Replying toPerhaps Try a Little Therapy, As a Treat?

Perhaps Try a Little Therapy, As a Treat?

I missed this thread where the doxxing actually happened, and oh my god, it is even worse than I imagined it to be.

Replying toPerhaps Try a Little Therapy, As a Treat?

Perhaps Try a Little Therapy, As a Treat?

It would take a bit more work, but inserting your comments and giving them particular formatting (e.g. fully indented as a single block + red color) would probably do the trick.

Replying toPerhaps Try a Little Therapy, As a Treat?

Callmesalticidae1y

Perhaps Try a Little Therapy, As a Treat?

What is most troubling to me is not anything that Duncan or anyone else has said, but the stuff that you have said in the apparent belief that other people would say, "Oh, yeah, that's completely exculpatory."

I wanted very badly to believe that this was a huge misunderstanding but your own beliefs and behaviors, stated in your own words, are concerning to me.

Replying toHow likely is our view of the cosmos?

Callmesalticidae5y

How likely is our view of the cosmos?

It's also unusual that our moon is just the right size that, during a solar eclipse, we can see the solar corona. If the moon were much bigger, the corona would be obscured, and if it were smaller, too much of the rest of the sun would be visible for us to look at it.

Replying toAgainst Sam Harris's personal claim of attentional agency

Callmesalticidae5y

Against Sam Harris's personal claim of attentional agency

Did Sam Harris get into meditation in a big way before or during his podcast? If we have, say, several years of podcast material from before he got into meditation, then there'd probably be a paper or three to be found in analyzing the podcasts for e.g. upset demeanor.

Of course, a certain amount of that is subjective, but we could try to find some proxy or proxies (e.g. elevated voice), run the audio through and have a program enumerate every instance of those proxies, and then give a random selection of episodes to human listeners for them to measure, and see if the results are comparable.

Replying toWhy are young, healthy people eager to take the Covid-19 vaccine?

Callmesalticidae5y

Why are young, healthy people eager to take the Covid-19 vaccine?

Yeah. I'm kind of startled that CW can say "I wouldn't trade my life for less than a billion strangers' lives" and get more than one person to go "Wait, what?" in response to that comment. I understand that not everybody on here is an extreme altruist or anything like that, but CW is definitely coming across as the sort of free rider who's only alive because the rest of society is more pro-social than they are, which is a red flag in general.

Somebody who considers altruism to be weird is probably also somebody who will eat a high-trust society for breakfast whenever and wherever they can get away with it.

Objective Dog Ratings: The Shiba Inu

Callmesalticidae

The Shiba Inu

Shibas are a spitz dog, which, if you remember from the original Dog Ratings post, is my projected winner for the All-Dog All-Stars Contest, but that doesn't mean that this spitz will take the trophy home.

Let's take a look:

First, it must be noted that shibas have the curly tail which is most distinctive of domesticated animals, which is a Good Thing. Props to you, noble shibas.

Behaviorally, shibas are very clean animals. They clean themselves, they're very easy to housebreak, and...well, they will track mud into the house and not wipe their feet off first, but they're still dogs. You can only expect so much from them. They're clever, but the jury... (read 232 more words →)

"In the Dust of This Planet," by Eugene Thacker

Callmesalticidae

Salticidae Philosophiae is a series of abstracts, commentaries, and reviews on philosophical articles and books.

Eugene Thacker suggests that we look to the genre of horror as offering a way of thinking about the unthinkable world. To confront this idea is to confront the limit of our ability to understand the world in which we live – a central motif of the horror genre.

Highlights

There is a limit to our ability to comprehend the world.
The genre of supernatural horror may be the most effective means for exploring and discussing this limitation.
There may be order to the universe but it is indifferent to us and we cannot be fully aware of it.
We should

... (read 2908 more words →)

Replying toObjective Dog Ratings: An Introduction & Explanation

Callmesalticidae5y

Objective Dog Ratings: An Introduction & Explanation

I hope you're going to be talking about whether the dog breeds are emotionally independent enough to enjoy being alive on balance.

Mostly, yes. I've written up a yet-to-be-posted-here entry on the Havanese, in which I note that they've got attachment issues, but this isn't a strong mark against the Havanese in the way that e.g. bulldog noses are, because if you work from home or something like that, then your Havanese will be quite happy.

For that reason, "Havanese shouldn't be had by people who spend a lot of time away from the house" doesn't seem like it should be a mark against them, any more than "Collies shouldn't... (read more)

"How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read", by Pierre Bayard

Callmesalticidae

Salticidae Philosophiae is a series of abstracts, commentaries, and reviews on philosophical articles and books.

Somewhere out there is a universe where my first post here was How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read, and ours is flawed by comparison. Still, I've gotten to it at last, and here we are, with everything you need to know in order to talk about How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read, without having read it.

I can only hope that Pierre Bayard gets an inexplicable warm feeling in his chest at the moment that I publish this post.

Highlights

We do not have access to, or an unfiltered "true" understanding of, any text.
The first reason for this

... (read 2296 more words →)

Replying toObjective Dog Ratings: An Introduction & Explanation

Callmesalticidae5y

Objective Dog Ratings: An Introduction & Explanation

I have! I'll end up disagreeing with it in these posts, because we're both looking for things that the other isn't (I don't care about appetite or cost, for example), but it was good to see that we could agree on bulldogs. :)

Replying toObjective Dog Ratings: An Introduction & Explanation

Callmesalticidae5y

Objective Dog Ratings: An Introduction & Explanation

Health is most important characteristic of all, because I care about whether it is good to be that dog.

Next is intelligence, mostly because I’m an ape who got where I am because my ancestors were clever enough to figure out nifty things like “fire-starting” and “germ theory.” This probably biases me a little, but I still can’t help but feel that a dog that is dumber than a wolf has lost something.

Loyalty and affection (or at least tolerance) for humans are important because dogs are wolves, but they’re domesticated wolves, and if a breed is mean and vicious and unfriendly then it’s failing super hard at “being domesticated.”

To be hardworking and to... (read more)

Replying to"On Bullshit" and "On Truth," by Harry Frankfurt

Callmesalticidae5y

"On Bullshit" and "On Truth," by Harry Frankfurt

Part of me says that you're being too optimistic, but that part of me thinks everything is too optimistic, and what you say does sound plausible. I can certainly imagine how people might work that way, and the world look exactly how it does.

Many people like abusing others in various ways, yet would probably be happier if they didn't, but they are stuck in a local optimum

This, in particular, is a valid point.

Objective Dog Ratings: The Irish Wolfhound

Callmesalticidae

Like other sighthounds, Irish wolfhounds are thin, wiry, and not a little bit tall. Indeed, wolfhounds are the tallest of the Tall Dogs. In personality, I have no complaints: they are intelligent, respond well to training, and get along with people so well that they often make terrible guard dogs. They are very unlikely to eat a small child, and that is a definite improvement over the Original Wolf™.

Unfortunately, wolfhounds look unkempt and scraggly, like they just got out of a week-long bender. This is not a dog which cares about maintaining a professional appearance. They mostly die of bone cancer, which is less the fault of bad genes than of size... (read more)

Objective Dog Ratings: An Introduction & Explanation

Callmesalticidae

Because they’re not all good dogs, Brent.

Obviously, not everyone wants the same thing from dogs, but that’s not necessarily the same as saying that any dog is as good as the next, or even that any dog rating system must be subjective. If we’re going to entertain the idea that some dogs are simply better than other dogs, though, then we have to specify how that is.

What we’re looking for is a dog with a certain amount of wolfishness, a dog which is as close to being a wolf as one can get without sacrificing any of those essential characteristics which define a dog as such. Basically, a dog which a politically... (read 155 more words →)

"On Bullshit" and "On Truth," by Harry Frankfurt

Callmesalticidae

Salticidae Philosophiae is a series of abstracts, commentaries, and reviews on philosophical articles and books.

Harry Frankfurt asks, “What is bullshit, anyway?” Also, “What is truth?” but we all know that book proposal wouldn’t have flown except as a companion to the first one.

Highlights

Something can be true, and still be bullshit.
Something can be a lie, and yet not be bullshit.
Bullshit is that which is (1) unconcerned with truth and (2) intended to change attitudes rather than beliefs.
Truth is useful to us as individuals and as societies
Truth-seeking and truth-telling must be rewarded and their inverse must be punished.
Truth is truth whether or not anyone believes it or even knows it.

New or uncommon

... (read 1650 more words →)

"Technology and the Future of Persons", by Lynne Rudder Baker (2013)

Callmesalticidae

Salticidae Philosophiae is a series of abstracts, commentaries, and reviews on philosophical articles and books.

Lynne Rudder Baker asks under what circumstances (if any) external objects can be considered part of us in the same manner as an arm or brain.

You can find the paper here, on JSTOR.

Highlights

The line between us and our technology is beginning to blur.
The fact that we feel as though we are persons is sufficient evidence that persons exist.
Any explanation of personhood in the context of merging technology must therefore take this into account.
Technology can be considered part of us when it is integrated into our bodies in a functional and permanent fashion.

New or uncommon terminology

Person is

... (read 1380 more words →)

"The Conspiracy against the Human Race," by Thomas Ligotti

Callmesalticidae

This is part of a series of abstracts, commentaries, and reviews on philosophical articles and books.

The Conspiracy against the Human Race is renowned horror writer Thomas Ligotti's first work of nonfiction. Through impressively wide-ranging discussions of and reflections on literary and philosophical works of a pessimistic bent, he shows that the greatest horrors are not the products of our imagination. The worst and most plentiful horrors are instead to be found in reality. Mr. Ligotti's calm, but often bloodcurdling turns of phrase, evoke the dreadfulness of the human condition. Those who cannot bear the truth will pretend this is another work of fiction, but in doing so they perpetuate the conspiracy... (read 4485 more words →)

LESSWRONG
LW

LESSWRONG
LW

Callmesalticidae

"On Bullshit" and "On Truth," by Harry Frankfurt

Objective Dog Ratings: An Introduction & Explanation

"The Conspiracy against the Human Race," by Thomas Ligotti

Objective Dog Ratings: The Shiba Inu

Callmesalticidae

Objective Dog Ratings: The Shiba Inu

"In the Dust of This Planet," by Eugene Thacker

"How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read", by Pierre Bayard

Objective Dog Ratings: The Irish Wolfhound

Objective Dog Ratings: An Introduction & Explanation

"On Bullshit" and "On Truth," by Harry Frankfurt

"Technology and the Future of Persons", by Lynne Rudder Baker (2013)

Objective Dog Ratings

Salticidae Philosophiae

Callmesalticidae

"On Bullshit" and "On Truth," by Harry Frankfurt

Objective Dog Ratings: An Introduction & Explanation

"The Conspiracy against the Human Race," by Thomas Ligotti

Objective Dog Ratings: The Shiba Inu

Callmesalticidae

Objective Dog Ratings: The Shiba Inu

"In the Dust of This Planet," by Eugene Thacker

"How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read", by Pierre Bayard

Objective Dog Ratings: The Irish Wolfhound

Objective Dog Ratings: An Introduction & Explanation

"On Bullshit" and "On Truth," by Harry Frankfurt

"Technology and the Future of Persons", by Lynne Rudder Baker (2013)

Objective Dog Ratings

Salticidae Philosophiae

The Shiba Inu

Highlights

Highlights

Highlights

New or uncommon

Highlights

New or uncommon terminology