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Robin Hanson
@robinhanson
, 4 tweets, 1 min read Read on Twitter
“only element shared among [shaman rituals] is their exoticness … made 'other' by their ordeals. … superhuman abilities … go to them when they need to influence uncertainty … Westerners look to experts to achieve the impossible – to heal incurable illnesses, to forecast 1/3
unknowable futures … money managers emphasize their differences from clients, exhibiting extreme charisma and enduring superhuman work schedules … Psychics, sports analysts, political pundits, economic forecasters, esoteric healers” 2/3
theconversation.com/modern-shamans…
He's right that there's a real pattern here, a way we are like simple societies with shamans. My guess is that the key is our eagerness to gain status by affiliating with high prestige folks. Belief in their super abilities is an excuse to justify our affiliation efforts.
This fits with observations that advice is rarely actually useful, and that we aren't much interested in advice from ordinary people: itsonlychemo.wordpress.com/2019/07/08/who…
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Robin Hanson
@robinhanson
"One major influence were the 'Extropians,' a loosely affiliated group of crackpot futurists … belief that humans were on the cusp of … advances that would make us immortal, in which case we would need stores of value that could outlive passing fads like banks & paper money."
says @delvesbroughton in wsj.com/articles/digit… reviewing book Digital Cash. I was there, & that's not true at all. While many Extropians wanted both immortality & digital cash, the desire for the latter had little to do with the former.
And the label "crackpot" is not one that a major publication like @WSJ should use unless it is willing to back it up with concrete support. I'd say that relative to most futurist speculation, Extropian speculation looks okay in retrospect.
Read 3 tweets
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Robin Hanson
@robinhanson
.@HoffProf, I expect you have limited time, so lets get to the core of things. Most people distinguish qualitatively in their minds the cases of forcing someone to do something, or making a deal to get them to agree to do something. And usually we approve more of the latter case.
In the context of that I suggested that the Hemmings cases an example of agreeing to become a slave. Many people complained, saying this was not such an example. For this issue, it doesn't work to apply the contract law of today, where slavery is illegal.
So, we could either apply the contract law at that time, or we could apply some more generalizes concept of contract law (such as is used in law & econ) that can extend to that situation. Or some other way to talk about if their deal was valid.
Read 4 tweets
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Robin Hanson
@robinhanson
There should be a word for slaves who agreed to be salves, w/o extortion or other illegitimate pressures. E.g. Sally Hemings & brother made deals w/ Jefferson. Different word could highlight its lower moral culpability.
"James & Sally did threaten to stay in Paris [as free people]. Madison believed that Thomas Jefferson … made a deal: Sally’s children would be free & James would be free when he had trained a chef for Monticello." uramericansinparis.wordpress.com/2010/10/01/sal…
Note: I'm not claiming that it is OBVIOUS that these two people were not subject to illegitimate pressures, only that it seems PLAUSIBLE that they were not. Allowing them to serve as an example of the concept I ask about.
Read 7 tweets

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Karli Bonne’⭐️⭐️⭐️
@kbq225
God bless you @mattgaetz trolling level #Expert
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இஸ்லாமியர்களை மிகச்சரியாக புரிந்து கொண்டவர்கள் தமிழக இந்துக்களே

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4 நோன்புக்கு நாங்க ஏதாவது செஞ்சி தரலாமா என கேட்கும் அக்கம் பக்கம்...

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7 பார்க்காம இருந்துருப்பான்...அதை தவிர வேற எந்த காரணமும் இருக்காது அவன் கல்யாணத்திற்கு கூப்பிடாம இருக்கிறதுக்கு..பிரியாணி சாப்பிட கிளம்பு என புரிந்துகொள்ளும் தொப்புள் கொடி உறவு...

8 நிச்சயமா அவங்க ஏமாத்தா மாட்டாங்க அவங்க அல்லாஹ்வை வணக்குறவங்க என நம்பிக்கை பாராட்டும் சமூகம்...
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Ben Valsler
@BenValsler
Over 10 years ago, @ChemistryWorld started a project with the @NakedScientists (especially @Meera_Senthi) to tell the story of each chemical #element: The Chemistry in its Element #podcast. Let's look back for #IYPT2019. Here's @brianclegg with #hydrogen:

chemistryworld.com/podcasts/hydro…
@ChemistryWorld @NakedScientists @Meera_Senthi @brianclegg The podcasts weren't published in atomic number order – we jumped around the #periodictable a bit – but here's @peterwothers getting grumpy about party balloons and the loss of the precious elemental resource: #Helium
chemistryworld.com/podcasts/heliu…

#IYPT2019
#Lithium lubricates bearings & boosts batteries, but is also an important drug for depression and bipolar disorder. Nirvana sang about it in 1990 and, hot on their heels, Matt Wilkinson wrote a #podcast for @ChemistryWorld in 2009: chemistryworld.com/podcasts/lithi… #IYPT2019 #Mendeleev
Read 12 tweets
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Karthikeyan N 🇮🇳🇮🇳🚩🕉️
@renewindia
மற்ற கோயில் யானைகளை #குருவாயூர் கோவில் #கேசவன் யானை வித்தியாசமானது...

கேசவன் ஏகாதசி நாளில் எதுவும் சாப்பிடாது..குருவாயூரப்பனை தவிர வேறு எந்த தெய்வ சிலைகளையும் தன் மீது சுமக்காது...வேறு கோயில்களுக்கும் செல்லாது...
1/5
கட்டாயப்படுத்தினாலும் அடித்தாலும் அமைதியாக அடிவாங்கிக்கொண்டு கண்ணீர் விடும்..ரகளை செய்யாது..

குருவாயூரப்பன் திடம்பை ஏந்தி தன் மேல் அமர வருபவர்களுக்கு மட்டுமே கேசவன் தன் முன்னங்கால்களைத் தாழ்த்தி ஏற உதவுவான்.

2/5
ஆலவட்டம்,குடை,செளரி போன்றவற்றை ஏந்தி நிற்போர், பின்னங்கால் துணை கொண்டே ஏற உதவுவான். தனி மனிதனாக தன் பாகன் கூட தன் மேல் ஏறி அமர அனுமதித்ததில்லை கேசவன்.

ஒருமுறை குருவாயூர் கோயிலில் ஏற்பட்ட தீவிபத்தில் இருந்து மூலவரை காக்க மணல் மூட்டைகளை கொண்டு வந்து தீயை அணைத்தது..

3/5
Read 5 tweets
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David Nunan PhD
@dnunan79
Now this is the key question that I (and it appears others) are trying to tackle.

For me this is what gets abused the most by those who would be keen to do so.

#uncertainty
And here is a checklist that @d_spiegel uses to guide how well things are communicated (or not).

#uncertainty
Is it a coincidence that @d_spiegel is using food as examples here?
I’m guessing not?

#uncertainty
Read 5 tweets
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A Silent Noise
@thedreamreaper
207. UCHE DIKE was an odd ball with a mild distasteful sense of fashion when he first gained admission into Nnamdi Azikiwe university in Anambra State, Nigeria.

Uche was one of those students in school who occasionally wore bogus long sleeved shirts...
208... and carton-coloured trousers that looked like something that came out of a thrift shop in the
1980's.

A geek eyeglass, an afro, a black duffle bag and a brown shoe that shares the same oddity with Uche's choice of clothing, was also part of his signature appearance.
209. Uche was an awkward young man which made him an easy target for bullies.

Sometimes he felt there was a mental sticker on his head that screamed
'Bully me. Bully me. Bully me'.

Uche was the real definition of "Fashion makes you stand out." His mentality...
Read 1142 tweets

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