Gilbert Oddstream
@oddstream.bsky.social
Programmer, gamer, cyclist, reader, idler, European, hatred of ads, appalled by neoliberalism, supporter of 'make lying wrong again', inexplicable fondness for raccoons. Born at 317ppm.
“If you can’t paraphrase somebody else’s position in a way that they would agree with, you don’t understand it, and if you don’t understand it, you can’t debate it.”
November 19, 2025 at 10:23 AM
“If you can’t paraphrase somebody else’s position in a way that they would agree with, you don’t understand it, and if you don’t understand it, you can’t debate it.”
“Most people go through life with a whole world of beliefs that have no sort of rational justification. People’s opinions are mainly designed to make them feel comfortable; truth, for most people is a secondary consideration.” -- Bertrand Russell, from 'The Art of Philosophizing and other Essays'
November 19, 2025 at 10:20 AM
“Most people go through life with a whole world of beliefs that have no sort of rational justification. People’s opinions are mainly designed to make them feel comfortable; truth, for most people is a secondary consideration.” -- Bertrand Russell, from 'The Art of Philosophizing and other Essays'
No immigrant caused hikes in the price of energy, water, food, banking, insurance, internet; decline of manufacturing, lack of social housing; PFI; potholed roads; climate change; lack of skilled labour; crisis at universities. Neoliberalism did that. -- Prem Sikka
October 10, 2025 at 7:48 PM
No immigrant caused hikes in the price of energy, water, food, banking, insurance, internet; decline of manufacturing, lack of social housing; PFI; potholed roads; climate change; lack of skilled labour; crisis at universities. Neoliberalism did that. -- Prem Sikka
A very specific Neoliberal tactic called Managed Decline. That's the standard technique of privatization: defund, make sure things don't work, people get angry, you hand it over to private capital. -- Noam Chomsky
October 10, 2025 at 7:47 PM
A very specific Neoliberal tactic called Managed Decline. That's the standard technique of privatization: defund, make sure things don't work, people get angry, you hand it over to private capital. -- Noam Chomsky
A beggar’s mistake harms no one but the beggar. A king’s mistake, however, harms everyone but the king. Too often, the measure of power lies not in the number who obey your will, but in the number who suffer your stupidity. – R Scott Bakker, The Judging Eye
September 17, 2025 at 9:48 AM
A beggar’s mistake harms no one but the beggar. A king’s mistake, however, harms everyone but the king. Too often, the measure of power lies not in the number who obey your will, but in the number who suffer your stupidity. – R Scott Bakker, The Judging Eye
Leonardo da Vinci kept all of his notes in one big book. If he liked something he put it down. This is known as a commonplace book, and it is about how detailed your note-taking system should be unless you plan on thinking more elaborately than Leonardo da Vinci.
September 17, 2025 at 9:43 AM
Leonardo da Vinci kept all of his notes in one big book. If he liked something he put it down. This is known as a commonplace book, and it is about how detailed your note-taking system should be unless you plan on thinking more elaborately than Leonardo da Vinci.
“The three most powerful men in the world are a walking version of the dark triad: Trump is a textbook narcissist, Putin is a cold psychopath, and Xi Jinping came to rule China by being a master Machiavellian manipulator.”
August 2, 2025 at 8:01 AM
“The three most powerful men in the world are a walking version of the dark triad: Trump is a textbook narcissist, Putin is a cold psychopath, and Xi Jinping came to rule China by being a master Machiavellian manipulator.”
“History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.”
Karl Marx
Karl Marx
August 1, 2025 at 3:12 PM
“History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.”
Karl Marx
Karl Marx
"JOURNALISM 101: If someone says it's raining, and another person says it's dry, it's not your job to quote them both. Your job is to look out the fucking window and find out which is true."
July 1, 2025 at 8:07 AM
"JOURNALISM 101: If someone says it's raining, and another person says it's dry, it's not your job to quote them both. Your job is to look out the fucking window and find out which is true."
A person who shows he cannot control his own words and tongue shows that he cannot control himself, and is unworthy of respect.
June 26, 2025 at 1:55 PM
A person who shows he cannot control his own words and tongue shows that he cannot control himself, and is unworthy of respect.
The behaviour you walk past is the behaviour you accept.
June 11, 2025 at 10:12 AM
The behaviour you walk past is the behaviour you accept.
Today's compare and contrast: "Even as a young man, Vito Corleone became known as a “man of reasonableness.” He never uttered a threat. He always used logic that proved to be irresistible. He always made certain that the other fellow got his share of profit. Nobody lost."
May 19, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Today's compare and contrast: "Even as a young man, Vito Corleone became known as a “man of reasonableness.” He never uttered a threat. He always used logic that proved to be irresistible. He always made certain that the other fellow got his share of profit. Nobody lost."
"Small acts of acquiescence, framed as necessary defensive measures, feel like the only reasonable course. But this is the fatal logic of appeasement: the belief that quietly yielding in small, seemingly temporary ways will mitigate long-term harm.
It usually doesn’t." -- Steven Levitsky
It usually doesn’t." -- Steven Levitsky
May 9, 2025 at 7:36 AM
"Small acts of acquiescence, framed as necessary defensive measures, feel like the only reasonable course. But this is the fatal logic of appeasement: the belief that quietly yielding in small, seemingly temporary ways will mitigate long-term harm.
It usually doesn’t." -- Steven Levitsky
It usually doesn’t." -- Steven Levitsky
The happiest people are those who do the most for others. The most miserable are those who do the least.
Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington
May 5, 2025 at 9:02 AM
The happiest people are those who do the most for others. The most miserable are those who do the least.
Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington
If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.
Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington
May 5, 2025 at 9:01 AM
If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.
Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington
We have the internet and 24-hour news, and now we have millions of wilfully ignorant voters. This is no coincidence - see the Theory of the Masses en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darknes...
Darkness at Noon - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
April 19, 2025 at 11:47 AM
We have the internet and 24-hour news, and now we have millions of wilfully ignorant voters. This is no coincidence - see the Theory of the Masses en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darknes...
Sic semper tyrannis is a Latin phrase meaning "thus always to tyrants". In contemporary parlance, it means tyrannical leaders will inevitably be overthrown. The phrase also suggests that bad but justified outcomes should, or eventually will, befall tyrants. It is the motto of the Virginia.
April 9, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Sic semper tyrannis is a Latin phrase meaning "thus always to tyrants". In contemporary parlance, it means tyrannical leaders will inevitably be overthrown. The phrase also suggests that bad but justified outcomes should, or eventually will, befall tyrants. It is the motto of the Virginia.
I’m not sure it actually matters what we read. Our lives continue along the straight lines that have been set out for us. Fiction merely allows us a glimpse of the alternative. Maybe that’s one of the reasons we enjoy it.
March 19, 2025 at 10:49 AM
I’m not sure it actually matters what we read. Our lives continue along the straight lines that have been set out for us. Fiction merely allows us a glimpse of the alternative. Maybe that’s one of the reasons we enjoy it.
The only time you look in your neighbour's bowl is to make sure that they have enough. You don't look in your neighbour's bowl to see if you have as much as them -- Louie CK
March 18, 2025 at 8:33 AM
The only time you look in your neighbour's bowl is to make sure that they have enough. You don't look in your neighbour's bowl to see if you have as much as them -- Louie CK
“To determine the true rulers of any society, all you must do is ask yourself this question: Who is it that I am not permitted to criticize?” -- Kevin Alfred Strom
March 17, 2025 at 7:59 PM
“To determine the true rulers of any society, all you must do is ask yourself this question: Who is it that I am not permitted to criticize?” -- Kevin Alfred Strom