Paul
@snoofleglax.bsky.social
Professor of physics and astronomy at a SUNY community college. Ph.D., RPI, 2019. I study the structure of the Milky Way. He/Him. Zero tolerance for right wing assholes. Closet metalhead. Opinions entirely my own.
She was actually super insightful in Trump I, but she stared too long into the abyss and came down with a terminal case of Poster's Madness during the Biden administration.
November 11, 2025 at 5:39 AM
She was actually super insightful in Trump I, but she stared too long into the abyss and came down with a terminal case of Poster's Madness during the Biden administration.
No it isn't, and you're stupid if you actually think it is. First, there are legitimate reasons to own a gun beyond "people will be afraid of me", insane right-wing gun nuts notwithstanding. Second, the trolley problem is entirely hypothetical while guns are not. Third, your analogy is badly formed.
November 7, 2025 at 10:46 PM
No it isn't, and you're stupid if you actually think it is. First, there are legitimate reasons to own a gun beyond "people will be afraid of me", insane right-wing gun nuts notwithstanding. Second, the trolley problem is entirely hypothetical while guns are not. Third, your analogy is badly formed.
Well, God forbid I treat a discussion about a frankly stupid moral dilemma with some random internet jackoff with anything less than absolute solemnity 🙄
I'm not wringing my hands or going full Hamlet, so therefore I must be morally deficient?
I'm not wringing my hands or going full Hamlet, so therefore I must be morally deficient?
November 7, 2025 at 10:34 PM
Well, God forbid I treat a discussion about a frankly stupid moral dilemma with some random internet jackoff with anything less than absolute solemnity 🙄
I'm not wringing my hands or going full Hamlet, so therefore I must be morally deficient?
I'm not wringing my hands or going full Hamlet, so therefore I must be morally deficient?
Like, what are you looking for here? Never mind that you've changed from one person to an indefinite number of people. Nor have I said that I would sleep well. You're drawing a lot of very poorly-supported conclusions. Is this, like, your first argument ever?
November 7, 2025 at 10:08 PM
Like, what are you looking for here? Never mind that you've changed from one person to an indefinite number of people. Nor have I said that I would sleep well. You're drawing a lot of very poorly-supported conclusions. Is this, like, your first argument ever?
Yes, my response to a highly contrived ethical dilemma is definitely 100% predictive of my views on guns. This is totally *not* an idiotic non sequitur!
November 7, 2025 at 10:02 PM
Yes, my response to a highly contrived ethical dilemma is definitely 100% predictive of my views on guns. This is totally *not* an idiotic non sequitur!
Nothing? Apologize? Accept the consequences of my actions whatever they may be? Why does it matter what I say to them? Like, I genuinely don't understand the purpose of this question. What if I meet the wife and children of one of the people I saved?
November 7, 2025 at 9:22 PM
Nothing? Apologize? Accept the consequences of my actions whatever they may be? Why does it matter what I say to them? Like, I genuinely don't understand the purpose of this question. What if I meet the wife and children of one of the people I saved?
But your objection is irrelevant to me, because in my own view, simply being present for the situation and having the ability to influence its outcome means that I have a moral obligation to act.
November 7, 2025 at 7:52 PM
But your objection is irrelevant to me, because in my own view, simply being present for the situation and having the ability to influence its outcome means that I have a moral obligation to act.
And now we've reached the level of how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.
November 7, 2025 at 7:49 PM
And now we've reached the level of how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.
And I'm not saying they're exactly analogous. I'm saying that making a choice not to intervene is still choosing the outcome. I may have had the choice thrust upon me, but I'm still responsible for the outcome of my choice.
November 7, 2025 at 7:48 PM
And I'm not saying they're exactly analogous. I'm saying that making a choice not to intervene is still choosing the outcome. I may have had the choice thrust upon me, but I'm still responsible for the outcome of my choice.
See, that's why I think this whole thing is stupid. You can always add emotional torque to it.
"Oh, what if you had to kill a thousand bunnies to save Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Jesus?"
"Oh, what if you had to eat seven kittens and four puppies to save one baby from being thrown to sharks?"
"Oh, what if you had to kill a thousand bunnies to save Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Jesus?"
"Oh, what if you had to eat seven kittens and four puppies to save one baby from being thrown to sharks?"
November 7, 2025 at 7:47 PM
See, that's why I think this whole thing is stupid. You can always add emotional torque to it.
"Oh, what if you had to kill a thousand bunnies to save Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Jesus?"
"Oh, what if you had to eat seven kittens and four puppies to save one baby from being thrown to sharks?"
"Oh, what if you had to kill a thousand bunnies to save Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Jesus?"
"Oh, what if you had to eat seven kittens and four puppies to save one baby from being thrown to sharks?"
Pretty sure that the ability to alter the course of the train is having some authority over it.
November 7, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Pretty sure that the ability to alter the course of the train is having some authority over it.
So what? If I come across a burning car and hear someone screaming for help (let's stipulate that I'm somehow fireproof and I can save them with 100% reliability), I believe that if I walk away, I'm partly responsible for their death.
November 7, 2025 at 7:36 PM
So what? If I come across a burning car and hear someone screaming for help (let's stipulate that I'm somehow fireproof and I can save them with 100% reliability), I believe that if I walk away, I'm partly responsible for their death.
Perhaps I'm not as responsible in the trolley problem as I would be in the above scenario, but choosing not to act is still, to me, choosing to be complicit in the deaths of five people.
November 7, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Perhaps I'm not as responsible in the trolley problem as I would be in the above scenario, but choosing not to act is still, to me, choosing to be complicit in the deaths of five people.
Or, in the certain knowledge that refusing to pull it would result in the deaths of five people, you DIDN'T pull it. And thus, due to your choice, those five people died.
If someone drowns because I have the means to save them but choose not to act, it doesn't matter that I didn't build the pool!
If someone drowns because I have the means to save them but choose not to act, it doesn't matter that I didn't build the pool!
November 7, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Or, in the certain knowledge that refusing to pull it would result in the deaths of five people, you DIDN'T pull it. And thus, due to your choice, those five people died.
If someone drowns because I have the means to save them but choose not to act, it doesn't matter that I didn't build the pool!
If someone drowns because I have the means to save them but choose not to act, it doesn't matter that I didn't build the pool!
Knowing that you have the ability to save five people and actively choosing not to do so sure sounds like killing them to me. You're still choosing not to pull the lever.
November 7, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Knowing that you have the ability to save five people and actively choosing not to do so sure sounds like killing them to me. You're still choosing not to pull the lever.
Good news, there is an unambiguously correct answer! We live in physical reality, where there's a third choice!
November 7, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Good news, there is an unambiguously correct answer! We live in physical reality, where there's a third choice!
Nope. 2020 census had it near 9 million. In the 50s it was a little under 8 million.
November 5, 2025 at 3:13 AM
Nope. 2020 census had it near 9 million. In the 50s it was a little under 8 million.
This triggered a flashback to the *incredibly* awkward kiss between Al Gore and his wife on the stage at the 2000 convention.
November 4, 2025 at 8:19 PM
This triggered a flashback to the *incredibly* awkward kiss between Al Gore and his wife on the stage at the 2000 convention.
Right? Like, which part? Coursework? Qualifying exams? Candidacy exam? Thesis defense? Be specific!
October 31, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Right? Like, which part? Coursework? Qualifying exams? Candidacy exam? Thesis defense? Be specific!
The thing that has blackpilled me more than anything is the extent to which the median voter has absolutely no firmly held principles. It's all about the vibes, not policy or even ideology.
October 29, 2025 at 12:21 PM
The thing that has blackpilled me more than anything is the extent to which the median voter has absolutely no firmly held principles. It's all about the vibes, not policy or even ideology.
Protip: the optimal choice is *always* Jalvdonre. If you choose Lergevhtiepsappe, you go down into the Pluijvers and then you have to blonmwijck your way through the kranthout.
October 24, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Protip: the optimal choice is *always* Jalvdonre. If you choose Lergevhtiepsappe, you go down into the Pluijvers and then you have to blonmwijck your way through the kranthout.
"Wayne, you're 77 goddamn years old and are three inches shorter than when we met! You don't need to redo your kitchen yourself!"
--Things I want to yell loudly at my father-in-law.
--Things I want to yell loudly at my father-in-law.
October 22, 2025 at 9:10 PM
"Wayne, you're 77 goddamn years old and are three inches shorter than when we met! You don't need to redo your kitchen yourself!"
--Things I want to yell loudly at my father-in-law.
--Things I want to yell loudly at my father-in-law.