propater · HackerTrans

2 lata temudiscuss

We should be at the end of the current inter-glacial, temperatures should be going down, not up and glaciers should be growing, not shrinking. If you are talking about the Wurm/Winsconsin glaciation, it has been pretty much over for 12000 years and the climate has been pretty stable since.

propater

3 lata temudiscuss

For Science!

propater

3 lata temudiscuss

Most human produced porn is already unsexy

propater

5 lat temudiscuss

"Still, that any trait in us or other species, psychology or other, is selected by evolution must be true, as any trait selected away by evolution by definition does not live."

This is a false dichotomy. Some traits do not provide enough of an advantage or a drawback to be selected for or against. Some traits reach fixation by piggy-backing on an other advantageous trait (either because they are a byproduct or just because the advantageous trait first appeared in a small insular population that shared that neutral trait.) Some reached fixation because, by chance, they got through an evolutionary bottleneck.

propater

7 lat temudiscuss

Stop thinking in terms of individual guilt and how to avoid it, think in terms of collective responsibility. What do we need to do to solve the problem, not what do I need to do to exculpate myself from it.

propater

7 lat temudiscuss

I think you are too focused on the individual. Reducing your personal meat consumption, your personal emissions and so on is nice and all but it is not going to be enough. You are also embedded in a number of social structures and institutions and those will have to change too if we want to be able to claim to be "guilt free" and those changes require personal involvement.

propater

7 lat temudiscuss

This is insane... I react to a post saying "I am not connected to what happens in Brazil" by saying, yes, as a matter of fact, you are very likely to be connected to those events and people jump the gun and talk about sin, guilt and boogeymen...

We have a problem. We have put in place structures, institutions and incentives that are failing us and jeopardizing our capacity to protect our values in the future.

I agree that the individual has a limited impact on what is happening and collective action is needed.

And yet, collective action is not going to happen if every individual is defecting or just stays ignorant of their place in those systems.

And yet, the problem is not going to disappear if no one is implementing at least some changes to one's lifestyle.

You say the only motivation for you is to be able to say "it is not my fault" but reality does not care whose fault it is...

propater

7 lat temudiscuss

I am always a bit baffled when, after decades of living in a globalized economy, people who are part of advanced economies claim they have no connections to events, driven by economics, occurring on the other side of the world.

If you eat meat regularly, you are connected to Brazil's deforestation, either for cattle or for soy feed. If you have invested in the stock market, you are most likely connected to the international flow of capital, which is also driving said deforestation.

Even if you are not doing any of that, you are still connected because you live in the middle of a society that reaps economic and material benefits from the structures that ultimately incentivise said deforestation.

propater

12 lat temudiscuss

Hoarding illegal material is a crime (and not a thought crime.) We call it 'recel' in French. Not sure what is the legal term in English, 'fencing' is argotic, right?

propater

15 lat temudiscuss

It seems to develop naturally in any industry/community with a strong gender imbalance (cf. the "elevatorgate" in the skeptic community.) The situation seems to improve as populations approach parity.

propater

15 lat temudiscuss

If you want to change the statu quo, you have to speak up. Saying the solution to sexism is to shut up is not helping to solve the problem (and there is a problem, I witnessed it several times in real life, it is not just a "troll problem".)

propater

15 lat temudiscuss

We can fix it to some extent through public condemnation, raised awareness and demonstration of support to the victims of this kind of behaviour.

propater

15 lat temudiscuss

Yes it is the fucking internet. But as far as I know it is also our fucking community. We can try to keep it clean of this kind of garbage and to improve it.

I do not know about you, but I pretty much enjoy the company of women and it is an all too rare experience in my professional life. I want women to feel welcome and relaxed in our field, not stressed out and on their guard.

Yesterday I went to a "team-building" event organized by my future employer. There were 2 women and 31 men... During this event I found myself in the middle of a match of masturbation and scatologic jokes. Those were fun when I was 15 but they feel now tired and old. This kind of stupidity tends to be inversely correlated to the proportion of women in the group... And it is only one of the many ways in which women can improve our community.

So yes, I want to "get more women in technology", not out of some stupid ideal but simply because I find it desirable. So I think it is important to encourage women and condemn the stupid jerks every time it is possible.

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