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Charisma / Power
18 hours ago
- Powerful but uncharismatic individuals often face criticism they cannot disarm due to their lack of charisma, making them disliked.
- This dynamic is rooted in human nature and has no clear solution.
- Being a target of criticism can sometimes indicate that someone is the right person for a job, not the wrong one.
On Vulgar Materialism
18 hours ago
- The belief before WWI that a European war was economically impossible was wrong because political leaders like the Tsar and Kaiser, not the rich, made the decision to go to war.
- Prior to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the argument that oligarchs would prevent Putin from invading due to economic self-interest was proven false; Putin acted independently, and oligarchs lost assets, showing their lack of political power.
- Vulgar materialism, a common worldview, erroneously explains events through money and corporate interests, ignoring the influence of ideology, nationalism, and state power.
- The 'cui bono?' question is flawed because someone always benefits from any event, and benefiting from relieving harm (e.g., vaccines) is not inherently wrong, while corporations often lack the ability to perpetuate harm.
- Money does not guarantee control over the state; for example, the FDA can reject Pfizer's billion-dollar investments, and tech billionaires do not run San Francisco, as state violence and sovereignty remain superior to corporate power.
The mistake of conflating intelligence and power
18 hours ago
- Defining intelligence as 'ability to achieve goals across domains' conflates it with power, as seen with Stalin and Trump.
- Power in the real world derives from authority and trust, not purely strategic reasoning like in games.
- Individual IQ correlates modestly with income, but national IQ strongly correlates with national outcomes due to spillover effects.
- AI collectives that can copy and share information may outcompete humans, posing risks beyond individual superintelligence.
- The real AI concern is high intelligence combined with agency, resources, and weak moral constraints, not just technical ability.

power

Charisma / Power

On Vulgar Materialism

The mistake of conflating intelligence and power