Brecht Savelkoul
@brecht.net
High-functioning technophobe. Private intellectual.
Reposted by Brecht Savelkoul
Yes, but what about the alignment problem with cars? Like, we don't want them to kill people, but they do keep killing people. Seems like a serious alignment problem. Let's hope the industry can solve that alignment problem.
September 13, 2026 at 9:31 PM
Yes, but what about the alignment problem with cars? Like, we don't want them to kill people, but they do keep killing people. Seems like a serious alignment problem. Let's hope the industry can solve that alignment problem.
Reposted by Brecht Savelkoul
I think you're mistaking the example for the actual point here. Gongsun Long was responding to the Confucian position that using correct language would lead to a harmonious society. The white horse thing is just an example to demonstrate that there is no such thing as correct language.
September 10, 2026 at 8:42 AM
I think you're mistaking the example for the actual point here. Gongsun Long was responding to the Confucian position that using correct language would lead to a harmonious society. The white horse thing is just an example to demonstrate that there is no such thing as correct language.
Reposted by Brecht Savelkoul
I was IQ tested when I was a kid and rode that high until Briggs-Myers tests came into vogue and then I reveled in being an INTP and now I recognize that both are basically the nerd equivalents of zodiac signs, but then that's a very Taurus thing to say, isn't it
Every so often I get reminded that there are people out there who think IQ is something other than total bullshit and that’s always depressing.
August 23, 2026 at 5:02 PM
I was IQ tested when I was a kid and rode that high until Briggs-Myers tests came into vogue and then I reveled in being an INTP and now I recognize that both are basically the nerd equivalents of zodiac signs, but then that's a very Taurus thing to say, isn't it
Europe's entire political class is made up by people who are obsessed with US politics. So if the US engages in meaningful reform, and persecutes the crooks who did this, than European politicians will noticed and respond to it.
This is why I’m pessimistic about lib/left foreign policy in the near term tbh. The first thing on every foreign leader’s mind in 2029 is going to be “how do I know the USA won’t kick me in the balls and run off with my wallet in 4 years?” and we don’t have a good answer.
Trump has destroyed US credibility to the point that no one can make a deal with America even if they think the terms sound good, because they can’t trust the US to honor it.
The U.S.-Canada trade arrangement Trump now claims is unacceptable was the one he negotiated and signed in his first term.
The U.S.-Canada trade arrangement Trump now claims is unacceptable was the one he negotiated and signed in his first term.
August 23, 2026 at 2:39 PM
Europe's entire political class is made up by people who are obsessed with US politics. So if the US engages in meaningful reform, and persecutes the crooks who did this, than European politicians will noticed and respond to it.
Reposted by Brecht Savelkoul
(Thomas Jefferson, for those of you not in the know about the US, is kind of like if Sun Yatsen and Mao Zedong were one guy, and also owned slaves)
August 19, 2026 at 1:09 PM
(Thomas Jefferson, for those of you not in the know about the US, is kind of like if Sun Yatsen and Mao Zedong were one guy, and also owned slaves)
So it turns out Blacksky infrastructure is mostly accessible behind the GFW. Images and media don't seem to work, but I don't mind the text-only experience anyway.
August 17, 2026 at 12:14 PM
So it turns out Blacksky infrastructure is mostly accessible behind the GFW. Images and media don't seem to work, but I don't mind the text-only experience anyway.
Reposted by Brecht Savelkoul
some words are objectively hurtful and objectively dangerous in a way that passes any but the most gaslighty of tests and it is perfectly fine for a democratically elected government to use its mandate to render them unsayable without consequence
August 4, 2026 at 2:52 PM
some words are objectively hurtful and objectively dangerous in a way that passes any but the most gaslighty of tests and it is perfectly fine for a democratically elected government to use its mandate to render them unsayable without consequence
For all of you command line enthousiasts out there, this one is working quite well for me so far: https://github.com/mattn/bsky
GitHub - mattn/bsky: A cli application for bluesky social · GitHub
A cli application for bluesky social. Contribute to mattn/bsky development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com
July 15, 2026 at 11:56 AM
For all of you command line enthousiasts out there, this one is working quite well for me so far: https://github.com/mattn/bsky
Reposted by Brecht Savelkoul
This stuff needs a robust structural response: heavy fines and other sanctions on these platforms, external review of police stations who fail to enforce protective orders. I know I'm part of this but I think there's too much focus on "men reflecting on their behaviour". We need more regulation.
The striking thing about the manosphere is how unregulated it is: the stalking, the podcasts who platform proven abusers, the algorithms pushing the hate, all of it. The silence or the impotence or the indifference of the institutions who have the power to affect it. The rot is so, so thorough.
July 10, 2026 at 4:55 PM
This stuff needs a robust structural response: heavy fines and other sanctions on these platforms, external review of police stations who fail to enforce protective orders. I know I'm part of this but I think there's too much focus on "men reflecting on their behaviour". We need more regulation.
Good question, but the premise that Marc Rutte ever had any moral principles is wrong. He first became prime minister with the support of Geert Wilders. This is who he is.
WOW -- Danish reporter *goes there* with Rutte
"You sit next to Trump when he talks about conquering Greenland, lashes out at allies like Spain -- things it doesn't seem like the old Mark Rutte would approve of. Does this have any affect on your self-respect when you sit there and say nothing?"
"You sit next to Trump when he talks about conquering Greenland, lashes out at allies like Spain -- things it doesn't seem like the old Mark Rutte would approve of. Does this have any affect on your self-respect when you sit there and say nothing?"
July 8, 2026 at 7:01 PM
Good question, but the premise that Marc Rutte ever had any moral principles is wrong. He first became prime minister with the support of Geert Wilders. This is who he is.
Reposted by Brecht Savelkoul
time to ask FIFA if FIFA bylaws still apply and if so when US soccer will be suspended like Pakistan was for trying to interfere with the game
July 8, 2026 at 5:44 AM
time to ask FIFA if FIFA bylaws still apply and if so when US soccer will be suspended like Pakistan was for trying to interfere with the game
Reposted by Brecht Savelkoul
Ask Pulisic to do the dance now.
July 7, 2026 at 2:00 AM
Ask Pulisic to do the dance now.
They were booing every Belgian pass in the beginning, but now the crowd can't even bring themselves to boo an obvious time-wasting dive. I'm loving it. #USABEL
July 7, 2026 at 1:42 AM
They were booing every Belgian pass in the beginning, but now the crowd can't even bring themselves to boo an obvious time-wasting dive. I'm loving it. #USABEL
TAKE THAT YOU FUCKING CHEATS!!!
July 7, 2026 at 12:11 AM
TAKE THAT YOU FUCKING CHEATS!!!
Reposted by Brecht Savelkoul
Do you reaaaaaaally think that the victims of Leopold II, presuming they gave a shit about the world cup at all, would currently be rooting for the country of President Jim Crow As Farce
July 6, 2026 at 6:09 PM
Do you reaaaaaaally think that the victims of Leopold II, presuming they gave a shit about the world cup at all, would currently be rooting for the country of President Jim Crow As Farce
Reposted by Brecht Savelkoul
Statement from the Belgian FA pointing out that the appeals process is a scam so FIFA can keep their decision but pretend that there was a fair ruling.
www.rbfa.be/en/news/upda...
www.rbfa.be/en/news/upda...
July 6, 2026 at 1:31 PM
Statement from the Belgian FA pointing out that the appeals process is a scam so FIFA can keep their decision but pretend that there was a fair ruling.
www.rbfa.be/en/news/upda...
www.rbfa.be/en/news/upda...
Reposted by Brecht Savelkoul
Look if you think it’s fine for Trump to corruptly get a red card revoked (or “suspended”) bc FIFA is already corrupt, maybe you understand the MAGA mindset better than you think. “All politicians are corrupt so it’s ok for Trump to be corrupt” is a very common maga rationalization
July 6, 2026 at 12:37 PM
Look if you think it’s fine for Trump to corruptly get a red card revoked (or “suspended”) bc FIFA is already corrupt, maybe you understand the MAGA mindset better than you think. “All politicians are corrupt so it’s ok for Trump to be corrupt” is a very common maga rationalization
Reposted by Brecht Savelkoul
Has blown my mind how many Americans who rightly saw FIFA as a corrupt organization and Trump as such and a bully, have now gone, that if it works in their favor then it’s actually a kind of good. FIFA isn’t even saying the red card was wrong, they simply moved the suspension to satisfy the US.
July 6, 2026 at 12:36 PM
Has blown my mind how many Americans who rightly saw FIFA as a corrupt organization and Trump as such and a bully, have now gone, that if it works in their favor then it’s actually a kind of good. FIFA isn’t even saying the red card was wrong, they simply moved the suspension to satisfy the US.
Reposted by Brecht Savelkoul
I'm sorry but all this post reveals is that even a liberal American can contain dangerous quantities of Trump particles.
If other countries are pissed about Balogun's red card being lifted, they can stayed pissed. Wanting to punish a 25-year-old who did nothing wrong and has carried himself well just because you're angry at Trump and FIFA is weak sauce.
July 6, 2026 at 12:07 PM
I'm sorry but all this post reveals is that even a liberal American can contain dangerous quantities of Trump particles.
Reposted by Brecht Savelkoul
It will never not be funny to me that the Chinese title of ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ 憤怒的葡萄 is shaped exactly like the Chinese name for Angry Birds 憤怒的小鳥.
July 4, 2026 at 2:42 PM
It will never not be funny to me that the Chinese title of ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ 憤怒的葡萄 is shaped exactly like the Chinese name for Angry Birds 憤怒的小鳥.