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Ozempic and similar drugs are being used by many to get rid of the food noise and insatiable hunger that have stood in the way of sustainable progress. These drugs are being used as catalysts for healthy living. The fact that they seem to work thus far is evidence that obesity is on some level driven by powerful hormonal forces that influence impulse control and willpower, which addressed, can give people the freedom to make better decisions and effectively pursue a lifestyle they've struggled to maintain.

The cosmetic narrative you're pushing is actually quite disgusting.


> These drugs are being used as catalysts for healthy living.

You have some evidence for this claim?

> is evidence that obesity is on some level driven by powerful hormonal forces

It's suggestive. It's nowhere near evidence.

> the freedom to make better decisions

As long as they're on the drug.

> The cosmetic narrative you're pushing is actually quite disgusting.

No it isn't. It's a valid concern about how this medication is _marketed_ and _dispensed_. It's also an obvious concern to have. Pretending that I'm disgusting because I'm actually worried about the future outcomes for these patients is bullying highroad nonsense. Come off of it.


I've been on Zepbound since July and have lost 40lbs in that time through calorie restriction, intermittent fasting, and resistance training 3x per week, which all felt like impossibly herculean tasks before starting the medication. I know others who've had similar experiences. Sorry I haven't published a paper on it.

> You have some evidence for this claim?

The obvious evidence is the result of the drug, i.e., overweight people losing weight because they're eating less.


The obvious countertpoint is that obesity rates have not been constant for the last few decades.

So there are clearly multiple factors here and those should be taken into consideration before uncritically deciding this is a "good thing" that we should "all be on."


> that we should "all be on."

Who, exactly, has claimed that?


Which is sorta funny because some antihypertensives are known to decrease anxiety.

You can have an internal locus of control and still believe the benefits of taking something like an SSRI far outweigh the costs of attempting to address depression/anxiety more "naturally." I'd rather take an SSRI if it means more motivation to live healthily, positively, productively for myself and family. If anything, the drug could very well help someone discover their sense of agency.

This is so shortsighted. GenAI has dramatically increased access to creative expression for likely tens of millions of people. It shouldn't be shunned, but rather used as a gateway to developing a deeper and more expressive skillset. They're shooting themselves in the foot.

EDIT: What's with the downvotes? Other "pro-genAI" comments are getting downvoted too. How is it that a community of builders and hackers are so against this?


> dramatically increased access to creative expression for likely tens of millions of people

This is like saying keyboards suddenly made tens of millions of people novelists and shows deep confusion about what constitutes creative expression.


Nah the commenter you are responding to is correct.

I dont share any of my content with people. I dont think its any good. But I can sit down with 3 AI's and bash out a story that I enjoy, that I largely controlled the creation of. Heck you can do it in multiple ways. I can have NovelAI fix the rough edges of my writing. I can have ChatGPT use a format like Lester Dents and simply ask me for the creative bits in between. I can ask it to help me follow a formal novel outline process.

Years ago I wanted to commission some art from a Deviant Art account. I waited 3 weeks for the response that they didnt have the time and suggested other people.

I am not saying AI should replace that bloke, and it hasnt he now has a steady high paying gig, but the time for me to go from brainfart to execution has drastically decreased. The creative input I have in the process hasn't changed. Its all critique and develop right. Heck most tools let me highlight the problem and rework just that part of the image.

Ultimately I enjoy it as creativity. Even if people look down their nose at it, its working the same muscles just faster.


> Even if people look down their nose at it, its working the same muscles just faster.

Unfortunately, this isn’t true. It’s just bathing in the median of others people work, at best akin to playing video games (vs making them). There’s no shame in it, I love playing games too, but if you ever want to rise to the level of independent creative expression, you’ll have to give up these crutches, confront your own limitations, and risk failure to overcome them. No challenge, no change.


Man I know of a "learn to write" strategy where you get a pen, and literally word for word copy the author you are trying to emulate. Just completely reproduce their content, over and over until you "master" their "voice".

Artists copy famous paintings for the same reason.

Its stupid to presume that no artist ever "bathed" in the the median of other peoples work before 2021.


Yes, but it’s the act of doing the actual copying that teaches you how precisely to recreate, and more importantly, to question and critically engage with the choices and thought that went into the work, such that you develop those muscles yourselves. When a machine does all of that for you, you’ve missed the entire point of the exercise, which isn’t to copy or emulate, but to learn how to do the same things independently in doing so.


Yes, the keyboard likely increased access to expression. I can type more at pace with my thoughts than I can write, and for far longer.

And something as little as modifying a meme is a form of creative expression.


Have you ever stared at a blank page (canvas, editor widow, ...) and wanted very badly to put something there but been unable to do so?

Is there a technological tool[1] which would've solved that problem?

[1] Technological as opposed to, say, a mindfulness technique, which some would describe as a tool.


> This is so shortsighted.

It would only be shortsighted if it was some kind of enforceable-in-the-future commitment.

As it is, it is an excellent short-term way to grab mindshare with a sizable chunk of the target market by what amounts to political signalling that costs nothing, either in current resources or in foreclosing future options.


Fully agree. Generative AI can be a great tool, not only to boost creativity or inspiration but also to produce faster and better documents (eg. presentation, etc). It can be very helpful in education too.


Like robbing a bank gives increased access to cash?

But it's all to gue in cheek, cuz I use Claude for writing python all the time.


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