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
… programmed to have the same ability instead of having me point out the same thing over and over.
And if that’s a Deutsch quote […]
It isn’t. Asterisks indicate emphasis, not a quote.
You can do two things at this point: refute the notion that if something can be preprogrammed and then executed mindlessly that something is not indicative of consciousness; OR next time you say ‘but this ability requires consciousness’ ask yourself first if a robot could be …
You can even program it to scream ‘ouch that hurt’. No consciousness required.
Pain responses require the ability to feel pain […]
They do not. Again, you could build a robot which has heat receptors on its hands, measures temperature, and, when touching a hot stove, withdraws its hand because the measured temperature is above a pre-set threshold.
You DO have freedom when it comes to receiving your vaccine. When the helpful gentlemen dressed in green and…
BoI isn’t compatible with any idea it refutes, eg inductivism, tentatively held or not.
School teaches children to try to impress their peers, yes.
So, to be clear, you do not think children should be forced to go to school?
And if they need help discovering new interests that’s fine but they shouldn’t be forced to go to school for that or do it any other particular way.
Can we agree that force is bad?
Of course it’s possible. But it’s thanks to school that people would even doubt that.
Children are naturally really good at pursuing interests and having fun until that’s tortured out of them by schools.
RT @firstofequals:
Compliance with mandatory vaccination will give you all the freedom you’ve been missing.
It’s only those who refuse to…
Usually they aren’t. It can also be an argument from intimidation: courses.aynrand.org/lexicon/argume…
But yes, having kids sure turns many people into totalitarians. Like those denying that children even have preferences, and implying that it’s therefore ok to coerce them.
I never said I know what children want. Nor do I need to know that. Nor do I need to have children to value their freedom. I’m saying they should be free to pursue what they want, as all people should, and they shouldn’t be coerced, as no person should.
You’ve said that.
To be clear, you’re asking for evidence that computers could be built out of pretty much anything, or that animals aren’t conscious?
Again, none of those things require consciousness. What distinguishes the honeybee from more primitive organisms is complexity and sophistication, not consciousness. Even the most sophisticated behavior can be pre-programmed by genes and then executed mindlessly.
If cops were illegally entering homes, and INITIATING violence, then I’d agree with you completely.
And if they did so legally you’d disagree?
Btw you should post comments on top of each other, not next to each other.
Threatening to kill someone is violence.
Even if one walked out and broke the law. If peacefully detained and given due process, that’s still NOT aggressive violence.
Only if the law doesn’t prevent you from doing peaceful things. As it now does in Australia.
I have taught but not young children. All I’m saying is children, like all people, shouldn’t be forced to do things they don’t want to do; that includes going to school if they don’t want to go.
Some people wonder how The Beginning of Infinity is compatible with libertarianism.
The book says “problems are soluble”. Not “problems are soluble but some are only soluble with government”.
So that’s a “no” to my question?
Let’s hope this results in some very public and very painful lawsuits for the Australian government. twitter.com/9NewsAUS/statu…
If roads and sidewalks were private property, there could be a variety of them, including those where nudity were allowed. Sadly, they’re not private but ‘public’ property, so there is no such variety, and you have no choice but to use and pay for them at gunpoint.
Again a false and very misleading analogy, but: I’d have no issue with whoever owns roads and sidewalks in a particular area not requiring people to be clothed to use them. I don’t make other people’s business my own.
Why do you keep posting the same article?
Kids indeed need to (and, more importantly, want to) learn (though not necessarily any of the things you mention). But are you implying that without school, kids couldn’t learn any of those things?
Eg I learned to code not in school but by teaching myself using the internet.
If the kids want to be in bible study I think it’s fine (though I doubt most kids want that).
What you’re getting at – that replacing one authority with another doesn’t solve the problem – is true.
Torture indeed doesn’t qualify as a nudge – I meant that after some 12 years of said torture and making kids systematically ignore their preferences, getting them to do something they don’t want to do often only takes a nudge.
Yes. And they are persuaded to do so. (But the false traffic analogy people always reach for is really getting old.)
RT @Iromg:
Got to love the British sense of humour #AustraliaHasFallen https://t.co/qdwU3VB3Sh
RT @KennethCassel:
It’s way easier for me to work 12 hours a day as a founder than it was to put in a solid 6 as an employee working on stu…
RT @TheBabylonBee:
Dangerous New Freedom Variant Causing People To Ignore Government And Live Their Lives babylonbee.com/news/new-dange…
Why would it be any better at that than at building ATM machines like in your recent tweet?
Right… It couldn’t possibly have to do with how bonkers the woke movement is. twitter.com/BreeNewsome/st…
RT @9NewsAUS:
Four Newborns in Adelaide have died after being denied lifesaving heart surgery because it wasn’t available in Adelaide, and…
I’m afraid this isn’t so. Children are tortured every day in schools to learn to systematically ignore their own preferences: blog.dennishackethal.com/posts/the-true…
If it’s that important for people to get vaccinated, why not just persuade them? If the virus really is as dangerous as you say, it should be pretty easy to persuade others, no?
Btw I think “vast swaths” is an exaggeration. The data published so far on deaths is questionable because I hear they count deaths with COVID as deaths of COVID.
In any case, the vast, vast, vast majority of people recover just fine after catching it.
The interdependence you describe is voluntary, whereas forcing people to vaccinate isn’t.
If someone purposefully infects others that isn’t okay, but I don’t think that warrants forced vaccines. And those who are worried are, again, free to get the vaccine, stay home, etc.
The unvaccinated don’t threaten others with a lockdown. Governments do.
And it isn’t anyone’s responsibility to keep hospital capacity at a certain level, nor can he be forced to provide it or pay with his job/money/life/freedom. His life isn’t a debt to others.
RT @jakeshieldsajj:
I don’t care who you vote for but if you are in California help save the state and vote yes on recall @GavinNewsom
[…] we should probably also ask you to leave […]
Asking is fine. But the unvaccinated are free to respond ‘no’. You’re free to avoid them, of course, by staying home if you like.
Since you’ll be a breeding ground for variants […]
There are ppl who have claimed that it’s the vaccinated who create selection pressure for variants…
I can’t tell if you’re joking or serious. In case you’re serious:
That should be up to each individual hospital. And who says I won’t get the vaccine?
There is an alternative to force: persuasion. Biden doesn’t mention persuasion. He speaks only of “requirements”.
RT @ClimateWarrior7:
More people found outside illegally in the Democratic People’s Republic of Australia.
The glorious people’s governmen…
A good comment on my blog: blog.dennishackethal.com/posts/a-compre…
Translation: ‘Force your employees or you will be forced to force them.’ twitter.com/disclosetv/sta…
Important to note that the same incompetence extends to the police, military, and legal system…
Hunting presumably requires lots of running, so if that were true, shouldn’t it be easier to think while running than walking?
Geez, did they not restore the two domes of Gendarmenmarkt all those years?
It’ll be 978-1-8384986-0-3 but the paperback is not available for pre-order, only the ebook. Will let you know once it’s out.
RT @ClimateWarrior7:
Not wearing his mask correctly at all times.
Fortunately the police stepped in to enforce liberal progressive democra…
RT @YasMohammedxx:
Some good news on your timelines for a change! Four Arab girls, all used to be hidden away under hijab and niqab, are al…
Ah yes, first climate change helps Covid spread, now this. twitter.com/CBSNews/status…
RT @DavidDeutschOxf:
Mein Buch 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 𝙄𝙣𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 erscheint demnächst auf Deutsch unter dem Titel 𝘿𝙚𝙧 𝘼𝙣𝙛𝙖𝙣𝙜 𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙐𝙣𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙝𝙠𝙚𝙞𝙩.
Jet…
@apriori0x @crit_rat
Genes are natural yet they have achieved near permanence. “Immortal coils” as Dawkins calls them, IIRC.
RT @HasnainKazim:
Las gerade „Taliban:innen“ und kann nicht aufhören zu lachen. Danke für diesen Superwitz!
I think lots of ppl are ever since Rogan brought it up on his podcast ~1 year ago.
As laughable as a joke. It’s a creationist mindset—“no need to solve problems, let’s just legislate them away!”
Entrenching errors instead of fixing them. twitter.com/MichaelPSenger…
RT @SJobs_Stories:
“All we were going to lose is our cars and our shirts off our back. We had nothing to lose ! And we had everything to ga…
RT @SJobs_Stories:
“It sounds really simplistic but it still shocks me how few people actually practice this - and it’s a struggle to pract…
But I don’t agree that it’s aggressive violence.
Why not? Does it not match my definition/did you find something wrong with my definition?
‘Every single person’ isn’t hyperbolic in this context for the same reason that ‘every single murder is wrong’ isn’t.
Anyway, I’m in agreement this is an excessive threat to an unethical law.
Do you mean “by” instead of “to”?
I wasn’t being hyperbolic nor was it “bait”.
Many get to keep their jobs after refusing to do unethical things because, say, they’re not alone and the employer can’t afford to fire them.
Wealthy people aren’t our “lords”, the comparison to those times doesn’t work.
RT @liberty_deity:
Particularly important to ask in this age of “experts,” “fact-checkers,” and “trusted sources.” https://t.co/CASIhpxFJR
The dog one could be real since dogs jump that way anyway when jumping through tall grass: youtube.com/watch?v=mSn1PE…
So maybe all the dog had to do was apply that same inborn jumping motion to other contexts.
“wealthy freeloaders”?? They’re the ones paying taxes while you get paid with tax money!
More violence against Australia’s citizens. twitter.com/MichaelPSenger…
For clarity, I mean actually victimless not perceived to be victimless.
All cops should refuse to enforce immoral laws. All IRS officers should quit. Every single person with a shred of a conscience working in ‘public’ service should quit simply for being paid with blood money.
This account has a lot of good material about buggy cats. twitter.com/wwwithyourcat/…
If real, this is quite fascinating. Cats’ imitation algorithms seem to have much greater reach than I thought. twitter.com/wwwithyourcat/…
OK fair enough, I’ve changed my mind about animal intelligence. This cat is clearly intelligent. twitter.com/_Islamicat/sta…
Right. Victimless crimes aren’t crimes. It’s one of the many reasons there shouldn’t be laws against drug use or prostitution.
In the particular case of AUS the government uses aggressive force against people who just want to travel or go work out, which is peaceful behavior.
Much of that is inexplicit for me but it’s something like: defensive force is force that attempts to fend off aggressive force; aggressive force is force initiated against the peaceful.
RT @galexybrane:
If you’re vaccinated and you don’t mind the idea of vaccine passports, think about how you’ll feel when you need to show p…
A bold move. If the referendum passes it would set a precedent totalitarians could point at and say “see it’s what the people want”. Is there no better way, such as suing for infringement of freedom-of-movement rights?
It’s not the delta scariant that thwarts people’s plans but governments. twitter.com/Breakbadquotes…
Also, if you think that having nervous systems and families and sex and what not are all indicative of consciousness then you seem to be drawing a line for animals that do not have those things. Like unicellular organisms that reproduce through division.
Having read Deutsch you’ll know that due to computational universality the hardware differences do not matter. We know that we could build a universal computer out of chewing gum and tooth picks and program it to be conscious (if we knew how).
[…] families, predators, or a need to find food, safety, or sexual partners.
Why would those things indicate consciousness? Video-game characters can have all those things and they’re not conscious.
Cameras are not eyes.
Right, but eyes are cameras.
Robots do not have brains […]
They do, their computers are their brains.
[…] nervous systems […]
They have wires going to their computers that process signals just like nervous systems.
[…] emotions […]
Exactly!
@AstralKing7 @Der_Prometheus @RichardDawkins
I’m guessing my arguments frustrate you because I have a radically different view that you don’t like and I’m not willing to back down through intimidation as many have tried. This again frustrates you and you’re confusing that with me being ‘dishonest’ or ‘passive aggressive’.
@AstralKing7 @Der_Prometheus @RichardDawkins
For example, I never accused you of being dishonest (which is pretty talk for calling someone a liar), or insane, or passive aggressive. But you accused me those things. So it’s reasonable to say I’m being more courteous than you.
@AstralKing7 @Der_Prometheus @RichardDawkins
No, and I agree that people should not personally identify with their arguments or be taken aback when they’re refuted. But that doesn’t mean it’s okay to insult ppl, nor does it cover the extent of how aggressive you’ve been toward me, nor have you refuted my arguments.