I'm talking about the commentariat as a whole. It has become polarized and negative and absolutely infused with groupthink, which is a very specific concept.
Too bad you can't accept the truth.
And speaking the truth to the willfully ignorant is not bragging, and the ad hominems you just slung at me prove that you're the petty one here.
The first step to fixing problems is to admit that they exist. Until then, feel free to keep downvoting folks like me and pretending that everything's ok but know that that is NEVER the solution to any problem, especially a software systems problem.
Dunning & Kruger's work is far from petty; I merely gave him a dose of his own "How's that for nuance" attitude. He is wrong and his confidence is perfectely explained by D&K's groundbreaking work.
And the result is that the comments are really of very little use anymore. Time was they used to be enlightening.
Too bad Paul Graham doesn't give a rat's ass. He has the opportunity to create something beneficial to world society here but doesn't care to put in the money and thought to figure out how to make it work.
The negativity on this site towards people who express any opinion beyond the herd is making this site a groupthink echo chamber. This karma system has failed.
So Microsoft has the chutzpah to create a github repository trying to dupe people into contributing enhancements to components of their for-profit spyware?
Only a fool thinks that America's participation in WWII was unnecessary.
ETA: You're full of shit. You are saying that participating in WWII was not an act of compassion. What, are you a holocaust denier?
Creating peace in the face of Nazis requires military action, you fool.
ETA2: Of course you want to be done. You don't want to admit our participation in WWII was an act of compassion and that force must be used against the evil.
Nor do you wish to admit that your entire premise of "all power structures were created by the amoral" is ridiculously illogical and that you have moved the goalposts.
It is also compassion to call a fool a fool, especially when they think they're so intelligent. Read up on Dunning & Kruger, my friend.
I didn't say any previous time period was better than today; I said that our societies being created by the most ruthless is absurd, and it is. Humans at their best work cooperatively and it happens all the time and has happened at all times. But when power structures can be subverted by the amoral, they will be, have been, are being. That does not mean that structures that facilitate such power grabs were created by the amoral. To suggest so is plainly illogical and ridiculous.
We need to work in societies to prosper and survive, and cooperation is the best way to achieve that. Our failure is that, at larger scales, we have not applied the proper systems thinking to ensure that the ruthless and amoral cannot game the system for their own personal gain at the expense of the society and the Earth itself.
Those with power will always promote competition because they have all the advantages; as well, they will denigrate cooperation because their excesses will be seen for the unnecessary drain on resources they are. Thus, we have the corporate lawyers and lobbyists making the laws and regulations that are supposed to rein them in.
The corporations have bought our governments and are destroying the environment for their short-term enrichment.
The obvious positives of technology and capitalism must be weighed against their long-term drawbacks. The unfettered capitalism the corporations have put into place via their lawyers and lobbyists has kept the negative outcomes from public view while shielding their owners from responsibility.
Boeing, Tanaka, Monsanto, Exxon, Facebook, ...
The system as it exists is far more destructive than constructive. Only a fool or a liar says otherwise.
ETA: So, "Civilization Accelerating Extinction at Unprecedented Pace" is not caused by technology, corporations and unfettered capitalism?
ETA2: And every civilization was created by the most ruthless? You only see yourself in everything you perceive, which is fundamental to ignorance.
What if we all treated each other with respect and compassion?
What if creating happiness in others was our fundamental objective as individuals and societies?
Only with compassionate honesty can we root out the truly bad seeds and strip them of their power to harm others.
Without compassion as our basis, our prejudices blind us and lead to callous, destructive competition via blind ambition.
Only in compassionately equal cooperation can we determine which individuals and groups seek to oppress others, for cooperation is anathema to those filled with hatred and cruel self-superiority.
Our callous attitudes and systems of competition are destroying the Earth and inflicting misery upon the vast majority of humanity for the benefit of the few.
Committing oneself to become consumed by selfless compassion that motivates us to shape our societies into compassionate systems of mutual benefit and cooperation for ALL human beings is the ONLY path to happiness. Happiness for the individual begins in every interaction we have with each other and the Earth itself. The goal of that happiness is to spread this wisdom far and wide.
To achieve that ideal we must strip the cruel, hypocritical, hateful liars of their power to cause misery for others. And this unfettered capitalism must be tamed to serve everyone while allowing the ambitious to reap the benefits of their hard work.
Happiness is not pleasure and is so rare these days because very few people learn to selflessly, compassionately serve others' happiness. Worse yet, the most ruthless, amoral people have usurped the power structures of the world: governments, corporations and religious institutions.
Selfless compassion is the root of happiness and we much each hurry up and implement it because the evil bastards are running rampant over our precious, beautiful Earth and the vast sea of poors.
As with all things human, it is equally each our choice.
That's a really nice try. I'm sorry no one has ever told you a joke that made you laugh or treated you with concern and kindness when you were down or gave you a gift.
The chain only ends when one link is left unconnected to another. That is why happiness only to the extent that people keep creating it from whole cloth. It is our choice.
Every compassionate act creates happiness in the receiver and then the feedback loop creates it in the giver. Once a person has tasted enough such transactions, that is all one wants.
Mock congratulations to you, my fellow traveler! You are just like Trump. That is not a good thing.
Choose to spread light and love to one and all and reap the benefits of that sowing! Or choose to live in shallow animalistic competitive selfishness and experience their brutish life in the company of callous alpha-seeking pack members who will have you so long as you keep your place or provide value for their worldly pursuits, ever ready to take you down a peg and show you the door.
Me, I'd rather hang out with the likes of Louis Armstrong. "Love baby, love. Yeaaaaaaaah."