• 3 Posts
  • 31 Comments
Joined 9 months ago
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Cake day: September 24th, 2023

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  • (I should preface this with the fact that I only really skimmed the aamc article you linked)

    I think we have a serious bias problem in medicine. However, the right answer might be to fund studies that debunk the racist claims pervading the education system, rather than relying solely on stricter policies.

    It seems to me that we want individualized medicine. Discounting race, different people may respond differently to various treatments; for example, I have really long tooth roots. Therefore, we should develop tests to identify these differences and tailor treatment accordingly. I understand the fear of research that could possibly establish differences in treatment across racial lines due to historical context. However, I would tentatively suggest that if one truly believes race is an ineffective descriptor for such distinctions, then one should expect that studies would more likely aid than hinder the effort to address racial disparities in medical treatment and outcomes.






  • I agree that it’s not the worst place to live, we have major problems, and the trends are not looking good but we also have some nice things too: national parks, cool technology, higher income, freedom of speech, etc. However propaganda is intended to influence, while I’m sure there is anti-American propaganda, I think a large part of it can be attributed to commiserating and a break down of the social order especially among young liberals who have been most effected by the evaporation of real life community. I guess I should go join a meet up or something— anyone down to play pool? Oh wait no sorry my university removed the pool tables to put in a never used “T Rowe Price Innovation center” fml.



  • I do really like the error system in rust for its descriptions. I guess the difficulty for me, which maybe will go away after writing more rust, is that my intuition for what is efficient and what isn’t totally breaks down.

    I find myself passing copies of values around and things like that, it might be that the compiler just takes care of that, or that I just don’t know how to do it well but that’s often the point of friction for me.

    Totally agree on the refactor though, most of the time it doesn’t even take that much time since you know the skeleton of what you want at that point!





  • While I agree wholeheartedly with the idea that we need to emphasize quality over quantity, so long as software pays well there will be people who don’t care. In my university I’ve met a fair few people that complain about having to learn about compilers, assembly, and whatnot because “I’ll never need to know that in my actual job”. While to some extent in the United States you can blame the fact that classes just cost a ton, I think it’s a sad reality that, barring some key change in the way our whole education and economic systems work, there will be unimaginative apathetic people that will ruin things for the rest. Plus people are fallible or something I dunno. But yeah void pointers are my jam because I don’t have to wait precious clock cycles making new ones jk.




  • If individuals have committed crimes, they’ve clearly broken the social contract. Your mention of retribution is especially interesting when we consider the Code of Hammurabi, one of the earliest known sets of laws, which introduced ‘lex talionis’ or ‘the principle of retribution’—likely the origin of the ‘an eye for an eye’ concept.

    The idea of retribution does seem to tap into something intrinsic in our sense of justice. However, it’s important to note that during Hammurabi’s era, resources were much scarcer than today, making the sustained imprisonment of criminals impractical.

    So, what is the underlying purpose of modern incarceration? In no particular order, it seems to be: isolating individuals from the public to prevent further crimes, serving as punishment to deter criminal behavior, and rehabilitation.

    Torture, I believe, doesn’t make us safer nor does it contribute to rehabilitation. This leaves punishment to deter criminal activity. This can be seen either as a warning to potential criminals or, for those not facing life imprisonment, as a means to reduce recidivism.

    Therefore, we’re left to balance the human rights of the individual against the potential deterrent effect of torture in preventing future crimes. Even in this simplified scenario, discounting the message sent by tacitly accepting state-sponsored torture and the diminishing impact of additional punishment on those who act irrationally, torture seems to serve only to satisfy a base desire for vengeance. We should not lower ourselves to such methods, aligning us closer to those who commit these heinous crimes.


  • The impulse to seek retribution against those who have perpetrated heinous crimes is a natural human inclination. Yet, it’s vital to remember that even those who commit the most grievous offenses are, at their core, human beings endowed with certain inalienable rights. In the context of warfare, the use of torture to extract information is undeniably a reprehensible act. It stands to reason, then, that torture employed solely as a means of inflicting pain for punishment’s sake is even more morally indefensible. However, I perceive a well-intentioned undercurrent in your remarks. Your response appears to reflect a person who retains a sense of empathy towards others, an attribute that is commendable.