal judgment to chasing hunches and interesting problems without narrow material and objective constraints. It is generally unfair and wasteful for this to be anything but voluntarily self-funded, though some well-designed research institutions can effectively simulate productive leisure and accelerate the exploration process. Thus, speculative exploration is a special duty of those with means.
Relatedly, itâs unfair and wasteful for the people who could be out there exploring and building the future on their own dime to be either working normal jobs or simply managing their money for profit. This is a key part of what it means to be a responsible elite. You use your privilege and your personal judgment to explore and solve problems that no one else can.
YouTube video archives
a playlist for night studying (modal jazz)
war materials đșđŠ
Where once the main sources of wealth were material assets such as gold mines, wheat fields and oil wells, today the main source of wealth is knowledge. And whereas you can seize oil fields by force, you cannot acquire knowledge that way. The profitability of conquest has declined as a result.
What I did to destroy Russian pantonne bridge over Siverskyi Donets - a thread đ§”
Russian soldiers are ready to kill their generals
đșđŠ You can donate to support the people in Ukraine.
All funds will be used to help those in need, affected by armed conflict, blood collection, mobilization of volunteers and resources, and emergency activities.
Disclaimer: There is no such thing as unbiased news. You can call it âless biased newsâ. There are numerous other biases that can influence news reporting too.
Overt political bias is probably the least concerning aspect of a democracy because it is simple to identify and weigh.Â
The more concerning biases in news reporting today are those that are more subtle, such as financial incentives and self-censorship of topics. Many topics are simply not covered, and the mainstream media does not question why.
Other places
(ÍĄ ͥ° Í ă€ ÍĄÍĄÂ°) Telegram group for me to save & share random stuff that might be useful â
đŸ some YouTube video essays
â Robert
Thank you for reading!
Howâre you and yours doing this week? Any major changes to your status quo, or are things fairly locked-in and predictable at the moment? I respond to every email I getâconsider sending me a message.