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  1. Penumbra

    What was last movie you watched?

    Red Sparrow. (meh)
  2. Penumbra

    About to be homeless and considering suicide.

    Unfortunately a lot of people end up homeless, but it's usually a temporary condition until they get back on their feet. I've been in that situation myself when I was little. There are various charities and shelters that can provide some degree of room and board or support for people, rather...
  3. Penumbra

    We Aren't Big On Reading

    Probably a big component is cultural. Another variable might have to do with visual/spatial and verbal differences which may or may not have a biological component. Many studies indicate that one of the few measurable mental differences between boys and girls is that boys tend to be more...
  4. Penumbra

    What are you eating?

    A can of sardines in olive oil, and a big salad with sliced avocado, olive oil, and lemon juice. For dessert, blackberries with manually-whipped heavy cream, with vanilla and cinnamon. And a cup of matcha green tea.
  5. Penumbra

    Where are Trump's financial data and tax returns?

    What good does it do if they are already elected? Federal employees naturally have to disclose finances before they engage in certain activities, and may either have to divest their conflict of interest or not participate in the activity if there is indeed a conflict. Why would the most...
  6. Penumbra

    Where are Trump's financial data and tax returns?

    US federal employees often have to disclose their financial positions and potential conflicts of interest with regard to things they are working on. The fact that it's optional for the President of the United States to disclose his or her finances and potential conflicts of interest is clearly...
  7. Penumbra

    Do you fast?

    I've seen a few types of intermittent fasting descriptions. A common one is the 16 hour fast followed by 8 hours of eating cycle, like what James Clear's article talks about and what you do. Others have advocated a 24 hour fast once or twice a week, going from, say, 2pm on a Tuesday to 2pm on a...
  8. Penumbra

    Moral Relativism, Part 1

    No, I am not confusing or conflating the two. An axiom is a self-evident or highly accepted fact from which other things derive. Knowledge is the acquired facts and synthesis of data. Axioms can therefore direct how we use knowledge, like to what goals do we apply the knowledge we have. It's...
  9. Penumbra

    A Transhumanist Bill of Rights?

    Seems alright to me for the most part. The hardest one is about the cyborgs and such. There's definitely going to be a lot of awkwardness when machines are seemingly sapient enough that people aren't sure if they have consciousness or just a facade of it. We can't even prove if another...
  10. Penumbra

    Hunting for the Joy of the Kill: Ethical or Not?

    If the hunt follows regulations to avoid over-hunting, and if the meat is eaten and other parts used however possible, then I consider hunting ethical. If someone enjoys the challenge, the technical aspects, the adrenaline of the hunt, or whatever, then fine. Going out to cause death and...
  11. Penumbra

    Eating ethical meat

    I ate alligator once, and it was alright. So I'd eat snake. It's supposedly not unlike chicken, which was the case for alligator in my experience. I'm not a biologist but I would imagine that it would be virtually impossible to harvest most types of invasive species for human consumption on...
  12. Penumbra

    Do We Bear a Moral Obligation to Nature and/or the Environment?

    If there's anything close to a moral obligation for an ethical person, I believe it would be to not increase suffering, and perhaps to try to reduce suffering. This would apply to both humans and other animals. People in particular should greatly care for the environment if they value the...
  13. Penumbra

    Which is more ethical? Hunting or Farming?

    Regulated hunting for food is a lot more sustainable for the environment, and causes a much briefer period of suffering for the animals, compared to factory-farmed animals. When, say, purely pastured-raised cows are brought into the comparison, I'd say they take the lead, though. A bolt...
  14. Penumbra

    Are We Becoming Better or Worse

    On a worldwide basis, the chance of dying by violent death has decreased dramatically over the centuries, and even compared to 100 years ago or so. The world has also dramatically improved in terms of ethical treatment of racial minorities, women, children, and sexual minorities. On the other...
  15. Penumbra

    Moral Relativism, Part 1

    Imagine a doctor whose axiom of medicine is that prayer, and only prayer, is the most effective treatment for any disease. Or, imagine a less extreme case of a doctor in the 18th century who treats things without a strong scientific backing. For example, he sees a patient with a fever, so he...
  16. Penumbra

    Taxation....How To Do It?

    Unfortunately, Reagan nearly tripled the annual federal deficit during his presidency. He cut taxes without cutting equivalent spending, so the national debt increased 186% in 8 years. The Republican and Democrat presidents before him maintained good debt levels. No modern president before...
  17. Penumbra

    Taxation....How To Do It?

    Here's a list of all the federal income tax brackets in US history: http://taxfoundation.org/article/us-federal-individual-income-tax-rates-history-1913-2013-nominal-and-inflation-adjusted-brackets Around the end of FDR's term, the tax rate on income above $25k/year was 51%. In today's...
  18. Penumbra

    How Much Sleep Do You Get Per Night on Average?

    You can calculate your biological age totally unscientifically: http://www.biological-age.com/ Turns out I'm 3 years old, biologically. O.o
  19. Penumbra

    Moral Relativism, Part 1

    I consider the field of ethics to be about as relative as the field of medicine or the field of nutrition. That is, they are somewhat objective relative to starting axioms.
  20. Penumbra

    How Much Sleep Do You Get Per Night on Average?

    I get maybe 7 hours on a given weekday and 8 hours on a given weekend, and I wake up before my alarm goes off. I'm 28.
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