Zendervai
@zendervai.bsky.social
He/Him/Them, Autistic, movie/tv/anime/video game buff, socialist, feminist, ace, agender. Vocal trans ally. Hearing impaired.
It's like, when he talked about reducing the prices on something by "1000%", the Times didn't say "that's not possible", they said "experts say that might not be possible". They threw their agency away completely and would rather look deeply stupid than have functioning morals.
November 13, 2025 at 1:55 AM
It's like, when he talked about reducing the prices on something by "1000%", the Times didn't say "that's not possible", they said "experts say that might not be possible". They threw their agency away completely and would rather look deeply stupid than have functioning morals.
John B. Watson was *so* nasty that he's pretty directly responsible for a lot of infant deaths (he's where the idea of "just let them cry it out...for hours on end, they'll stop eventually" came from and he didn't much care that sometimes the baby would literally die from neglect).
November 12, 2025 at 2:51 AM
John B. Watson was *so* nasty that he's pretty directly responsible for a lot of infant deaths (he's where the idea of "just let them cry it out...for hours on end, they'll stop eventually" came from and he didn't much care that sometimes the baby would literally die from neglect).
It's sort of like psychological behaviorism? BF Skinner did a ton of really good work, but a lot of the Behaviorists were genuinely horrendous people who did a ton of harm because they refused to understand that they didn't have the one true key to all things and ended up doing massive abuse.
November 12, 2025 at 2:51 AM
It's sort of like psychological behaviorism? BF Skinner did a ton of really good work, but a lot of the Behaviorists were genuinely horrendous people who did a ton of harm because they refused to understand that they didn't have the one true key to all things and ended up doing massive abuse.
IMO, the problem with evopsych is that it's mostly theoretical and it has to be done in conjunction with sociology and anthropology. If you're willing to do that, you're probably doing actual good work.
A lot of the most prominent names (in general pop culture) do not do this.
A lot of the most prominent names (in general pop culture) do not do this.
November 12, 2025 at 2:43 AM
IMO, the problem with evopsych is that it's mostly theoretical and it has to be done in conjunction with sociology and anthropology. If you're willing to do that, you're probably doing actual good work.
A lot of the most prominent names (in general pop culture) do not do this.
A lot of the most prominent names (in general pop culture) do not do this.
The dynamics are absolutely deranged once you notice them.
November 12, 2025 at 2:36 AM
The dynamics are absolutely deranged once you notice them.
For example, meanwhile, Gordon Ramsay can scream at people and he becomes a huge celebrity.
November 12, 2025 at 2:35 AM
For example, meanwhile, Gordon Ramsay can scream at people and he becomes a huge celebrity.
Men are allowed to be rude and abrasive and not care about anything but the food, the women are pushed into doing a lot of homecare stuff and need to have a nice or fun or charming approach or they get tossed. Alex Guarnaschelli got a weird reputation for not being super smiley on the Food Network,
November 12, 2025 at 2:35 AM
Men are allowed to be rude and abrasive and not care about anything but the food, the women are pushed into doing a lot of homecare stuff and need to have a nice or fun or charming approach or they get tossed. Alex Guarnaschelli got a weird reputation for not being super smiley on the Food Network,
Oh yeah, absolutely. Cooking is women's work, unless you get famous and then all the "serious" chefs are magically men. Even being a celebrity chef started out being a mostly women-dominated field (most famously with Julia Child) and now it's...weird.
November 12, 2025 at 2:35 AM
Oh yeah, absolutely. Cooking is women's work, unless you get famous and then all the "serious" chefs are magically men. Even being a celebrity chef started out being a mostly women-dominated field (most famously with Julia Child) and now it's...weird.
(Evopsych really can be boiled down to "really racist and sexist armchair anthropology done by people speculating wildly about an unprovable and impossible to study subject")
November 12, 2025 at 2:32 AM
(Evopsych really can be boiled down to "really racist and sexist armchair anthropology done by people speculating wildly about an unprovable and impossible to study subject")
Because there's so few women, it can be ragingly sexist to a genuinely creepy degree and *anthropology*, the field Evopsych is trying to replace, has *way* more women in important roles who are revolutionizing our understanding of a lot of historical cultures.
November 12, 2025 at 2:31 AM
Because there's so few women, it can be ragingly sexist to a genuinely creepy degree and *anthropology*, the field Evopsych is trying to replace, has *way* more women in important roles who are revolutionizing our understanding of a lot of historical cultures.
I have a theory connected to this as well. Obviously, it's not an across the board axiom, but I think when you get a "new" field that has few, if any, women, it's probably bullshit.
Evolutionary Psychology is a good example of this. It's new, has extremely few women, and is 99% complete garbage.
Evolutionary Psychology is a good example of this. It's new, has extremely few women, and is 99% complete garbage.
November 12, 2025 at 2:29 AM
I have a theory connected to this as well. Obviously, it's not an across the board axiom, but I think when you get a "new" field that has few, if any, women, it's probably bullshit.
Evolutionary Psychology is a good example of this. It's new, has extremely few women, and is 99% complete garbage.
Evolutionary Psychology is a good example of this. It's new, has extremely few women, and is 99% complete garbage.
Psychology was considered a hard science for a long time in a lot of circles and then it abruptly got shoved into being a soft science when more women started to make their name in psychology as well. Meanwhile, the men in psychology quietly tried to minimize the women the whole time.
November 12, 2025 at 2:25 AM
Psychology was considered a hard science for a long time in a lot of circles and then it abruptly got shoved into being a soft science when more women started to make their name in psychology as well. Meanwhile, the men in psychology quietly tried to minimize the women the whole time.
You can tell especially because of how they shifted around. Like how computer work was considered "women's work" until people realized it was important and could be lucrative, at which point it suddenly became a man thing and women were pushed out.
November 12, 2025 at 2:24 AM
You can tell especially because of how they shifted around. Like how computer work was considered "women's work" until people realized it was important and could be lucrative, at which point it suddenly became a man thing and women were pushed out.
The US system is so bad that it's more expensive for literally everyone, takes up more of the tax burden and increases prices at literally every level of the process for absolutely everyone involved, including the insurance and pharmaceutical companies.
It's insane.
It's insane.
November 11, 2025 at 5:32 PM
The US system is so bad that it's more expensive for literally everyone, takes up more of the tax burden and increases prices at literally every level of the process for absolutely everyone involved, including the insurance and pharmaceutical companies.
It's insane.
It's insane.
I did a whole comparison study once and I figured out that (comparing Ontario with Texas) that Texans not only pay significantly more in taxes (dollar by dollar) to subsidize hospitals, Texans pay way more in premiums and fees, and this is the case in most of the US. It's almost triple the amount.
November 11, 2025 at 5:32 PM
I did a whole comparison study once and I figured out that (comparing Ontario with Texas) that Texans not only pay significantly more in taxes (dollar by dollar) to subsidize hospitals, Texans pay way more in premiums and fees, and this is the case in most of the US. It's almost triple the amount.
It was really disturbing when it clicked for me that most of his supporters don't listen to a word he says and just imagine what they want him to say and are solely driven by half-perceived vibes.
November 11, 2025 at 1:16 PM
It was really disturbing when it clicked for me that most of his supporters don't listen to a word he says and just imagine what they want him to say and are solely driven by half-perceived vibes.
Probably the funniest thing about how difficult it is to read Adam Smith's stuff is that he was mocked for his impenetrable prose *at the time*.
November 11, 2025 at 2:33 AM
Probably the funniest thing about how difficult it is to read Adam Smith's stuff is that he was mocked for his impenetrable prose *at the time*.
I saw this screenshot. I have actually seen the list and it's all the most stereotypical of stereotypical techbro bullshit.
November 11, 2025 at 12:56 AM
I saw this screenshot. I have actually seen the list and it's all the most stereotypical of stereotypical techbro bullshit.
Jack Dorsey built up the world's worst "health" routine, one that took 9 hours out of his day, rather than joining a country club and playing tennis and the techbros are all like this, where they drive themselves insane out of boredom and refuse to try the regular things rich people do.
November 10, 2025 at 10:07 PM
Jack Dorsey built up the world's worst "health" routine, one that took 9 hours out of his day, rather than joining a country club and playing tennis and the techbros are all like this, where they drive themselves insane out of boredom and refuse to try the regular things rich people do.
There's a whole thesis in exploring why techbros specifically seem so allergic to actually engaging with anything properly and why they'd rather spend their time doing insane miserable shit rather than just picking up a normal-ass hobby.
November 10, 2025 at 10:06 PM
There's a whole thesis in exploring why techbros specifically seem so allergic to actually engaging with anything properly and why they'd rather spend their time doing insane miserable shit rather than just picking up a normal-ass hobby.
I saw this article a while back, but it's absolutely *fascinating* how it's literally the most stereotypical list of techbro books you could find. It's all AI and "how to get ahead" type stuff, with the Wealth of Nations tossed randomly in there. All of these books are on all the techbro lists.
November 10, 2025 at 10:04 PM
I saw this article a while back, but it's absolutely *fascinating* how it's literally the most stereotypical list of techbro books you could find. It's all AI and "how to get ahead" type stuff, with the Wealth of Nations tossed randomly in there. All of these books are on all the techbro lists.
She's a liability now because the highest court in the land rejected her appeal. I'm guessing because granting it would create a pretty nasty precedent even the Republicans don't want (no one wants court clerks to be able to do anything they want and ignore the rules).
November 10, 2025 at 8:10 PM
She's a liability now because the highest court in the land rejected her appeal. I'm guessing because granting it would create a pretty nasty precedent even the Republicans don't want (no one wants court clerks to be able to do anything they want and ignore the rules).
In this particular case, if she refuses to pay, she can literally get thrown in prison for it, because it'd count as contempt of court. There might be a crowdfunding attempt, but usually people who get away with this shit don't get the Supreme Court itself going "fuck you, no."
November 10, 2025 at 8:08 PM
In this particular case, if she refuses to pay, she can literally get thrown in prison for it, because it'd count as contempt of court. There might be a crowdfunding attempt, but usually people who get away with this shit don't get the Supreme Court itself going "fuck you, no."
I think the other big indicator is that the Dems really like the same people who shop at Target…who basically decided en masse to not shop there anymore after they announced they were going full racist (effectively) and the company is still spiralling really badly.
November 10, 2025 at 4:40 PM
I think the other big indicator is that the Dems really like the same people who shop at Target…who basically decided en masse to not shop there anymore after they announced they were going full racist (effectively) and the company is still spiralling really badly.
And it’s really, really hard to ignore the nice mom who just won’t stop visiting your office every day and asking to talk to you without her deciding to get her mom friends in the mix. And the Dems *really* like people in demographics that mean stay-at-home moms with a lot of free time.
November 10, 2025 at 4:37 PM
And it’s really, really hard to ignore the nice mom who just won’t stop visiting your office every day and asking to talk to you without her deciding to get her mom friends in the mix. And the Dems *really* like people in demographics that mean stay-at-home moms with a lot of free time.