Open Thread

Open Thread #347

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43 thoughts on “Open Thread #347

    1. Boeing has had a staggering amount of PR disasters in the last few weeks. What is perhaps not discussed properly is that it will take a long time to undo the damage DIE has done to the company. It is even possible that they will not be able to recover at all due to the loss of institutional knowledge. Boeing has already been laying off a lot of straight, white men and as their hiring has been heavily focused on the DIE crowd. Thus, the employee pipeline is now broken. DIE managers and supervisors do not even understand the concept of meritocracy and the term “quality” means nothing to them. Thus, they will not be able to understand what they need to fix. Only due to institutional rot is it even possible to forget to properly bolt on a door. First, the workers did not care, then the supervisors did not notice it, and QA only shrugged their shoulders. Of course, at the end it is a total mystery to the mainstream how something like this could have happened. No, it is not an oversight of one worker but due to a complete loss of competency.

    2. To be fair, this was a much older plane, according to the article it entered service in 1998, long before DEI was a thing there. If anything I would fault the people in charge of maintenance for probably missing signs of material fatigue.

      DEI is not the only force at work in degrading institutional capability all over the Western world, financialization of the economy from the 1980s onwards meant offshoring, outsourcing, and cutting back on redundancies to reduce costs. In house engineers got cut back and managerial positions were filled with MBA carrying morons long before the diverse crowds arrived in force.

      In the case of the door that was improperly bolted, iirc, the fault lay with one of the subcontractors that built that piece.

    3. Of course we can point to a subcontractor, but the ultimate responsibility still lies with Boeing. No matter how we look at it, this is an example of rapidly declining organizational competency an DIE is most certainly a factor. Also recall that Boeing very heavily promotes DIE as part of their corporate culture. There where incriminating leaks a while ago.

  1. Aaron, nobody is as brutally honest as you about the impact of height. It seems that height is such a critical factor to guaranteeing female attraction that even a guy with an ugly face or a repulsive physique (overweight or emaciated) still gets female attention with minimal effort. It also seems that younger women would rather talk to an aging Chad than a short guy on her age cohort.

    I’ve seen this plainly myself when I could not break into a conversation between two women no taller then me only to have a 6′-1″ overweight goofball I was hanging out with merely step in front of them to make the stop in their tracks to face him awaiting his word.

    However, how much can compensate for being short and what compensates the best? Obviously, if a man is unattractive to a woman he meets in person, she doesn’t care what he does for a living and having money is already our the window.

    How much would you agree with this guide on how a short guy can get laid or attract women?

    https://www.goodlookingloser.com/laid/fundamentals/looks-and-style/short-guy-gets-laid

    1. I’ve read that post a long time ago.

      So are you telling me that aside from all these bulleted points, only one solution is feasible (boosting height on shoes)?

      The only two other things I’ve noticed about “below-average height” guys (5′-7″ to 5′-9″) is that they are socially aggressive and slick as well as have big muscles (or strong grip from their handshake).

      Beyond that, which of these are worth investing in versus being too extreme?

      * They are not usually above 10% body fat and generally have FULL ABS during the Spring, Summer and Fall months.
      * They all look ‘athletic’ and none of them look like bodybuilders (not anymore). They are not scrawny either.
      * They wear shoes or insoles in their shoes to make themselves at least 2.5 inches taller, even up to 4 inches.
      – They laugh at others guys that have too much pride to give themselves an obvious, major advantage.
      – They all “Dress Like [They’re] Somebody” and often get asked (or their friends get asked) if they are some level of celebrity.
      – They all rock a ‘more-edgy-than-average’ style OR simply an “I have money more money than you” style.
      – Not one of them would be confused for boyfriend material or a provider.
      – They all standout in style and presence and often have average, undersexed guys referring to them as “douchebags”.
      – They all know how to dance, REALLY WELL.
      – In bars and clubs – they are REALLY aggressive, often grabbing girls and using their dance moves before speaking to them.
      * Most of them know how to fight.
      * They speak loudly and often annoy taller, more passive guys.
      * They make eye contact with girls from a short distance, rather than trying from long-range.
      – They don’t concern themselves with issues like, “who should pay for that coffee/drink/sandwich”, “what does this text mean”, they are solely focused on Getting Laid, should that be their goal.
      – Most of them have tattoos.
      * Nearly all girls would agree that each of them was at least above-average looking.
      * They take pride in holding their own and embrace competition even though they are the ‘underdog’.
      * They shamelessly hit on a lot of girls. Sometimes upwards of 30 a night.
      * NO ONE mistakes them for being not cool or a submissive dweeb.
      * All of them “faked it until they made it,” just like every other guy does.

    2. I think height is important. But it’s also relative. On top of that women won’t measure your exact height: instead they put you in a category: short, normal, tall, very tall.

      Let me give you some examples. Let’s assume you are 1.75m:
      – you go to a club in Scandinavia. Almost all men and women will be taller than you. There is nothing you can do, you probably won’t get any women because you are short.
      – you have a first date with a woman who wears heals and is the same height as you. You will be considered short and it will be tough to get her.
      – you have a first date with the same woman but she wears no heals so she is 5-10cm shorter than you. You will be considered normal and you can get her.
      – you live in south east Asia. Congratulations- you are considered as tall now.

    3. You might as well merge “very tall” with “tall”. Past a certain height, men don’t seem to need much effort to get attention. “Normal” men seem to need a certain degree of social aggression and finesse on top of physical presentability to attract women. The difficulty with being “short” is having to pump so much time and effort into other things such as bodybuilding, fashion, and comedy just to get noticed by women in public.

      For some reason, short women don’t seem to go out on weekends, so unless you match with them on dating apps or have met them in non-nightlife environments, they seem hidden. Therefore, short men are stuck talking to women either as tall or taller when they go out.

      The trap of many short men is overcompensating in too many aspects of life for being short to the point of mental damage. For example, participating in an absurd number of extracurricular or community activities hoping to “improve their value” when there are things that seem better to fine-tune (like social skills, personal style, and muscles).

      This seems irrespective of location and what height averages are. Please correct me if I’m wrong.

    4. I don’t know whether shorter women go out much less than taller ones. But just adding heels gives them extra height, so a lot of women who are shorter than short men will be the same height or taller when going out. In any case, I don’t think it matters much whether short women go out or not. Even with shorter women, the short men will be at a disadvantage vs the taller men.

      I don’t understand what you mean with “This seems irrespective of location and what height averages are”“. My point was that shorter men can go to south east Asia or South America, and these men can, depending on how short they are, be considered normal. That helps their dating prospects.

    5. About merging tall, and very tall. Do you guys think that a guy just needs to meet a height and build threshold (6 foot, fairly ripped) and then their face takes over as most important to women?

      About “normal” guys putting more effort into other attributes. I think this explains why most guys think that girls put personality above all else. The vast majority of males are average looking afterall.

    6. You mean “short white men” going out in SE Asia or just “short men”. I am Indian-American myself and have seen countless Asian women rolling on the arms of short (and fat and slovenly and old) white men. Once I was out with an Iranian guy and we saw model-quality East Asian and South Asian women on a double date with two leprechauns and the guy cracked, “As long as the penis is white!”

      But to “adjust for location” coming from a culture where light skin was valued before it went through its Flynn effect in my generation, as a short and light skinned guy (who has dated “more Aryan” Middle Eastern and white women), my relatives can’t process how much height is a decisive factor despite the traditional importance of skin tone for attracting South Asian women both raised in Western countries and the homeland (but totally deny it).

      Even as Aaron expounded, height absolves a Chad of his faults:
      https://blog.aaronsleazy.com/index.php/2019/04/22/women-dont-nag-chads-who-can-provide-for-them/

      I’ve finally figured out why taller men are more likely to rise in their careers. As Aaron quoted in one of his books, “seduction is not a democracy”. A Chad who has to spend less time and effort on average for finding his next hit of pussy or everlasting love can spend more of it on academic and professional development. On the other hand, short guys are stuck in a perpetual cycle of “self-improvement” eating into their actual career growth.

      The challenge is, what is worth developing and what isn’t to break that cycle?

    7. Good looking: I can only speculate. I think it depends a bit on the circumstances. If a girl has a date with a guy who is let’s say 6feet tall and on another day with a guy who is 6feet 5 tall, then I think height will have a very small impact. But let’s say both those guys are at the same venue and are hitting on the girl, then height will have an impact.

      Small wonder: let’s take a 1.75m tall German male. In Germany he would be considered short. In Spain he would be normal and more successful. In Thailand borderline tall and even more successful. The increasing success comes from his height. Maybe on top of that he has a wealth and white bonus in Thailand? I don’t know.

      The same should also generally hold for a 1.75m Indian guy. Though maybe in Thailand the height bonus of the Indian guy will be offset by an Indian handicap? Again, I don’t know.

    8. I’ve finally figured out why taller men are more likely to rise in their careers. As Aaron quoted in one of his books, “seduction is not a democracy”. A Chad who has to spend less time and effort on average for finding his next hit of pussy or everlasting love can spend more of it on academic and professional development. On the other hand, short guys are stuck in a perpetual cycle of “self-improvement” eating into their actual career growth.

      I agree with that. I’ve always wondered how much further I’d be in life if I didn’t spend countless hours trying to figure out the dating thing. How many more profitable skills I’d have picked up etc…

    9. For the sake of this discourse, let’s assume interaction amongst a racially or culturally homogeneous crowd.

      Even I’ve noticed among white Americans and Europeans a hierarchy between “more Aryan” Northern European and “less Aryan” Southern Europeans as well as more affluent West Europeans and poorer East Europeans when it comes to Sexual Market Value.

      What is the least attractive (out of 10) a man can afford to be if “taller than average”, “average”, or “shorter than average”? What is also the lowest words per minute (WPM) spoken or even lowest IQ a man can afford to have for these three categories until height can no longer save him?

    10. Your view on dating seems to be quite autistic. This is not about solving some kind of optimization problem. In the end, a woman looks at her available options and decide what kind of compromises she is willing to make. You may get unlucky, meaning that she either will not compromise at all while waiting for her big-dicked billionaire Chad or she has other guys to choose from who rank above you in terms of attractiveness. Conversely, you could get lucky, meaning that she is horny, you are the only guy around, and you are acceptable for her at this very moment.

    11. Small wonder – you wrote “Even I’ve noticed among white Americans and Europeans a hierarchy between “more Aryan” Northern European and “less Aryan” Southern Europeans“

      I would say that’s wrong. Or maybe it depends how you define Northern European and southern European. Northern Europeans are taller and stronger so they do better because of their physique.

      But there are lots of Northern Europeans who have dark hair like southern Europeans. These guys do at least as good as Northern Europeans with fair hair (assuming same physique). Doesn’t Aaron have dark hair?

      In terms of skin colour I would say too dark, leaning to the stereotypical Arab or Indian, is a disadvantage. But a lot of southern European aren’t that dark. I would say a very pale Northern European doesn’t do better than a Northern European with a standard southern European skin color.

    12. Don’t forget the economic and political dimension. I’ve met Europeans with ethnic roots in Southern and Eastern Europe proudly declare that they are citizens of the more affluent Northern and Western European countries they have immigrated to while on the other hand, citizens of the latter explaining they are “expats” of their respective countries of origin of they have to move to the former countries for any reason.

      Why else are countless European PUAs (e.g. Krauser, TextGod) running around Russia and former Communist countries to demonstrate “game”?

      But even in the United States, I’ve consistently seen attractive and sociable Italian and Greek descended people dating and marrying unattractive and socially awkward Anglo-Saxon, Irish, German, etc. partners irrespective of gender.

    13. I agree with that. I’ve always wondered how much further I’d be in life if I didn’t spend countless hours trying to figure out the dating thing. How many more profitable skills I’d have picked up etc…

      To add to this, and Maou might find it relatable as well. For me personally I had this realization more with weightloss and weight-control.

      Actually getting to a level where getting laid isn’t too much work took far far less investment than figuring out weight control. Probably in big part because I discovered Aaron who helped simplify the getting laid stuff.

      With weightloss however for most of my life I had a choice, either be fit and make weight controll a full-time job, or focus on other things and get fat. So it was in this context that I often think how different my life would be if I was naturally thin. I’d have accomplished so much more.

    14. AlekNovy, that’s why in this modern age in which people marry later in life, the genetic capability to remain thin and attractive later in life may be a decisive asset, as explained recently by Aaron’s article on aging Latinas:

      https://blog.aaronsleazy.com/index.php/2023/12/23/rapidly-aging-latino-women/

      Among what I see with Gen Z, the ones that “got college right” and settled and married early are the winners who’ve locked in their respective prizes before stuff hits the fan later on, placing them at a worse disadvantage later in life.

      As Good Looking Loser says, “Get laid in your 20s, get paid in your 30s”.

    15. @Alek

      Getting into a more hypothetical type of discussion (obviously,knowing this doesn’t help us fat adults),do you think that kids who are genetically prone to weight gain could have turned that curse into a blessing if they only had knowledgeable parents to help steer into that direction?

      I can’t help but wonder if my propensity to easily gain weight could have actually turned out to be a boon for me had I been in the right kind of environment to get me into athletics and resistance training as a kid. For sure,I probably would have never gotten anywhere close to 300lbs in that alternate reality,but I wonder if I still likely would have turned out at least chubby or if maybe the ingrainment of the right type of habits in my childhood would have made weight retention just as manageable to me as it does for the naturally lean/athletic looking fellas.

      I suppose this is really just another concrete example of the “An ounce of Prevention is better than a pound of Cure” concept. Its much more feasible to ingrain good habits early on than it is to scalp out bad habits. especially when said bad habits have been ingrained for years/decades or even the vast majority of a person’s life.

  2. So I asked Claude about chicks re-writing history. Basically I asked how can you tell if she’s just pretending to rewrite history, versus actually rewriting history (to where she believes it herself… It gave me a pretty interesting answer:

    “It can be tricky to discern whether a girl is just saying she was never interested to save face versus if she has actually convinced herself of that revised history. However, here are some potential signs that may indicate which scenario it is…

    If she is just saying it to save face:

    – Her denials seem overstated or protested too much
    – Her body language is incongruous with her words (nervous fidgeting, avoiding eye contact etc.)
    – Her friend group seems aware that she previously did express interest
    – She flip-flops between denying interest and making offhand comments that reference her previous interest
    – She gets defensive if you bring up specific examples of when she did pursue you

    If she has actually convinced herself:

    – Her denials seem fully conviction and natural
    – Her body language and demeanor align with her stated lack of interest
    – Her friends don’t contradict her claims of never being interested
    – She doesn’t recall or acknoweldge any of the previous pursuit behaviors
    – She responds with genuine confusion if you bring up examples of her interests
    – Essentially, if it seems she is just reflexively denying to avoid embarrassment, there may be signs of conscious deception. But if she exhibits no recognition of her previous mindset at all, she may have genuinely rewritten her own mental history.

    Sometimes the degree to which she was interested initially can come into play as well. A mild crush that’s rewritten is more believable than flatly denying overt pursuit and overt behaviors. Paying close attention to both her words and her nonverbal cues can potentially give clues into her true psychological state.”

    1. Personally I found these two relevant:

      “– Her denials seem overstated or protested too much
      – She gets defensive if you bring up specific examples of when she did pursue you”

      I haven’t actually brought up examples with such girls, but have had them go super defensive and overstate the “never have shown an ounce of interest” rewriting history part. So specifically the “overstating” and “defensive” aspects of it.

    2. That’s a little overwrought way to say that, if her mental history re-writing is genuine, she’ll display those typical signs of an ex being completely over you after the breakup, in which she regards you as less than a worm even if months before she was professing her undying love.

    3. @Manuel. Sure, but I my motivation for asking it was to see what it would say about the opposite, when it’s not genuine. Because in the comments here we discussed “auto-rejection” and girls rewriting history due to feeling “rejected” because a guy didn’t move fast enough. I was wondering about that distinction: hey, what if they’re just lying to save face. Perhaps they’re not really rewiring history.

      And from this answer, I guess most auto-rejections I have seen were not genuine rewriting history, more sour grapes and lying to save face.

  3. Tifa Lockheart from FF7 is the first thing that popped into my mind seeing your current blog header,Aaron.

    Is this AI art by any chance?

    1. This is AI art, with some Photoshop retouching. It’s from this creator:
      https://twitter.com/endoflineart
      Speaking of Tifa, I am currently knee-deep in my Final Fantasy VII playthrough. I am in pursuit of Sephiroth. In hindsight, I find this game even more impressive than when I first played it because the relative improvements between generations only got smaller and smaller after the PlayStation. Of course, Final Fantasy X looks better than FF VII to IX, but this gap is a lot smaller than the gap between FF VI and FF VII. Just look at the sense of scale of Midgar Zolom!

    2. Glad to know my hunches are right on point!

      Its been such a long time,but I’m one of those people who managed to get Beta early. My memory is rather vague so I can’t really remember if I went out of my way to defeat this thing at the initial encounter,but one I thing I definitely know for sure is I made sure to grab Beta. Very useful skill to nap at that stage of the game. some would argue “broken” even.

      Fortunately,FF7’s lackluster graphics even for its time (I know several games in the same era that put it to utter shame in the graphical department) didn’t stop it from rising to popularity. At least the remake series is here now to give them the much improved presentation it deserves.

    3. I am not sure I agree about FF VII having lackluster graphics. Yes, the polygon models do not look great. On the other hand, many of the prerendered backgrounds are spectacular and the FMV sequences were arguably the very best or at least among the very best in the industry at that time. As a whole, the art direction is extremely good.

    4. Got about a quarter through that game when my file got corrupted. Apparently that happened to a lot of people on FF7. Still would like to play the whole thing at some point. FFX had my favorite story of any game I’ve played, but FF7 was certainly shaping up to be close.

  4. There’s apparently a new phenomenon where women get pregnant with “Ozempic babies” or “Mounjaro babies,” Ozempic and Mounjaro being two new and effective weight loss drugs:
    https://eu.usatoday.com/story/life/health-wellness/2024/03/21/ozempic-pregnancy-weight-loss-drugs-fertility/73032645007/

    The article lists two reasons for this:
    “First, weight loss is correcting hormonal imbalances caused by obesity and metabolic disorders and thus boosting fertility. Second, certain drugs may be reducing the efficacy of birth control pills, increasing the chances of pregnancy.”

    If I were to guess, I’d say there’s also a third reason: having more sex. If a woman is so obese that it’s causing her hormonal imbalances and metabolic disorders, I don’t think she’s going to be getting a lot of action.

    Now if she suddenly drops her weight down to a normal, healthy level… Well, I’d wager her husband is going to magically show a renewed sexual interest in her. 🙂

  5. I was looking forward to Dragon’s Dogma II but it turns out the game is half-baked, with pretty uneven performance, and a lot of microtransaction bullshit. You can also have only one save file, just like in the original, which is not great if you are interested in trying out different builds. What was the last big release that was not a disappointment?

    1. Well, this fake right-wing publication is owned by Ben Shapiro, so this is not really a surprise. Most likely, Candace Owens only got a spot in order to humiliate the audience anyway. According to Critical Theory, it is a stroke of genius to put a black woman in front of an almost exclusively white audience that is furthermore on the political right.

    2. The Daily Wire immediately tried to claim it wasn’t because of Ben lol. I guess they tolerated the sympathizing with Kanye’s comments, but criticizing Israel was a bridge too far.

      On the bright side. The consciousness of the Right on the Jewish question has come a helluva long way in the last ten years. Not because of people like Candace, but just the Internet in general.

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