aussiethebob (u/aussiethebob)

aussiethebob commented on Guess I'm a rationalist now scottaaronson.blog/?p=890... · Posted by u/nsoonhui

naasking · 6 months ago

I don't think it's useful to conflate "the ends justify the means" with "cost-benefit analysis". You sometimes use the latter to justify certain means, but you don't have to, that's why they're different. When you believe that the ends justify the means, you can also just give no consideration at all to the ethics of the means. No doctor triaging patients would ever shoot a patient in the head so he could move onto one they thought was more important. Yes they might let patients die, but that's different than actively killing them.

aussiethebob · 6 months ago

In the framework of modern civilian medicine sure.

I'm sure exactly what you described was done plenty of times in ww1 and similar around that era, and seen as perfectly moral and rational.

aussiethebob commented on A decision to eject from a failing F-35B fighter and the betrayal in its wake postandcourier.com/news/s... · Posted by u/po

sneak · 9 months ago

Implicit in this view is that a pilot’s life has a cash value and that value is something less than “hundreds of millions of dollars” or a single digit multiple thereof.

The plane in this incident was valued at $136M USD.

He was in reality about 1900 feet AGL at the time of ejection. Planes fall around 160 feet per second when stalled.

How much money would you accept to not pull an ejection lever for a few more seconds in a zero-visibility setting without instruments in a falling/stalling plane that you personally are sitting inside? How about at 1900 feet AGL? That’s 12 seconds before impact on a good day.

aussiethebob · 9 months ago

I think the plane is only $136M in the context of the overall program and it's projected number of planes built over the program lifespan.

The materials and labor for a single plane are far lower.

aussiethebob commented on Nothing: Simply Do Nothing usenothing.com/... · Posted by u/psvisualdesign

aussiethebob · a year ago

Could we get a leaderboard feature

aussiethebob commented on Open Infrastructure Map openinframap.org... · Posted by u/throwup238

swarfield · 2 years ago

Should we be marking key infrastructure, utilities don't distribute this information for a reason.

aussiethebob · 2 years ago

Yes we should. Security through obscurity is a myth

aussiethebob commented on Tell HN: Fender Now Manufacturing Guitars to Vintage Specs · Posted by u/AnimalMuppet

aussiethebob · 3 years ago

There is a lot of romanticism in guitar gear nerd circles, who are big believers in 'mojo'. Things like tone wood, degaussed pickup magnets, nitro paint and so on and so on.

There is zero reliable evidence that these things impact how the instrument sounds or plays, or that guitars age in any appreciable way (maybe acoustics, but certainly not electrics). Manufacturers are cranking out amazing instruments with remarkable consistency, we're truly in a golden age where even low tier instruments are likely to be every bit as good as what the 'greats' played on, which were after all just off the shelf guitars in their time.

aussiethebob commented on Software engineers paying 75K to get 3 inches taller businessinsider.com/tech-... · Posted by u/thelastgallon

langitbiru · 3 years ago

"A former Bumble product manager says that a majority of women on the platform tend to set a floor of 6 feet for men, which would limit their candidate pool to about 15% of the population."

6 feet = 182 cm.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/online-dating-investing-match-t...

aussiethebob · 3 years ago

This seems like poor strategy for most women. Assuming an individual women is of average attractiveness but going after the most attractive guy they can land, it would be better to go after top 5% 5'11" guy with less competition than land a mid range 6'2" guy.

aussiethebob commented on Ask HN: What can I do to actively fight climate change? · Posted by u/throwaway53459

aussiethebob · 4 years ago

I feel like the biggest problem with climate change is one of collective action.

Lets start with the assumption that it is possible to make a meaningful impact on climate change by significantly reducing our consumption, this requires significant sacrifices to an individuals lifestyle.

I'm talking big pictured stuff like not eating meat, no more international travel, no personal vehicles, less spend on medicine reducing life expectancy, limits on number of children.

Lets say we have credible evidence that if these things are done the situation will improve.

Now whether you take the perspective of being an individual, member of a community or even a country, why would you make those sacrifices if you have no guarantee that everyone else will. It's a big price to pay to 'set an example'.

u/aussiethebob

KarmaCake day12September 21, 2021View Original