Dennis Hackethal
Member since June 2024
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Prevailing theories
The prevailing theories around addiction (physical and mental) are phrased in terms of physical things. Consider these quotes from a medically reviewed article by the Cleveland Clinic:
[A]ddiction is a disease — it’s a chronic condition. The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) defines addiction as a chronic brain disorder. Addiction doesn’t happen from having a lack of willpower or as a result of making bad decisions. Your brain chemistry changes with addiction.
And:
Behavioral addictions can occur with any activity that’s capable of stimulating your brain’s reward system.
And:
A significant part of how addiction develops is through changes in your brain chemistry.
Substances and certain activities affect your brain, especially the reward center of your brain.
Humans are biologically motivated to seek rewards. […] When you spend time with a loved one or eat a delicious meal, your body releases a chemical called dopamine, which makes you feel pleasure. It becomes a cycle: You seek out these experiences because they reward you with good feelings.
And:
Over time, the substances or activities change your brain chemistry, and you become desensitized to their effects. You then need more to produce the same effect.
In other words, the core of this ‘explanation’ is desensitization: your brain gets used to certain chemicals that feel good, so then you do more of whatever gets your brain those chemicals. A higher dose is required for the same effect.
#732 · Dennis Hackethal, 21 days agoConjecture: addiction is the result of the entrenchment of a conflict between two or more preferences in a mind.
Picture a smoker who wants to give up smoking but also really enjoys smoking. Those preferences conflict.
If the conflict is entrenched, then both preferences get to live on indefinitely. The entrenchment will not let the smoker give up smoking. He becomes a chain smoker.
How is this theory new?
Conjecture: addiction is the result of the entrenchment of a conflict between two or more preferences in a mind. Picture achainsmoker who wants to give up smoking but also really enjoys smoking. Those preferences conflict. If the conflict is *entrenched*, then *both preferences get to live on indefinitely*. The entrenchment will not let the smoker give up smoking. He becomes a chain smoker.
Elaborate
Conjecture: addiction is the result of the entrenchment of a conflict between two or more preferences in amind.mind.↵ ↵ Picture a chain smoker who wants to give up smoking but also really enjoys smoking. Those preferences conflict.↵ ↵ If the conflict is *entrenched*, then *both preferences get to live on indefinitely*.
Not a doctor or therapist. This discussion contains no medical advice.
Conjecture: addiction is the result of the entrenchment of a conflict between two or more preferences in a mind.
#724 · Dirk Meulenbelt, 24 days agoThere are a bunch of things that start with Zu, such as ZuBerlin, ZuThailand, etc. I suppose that too could've been explained clearer
I see. It’s the hyphen being followed by a space that threw me off. Did you get that from Dutch? I know German has it, too, but I don’t think English does. ‘Zu series’ might work.
#717 · Dirk Meulenbelt, 24 days agoI didn't know that. I figured linking to the tweet that posted it would be fine.
Providing the source doesn’t fix the (potential) copyright violation, if that’s what you’re suggesting.
‘Honduran Supreme Court declares zones for employment and economic development (ZEDEs) unconstitutional’
8 unchanged lines collapsed> […] as we now have many more news sources we didn’t yet know about. Don’t explain yourself to your readers. Remove this part.
Not a lawyer but reproducing the entire letter from PrósperaZedeZEDE is presumably a violation of their copyright.
We will update you on news, events, and do longer form write-ups […]
‘longer-form’
[…] on the projects discussed in the talks, […]
You mentioned the talks in the previous sentence. Remove “discussed in the talks” and instead say ‘discussed projects’ or ‘projects that were discussed’.
as we now have many more news sources we didn’t yet know about.
Don’t explain yourself to your readers. Remove this part.
In the coming period, expect us to pick up on many of the talks’ subject matter.
Zu- series of popup projects
That hyphen looks out of place.
The Honduran Supreme Court still needs to publish an explanatory addendum on the passed law to explain how (existing) ZEDEs will be dealt with after this ruling.
Passive voice hides accountability. Who will deal with ZEDEs? Use active voice accordingly.
Prospects for Próspera and other ZEDEs look dire and in a recent post […]
The alliteration threw me off a bit here. And if they’re dire they’re not really prospects. ‘Outlook’ might work better here.
lighter taxes and regulations
‘lower taxes and lighter regulations’ (I don’t think taxes can be ‘light’)
> made […] legallypossiblepossible↵ ↵ Just say ‘legalized’
#698 · Dennis Hackethal, 25 days agoHonduran Supreme Court declares ZEDEs unconstitutional, putting Próspera and other ZEDEs in jeopardy.
Not everyone knows what a “ZEDE” is. Is it an acronym? What does it stand for?
I now see that the newsletter links to an explanation further down:
ZEDEs are SEZs in Honduras.
But that’s too late. May have already lost readers at that point.
Not a lawyer but reproducing the entire letter from Próspera Zede is presumably a violation of their copyright.
One of the people running ‘Based Brief’ has requested criticism, specifically of their latest newsletter titled ‘Honduras rugpulls Próspera and other ZEDEs’. These criticisms aren’t meant to be exhaustive.
Honduran Supreme Court declares ZEDEs unconstitutional, putting Próspera and other ZEDEs in jeopardy.
Not everyone knows what a “ZEDE” is. Is it an acronym? What does it stand for?
> Your subconscious is like a computer […] She says “like” so the sentence is technically correct, but it would have beenmore correctbetter if she had said the subconscious is a program (or an amalgamation of programs). What she’s presumably getting at here is that the subconscious is *automatic* like a computer and unlike the conscious, which can stop and reflect and criticize and so on.
#670 · Dennis Hackethal, 29 days agoYour subconscious is like a computer […]
She says “like” so the sentence is technically correct, but it would have been more correct if she had said the subconscious is a program (or an amalgamation of programs). What she’s presumably getting at here is that the subconscious is automatic like a computer and unlike the conscious, which can stop and reflect and criticize and so on.
more correct
Something is either correct it isn’t. There is no “more” correct.