Whyvert

Inquisitive and harmless wyvern. Interested in human nature and patterns of history. Otherwise known as Paul Cossins.

[Whyvert @whyvert]

@phl43 There was a parallel with regulating social media.

Until about a century ago, letters to the editor in newspapers were commonly pseudonymous. The right to privacy was accepted.

Then journalists instituted a new regime only publishing letters with real names.

[Whyvert @whyvert]

@profjmb Good point. It seems they were overlooked

[Whyvert @whyvert]

Neglected topics in academia, according to a survey.
1. Race/group differences
2. Sex/gender differences and biology
3. Religion/tradition/meaning
4. Markets/political economy/the political right

[Heterodox Academy @HdxAcademy]

❌When open inquiry shrinks, so does the scope of what scholars study.

In collaboration with @epkaufm and @Hartz_PhD, this new survey of HxA members shows exactly which topics some scholars feel are off limits:

[Whyvert @whyvert]

@niddersan Yeah, I expect there are more indirect deaths from conflict in Africa. But counting them is very uncertain.

[Whyvert @whyvert]

Our World in Data on conflict deaths (combatants and civilians) 1989-2025.
Rwanda still in pole position.
Palestine gets more attention than most (any?) of the others.

[Whyvert @whyvert]

@rlhopcro Not totally preposterous. It seems young men now prefer video games.

[Whyvert @whyvert]

@niddersan Yes, it is UCDP. They aren't the last word on the subject, but they do try to be care and consistent.

[David Pinsof @DavidPinsof]

This is actually a good framework for explaining people's attitudes toward AI, with broad explanatory power.

[Whyvert @whyvert]

@luvre90 These estimates say
Bosnia and Herzegovina 65,234 
Myanmar 32,934

[Whyvert @whyvert]

@dioscuri @neilsinhababu

[Yaw @YawBoaduBenjam2]

Nigeria’s top exports from 1962 to 2024, Top exports went from peanuts to crude oil in the 1960s and oil took over. Overall from this 62 year period, Nigeria has earned $1.54T in export earnings from oil during that time frame.

[Whyvert @whyvert]

@YawBoaduBenjam2 Good times in 2005-15!

[Claire Lehmann @clairlemon]

I don't have a strong view on whether Holmes should be in prison or not. But I think its fascinating how our culture(s) oscillate between the social norms of gender equality & the social norms of chivalry. This argument is an example of the latter https://t.co/DptrP3enlX

[Whyvert @whyvert]

@ima_pseudo41406 They seem to lack the capacity to have an effective authoritarian government

[Whyvert @whyvert]

Life in Haiti?
Foreigners provide necessities like food, clothing, basic medical.
Housing is free: just build a shack.
Earn a little by services like clipping fingernails or hawking.

The problem is other Haitians. Gangs. Government provides no services.

[Whyvert @whyvert]

Progress in Haiti against the gangs.
The US gave the police better weapons. They now look like an army.
The government hired Erik Prince's mercenaries, who use drones.

We'll see if this is enough. Better than the failed peacekeeping forces previously tried.

[Whyvert @whyvert]

This is the problem with putting multinational peacekeeping forces into Haiti.
El Salvador joined the latest one. Now it is getting dragged deeper into the quagmire.
Putting troops into Haiti is a thankless task.
Private military contractors may be a better option.

[Visegrád 24 @visegrad24]

BREAKING:

Bukele announces that El Salvador is launching a military operation in Haiti against the gangs.

The goal is to free 4 Salvadoran citizens kidnapped by the Haitian gangs. Bukele threatens that El Salvador will eradicate the Haitian gangs if they hurt the kidnapped men:

“To the gang leaders and gang members holding our four compatriots hostage in Haiti:

Our kidnapped men are not combatants. They are aviation technicians who are part of our mission in Haiti, within the framework of an international mission. Our mission consists only of pilots and technical personnel, whose primary job is to carry out medical evacuations and save lives, not to wage war.

However, they were kidnapped in a cowardly manner while returning after buying food at a market in the area.

That is why, today, we have launched a military operation to rescue them. We have a single objective: to bring our four compatriots back home alive, without any harm.

However, I want you, the gang leaders, to understand one thing very clearly: today's attack is nothing compared to what is coming if we do not get all four hostages back alive.

And do not take our word for empty threats. We have already finished with the gangs in El Salvador, and we can finish with you too.

We still have time to avoid this.

Return our four compatriots to us alive, without any harm, and everything will go back to how it was before the kidnapping.

The decision is in your hands”

[Eric Kaufmann @epkaufm]

Another study showing that peers, not professors, shift opinion leftward during university.

Left-leaning professors cater to left-leaning students.

Data shows very few conservative profs, so student priors are reinforced, not challenged.

https://t.co/gDPCpmFGjB

[Whyvert @whyvert]

@AndrewHammel1 Champagne socialism defeats itself

[Whyvert @whyvert]

@williameijer True, but autocrats also don't seem keen to push hereditarianism. Means that maybe democracy isn't the barrier, or the only barrier.

[Whyvert @whyvert]

@dioscuri I wouldn't call Deng Xiaoping or George Washington utopians.