explaining what I fundamentally believe superficially

You're now chatting with a random stranger. Say hi!

You both like neurology, and activism.

Stranger: I am doing great, listening to music, relaxing

You: me too

You: in a way

You: definitely the music

You: Ike's Mood 1 by Visioneers

You: chill song =J

Stranger: I'll check it out now

Stranger: chill song indeed! liking it so far =) thx for sharing

Stranger: Andrew Block - All I Need ft. Ivan Neville (The Noisy Freaks Remix)

Stranger: so, what led you to omegle?!

You: just trying to find people with similar interests

You: mostly activists of any kind

Stranger: oh, well what are you into?

You: extreme poverty or just anything effective

You: yourself?

Stranger: the same kinda, anything really, every and anything that helps either people or animals, or the environment

You: sometimes any kind doesn't truly do good though

Stranger: can you elaborate on that?

You: bad aid

You: there's actually a book with the that exact title

Stranger: could you give me a small description?

Stranger: yay :D

You: remember the Haitian earthquake?

You: recently

Stranger: yep

You: taking an economic POV, a little coldly, but realistically

You: the crowding out effect was and still is evident

You: actually, the whole Haitian economy is an ideal example of this

You: economic reaction

You: so

You: when wealthy people unload lots of free food, the local farmers and trades people

You: can't sell their goods for a fair price

You: or at all

You: they're crowded out

Stranger: ahhh, I understand!

You: and then there's just plain bad aid

You: for example, this church group went to...

You: I forget which African village and country, but

You: they went there

You: built a latrine, and left

You: now it's just a crumbling concrete box thing

You: first it wasn't needed

Stranger: savages

You: and second, no upkeep

You: (probably from the first reason)

You: =)

You: then there's charitable money that is "good"

You: but could be used a lot better, for real "good"

You: e.g., giving to Make A Wish Foundation vs SCI

Stranger: yeah

You: Schistosomiasis Control Initiative

Stranger: well I am not sure about the organizations anyways you know? I mean.. probably most of the money goes for production etc etc

Stranger: so I strive to get rich in a way and help myself

Stranger: like real time

You: what?

You: production?

You: of what?

You: there are plenty of effective ways to put your money to use

You: GiveDirectly is one of them

Stranger: operating cost* sorry

You: that information is on their 990 form

You: and it's summarized on sites

You: such as GuideStar

You: all this info is available

You: hell, there's even sites now (Givewell.org) that sifts through this data

You: and recommends the cream of the crop

Stranger: wow! thanks for the info

Stranger: you seem very knowledgeable about this topic

You: well, just more than the average bear

Stranger: since when are you spending your money in this way?

Stranger: and what organization is the best?

You: I give to Kiva and GiveDirectly

You: Kiva is no where near the best, but I have the option to get my money back

You: (microlending)

You: I'm only a student

You: don't have a professional job to consistently give from

Stranger: how old are you?

You: 21

Stranger: and where are you from?

You: Wisconsin US

Stranger: ah!

Stranger: since when are you into this?

You: had an existential crisis at about 8

You: but

You: didn't really look into things until I wrote about them

You: AP Composition class in high school

You: 4-5 years ago

You: I was trying to answer the Meaning of Life

Stranger: ahh... so you do not suffer existential crisis?

Stranger: what made you change?

Stranger: "found" the meaning of life?

You: I contemplated suicide at age 8; I didn't have a reason or real purpose in life

You: I tried to figure out what I was suppose to do with my life

You: and then I was going to focus on doing that better

You: but I couldn't decide on whatever that was/would be

You: so I concluded to delay suicide for two reasons

You: I wasn't old enough to decide, and a later version of myself may disapprove

You: and I was in such good circumstances

You: I lived in a house, both my parents had jobs, I ate three square meals a day

You: etc etc

You: I didn't know what poverty was

You: I didn't know what to call those people

You: but all I needed to know

You: was that they existed

You: so ya

You: my big monologue

Stranger: beautiful, in a way, thanks for sharing

Stranger: my questions remains though.. what is the meaning of life for you, right now?

You: I can sum it up in two sentences

You: two quotes no less

Stranger: sure!

You: one by a mathematician & engineer, and the other by a poet

You: "I don't know why we are here--but I'm pretty sure it's not to enjoy ourselves."--Ludwig Wittgenstein

You: "We are here to help others; why the others are here, I have no idea." WH Auden

Stranger: interesting

You: I actually stole that

Stranger: I see it partly in the same way

Stranger: stole?

You: TED talk

Stranger: but you didn't steal it? I mean you cited the authors haha

You: I said it exactly like the TED talk was done

You: prefaced it

what to say to an intellectual

You're now chatting with a random stranger. Say hi!

You both like intellectual.

You: Hi

Stranger: Hi

You: what's something that you enjoy thinking about?

Stranger: astronomy, cosmology idk

You: awesome, I know mostly nothing about them!

You: what can you teach me?

Stranger: you can download the books for free on the internet

Stranger: I'm an amateur haha

You: just something unique

You: that you know?

You: such as, what do you find interesting?

thoughts

You both like thoughts.

You: what are your thoughts on life?

Stranger: live a better person each day

Stranger: life sucks for mostly everyone today, but as for me, I don't want it to end too soon

You: ha, I might agree

Stranger: good to know. what's your thoughts on life?

You: not necessarily meant to be enjoyed

You: I don't mean that everyone is a hedonist and that's somehow bad

You: just that, pleasure isn't all it's chalked up to be

Stranger: depends on what kind of enjoyment to abstain from

Stranger: mhm. if you get wasted in pleasure, you miss out on the success

You: maybe so

You: sometimes

Stranger: what draws you to omegle?

You: matching interests

You: people's pov

You: learning new things

You: useful maybe even practical things

You: I'm game for anything

Stranger: if you weren't on here right now, where would you rather be?

80 year old

http://logs.omegle.com/32f0a2d

You're now chatting with a random stranger. Say hi!

You both like activism.

You: what specific cause(s)

You: do you care about?

Stranger: poverty, world hunger, avoidable diseases

Stranger: the usual ones

Stranger: baically, why people still dont have access to basic resources when we have enough resources world wide to feed everyone

Stranger: why a few people hoard all the resources while others dont have access to them

Stranger: why drugs are created to heal people, but dont get to the people who need them the most

You: wow, I'm impressed

You: I could say that I care about the same things, just in different words

Stranger: lets hear your words

You: extreme poverty, effective altruism, consequentialism, telos, etc (more pretentious words)

You: so

You: where are you in life? such as, how old are you?

Stranger: 80

Stranger: its funny. the young want to seem older, and the older want to seem younger

You: maybe just everyone wants to be 30

Stranger: im pretty sure 30 year olds want to be in their 20s. because at 30, time is running out on freedom, and thats when you have to get a family and kids and a house etc. all the things that tie you down and suck out your freedom

You: so what was/is your type of work?

Stranger: nothing significant. was a banking clerk all my life

You: does wisdom come with age?

Stranger: no. wisdom comes with experience. technically that is age but its not really

Stranger: nothing beats a true living and breathing experience

Stranger: you can read about something all your life and memorize all the ins and outs, but experience is a whole other beast

Stranger: and ofcourse its to do with your reaction to the experience as well. a really old person can experience something for years and not be wise, while a 14 year old kid can be wiser depending on how impactful that experience is on them

Stranger: but now im just ranting

You: ha

You: okay, but some things you can't experience though

You: or some things are better to read about

Stranger: of course. but it helps to be grounded and empathetic

Stranger: maybe experience isnt the right word for all the situations. a better word would be exposure

Stranger: so you can have a very sheltered old person who does not expose themselves to the world, or a really young person who exposes themselves to the world

Stranger: one is wise, the other is not

Stranger: anyway, i meant to ask. how does one in a technical field like engineering feel so strongly about activism?

You: how?

Stranger has disconnected.

investing & inferior good

You both like economics.

Stranger: hello

You: hi

Stranger: how are you doing?

You: ok

You: you?

Stranger: fine

You: I have a quick question

You: what's that word for an 'un-preferred' good

You: like hot dogs

Stranger: not sure if i know that

Stranger: unpreferred in what way?

Stranger: hot dogs are not preferred due to them being unhealthy

Stranger: or do you mean in economics? i dont know such terminology

You: for example, something like, if the economy is doing good

You: less of them are bought

Stranger: nope dont know economics words

You: aw

You: why are you interested in it?

Stranger: because I like money

You: ok?

Stranger: serious

You: how much do you have?

Stranger: approximately 2.2 million SEK

Stranger: its around $280k I think

Stranger: all in banks

You: from what/

You: ?

Stranger: well, I just got out of prison

Stranger: LOL

Stranger: no but seriously

Stranger: I made a lot from working, from investing in less favorable assets (at the time) and most of the money from bitcoin

You: ah

Stranger: are you interested in investing?

You: I do invest

Stranger: in what?

You: Netflix, and Corning

You: I'll diversify soon

Stranger: oh stocks?

You: ya

Stranger: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preference_(economics) this might help answer your q

Stranger: i never did stocks because I couldnt be sure what is supposed to be the backbone of a good stock. many fakes out there

Stranger: but i bought gold and greek government bonds

Stranger: would you buy greek govt bonds?

You: why?

Stranger: the price of the bonds were at all time lows during 2012

Stranger: so a 4% coupon was effectively 8%

Stranger: even more, 10% if you bought at the lowest point

Stranger: price was 40 per 100

Stranger: i managed to buy in at 50 and have been getting 8% interest for a long time now

Stranger: and they have gone up in price, almost double

You: damn

Stranger: but nobody would buy

Stranger: everyone thought greece is going bankrupt

Stranger: but nobody knew the underlying mechanics of things

Stranger: greece cant go bankrupt

Stranger: the whole eu system gets fucked then and all the debts get erased

You: smart

Stranger: but people denied this

Stranger: actually im not a smart investor. proven this many times

Stranger: people just chose to believe news

Stranger: these things occur due to news controlling beliefs and attitudes

Stranger: do you know that we are at the brink of an economic collapse

Stranger: worse than 2008?

You: I heard something like that about a year ago

Stranger: probably not regarding whats happening now

Stranger: this happened recently

Stranger: there is an index called baltic dry index

Stranger: in essence it says how good the international trade is, east <-> west

Stranger: shipping etc

Stranger: it is at an all time low. historic low

Stranger: since it started around 30 something years ago

Stranger: this means that the amount of goods being shipped have gone down drastically. says alot about how money moves

Stranger: this is also due to chinas economy about to collapse, with consecutive currency devaluations

You: hugh

Stranger: also, their stock markets have "adapted" by adding some security measure - if stocks fall by more than 7% in a day, the stock exchange freezes

Stranger: this security measure has been turned on several weeks in a row

You: which one

You: all stock exchanges?

Stranger: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-04/chinese-stocks-in-hong-kong-extend-annual-slump-as-yuan-declines

Stranger: if china fails, the global effect will be humongous

Stranger: as of now ALL indexes have gone down

Stranger: sp500, nasdaq, dow jones

Stranger: even the swedish avanza zero which is based on swedens 30 most traded stocks has gone down

Stranger: and it looks like an iceberg tip just like 2008

You: Is there a graph showing all these indexes on the same page?

Stranger: .let me get you one

Stranger: https://www.avanza.se/fonder/om-fonden.html/41567/avanza-zero

Stranger: do this

Stranger: on the bottom of the graph click "10 år"

Stranger: then on the top of the graph click on the "Jämför" and choose on the list which comparison you wan

Stranger: t

Stranger: see whats happening

You: I mean all at once

You: all indexes compared

Stranger: eh there must be some charting site

Stranger: want me to look?

You: I'm also looking

You: (and I found the word I was looking for from your link!)

You: inferior good

Stranger: https://www.tradingview.com/chart/?symbol=NASDAQ

Stranger: on the top left corner enter which symbol you want

You: http://markets.ft.com/research/Markets/Tearsheets/Summary?s=AW01:FSI

Stranger: top middle button you have "compare"

You: oughhh, you're is more technical

You: ....

Stranger: yep see how 2015 was a turning point

Stranger: and not a small one

Stranger: with lots of bad things right around the corner

Stranger: these pump and dump cycles are pure inefficiencies

Stranger: at least theyre explainable

Stranger: investors leverage themselves too much and they end up failing

Stranger: this is keynesian economics doing its work

Stranger: they think they can steer shit

Stranger: increase interest rate, decrease it

Stranger: do this, do that

Stranger: economics is a natural phenomena, not a virtual one

Stranger: so this is why I like money, but still dislike it

Stranger: because someone else is deciding how much of my money is printed

Stranger: i need 5% growth annualy to make sure im not losing money

Stranger: thats why i am buying shares of the restaurant im a chef and manager in

Stranger: on the process of buying it for 180k or so

Stranger: why, cause money wont give me shit

Stranger: all the money ive worked for isnt even a nice apartment in this city

Stranger: at least, AT LEAST I can afford to buy a business that will supply me with the money I need for a satisfactory life

Stranger: such as affording private school for my kids, if i get any

Stranger: a quiet car, a nice apartment in an area with no crime

Stranger: so do they teach you keynesian/austrian economic schools of thought?

You: taught keynesian/hayek

Stranger: you from the us?

You: yes

Stranger: cool

Stranger: sweden here

You: nice

Stranger: college?

Stranger: economics major?

You: uwplatt.edu

You: electrical engineering

Stranger: good job

Stranger: good investment

Stranger: will pay off

You: =)

Stranger: dont drop out

Stranger: also, save money

Stranger: invest in hard assets

You: thanks, talk to ya another time =J

Nietzsche's Eternal Return

What about time?

• eternal return

ttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_return#Friedrich_Nietzsche

• He professes that the wish for the eternal return of all events would mark the ultimate affirmation of life:
• What, if some day or night a demon were to steal after you into your loneliest loneliness and say to you: 'This life as you now live it and have lived it, you will have to live once more and innumerable times more' ... Would you not throw yourself down and gnash your teeth and curse the demon who spoke thus? Or have you once experienced a tremendous moment when you would have answered him: 'You are a god and never have I heard anything more divine.' [The Gay Science, §341]

Stranger: What is metaphysics?

You: the nature of reality

Stranger: but physics is also making argument about that

You: physics is about matter and energy

Stranger: Ok by matter and energy, physics illustrate the nature of reality

You: It's just implied that I mean 'immaterial' reality

You: https://philosophynow.org/issues/61/What_Is_The_Nature_Of_Reality

You: Immaterial reality then pertains to what is not constrained by physical laws, eg concepts such as ‘character’ and the ‘mind’, Plato’s Forms, the realm of God and spirits...

You: time

You: although, time is a measurement in physics

You: but it comes from metaphysics

You: since time is a human construct

Stranger: Is time a human construct?

You: time isn't explained by physics

You: if it is where?

You: when I study regular physics I use time as a measurement