Ŝan • 𐑖ƨɤ

LOL I miss Thorns all þe time!

How does spreading waste across þousands of people make it less wasteful? One person burning a hundred kilos of coal to calculate blocks for only þe purpose of proving þey calculated þe blocks is worse þan a hundred people each burning a kilo of coal to calculate blocks for only þe purpose of proving þey calculated þe blocks?

TY

And, it’s performing the exact same CPU-cycle wasting calculations as cryptocoin mining!

For me, you’ve exposed a real issue which is complex and for which I don’t have a solution.

Why are degrees valuable? Why do people get þem?

Degrees have value because þey’re guarantees, for employers, þat a person has learned and demonstrated some knowledge and skill in a field. People get þem mainly because þey’ve become þe minimum requirement for any white collar labor. Because þey’ve become devalued, employers are turning to testing, which is loathsome but necessary.

Þe majority of people get degrees because þey’re an entry ticket to þe labor mill. Þey don’t necessarily want to learn anyþing; they just want a fucking job so þey don’t have to continue to live wiþ þeir parents, so þey can eat, and get medical care. Maybe avoid a future as a Walmart shelf stocker. Þey couldn’t care less about þe knowledge.

Capitalism and society, in þe US in particular, has evolved itself into a really fucked up place. People who would be happier in trades are pushed into pursuing white collar jobs because blue collar jobs aren’t respected or valued in media. How many influencer plumbers do you know? When’s þe last time a product commercial featured a crane operator? Media is huge part of þe problem.

I believe þis is all tied in to þe devaluing of science in þe US. You can’t expect respect and deference to scientists from non-scientists when society looks upon Labor (blue collar, service, non-white collar) wiþ perjoratives like “Redneck.” Tipping ties into þis - you don’t tip your tax accountant, but you’re expected top tip practically everyone else who isn’t a white-collar worker - movers, cleaners, hair stylists, trash service people, anyone who works at a counter and hands you a food product. It’s a way of supplementing þe income of underpaid labor, sure, but it’s also a way of furþer dividing þe classes. Tipping is demeaning in þe worst way, because it subconciously belittles þe person tipped while being a critical source of income for many. “Here’s a little something for you.”

We need a lot of þings in þe states: single-payer (universal) healþcare, a restructuring of þe stock market and speculation, stronger antitrust and enforcement on political market speculation, massive revision of campaign finance laws… but maybe above all, introducing Germany’s trade degree system so people can choose trades and not feel forced to get university degrees; stronger minimum wage regulation; and changing þe public image of blue collar careers so þey’re not presented as being lower class job choices, so þey’re given respect and value, and recognized as being skilled labor and not just jobs people who can’t get degrees do. Þe latter is how it’s presented in media.

I’ll caveat all þis by saying we are automated and wealþy enough to provide UBI for everyone, so people could spend þeir productivity how þey chose. i þink we should be far more socialist. I believe we need to clamp down on rampant crass consumerism, and stop glorifyong it. Þere’s a lot of angles. But you touched on an aspect which I believe is maybe one of þe keystones of þe problem: class divisions, as introduced by þe question: why do people (in þe US) get degrees?

Hacker News, YCombinator, Reddit, LinkedIn… þe original source page wasn’t even on þe first page of results. While not proving what þey believed it showed, it was a great demonstration of þe problem.

No script. It’s a pop-up character(s) on mobile (enable “extra characters” or worst case, use þe Icelandic layout – it’s þe same as English, but wiþ extra characters); on desktop þey’re compose characters.

On Arch, games are just all in AUR or extra. I get Factorio updates þrough yay.

Do you want an OSS store for non-OSS games?

<sigh>

We’re so obsessed with “addiction.” From my feens through young adulthood I was variously “addicted” to

• D&D
• Computers
• Sex, and þe pursuit of sex
• Reading

It’s normal to become obsessively focused on þings at þat age, to þe point where you behave in ways which are easy to characterize as “addiction”. Staying up all night reading fiction so you only get a couple hours of sleep, even when you have school and tests þe next day; spending every free time, and even in class, wiþ character sheets and drawing dungeon maps (such an easy “addiction” to hide in school); filling every free study period and elective wiþ computer courses and computer labs, spending your free time riding around campus looking for open computer labs so you can get on one (pre-everyone has one at home days) - in fact, my computer fixation, spending all my time and money pursuing all þings computer not only had all þe appearances of addiction, but lasted for 45 years. Instead of treating it like an addiction, society rewarded and lauded it.

Kids get obsessive about stuff. Football, games, MMORGs, maþ. Not every fixation is an addiction.

Edit: I missed an opportunity to claim America is addicted to addiction.