my beliefs
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The beliefs listed below are very short summaries of subjects I don’t have the time to write at length about. Hopefully, these just give you a rough idea of the things that I value.
The list is far from comprehensive or detailed. If you disagree or are curious about specific opinions, feel free to reach out. I welcome civil discussion and am always trying to learn.
# indisputable facts
- coffee > tea
- best dogs > all cats > average dogs
- vim > emacs
- thin mints are the best girl scout cookie
- keep pineapple off of my pizza
# academic
- Science communication needs to be greatly improved.
- The peer review process is flawed but currently the best review system we have.
- Academic scientific research should be freely accessible to the public.
- Code and data used in academic papers should be made publicly available whenever possible.
# technological
- I support and encourage the financing, development, and use of Free and Open-Source Software (FOSS).
- Digital Rights Management (DRM) has done more harm than good. Read more about issues with DRM here.
- I oppose over centralization around proprietary operating systems and software.
- Rapidly developing tools (e.g. machine learning), should be deployed with caution and ethical consideration.
# political
- A binary system of politics encourages tribalism, polarization, and discourages critical thought.
- Unfortunately, it is often useful as a heuristic.
- I lean left on most currently popular issues.
- I support the use of ranked choice voting over a plurality/majority in elections.
- Many disagreements stem from differing values or use of language, not always disagreements over facts.
- The right of free speech and right to privacy are both important to a modern democracy.
- Law and policy should be informed by science whenever possible.
- I think the surveillance performed by the NSA is excessive.
- I oppose efforts by the NSA to weaken cryptographic standards.
# philosophical
Last updated: 2024-02