AndPlusAlso @AndPlusAlso

I think there's a distinction btwn a competitor or customer affecting your destiny vs a platform owner. As long as APP doesn't harm Apple's economics or strategic position, they can be allowed to make a lot of money. But at a certain point Apple might demand a cut (e.g. Google TAC to) or make a strategic move (ATT). Those are real risks, but it's different from a zero sum, divide the pie dynamic.

If someone commits a crime, steals from you, harms your family, should we just say "it is what it is, what's the point of revisiting this"? Accountability is not just about punishment. It's about sending a message to society about what is and isn't acceptable. It's about standing up for our values.

One of hannah arendt’s points is that evil is the thoughtlessness that the perpetrators exhibit for other people. They are so concerned with themselves that they will mindlessly inflict catastrophic damage. They might be smart, diligent, etc, which has nothing to do with self awareness or broader awareness. In fact their intelligence and diligence is part of why they are so effective at being so destructive. This is why moral education is different from practical education.

A reason why hypocrisy is so universally (and correctly) hated, and for the same reason why skin in the game is so important, is that it’s morally acceptable to be wrong if you made a good faith decision as evidenced by your own exposure to the consequences. The outcome might be bad (which means you failed in the task) but you might not have failed morally if you at least did it in good faith. Fauci, like many other examples of banal evil, did not participate in the consequences and instead disregarded the pain and suffering he inflicted on others to benefit himself (becoming a celebrity, etc) while simultaneously exempting himself from the negative consequences (he was partying and dining while everyone else was locked down).

"Except for an extraordinary diligence in looking out for his personal advancement, he had no motives at all… He merely, to put the matter colloquially, never realized what he was doing… It was sheer thoughtlessness—something by no means identical with stupidity—that predisposed him to become one of the greatest criminals of that period." "Evil, as she saw it, need not be committed only by demonic monsters but—with disastrous effect—by morons and imbeciles as well" nytimes.com/2026/07/28/us/…

@blueprintsmb22 Perhaps you are cut out to be an Umarell: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umarell

Or you want to convert your 401k into the goods and services you need in old age, and they laugh at you: "That's not as good as money, sir. Those are just IOUs."

What if, one day in the future, your brokerage account full of digital database entries saying you own a bunch of US listed equities... carries as much meaning as owning a Bored Ape NFT?

Bushels 🌾 Barrels 🛢 & Bullion 💰 @BuBarrelBull

4 months ago

America Celebrates 250 years (and the end of Pax Americana) This note is about the US and the implications of another war in the Middle East, but first, some history: In 1956, Britain and France conspired with Israel to seize the Suez Canal from Egypt’s Nasser. It was a classic

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@christopherrufo @JoshHochschild Maybe that Nolan feels he cannot be noticeably ironic in his critique is part of his message. The point of irony/satire is that the message cannot be delivered directly. The receiver will reject it unless it's indirect and lets them say "that's not me ohhhh, yep, my bad."

My take on Nolan’s Odyssey: That’s the knowledge Odysseus (and Oppenheimer) struggle with. They made a choice - the one they know was the only viable choice - and it worked. But the consequences of that choice were essentially civilization-breaking. The way they won the game shattered the game, and they’re smart enough to see what that means. They realize they are going to live the rest of their lives in a world permanently and fundamentally changed by what they did. The world they wake up in, the day after winning, is no longer home. And they can never go back.

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@MrMojoRisinX do you think this is different for public vs private markets and equity vs credit? integrity matters more when you're relying on a contract (worth the paper it's written on), which is more of a privates/credit thing

@AeneasAwoken Osage?

I've wondered if the global mkt for oil allowed econ growth from the shale breakthrough to accrue elsewhere (e.g. China/Asia where higher ROI energy-intensive projects got the energy they needed, rather than supporting more fancy HQs for white collar workers in N. Amer) Perhaps due to constraint being (as u say) physical goods, so value accrues where those come from

@nachkari @sidprabhu I agree and have appreciated your points on this. Imo macro econs tend to think in terms of closed systems ("how do we optimally allocate x resources") rather than an entrepreneur/biz mindset: "how do we create more resources" which is where real growth comes from

@nachkari @sidprabhu lol 0% AI. i think you both just see your own focus area (energy vs macro-econ) as the primary driver of a real problem. not sure you guys need to disagree here

@nachkari @sidprabhu Sid saying "we've failed to optimize allocation of energy consumption" (stagnation from too much energy consumed by low ROI uses) Nick saying "we've failed to expand capacity for more energy consumption" (stag bc we're running out of energy before high ROI projects get access)

@juliey4 how does it compare to normal plastic bottles and paper cartons (with their plastic based lining)?

@GregDaly @BretDevereaux @sentantiq true, not a 1 for 1 comparison. point is just that for someone who thinks achilles was a real guy, this may be a helpful way to point out that including ‘some’ real elements does not make the whole story non-fiction

@GregDaly @BretDevereaux @sentantiq perhaps a helpful modern comparison: In the X-Men Origins: Wolverine film, Logan and his brother Sabretooth fight as soldiers in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

@DAMendelsohnNYC Could it be translated as "un-blamed"? If Aig is blaming the gods instead of himself, maybe he's simply "the un-blamed Aig"