Posted by hector on 29 April 2025
Essays
Today, my hairdresser told me something that stuck with me after leaving the shop. She said, that it would have been better not to tell people of the dangerous side effects that had been discovered in some of the covid vaccines. When i told her that having more information is generally preferable to having less, she replied by drawing a picture for me: "Imagine some old grandma, that sits in front of her TV or Radio all day and now thinks she is gonna die and starts panicking". "They" should have thought about that. Well, leaving aside that there is no organized and omniscient "They", but rather a group of public servants trying to decide matters of life and death in a situation with a lot of unknowns, it speaks to a opinion that i found striking. Namely, that it is the governments ("Their") job to think about the impact of releasing true information into the public. That sometimes people are better off not knowing. If we follow this line of reasoning, it means that it would be the governments job to manage peoples opinion, to not let them panic. Well, if that is the goal, i have some good news for her. Read more
Posted by hector on 28 February 2025
Unhinged Rambling
Much like your eyes can't see blue the same way my eyes see blue, i assume your internal experience to be as much colored by the opinions and thoughts absorbed through social media as mine are. Processes in our subconscious notice, collect and distill what "they", read, other people, think. For a prehistoric human, alignment with the opinions and worldviews of others is essential for a good life in the prehistoric village. In modern times however, these processes are maladaptive. Instead of each input differing only slightly from the next, all referencing and being influenced by the same ground truth and events, worldviews are diverging faster and faster and show no sign of slowing down. Read more
Posted by hector on 25 December 2024
Essays
I have a bittersweet story with League of Legends. The (sometimes abusive) relationship I have had with it now spans over 7-8 years. When life demands or when my frustrations are too strong, I take a break, but those never last long. Read more
Posted by hector on 6 November 2024
Essays
Yesterday, I planned to work on my bachelor’s thesis. Instead, I spent the day on my phone, diving into endless opinions on the U.S. election outcome. As a German in a relatively stable country, I don’t have much at stake. Sure, America's geopolitical actions might impact my life, but realistically, aside from fluctuating prices on certain goods, I don’t see this election changing my world. Yet, this morning, my Instagram was flooded with acquaintances condemning Trump’s victory—more than I saw for our local federal election. Read more