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Joined 2 年前
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Cake day: 2023年8月2日

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  • It’s kind of like string theory. It has a bunch of interesting conjectures but nobody can figure out a way to test any of it.

    Take the “selfish gene” (the idea predates Dawkins). One of the theories states that it may be evolutionarily advantageous for an individual to sacrifice themselves for the group if they share enough DNA. They lose the DNA in their bodies but save the exact same DNA in the bodies of their extended family. That’s a nice idea and you can get the math to work out in game theory models but how do we test if that’s why ducks sometimes lag behind when a hunter tries to shoot them?

    That’s not to say it can never be tested. There are other cases where we needed to wait for technological breakthroughs until theories could actually be tested.






  • That is completely true and also unlikely to matter.

    I was born 3 decades after the end of WWII. By that point Germany and Austria had gone through great lengths to repudiate the policies of the Nazis. They had paid massive reparations. They had issued numerous official and unofficial apologies. The monuments of the Nazis were torn down in favor of memorials for their victims. That didn’t stop other kids from calling me a Nazi as soon as they found out I spoke German. To this day people are comfortable making Nazi jokes about random Germans (see Oliver Zeidler).

    Similarly, we have evidence that the vast majority of sexual assaults are committed by a small number of repeat offenders. That doesn’t stop the repeated mantra of, “Not all men but always a man.”

    Many people, particularly in Asia, are offended that the Nazis turned the Swastika into a symbol of hatred. Most people are aware that the Nazis stole the symbol but you really can’t wear one without risking a fight, even if you have the little dots in it.

    It doesn’t matter if they should or shouldn’t be assumed to be complicit; they will. People around the world will see the Star of David as a symbol of death and destruction for generations.



  • Mustard will make it better but you don’t need it.
    You won’t get as good an emulsion and it will separate faster. Once you pour it on some salad it will be pretty hard to notice that.

    If someone is at the point in their cooking journey where they’re asking how to make vinaigrette, I keep it as simple as possible. TBH even the pepper isn’t strictly necessary. Many people don’t have pepper grinders and preground pepper doesn’t add much flavor.

    Salt is the only one that I’d say is absolutely necessary.