pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 29/07/2026True greatness - Fauci calmly refused to play a role in the GOP's political theater. Ron Johnson accusing him of 'sabotaging' Ivermectin completely vindicates AF's decision to take the 5th. 040 4
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 30/06/2026Let's face it - we have at least two royalists on the SCOTUS. They might as well just start writing 'King's prerogative' in the Dissent section. 020 2
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 27/06/2026Hopefully some smart aleck kids will take the opportunity to question the historical veracity of the tales, while also presenting the low probability of the supernatural aspects. Would make for some great TikToks, I'm sure. 000 0
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 26/06/2026Besides solving an Erdos problem (in a spray-and-pray, combinatorial manner), we've yet to see significant out-of-sample innovation from the bots. I think the main contribution of LLM's will be as summarizers of the knowledge they were trained on. Nothing to scoff at, though. 110 1
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 17/04/2026I assume the right will continue to troll and vice-signal until it impacts their ability to win. It really appeals to the groypers, nihilists, and other internet types. 000 0
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 17/04/2026It's too bad we can't model the counterfactual "approval rating if he'd done nothing". Trump convinced people that Biden's economy was a disaster when it wasn't (by conventional metrics), and he could have sat tight, watching FOX and tweeting. Instead tariffs and war, inflation up, GDP down. 010 1
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 12/04/2026Eh, Vance didn't lie or try to spin at the press conference, and that was rare for him. Team Trump must have known going in that Iran was going to hold fast, and the players are just following a script at this point. 010 1
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 10/04/2026Currently in AI, there seems to be a test approach of moving away from 'general' models (ex: ChatGPT) to domain-specific ones (Claude Code, Codex), and I wonder whether this reflects: 3/5 100 1
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 10/04/2026The hypothesis that the nx1 correlations have a lower-dimensional (1x1) explanatory variable seems to be supported by factor analysis. Simply put, the predictive consistency of g suggests that it measures something that affects all types of intellectual performance. 2/5 100 1
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 09/04/2026TBH, I wouldn't care a whit about the ballroom if it distracted him from implementing unsound economic policy and fighting Israel's wars. I might even contribute $5. 030 3
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 09/04/2026Is Tiger no longer eligible? I wanted to see if he'd call Trump after driving one into the water. 010 1
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 08/04/2026There does seem to be a crucial definitional problem; like does "Jewish state" mean one modeled on religious mores, with appeal to supernatural forces for justification and administration? Because in that case, "I'm opposed to any form of theocracy" seems like a safe reply. 0150 15
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 08/04/2026I don't see Hegseth's psychopathy, or the broad evangelical support for Trump, as so much of a surprise. Contemporary christianity is as tribal, self-justifying, and prone to outgroup demonization as US politics are. Plus, this is just another round of 'trolling the libs'. 010 1
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 08/02/2026But the luck runs out some time. What's interesting is that this personality type often can't reel it in when needed, and it tells on them. It's why ^^^ is probably going to be doing some hard time in prison. 000 0
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 08/02/2026Nicholas Taleb,tackles aspects of what Tate is talking about. There are always extreme risk-takers in society; the 1-2% who are successful at high-risk plays (e.g. webcam pimp, misogyny influencer, or crypto early investor) tend to be the most visible, and generally enjoy making themselves so. 100 1
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 05/02/2026The Republican version of the prisoners dilemma: defect PR-wise by showing a trace of independence; when time to vote, lockstep cooperation. 040 4
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 24/01/2026Trump often lies as a power flex, showing the media that he can make false claims, and still have his followers nod along. Vance is usually craftier with his dishonesty, using advanced techniques like motte-and-bailey, lie-by-omission, deflection, etc. Got caught flat-footed here, though. 000 0
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 21/01/2026Trump was raised to see the world as made of sharks and marks. The idea of protecting people from cons goes against his every instinct, so the CFPB must loom like an arch-villain to his ilk. He'll just encode it to his followers, against their economic interests, as "Pocahontas's idea huh huh". 0100 10
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 21/01/2026Merrick Garland lacked a feel for the magnitude of his responsibility, to be sure. There were ample warnings from academics/other, but elected Democrats weren't far-seeing enough to anticipate a full-on and dogged 'unitary executive' assault. Trump's vision is bad, but big. 010 1
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 21/01/2026There's a Gordon Lightfoot song about Trump's condition, and it isn't the seemingly obvious "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald". www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IBd... 000 0
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 12/12/2025I mean, let's not absolve the swing voters who fell for Trump's obviously dishonest promises to lower price levels "the first day". There was enough information out before the election to tell how stupid his economic policies were, and yet here we are with 3 more years to endure. 040 4
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 28/08/2025www.wsj.com/politics/pol... Yeah, thanks guys, I hadn't noticed. :facepalm:wsj.comIn Trump’s Second Term, a Bolder President Charges Ahead UncheckedTrump is frequently riffing on authoritarianism and is ignoring caution from his advisers. 021 2
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 21/08/2025And they're just gettting started: the new ICE buildout will incentivize deportation of half the country's agricultural/meat workers. Let us eat cake. 000 0
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 16/08/2025Only Trump is clueless enough not to understand Putin's plans for Ukraine and beyond. I wouldn't even say Vlad played DJT; this polite visit was a political favor for a fellow would-be despot, a vehicle for maintaining Russia's course while allowing Trump to play 'peacemaker' and save face. 000 0
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 05/08/2025You have to fight fire with fire, though there's a need to keep an eye on the numbers, too. The Texas GOP plans to run Hispanic candidates who act sympathetic to get elected, then vote against their constituent's interests. I'd actually like to see a detailed risk analysis for IL, NYS, and CA. 000 0
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 27/07/2025To think that this idiot is in charge of allocating funding for disease research is to get a feel for why America is in decline. 020 2
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 24/07/2025The moment in the VP debate where Vance said "the rules said there'd be no fact-checking" was ominous. Vance's brand of smooth, strategic lying could carry the 'movement' after Trump, because the dishonesty is geared to the same purpose: tweaking their enemies. 000 0
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 24/07/2025Some of MAGA views Trump's buffoonery as art-and-craft; they "take trump seriously but not literally". The clown tactics are fine as long he's using them to punish their enemies. but .... 120 2
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 22/07/2025I guess that's composition fallacy. It's a strategic way of exploiting a lazy way of thinking. Short video is making people more prone to fall for it, and not just because of the content, but of the 'guiding hand' in the titles. 000 0
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 20/07/2025It might be disgusting, but it's not that surprising: at any given time in Western societies, ≈ 33% of the public is authoritarian. And it's easy to pick up the other 9% with a social media strategy optimizing on 'crush thine enemy'. It's as much a cultural phenomenon as a political one. 000 0
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 20/07/2025Yeah, I don't think the shift is strictly humanitarian concern. People are sensing that Trump/MAGA might actually be fanatical enough to deport ≥ 40% of the 'food chain' labor force. We've left the pretend universe where immigrants don't contribute anything, and Americans pick their own lettuce. 000 0
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 16/07/2025He's mentally allergic to accountability. This would also explain an inability to acknowledge culpability for the first link of the chain Tariffs ↑ -> inflation ↑ -> Fed rates ↑ 000 0
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 16/07/2025If you have the resources to move out of America, the right time would be when Trump installed lackeys at the Fed. Using artificial premises to lower rates would 'cleanse' the economy with the fire of runaway inflation, or the bond market would go ballistic and force some type of emergency. 100 1
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 16/07/2025Looks like a setup to me. If Johnson thought there was anything in there that would drag Trump down, he wouldn't do something like this. 000 0
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 15/07/2025Yes, the paranoid type used to bond through newsletters, obscure books, and occasional meetups. The internet helped them to become less subterranean, and also provided an infinite supply of tea leaves. Trump's ability to corral them into his echo chamber keeps 33% of the electorate in his pocket. 030 3
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 09/07/2025Do any of these articles estimate: (a) Cumulative AI investment at the point where programmers can be replaced? (b) Amount(all) programmers are paid per annum? Then solve (a) < (b) * n, for n = years (assuming finite)? The capital layout may exceed any scenario for ROI without high premiums. 020 2
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 29/06/2025Aside from the content, on a scale of 1-10, Jeffries has 0.00001 charisma. As to ZA threatening to arrest the Israeli PM, The ABC guy seems unaware that the ICC has actually accused Netanyahu of war crimes. 021 2
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 25/06/2025If there's 𝘯𝘰𝘵 full employment in a region, there's an argument to be made that an influx of immigrants will depress wages, while quality of labor remains constant. When the same region 𝘪𝘴 at full employment, the natives who are left to be hired may not be the best workers. Sad but true. 010 1
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 22/06/2025Disagree with this take, don't think it's 'wag the dog'. I think Netanyahu just roped him in - made the bombing seem like a good idea, and Trump just fell for it. He talks tough, but is easily swayed by guys like Bibi and Putin who're willing to wield hard power. DJT was beta, couldn't hold frame. 010 1
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 15/06/2025The parade just lacked the electricity his hero summoned back in the 30's; no big crowds, ticker-tape, or goosestepping. The event was also obnoxiously overproduced, esp. the synced voiceover that over-explained details. The planners were unsure that MAGA's would understand what they were seeing. 021 2
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 13/06/2025I mean, this just aligns with the recent reports of young Zoomer men being more Christian, right? The market deck has been reshuffled a little? From what I've heard, Xtian rock is still tonally derivative and no better than before. 000 0
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 13/06/2025"As WWIII broke out, America had a weak-willed Chief Executive who tired to pass of bloviating as strength." 010 1
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 12/06/2025I agree about the lack of diversity, but: (a) The "hurting usage" claim comes 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘴 metrics. Is post-volume slowing down? Signups? (b) Musk changed the way Twitter worked as a distribution channel, downranking journalism. So if you're a substacker or reporter, it's counterproductive to be there. 000 0
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 06/06/2025To be fair, if it's later discovered that Musk had a drug-induced mania episode, I won't be at all surprised. There was a lot of unnecessarily extreme behavior and doubling down. Def makes me hesitant to buy a self-driver Tesla. 120 2
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 06/06/2025The role Musk played in the dismantling of USAID should disqualify a new alliance from the get-go. The data clearly indicate a large number of people will suffer diseases unnecessarily, and some will die. By what moral standards is that not repugnant and prohibitive? 150 5
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 30/05/2025Sorry to be "that guy", and I respect neurodivergence, but Musk's assertion that empathy is a 'bug' should be taken in the light of his claimed Asperger's. Empathy is related to 'theory of mind' discussions; the autist may have trouble modeling other's thought processes when solving problems. 000 0
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 26/05/2025Clegg: We can't develop technology to replace humans unless we steal a bunch of content from humans first. Me: You want to do something illegal to cause massive social disruption? Clegg: Hey LLama, can you find a way to rephrase the above? 000 0
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 26/05/2025I bet Peterson isn't a Xtian, but 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘦𝘴 religion for his patients, for the self-control utility. There is a legitimate question about whether that's an optimal approach for gamblers, drunks, etc. who need a metaphysically enforced moral framework. 000 0
pharley @adinfinitum.bsky.social · 18/05/2025Trump has become what he pretended to be: an anti-intellectual redneck. Also, the guy loves stealing from the future to keep himself afloat in the present. 070 7
