Recent content by El_Machinae

What's the ratio if we include civilans?

Has California improved in measurable ways under Newsome? And are there erosions that will be used against them? Covid-19 will make these comparisons difficult, but I betcha "Florida vs. California" will dominate the analyses.

It's an impossible analysis now, I'll grant. But you'll need violence against your government eventually in order to redress the harms of this blunder. Things will get worse before they get better. That part is inevitable. After that, it's a question of 'for whom?' Think about where North...

It might have to become an option. Tearing down the wealth of the pro-Putinists will be one mechanism by which your society restabilizes from the economic damage being done, because they'll have less wealth whose only use is maintaining status and authority over poorer Russians. Redistribution...

I lose track of American politicians. What makes these two good picks? Backing a good horse early and aggressively seems to be a useful tactic, especially since targeting the opponent's good horse early is an essential part of the strategy.

Well, the only people whose opinion really matters on those videos is the Russian civilians (and soldiers) or Ukrainians themselves. It's either a morale boost or a morale harm. It's not like it matters what anyone else thinks, in any practical sense. Or, I think that's true. I'm not sure...

The amount of effort required to put into faking this video is minimal. We presume that taking the boots is something that will automatically be done. And we presume that providing replacement footwear is also something that would automatically be done. After that, it's just taking the video...

I guess there are two versions that explain what's going on. The first is that Russian prisoners are having their boots taken and then given footwear from local supplies. It would make sense for Ukrainians to do that. Sure, it would be a comment on Ukrainian supplies being lower, but it would...

The rhetoric can change. Trump made his "should have kept the oil" speech at CPAC, and was able to pivot from that to a win.

Covid really showed how tough it was to maintain momentum. When I lost work hours, I was able to supplement with courses and studying or renovations for ... let's say the first year. I continued to shoot for 55 productive hours per week and then went down to 40. But I did find it getting...

Yeah, agreeing to peace talks wouldn't stop the war, it takes two to tango at least. I don't know enough about the internal Ukrainian politics, but I also don't know if Zelensky has the political capacity even to surrender. I presume that would end hostilities pretty quickly as well, or at...

I want to point out that scientists have the ability to modify neurons to be receptive to light and can make little tiny mouse vests that emit red light .... and they used this technology not to create cuteness, but to just create anxious mice

There's a real social dilemma. A large fraction of people will hate whoever decides that they need to kill a dog in self defense. I got cornered by a growling dog once, and barely figured out in time I could climb a fence. But there was a part of me preparing to fight full-tilt, and there was...

In general, I think people should support their kids when they're trying to make independent moral choices (especially when these moral choices are trending towards 'doing less harm'). There's the stupid societal trend where meat-eaters gloat about their meat consumption, as if it's something...

I want to play into this idea that savings aren't an exhaustible resource. I mean, obviously it isn't. A country putting domestic dollars into a savings account doesn't mean that there will be more output later. But 'savings' are a claim on the future, and so obviously only a certain...