Animals are so much better than humans

Watch / listen to a few minutes about baboons. (Video will start at that segment.)

(This blog's title is sarcasm, btw. Also, humans are animals, obv.)

Socialism and Capitalism and History and Progress

 tl;dr - check out this podcast.

I've read and heard many arguments for socialism. But fundamentally, socialism is based on the idea that we can work together for the betterment of everyone.

Socialism is like ethical veganism*: everyone will do the right thing because it is the right thing to do.

I don't know how anyone can believe that.

The richest country that has ever existed knowingly put into power the most overtly corrupt, selfish, self-centered, avaricious individual to ever seek office. Not to mention the most anti-democratic (link, and also the pictures below the footnotes). 

This is not a post bemoaning how terrible human beings are. 

Rather, this is a question of both: 

1. How has humanity (as a whole), in the past few hundred years (only 0.1% of human history), gotten unbelievably rich and long-lived? 
2. How can humanity - especially the poorest individuals - get even wealthier and healthier?**

The answer to both questions cannot depend on anyone doing the right thing for the right reason. The answer has to take into account human nature - we are all at least somewhat self-interested, envious, and tribal.

The way we've become better off has been: trade, markets, and capitalism.

In this age of lies*** and memes, let's be clear what I'm not saying. 

I'm not saying:

• Libertarianism
• Crony capitalism / oligarchy
• No government / limited government / no government
• No taxes / low taxes / not-progressive taxes
• No regulation / limited regulation
• No social safety net
• The U.S. is perfect / Europe (or Scandinavia) is terrible
• Money is the meaning of life$$

Just because some assholes say "Markets!" "Capitalism!" doesn't mean <waves hands> socialism. 

And just because angry people have clever memes on social media doesn't mean the past was better or that we would all be better off if we were hunter-gatherers.****

This is just a long way of saying that this podcast (by two well-off white males!) is worthwhile for anyone who wants to understand human nature, history, how things got better (for humans), and how things can get better (for humans ... and hopefully animals?).

$$ The podcast ends with a discussion of the need for meaning in life, making clear that markets and capitalism don't inherently make us happy. But we've gone from:

A) Having most of our children die while we worried about getting enough food to stay alive, to
B) Having too much tasty food while worrying about the "point of existence." 

One of those situations is clearly better than the other.

Or, as Mike concludes:

Now, sometimes I will have a Duke student tell me, 'Well, now money isn't everything.' I'll ask them, 'Well, how big is your trust fund?' Because almost everyone who tells me that money isn't everything was never poor. If you're poor, money is quite a bit. So, not having to worry about where am I going to live? Am I going to be able to take care of the basic needs of my family? Those things are pretty important.

On the other hand, it is true that Adam Smith wrote two books and all of his point about being embedded in a society--now it's a commercial society, but it is a society. So, we can't substitute commerce for society. These things have to go together. And, if we can find a way to bring back the society part of commercial society, I think capitalism is likely to be more sustainable. As it stands you are right. We have some thinking to do.

Pictures of why we can't have nice things are below the footnotes. Only scroll down if you really think we can all just get along.

*And like "Go Vegan!", "socialism" can never be disproved. Everyone thinks that they have cracked the code of getting people to go vegan /not be greedy/tribal. Everyone is wrong. 

**Whether humanity should get richer does not have a clear-cut answer, as I discuss in Losing (shorter version).

***On Joe Rogan, Bernie Sanders claimed that Vanguard, Black Rock, and State Street "own" the vast majority of the stock market. This is so utterly and totally untrue, I hardly even know where to start. Please stop lying - it destroys your credibility with people who might otherwise be sympathetic. 

****For those who really hate our modern society, nothing is stopping you from moving elsewhere and living as a hunter-gatherer. 

Why I am not willing to count on the goodwill of my fellow humans:

A Meaningful Life (2-minute version)

From here.

Twenty-five years after the two-hour talk that became A Meaningful Life, my two-minute version:

1. Outrage, guilt, doom, depression, and anxiety aren’t “meaning.” They make things worse.
   Joy, gratitude, and pragmatism make things better.

2. Be kind and uplifting to nearly everyone. (See p. 355 for why I say “nearly.”)

3. Value and promote compassion, understanding, perspective, and gratitude.

4. Take seriously the plight of those suffering deeply.

5. Don’t let talk of bugs, “humanity,” “the planet,” expected value, or the far future distract you from the clear and present suffering all around us.
   Right here, right now, many individuals are suffering from intentional and preventable cruelty – and you can help.

6. Each sentient individual is “the universe.”
   You literally change “the universe” every time you make someone’s life better.

Inspired by a recent conversation with one of our favorite people.

Good News ... from Vox?

Vox's "Good News" newsletter, by Bryan Walsh, is, of course, sometimes infected by Vox's Doom Dogma. But this last one was great! Please share it around.

Ranting that everything is terrible and getting worse helps make things worse. The only way to make things better is to internalize:

The world is awful. The world is much better. The world can be much better.

Don't Read! Self-Indulgent! I'm not joking.

Tofu is an IQ test. "Get Fuzzy" (drawn by vegan Darby Conley)

 
Are you reading this? Gosh, you're not very obedient! 

Well, here's more funnies (videos):

• Are you a science type? Cunk with Physicist Brian Cox.
• More literary? Cunk on Shakespeare. 

On to the self-indulgence.

One of the ways I'm envious of the cell-phone (camera) era:

Until I had a digital camera, I worried every time I took a picture with a film camera. The film cost money, developing cost money, the print cost money. 

I took no pictures of Anne before I proposed (p. 159). I don't have a single photo of her between then and the day we wed! (October 23, 1992, p. 165) The first photo I took of her was two days later. 

I've used that first photo a lot (e.g., here and p. 168 - it is my favorite picture of all time), so here's the second.

The first photo I have of the two of us is of our backs that same day. 

That's why I dragged a tripod around

The first photo I have of the two of us that shows our faces is a month later, and my face is mostly blocked (luckily for you). 

(I asked ChatGPT to redo this with my face showing, and I can't unsee it!)

I would pay a truly obscene amount of money to have more photos of that first year. I would literally want thousands. 

(I mention this because I'm finally scanning these photos 33 years later. But seriously, check out those Cunk videos at the top.)

The Importance of Relativity

Quoted on p. 447 of Losing:

Life expectancy is up, from a world average of less than 30 years in the mid-18th century to over 70 years today; and the increases are seen by all age groups and all continents. Child mortality and maternal mortality in particular have been drastically reduced: “for an American woman, being pregnant a century ago was almost as dangerous as having breast cancer today.”

And published here before because it can't be said enough:

Martha Washington was born into a wealthy family and married a wealthy man as her first husband. She buried him and married another rich and powerful man (George). Yet with every possible advantage of the age, she buried every single one of her children, and every single one of her grandkids, too.

How effing horrible is that?

I know many people in every generation think they live in the worst possible time. But it really is hard to imagine what it would be like to have your spouse(s), kids, and grandkids likely to drop dead at any moment.

The Explicit EA Preference for Torture

Been hot here, but here is October near Flagstaff.

In my latest on why I'm not an "Effective Altruist," I wrote:

“Effective Altruists,” as math-following utilitarians, would torture a person so that N people could experience the tiniest pleasure.

In reply, someone claimed that EAs don't really want people to be tortured. 

Umm...

From Losing:

Back in March 2022, I came across a discussion by Open Philanthropy’s Holden Karnofsky: “Debating myself on whether ‘extra lives lived’ are as good as ‘deaths prevented.’” His piece is useful in explaining where I differ from many utilitarians.

(In short, Holden concludes that starting with any particular position will lead to consequences that offend our intuitions. True!)

To me, this is the key section of Holden’s argument:

I’ll give my own set of hypothetical worlds:

• World D has 10^18 flourishing, happy people.
• World E has 10^18 horribly suffering people, plus some even larger number (N) of people whose lives are mediocre/fine/“worth living” but not good.

There has to be some “larger number N” such that you prefer World E to World D. That’s a pretty wacky seeming position too!

It isn’t just wacky, it’s wrong. I simply don’t think there is any number N that works here. That is, I don’t think you can offset horrible suffering with any number of other people, no matter their level of happiness. 

QED

(If you've not read the two philosophy chapters of Losing for the full exploration, they start on p. 379 of this pdf.)

Fall-out-of-your-chair funny (but warning warning warning)

Warning: Has to do with politics. 

Also: Incredibly gross. Feel free to skip! 

First, a picture of a roadrunner in a tree; click for larger:

So yeah, I'm still trying to avoid the news. But I did see that Paramount (as far as it seems) fired Colbert to appease Tangerine Palpatine. 

Somehow, the South Park team took that news and turned it into their season premiere (Rolling Stone coverage; there are many others). They have Jesus [sic] explicitly call out what Paramount did to Colbert:

“You guys saw what happened to CBS? Well, guess who owns CBS? Paramount. You really want to end up like Colbert? You guys got to stop being stupid,” Jesus continues, before referencing the Trump character. “He also has the power to sue and take bribes and he can do anything to anyone. It’s the f**king president, dude… South Park is over.”

(It is useful to know South Park; e.g., that previously, Satan was in a relationship with Saddam Hussein. But you don't need to know anything.)

BTW, you can watch the full episode on Paramount+. LOL. I don't know how long that will last, and how long these clips below will be on YouTube.

This YouTube clip from the show is cartoon gross but very funny.

You can't unsee this if you click: This YouTube clip is the end of the show, and in it, the South Park team disgustingly uses generative AI (at 0:54) to create what is the funniest thing I've seen since South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut. (Which, in retrospect, is really tame and quaint.) Anne had to ask if I was OK; I was literally falling out of my chair with laughter. 

What a time we live in.

At least there are trees

The Grand Canyon, North Rim (see below, too)

 To start your weekend:

John Green: At least there are trees (5 minute video)

(Trees literally caused an apocalypse. About 80% of all animal species went extinct. Humans are pikers in comparison!) 

If you like that mini-essay, John's The Anthropocene Reviewed (especially the podcast or audiobook version) is excellent. Highly recommended. 

PS: To laugh instead of cry: Weird Al and Lin Manuel Miranda et al

The Lodge at the North Rim, which burned down recently

We have found the magic drug. (And another that isn't quite as good but is easier to swallow.)

Derek Thompson:

The results were spectacular. [Magic drug] transformed just about every tissue and molecular system that Ashley and his co-authors studied -- not just the muscles and heart, but also the liver, adrenal glands, fat, and immune system.

...increase our metabolism, improve mitochondrial function, fortify our immune system, reduce inflammation, improve tissue-specific adaptations, and protect against disease.

...900 cancer patients who had undergone surgery on their advanced colon cancer were randomly assigned to two groups. ... Compared to the control group, the [magic drug] group saw “significantly” more years without cancer, a 7 percentage point increase in the overall survival rate after 8 years, and a dramatic reduction in new primary cancers.

This magic drug? Exercise. 

Specifically, aerobic and weight training. 

In terms of an actual drug, an article and podcast:

Why are GLP1 drugs good for everything?  (Follow up: If GLP-1 Drugs Are Good For Everything, Should We All Be on Them? I'm sure there is a big backlash against these drugs, just like there was a big backlash to antidepressants. "Just stop being depressed!" <sigh>) 

Is Ozempic as Magical as It Sounds? (Freakonomics podcast)

This is not to say, "Everyone who isn't doing this [exercising, maintaining the optimal weight] is a moron!" 

People do what we're programmed to do! It isn't as though the benefits of exercise or not overeating are hidden. But both are counter to our evolutionary heritage - conserve (what had been) rare calories! 

I am fortunate that my life has unfolded in such a way that, in my mid-50s, I am able to prioritize my health. It did take this, which left me in constant, fluctuating pain. Exercise can exacerbate that pain (some more than others), but it is worth it to have more healthy years with Anne (who is in the best shape in decades, although she's been in awesome, amazing shape every minute I've known her  💏 ).

An Open Letter to Stephen Colbert and Evie McGee

Hey You Two,

I can't begin to say how great Stephen is; I'm sure, in the face of CBS's greedy, cowardly decision (more/worse), many others will note your genius better than I ever could. I will just say I became enamored with Stephen while he was on TDS, and I watched basically every episode of The Colbert Report and The Late Show, right up until the election last year (when I stopped consuming news). I've mentioned you countless times on this blog and in my latest book. 

What I want to emphasize is how much I adore how much you adore each other. For example, this previous note:

...every time Evie McGee is on The Late Show is delightful. After 30+ years, Stephen still seems as smitten with Evie as I am with Anne. (Colbert has mentioned her being vegan many times; on Valentine's Day, she wore and commented on wearing vegan leather pants [toward the end].)

You got married almost exactly a year after we did. We actually don't know a lot of happy couples who have been married for over three decades. Watching you interact has always seemed totally sincere, warming our hearts and giving us hope. Stephen's tale of when he knew Evie was "the one" is the second-best true love story we know.

Since Evie's ~3rd time on the show, I've said that, if I could have dinner with anyone, it would be with Anne and you two. You seem like truly good people who want to make the world a better place. You bring obvious love and joy to a world that needs so much more of both. 

Thank you. Thank you more than I can ever express.

"He rode a Beagle to the Galapagos Islands" - Friday Funny

"You have watched Cunk, right? 
We can't be friends otherwise."

If you get the joke ("rode a Beagle"), you will love the Cunk shows. BBC series (Cunk on Earth, Cunk on Life) available on Netflix, I can't possibly recommend them highly enough. 

Diane Morgan plays an "award-winning investigating journalist & BBC documentarist" who thinks she's an expert on everything but is actually beyond clueless. (This wouldn't be as funny if a man played the role - a little too on the nose.) The jokes come a mile a minute (what a group of writers!), but these series are worth watching just to see the reactions of the interviewees. 

There are also loads of clips on YouTube, but it you should watch everything. (We would only watch 5-10 minutes, just to have it last longer.)

I Am To Blame (not a happy post but still...)

tl;dr - if we want to make things actually better, we need to be honest with ourselves and others.

"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool."
-Richard Feynman

"Winning"

Shortly after I published this, I received a Substack column claiming "we" are winning, the media lies about how many vegetarians there are, 10% of the US are vegetarians, etc.

"Winning"

I don't bring this up to mock this person, but to draw attention to my biggest professional failure (and regret): Not being honest with myself or with others. 

For two decades, I was a "We're Winning!" cheerleader. This was, in part, because I wanted to believe this, and also because this is what nearly every donor wants to hear. 

Ask yourself: How inspired are you to donate to someone who shares graphs like this:

"Winning"

And that, IMO, is the cycle: people lie to themselves and lie to others, and those lies are reinforced with Likes and $$$. Anyone who says something people don't want to hear has no chance of breaking through. That's why this blog started with thousands of subscribers in 2014 and has 200 today. (Actually, I have a few more subscribers over on Substack, but only because they haven't gotten to know me yet.  😉)

Again, this isn't to be a bitter old man shaking his fist at clouds. I honestly want everyone to be happier, and I know tribes and delusions are very attractive. But even more than your happiness, I want less acute suffering in the world. Unfortunately, "Go Vegan!" and "We're Winning!" lead to more suffering. I'm not sure what I can do except continue to point this out, and amplify the good work of those outside of the ego / fundraising loop. 

[I was recently chatting with someone I knew who first reached out to me when they were in high school. They paid me the best compliment I've had this year (outside of book reviews). They basically said, "When the facts change, your views change." Not fast enough, but I try.]

I don't know why I blog at all. Seriously.

I spent hundreds of words trying to say what Zach Weinersmith at Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal said in one comic a few weeks later:  

Let's lift each other up while we can

2 Graphs & Facts:

"We're all gonna die!"
Click for larger; Source

[I]n 1965 [during Anne's lifetime], the most common age of death in the U.K. was between zero and one; today, [it] is 87. It’s the same in the U.S.

[A] massive increase in life expectancy, especially over the past century and a quarter.... [T]hose years are expected to be better — this is what researchers call “healthspan” versus “lifespan.”  [A] study of older people in 41 countries.... The researchers found that, on average, the physical condition of a modern 70-year-old corresponds to that of a 56-year-old in the year 2000. And a 70-year-old person today has the same cognitive ability as a 53-year-old person in 2000.

-Freakonomics (emphasis added)

We are, of course, all going to die. Let's lift each other up while we can.