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
I suppose in principle parents could always coerce their children if they really wanted to, but the cost of doing that could be raised to such a level that they wouldn't want to. That requires a change in culture, I think.
Although slavery was a thing, it seems to me the vast majority of wealth was historically created, as today, through voluntary cooperation, not coercion, because the latter is much more efficient and peaceful and positive sum.
I didn’t make a historical claim. It’s an epistemological one, which, if true, is true at all times. People could have gotten wealthier without slavery back then too if they had known how. (And some have argued convincingly that being a slave holder made one poorer.)
Nobody should be obligated to help others.
I think for some children coercion at home is greater than at school. In some cases, however, that can be a result of school: parents forcing their children to do homework, study, spend less time doing what they enjoy, etc.
RT @M_T_Franz:
#CovidTest Es steckt ja eine gewisse Demütigung des Bürgers dahinter, wenn man ihm dauernd von Amts Wege mit Stäbchen in den…
@LifeMdcrDIAgnt @AstronomydaiIy
Why would we be insignificant?
RT @Anthea06274890:
Shooting at Oakland CA Juneteenth celebrations last night, leave 1 dead and 5 injured. This is how people reacted when…
I've been saying from the start of the pandemic that one (of the few) silver linings is the reduced coercion imposed on kids. (That's assuming the coercion in school is in fact greater than the coercion at home.) twitter.com/LPNH/status/14…
I suppose “confirmed” is a little better than “proven”. But when will science communicators pick up Popper’s “corroborated”? twitter.com/SPACEdotcom/st…
Problems are soluble. Society is not a zero-sum game. People can be free without enslaving others.
@__adamjohnson_
We shouldn’t so much care about that notion of logically when talking about physical theories
Brains are physical. Brains in vats, even when running AGIs, are not universal constructors.
@__adamjohnson_
But yeah if an AGI is tractably programmable within Minecraft and gets a suitable body then I suppose the answer to my original question is "yes".
@__adamjohnson_
I think it's technically possible to create an AGI within Minecraft since one can build universal computers within Minecraft, but I'm not sure how easily those computers are programmed. I'm too much of a noob to the game to know for now.
@__adamjohnson_
It will need outputs to interact with the Minecraft world around it.
@__adamjohnson_
Morals or not, it doesn't change that logically the "so" in step 3 is false.
A universal constructor can transform anything into anything that the laws of physics allow, yes.
I want to build a machine in Minecraft that can transform anything into anything that the laws of Minecraft allow.
RT @CasuallyGreg:
This looks like a Sunday worship. What the hell is wrong with these people?
https://t.co/X2embUNXbt
@__adamjohnson_
Brain in a vat by definition doesn't have any outputs so it couldn't persuade others to do things.
You're saying the player within Minecraft is already a universal constructor?
Or, if you don't have Instagram and can't open that link, here's another example (albeit much less impressive): youtube.com/watch?v=OKhdHk…
Here’s an example of automated transformations in Minecraft:
Well they're all made of these "blocks" which, within the game, could be considered physical. And I believe on some level of emergence physicality has to be a given for construction, otherwise you can't make the blocks that make the blocks that make the blocks...
@__adamjohnson_
The "so" in step 3 is false because AGIs are only universal constructors when they have suitable hardware. E.g. a brain/mind in a vat is an AGI but not a universal constructor.
From what I understand you can set up blocks such that they cause certain transformations (I've seen videos of that).
Not familiar enough with the Star Trek replicator to comment on it.
Yeah you can build automated machines that cause transformations.
I don't want to simulate a universal constructor on a computer in Minecraft, I want a universal constructor in Minecraft.
I believe it is possible to build a universal computer inside Minecraft (they got switches and stuff), but that's not enough to make a universal constructor. It requires a specific kind of hardware.
RT @SJobs_Stories:
About web 2.0. "These web pages were built completely the second before I saw them [...], using the up-to-date informati…
Cool but does that have to do with constructors?
Cool but does that have to do with constructors?
Could one, in principle, build a universal constructor in Minecraft?
Happening now, @crit_rat's interview with Chiara Marletto at the @OxfordPopper society:
When you see the double spaces in the text at the bottom you realize Junior couldn’t have written this, it must have been somebody older.
@AmirSobhi11 @spartanfan15 @GregAbbott_TX
Religion is mostly harmful and has little of value to offer. But if you want to live in a world without it, one of the last things you want to do is outlaw it. Forbidden fruit tastes sweeter. There’s another way: persuasion.
@AmirSobhi11 @spartanfan15 @GregAbbott_TX
No—ideas need to evolve freely and they can’t be outlawed anyway.
Or maybe just imitation based on inborn criteria. twitter.com/SteveStuWill/s…
The irony being that the same kind of people who advocate this kind of splitting of society always bitch about the "splitting" of society due to wealth and lack thereof. twitter.com/ThomasEWoods/s…
Yes. Small proposed amendment: he should pick the one he thinks is the most relevant to society and that he would enjoy working on most.
"Men with more attractive partners have more interest in performing oral sex."
You don't say!
Serious question: as a criminal defense lawyer, isn't it hard for you not to get cynical in light of all of these nonsensical laws?
RT @CrimeADay:
26 USC §5681(c) make it a federal crime to knowingly deliver grain to a distillery that doesn't have a sign posted with the…
RT @FreeBlckThought:
This is one of our greatest fears about the new woke racialism.
If you compel white people to identify as a group, a…
So why did he decide to become a part of it? twitter.com/CerebralWisdom…
@realHelmchen @c_drosten @marcfriedrich7 @Karl_Lauterbach
Der Vergleich hinkt. Drosten hat eindeutig Einfluss auf die deutsche Corona-Politik.
@mgoldingmd @ks445599 @ChristleNwora
Guys you gotta try Tillamook “Peaches and Cream” ice cream. I didn’t know who I was until I tried it.
@c_drosten @marcfriedrich7 @Karl_Lauterbach
Gehen Sie doch bitte auf die Forderung nach dem Ende der Maskenpflicht ein, anstatt zu attackieren und Unwissenheit vorzuwerfen.
"I don't think it matters a whole lot in terms of the meeting we're going to have next." Jesus.
@ClimateWarrior7 @ogletwirl @_SgurrUaran
It’s YOUR truth. That’s all that matters. You go girl!
RT @ClimateWarrior7:
Five weeks to flatten the curve!
- You may eat between 2pm and 4pm
- Sex may occur in groups of up to 10 people max.…
@ClimateWarrior7 @worxexell @_SgurrUaran
I honor your truth. I respect your womanhood.
What Malice puts so well reminds me of Lockheed Martin's very corporate response to Christopher Rufo's investigations into their critical-race-theory trainings:
https://t.co/EbAWAcdSpx
"When you see corporate anything, it's always unnatural [... it's] synthetic, phony earnestness." – Michael Malice
Yes. There are some exceptions. Apple's upper management used to be one. In the trenches Apple still is. But overall Malice is right.
Common doesn't make right.
No, I'm not scared. I've explained what I'm saying.
@NevetsEel1 @HickeyAustin97 @GregAbbott_TX
It doesn't infer that. I'm making no claims, express or implied, about what the founding father wanted or didn't want.
Judging by many of the responses I got, people read all kinds of things into what I wrote that I didn't say or mean. Take what I wrote literally and soberly.
False, I think Abbott should be free to practice religion in his private life all he wants. I tolerate that. I just don't think he should be using his political platform to spread religious memes.
@Dust92 @RoyMCohen @GregAbbott_TX
You do not get to demand people keep their religious views silent.
Again, when did I say that?
@NevetsEel1 @HickeyAustin97 @GregAbbott_TX
When did I make historical claims about what the founders wanted and didn’t want?
@RuthlessLatinX @GregAbbott_TX
I’m saying he shouldn’t quote bible verses on his political platform where people come to read about his politics.
Elsewhere, and separately from his political platform, he can quote bible verses all he wants, I don’t care.
@Dust92 @JeremyW33138778 @GregAbbott_TX
It means church shouldn’t meddle with politics and politics shouldn’t meddle with church.
Abbott using his political platform to tweet religious memes meets church meddling with politics.
No, that’s not what I’m pretending. You need to understand my position better before you can argue against it.
RT @CrimeADay:
Textually speaking, it’s ok if it’s not your cat. twitter.com/justreaddathin…
@JeremyW33138778 @DSmerkous @GregAbbott_TX
You're drawing distinctions that don't matter. Abbott shouldn't tweet about god or "the lord" or whatever you want to call it.
@RuthlessLatinX @GregAbbott_TX
That doesn't imply that Abbott shouldn't be able to quote bible verses.
@ReneBon69069180 @GregAbbott_TX
Argument from intimidation doesn't work on me.
@JeremyW33138778 @DSmerkous @GregAbbott_TX
Why couldn't David deny god? What you consider evidence of god's presence others consider evidence of something else.
He used a platform he frequently uses to tweet about politics to share his religious beliefs. It's conflating two things that should be kept strictly separate. He's free to worship, but people might too easily think his politics and religion inform each other.
@RuthlessLatinX @GregAbbott_TX
U dont want abbot to be able to quote bible verses.
Quote where I said this?
@RuthlessLatinX @GregAbbott_TX
Your "LatinX" thing makes me think you're a woke leftist FYI.
@RuthlessLatinX @GregAbbott_TX
When did I say I want to get rid of the constitution?
And what do you think I want "with this"?
@RuthlessLatinX @Reecespuffs14 @HickeyAustin97 @GregAbbott_TX
When did I say it didn't?
@RuthlessLatinX @Reecespuffs14 @HickeyAustin97 @GregAbbott_TX
I'm not a leftist FYI. And I'm not saying he shouldn't be able to say it. I'm saying he shouldn't say it; that he should keep religion on his doorstep.
@RuthlessLatinX @GregAbbott_TX
If that really is the original meaning, "separation of church and state" has come to mean something that goes both ways. Religion should stay out of politics. Abbott should keep it at home.
@JeremyW33138778 @GregAbbott_TX
all sessions of the Senate have been opened with prayer
Is that true? If so, that's messed up.
@CryptoApologia @GregAbbott_TX
LOL you've gone full Christian.
Again, as I wrote to several others, when did I say he shouldn't be free to worship?
@EricPhi21786598 @Reecespuffs14 @HickeyAustin97 @GregAbbott_TX
Good to know.
@Reecespuffs14 @HickeyAustin97 @GregAbbott_TX
Also, when did I say he shouldn't practice his religion?
@JeremyW33138778 @Dust92 @GregAbbott_TX
That's not what separation of church and state is, no.
@JoelGeo55746880 @GregAbbott_TX
Others have made this point. My response: twitter.com/dchackethal/st…
@SSEG_KingCosta @GregAbbott_TX
Well, maybe so, but that's not the meaning I am using. Note that I didn't say anything bad about Christianity. For all you know I might be a Christian.
What you're doing, expressing intolerance of the free exercise of religion
That isn't what I'm doing. I'm not saying Abbott shouldn't be religious. You're arguing against claims I didn't make.
@ReneBon69069180 @GregAbbott_TX
No, it goes both ways. Religious ideas should not be advocated by politicians.
I can appreciate someone who takes ideas seriously.
What if someone is a Christian and wants to fight against Satan, except he just doesn’t think politicians should use their political platform to spread religious memes? Does that still make him Satan?
@TheHistorian19 @GregAbbott_TX
LOL what a powerful, condescending mic drop. You’re not convincing anyone that way.
I didn’t say he’s trying to establish a mandatory religion. You’re arguing against points I didn’t make.