Progress links and tweets, 2022-07-19
post by jasoncrawford · 2022-07-19T20:50:58.154Z · LW · GW · 1 commentsThis is a link post for https://rootsofprogress.org/links-and-tweets-2022-07-19
Contents
Links Threads Queries Tweets Retweets None 1 comment
Links
- The first images from the JWST look amazing. See also this comparison with Hubble
- Helion Energy is hiring. “Clean, continuous energy for 1 cent per kilowatt-hour”
- Lant Pritchett on the difference between anti-poverty programs and poverty reduction. To paraphrase Rutherford, all poverty reduction is either economic growth or stamp collecting
- Joel Mokyr reviews Koyama & Rubin’s How the World Became Rich
- Potential for a vaccine against a broad category of SARS-like coronaviruses (in Science; see also the announcement from Wellcome Leap which funded this)
Threads
- Many waste byproducts were developed in Britain during the Industrial Revolution (@VincentGeloso). See also: In capitalism they use every part of the animal
- “Reclosers” on electrical utility poles (@HillhouseGrady)
Queries
- Why is hating humanity acceptable? (@CineraVerinia)
- Why doesn’t washing hands create hand-washing resistant bacteria? (@_brianpotter)
Tweets
- Request for blog: the history of social change, and lessons for modern movements
- Eradicating smallpox sometimes meant breaking the rules
- India might already the most populous country in the world
Retweets
- Terraform Industries can convert H2 and CO2 into natural gas (@TerraformIndies)
- Montessori on the need to teach “the highest discoveries” of science (@mbateman)
- There’s an Industrial Revolution board game set in 18th-c. Lancashire (@dkedrosky)
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comment by Lost Futures (aeviternity1) · 2022-07-20T00:56:53.597Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
Why is hating humanity acceptable?
A good starting point to answer this would be to ask another question, "Is misanthropy more common today than in the past?"
I suspect three factors play a big role:
- Lack of historical weight—Genocide and ethnic hatred only became acknowledged as the evils they are after the horrors of the 20th century. Run-of-the-mill misanthropy has rarely been the driving force behind large-scale atrocities. This makes the taboo it holds much weaker.
- Doomer mindset—The average person today, particularly those in young adulthood, seems to have a more negative outlook on society, progress, and life in general. Frustration over climate change and other manmade disasters may also contribute. Misanthropy can easily manifest from these feelings.
- Isolation—Speaking of society, misanthropy is probably closely correlated with a sense of disconnectedness from society. With civic engagement dropping and loneliness rising, misanthropy may be an outlet to vent frustration.