Welcome to my weekly digest for June 9, 2023, with the best articles from around the web and a roundup of my recent writings and appearances. My monthly newsletter is out Monday. It’s a look at the gender teachings of infamous pastor Mark Driscoll. You won’t want to miss it.
The female delusion calculator doesn't give you an answer based on total population, but based on the percentage of men within the age range specified who meet the specified criteria. E.g., I picked 20 to 40 year old men who are any race, any height, any income, any marital status, and it told me that 100% of American men between 20 and 40 years old meet these criteria. It also told me my delusion score was 0/5 and asked, "Are you sure you're a woman?"
I have very mixed thoughts about this. For quite a few people getting these loans, it's really their only resource. One thing I got out of working on some pawnshop-reporting software on the 90s is that there is a whole world of folks out there who live unimaginably distant from the middle-class milieu most of us inhabit. Quite a few literally have no bank accounts; I saw folks who would pawn their VCRs every couple of months just to get $30.00 and then pay $40.00 to get it back out of hock. When the payday loan business arrived here in WA state, they really cut into the pawnshops' revenue and some of them went under.
The problem with prohibiting the payday lenders (or pawnshops) is that if they go away, they won't suddenly be replaced by low-cost lending sources, they will be replaced by . . . . nothing.
Spouting, I've read similar arguments from other sources and they seem at least worth considering. However, note that lending with collateral really protects the *creditor*, not the debtor. Sure, if you default on the loan the lender gets the collateral and so you're not in perpetual debt, but in exchange *you've lost your stuff*.
The really poignant pawn collateral I encountered wasn't the entertainment pieces, musical equipment, firearms, or even wedding rings -- it was the *work tools*. Default on your loan and now you lose your job as a carpenter, plumber, mechanic, etc.
I’ve heard the argument that Biblical usury should be understood not in terms of a specific interest rate, but in terms of unsecured personal loans. A loan against property is something different -- if the borrower fails to pay, the lender simply takes the collateral, and the debt is satisfied. By this standard, a pawn shop loan would therefore be acceptable.
When it comes to unsecured personal loans, the person is the collateral. Which introduces a whole set of moral problems. For example, it creates the potential of a debt hole that is inescapable -- the interest accumulates faster than you can pay it.
Our society offers bankruptcy as a potential escape from that sort of debt hole. Though notably that option isn’t available for student loans. Also it’s not available from a loan shark, and you can see what this could look like by watching The Sopranos, for example.
Well, the difference is a lot of that's harder to figure out. A wise and knowledgeable person could probably offer that feedback. Maybe a good dating coach or professional matchmaker. But I don't think software is going to get there anytime soon.
What would easily and instantly make a tool like this more useful to the average woman is if it looked at her criteria, picked out the most absurd one, and said, "Have you considered loosening this one criterion? The average American man is 5'9". If you were willing to consider a man who is at least 5'10" (still above average!) instead of at least 6'3", your dating pool would be 10 times larger," or whatever the number is.
The tool also needs to add education level. I think those are the only three criteria you really need for something like this. Though it might also be helpful if it offered a perspective in terms of ZIP code or MSA.
Education is highly underrated as a talking point when it comes to dating, mainly because it exposes you to many more topics of conversation, but is now tied so much into politics. I’m surprised it’s not talked about more
The female delusion calculator doesn't give you an answer based on total population, but based on the percentage of men within the age range specified who meet the specified criteria. E.g., I picked 20 to 40 year old men who are any race, any height, any income, any marital status, and it told me that 100% of American men between 20 and 40 years old meet these criteria. It also told me my delusion score was 0/5 and asked, "Are you sure you're a woman?"
"Anti-usury laws should ban payday loans."
I have very mixed thoughts about this. For quite a few people getting these loans, it's really their only resource. One thing I got out of working on some pawnshop-reporting software on the 90s is that there is a whole world of folks out there who live unimaginably distant from the middle-class milieu most of us inhabit. Quite a few literally have no bank accounts; I saw folks who would pawn their VCRs every couple of months just to get $30.00 and then pay $40.00 to get it back out of hock. When the payday loan business arrived here in WA state, they really cut into the pawnshops' revenue and some of them went under.
The problem with prohibiting the payday lenders (or pawnshops) is that if they go away, they won't suddenly be replaced by low-cost lending sources, they will be replaced by . . . . nothing.
Spouting, I've read similar arguments from other sources and they seem at least worth considering. However, note that lending with collateral really protects the *creditor*, not the debtor. Sure, if you default on the loan the lender gets the collateral and so you're not in perpetual debt, but in exchange *you've lost your stuff*.
The really poignant pawn collateral I encountered wasn't the entertainment pieces, musical equipment, firearms, or even wedding rings -- it was the *work tools*. Default on your loan and now you lose your job as a carpenter, plumber, mechanic, etc.
Interestingly, work tools are generally exempt from liquidation in bankruptcy proceedings.
I’ve heard the argument that Biblical usury should be understood not in terms of a specific interest rate, but in terms of unsecured personal loans. A loan against property is something different -- if the borrower fails to pay, the lender simply takes the collateral, and the debt is satisfied. By this standard, a pawn shop loan would therefore be acceptable.
When it comes to unsecured personal loans, the person is the collateral. Which introduces a whole set of moral problems. For example, it creates the potential of a debt hole that is inescapable -- the interest accumulates faster than you can pay it.
Our society offers bankruptcy as a potential escape from that sort of debt hole. Though notably that option isn’t available for student loans. Also it’s not available from a loan shark, and you can see what this could look like by watching The Sopranos, for example.
I think the really relevant metrics are: (1) how many people are chasing each member of that segment, and (2) how do I rank among my competitors.
Well, the difference is a lot of that's harder to figure out. A wise and knowledgeable person could probably offer that feedback. Maybe a good dating coach or professional matchmaker. But I don't think software is going to get there anytime soon.
What would easily and instantly make a tool like this more useful to the average woman is if it looked at her criteria, picked out the most absurd one, and said, "Have you considered loosening this one criterion? The average American man is 5'9". If you were willing to consider a man who is at least 5'10" (still above average!) instead of at least 6'3", your dating pool would be 10 times larger," or whatever the number is.
The tool also needs to add education level. I think those are the only three criteria you really need for something like this. Though it might also be helpful if it offered a perspective in terms of ZIP code or MSA.
Education is highly underrated as a talking point when it comes to dating, mainly because it exposes you to many more topics of conversation, but is now tied so much into politics. I’m surprised it’s not talked about more