GOD DAMMIT JUST TELL ME WHAT I HAVE TO DO TO MAKE YOU LIKE ME ALREADY
Moldbug is a fascinating figure for these times. There’s an intrepid quote of his I was able to find that grows more timely by the day. Discussing the phony neoliberal narrative that the ‘60s civil rights struggle was a story of the Oppressed Few triumphing over nigh-insurmountable odds:
“Martin Luther King had the entire strength of the national political, media, and legal establishments behind him. What did Bull Connor have? One municipal police department staffed by backwards hicks.” ~Moldbug
As I said, intrepid. In my view, this quote will one day be understood by many as the key to understanding the next decade or two of American politics/civic life.
Also, in UR posts written years ago, Moldbug entreats anyone in his audience who knows someone who knows someone who knows Taleb to entreat him to take a look at it. Does anyone know if this ever actually occurred? If not, Curtis may finally get his big break... so long as Rip likes what he reads.
It's about damn time...
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Just Made Mobbing Motorists a Dangerous Affair
I'm aware that Moldbug is not entirely original, but to the extent of my knowledge, the way he frames his ideias make them very useful in understanding today's events. I'll be sure to read this piece once I finish De Jouvenel's On Power, which I'm currently reading.
I find similarities between UR and SS, in the sense that both are at the same time easy to read (once you get used to the sarcastic writing style), and even easier to miss the finer points.
This is true of most industries, actually, not just the media. You can go to the store and choose from among all the different refrigerators (or any home appliance) and the plethora of brand names but there’s probably only a handful of manufacturers pumping them out. They just slap a different name on the side. It’s the same with air conditioning units, antifreeze manufacturers, TV’s, most small electronics, radio stations etc...
I changed my transmission oil this weekend. My car called for Nissan J-Matic and the dealer wanted something like $16/bottle. I found out that Castrol’s is identical, they even make it for Nissan, but they just put it in a different bottle. I walked out the door at Advanced Auto for half the price it was originally going to cost me.
It’s the illusion of choice when few choices actually exist. So, yes, the media is controlled by a smaller group of people, but it doesn’t really matter because the majority of America believes they are studious freethinkers who ONLY watch Fox or CNN or MSNBC. There is no real conspiracy required here, as little more needs to be added. All they have to do at this point is make a dramatic point over every little goddamn thing to keep the viewer hooked. This gives the viewer “brand loyalty” to the very thing shaping their thoughts.
I think this guy misunderstood the Spectator article he references.
Pillar 2 tests in the UK are population screening. False positives are indeed a potentially big problem here, which is why this data is mainly used to observe trends, not absolute numbers.
For actual patient tests, the quoted numbers don't apply: since there is a reason for doing the test, the pre-test probability of a positive test is higher than the background probability in the population. This changes the whole calculation in favour of a positive test representing a true positive case.
Well that's further restrictions in the UK now. I really hope they don't close the gyms.
The data I see just doesn't look convincing at all as to why we should restrict our lives, why are we doing this.