calmlynarczyk (u/calmlynarczyk)

calmlynarczyk commented on One in five young Americans think the Holocaust is a myth economist.com/united-stat... · Posted by u/tbdenney

bell-cot · 2 years ago

What fraction of young Americans could even vaguely describe Joseph Stalin's 3-decade reign of terror (1922-1952), let alone have a sense of how many millions he killed? Or the Romani Holocaust? Or the horrors of King Leopold II's so-called Congo Free State? Or ...

(Yes, it's interesting that the article calls the Holocaust "one of modern history’s greatest crimes" - but gives zero words to any of the others. And there's no hint that the poll asked about any of the others.)

If your knowledge of history is pretty minimal, but you keep seeing "Because Holocaust!" used as some kinda magical rhetorical/moral trump card...then having serious doubts about that "Holocaust" thing is fairly reasonable, AS AN UNINFORMED EMOTIONAL REACTION. [Please re-read the shouty part there 3 times, before you angrily respond.]

Vs. if you do know the history - the Holocaust's "special cultural/moral status" still really sticks out. My pet theory is that, from the PoV of well-educated, middle- and upper-class western whites, the Jewish Holocaust victims "look" like just-one-thing-different-from-me analogs. Vs. the poor Slavs, Romani, Black, etc. victims do not - so killing "their kind" in 7-or-so-digit quantities just doesn't push the same deep emotional buttons.

calmlynarczyk · 2 years ago

There's a difference between being unaware of something and actively denying it like the responses in this poll. It's good to also have knowledge of the events you called out, but I bet more people are aware of them than you're giving credit. A lot of Jews are pretty aware that the Nazi Holocaust targeted other groups of people as well, including Romani, Slavs, and the mentally handicapped.

By your logic, as long as a tragic historical event is referenced over and over again, it's ok for lots of people to doubt or play down its significance. Are you understanding of large numbers of people being against any of the recent black civil rights touch-points, since slavery, Jim Crow, and racism against blacks has been _the_ talking point and justification for contentious events in the US for the last 5 years?

It's fascinating that for the last couple of decades, Holocaust denialism was seen by US liberals as this inhuman and inexcusable philosophy. However, now that it's not just the "evil" right-wingers being called out for buying into it, a common and acceptable response has effectively become "eh, what do the Jews expect?" I'm not aligning with either political philosophy, just calling out the hypocrisy.

calmlynarczyk commented on One in five young Americans think the Holocaust is a myth economist.com/united-stat... · Posted by u/tbdenney

chiefalchemist · 2 years ago

And it's likely [1]...

- 1 in 5 believe the earth is flat.

- 2 in 7 believe in the Easter Bunny.

- 4 in 10 don't know that 4 of 10 is 40%

- 3 in 8 have never left their own state.

- 7 in 10 want to grow up to be online "influencers".

- And so on...

The point is, if you're looking for a factual but clickbait-ready headline just survey young Anericans. Why is The Economist dabbling is such LCD "journalism"?

[1] These aren't factual. They're fictional and for effect.

calmlynarczyk · 2 years ago

Your theoretical examples imply that you think the age range called out in this article headline refers to children, when it's actually 18-29 year olds. These are legal adults that responded to this poll, not kids who may not have yet gone through the requisite history classes. Are you really using belief in the Easter Bunny as a "whatabout" argument to hand-wave away the significantly higher rate of Holocaust denialism among this age range?

calmlynarczyk commented on U.S. students' math scores plunge in global education assessment axios.com/2023/12/05/us-s... · Posted by u/beejiu

calmlynarczyk · 2 years ago

The Economist did an article about this as well and pointed out that math scores were already sliding downward in the US prior to 2019. They argued that COVID is only partly to blame for the decrease.

https://www.economist.com/international/2023/12/05/the-pande...

calmlynarczyk commented on Zuckerberg personally rejected Meta's proposals to improve teen mental health cnn.com/2023/11/08/tech/m... · Posted by u/miguelazo

bastawhiz · 2 years ago

This is a disgustingly bad look for Meta. I can't even begin to figure out how they are (read: Zuckerberg is) able to draw even the most tenuous of connections between _plastic surgery filters_ and profit. Nobody is going to stop using Meta products or looking at ads because they can't post selfies with artificially beautified versions of themselves.

calmlynarczyk · 2 years ago

It's a really vague ask and the article doesn't explain the specifics of what constitutes "plastic surgery filters." Are you no longer allowed to have pics with those Snapchat-esque glowing faces or big eyes? Is the detection system able to differentiate between a filter and actual plastic surgery? It's also a bit of a can of worms if Meta no longer allows certain modifications to images of people on its platform "for the sake of the children."

Let's not pretend like young people chasing sex and beauty is some brand new concept only concocted in the last 15 years by the evil developers at Facebook.

calmlynarczyk commented on Politicians, scientists spar over alleged NIH coverup using COVID19 origin paper science.org/content/artic... · Posted by u/peanutcrisis

ftxbro · 2 years ago

> Really setting aside the divisive political positions that have poisoned the debate in the US

yeah but if you believe lab leak then you are probably also an anti-fauci anti-vax anti-masker qanon trumper who gets all your news from tucker carlson and laura ingraham

calmlynarczyk · 2 years ago

I can't tell if this is sarcasm or not.

calmlynarczyk commented on US Army Field Manual on Leadership (1990) [pdf] armyoe.files.wordpress.co... · Posted by u/jtlicardo

warner25 · 2 years ago

It's interesting to see civilians looking to the military for leadership and management ideas. I'm a career Army officer, and when I was a young officer I looked to civilian books and other resources for management advice. Over the years, however, I've come appreciate more what the Army has written on the topic.

Here's the current (2019) version of the Army's doctrine on leadership, if anyone wants to see how it has evolved and what's being taught today: https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/ARN20039-ADP_6-...

And here's the companion guide for "developing leaders:" https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/ARN36735-FM_6-2...

calmlynarczyk · 2 years ago

I think that's just being wise by broadening your horizons. You've already gotten the Army's take on this matter from your training.

After a decade of both civilian and Army experience, the one thing I can say the US military teaches better than any other organization is how to lead people. It has its share of leaders that fail upwards just like anywhere else, but on average the people in upper levels got there primarily on meritocracy. Your Soldiers are a big part of that, as they can actively prop you up if you do them right or bring you down should you fail them.

My napkin theory is that any profession which has a known risk of serious injury or death requires more competent leadership abilities in order to align an organization in the direction you want or need it to go (everything I've said here probably applies for first-responders as well). The fear and stress that comes with these kinds of jobs requires a certain finesse and connection from leaders with subordinates in order to convince them to put themselves in harms way for the sake of the "mission."

calmlynarczyk commented on Magic Mushrooms. LSD. Ketamine. The Drugs That Power Silicon Valley wsj.com/articles/silicon-... · Posted by u/acjacobson

progmetaldev · 2 years ago

I find traditional psychedelics to be far too powerful for myself. I have an issue with letting go, and ego-death is not a fun experience for me. It would be great if I learned to let go, and "go with the flow," but my anxiety just doesn't allow me to do this.

I have found lower doses of THC <= 5mg allows me to self reflect on my current situation, and gives me a sort of "vacation" from my normal way of thinking, without completely blowing away my sense of reality. For a few hours I can meditate to music, tap into a more creative artistic side with painting, and leave the stress of the day behind me. The next day I wake up recharged with a better way of thinking about my day. Of course, THC is a mild psychedelic, but I don't get the extreme paranoia or anxiety of complete ego dissolution. I have not tried microdosing, but perhaps that could have a more lasting effect. The last thing I want is to need medication just to perform at work. I have generalized anxiety disorder, and the THC seems to help in all aspects of that anxiety, not just work related.

calmlynarczyk · 2 years ago

Since getting into weed, it's surprised me how little the anxiety-inducing effects of psychedelics are brought up. I tried smoking non-medicinal weed for the first time recently and was not prepared for the massive panic attack that I had when taking what would be considered a typical dose of THC (10mg). Psychedelics cause a very different kind of loss of control from what you get on alcohol that my mind just does not seem capable of handling.

I've probed other people about the anxiety and fear I experienced, and have since learned that it's actually a fairly common feeling that even experienced users get. However, it's just considered part of the trip and requires experience to understand how to manage it. I wish I could reach a tolerance level that would allow me to have a more reliably enjoyable psychedelic experience, because I feel like I'm missing out on something that so many others seem to get positive results from.

calmlynarczyk commented on How I feel quitting my own startup aquiles.me/how-it-feels-q... · Posted by u/aqui_c

aledalgrande · 2 years ago

How can people be so sketchy and still sleep at night is out of my mind

calmlynarczyk · 2 years ago

Psychopathy is a hell of a drug

calmlynarczyk commented on Lemmy Instances are already blocking each other beehaw.org/post/567170... · Posted by u/fariszr

vyvyvy · 2 years ago

The problem is that it's still a feudal system like Reddit's is, with power concentrated in the administrative nobility.

The only major difference with Reddit is that the latter has an additional, all-powerful layer of royalty that holds control over these lesser lords. Whereas Lemmy has them all fighting each other.

Either way, the peasantry just has to put up with whatever nonsense battling the ruling class involve themselves in.

calmlynarczyk · 2 years ago

In theory, the idea of distributed, or at least decentralized online communities is something I like and want to see a return to. However, I think the folks championing this stuff need to set more realistic expectations.

Anyone whose spent awhile in a hobbyist forum or IRC network has likely experienced that they're just as, if not more prone to moderator drama than even Reddit. Wait until an admin rage-deletes a whole instance over an argument with someone or one community brigades/DOS's another and then you'll get to see the dark side of the "good ol'" community-run forum days.

calmlynarczyk commented on Fark redesign is now live (2007) fark.com/comments/2762299... · Posted by u/MrThoughtful

netsharc · 2 years ago

I had to check what the previous design looked like: http://web.archive.org/web/20060223114105/http://www.fark.co...

I guess the new (current since 2007) design has a lot more whitespace, although not as bad as now "mobile-first" designs of the last 5 or so years. On the topic of mobile, the current fark.com doesn't have a phone-friendly design.

calmlynarczyk · 2 years ago

Seeing the original site design, which is considered "superior" by its users to the new one, makes me feel very out-of-touch with what many others consider good user experience design.

I find the original design hard to use. The post text is very small. There is no max width to the main content, which makes it difficult to keep track of where you are when text spans multiple lines. The links are on the far-side of the page from the posts/comments they relate to, without any horizontal spacing indicators, so it's very difficult to tell what lines up with what.

The only thing I like less in the redesign is that the sidebar sections are intermixed with banner ads, which makes them hard to find and get to. But overall, I found the new design a big improvement to the old one, which judging by the responses to this and the linked post, puts me in a small minority.