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Joined 2 years ago
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Cake day: June 12th, 2023

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  • I grew up watching it. In the era of linear TV, even with cable we had maaaybe 2 or 3 other legitimate options for family TV time on that night, at that time. It was non-offensive (funny saying that about Trump now), family friendly, reality TV. I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but it was well produced, and mindlessly entertaining.

    Now, at the same time, while I understand for many people, “the apprentice convinced them he’s a business genius,” that’s SOOO frustrating. I completely agree with you about “his fucking stupidity.” I think the first few seasons, they cut it well to make him appear intelligent. However, as the show went on, I suspect he wanted more and more screen time, and that distracted from the actual show and that’s when we started to notice “his fucking stupidity” showing.






  • The United States says it was one of three countries to vote against a U.N. resolution condemning the glorification of Nazism over freedom of speech issues and concerns that Russia was using it to carry out political attacks against its neighbors.

    Ukraine and Palau were the other no votes.

    I mean, maybe the Russia concern is honest, but I do wonder about Ukraine. They seem to have some neo-Nazi’s in their midst (see the Azov Brigade) and being unable to support this, or even abstain is disappointing.






  • I’m not sure why you’re specifically focusing on mutual funds. Holding of public shares is supposed to be a passive income whether it’s individual investors (who are hopefully diversifying their investments), mutual funds, ETFs, etc. The board works for the shareholders by collecting data, assessing that data, and then making recommendations so that investors don’t have to do that research. Sure, it’s possible that the shareholders vote against the advice of the board, but it’s pretty rare. If the board is out of step with the shareholders, they should probably be replaced. This is a virtuous cycle (or vicious cycle for other stocks) where Costco is seen as a fairly ethical company, so investors who are looking for stocks that meet their values choose companies like Costco (whether they are individual investors or investment vehicles marketed as fitting certain values). These investors choose a board who represents their values, so I don’t think, “we’re just lucky that Costco’s board of directors isn’t terrible,” I think it’s a part of this virtuous cycle.




  • I think you’re making a lot of assumptions here, many of which I have contentions with.

    we had very little moderation in the early days of the internet and social media

    It differed from site to site, but in my experience of the Internet in the '90s and '00s, a lot of forums were heavily moderated, and even Facebook was kept pretty clean when I got on it in ~2006/2007.

    and yet people didn’t believe the nonsense they saw online,

    I fully dispute this. People have always believed hearsay. They’re just exposed to more of it through the web instead of it coming verbally from your family, friends, and coworkers.

    unlike nowadays were even official news platforms have reported on outright bullshit being made up on social media.

    1. We live in a world of 24-hour news cycles and sensationalization, which has escalated over the past few decades. This often encourages ratings over quality.

    2. Mainstream media has always had problems with fact-check. I’m not trying to attack the news media or anything, I think most reporters do their best and strive to be factual, but they sometimes make mistakes. I can’t remember the name of it, but I there’s some sort of phenomenon where if you watch a news broadcast, and they talk about a subject you have expertise in, you’re likely to find inaccuracies in it, and be more skeptical of the rest of the broadcast.

    To me the problem is the godamn algorithm that pushes people into bubbles that reinforce their correct or incorrect views

    Polarization is not limited to social media. The news media has become more and more tribal over time. Company that sell products and services have been more likely to present a political world-view.

    Overall, I think you’re ignoring a lot of other things that have changed over the years. It’s not like the only thing that has changed in the world is the algorithmic feed. We are perpetually online now and that’s where most people get their news, so it’s only natural that would also be their source of disinformation. I think algorithmic feeds that push people into their bubbles is a response to this polarization, not the source of it.