Michael Woods

[Michael Woods @carpdiem]

I visited Japan for the first time in 2009. It was my first solo international trip, and I bought a little "learn Japanese in 24 lessons" type of book to read on the flight over. I learned precisely two phrases: sumimasen, and how to ask for the best thing on the menu.

The trip was a fabulous success and both learnings served me well.

[Michael Woods @carpdiem]

@Eliana_Goldin What grades/age ranges does it serve?

[Michael Woods @carpdiem]

@CommodMkt @threadreaderapp unroll please

[Michael Woods @carpdiem]

@Tom_Maguire @mhartl Like the marines say: "No man left behind, unless they pushed blue, in which case it's civic minded and unselfish to reduce risk to yourself in case you might do more good later".

[Michael Woods @carpdiem]

@lymanstoneky Forgive me, but I don't think that's right. I think it's capturing how many people don't ask themselves the follow up question of "what does the world look like after Red wins?"

For starters, consider: most kids 0-3 probably can't understand the question and thus pick randomly.

[Michael Woods @carpdiem]

@Molly85224872 @mhartl It doesn't matter who you can mathematically try to ascribe guilt to. If you vote red and win, as a practical matter, the next question you'll have to deal with is "how many corpses will I help carry to the burn pits?". That's your best case scenario in the "red wins" world.

[Michael Woods @carpdiem]

It has been _zero_ days since I've accidentally stepped on broken glass while trying to keep my distance from a deranged hobo on the sidewalk in San Francisco.

Next time: boots?

[Michael Woods @carpdiem]

@robertgraham No. This question is totally insane. Win with red and wake up in a world where 25-50% of the population just perished. Society collapses. Worse than nuclear winter.

[Michael Woods @carpdiem]

Insane choice. Red wins and, even if you survive personally, you're in a world where 25-50% of the pop just died simultaneously. Pilots, Heads of State, Doctors, children, loved ones. Think of what happens next. Would be better to wake up to nuclear winter than win with Red.

[Tim Urban @waitbutwhy]

Everyone in the world has to take a private vote by pressing a red or blue button. If more than 50% of people press the blue button, everyone survives. If less than 50% of people press the blue button, only people who pressed the red button survive. Which button would you press?

[Michael Woods @carpdiem]

@LinchZhang @waitbutwhy 5. ppl who realize that even if they pick red and red wins and they survive, they're going to be living in a hellhole world where 50% of people just randomly died, leading to the collapse of civilization / etc, so red-winning sucks.

[Michael Woods @carpdiem]

@robinhanson Best idea I've seen: % reductions in income tax liabilities for the household, permanently going forward, for each child born.

[Michael Woods @carpdiem]

@mbateman Any chances for a Bay Area outpost?

[Michael Woods @carpdiem]

@nikutaberuru Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.

I work in "deep-tech", and I rewatch it every couple years for inspiration and to provoke interesting thoughts.

[Michael Woods @carpdiem]

@normonics DM'd!

[Michael Woods @carpdiem]

@LamarMK Falcon wing rear doors and it's a killer. Insta-buy. Saves your back so much for getting the little ones in and out.

[Michael Woods @carpdiem]

@AtelierMissor_ I would make a pilgrimage to see this.

[Michael Woods @carpdiem]

"Caltech", if you wouldn't mind.

But yes. Having been responsible for part of the admissions process there during my undergrad, wider distributions would help enormously. As it is, the most surefire path i know is having professor parents who can hook you up with research opps in high school.

[Michael Woods @carpdiem]

To be fair, there might be no more terrifying weapon than control of geometry.

You think you'll use your railways for superior logistics with interior lines? BOOM, all your parallel line tracks now intersect. Trains crash everywhere.

You try a straight line frontal assault? BAM, trapped on a never ending mobius surface, looping forever under incoming fire.

Hide in your perfectly sealed bunker with literally no way in? They come in through the fourth dimension.

Amateurs debate tactics. Professionals plan logistics. Lovecraftian horrors rewrite Euclid.

[Michael Woods @carpdiem]

"Daddy, i found hot sauce on the kitchen table so i sucked it up with a vacuum cleaner..."

-Life with a 4 year old