Dennis Hackethal’s Blog

My blog about philosophy, coding, and anything else that interests me.

Tweets

An archive of my tweets and retweets through . They may be formatted slightly differently than on Twitter. API access has since gotten prohibitively expensive – I don't know whether or when I'll be able to update this archive.

But in case I will, you can subscribe via RSS – without a Twitter account. Rationale

@ValaAfshar @AndrewYang

Poverty is natural. Humanity was born into the utmost poverty of nature. It’s the default state of man. It isn’t something one can just abolish. One has to create wealth.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@krazyander

Rising cases don’t justify the castration of freedom. Instead, they should be used to persuade people to manage their health more wisely.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@MattStirner @Ace_Archist

Agreed, healthcare doesn’t strike me as a Randian governmental responsibility.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

“[...] visits to the homes of family and friends will no longer be allowed, and only one close contact will be allowed outside the household.”

Has there ever been this kind of tyranny in the free world? How long will it take for people to rise up against it? twitter.com/FridaGhitis/st…

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@tomhyde_

Crushing it!

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@AndreaW09647358 @markusabsent @SwipeWright

I added a sun to it! https://t.co/3N6T9ECi3N

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@dvassallo

I agree that we shouldn't blindly ignore them though!

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@dvassallo

Not so—evo psych is largely false. Premonitions may well result from knowledge we develop ourselves during our lifetime.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

Potentially of interest to you, @mymind.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

New guest post by @ChipkinLogan about the three deepest theories of reality blog.dennishackethal.com/2020/10/27/thr…

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@michaelerich5

Inwiefern das mit Ihrer zweiten Frage zusammenhängt, weiß ich nicht.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@michaelerich5

Kommt drauf an, was Sie mit „KI“ meinen. Wenn Sie eine vollwertige Simulation des menschlichen Verstands meinen, dann per definitionem „ja“, da dieser ja alles kann, was der Mensch auch kann.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@Jorgensen4POTUS

BLM is a Marxist organization. You’re not a libertarian.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

On the love triangle between open borders, social-justice warriors, and murderous Islamism. twitter.com/Ayaan/status/1…

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@mansfield_pablo

Yeah. Note her lamenting when kids "get what they want." :(

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

New blog post. Also, this is the new home of my blog now.

blog.dennishackethal.com/2020/10/25/the…

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

To those arguing in favor of lockdowns based on outcomes alone, will this change your mind?

tomwoods.com/death-by-lockd…

And if not, what will?

“When you ask them to stay home, in many cases you’re asking them to starve.”

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@BTPNorthWales

Translates to “those who seek freedom are selfish.” You’re making totalitarians proud.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@anniegowen @realDonaldTrump

No he didn't. He specified it's the air he considers filthy.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@SwipeWright

Evidence-based epistemology wouldn’t help with that (it’s false). Popperian epistemology would.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DrunkenMighty @DavidDeutschOxf

Depends on my mood. If I'm interested in the machinery and stored goods I might find the warehouse more interesting.

Plus, I think people can create much more enjoyable environments than forests (and enjoyable for much longer). Homes, for example.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

There is also an underlying assumption that it's a politician's job to ensure the health of people, regulate (directly or indirectly) hospital usage, etc. (It isn't.)

In some countries, people are paying (through taxes) for the enforcement of their own house arrest. It's nuts.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

I agree that solutions can lead to other, better problems, and then that's progress—the lockdown doesn't seem to fall into that category.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

Yes, there's definitely that. And it's possible that I'm fudging "solution" and "common preference" as defined by the TCS glossary.

That said, a lockdown might solve a politician's problem but still ruin other people's lives. So, morally problematic.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

Yes, you're right.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

RT @ClimateWarrior7:
While Stalin went off the rails a bit, Lenin was actually responsible for no more than 3 million deaths at the most, a…

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@richarddorset @DavidDeutschOxf

Why does it matter?

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DrunkenMighty @DavidDeutschOxf

Why should complexity afford moral significance/protection?

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

RT @ClimateWarrior7:
I remember when human rights were about people not being tortured or arbitrarily detained.

Fortunately that's all bee…

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@RealJamesWoods

Privatize the forests.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@PessimistsArc @sacbee_news

I’m curious, was there a penalty for not wearing masks at the time?

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

My criticism is that its important to know if lockdowns are solving any of the problems they’re meant to solve. If so, how? If not, why not?

For this, see my other tweets to you about coercion. Pretty much by definition, coercion does not solve problems.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

And freedom granted restrictively or conditionally is not freedom at all (those aren’t my words but they’re poorly enough remembered that the source may not want to be attributed).

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

I agree with you modification and with your first and last points that you mentioned above.

If you agree that freedom is necessary to solve problems (which you said you did), that means freedom cannot be reduced arbitrarily to solve problems.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

Okay I think this is getting us somewhere.

Great!

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

Ok. And yeah to be very clear, I don't want to put words in David's mouth, this is my application of what he said to a different (but imo related) topic.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

My answer is to critique them in terms of how well they solve the problems they purport to solve

That’s thinking exclusively in terms of outcomes again, although you agreed that “the outcome isnt all that matters, how we get there matters as well.”

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

...in psychological suffering and countless more problems. Coercion steamrolls over people. A solution to a problem means everyone involved prefers the solution. It’s not a solution unless that happens.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

the fact that a policy is coercive does not mean that it isnt solving the problem that it is aimed at solving

Coercion, by definition, doesn’t solve a problem, because it means there are parties affected by the coercion that do not want to be subjected to it, which results...

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

its common for policies to be put in place to solve certain problems that are at least somewhat coercive…

That coercion is common doesn’t mean it’s good.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

Ok but if you think it's easy to vary it's best not to agree with it or think it's true. I don't think easy-to-vary explanations could possibly be true.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@MartvMegen @HeuristicAndy

Survival rates don't change my argument, but should change that of lockdown advocates. I'll make it easier: let's say the survival rate was only 1%. That would make it easier to persuade people of the necessity to stay home. I know I would. So, still no place for coercion.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@ForwardIsGood @liberty_deity @ibuildfreedom

There's no vote to end taxation. And those who don't vote aren't exempt from taxation.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@falibilista

The people who are working on a vaccine and other ideas are indeed working toward a solution. But politicians who are coercing us are not working on solutions because they're coercive.

takingchildrenseriously.com/node/50#Coerci… vs takingchildrenseriously.com/node/50#Common…

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@falibilista

Bringing coercion back into the equation: "some precautions, with variable degree, are being undertaken" is a gross understatement of the amount of coercion that's being applied.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

I have given the example before of forcing one's child to give up smoking. Even assuming the child will be healthier for it, it is unacceptable to coerce him. Persuasion is preferable. If people were persuaded to stay home instead of forced I wouldn't have an issue with it.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

I haven't focused on coercion much because @falibilista requested to put that aside (twitter.com/falibilista/st…). But it's a huge part of the problem. Even if coercion led to a better outcome, I'd still oppose it because it is coercive.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

That's a pretty good start, yeah. I'd add that lockdown effects on knowledge creation are also unpredictably bad.

What's missing is that it's not only about the outcome, but also about how one is getting there—whether it is coercive or not.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

...I don't know yet if you agree with my modification of Deutsch's tweet.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

...then I don't think keeping "soft" lockdown policies is an option. Even if it's true that my criticism is too easy to vary, there's no other way out. You stated that you agreed with the first and last point from my previous tweet...

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

In any case, if you agree that any amount of lockdown policy reduces freedom, and you agree with my modification of Deutsch's point (twitter.com/dchackethal/st…), and you agree that freedom is required to solve problems (including vaccine development)...

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

I'll respond to that here: twitter.com/DorfGinger/sta…

For clarity, you asked for specificity here (twitter.com/DorfGinger/sta…)—twitter.com/dchackethal/st… and twitter.com/dchackethal/st… were my attempts to be more specific, so I believe I have done what you've asked.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

Maybe that's what's going on here. To those who despise coercion, they never, ever want to use it. It's just not an option for them. To those who think that some coercion can sometimes be appropriate, that seems like overkill. Could that be the core of our disagreement?

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

You raise an interesting problem I have wondered about in the past, which is that sometimes an explanation can seem universally applicable to some—it has great reach to them—and to those who disagree with the explanation it can seem easy to vary externally because of that reach

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@HeuristicAndy

You’re being really sneaky with this shitty argument of yours.

That’s unnecessarily hostile and derails the conversation. It’s also not the strongest move. I suggest you calm down, deescalate a bit and maybe we can continue the conversation later.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@HeuristicAndy

Bars are closed = Science is dead.

I also never said that.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@HeuristicAndy

Lockdowns don’t solve the problem. Doing nothing doesn’t solve the problem either. So we need to come up with something else.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@HeuristicAndy

People are also dying because of the shutdown. Livelihoods are being destroyed. For a virus whose survival rate is like 99%. I think that’s unacceptable. Do you not care about those people?

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@HeuristicAndy

People dying = “Ok so?”

That’s a misrepresentation. By “Ok so?” I meant that I didn’t understand what you were getting at. You could have just clarified. Instead you chose the least charitable interpretation possible.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@HeuristicAndy

I am not asking for a foundation and you know it.

I don’t know that. And this wasn’t an insult, btw, but you seem to have interpreted it as one.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

Any amount of restriction of any lockdown policy reduces freedom. And those stricter lockdowns you prefer would reduce freedom more (because they're stricter).

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

Is that the most charitable summary of my criticism that you can come up with?

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

twitter.com/DavidDeutschOx…

Replace "holding an idea immutable" with "restricting the services industry."

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

Do you see how those statements conflict?

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

Not just any libertarian's, it turns out, but from the one and only @ChipkinLogan.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

I did, but can you answer "yes" or "no" to this one?

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

Do I understand correctly that you're saying both that you prefer more restrictive lockdowns and you that agree that freedom and wealth are required to solve problems (which includes developing a vaccine)?

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@HeuristicAndy @DorfGinger @falibilista

It is one example of millions of chains of dependencies in the economy that can lead (among other things) to serendipitous encounters that spark creativity.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

This is in conflict with the Deutschian notion that wealth and freedom are required to solve problems. Do you have a refutation of that notion?

Also, do you see the moral problem with (both more and less restrictive) lockdowns?

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@HeuristicAndy

A person having to work all day is artificial & arbitrary.

Not really. Why would it be?

A family losing their breadwinner to covid is arbitrary too.

Ok so?

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@HeuristicAndy

You didn't ask for decisive evidence. Or insurmountable evidence. You asked for evidence. I gave you some.

"Baseless" isn't Popperian criticism, btw. Criticize the claim by showing that it can't be true, not by claiming that it has no base.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@kreuzberged @HallieRubenhold

Eigentlich kein schlechter Begriff.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

RT @ClimateWarrior7:
Before 1929, women were thought to be a kind of mineral or possibly a fish.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@prageru

He’s doing the same thing though. What does it matter that the TA was white?

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

More buggy animal programming twitter.com/_Islamicat/sta…

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@HeuristicAndy

Well, not evidence of the "lending credence" kind you seem to be looking for.

There's always constraints on what one wants to do.

Sure, but when they are imposed artificially and arbitrarily, that makes all the difference, does it not?

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

I had given explanations of the effects of lockdown policies.

I don’t like lockdowns, particularly the less restrictive ones [...]

Meaning you’d prefer more restrictive ones?

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@Mona99299788 @truewhitemount @paedabasics @Keksios

Ich empfehle uebrigens, bei mehreren Kommentaren auf einmal untereinander zu kommentieren, nicht nebeneinander – ist einfacher zu lesen und nachzuvollziehen.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@Mona99299788 @truewhitemount @paedabasics @Keksios

Ja, sicherlich ist das eine wundervolle Wertschaetzung. Aber sie kann natuerlich nur etwas bedeuten, wenn sie freiwillig erbracht wird.

Wenn ein Lehrer Schueler zwingt, aufzustehen, ist das wie wenn ein Diktator seine Untertanen zwingt, ihn anzubeten. Ekelhaft.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@auwsmit

That’s assuming that animals actually do suffer, which is a big if. Plus, we already don’t have a moral obligation to help other people, so we especially don’t have an obligation to help animals. Downside would be that animals don’t get as much benefit from planet as people do.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

RT @MichaelKitson:
This is untrue. If you lockdown young people because of Covid-19 with little support, then you should expect that they s…

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@HeuristicAndy

A single scientist showing there were things he was unable to do due to the lockdown.

But, more importantly, some explanations:

twitter.com/dchackethal/st…
twitter.com/dchackethal/st…
twitter.com/dchackethal/st…
twitter.com/dchackethal/st…
twitter.com/dchackethal/st…

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

Well "coerced against one's preferences" is a bit tautological.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

If it's imposed on him against his will, that means his mind is being coerced to do something against his preferences. This adds a bunch of new problems for him that he otherwise would not have needed to deal with, thereby hindering his ability to develop a vaccine.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

Yes, there is a difference. If he does so voluntarily, it means it's in line with his preferences, and therefore doesn't impede his growth of knowledge. His mind does not need to deal with any dissonance, and he can freely pursue his plans.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

Maybe I misunderstood. From what you said, and also reading between the lines, it seems to me you dislike lockdowns somewhat, but you don't think they're a big deal in terms of outcome or anywhere near a moral catastrophe. Am I wrong about that?

twitter.com/DorfGinger/sta…

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@Mona99299788 @truewhitemount @paedabasics @Keksios

Das ist keine Antwort auf meine Frage. Auch Frau Weise ignoriert meine Frage.

Der Unterschied ist, dass man freiwillig ins Fitnessstudio geht, und Kinder & Jugendliche gezwungen werden, in die Schule zu gehen. Vor diesem Hintergrund wirkt die Aufstehpflicht ziemlich übel.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

Well, as I alluded to, it doesn’t depend so much on that, because there are chains of dependency in the economy that are unpredictably affected by lockdowns.

In any case, this is the moment in the conversation where I have to ask: how could one change your mind?

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@frictionalgames

That looks amazing!

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@ClimateWarrior7

Powerful words.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

Millions of people have been placed under house arrest in 2020. There must have been some scientists among them. And on the off chance no scientists were among them, there were people among them who could have developed tools for scientists. Or who could have helped do so. Etc.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@ks445599 @ConceptualJames @SwipeWright

So what do you mean by "social equality"?

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

When, say, scientists are placed under house arrest, that must hurt the development of vaccines, yes?

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DorfGinger @falibilista

Developing a vaccine, like all creative endeavors, requires freedom and wealth. Regulations impede creative endeavors, reduce freedom, and destroy wealth. The stricter they are, the more they do so.

A libertarian saying goes: "You can't coerce your way to a better world."

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@ks445599 @ConceptualJames @SwipeWright

I guess it depends on what you mean by "social equality"?

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

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