Well, if you won't do that, then (instead of arguing) you could learn from someone who made the effort: me.
2,429 karma · joined December 11, 2022
Were you entertained when he publicly dissed his pregnant wife for her play in the recent US Championships?
I get it that lots of chess nerds enjoy this kind of thing, but that doesn't make it intelligent.
Or if you like tests ... he himself has mentioned not scoring well on an IQ test.
Having said all that, the prevailing wisdom in the suicide-prevention field is that we are each responsible for our own decisions. I.e. Kramnik, long may he suffer, is not "responsible."
Meanwhile the "progressives" around me probably still think there's no difference between the two parties.
The followup book is worth reading as well.
Different but related: Not Nice, by Aziz Gazipura.
They are no longer in my life. I don't miss them even a little bit!
Once you recognize status transactions ... they are absolutely everywhere, in every single interaction.
E.g. I know this guy leading sold-out Product Management workshops in Silicon Valley, who understands nothing at all about actually taking any product to market, about competition, marketing, etc. ... never mind satisfying actual customers.
Yes, plenty of short guys do extremely well. I know a couple. And they have exceptional personalities and self-confidence.
But we can't expect most people to be exceptional, by definition.
Of course, it wouldn't surprise me if hormonal birth control were to be Federally banned before this White House is done.
In fact, I was surprised to learn that Adderall is highly illegal in many countries, including Japan and South Korea(), both of which have a higher standard of healthcare, and a much longer life expectancy, than the US does. In other words, they're not anti-health.
() In theory, you can bring Adderall into South Korea with your American prescription. In practice, not really.
I think we basically agree - just clarifying here.
That's just not true. Look around you right now. If you're American, almost everything you own is branded. Your phone, your laptop, TV, clothes you're wearing, shoes, books, food in your pantry, transportation.
There is almost always a cheaper non-branded choice. If you are like 99.99% of Americans, you didn't make that choice in almost every case.
Tellingly, you gave the example of Apple. Whether it's an iPhone 16 or an iPhone 13, more people than ever buy the Apple brand. I know I do.
I still remember staying at a hotel in North Carolina, next to a famous tech company, where the fruit at breakfast was out of a can, drowned in syrup.
Most clothes are incredible value, and even with a few duds in the mix, it's way better (for my wallet, and the environment) than buying new at retail.
And even if they/we were purely rational, there's the intractable problem of measuring the cost of future cleanups stretching into forever.
Plus the danger (certainty) of corporations paying out their current executives and then declaring bankruptcy.
Upon reflection: as products become commodities, isn't the brand the most valuable thing, and the most expensive to reproduce?
Of course, a significant majority of Americans aren't all that healthy - I guess I'm not sure what your point is.