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@@ -1,101 +0,0 @@ -# Sway keysym - -Under the [Sway](https://swaywm.org/) Wayland compositor, we could set -set `xkb_layout` and `xkb_options` for keyboards in order to do weird -key mapping related things. Many people use `caps:ctrl_modifier` and -`caps:escape` in `xkb_options` (see -[xkeyboard-config(7)](https://man.openbsd.org/xkeyboard-config) for -other options) to make Caps Lock function as an extra Ctrl or Esc key. - -If all you want to do is do a relatively common modification like that, -chances are that `xkb_variant` and `xkb_options` already has what you -want, and you should just set that. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -But if what you want isn't covered in the standard XKB files, hear my -story. I personally wanted Caps Lock to function as an additional Shift -key, which isn't covered in `xkb_options`. (`caps:shift` doesn't differ -much from normal Caps Lock, make it confusingly documented and doesn't -make the Caps Lock function as an extra Shift.) - -On X11, I would simply use `xmodmap -e "keysym Caps_Lock = Shift_L"`. -Now my Caps Lock functions as an extra Left Shift. Works just alright. - -But now that I switched to Wayland, Sway in particular, `xmodmap` for -X11 isn't going to work. What I ended up doing was the following: - -**`$HOME/.xkb/symbols/gbcustom`** - - default partial alphanumeric_keys - xkb_symbols "basic" { // leave "basic" in-tact unless you know what you're doing - include "gb" // or whatever base layout you use, most likely "us" - name[Group1] = "English (UK) Customized"; - key <CAPS> { [ Shift_L, Shift_L, Shift_L, Shift_L ] }; - }; - -Note that here, the "`key`" lines are in the form -`key <X> { [ A, B, C, D ] } ;`, where "`X`" is the keycode symbolic name -of the physical key you want to press. In my case, it is `CAPS`. Check -`/usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols/pc` and `/usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols/latin`, -or the relevant files for your keyboard configuration, to look up the -keycode symbolic name from the name you're used to. (Looking up -`Shift_L` in `symbols/pc` gets you to `LFSH`, which is what you would -use in place of "`X`". `A` is triggered when `X` is pressed alone, `B` -when it's pressd with Shift, `C` with AltGr, and `D` with both AltGr and -Shift. - -**`$HOME/.config/sway/config`** - - input "1:1:AT_Translated_Set_2_keyboard" { - xkb_layout "gbcustom" - } - -Of course, replace "`1:1:AT_Translated_Set_2_keyboard`" with your actual -keyboard identifier listed in `swaymsg -t get_inputs`. And reload Sway. - -There might be better ways to do so, but I've got this to work. For -these unusual setups, it is a bit complicated and not as straightforward -as adding a `xmondmap` line to `.xinitrc`. Hopefully things would get -better as Wayland matures. - -[This GitHub issue](https://github.com/swaywm/sway/issues/4250) and -[jman's article on -this](https://www.city17.xyz/keychron/#xkb-here-be-dragons) were -extremely helpful. Thanks to [brocellous](https://sr.ht/~brocellous) for -pointing out the solution involving custom options. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -Another, potentially better method involving defining custom -`xkb_options`, propsed by brocellous: - -**`$HOME/.xkb/symbols/customsymbol`** - - // Remap caps to Shift_L - partial modifier_keys - xkb_symbols "caps_lshift" { - replace key { - type[group1] = "ONE_LEVEL", - symbols[group1] = [ Shift_L ], - actions[group1] = [ SetMods(modifiers=Shift) ] - }; - }; - -**`$HOME/.xkb/rules/evdev`** - - ! option = symbols - custom:caps_lshift = +customsymbol(caps_lshift) - - ! include %S/evdev - -**`$HOME/.config/sway/config`** - - input "1:1:AT_Translated_Set_2_keyboard" { - xkb_layout "gb" - xkb_options "custom:caps_lshift" - } - -- [Home](./) -- Runxi Yu -- <a href="./pubdom.html" rel="license">Public Domain</a> diff --git a/affirmative-action.txt b/affirmative-action.txt deleted file mode 100644 index bd320cc..0000000 --- a/affirmative-action.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,85 +0,0 @@ -Subject: Affirmative Action
-From: Andrew Yu <andrew@andrewyu.org>
-Message-Id: <CTWUQHND92OE.31YJ2FM2GHPTB@andrewyu>
-Date: Sat, 08 Jul 2023 14:14:28 +0000
-Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
-X-Mailer: aerc 0.14.0
-X-Article-ID: 21
-
-(Slightly modified for "publication")
-
-(Actually, no, this is just insanely badly written. I'll rewrite it
-sometime.)
-
-(Update: check https://git.runxiyu.org/runxiyu/philo.git/plain/affirmative-action/)
-
-Here is my attempt at the Harvard/UNC affirmative action question,
-though I can't guarantee it's comprehensive, objective or developed, and
-the language here is deadly plain. Be aware that there's a fair bit of
-ethics, political philosophy and (minimal but still) US politics ahead.
-Also, since I'm Asian myself (of course, disadvantaged under the AA
-policies), perhaps I'm biased.
-
-Firstly, let me declare my unconventional "stance". I believe that
-affirmative action based on race is generally useless and may backfire;
-however if I were a supreme court justice, I would vote with the
-Liberals, to not interfere with the affirmative action policies of the
-universities.
-
-I'll start with why I believe that the court shouldn't interfere with
-the universities' policies. Harvard and UNC are private universities.
-They have their own ideals, and as long as they're not causing active
-harm to society (in my opinion, that'd be violating other people's
-negative liberty in the traditional interpretation by Isaiah Berlin—I am
-aware that there are paradoxes but it's the closest to a consistent
-theory of political philosophy that I can reach for now). Simply
-speaking, the students they admit is irrelevant to the government/state.
-If we consider public universities on the other hand, then sure. The
-government funds them, is supposed to set their goals and policies, and
-is responsible for their admissions and could rightfully implement
-policies that they see fit, but for private educational institutions, my
-"small government" mindset comes in.
-
-However, there are interesting arguments surrounding how "elite"
-universities such as Harvard, and to some extent UNC, have substantial
-social impact on society, as they are more or less a standard in
-defining tertiary education in the US and globally. Other educational
-institutions may follow their policies in attempts to bring themselves
-to the prestigious "standard" that elite institutions set, these elite
-universities are crucial in educational mobility, there might be
-potential public investment, etc. However I still intuitively think that
-the government shouldn't intervene, perhaps because of how in the US,
-court cases set precedents, and a precedent of such intervention would
-"allow" for government expansion and potential for the government to dip
-their feet into more private business.
-
-Now I'll briefly argue why I believe that affirmative action based on
-race is generally useless and may backfire. There are three main reasons
-that I could think of for affirmative action, I'll describe my opinion
-on each, one by one.
-
-First, that affirmative action promotes diversity. I (personally) think
-that diversity is an insufficient reason to be potentially racially
-discriminating (people with the same academic capability may be
-rejected/admitted based on racial quotas, which may be considered a form
-of discrimination based on factors that they couldn't control).
-
-Second, that affirmative action adjusts for educational inequality. I
-haven't fact-checked this, but perhaps it's true that African-Americans,
-on average, live in poorer communities and have lesser access to good
-secondary education. Therefore their grades cannot fully reflect their
-academic potential, and universities admissions should compensate for
-that. Now aside from how this feels patronizing, race is no longer a
-good measure of "lack of educational resources due to financial
-situations/etc", with the existence of quite affluent African-American
-families. Affirmative action (if any) for
-educational-inequality-adjustment could be better implemented by looking
-at education and financial situations themselves, not race.
-
-Third, that affirmative action compensates for past wrongs. Having what
-people's ancestors do affect them negatively present-day feels awkward,
-although arguably people benefitting from the achievements of their
-ancestors means that they also need to take relevant responsibilities.
-
-Anyways, here are my thoughts… a bit incomplete but might be
-interesting. Cheers!
diff --git a/comms.html b/comms.html deleted file mode 100644 index a6cd65e..0000000 --- a/comms.html +++ /dev/null @@ -1,45 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html> -<html lang="en"> -<head> - <meta charset="UTF-8" /> - <title>Tips for Communication</title> - <link rel="stylesheet" href="./style.css" /> - <link rel="icon" href="./favicon.ico" sizes="any" /> - <!--link rel="icon" href="./icon.svg" type="image/svg+xml" / --> - <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" /> - <meta name="theme-color" content="#241504" /> - <meta name="color-scheme" content="light dark"> - -</head> -<body> -<header> - <h1><++></h1> -</header> - -<article> - <h1>Tips for Communications</h1> - <p>See also: <a href="/#contact">contact information</a></p> - <p> - These are some general recommendations that I believe make communicating with me, at least, easier and/or more effective, including communication conventions that make my life easier. Please note that what I prefer may not be what others prefer and shall not be treated as a general guideline for communications, although many of these are common in the free software community. - </p> - <ol> - <li>Write a descriptive subject for emails. Do not send emails with an empty subject or no subject header. The subject should be give the receiver a brief idea of what the email is about.</li> - <li>Send complete information. When telling me something or requesting something, please provide complete background information, knowledge required, and other relevant context. This prevents back-and-forth communication along the lines of "and now I need to know ... but you didn't tell me that so can you please give that to me". Providing context defragments conversations which increases efficiency.</li> - <li>When using instant messaging such as IRC, do not split one sentence into multiple messages (unless, of course, if your message exceeds the character limit). Fragmentation reduces readability.</li> - <li>Do not use excessive emojis.</li> - <li>Be direct rather than polite. As the sender, do not use polite expressions like "you did quite well in that presentation" when in reality, the sender believes that the presentation is not "quite well". Direct critique and suggestions are very welcome here. Politeness is acceptable if it does not interfere with honest conveying of information.</li> - <li><a href="./ask.html">Don't ask to ask.</a></li> - <li>Use plain text email. Both hard-wrapped and non-hard-wrapped emails are acceptable. If you do hard-wrap, please wrap at 72 characters for English. Chinese, if hard-wrapped, should be at approximately 36 characters. Non hard-wrapped emails should <a href="https://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc3676.txt">specify format=flowed according to RFC3676</a>.</li> - <li>Interweave the original message with the response when replying to an email and remove irrelevant parts (i.e. greetings, closings, signatures, etc.) of the quoted original email.</li> - </ol> -</article> - -<footer> - <ul role="list"> - <li><a href="./">Home</a></li> - <li>Runxi Yu</li> - <li><a rel="license" href="./pubdom.html">Public Domain</a></li> - </ul> -</footer> -</body> -</html> diff --git a/contracts-and-validity.html b/contracts-and-validity.html deleted file mode 100644 index c11644c..0000000 --- a/contracts-and-validity.html +++ /dev/null @@ -1,20 +0,0 @@ -<!--TODO--> -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> - <head> - <title>Contracts and Validity</title> - <link rel="stylesheet" href="/oldstyle.css" /> - <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" /> - <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon" /> - <meta charset="utf-8" /> - </head> - <body class="indent"> - <h1>Contracts and Validity</h1> - - <div id="footer"> - <hr /> - <p><a href="/">Runxi Yu's Website</a></p> - - </div> - </body> -</html> diff --git a/cvtech.html b/cvtech.html deleted file mode 100644 index 4bd846d..0000000 --- a/cvtech.html +++ /dev/null @@ -1,41 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html> -<html lang="en"> -<head> - <meta charset="UTF-8" /> - <title>Runxi Yu's Résumé (Technology)</title> - <link rel="stylesheet" href="./style.css" /> - <link rel="icon" href="./favicon.ico" sizes="any" /> - <!--link rel="icon" href="./icon.svg" type="image/svg+xml" / --> - <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" /> - <meta name="theme-color" content="#241504" /> - <meta name="color-scheme" content="light dark"> - -</head> -<body> -<header> - <h1>Runxi Yu's Résumé (Technology)</h1> -</header> - -<p> -(Other résumés exist for different purposes.) -</p> - -<article> -<p> - -</p> -<ul> - <li> - </li> -</ul> -</article> - -<footer> - <ul role="list"> - <li><a href="./">Home</a></li> - <li>Runxi Yu</li> - <li><a rel="license" href="./pubdom.html">Public Domain</a></li> - </ul> -</footer> -</body> -</html> diff --git a/microblog/_.md b/microblog/_.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..03d1b26 --- /dev/null +++ b/microblog/_.md @@ -0,0 +1,556 @@ +# Runxi Yu's Microblog + +This is my *microblog*, a place for me to jot down random thoughts that +I want to keep, but are too small enough to constitute a real +article/post. Reverse chronological order. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Sometimes I just need to understand that most people have different +politics than I do, and that I'm not in this role to explain my politics +and beliefs to them. I think this is particularly prominent in +gender-related issues. I get really pissed without sufficient empathy +taking into account of the fact that it is fine to stick to social norms +as long as they don't try to actively disrupt others. Moving between +extremes has been normality to me for quite a while and I'm tired of it. + + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +我好像已经习惯了把自己很痛苦的想法捂在心里，即使想说应该说出来的时候也很麻木……？ + + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +I would like to take a moment to reflect on how I’m somehow prejudiced +in the Israel–Hamas war. +I grew up in an environment where I was taught about the acts of +terrorism by the Islamic State, Al-Qaeda, and the Taliban, with terms +such as “muslim suicide-bombers”. Even when consciously understanding +the concept of religious freedom and personally being agnostic, I’ve, +arguably subconsciously, sided with Israel. +I haven’t really noticed this, until realizing my lack of reaction and +internal dissent towards what was committed by Israel’s military. I +strongly disagreed with arguments that justify Israel’s actions based on +the Jewish experience in the Holocaust—the Holocaust was worse by three +scales of magnitude, but it is irrelevant and does not justify bombing +civilian targets. But there was something inside me that didn’t want to +criticize Israel. Perhaps it was just because Hamas performed the first +attack on October 7th? That, however, was based on stringent Israeli +occupation and blockades for half a century… + + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Rain doesn't wash anything away, it just soaks me with the sky's ashes. + + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +我就会在那里 +等待着 +有人能救救我 + +我会将我以为 +对我最重要的人 +拽入那个漩涡 +他们一一挣脱； +远去 +我仍然倔强地伸出我的一只手 +试图引人注意 +乞讨 +展现自己 +所谓的 +无助 +渴望找到一个人 +与我一起 +沦 +陷 + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +消逝殆尽 +心逐渐变得透明 +茉莉花散落在淡蓝色的玻璃上 +我祈祷着 +若许能快点结束 + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +我的灵魂， +出 +窍 +凭空蒸发消失。 +穿上刺猬的皮， +吞掉河豚的肝。 +吞噬 + +吞噬。 + +浸润。 + +自己用独角兽的肉体搭建出的城堡 +摧毁，让其分崩离析 +麻木不仁地破坏 +我才不会失去一切 + +一滴滴血，多么具体 + +全身皮肤析出点滴的脓 +点缀着我令人恶心的体毛 +我内心却依然是颗黑洞 +祂让自己枯竭，而又迭代 +毁灭所谓的理性 +才不会失去它，和 + +一切。 + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +In Thaler v. Perlmutter (2023), the Federal District Court for D.C. +ruled that "Underlying that adaptability, however, has been a consistent +understanding that human creativity is the sine qua non at the core of +copyrightability". 17 U.S.C. § 102(a) says that "Copyright protection +subsists \[...\] in original works \[...\] either directly or with the +aid of a machine or device". +My question is outside of the scope of this lawsuit: do prompts to AI +count as a human using the "aid of a machine or device" to create a +creative work? Or, is the transformation from a simple textual prompt to +a graphical representation considered transformative under Campbell and +17 U.S.C. § 107, such that the AI is the creator of the secondary +graphical work, to the extent that it is not a derivative work of the +text prompt? Or would the prompt simply be considered an idea, which is +not copyrightable under Baker v. Selden? + + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Should the federal government prevent overreach of *state* governments? + + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Disclaimers and definitions: This post is written in the context of my +school and my group of friends therein. Please note that this post is a +pattern-based generalization, and is hopefully not consistently true. +Please also note that terms such as "female" and "male" below refer to +biological sex, as it is biological sex that this pattern applies to. +Due to the small sample of transgender students, and complete lack of +intersex students at our school, this conclusion may be unrepresentative +in a wider context. Additionally, "homosexual/homosocial" and +"heterosexual/heterosocial" when applied to myself are relative to my +male biological sex for the sake of this post. However, the essence is +likely the same. + +The implicit/instinctual patterns of social interaction in relation to +biological sex is uncomforting. It is common to see friends of the same +biological sex engage in intimate or intimate-like interactions but are +perceived as completely normal, such as written communications involving +Unicode code-points often associated with love e.g. the heart emoji +("❤️") and emojis related to kissing ("😘", "😚", "😗", "😙"), physical +display of affection which is likely platonic e.g. hugging and patting, +et cetera. + +I find it possible to engage in such behaviour with friends of the same +biological sex, but generally impossible with friends of another +biological sex. This disparity is uncomforting, and definitely violates +my postgenderist theory. In fact, should this cause tangible differences +in advantages or qualitative changes in relationship because of +differences in biological sex, this would satisfy all criteria to be +considered a unduly discriminatory act. + +Perhaps it's just people gossiping? Although I have multiple recorded +precedents across four years to demonstrate how gossip is likely to +arise in platonic heterosocial relationships, but I hardly come across +gossip even in obvious instances of homosexual affection. I don't want +to just throw it to vague social concepts and just blame the +heterosexual-normative social context; after all, fear of gossip is not +an effective mitigator for potential undue discrimination. + +Or perhaps, based on the same social context, intimate interactions +without explicit consent are more likely to be interpreted as sexual +assault, under 18 U.S.C. § 2242 and YKPS Behaviour Policy § 5.4.3? +(Technically any intimate interaction with any possibility of a sexual +interpretation must be under a contractually valid and informed mutual +consent, but it's hard to draw the line, and playing on the safe side +would mean asking "may I hug you \[for the purpose of …\] \[no later +than …\] \[no more than …\]", which seems rather ridiculous. And that +doesn't solve the question why there's a boundary when it comes to +biological sex.) This doesn't make sense for me either because I'm +pansexual, and there is nothing that makes an act of intimacy with a +biologically female person more sexual than that with a biologically +male person. + + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Shock + +Squeeze— +For a drip of blood +That bitter-sweet +Drip of blood +My heart's still an enigma +Mysterious, nebulous +—Galling. + +That shadow approached me, +Interrogated me, +Tortured my spirit, +Yet spared my hollow body + +Squeeze— +For a sour drip of +Inflammed fester, +I fought, but barely + +The apocalypse; +Sepsis. + + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +我觉得喜剧和现实之间常常有着太大的落差。在读喜剧的剧本的时候（我很少看 +production），如果我能把自己的情绪陷进去，会形成一种很奇怪的感染性的 +optimism；但是这种感觉在现实中会很 +illusional。至少从我的那一部分理性考虑，相比于梦幻的乐观主义和…有希望的那种感觉，我更希望让自己理解现实，虽然 +evidently 我不怎么会这样做。 On the other hand, tragedies do in general +have a fatalist element consistent with my view of my subjective +experience of reality. I don't think in terms of a reIigious deity, but +I like to see exaggerated mirrors of "natural events" and fate that +appear in life, rather than attempting to experience an imaginary world +that might be deceiving me. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Quite a significant part of the national sentiment here in China, is +that everything doing by the Japanese is somehow bad, somehow wrong. +They don't want to learn what tritium and carbon-14 is, they don't look +up what the relevant international standards are. They just assume that +we'll be making mutated radioactive robotic fish. +Sorry, no. +Problems such as biomagnification are indeed concerning, but it's just +counterproductive and unconducive to make claims that it'll poison +everyone and appeal to emotions. The world isn't going to implode. +And oh well, what hipocrisy these historical claims are based on. + + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Pybeerhaps what I hate or fear isn't the entity itself, but is rather my +relationship with that entity. My concept of that entity is integrated +into my "self", it's not distinctly an "other"...? + + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +it's being alive that makes them lie, and being almost not alive makes +me sort of accidentally truthful... +—Brick, Act 3, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, by Tennessee Williams + + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Looking back, reading opinions, journal entries and poems I wrote a +while back, ranging from two years to a month ago. There's something +pinching and squeezing my heart. Candle smoke intoxicated my eyes, yet I +still could not blow them out. Tears create craters on my dusty face. I +need to have a rest, perhaps reflect on my experiences throughout the +years. There will not be any sort of "new beginning". History exists, +reality is not romantic, and the apparent me of the present is +responsible for the past. The most destructive kind of feeling is not +loneliness, not even guilt for other people. It's my guilt towards the +apparently innocent version of myself of the past. + + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +I think I still have some blind faith in science and logic, like, I know +some statements are not absolutely scientific as they're not repeatable +or falsifiable, but are still \*intuitively\* (aaaaaaa) undeniably true + + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +After all, moral theories are a approximations of the moral conscience. + + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +One part of me: "C'mon I don't want to have to demonstrate my existence +every time I talk to a conservative and why trans experiences exist" +Another part of me: "You must, as far as politics is concerned, hear +full arguments of both like-minded and opponents, and exert no +censorship over their ideas whatsoever." +Also, guilt towards myself is the most annoying feeling I have to date + + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Uhhh things seem to boil down to [two concepts of +liberty](https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/liberty-positive-negative/) +which then boil down to what we consider to be *internal* or *external* +to a particular being. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +I love how "traditional family values" is the reason that justifies +antifeminism, patriarchy, sexism, transphobia, homophobia, and +everything in between. Also, I don't understand how it could be valid to +consider a cis person arguing for "trans experiences do not exist". It's +a personal experience that exists in some individuals. Not existing in +everyone, or one particular person independently chosen, does not mean +it doesn't exist. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +I'm seriously considering the moral intuitionist argument of "if +anything's wrong, it's wrong for someone to do something that they +believe to be wrong". But this still leaves the questions around the +legitimacy of the criminal justice system to punish acts that may be not +"wrong" according to the previous statement but still harm society. +Sure, the agency of the criminal justice system (or actually the +legislature that creates it) may believe that deterring people from +doing socially harmful acts, is moral, but the use of force here still +bugs me. I like the argument that only one specific act performed by one +abent under specific conditions has moral content. Moral descriptions of +abstract classes of acts are systematically necessary, but they aren't +the same as moral content because there is no acting agent. + + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Random thought: Any historical analysis, and interpretations of +evolution (in the biological sense, for why some organisms have their +current traits), are not science because conclusions reached therein are +not falsifiable + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Hm, do you think advancements in the understanding of physics could +improve understanding on causality, determinism and free will? +("Interpretations" of physics is not my expertise and I'm a bit +skeptical, but I'll try to be careful not to get into mysticism…) +(Warning: disgusting) The common argument that collapsing superpositions +leads to inherent randomness and thus makes free will possible seems to +be misaligned with what people mean when discussing free will. I'll +explain my skepticism with an analogy: A scientist will do something +differently if they detect that a radioactive sample decays in five +seconds. The scientist's state and actions depend on random decay of the +sample, and I won't call this free will of the scientist. I don't think +there's something fundamentally different about the supposed (and really +interpretive and perhaps mystic) collapse of superpositions in the brain +causing things to go differently, and my example on radioactive decay. +No matter if they're inside or outside the body, truly random events are +still spontaneously random + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Evaluate the claim that "the mere act of giving birth to a child +violates the child's consent by coercing the social contract upon them". +Actually, this is called +[Antinatalism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antinatalism). + + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +The consciousness of AI, or the lack thereof, is irrelevant. + + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +The null hypothesis is haunted. It appears in almost any +reasoning/proof/etc. Typically, when discussing a policy, the null +hypothesis is the status quo; when evaluating a statement, the null +hypothesis is the current best understanding (which is often unclear), +or is simply a negation of the statement. Where does the burden of proof +fall? + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +I used to not really understand utilitarianism, the lack of a universal +standard bugged me. But that was Bentham. Mill's theory of +utilitarianism seems to be more acceptable to me, it seemed to look into +the future and cover how individual cases affect a decision entity, be +it personal or systematic, in the long term. Generally when applying +Millian utilitarianism, I obtain similar results to when I using +existing principles. This somewhat reaffirms my hypothesis that these +moral principles still arise from a utilitarian analysis of cost and +benefit in the long term. +I wonder if we have a subconscious intuition to morality anyway, and +we're attempting to rationally derive theories that seem to cover the +underlying intuition. Is this, dare I say, motivated reasoning? + + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +(Rant) In any social movement, we're dealing with real, live +individuals. Individual people. Not some uniform social group as a +whole. Every single time. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Is freedom of speech absolute? Why do we traditionally see it as a +fundamental right? Is it really inalienable? +I think a great portion of this lies upon the dangers to democracy when +censoring political speech. Is that a sufficient reason to accept +freedom of speech as a universal right, that protects e.g. hate speech +and inciting violence? + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +An illusion in a dream overpowers reality. + + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Hypocrisy is bad. I know, but I'm still complicit in it. + + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Continental liberalism and modern populist democracy eliminate the +ruling class external to the people being ruled, leading to +self-governance, preventing tyranny. However, the "people" who exercise +the power are not always the same people who are affected by the power. +The "will of the people", in practice, is the will of the most numerous +or active subset of the people. Democracy is, on these grounds, often +used as a utility for the tyranny of the majority. + +A Quote from *On Liberty* by John Stuart Mill: + +> The tyranny of the majority was at first, and is still vulgarly, held +> in dread, chiefly as operating through the acts of the public +> authorities. But reflecting persons perceived that when society is +> itself the tyrant—society collectively, over the separate individuals +> who compose it—its means of tyrannising are not restricted to the acts +> which it may do by the hands of its political functionaries. Society +> can and does execute its own mandates: and if it issues wrong mandates +> instead of right, or any mandates at all in things with which it ought +> not to meddle, it practises a social tyranny more formidable than many +> kinds of political oppression, since, though not usually upheld by +> such extreme penalties, it leaves fewer means of escape, penetrating +> much more deeply into the details of life, and enslaving the soul +> itself. Protection, therefore, against the tyranny of the magistrate +> is not enough: there needs protection also against the tyranny of the +> prevailing opinion and feeling; against the tendency of society to +> impose, by other means than civil penalties, its own ideas and +> practices as rules of conduct on those who dissent from them; to +> fetter the development, and, if possible, prevent the formation, of +> any individuality not in harmony with its ways, and compel all +> characters to fashion themselves upon the model of its own. There is a +> limit to the legitimate interference of collective opinion with +> individual independence: and to find that limit, and maintain it +> against encroachment, is as indispensable to a good condition of human +> affairs, as protection against political despotism. + + + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +I think my experience of gender dysphoria has became inconsistent in +what I actually think about gender. My belief, in theory, is that gender +should be eradicated (see "Postgenderism") altogether, as it's an +unnecessary construct that limits people, imposes cisnormativity, etc. +I try to think along the terms of "gender doesn't matter, at all". But +my experience says otherwise: I found myself, perhaps "strangely", more +comfortable with she/her pronouns than with they/them. So when +interacting with people online, who don't know me IRL, I just declare +she/her pronouns and… well, it's a glaring inconsistency in my theory of +gender and society and INCONSISTENCIES BUG ME. I started feeling like a +hypocrite. +If gender really doesn't matter to me, why do I have gender +dysphoria??. +To make myself feel better perhaps I could explain it as "I wouldn't +feel gender dysphoria if society doesn't impose gender as a socially +significant construct altogether". And I can, only, hope so, as a +hypocrite. + + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +I myself live in a string of characters, through emotionless computers, +running some old protocols. The me of appearance is dead. + + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Democracy is the protection of negative freedom and civil liberties, not +the enforcement of general will. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Reading *雷雨* and thinking about *A Streetcar Named Desire* and *The +Glass Menagerie* There's a commonality in these plays—and perhaps many +more—that struck me: The presentation of femininity as dependence. +I've always tried to fight against such interpretations as I found them +to be, perhaps a bit sexist. Yet looking at my own manifestation of +femininity, I find shocking resemblance with my dependence on peopole +(and occasionally also abstract entities like knowledge). +Perhaps it depends on what we mean by the word "femininity". Is it the +quality of being female? Or is it the behavioral norms traditionally +associated with the female gender? +(Or perhaps this experience is limited by my perception of my own trans +femininity and isn't a common theme upon modern cis femininity?) +Also, those who don't experience trans experiences cannot assume that +trans experiences do not exist. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +I kinda think faith is something we all struggle with, and doesn't seem +to be too relevant to whether we are religious in the traditional sense. +For me there're things like faith in logic, faith in knowledge, faith in +properties of humankind, etc. They seem to be so ungrounded, founded +upon beliefs that I cannot support with my own weight. + + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +As much as I believe in determinism, I do not believe that humans have +capacity to pre-determine their own fate. + + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +My world is still of metaphorical illusions. I need to learn to be +afraid of romanticized narratives and perspectives. However, it is +apparently hard to do so—I sink into romantic words that create a color +filter in my perception, they make reality look so beautiful, so... +"sweet", moving me further away from what reality really is. + + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +I'm probably not the only one who has these dangerous/harmful/unhelpful +thoughts: +How different, or perhaps "better' could my life be, if I could go back +to the start of Year 9, and make different decisions? Perhaps that would +mean choosing something other than IGCSE History. Or perhaps that +means... when that was still possible, let my yearn and longing for +intimacy with trusted people to discuss philosophy and science with, +stay undeveloped. +Perhaps I could have became a happy person. The me of the present could +never know. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +To what extent is "it sets a precedent" a concern that justifies or +warrants declining a request that is on its own, appropriate? + + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +I hereby discard the structuralist view that people are composed of the +opposing parts "benign" and "malicious". These simple and perhaps +judgemental concepts are insufficient in face of the complexity of the +human condition. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +[Runxi Yu's Website](/) + +Unless otherwise specified with the +"<span class="copyright">copyright</span>" HTML/CSS class, works hosted +on this subdomain (`runxiyu.org`) served with the HTTP(S) protocol is +available under [Runxi Yu's Public Domain +Dedication](https://runxiyu.org/note/pubdom.html). diff --git a/microblog/index.html b/microblog/index.html index 15edc53..18cce7e 100644 --- a/microblog/index.html +++ b/microblog/index.html @@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ I think this is particularly prominent in gender-related issues. I get really pi Moving between extremes has been normality to me for quite a while and I'm tired of it. <a href="https://runxiyu.org/microblog/#44">&</a> </p> -<!-- <hr /> + <hr /> <p id="43"> 我好像已经习惯了把自己很痛苦的想法捂在心里，即使想说应该说出来的时候也很麻木……？ <a href="https://runxiyu.org/microblog/#43">&</a> @@ -364,7 +364,6 @@ Looking back, reading opinions, journal entries and poems I wrote a while back, I hereby discard the structuralist view that people are composed of the opposing parts "benign" and "malicious". These simple and perhaps judgemental concepts are insufficient in face of the complexity of the human condition. <a href="https://runxiyu.org/microblog/#1">&</a> </p> ---> <div id="footer"> <hr /> <p><a href="/">Runxi Yu's Website</a></p> diff --git a/on-racist-jokes.html b/on-racist-jokes.html deleted file mode 100644 index 12a380d..0000000 --- a/on-racist-jokes.html +++ /dev/null @@ -1,49 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html> -<html lang="en"> -<head> - <meta charset="UTF-8" /> - <title>On Racist Jokes></title> - <link rel="stylesheet" href="./style.css" /> - <link rel="icon" href="./favicon.ico" sizes="any" /> - <!--link rel="icon" href="./icon.svg" type="image/svg+xml" / --> - <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" /> - <meta name="theme-color" content="#241504" /> - <meta name="color-scheme" content="light dark"> - -</head> -<body> -<header> - <h1>On Racist Jokes</h1> -</header> - -<article> - <p>(This page was originally written as a response to an event that occurred in my year group at school. It has since became less of a current issue.)</p> - <p>The use of the terms "black" and "black slave" as insults is:</p> - <ul> - <li>profoundly disrespectful towards the millions of black people that have been abused, discriminated against, and treated unfairly, in the past and the present</li> - <li>ill-considerate towards people who are experiencing racism</li> - <li>demonstrates a toxic and arrogant lack of empathy towards the disadvantaged.</li> - </ul> - - <p> - A common argument to make here is that "consider how you would be discriminated against when you become the minority, you wouldn't appreciate such jokes on your social group". Although we head in the same general direction, I do not agree with this frame of mind. Discriminatory jokes are wrong, independent of the possibility of the discriminator being held to the same activities in the future. - </p> - - <p> - The argument to "take this easy as these are just jokes" is ridiculous. The mere act of descriptive terms for a specific social group being used as a "joke" undermines the seriousness of the social issue. Find something else to joke about. Not something like racism and other forms of discrimination. - </p> - - <p> - It is similarly bad to direct hatred towards others who fight against racism. - </p> -</article> - -<footer> - <ul role="list"> - <li><a href="./">Home</a></li> - <li>Runxi Yu</li> - <li><a rel="license" href="./pubdom.html">Public Domain</a></li> - </ul> -</footer> -</body> -</html> |