Quantumfreakonomics
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User ID: 324
Quantumfreakonomics
2d ago
90% chance this is some classified US government project. The feds didn’t officially acknowledge Area 51 for decades after it was obvious they had a test base there. This is just how they roll.
Quantumfreakonomics
5d ago
but I know the infection control nurse is the person who goes around cancelling all of our tests that will show that the patient got a hospital acquired infection" (through nobody's fault) because the government doesn't like when we have those.
First thought: How is this a thing?
Second thought: Oh yeah, economics. Of course this is a thing.
Third thought: Can we shoot these people instead?
Fourth thought: It totally was somebody’s fault. I realize that meticulous clinical hygiene is hard. People will still die if you screw it up.
Quantumfreakonomics
6d ago
I think they’re about $1000.
Quantumfreakonomics
7d ago
I'm actually not so sure about that. CEOs are, no offense, more important than regular people. This is true descriptively if not normatively. If CEOs stop maximizing shareholder value because they have concerns for their physical safety, that could have sizable effects on the economy.
In recent years, it really did seem like the media put in the effort to not glorify mass shooters by plastering their image all over the place, fueling speculation as to their motives, and generally making them look cool. There are major shooting incidents to which I don't even remember the perpetrator's name. It finally sank in that this kind of attention was counterproductive.
Which is why I am fascinated by the Luigi Mangione story. He cracked the code. News outlets are showing his face 24-7. Everyone is talking about the issues that he wants us to be talking about. This guy is the most famous, most popular, and, if the ladies are to be believed, sexiest criminal of the 21st century. Why? Basic competence at not being immediately apprehended? Selecting an unpopular target? Being attractive? Not being unattractive?
The mood on social media feels like the end of Joker. Full mask-off glorification of murder, but it's gleeful -- giddy even. Part of the thrill of voting for Trump was the idea that the people, through sheer collective desire, could will one person out of prison, to look at someone prosecuted by the justice system and say, "no, we have his back". Can it be any surprise that the left wants in on this intoxicating elixir?
Quantumfreakonomics
7d ago
Really though, why would the account be taken down? It breaks no rules. He wasn’t using it to spread his manifesto. It’s just reflexive that online platforms take down the accounts of shooters. Good on Elon for having the guts to leave it up.
Quantumfreakonomics
8d ago
Was he popular with the ladies already, or was it literally the murder that did it?
Quantumfreakonomics
8d ago
Date: 2021-10-05 14:08:46 GMT
Body: five years ago it felt like a really serious conflict in my mind that what was maximally good often seemed weird, or sketchy, or tacky, or unpleasant, or just plain aesthetically distasteful
these days it feels like the good is shockingly aligned with the fun, the beautiful, the awesome, the exciting, the sexy and shiny and cool
… I … don’t know what to think or how to feel about that tbh
I had forgotten about this one. This is some Shakespeare-level forshadowing. Such a tragic figure.
Quantumfreakonomics
8d ago
I saw his modern architecture rant and immediately knew that he reads Scott
Quantumfreakonomics
8d ago
It wasn’t quite the psyche-shaking revelation that reading Caroline Ellison’s Tumblr was, but he certainly seems more relatable than I was expecting.
Quantumfreakonomics
9d ago
It is a very important job. Somebody has to tell doctors and patients no. That said, I sure wouldn’t want to do it.
I think it is hypothetically possible for a health insurance CEO to be so cartoonishly evil that murdering him on the street becomes ethically justified. I haven’t seen the evidence yet. I assume if it existed it would be plastered all over the internet.
Quantumfreakonomics
10d ago
I had the thought that maybe the US should back Assad militarily in exchange for kicking out Russia and Iran and recognizing Israel. Who says no to that arrangement?
Quantumfreakonomics
10d ago
So like, what happens to Syria once Assad is gone?
Quantumfreakonomics
11d ago
Romanian Supreme Court Cancels Election, Overthrows Results of First Round
Recently, unknown dark horse anti-NATO candidate Călin Georgescu shocked the world by winning a plurality of the vote in the first round of Romania's presidential election. Key to his victory was an intense social media campaign, with a particular emphasis on Tik-Tok.
Romania's Supereme Court has today declared these results null and void. The full opinion setting out their reasoning has yet to be published, but this is almost certainly due to allegations of Russian interference. I have not seen any credible accusations that votes themselves were fraudulently cast, only that Georgescu's campaign recieved improper (illegal?) assistance from Russian media operations. This is IMO the most important outstanding question.
Quantumfreakonomics
12d ago
At least hospital administrators pay attention to how much things cost.
In many cases, doctors literally do not know how much the treatments they provide cost. This means that they simply don’t do any cost-benefit analysis. They will prescribe an expensive brand-name drug instead of a generic drug that does basically the same thing for no reason other than because they heard about it more recently.
Quantumfreakonomics
12d ago
SBF made a mockery of the financial system. That is a bigger offense against the United States and civilized society than all but the worst gangbangers.
Quantumfreakonomics
12d ago
I don’t think the crime needs to be charged to be pardoned, but I do think it needs to be specified. Look at the text of the constitution, it refers to the pardoning of offenses, not the pardoning of persons. You should have to specify the offense.
Quantumfreakonomics
13d ago
I saw this about an hour ago. Then just now I see that the stock is up over 1% since the shooting (other health insurance stocks are level or lower, so this isn’t some broader-market phenomenon).
Did he suck as a CEO? Imagine being the guy’s wife rn.
Quantumfreakonomics
14d ago
Maybe sorority thots aren’t going to stop sorority thotting, but marginal effects affect the margins. Maybe the drab psychology major decides dating isn’t worth the hassle and dedicates her attention to social causes instead. Maybe the shy hypochondriac is afraid of health complications of getting pregnant (my god have those been bullhorned lately), and decides to keep to herself instead of downloading a dating app.
Quantumfreakonomics
16d ago
Oooh, this is a good one. The information in question isn't exactly secret, but nobody involved has an interest in publicizing it. Hedge funds are legendary for getting alpha from physical reconnaissance.
Quantumfreakonomics
16d ago
I think that hypothetical is correct. It shares a lot of similarities with post-birth abortion, which, while aesthetically repugnant, is probably okay in the strict metaethical sense I am talking about.
Quantumfreakonomics
17d ago
Am I reading this wrong, or does Scott think that putting people in prison is the moral equivalent of torturing children?
Utilitarianism doesn't just lead to insane antisocial results in bizzare edge cases, it leads to insane antisocial results in real life. You see it with SBF and FTX, you see it with the shrimp welfare people, and you see it here.
There is no metaphysical or metaethical reason why one should inherently care about the suffering of those who are not even constitutionally capable of agreeing to or following the social contract. There may be contengent reasons to care about their suffering (i.e. family members of impulsive low IQ prisoners who themselves are capable of agreeing to and following the social contract), but this is distinct from the utilitarian framing.
Quantumfreakonomics
18d ago
They were wiped out in the tidal wave of black identity politics that swept the nation in 2020. Native Americans themselves had almost nothing to do with it.
Quantumfreakonomics
18d ago
I think that’s a bit unfair. It’s not their job to pick the candidate. That decision came from above.
Why would they? If they leave it vague, "we are conducting tests of classified defense technology over civilian airspace," that would make everyone freak out more. If they say specifically what they're testing, that compromises our counterintelligence efforts.
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