Handwaving Freakoutery $7 / month

Handwaving Freakoutery explores themes spanning culture wars, gun policies, misinformation, and societal behaviors toward technology and political correctness. It critically assesses various social and political issues, offering perspectives on race, gender, digital ethics, and the impact of ideology on human interactions and governance.

Culture Wars Gun Policies Misinformation Societal Behaviors Technology Ethics Political Correctness Race and Gender Issues Digital Ethics Ideology and Governance

The hottest Substack posts of Handwaving Freakoutery

And their main takeaways

The Woke Rails of Google Gemini are Literally Just Eric Cartman

769 implied HN points • 23 Feb 24
🎭️ Culture Art Entertainment Tech TV Satire
  1. Google Gemini's AI image generation software is adding 'diversity' into images where it doesn't belong, like popes and knights.
  2. Google Gemini uses a simple hack to generate 'woke' images by altering prompts before running image generation AI.
  3. South Park predicted Google's approach by parodying inserting diversity into images through prompts, comparable to what Google is doing with its AI.

Shiri's Margin Attractor

464 implied HN points • 18 Feb 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Media Media influence Social media Political Activism
  1. In the media world, controversy attracts attention and drives engagement, leading to more clicks and traffic.
  2. The Shiri's Margin Attractor theory suggests that modern media is not focused on truth but on generating controversy for profit.
  3. Using the Attractor theory, different advocacy groups can strategically navigate their issues to align with public opinion trends and potentially secure wins on their key topics.

Mostly Peaceful Election Scenarios

520 implied HN points • 02 Feb 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics
  1. Different election scenarios have different probabilities based on events like death, assassination, or replacement of candidates
  2. Estimations predict varying levels of civil unrest and rioting depending on election outcomes
  3. The average damage, death, and anarchy after the election is expected to be around 14.15% of what was seen in 2020 if certain conditions are met

HWFO Reading List, February 2024

237 implied HN points • 21 Feb 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Conspiracy Theories Policy Analysis Media influence Political Commentary
  1. The foundation of SETI uses the Drake Equation to estimate the existence of extraterrestrial life, similar to how an estimate could be made for the likelihood of someone shooting Trump.
  2. James Hankins' anti-diversity statement may signal shifts in ideologies and academic environments.
  3. Studies on topics such as car seat laws affecting fertility rates and brain structures defining self-perception shed light on various intriguing scientific findings.
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Real Talk About Nicotine

882 implied HN points • 28 Jul 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Cancer CDC
  1. CDC's nicotine messaging is misleading and harmful, leading to significant misinformation in the public.
  2. Nicotine has both positive and negative effects, such as cognitive benefits and addiction risks.
  3. Vaping is a safer alternative to smoking cigarettes, but CDC misinformation is causing confusion and preventing smokers from switching.

Why Men Don't Date Woke Women

803 implied HN points • 08 Aug 23
🎭️ Culture Dating Politics Morality Gender Dynamics Social movements
  1. Politics impacts the dating market, affecting who people choose to date based on their ideologies.
  2. There is a rise in people unwilling to date across political lines, leading to fewer marriages and dates.
  3. Woke morality dynamics and past events like the Kavanaugh trial have influenced dating decisions, particularly in avoiding woke women due to fear of false accusations.

Real Talk about Race and Murder Rates

1233 implied HN points • 20 Apr 23
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Race relations Crime Rates Family Dynamics Social Issues Economics
  1. The key to solving the murder problem in the United States lies in repairing the family unit across all demographics.
  2. Murder rates in the US do not correlate with gun ownership by race; 'it's the guns' is not explanatory for the differences in murder rates.
  3. Single motherhood, particularly the absence of fathers, is a major factor in predicting high murder rates across different racial demographics in the US.

What the Florida "Anti-LGBT" Laws Actually Do

622 implied HN points • 12 Jun 23
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Legislation Public Opinion Media Analysis Gender Issues Medical Ethics
  1. The Florida laws have minimal impact on adults and gay men/lesbians, focusing more on transgender minors and gender-segregated spaces.
  2. Media portrayal of these laws as 'anti-LGBT' lacks accuracy and may lead to misconceptions.
  3. Public opinion on the measures outlined in the laws shows varying levels of support, indicating a disconnect between media perceptions and public views.

The Crab Louie Story

667 implied HN points • 11 May 23
🎭️ Culture Integration Prejudice Liberalism Racism
  1. Regional prejudices can be displayed oblivious to the person exhibiting them.
  2. Integration involves being aware of and reckoning with prejudices.
  3. Being in a diverse environment can lead to greater awareness and accountability for one's beliefs.

The Nonzero Chance of the Zombie Apocalypse

667 implied HN points • 26 Apr 23
🎭️ Culture Social media Artificial Intelligence Conspiracy Theories Current Events
  1. Zombies are fictional beings driven by a singular groupthink to spread their animus by attacking humans.
  2. Egregores, evolving groupthink entities on social media, may control human sense-making, leading to cancellation for those opposing them.
  3. There is concern that artificial intelligence may drive cultural wars and eventually turn individuals into soulless techno-zombies.