March 11, 2024

2024.03.11
The death of Angela Chao - Mitch McConnell's billionaire sister-in-law drowned in a submerged Tesla when the doors wouldn't open - she had time enough to make a desperate but futile phone call. The irony is her sister was Transportation Secretary under Trump, helping deregulate car manufacture.

Combination of blame on touch screen UI, driver confusion, and doors you'd have to remove a speaker panel and pull a wire to manually open.
Today I learned about "Chesterton's Fence" - "a simple rule of thumb that suggests that you should never destroy a fence, change a rule, or do away with a tradition until you understand why it's there in the first place. The principle assumes that fences have a purpose, were carefully planned, and cost time and money to erect."

Got into a mild debate about that with a friend who leans prescriptivist and looking to authoritative while I lean descriptivist. How I put the case there:

"Hadn't heard of Chesterton's Fence, but I like the coinage - I usually put it "everything that is, is that way for a reason". BUT - A. when a rule no longer fits a large group of people, you should go meta, and find out why the rule is failing so many, rather than presuming its reasonableness. B. Especially in a society that stresses the potential and responsibilities of the individual, you also need to ask "Cue bono"? There is always a decent chance that the rule one is asked to abide for is not for the benefit of oneself. (An a fuckton of rules that spiral into a "well that's just normal" Ouroboros of self-justification)"
Boeing whistleblower found dead in US Looks like Putinism is spreading here.