A few weeks ago, the NYT reported that “The Coronavirus Has Claimed 2.5 Million Years of Potential Life.” If you read the original study, you’ll discover one crucial caveat: The authors’s calculations assume that COVID victims would have had the standard life expectancy for Americans of their age. They freely admit that this is unrealistic and inflates their estimate.
Tag: value
Brenden’s Journey, MasterTalk, Knowledge, & Personal Development (1h10m) – Episode 429
Episode 429 welcomes Brenden Kumarasamy to the podcast to chat with Skyler on the following topics: his YouTube channel “MasterTalk”; living in Montreal, Canada; Stoicism and sphere of control; older kids still living at home; parenting and kids leaving the nest; knowledge and truth; religion and the afterlife; his favorite anime “Death Note”; collecting stories and trying to live a mistake free life; his top 3 podcasts: “Akimbo” by Seth Godin, “The School of Greatness” by Lewis Howes, and “Impact Theory” by Tom Bilyeu; Warrent Buffet’s focus framework; the value of attending personal development conferences; his book recommendation: Thirst by Scott Harrison; and more
Baby Yoda Cancelled, Expanding “Stand Your Ground”, Black Market COVID, & Free Stadia Bundle (24m) – Episode 421
Episode 421 has Skyler giving his commentary on the following news stories: from VanityFair.com, “Baby Yoda Canceled Amid Accusations of Genocide”; from WPTV.com, “DeSantis proposal could allow citizens to shoot, run over suspected rioters”; from BusinessInsider.com, “A global black market for negative COVID-19 test results has emerged, with fakes starting around $200”; and from AndroidPolice.com, “How to get a free Stadia Premiere Edition bundle ($100 value) if you have YouTube Premium” (Direct link).
Why Unity is Bullshit
“Unity” is usually a message to merely shut you up and to get you to go along with bullshit. It is a message of social intimidation. Once a person and/or their values can be justified in defining the group, they perpetuate their power by telling everyone that unity is doing what authority wants. It is perpetuated by those with power and dim people looking to merely get along, and is used to otherize dissent. It is used to make people look at dissenters as disunifiers and for people to make them outcasts.
Autonomous Individualism
Until I heard Professor Ryan, I was in danger of mislabeling myself. For the past year, I have been confused because I have not been aware of failing to be a voluntaryist, many longtime friends seemed to be going down a garden path, and by implication I was being called unpleasant things since I was taking care of myself. In other words, I was wearing a mask when it seemed prudent.
Aphorisms in Honor of Liberty, Part Eight (28m) – Episode 418
Episode 418 has Skyler giving his commentary on the following aphorisms written by Jakub Bożydar Wiśniewski: “A good economist believes that his role is to improve the public’s understanding of the market. A bad economist believes that his role is to improve the market’s understanding of the public.”; “A democratic state is a device whereby everyone gets a chance to assert his nuisance value on a social scale.”; “A foolish environmentalist wants to save nature from the greed of the market by exposing it to the tragedy of the commons. A smart environmentalist wants to save nature from the tragedy of the commons by exposing it to the greed of the market.”; “Happiness without liberty is no more possible than wisdom without knowledge.”; “Believing that the state can promote culture is like believing that putting a gun to someone’s head is a gentleman’s offer.”; “A utopian believes in changing human nature. A realist believes in unleashing its potential.”
Cultural Superiority Isn’t Racism: Why Western Values Underpin the World’s Best Countries
Elements of the left and their allies in the media are constantly driving this point home: White people are bad and so is the culture that they have created. Everything we value as a society is bad and, more than that, little more than an ex post facto justification for the subjugation of non-whites. Western…
5 Economic Principles My Kids Learned on Halloween
Halloween is the perfect holiday for children to discover the humanity of trade. Trick-or-treating may be the main attraction, but the spontaneous candy swap negotiations that occur afterwards are often just as enjoyable and help children learn important economic principles.
Utter Folly
Perhaps the most idiotic aspect of all the rules and guidance documents governments have made, disseminated, and enforced in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic is the common underlying assumption that dealing with the disease is the only thing that matters.
Socialist Critique of Libertarian Children’s Books Drives Massive Surge in Sales
As Connor Boyack recently discovered, there is no such thing as bad publicity. The creator of the popular Tuttle Twins children’s book series, which reinforces libertarian values and free-market principles, saw his book sales surge after an established progressive magazine wrote a lengthy feature article attacking the books.