SmoothOperator

Good point, though I find the part of the commentary relevant:

Although we were initially skeptical that mirror bacteria could pose major risks, we have become deeply concerned. We were uncertain about the feasibility of synthesizing mirror bacteria but have concluded that technological progress will likely make this possible. We were uncertain about the consequences of mirror bacterial infection in humans and animals, but a close examination of existing studies led us to conclude that infections could be severe. Unlike previous discussions of mirror life, we also realized that generalist heterotroph mirror bacteria might find a range of nutrients in animal hosts and the environment and thus would not be intrinsically biocontained

Not all brutality is defeated, but if you consider children dying a brutal thing, we have significantly lessened the brutality, and at a scale much greater than the tragedies of the Palestinians and other persecuted peoples.

Some of civilization is built with compassion, understanding and collaboration. Possibly even most. We can celebrate and emulate those victories without belittling the suffering still happening.

As mentioned elsewhere, global child and infant mortality has gone from around 50% to around 5%. That counts as an example of something getting a lot better in my book.

But fair if that's not what you mean. What would better look like for you?

I'm not saying the "evils" won't get worse in the future, just saying that for a long time they've actually been lessened dramatically.

We can acknowledge that things have been getting better for a long time, and work to keep that going for the future, without diminishing or downplaying the serious issues we face today.

And yet it is through compassion and the progress of civilization that we have defeated the brutality of the past.

Even today, most deaths globally are due to diseases that we are working hard to cure, with only around 1% dying due to violence.

For sure, I'm not saying this based on my own privileged experience, I'm saying this based on the data. 200 years ago even the richest countries had around 50% child and infant mortality. Now the global average is 4.3%. We can acknowledge the tragedies of today while also celebrating the immense progress we've made at a global level.

Life is a lot less brutal today than it was 200 years ago, though.

Not trying to carry any water, just trying to bolster our arguments.

• All soldiers in all wars should realize that they have more in common with the enemy soldier than with their capitalist overlords. Surely you agree, even counting Nazi Germany.
• I had no idea that he was that convinced a nazi. The link you shared talks about him being purged by Hitler and being a witness in the Nuremberg trials. Or did I misread it?

I mean, not every member of the German forces in WWII was a bad guy. Lenin himself argued for solidarity among soldiers on both sides to fight the capitalist class instead of eachother.

Your link doesn't seem to describe him as a Nazi ideologue as much as just a German military leader. While I am highly critical of the imperialist ambitions of the West, the fact that Heusinger became a NATO leader does not really make a convincing argument for anything.

Beating classical computers is easy. These machines can give a random result much faster than a computer can simulate the quantum mechanics that give rise to that random result.

Beating classical computers at a task with some kind of practical application is hard though.

They're also very popular in Denmark.

Realistically it's not feasible to set up separate systems for separate levels of tech knowledge and expect it to not be abused.

Yes, it's more of a hassle to do proper 2FA, but it helps the grannies of the world not be scammed out of their life savings, ultimately enabling greater digitalisation, which I find extremely helpful.