Social Matter lists six fundamental flaws of democracy: 1. Long to non-existent feedback cycles for political actions 2. Incentives to destroy people’s belief-forming faculties, or what I call full-spectrum weaponization 3. Reduced incentives to do the right things to get status on both top and bottom 4. Inherent need for everyone to model other people’s… Continue reading Anti-democracy, part 5
Bare-knuckle boxing/fighting is not safer
If given a choice between being in a bare-knuckle fight, versus one with gloves, most people without hesitation would choose gloves. Yet these ‘experts’ and sportswriters, who prize their purported expertise above human instinct and commonsense, say gloves make fights more dangerous. There seems to be a very common misconception online that the introduction of… Continue reading Bare-knuckle boxing/fighting is not safer
Trump tax cuts & deficits: not worried about inflation
This article went viral: The Economy Is Soaring, And Now So Is The Deficit. That’s A Bad Combination The economy growing steadily, yes, but 3% GDP growth is not exactly soaring. But if 538 wants to help Trump win in 2020 by hyping the economy, let them. As the saying goes, never interrupt your enemy… Continue reading Trump tax cuts & deficits: not worried about inflation
Vice Media tries to defame Jordan Peterson, fails
A Vice Media corespondent recently interviewed Dr. Jordan Peterson at his home. By referring to Dr. Peterson as an infamous intellectual instead of a famous one, Vice’s bias is immediately evident. Because Vice refuses to release the full interview, it’s difficult to comment on it. Judging by the up-vote/down-vote ratio and comments, the viewers know… Continue reading Vice Media tries to defame Jordan Peterson, fails
My own 12 Rules for Life
Jordan Peterson’s 12 rules for life, which are as follows: Rule 1 Stand up straight with your shoulders back Rule 2 Treat yourself like you would someone you are responsible for helping Rule 3 Make friends with people who want the best for you Rule 4 Compare yourself with who you were… Continue reading My own 12 Rules for Life
Notes on Trump Military Parade
In terms of optics and political strategy, as Jim notes, Trump’s military parade is a win. The left finds itself in a bind of having to oppose the military, which is how Bush won in 2004. However, such a parade seems like a way of inoculating Americans to more military spending and interventionism. Considering we’ve… Continue reading Notes on Trump Military Parade
Stock Market Q&A
All over social media, on Reddit, and elsewhere, everyone is talking about the stock market crash. I keep seeing headlines about the Dow having its ‘worst day ever’ (ignoring the fact that percentage-wise 1000 points is not that much). The S&P 500 is down about 10% in the past two weeks, making this the steepest… Continue reading Stock Market Q&A
How people get rich (it’s not Bitcoin)
After a 3 day respite, the Bitcoin crash resumes. $9,000 failed, soon to be $6,000 and lower. Let’s face it, Bitcoin sucks as an investment unless you were among the handful of people who bought early (before mid-2017), and the more it falls the more people will lose money. The best investments, typically, are those… Continue reading How people get rich (it’s not Bitcoin)
The Autonomous Economy
The Nunes memo is a big story right now, but I haven’t done much reading into it, and due to Bitcoin and other important priorities, I’m sorta out of the loop. News cycles and politics are like carousels in that they go in circles, the same stuff over and over, albeit with small changes along… Continue reading The Autonomous Economy
Bitcoin dead cat bounce
Last week when Bitcoin briefly eclipsed $9,000, I put out a note saying it would quickly fall below $7000, which it promptly did (going as low as $5900). Bitcoin to $50,000 this year? Unlikely. $10,000 again would be a surprise. Bitcoin will likely retest $6,000 again. The momentum is still strongly negative, and Bitcoin failed… Continue reading Bitcoin dead cat bounce