planet_robot

Hello! Thanks for doing this.

Q: What is the most up-to-date explanation (that we have so far) for how CBD oil so grossly diminished the seizures in that little girl, Charlotte, who had Dravet Syndrome and was all over the news some years ago? What does that tell us about the development of the nervous system more generally?

If my memory serves me, her case (with the "Charlotte's Web" strain) felt like one of the main catalysts for the legalization/decriminalization movement gaining so much steam so quickly, because it gave the term "medicinal" such a strong meaning.

It seems to me that systemic corruption is BY FAR the largest obstacle to ANY sort of substantial, grassroots, progressive movement.

An easy example would be an attempt to hold police accountable for their abuses. It's not too difficult to observe that any government prosecutor who "goes after cops" (as it would be spun) is basically committing career suicide. Inevitably, this leads to district attorney's offices largely ignoring or even supporting/defending the abuses perpetrated by police (often indirectly - e.g., by not mounting a substantial case against them.) In other words, the corruption of the system itself places government prosecutors and police on the same "team" (i.e., tribe.) This can allow for decades of systemic fraud with no real oversight of any kind.

Comprehensively addressing such widespread, systemic corruption - for which the above is simply used as a simple illustration - can, and often does, seem like an insurmountable mountain to climb. As someone who sees how the machine works, from the inside, how can a populace actually begin to climb this mountain? Have you seen any countries that have actually reached the top, genuinely?

It seems to me that systemic corruption is BY FAR the largest obstacle to any sort of substantial, grassroots progressive movement.

You state that you are interested in holding "police accountable for abuses". However, it's not too difficult to observe that any government prosecutor who "goes after cops" (as it would be spun) is basically committing career suicide. Inevitably, this leads to district attorney's offices largely ignoring or even supporting/defending the abuses perpetrated by police (often indirectly - e.g., by not mounting a substantial case against them.)

Even if you managed to pull off a win for yourself, based in part on your "being tough with police" rhetoric/actions, it wouldn't change the fact that the system itself habitually places government prosecutors and police on the same "team" (i.e., tribe.)

Without addressing this issue comprehensively, I think any sort of structural reforms are bound to fail. How would you address it?

How long do you expect it to be (ballpark) until you can get a VR setup which, practically flawlessly, allows you to do the comprehensive, full range of ASL signs?