stembolts

Amelie's, Charlotte, NC. Used to go there all the time at night. 24/7 bakery, lounge, student study area.

The original building was torn down, which is sad, but I'll always have the memories.

Yes, similar to the web of trust, there exists a web of trust for people based on reputation. Journalistic integrity, openness, scrutiny; these are just a few of the things that go away when experts go away.

People who dedicate their lives to truth should be recognized as such, and those who lie should be recognized as well. Outsourcing your information gathering to "randoms" just means that you will be swayed by whoever can afford the best bot farm.

And if you think you are unswayable, you are the perfect target.

Follow those who express curiosity, welcome questioning, and conduct themselves in good faith. It's an iterative process, you don't have to resolve it in a day.

the words honestly are confusing. i can admit that. out of context "drag queen" would mean nothing to me either.

as i understand it, a drag queen is someone (usually a man?) who dresses up in flamboyant clothing of the opposite gender and takes on a character, like a stage identity, and everyone's stage identity is individual to themselves. from what I've seen, the stories behind a stage identity are often as interesting as the costumes themselves, which can be very intricate and eye catching.

drag queen competitions can feature singing, dancing, showmanship, acrobatics, comedy, and are a good time, check one out if you get a chance.

Nope, just relatively. Though how do you want to define consciousness could change my nope to a yes. It's all about the definition.

All I can see when I read this comment is a plaque to blind confidence. Don't take it the wrong way, I don't mean it as a wholly a bad thing.. maybe 90% bad, 10% admiration. Confidence is powerful, but it works best when paired with other traits.

..but back to the thread, unless you're involved in this topic at an academic level, can you explain the reasoning behind the confidence you appear to have in your perspective?

Another one bites the dust.

I admit it, I once assumed Elon was a genius.
(events happen)
Okay, not a genius, but a good businessman.
(events happen)
Okay, a bad businessman, a good PR person.
(events happen)
Okay, a bad PR person, but not a Nazi.
(events happen)
Well fuck, he's a Nazi supporting conspiracy theorist.

God damn, if I was that wrong about one person. I'm just gonna stop having opinions about famous people. It's all smoke and mirrors.

There is a more extreme version of doomerism which is accelerationism.

So sure, we may be doomed, and since no one is doing anything about it in time.. fuck it, let's speed things up. Build more coal, clear cut forests, kill every insect. Let's show people how bad it can get and how fast. No one's grandchild gets a future.

The nice thing about this worldview is that you wake up every morning to good news. New oil pipelines, shrinking aquifers to cool data centres, a couple dozen more extinct species, etc.

This belief system sees humans as a plague on the planet that is luckily self-healing. Good luck to the next wave of humans in 2-30 million years.

Sounds crazy right? Maybe, but since the only historical alternative is class violence, ..and since that's a no-no topic, we are left with the choice to accept a terminal diagnosis and just die like a good peon. We wouldn't want to inconvenience rich people.

The same rich people who have been spending the past two decades building reinforced under-mountain bunkers and meeting with security advisors for tips on how to keep human security in line in a world where money has no value. But no, that's just a hobby, they totally don't think the world is in trouble.

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Yeah! I want to live a lifetime of suffering and pain so that no illegals get shelter and no children get food! Disgusting! Republican Jesus woulda shot those immigrants and fed those kids to the lions.

Don't tell me about no Bible, I haven't read a book since I was 7 and I ain't about to start now. Fox News is the one source of truth!

Immigrants are the enemy! Billionaires are friends. Just like it says on the TV channel that the billionaire owns! It has to be true! I'm stupid btw.

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