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Quantumfreakonomics


				

				

				

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Quantumfreakonomics


								

								

								
								
								

								
							
					
 
				


				

				
				
				

				

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					joined 2022 September 05 00:54:12 UTC
				


				
					

					
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				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
With three days until Election Day, is there still enough time for the Democrats to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in Michigan?


Cenk Uygur's Rebellion PAC dropped a controversial new ad supporting the Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El Sayed featuring a grocery store conversation about Israel. Some are calling it the most antisemitic ad of all time:




"You're going to have to put those eggs back."






"They don't like eggs anymore?"






"No, they like eggs. But we have to set that $7 aside for killing Palestinians."






"What? I mean, don't we give Israel $4 billion a year anyways?"






"Yeah. And now we're giving them another $26 billion. Do you know how much that is per American taxpayer? It's like $161 per person."






"Apparently, it's costing us a lot of money to drop bombs on Gaza. It's terrible."




Now, I don't think this is a very good ad. It's poorly acted and a bit too on-the-nose, but accusing the political opposition of wasting money on unpopular special interests while regular citizens deal with rising prices is probably the most common political maneuver in modern American politics. Apparently, this ad is at the center of a possible last-minute fracture of the Michigan Democratic coalition.


Haley Stevens, El Sayed's defeated challenger in the dem primary, released an incredibly passive aggressive statement preemptively thanking El Sayed for his "Expected Condemnation of Antisemitic Campaign Advertisement". Amusingly, long-time TYT host Ceng Uygur has been demoted to "Hasan Piker's Uncle". In case you didn't catch the subtext, this is a threat to pull her support (as explained by Haley Stevens's fiance on TMZ for some reason?). Abdul appears to have no intention of disavowing the ad.


This doesn't seem to have affected El Sayed's chances in the prediction markets. He is now up to an 80% chance to win, but I guess we'll see what happens at the black church on Sunday.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Dentists (and pharmacists) count as doctors. Piano teacher is a well-known housewife side gig. I haven't noticed the bank thing, but I don't go to banks often.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
So the reason I said that Yashar pretends not to be racist is that they do pretty much commit to treating all Israeli citizens the same. The catch is that Israeli citizenship law is itself quite racist, in the sense that there is an explicit ethnic preference for matrilineally descended ethnic Jews regardless of national origin.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I did leave one option off. Number 5: Something something biotech.


I would probably do a double-take if I heard someone say, “you need to talk to our accounts payable specialist, Xiu Ying Wang,” whereas seeing a name like that on a lab report is completely unremarkable.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I assume it's above """massage therapist""", but I admit I am unfamiliar with both types of establishments. I don't think I've ever been inside either one.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Comprehensive list of socially-acceptable jobs for Asian-American women:


    

  1. Nail salon worker
    2. 

  2. Hostess at an Asian restaurant
    3. 

  3. Housewife
    4. 

  4. Doctor
    5. 



I'd go insane too tbh.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Israel had its first general election since 2022 on Tuesday. Israel is an experiment in ethnonationalism, but it is also an experiment in proportional representation. Every conceivable minority group or special interest has their own political party. There is a party for Russian immigrants, a party for Ashkenazi Haredim, and a separate party for Mizrahi Haredim. Arabs of course vote for entirely separate parties from Jews (by custom, not law).


Israel is the most right-wing democracy in the world. In Israel, you can vote for the racist party (Likud), the extremely racist party (Religious Zionism), or the racism über alles party (Otzma Yehudit, literally "Jewish Power"). You can even vote for the pro-racism but anti-Netanyahu party (Together), or the pretending-not-to-be-racist party (Yashar). If you feel like sticking it to the man, there is at least one viable actually-not-racist party (The Democrats). Some would argue the Arab parties (Joint List and Ra'am) are non-racist, but others would say that they are just as racist but in the opposite direction.


The Knesset has 120 seats, so 61 seats are needed for a majority to form a government. Most of the results are in, and it's looking like deadlock.


Estimated seats by bloc


    

  • 

    Netanyahu Bloc - 53
    

    • 

  • 

    "Change" Bloc - 48
    

    • 

  • 

    Arab Bloc - 19
    

    • 



In European legislatures, is is customary to have a cordon sanitaire against parties perceived as far-right. In Israel, there is a cordon sanitaire against the Arab parties. The Netanyahu bloc has lost its majority, but there is no clear opposition bloc large enough to form a government. Israeli Arab turnout was through the roof.* Bedouin nomads rode into town on camels to vote. The conventional wisdom seems to be that forming a coalition with any of the Arab parties post-October 7th is political suicide. If no one can form a majority, there could be another election as soon as next year.


*Netanyahu is accusing the Arabs of voter fraud. I have no idea if this means anything.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
This potentially explains why whatever social infrastructure we built to prevent permanent culture war broke down in the last 20 years, but it doesn’t explain why burning those democratic commons was so profitable.


People clearly want culture war ragebait content. All Zuck did was give it to them.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


Are we serious about gun control still?




No. When Democrats try to be competitive in battleground or light-red districts, gun control is the first issue thrown out the window. America being an antiracist cosmopolitan land of immigrants is far more important to the liberal conception of what our society should be than trying to stop a couple of schoolchildren from being gunned down every year.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
A 25% decline is not unreal for a surprise election win by the socialist party in a third-world country. Currency devaluation, property expropriation, excessive taxation, and bans on foreign distributions are all realistic possibilities. The US equity market is not a good reference benchmark for equity markets in other countries.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for October 25, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


"We want the on-the-nose neofascist aesthetic from Pink Floyd's 'The Wall', but make it a falcon."






"Say no more fam."




				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for October 25, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


As one example, there are many stories in the UK and Europe about people being victimized by new waves of immigrants. But for alleged victims to share those stories in solidarity would (in most progressive minds) create hatred and bias people against immigrants as a whole.




Class is a major hidden variable here. Cornell 7 discourse is about upper-class women sharing their relationship trauma. "The hot frat guy I was obsessed with in college wouldn't give me the time of day and tried passing me off to his buddies," is not really the same category of story as, "14-year old girl living on the streets is prostituted by the only family willing to take her in," even though there are superficial similarities.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for October 25, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
If things get as bad as the security alarmists are saying, then none of these anonymizing services or practices will save you. It will be insufficient to avoid getting on blacklists. You will have to be on the whitelists. Any account not subject to surveilance will be presumed to be malicious.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 19, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
While JD has demonstrated that he wants to win and is willing to debase himself in pursuit of this goal, he has yet to demonstrate that he is capable of such winning.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for October 18, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
If they couldn't figure it out in the last 100 years why would I expect them to have figured it out in the last 6 months?


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 19, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I can’t wait for the 2028 ads accusing Tammy Duckworth of failing to protect places of worship, featuring a heartfelt plea from the insurgent who blew her legs off.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 19, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Try watching this clip if you haven't already. Then imagine reading a description of what happens in the clip instead of watching it. It would not sound very interesting. Words alone are incapable of communicating the experience.


I had never heard of Nathan Fielder before this film. The cinematography was riveting even though, writing it all down after the fact, not much of importance happens in the movie.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 19, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
FPC Bryan is basically Girl Scout camp. I could probably swing by next weekend and say hi to her through the fence.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 19, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Muscular redheads just don’t hit the same since the Cornell scandal. Poor girl ruined an entire phenotype.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for October 18, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Here is the real reason QB play is on the decline this year.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 19, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Oh boy, this subthread is going to look like the Epstein Files, because there is no way to talk about the movie without spoilers.


 The number 1 culture war implication is that Billy reveals he is a Republican during his climactic villain monologue. Charlie Kirk’s legacy might be the biggest unintentional victim of the film. 


Working through this brings up the question: How much of a villain is Billy really? The film builds him up as the douchebag to end all douchebags, but what, specifically, did Billy do wrong? It is strongly implied that Liz would not approve of the things that Billy does in her name, but do we have a good basis to conclude this? Liz never says a single bad word about him. 


 Hollywood hates the idea that two imperfect people could be in a loving relationship with each other despite their flaws. They pretend that they don’t. They make lots of movies where the surface-level theme is about flawed people falling in love, but when it happens to real people they are treated with scorn. Amanda Seyfried flat-out admits that she wants to break Liz and Billy up. Why? What purpose would that serve? Is it because he asked for compensation in return for letting an entire film crew into his house? 


The outwardly patriarchal family where the matriarch secretly calls the shots is a common archetype in traditional societies. Strange that it is so hard for modern people to recognize. 


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 12, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Are we sure that this isn't a story about assimilation into local culture? France has been doing this since at least 1789.




One of our office security guards is one of them, from Dagenham (one of the remaining enclaves of the former cockney London working class). He has converted to Islam, grown a beard, showed me pictures on his Instagram of his wedding and wife, who I think is Syrian.




It sounds like this guy has a (presumably) loving wife, and I don't. Who is the real loser here?


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 12, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
If he had gotten away with it SBF would currently hold a 10% stake in Anthropic. I fully believe that he would do it all again if he had the chance.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 12, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
TNW is too close to TND. Not a realistic option.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Wellness Wednesday for October 14, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Dating: How does one answer the, “what do you do for fun,” question? I’m pretty sure I can’t tell her that I like watching insane political YouTubers, following stupid internet drama, watching football, and analyzing classical music scores (or can I? I’ve never actually tried this).