a thoughtful web.
Good ideas and conversation. No ads, no tracking.   Login or Take a Tour!
Existentialist's comments
activity:
Existentialist  ·  2604 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Waymo/Alphabet/Google sues Uber for "trade secret misappropriation"

The timeline according to the article:

• May 2016: Anthony Levandowski founded the self-driving truck company "Otto" (although other sources report it was January)

• August 2016: Uber purchased Otto

• December 2016: Levandowski allegedly stole 14,000 files containing plans and technical specifications from Google's self-driving car company "Waymo"

• December 2016: A supplier that specializes in the components for LiDAR accidentally sent an attachment containing schematics of an Uber LiDAR circuit board to Waymo

• January 2017: Allegedly, Levandowski attended meetings with high-level executives at Uber

• January 2017: Levandowski left Waymo

• February 2017: Levandowski founded "Otto Trucking"

Existentialist  ·  2612 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: David Brooks finds a way to blame the children

    This article is a desert for critical thinking.

Ah, I see you've never met Mr Brooks before.

So... No change, then?

Hey, thanks!

Snowden's response via Twitter:

    Finally: irrefutable evidence that I never cooperated with Russian intel. No country trades away spies, as the rest would fear they're next.
Existentialist  ·  2627 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Elon Musk stand with his choice to stay on Trump's Business advisory board

I hope he stays. Trump needs some advisors who have interests that aren't wholly self-serving. Unfortunately, it seems a very vocal mass of people believe you can only be an advisor to the president if you agree with the president...

Uber's Travis Kalanick had to leave the advisory panel for this reason:

    “Joining the group was not meant to be an endorsement of the president or his agenda but unfortunately it has been misinterpreted to be exactly that,” Mr Kalanick told staff in a memo announcing he was stepping down.

    ...

    Mr Kalanick bemoaned what he called a “perception-reality gap”.

    Although he said he didn’t support President Trump’s immigration policy, people thought he did. And that’s what mattered most.

Existentialist  ·  2630 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Arkansas passes law allowing rapists to sue victims who want an abortion

Generally, I believe, states have other law such that make it illegal to go to another state with the intention of doing something that is illegal in your home state.

Existentialist  ·  2632 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Fuck! I can't even go to The Japan Times to escape news about Trump.

Well, of course - he's president of the USA now. He's an important person whether we like it or not. You could have said the same about Obama while he was still president.

Existentialist  ·  2637 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Who do you trust? Your Doctor or Your Psychic? - Conversation with My Sister

A friend? Wow. I feel that makes it worse. I can understand lying to strangers for the sake of your job, but I could never do something like that to a friend...

Have you met this psychic friend? Do they seem delusional? Do you think they believe they are psychic?

Existentialist  ·  2637 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Who do you trust? Your Doctor or Your Psychic? - Conversation with My Sister

    It's complicated, because of the placebo effect.

When it comes to psychics (or are you talking about acupuncture?), it isn't so much a placebo effect as it is the psychic making very broad, generalized statements that could be applied to near anyone or any situation.

Existentialist  ·  2637 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Who do you trust? Your Doctor or Your Psychic? - Conversation with My Sister

Makes me think of this:

Japan fortune teller 'ordered to pay' client forced into prostitution

bioemerl, also relevant to what you we're saying.

Honestly, it was a bit of both.

Trump's been in office for only five days and already he's making the world better!

Existentialist  ·  2640 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Why Trump's Staff Is Lying

I really think Trump's pouty because his ego was hurt. I don't think there's anything else to it.

Existentialist  ·  2646 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Superintelligence: The Idea That Eats Smart People

    The Idea That Eats Smart People

#IAmVerySmart

Existentialist  ·  2650 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: 210th Weekly "Share Some Music You've Been Into Lately" Thread

This song's been stuck in my head:

Existentialist  ·  2653 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: January 11, 2016

!!!

Where did you get that? And if you don't mind my asking, how much was it?

Existentialist  ·  2659 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Why men don't jobs done mostly by women

*Why Men Don’t Want the Jobs Done Mostly by Women

Existentialist  ·  2659 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: The Real Name Fallacy

    ... people are actually more sensitive to group norms when they are less identifiable to others [11].

That's interesting, but not very surprising. If you think about any popular social media site, they all have unique "cultures" about them. These "cultures" are only identifiable because majority of active users will conform to them. 4chan, as a site that provides extensive anonymity, has users who adhere to a very particular and strict culture. New, interested users often try and struggle to understand the rules of that culture.

Of course, that's just one example.

Existentialist  ·  2659 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: BUILD THE WALL BUILD THE WALL BUILD THE WALL

He's learning humility in his role as president-elect. It used to be Trump Wall, now it's the more modest Great Wall.

Existentialist  ·  2661 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Mystery cosmic radio bursts pinpointed

Probably.

Existentialist  ·  2667 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Obama orders expulsion of Russian diplomats for interference in U.S. election

I think you mean "... cutting all ties with Russia."

Yeah, if the title isn't clear, it means the reactor is 22 years old, not that it's 250 days old and meant to live for another 22 years.

Existentialist  ·  2678 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: 206th Weekly "Share Some Music You've Been Into Lately" Thread

This song has been stuck in my head. It's from a Netflix Original Series called Hibana (Spark).

http://www.bilibili.com/mobile/video/av5228773.html

(Sorry, couldn't find it on YouTube)

Existentialist  ·  2683 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: LIVE POLL : Do you think Trump's Taiwan call was a good or a bad thing?

    Was [it] a good or a bad thing?

Sounds exactly like something a child would ask. I think it's far more complicated than being merely 'good or bad'.

Existentialist  ·  2687 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: How Your Cashmere Sweater Is Decimating Mongolia's Grasslands

My sweater is relentless when it comes to the amount of grass it eats.

Existentialist  ·  2688 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Feathered dinosaur tail found trapped in amber

You sound like my boss.

Existentialist  ·  2690 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Caesarean births 'affecting human evolution'

I don't think the article suggested that humans stopped evolving. Just that c-sections are causing potentially negative change.

Existentialist  ·  2691 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Caesarean births 'affecting human evolution'

Seems a bit obvious if you ask me.

Steve Huffman is libertarian like China is democratic.