As an engineer, I refuse to answer this

Give it a mouth, duh.

Yup. Even if I work from home, or do my taxes or whatever, I am much more productive if I take a shower and put on a clean T-shirt and pants. Sure it is more comfortable to sit around in my underwear, but that signals to my brain that what we do now is not important…

I believe LLMs are more dangerous in that regard than normal propaganda. You can convince someone that the left-handed people are to blame for someone, but that still requires that someone to think (wrongly). With dependence on LLMs, you don’t think any more.

Please note: I chose the word “normal” for lack of a better word, and in its most technical sense only. I do not want to imply any moral judgement.

But in that sense of the word, yes, shrugging when the news show pictures of dead innocents is “normal”. Just like not too long ago it was normal to not treat black people like human beings, or a bit before that, to burn people who disagree with your religious dogma at the stake. In another part of the world, it was normal to sacrifice a poor sod every now and then to make sure the harvests are successful. And don’t get me started on the history of wars. All of this is “normal” as in, it was perceived to be just how things are by the majority.

Actually, I believe that only by understanding that normal and morally right do not necessarily have anything in common, one can understand how bad the “normal” is, and demand change. “Can’t you see this is bad and we need to do something” does not work because no, it is normal to do nothing. Creating a new normal is pretty damn hard, creating a morally better one is even harder.

Don’t forget the second part of what I said:

or are being told that being decent people is bad, weak, and probably woke.

Never underestimate propaganda and peer pressure. If everyone around you acts like it is not a big thing, you won’t either.

My pet theory is that almost all stable societies need some kind of enforced normal-ness. Whether it’s being catholic and paying taxes to the king, being a cheeseburger-eating, bud light drinking, tuck-driving redneck or even being a tree-hugging wannabe-leftist academic with a bike and a mullet. Monkeys like being around people telling them they are normal. Society organises to provide a sense of “normal”. It is extremely hard to break through this, and it essentially only works if a large party of the people form a new normal.

Fair point. Auf der anderen Seite behaupten 5 Minuten google duckduckgo, dass die Landwirtschaft für plusminus 10% der GHG-Emissionen in DE und EU verantwortlich sind. Keine Ahnung, ob da die Düngemittel-Erzeugung mit drin steckt, aber selbst wenn nicht: schlagen wir noch mal sehr pessimistisch die Hälfte der Industrie-Emissionen (ca 20%) drauf, dann sind wir bei 20% insgesamt. 4/5 gehen also nicht für die Landwirtschaft drauf, und von dem Rest ist ein Großteil eben Verkehr und Energieproduktion. Da ginge also noch so einiges, ohne dass das Essen knapp wird, und dass man die Landwirtschaft auch bestimmt noch effizienter kriegt, hab ich noch gar nicht berücksichtigt. Z.B. ist die Produktion von Biotreibstoff aus Raps o.ä. flächen- und Klima-technisch nicht so wirklich sinnvoll.

But do not ask questions only. Make remarks about your own experiences, or things you heard (within reason). It’s small talk, not an interrogation.

Most people are sad about this? Most decent people are sad about it. Many people are not decent people, or are being told that being decent people is bad, weak, and probably woke.

There is this Yiddish joke I heard somewhere, it went like this:

Guy is drafted to WW1, and is super scared. His best friend tried to console him:

"Listen, when you get to the draft office, there are two options: unfit or able. Unfit is good! But let’s say you get able.

Then there are two options again: staff or troops. Staff is good! But let’s say you get troops.

Then there are two options: rear or front. Rear is good! But let’s say you get front.

Then there are two options: you make it through or you get hit. Making it through is good! But say you get hit.

Then there are two options: you get wounded and go home, or you get a mortal hit. Wounded and going home is good!

And to be frank, in the other case, you won’t be able to worry anyway…"

The last two are just helping each other :D

You probably couldn’t call it friendship if you never hang out for the sake of it, but that is just the “I know someone” type of relationship

Gut, dass Ernteausfälle, Hungersnöte, Hitzewellen und Naturkatastrophen nichts mit dem Lebensstandard zu tun haben… Ja, 1.5 ist optimistisch gewesen. Wahrscheinlich war allen Unterschreiben bewusst, dass das nichts wird. Aber es war halt die Zahl, bei der das Schlimmste vermieden wird.

Ouch, that sucks. I am amazed how there is not a landslide majority in the US to fix the healthcare system, one way or another. Even if I didn’t have insurance, paid everything out of pocket, it would still be cheaper than the US, for what I believe is a comparable standard.

But then again, the average voter probably knows nothing about the world and is fed too much propaganda. I can see it starting here, too.

I mean, three choices there: move back to the city, give up on the job and get something that is likely worse but closer (while potentially spending more time on the farm), or leave that area altogether. All of them with a probability of working out fine.

If the fascists don’t ruin the country too quickly, I should have almost-everything-paid-for health insurance and protection against unjust dismissal for the foreseeable future. As I said, not in the US.

And I’m lucky enough to have enough savings to live a year or two without a job, even without welfare.

I am more worrier about how they grind up what is left of the economy between the US, China and “we need 500000 tanks to fight Russia”. And desperate people vote for easy answers, hence the fascists. If the US serves as an example, they will accelerate the decline, but at least they will shoot some brown people in the process, yay…

Imagine that: you’re a nation and know the enemy wants to steal your secrets by seducing your people. The best way to avoid it is to have them waste as much time as possible on fake targets. So you hire a bunch of lonely nerds who work in totally mundane fields and give them a crash course in looking like they do top secret stuff.

I’d watch that movie.

Pots and lids, my guy, somewhere out there are honey singles in your area with the inverse fantasy.

How dare he! Consensual hetero sex in a committed relationship, in a conservative society?! Pervert!

Wasn’t there a story about a president somewhere that the CIA tried to blackmail with a sex tape, and the guy basically said that he’s flattered and he doesn’t if mind his people see if he sleeps around?

On the internet, nobody knows you are a horse

Not in the US, and I myself am doing fine. I earn about 30k after taxes, job is quite chill and for the moment it is safe, rent is about 12k a year, and I have some savings to not worry about the immediate future. But I can feel it coming, one way or the other.