Stand with Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan -- with democracy and civilization against tyranny and barbarism
Individualist, pro-technology, pro-democracy, anti-religion. I speak only for myself and not for any ideology, movement, or party. It has been my great good fortune to live my whole life free of "spirituality" of any kind. I believe that evidence and reason are the keys to understanding reality; that technology rather than ideology or politics has been the great liberator of humanity; and that in the long run, human intelligence is the most powerful force in the universe.
God doesn't exist
Evolution happened
Global warming is real
Homosexuality is normal
Aging is a curable disease
The election was not stolen
Everything "spiritual" is a lie
Free speech is for everybody
Humans do not have "souls"
Men can't become women
Fetuses are not persons
Words are not violence
Taiwan is a nation
Pluto is a planet
11 Comments:
I like these.
The government and corporations know just about everything we buy, look at, search for ect.
It's possible to evade their snooping to an extent. By using only non-spyware browsers (Firefox and Brave) and DuckDuckGo instead of Google for searches, I seem to be evading most tracking. At least, I never see creepy targeted ads referencing things I've searched on recently.
OK, I got stuck on "I mean they are not wrong". I could find neither truth nor meaning even though "mean" was used twice. How does any self-identity cause me or even allow me to identify you? I personally seem to be identified as a-hole when identifying.
Anecdotal, my great grandfather started drinking beer at three days of age. Something about being identified as milk intolerant on the Minnesota frontier to a Prussian immigrant family.
Infidel,
OK... I use Firefox and Privacy Badger... Oddly this means... Well, as far as I can tell I get targetted very randomly. The only thing I can think of I'd got recently with any accuracy is from one particular clothing maker (I did look-up new jackets by them). I can live with that.
Mary,
On the basis of what I just wrote above... It is not the government or corporate AI knowing me that worries me as much as perhaps them not knowing me at all. I am a 49 year old straight guy married to a woman. I do not buy mascara. I have never, ever expressed any interest in holidaying in the Gulf States but... I get adverts for both of these a lot... The simple truth is AI isn't so smart. What is arguably more scary than The Computer knowing everything but that Big Brother, HAL, whatever is a complete idiot.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/killer-now-identifies-infant-who-26675614
I was really into rpg stuff as a kid. I still love computer games. I have been a Silvan Elf archer, a Rider of Rohan. I have led squadrons of F-86 Sabres over the Yalu River. I have built colonies on Alpha Centauri. I have lived myriad fantasies. I have declared wars, built cities (and destroyed them). I have done questionable things and magical things. This is me playing! It is not me identifying. I know I have never stabbed an orc, nailed a MiG in a turning fight, or seen the towers of Byzantium ablaze!
I love fantasy because it is fantasy. Because I know it for what it is. I have drawn many swords in games. I know not what it would really be like. I think only part of me would like to know for real. I like to think if I really had to I could. I also like that I live in a time and place where I probably won't be tested on that.
Spirilis: The point is, in a time when a man can simply claim to be ("identify as") a woman, and that means we have to let him do all the things that come with actually being a woman -- use women's restrooms and changing rooms, participate in women's sports, go to a women's prison if he's convicted of a crime -- it's no more absurd than all that to just let anybody claim to be anything else they want, and give them whatever legal rights go with actually being that thing.
NickM: Of course AI-anything will always be "a complete idiot". Machines do not have minds. They cannot think. No algorithm will ever be able to approximate a mind or replace thinking. It's not really "intelligence" at all. We call it "artificial intelligence" because we don't really have words for what it actually is.
There's no valid reason for the government or a computer program to "know" you. I don't want targeted ads or some bureaucrat knowing what websites I visit. Democracy got along fine for centuries without such intrusions, and the implications of their encroachment are always inherently totalitarian.
The atheist kids meme reminds me of going to a revival with my best friend’s family when I was about 10. Luckily, my father had already coated me with a thick layer of cynicism. I came home and recounted the evening, my Dad roaring with laughter.
I have to hand it to Penn Jillette, I’d never have the stamina to read the Bible cover to cover.
Interesting comparison of Cancel Culture and the Cultural Revolution. Your meme collection is second to none.
Most religious rituals and symbolism are really bizarre if you think about it. We just don't see that with the religions that are common here because we're used to them.
There's a saying that the Bible is like those long terms-and-conditions things you get when you buy software on the internet. Nobody actually reads it all -- they just scroll to the end and click "I agree". If you want to read a really long fantasy novel, Lord of the Rings is infinitely superior.
I think the Cultural Revolution comparison is very apt. What we've got with this cancel culture thing is a totalitarian mind-set that tries to silence people who disagree with its dogmas by intimidating them with shrieking mobs and threats.
Not disagreeing! ... and that means we have to let him... We don't have to "let" them.
I raised six children. I would have justifiably been arrested for letting them play on the freeway. I had a duty not to let them.
all, all, all great
Thanks!
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