dbc

dbc

  • Commented on Fuck the Monarchy
    I'd add to that list that, given that NATO was founded in 1949, there was an additional goal of preventing a German revanchist rearmament and consequent 3rd World War originating from Central Europe. See e.g. https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/nuclear-vault/2018-12-11/natos-original-purpose-double-containment-soviet-union-resurgent-germany Unlike the other justifications,...
  • Commented on Towards a taxonomy of cliches in Space Opera
    On "Space and cosmology": "Planets rotate east-to-west." As long as the planet isn't tidally locked at 1:1, isn't this true by (arbitrary linguistic) definition? The north rotational axis is defined by the right-hand rule making the sun appear to rise...
  • Commented on Science-fictional shibboleths
    Several shibboleths that violate basic realities about computers and software bother me whenever I encounter them. Firstly, in a classical computer network, treating a "move" operation as anything other than "copy and delete". When, in a story, a classical AI...
  • Commented on Science-fictional shibboleths
    Or their ancestors could have started fires by focusing light using lenses from the abyss dwellers (giant squids?) that would occasionally wash up on shore. This might have led to a primitive eyeball-based trading economy and, possibly, interesting design choices...
  • Commented on A major ebook announcement
    I feel like there's a boffingly beautiful crossover with Jasper Dodo Dildo Fucking Fforde possible here....
  • Commented on Not a Manifesto
    I've always had a sweet spot for novels in the complimentary genre: ones that seem like fantasy, but turn out to be science fiction. If urban fantasy reacquaints us with the strangeness of the mundane by transforming it slightly, then...
  • Commented on So ...
    That thread seems locked... but anyway, yes, it's the "disjoint but overlapping", thanks! (I thought I searched for it, but clearly I mistyped something.)...
  • Commented on So ...
    Congratulations! (BTW, is there a thread for ongoing discussions of "The Rhesus Chart"? Because obviously what you want after winning a Hugo is a persnickety set theory erratum.)...
  • Commented on Dear Google, am I pregnant?
    @J Thomas - you wrote "The USA has usually been blessed with a solid core of apathy." Not always. Prohibition comes to mind as a counterexample....
  • Commented on Dear Google, am I pregnant?
    When I read the title of this post on the main page, I reckoned it was probably about the fact that (in the US at least) large retailers can reliably infer pregnancy from historical purchasing data linked to a "credit...
  • Commented on Why I want Bitcoin to die in a fire
    I see the weak anonymity of Bitcoin as a feature, not a bug. I don't use Bitcoin, but there are times when I would appreciate some sort of on-line payment system with weak anonymity. By "weak anonymity" I mean that,...
  • Commented on Why I want Bitcoin to die in a fire
    Deflation fucks up borrowers Agreed, for any proper legal tender. But is there any chance that anybody would ever create any sort of debt instrument denominated in Bitcoin? The idea of lending or borrowing in Bitcoin seems insane even by...
  • Commented on Why I want Bitcoin to die in a fire
    To be fair, the proposed top marginal tax rate in France of 75% is right around the revenue-maximizing rate (in the United States) of 73% (more here), so it's possible that such a rate would be high enough to be...
  • Commented on The language of alienation
    "getting them through the stomach is the trick, I suppose." -- that's why the supplement would be in suppository form. Related to this, how about these possible 2023 headlines: "Apple Opens First Probiotic Petting Cafe for Pregnant Employees" -- an...
  • Commented on The language of alienation
    Here's a possible headline from 2023: "General Nutrition Centers to Stock 100% Certified Organic Fecal Intestinal Microbiome Supplements in Suppository Form." As for deconstruction: "General Nutrition Centers" is a chain of stores that sells various food supplements including "Super Digestive...
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Propaganda