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gathly's comments

gathly | 4 years ago | on: Where aliens could be watching us

if the thing we have labeled "life" on this one planet, this one context on this one planet we use an example, exists anywhere else, and if this thing we can barely define in our own species as "intelligence", which we base entirely on one species as the default example of, has somehow arisen from that "life" somewhere else, and this "intelligence" uses anything like the same concepts as ours that would be able to recognize anything remotely similar to our concepts and symbols we use in our "intelligence" and they have some concept of responding to the electromagnetic spectrum that interact with this "intelligence", and they exist on any of these planets that has the possibility of ever detecting Earth, then sure, they may be watching.

gathly | 4 years ago | on: Switching to an N95 mask gives a 75x boost in Covid protection

My mask is N95 in public, but my main strategy is to almost never leave my apartment, which I live in alone. I think when people start talking about mask efficacy, it also depends on what you're doing with that mask. Are you only going to the grocery store once a week, or are you going out every day, to work inside a building, and going in and out of buildings all day? When they talk about a poorly fit KN95, is that on a person who runs into the gas station for 2 minutes, or someone who works at a concert venue?

gathly | 4 years ago | on: Imagine another American Civil War, but this time in every state

Judging by the number of times I've read something similar, A lot of people lately seem to be imagining a civil war is imminent, but it actually takes more than angry people who hate each other. The overwhelming majority of people screaming at each other online would not actually put their life on the line for this rage. As bad as things may seem to them, they're still far too comfortable. The events of January 6, that are laughably called an "insurrection" represent the level that the small minority of people even willing to leave their homes to do anything are at, and it's nowhere near what's needed for war. There are small pockets of people capable of organized violence that can do small events of organized violence. They exist. Some are desperate and ready to die, but that number is vanishingly small. A civil war, even in just one city is completely impossible under current conditions.

gathly | 4 years ago | on: A deleted subplot from “The Matrix” contradicts its sequels

I never once heard nor thought the matrix sequels were planned from the beginning. The first movie is completely self-contained. The feel of the sequels is of someone stretching out a completed story, because of the money made from the first one, not anything pre-planned from the beginning, and they also feel like 1 movie that was made artificially into 2 to get more box office money.

gathly | 13 years ago | on: How to stop illegal downloads

I like this. Living in America, I get bombarded with the Libertarian idea that one should focus on the self so much that I forget that there was a time when focusing on the progress of society was not heresy.

gathly | 13 years ago | on: Stop Procrastinating by “Clearing to Neutral”

These seem to be all points for the ADHD/OCD set, which does not include everyone. Clutter doesn't bother me, not in my sink, not on my desk, not on my desktop. I can't work, because I have too many things in my home that are more fun than work.

gathly | 13 years ago | on: The power of ignoring mainstream news

I agree with this. In order to be a citizen of a democracy, you need to be informed. Most things require research and listening to different points of view. They can't just be reasoned out. They require paying attention. Most of what you hear in mainstream or most any news will be noise, but there are bits in the stream that you need to sift out in order to participate in the government of your society.

Of course, democracies around the world are flawed, and being informed about the world will not necessarily lead to change, but being uninformed about the world will necessarily lead to change for the worse. Being a citizen of a democracy is about more than voting every few years. It's a full-time responsibility, and if you just take yourself out of it, you lose it.

gathly | 13 years ago | on: The power of ignoring mainstream news

but your friend or acquaintance will have heard it from "the news", so it will be the same as watching it yourself as far as being informative, and without looking into the issue yourself, you'll be unable to offer counter-arguments to your friends who are parroting the mainstream news.
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