autistically deriving etiquette from first principles, and why conservatives are right about multiculturalism:
a high trust society is an orderly society where social norms rather than laws are the primary mechanisms used to maintain that order; a society where the equilibrium is cooperate/cooperate, but at scale. this is, of course, harder to maintain the greater the scale. high trust requires punishing defection reliably and doing what you can to make cooperation easy and defection visible.
for example: queueing is excellent high trust technology, especially in a large community where not everyone knows everyone else. they makes defection visible both on the part of the clerk (or whatever) and on the parts of the people waiting in line, and they create a clear ordering system that makes it trivial for the clerk to behave fairly without making errors.
the easiest way to have a high trust society of course is to keep it extremely small so everyone knows each other. this makes cooperation easier and defection very, very visible!
but living with more people has a lot of upsides and in some sense is unavoidable (We Live in a Society). luckily you can still have your high trust society if everyone shares basically the same culture (that is: values, norms, social behaviors, etc. not just recipes). this isn't quite a tautology; same culture gets you halfway there but doesn't necessarily get you "orderly."
the issue with scale is of course that you can't maintain a high trust culture past some threshold of low trust participants. put differently, you're in a kind of mass prisoner's dilemma and the game can only support so many people pursuing a strategy of defection before cooperation is no longer viable. having the same culture makes this significantly easier!
but multiculturalism has a lot of upsides and in some sense is unavoidable (if you pile enough people into one place for long enough, they're going to start splintering). luckily you can still have your high trust society if everyone else is expected to assimilate to it, the important bit here being that they don't get a free pass for defection, for taking advantage of trust.
what i mean is things like: someone who ignores queues in a high-trust queueing society has to be directed to the back of the line, rather than shrugged at and served anyway, or the whole equilibrium begins to break down.
a high-trust society can support parallel cultures with their own rules, but those rules absolutely can't be imposed on the dominant culture (in addition to not giving the minory culture's members a free defection pass).
there are two major aspects to keeping a cooperate/cooperate equilibrium running smoothly. everyone has to actually cooperate, obviously. and everyone has to believe that everyone else will cooperate. it's sort of unclear exactly which norms and rules (and which combinations of these) are important to maintaining a high trust society, but in some sense even arbitrary ones are useful because they give people opportunities to signal that willingness to cooperate. queues are, as i keep saying, excellent technology. this is because they are *orderly*, but also because they're an opportunity to signal cooperation even when order isn't required (like when there are only two people waiting for service).
politeness, abritrary cultural practices, the whole thing is a dance with easy to follow rules that allow people to credibly signal trustworthiness and good will to each other to minimize confusion and maximize cooperation. ritual is load-bearing technology
Ladies, gentlemen, SWs fansโฆ๐โจI have explored space.โจI have explored time.โจNowโฆ I explore distortion.
Yes. You read that correctly.โจI am releasing a HEAVY METAL album.
Thirty-five metal virtuosos. Thunderous guitars. Chaos with purpose.โจCovers of legends like Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, and Judas Priest โ and a few originals forged in the same cosmic fire.
This project is, quite literally, a gathering of forces. Loud imagination. Honest intensity. Unapologetic exploration.
At 94, one does not slow down. One turns the volume up.
So prepare yourselves.โจWe are about to boldly headbang where no one has headbanged before. ๐ค
Stay tuned. The metal voyage begins this year.
@PNW_working_mom My dog gets anxious, but I handle it in my house.
What are your thoughts on people lighting them off for 2 weeks before and after Independence Day?
Scientists Create Light From Empty Space By Manipulating Time And Space | Jannat Un Nisa, Wonderful Engineering
In an experiment that challenges our understanding of reality, researchers from the University of Rostock and the University of Birmingham have discovered a method to create light from what appears to be empty space by manipulating the very fabric of time. The study is published in the prestigious journal Nature Photonics.
The key lies in time itself. Unlike space, which allows movement in multiple directions, time only moves forward. This one-way flow, what scientists call the โarrow of time,โ has often been seen as a limiting factor, but the research team has turned that idea on its head. Using a new class of structures called spatio-temporal crystals, which repeat patterns in both space and time, they showed that time can actively shape physical behavior. In their experiments, they generated short, stable bursts of light at exact points in space and time, proving that changes in temporal structure can manifest real, measurable energy.
What makes this even more remarkable is the role of topology, a field of mathematics that explores how shapes and spaces behave under deformation. The researchers used topological principles to guide the formation of these light pulses, ensuring that once the bursts appeared, they remained highly stable, even in the presence of interference. Professor Hannah Price from the University of Birmingham noted that topology offers a robust mathematical framework that locks these effects in place, making the generated light unusually resistant to disruption. This kind of resilience is rarely seen in physics, especially in systems as sensitive as those involving light.
The light created in this study is not like ordinary light from a lamp or laser. It possesses a kind of inherent durability, shielded by the irreversible flow of time itself. Dr. Joshua Feis of the University of Rostock explained that this temporal stability makes the phenomenon especially valuable for technological applications that require uninterrupted, precise light. In other words, by tapping into the one-way structure of time, scientists have found a way to build light that doesnโt easily degrade or destabilize.
This breakthrough could have enormous implications for future technologies. In quantum computing, for example, the need for ultra-stable environments is critical, and this new light could provide a highly reliable medium for processing and transmitting information. In advanced imaging and sensing, especially in environments where regular light sources fail, the consistent nature of these light pulses could dramatically improve performance. Even space missions might benefit far from the sun, where solar energy becomes unreliable, a time-powered light source could keep instruments running for extended periods.
Yet the most profound impact of this research might be philosophical. For centuries, time has been viewed as a silent observer of physical events. This work suggests it is far more than thatโtime can be a creative force, capable of generating light and perhaps other forms of energy. As we explore this frontier, we may discover not only new technologies but also a deeper, more nuanced understanding of the universe itself.
Read more:
https://t.co/2fK0VII9h9
@ReAnimateHer_ This has been killing me all day. What movie is being referenced here? Search engines are garbage trying to find a horror movie with โfilmโ in the title.
@m1lo1smyd0g1@bqs4@allenanalysis I think you mean ORSEโฆ and the scrams are usually short cycle drills where the batteries take over until the plant is recovered.
@memeslich@BarbarianDisco Is there anything on Oerth that is canonical anymore since Gary destroyed the entire world/universe in his Gord the Rogue books?
Update: Anyone who has left LA and headed south. You are welcome at our restaurant, 16600 Pacific Coast Highway, 92649. We have a large parking lot, you can stay as long as you need and camp out. We will provide free meals for all of those affected. If anyone has any coordination in process for meals, supplies, etc for LA, reach out to me, we will provide as much food to deliver and arrange supplies as well.
@TheirEcho@TheHarrisSultan I believe you are incorrect on this. In the last century you would have to include the purges of Stalinist Russia (Asian and European with a body count of 10 million) Maoโs China (up to 100 million), Cambodia (~3 million). Communism has killed much more than โEuropeanism?!?!โ.