He retired, he deserved that, sometimes you just gotta go with it. You only have one life to spend Mr.Derbyshire is a giant & his family deserves him. The rest of us will just have to make due with the Z man. We are diminished !
It's hard to rank a written essay or orated lecture as "best" or favorite from a thinker whom you admire, but this is certainly one that I listened to twice because your thoughts on these topics deserved such attention. The "fun" part (these concerns don't usually illicit "fun" as a response) was ranking it a number in your own mind as you listened. Like, "Oh no! That's at LEAST a 5 in my mind! As probable as not. How dare he go only 4?" But your 7's were definitely deserving of their elevated spots. Makes me wonder why Peter Zeihan who poses as a centrist (but is a leftist with a man-bun) THRILLed at Ukraine's latest escapades (instead of seeing the near nuclear exchange it invited) somehow fancies himself THE expert demographer and ranks US chances BEST compared to the rest on demography. Is it possible Zeihan is a total idiot? Worthless in his supposed area of statistical expertise?
The way I see it is that all of these major problems have to be dealt with/guarded against simultaneously. That's what worries me. I got spooked by overreaction to COVID, fearing it would kickoff a lot of bad stuff. Two issues that potentially worry me are energy and pollution. Cheap energy (price and extraction) is needed for a functioning, modern economy. This isn't talked about like it once was, say 15 years ago. There's still a lot of coal, but I'm not so certain about oil. Is there enough oil to run 1 billion cars for another 300 years? The concern is more about doing an energy transition in a timeframe that doesn't cause major disruptions. Does the US have the competence and organizational capacity to increase nuclear use? I've listened to podcasts that have discussed how pollution has been bad for insect populations, soil health, and that there's a huge island of plastic garbage out in the ocean. I don't know enough to even approach having an opinion. But one would think that there would be consequences to using so many chemicals. Zman, I don't recall you writing about pollution. I'd be curious about your thoughts on this matter.
Birth rates fell through the floor after the covid vax. Most likely that was its purpose. Shave off a few years of the lifespan of the elderly, and collapse birthrates.
Could be but they were in decline before. Sperm counts have also been documented lower before. It is worth looking into. There is a guy at RPI using AI to try and model the impact of various environmental conditions on birth rates. The fact that his research seems to go nowhere is another indication of societal decline. (Study birth rates? Where’s the money in that? We will just sell more pet food. )
Crisis of incompetence (collapse): you didn't mention FEMA as a prime example. Trump should have shuttered it during week 1. He still hasn't. Why? Maybe there's nothing BETTER to replace those incompetent temp boobs with.
I laughed when I got to the part about the constitution. I had to back it up and hear that again. I was practically pulling my hair out after an exchange with one of those 'muh constitution' boomers on Twitter just last night. The Obama gestapo could kick his door down, shoot his dog, and seize his firearms but he'd still be alright as long as he gets to sleep with the replica constitution blanket his wife knitted for him
Hackles, not cackles. Hackles are the area on the back and neck of a canine which bristle when the dog is angry. Cackles are the laughing sounds made by an old witch.
I find that people who study history tend to focus on big events and ignore underlying trends and conditions. For example the fall of Constantinople was preceded by decades of decline. After the war the UK was pretty much left behind compared to other economies. They voluntarily gave up on empire.
Then there are those societies like Argentina that just experience quiet declines.
Most likely the GAE will experience small loses abroad and decline at home. The Chinese graduate more engineers than any other country by far. The U.S. graduates more lawyers. It should be obvious who will own the future.
I'd like to thank you for hosting Derbyshire's weekly podcast. He will be sadly missed.
What happened to Derbyshire? Hope he didn’t die or something!
He retired, he deserved that, sometimes you just gotta go with it. You only have one life to spend Mr.Derbyshire is a giant & his family deserves him. The rest of us will just have to make due with the Z man. We are diminished !
JK JK lol!!
Going to miss him.
It's hard to rank a written essay or orated lecture as "best" or favorite from a thinker whom you admire, but this is certainly one that I listened to twice because your thoughts on these topics deserved such attention. The "fun" part (these concerns don't usually illicit "fun" as a response) was ranking it a number in your own mind as you listened. Like, "Oh no! That's at LEAST a 5 in my mind! As probable as not. How dare he go only 4?" But your 7's were definitely deserving of their elevated spots. Makes me wonder why Peter Zeihan who poses as a centrist (but is a leftist with a man-bun) THRILLed at Ukraine's latest escapades (instead of seeing the near nuclear exchange it invited) somehow fancies himself THE expert demographer and ranks US chances BEST compared to the rest on demography. Is it possible Zeihan is a total idiot? Worthless in his supposed area of statistical expertise?
Retirement is the best job I ever had. I wish I did it straight out of high school.
I agree, I poped smoke in April haven't slowed down but at least the acomplishments are my own
The way I see it is that all of these major problems have to be dealt with/guarded against simultaneously. That's what worries me. I got spooked by overreaction to COVID, fearing it would kickoff a lot of bad stuff. Two issues that potentially worry me are energy and pollution. Cheap energy (price and extraction) is needed for a functioning, modern economy. This isn't talked about like it once was, say 15 years ago. There's still a lot of coal, but I'm not so certain about oil. Is there enough oil to run 1 billion cars for another 300 years? The concern is more about doing an energy transition in a timeframe that doesn't cause major disruptions. Does the US have the competence and organizational capacity to increase nuclear use? I've listened to podcasts that have discussed how pollution has been bad for insect populations, soil health, and that there's a huge island of plastic garbage out in the ocean. I don't know enough to even approach having an opinion. But one would think that there would be consequences to using so many chemicals. Zman, I don't recall you writing about pollution. I'd be curious about your thoughts on this matter.
Birth rates fell through the floor after the covid vax. Most likely that was its purpose. Shave off a few years of the lifespan of the elderly, and collapse birthrates.
Could be but they were in decline before. Sperm counts have also been documented lower before. It is worth looking into. There is a guy at RPI using AI to try and model the impact of various environmental conditions on birth rates. The fact that his research seems to go nowhere is another indication of societal decline. (Study birth rates? Where’s the money in that? We will just sell more pet food. )
Crisis of incompetence (collapse): you didn't mention FEMA as a prime example. Trump should have shuttered it during week 1. He still hasn't. Why? Maybe there's nothing BETTER to replace those incompetent temp boobs with.
a good episode…I listened to it last night. Thank you 🙏
I laughed when I got to the part about the constitution. I had to back it up and hear that again. I was practically pulling my hair out after an exchange with one of those 'muh constitution' boomers on Twitter just last night. The Obama gestapo could kick his door down, shoot his dog, and seize his firearms but he'd still be alright as long as he gets to sleep with the replica constitution blanket his wife knitted for him
Hackles, not cackles. Hackles are the area on the back and neck of a canine which bristle when the dog is angry. Cackles are the laughing sounds made by an old witch.
I find that people who study history tend to focus on big events and ignore underlying trends and conditions. For example the fall of Constantinople was preceded by decades of decline. After the war the UK was pretty much left behind compared to other economies. They voluntarily gave up on empire.
Then there are those societies like Argentina that just experience quiet declines.
Most likely the GAE will experience small loses abroad and decline at home. The Chinese graduate more engineers than any other country by far. The U.S. graduates more lawyers. It should be obvious who will own the future.