sanoli

I didn't know that. I always thought it very unfair that individuals have a much higher tax percentage to pay than corporations, and somehow I tought the US wasn't like that.

Depends. Can I opt for the $100k income and then move to the $60k neighborhood?

You got me curious as to what was being read/watched on first class.

> Out of the total number of human concepts that have ever been communicated, the majority are only available to English speakers.

Wait, I'm not sure if I agree with the rest of your post, but this last sentence is surely an exaggeration, no? You mean over 50% of human concepts that were ever communicated are only available to english speakers?

Sure, you can express pretty much any concept from a foreign language in English, and vice-versa if the language is thorough enough. What you lose is the power and conciseness that comes from having a single word expressing a concept that would take 10 or 18 words to be correctly expressd in English. I have memorized a few interesting ones in some languages: 'Litost' (czech), 'Prozvonit' (czech also),'Tartle'(scottish), 'Mamihlapinatapei' (an idiom from Tierra del Fuego), 'Ya’aburnee' (arabic), and my own language's 'saudade', which to some is just translated as 'longing for something you have lost', but is, for native speakers, of course, something else.

Usually, the people who espouse such views are never the speakers of dying tongues.

I'm not saying your view is the wrong one, or that it isn't rational. The sentence in the beginning of my post was spoken by an anthropologist who studied a tribe who was losing its language, and yet didn't completely grasp the other, mainstream language, fully. I never forgot that sentence. The youths of the tribe, he said, were in a constant limbo, their language and culture dying, and never part of the bigger, dominating culture. Their children's children will probably be ok, will probably be fully assimilated, but to not think of the fate their parents and grandparents is not right.

Many efforts are futile, but it doesn't make them all wrong. Sometimes it is the right way to act.

Im brazilian and I just laughed out loud on this one. Indeed, be careful with that one.

If you're talking about contemporary literature, then maybe, as I wouldn't know much about recent stuff. If not, then you're... I don't even know what to call it... to dismiss the french, russian, spanish, italian classics... wow.

Well, if he said "If we want to lead our lives the best way possible, then you ought to read this and this, not that" it would still be pretentious. Is it really clear cut that one set from all of literature is the best for everybody? Of course "read whatever you like is a bit on the opposite side, too easy, too shallow. One could then decide "fine, I'll just read kid's comics all my life." Read varied literature, from different cultures, try different genres, and try to read some classics, as they're classics for a reason, would probably be better advice.

Oh, it's because it's Kafka, so it has to be some good advice!

edit: typo

> one of the most bloody and backwards "achievements of the human species"

You know very well he is celebrating where this has taken Europe and not the brutal aspects of its history, which, if you're honest, you'll agree are present in all cultures, especially when they rise materially and technologically above neighboring ones. If you stand by your statement, would you prefer to have western civilization go back to pre-roman times? Was it less bloody and more civilized than present-day Europe? C'mon.

I have zero tech friends. Zero. Not one of my friends cares about privacy. Never have for as long as they have started using email in the late 90's. Me, I just gave up trying to raise the issue. So much so that I don't care anymore. It's a lost war. I'll take care of my own privacy whenever I care about it, and that's it. The rest of the population will deal with it when it gets too crazy. If it ever gets too crazy, and if they ever begin to care.

edit: Just to add: I know this is defeatist and negative, but it's the truth in my case. Got tired of it. It's easier if you have tech friends or activist friends and they share your concern.

I don't get people who don't get this ;-) Imagine if it got to the point where the whole 50m fresstyle race was won by reamining underwater full time. Gone would be the frantic flapping of arms and legs making waves and splashes, which is how non-swimmers understand how fast paced the event is, like the running 100m sprint. People gliding like dolphins viewed in underwater cameras is just not as exciting.