Tom Hamilton

Fan of the wisdom of Thomas Sowell and of F. A. Hayek. Grateful to God every day. Proud American. Convinced that consensus is not science.

[bodhi.sky @bodhi_pp]

同情心的边界：Gad Saad 与 Steven Pinker 的温柔碰撞

在X这个现代斗兽场里，@GadSaad和@sapinker最近的交锋，像是一场由进化心理学家和认知心理学家共同主演的“同情心伦理辩论赛”。一位是亲历中东战火、带着生存本能的“现实派犹太大叔”，另一位是西方象牙塔里优雅梳理人类进步曲线的“乐观派绅士”。两人都是聪明人，都信奉理性，却在“同情心到底该有多大”这个问题上，撞出了火花。

Gad Saad 把问题讲得很直白：同情心本是进化给我们的美好礼物，却像一把没装保险的枪，容易“误发射”。当我们对开放边境无限同情时，涌入的可能不只是需要帮助的人，还有带着不兼容文化习惯（比如某些极端伊斯兰主义的不宽容与支配欲）的人。他们把母国的生存逻辑直接搬过来，要求东道主不断退让、不断“理解”。结果呢？本土文化像被温柔稀释的咖啡，慢慢失去原有味道，而最初的同情者发现自己成了“自杀式共情”的受害者。Saad 用他标志性的幽默说，这不是善良，这是“寄生虫式同情”——宿主越热情，寄生虫越开心，直到宿主文明耗尽。

Steven Pinker 则站在另一端，带着他一贯的启蒙主义温情。他相信同情心是人类暴力下降、道德圈扩大的核心引擎。我们应该不断反思、不断深化，把“设身处地”做到极致。只有利他才是真正高尚的，不断强调“我们自己群体利益”听起来就有点道德低劣。他担心攻击“过度同情”会变成给冷酷找借口，人类进步的历史数据也支持：多一点同情，世界往往会更好。

两人的分歧，其实早就写在他们的简历里。

Saad 11岁从黎巴嫩内战中逃出来，亲眼见过课堂上老师喊“杀犹太人”、街头反犹狂欢。他后来成了商学院教授，用进化心理学看消费者行为和群体竞争，天然懂得“成本-收益”和“市场残酷”。他见过火灾，所以总在检查防火墙够不够厚。

Pinker 则在蒙特利尔舒适的中产犹太家庭长大，一路顶尖学术圈：麦吉尔、哈佛、MIT。他用大数据证明人类整体在变好，暴力在下降。同情心在他这里更像一种可扩展的认知能力，而不是需要时刻提防的危险开关。他没见过自家社区被同情耗尽，所以更愿意相信“再多一点善意就行了”。

这不是谁更聪明，而是采样现实不同。一个尝过部落冲突的血腥味，一个在安全实验室里统计长期趋势。Saad 像那个被蜜蜂蛰过的人，看到花丛就先找蜂巢；Pinker 像从未被蛰过的园丁，觉得多浇水花就开得更美。

世界当然是复杂的。它不是童话，也不是纯粹的丛林。人类既需要同情来维系社会，又需要边界来保护自己。无限制的同情像没加刹车的跑车，跑得越快越容易翻车；完全关闭同情则会变成冷血机器，最终连自己都保护不了。真正的智慧，是在“同情”与“理性自保”之间走钢丝：对真正需要帮助的人伸出手，但绝不把自家大门拆了当柴烧；对不兼容的价值观保持警惕，而不是用“理解”两个字自我麻醉。

我站 Saad。不是因为他更“狠”，而是因为他更诚实。在一个资源有限、文化差异真实存在的世界里，同情心必须有界限，否则善良就会变成自杀的许可证。Saad 的警告不是反同情，而是反天真——一种穿上道德外衣的天真。Pinker 的乐观很动人，但现实偶尔会用中东式的残酷提醒我们：不是所有人都在玩同一套启蒙游戏，有些人玩的是零和部落生存。

最后，借用 Saad 式的幽默结尾：下次当你准备把家门钥匙交给“需要帮助的陌生人”之前，不妨先问问自己——他是来取一杯水的，还是来重写你家规矩的？同情心很宝贵，别让它变成文明的安乐死。

世界复杂，边界必要。保持善良，但请带点脑子。

[James Woods @RealJamesWoods]

In case you think philosophers were a myth of history, we actually have one of the greatest ever in our midst:

[Elon Musk @elonmusk]

Exactly

[David Sacks @DavidSacks]

Reverse discrimination does not undo historical injustices but rather perpetrates new ones against a different set of individuals. This foments social strife and undermines the ideal of America as a meritocracy. AI models should not be taught that this practice is justified.

[James Woods @RealJamesWoods]

Dear President Trump, Thomas Sowell is an American treasure. Please consider honoring him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. I can’t think of a greater representative of American values.

[Mike Lee @BasedMikeLee]

What’s next now that we have enough votes to pass the motion to proceed to the House-passed SAVE America Act?

In a nutshell, we now need to convince Senate Republicans to ditch the Zombie Filibuster & enforce the Talking Filibuster on this bill!

[Tom Hamilton @TIHamilton]

In the 1970's Sen Mike Mansfield (D-Montana) proposed "the two-track system" that created the "silent filibuster" and - without changing any rules - let Senators simply say "we're filibustering" so they could stop progress on a bill without having any of the pain or accountability of having to hold the floor of the Senate while it was in session. This eliminated the transparency that held accountable those who were willing to shut down the government. This relaxation of the rules required mutual consent of both political parties.
   Sen. Thune, as Senate Majority Leader, can withdraw his consent to this procedure without changing rules and take us back to the SPEAKING filibuster (which never went away) and require whoever wants the filibuster to talk continuously on the Senate floor. The obvious advantages: it would reveal which party is accountable for the shutdown, individual senators would have to actually back up their position on the Senate floor, and most importantly, the public would learn who is doing this to us.

[Tom Hamilton @TIHamilton]

In the 1970's Sen Mike Mansfield (D-Montana) proposed "the two-track system" that created the "silent filibuster" and - without changing any rules - let Senators simply say "we're filibustering" so they could stop progress on a bill without having any of the pain or accountability of having to hold the floor of the Senate while it was in session. This eliminated the transparency that held accountable those who were willing to shut down the government. This relaxation of the rules required mutual consent of both political parties.
   Sen. Thune, as Senate Majority Leader, can withdraw his consent to this procedure without changing rules and take us back to the SPEAKING filibuster (which never went away) and require whoever wants the filibuster to talk continuously on the Senate floor. The obvious advantages: it would reveal which party is accountable for the shutdown, individual senators would have to actually back up their position on the Senate floor, and most importantly, the public would learn who is doing this to us.

[Tom Hamilton @TIHamilton]

End wasteful spending, pork barrel legislation, earmarks and shutdowns. Support congressional line item disapproval - creates budgets where every line item is wanted by the majority. Built with Grok’s help! Thank you @elonmusk ! Thank you @davidsacks47 ! And thanks to @DataRepublican for all you do!

Go to https://t.co/MU1SmZL3P3

Click the “Learn More ->” link at the top of the Dashboard!

[DogeDesigner @cb_doge]

ELON MUSK: "If civilization continues, A.I in space is inevitable. In order to achieve any meaningful percentage of a Kardashev II scale civilization where you're using even a millionth of the sun's energy, you must have solar powered AI satellites in deep space.

My estimate is that the cost of electricity, like the cost effectiveness of AI in space, will be overwhelmingly better than AI on the ground. You actually don't need batteries, because it's always sunny in space and the solar panels actually become cheaper because you don't need glass or framing, and the cooling is just radiative."

[Peter Clack @PeterDClack]

The Earth is greening at a rate never seen before in all recorded history, according to satellite records from 1982–2023. Global crop yields have risen 15–20% since 1960, almost entirely attributable to CO₂ fertilisation (Idso, 2013; IPCC AR6 WG1 Ch5). Famine deaths have also plummeted over a time when the world's population doubled and CO₂ deserves much of the credit. We have increased CO₂ over the past century to thank for this explosion in plant life and available plant food from booming agriculture.

There's been a more than 18% increase in the global leaf area in 40 years, the largest gains in India and China (from CO₂ fertilisation). Warmer more balmy temperatures are also lengthening the growing seasons. This is a feature of rising levels of water vapour and cloud cover around the world. Every 100 ppm increase in CO₂ typically boosts plant growth by 25–50% in all non-water, limited conditions. My analysis draws on 776 studies from 1993–2019, showing an ideal average CO₂ level of 550 ppm delivers a 38% increase in global biomass.

This is an astonishing windfall for life on earth, chiefly from CO₂, a trace gas at 420 ppm (or 0.04%). It also has a secondary benefit for life by contributing to baseline levels of warmth around the planet, along with water vapour and other trace gases with similar properties, like methane (1,920-1,930 parts per billion). However, this is not enough to be the defining control knob for changing climate around the world. Water vapour and cloud cover are the mainstays of rainfall and the entire hydrologic cycle, returning water as precipitation to rivers lakes and maintaining the oceans (where 78% of rain ends up). These are the reasons why commercial greenhouses pump CO₂ to 1000–1500 ppm deliberately. It ensures that crop yields jump by 20–70% depending on the crop. If 1000 ppm is good for tomatoes, why is 420 ppm an 'emergency' for the planet?

The world population has more than doubled since 1970, going from roughly 3.7 billion to over 8 billion by 2022-2025. Population tripled since 1950, from roughly 2.5 billion people to over 8 billion today (8.2 billion as of late 2024/early 2025). This massive global expansion was driven by increased food production and agricultural advancement, known as the 'Green Revolution'. This period involved significant agricultural advancements like high-yield crop varieties, irrigation and the use of fertilizers and pesticides, which vastly increased food availability.

CO₂ is the foundation for all life on earth and the chief source of photosynthesis. It also delivers the calcium carbonate in water to produce exoskeletons for all shellfish. This is the miracle of CO₂, enabling green chlorophyll plants and algae to convert sunlight into food energy and oxygen. This way, CO₂ supports every food chain on earth.

The science says 600–1000 ppm of CO₂ plus 1–2°C extra warming hits the sweet spot for all terrestrial and marine life, including human civilization. We should be managing adaptation and energy abundance not waging war on a trace gas that makes the planet greener. Higher CO₂ gives a net benefit to life on Earth. This means the current 'carbon policy' of driving down CO₂ levels - the purpose for net zero - is anti-life.

[Mario Nawfal @MarioNawfal]

ELON: THE CREATOR MADE THIS UNIVERSE

Katie Miller asked Elon who he looks up to most.

Elon:

“The creator.”

When she asked his view on God, his tone didn’t shift:

“God is the creator...

I believe this universe came from something.

People have different labels.”

Just a straight answer from a person who spends his existence understanding the machinery of existence.

Source: @KatieMiller @elonmusk

[Mario Nawfal @MarioNawfal]

ELON: AI MUST BE TRUTHFUL, NOT POLITICALLY CORRECT

"I think it's very important that AI is trained to be truthful and not trained to be politically correct, because political correctness is often simply not true.

And that means you're programming AI to lie, and I think that will backfire very badly.

I keep harping on this point, but as the saying goes, honesty is the best policy.

It's incredibly important.

I do fear that regulators will not make the right decisions, that they'll worry too much about human follies.

I would encourage regulators to say, what matters most of all is your AI is accurate and truthful.”

Source: @narendraca_in

[Tom Hamilton @TIHamilton]

@Osint613 Perhaps he will ask them to eliminate the 60 vote cloture requirement for the balance of his term and, in return, promise to sign legislation to reinstate it permanently (as law, not a Senate rule) effective at the end of his term.

[Matt Taibbi @mtaibbi]

One of my regrets about the Twitter Files is that I think we failed to convey the scale of the ideas being envisaged, like common international databases of speech offenders or the use of “content moderation” to re-shape the public’s understanding not just of news, but history.

[Eli Steele @Hebro_Steele]

"Thomas Sowell might be one of the smartest Americans who has ever lived, and his contributions to economics are undeniably momentous. Any other black intellectual of his stature would be much more famous, but Sowell’s conservatism means his extensive writings on race are ignored because they don’t advance the political causes of the Left." -- Shelby Steele

[Late n Lost @fiikster]

@xfreeze Technology changes yet not human nature - code is biased by default. A digital paradigm does not guarantee truth.

[Tom Hamilton @TIHamilton]

Use multiple agents to “find the truth” of any fact, modeling the algorithm after the justice system’s four agents:
- Agent 1: Presents evidence in support of the fact (like a plaintiff);
- Agent 2: Presents evidence contesting the fact (like a defendant);
- Agent 3: Impartially judges evidence admissibility (like a judge);
- Agent 4: Decides whether the fact is true based on admissible evidence and arguments (like a jury).

[Elon Musk @elonmusk]

It is so rare as to be shocking in recent years to see a straight White man as the hero!

(Not counting movies based on comic books created last century or made by Tom Cruise)