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smitty1e commented on Code Is Debt   tornikeo.com/code-is-debt... · Posted by u/tornikeo
smitty1e · 18 hours ago
> Clearly, the company with fewer lines of code is better off.

Well, there is some dimension pertaining to how well the code is understood by the employees of Companies A & B.

The theoretical advantage of a smaller codebase is of scant practical value if that codebase cannot be maintained.

And maybe this point is captured by the "very similar companies" statement.

smitty1e commented on The Last Vestal Virgin and the Fall of Rome   debramaymacleod.com/blog/... · Posted by u/thomassmith65
smitty1e · 19 hours ago
Among the Emperor's titles was "Pontifex Maximus", a pagan title still in use today.
smitty1e commented on I researched every attempt to stop fascism in history. The success rate is 0%   cmarmitage.substack.com/p... · Posted by u/rbanffy
jfengel · 2 days ago
OP was referring to regulations rather than debt or entitlements. Thus far we haven't done much to social security (other than firing the help desks, which doesn't really cut into the actual cost.)

Walking away from it would be, uh, problematic. Especially for the demographic who voted most enthusiastically for this administration. Which might make for some poetic justice, but a lot of others would also find themselves in dire straits.

smitty1e · 21 hours ago
> OP was referring to regulations rather than debt or entitlements.

One can clearly offer these differentiations, but it's all so much Utopian Progressivism that has simply not withstood the test of time, if we're being honest about the debt.

But honesty scales like Utopian Progressivism, so expect continued ignoring of the problem until the economy 'splodes and the "experts" stand around looking aghast.

smitty1e commented on I researched every attempt to stop fascism in history. The success rate is 0%   cmarmitage.substack.com/p... · Posted by u/rbanffy
jfengel · 3 days ago
Do we? We seem to be busily dismantling that, along with the apparatus of enforcing it.
smitty1e · 2 days ago
Are we? I would enjoy the privilege of walking away from Social Security like the misguided idea it is.
smitty1e commented on Do the simplest thing that could possibly work   seangoedecke.com/the-simp... · Posted by u/dondraper36
smitty1e · 3 days ago
I call it the "Ditt-Kuh-Pow", the Dumbest Thing That Could Possibly Work.

Said that in in a telephone call one time, and the guy leading that was all "I'm mildly disturbed that you had a verbalization for that."

smitty1e commented on I researched every attempt to stop fascism in history. The success rate is 0%   cmarmitage.substack.com/p... · Posted by u/rbanffy
tkel · 3 days ago
And Thomas Jefferson had children with his slave.
smitty1e · 3 days ago
And then there was a bloody civil war to eliminate chattel slavery.

These days we have more sophisticated control mechanisms involving government regulations.

smitty1e commented on The Fancy Rug Dilemma   epan.land/essays/2025-8_F... · Posted by u/ericpan64
michaelmrose · 8 days ago
The Amish way is ultimately impractical to practice without being embedded in a society which is much larger and inimical to their own way of thinking as otherwise those willing to both bear the cost of accepting modern ways of and willing to do violence burn your shit and settle on your land. In more peaceful times people may chose only to impoverish your people and buy your lands but the net effect is the same.

The inherent built-in futility limits the virtue of this approach.

smitty1e · 8 days ago
I don't disagree with your point, which is, I think, that the Amish are essentially freeloading on the security afforded by the surrounding society.

Indeed, the smaller "tribal-esque" approach of the Amish may be considered similar to that of the Native American tribes, and American History seen as a natural experiment of how the Amish would fare if government security were to vanish.

smitty1e commented on The Fancy Rug Dilemma   epan.land/essays/2025-8_F... · Posted by u/ericpan64
pixl97 · 9 days ago
I think part of the Amish line of thought is instead of randomly and quickly adopting technology/growth a community should take time to understand what the impacts are of using them.

Some people think Amish don't use electricity, but that's not true. You'll find quite a few of them with things like solar panels and LED lights. These things tend to have very long lifespans and no grid connections limiting needs from outsiders.

smitty1e · 9 days ago
Indeed, and the infrastructure behind these are very communally owned.

I guess if the unit of group analysis stays small enough, they can avoid the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons .

smitty1e commented on The Fancy Rug Dilemma   epan.land/essays/2025-8_F... · Posted by u/ericpan64
ericpan64 · 12 days ago
Hey HN - long-time lurker and decided to start writing essays (inspired by PG and many of y'all as well). This one came from months of joking with my friends about different "fancy rug" problems which led me to think about my own "fancy rugs". Enjoy!
smitty1e · 9 days ago
Merging all the dimensions of the question into Value as a function of Cost seems part of the challenge.

Value is such a subjective concept. You finally get down to "We all need things transcending pure utility, connecting us to stories bigger than ourselves." at the end of the post.

Even if "bigger than ourselves" takes on some explicit religious angle--thinking the Amish here--there is still copious room to dislike the fact that the Amish are rolling around in "them new-fangled buggies" instead of being on foot like they were in the Good Book.

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