papasquat's recent activity
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Comment on What are some of your routines or habits? in ~life
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Comment on What common misunderstanding do you want to clear up? in ~talk
papasquat Link Parent"the devs" don't mean programmers. It means game developer, ie; the company that is actually responsible for making the game, versus the publishers that finance and promote it and the distributers..."the devs" don't mean programmers. It means game developer, ie; the company that is actually responsible for making the game, versus the publishers that finance and promote it and the distributers who sell it.
So like, Bungie, Blizzard, DICE, etc. All of them, including artists, accountants, managers and executives. Not Joe from the rendering engine team specifically.
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Comment on What common misunderstanding do you want to clear up? in ~talk
papasquat Link ParentSure, in that specific situation where the person telling you said they died, it's pretty obvious what they're talking about. That's not because the wording is unambiguous though. It's because...Sure, in that specific situation where the person telling you said they died, it's pretty obvious what they're talking about. That's not because the wording is unambiguous though. It's because that particular situation has all the context you need to understand that they weren't being literal.
If someone says "My mom literally weighs 400 lbs" or "my friend is literally a millionaire" or "we literally have no money in our bank account", you'd have no way of knowing if they are being literally literal, or figuratively literal.
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Comment on What common misunderstanding do you want to clear up? in ~talk
papasquat Link ParentThat effect is particularly important in helicopters. They generate more lift by increasing the pitch of their blades, causing more air to be deflected downwards and push against the air below it...That effect is particularly important in helicopters. They generate more lift by increasing the pitch of their blades, causing more air to be deflected downwards and push against the air below it harder, pushing the helicopter in the opposite direction (up, hopefully). It becomes especially relevant when flying close to the ground, as lift gets magnified by ground effect; the air molecules, instead of pushing against other, floaty air molecules, start pushing against the hard ground, increasing the purchase they have and generating more lift in general. Also very relevant for a very dangerous effect known as vortex ring state, where a helicopter is descending into air that's already moving quickly downward and in unstable vortexes by its own rotors; which suddenly and drastically decreases the amount of lift available and can very easily result in catastrophic crashes.
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Comment on What common misunderstanding do you want to clear up? in ~talk
papasquat Link ParentMy problem with it isn't from a prescriptivist standpoint, but from a practical standpoint. Most of the time you can figure out from context if someone literally "literally" died, but when you...My problem with it isn't from a prescriptivist standpoint, but from a practical standpoint. Most of the time you can figure out from context if someone literally "literally" died, but when you can't, what do you even say to clarify?
"That joke was so funny a guy in the crowd literally died." "Wait, like he had a heart attack?" "No, he didn't LITERALLY die. The joke was just very funny"
I wish this was a hypothetical, but shit like this happens to me all the time with the word "literally". There's no other commonly used replacement.
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Comment on How I escaped MAGA. Critical thinking woke me up. in ~society
papasquat Link ParentThe terrible, horrible trap that online atheism has fallen into is prosthetizing. I'm a lifelong atheist. I personally do not care, nor have I ever cared about whether people around me also don't...The terrible, horrible trap that online atheism has fallen into is prosthetizing. I'm a lifelong atheist. I personally do not care, nor have I ever cared about whether people around me also don't believe in a god or not. It's none of my business what their religion or lack of a religion is, and vice versa.
I think online atheist communities stated because people lived in religious communities that tried to impose their religions on them. When a Christian tries to get me to pray, or make it difficult for me or people I love to get medical care, or makes it illegal for my friends to get married, then I, and many other atheists have a problem with that, and a lot of those communities started to talk about those things; the negative effects that religious people trying to get others to conform to their beliefs causes.
However they quickly morphed into trying to change people's beliefs about God. I have no interest in that. I don't need to read arguments about God not existing, I already don't believe in God. I have no desire to debate someone about the existence of God, because someone believing has zero effect on me unless they try to impose those beliefs on me. How hypocritical would I be if I tried imposing my beliefs on them instead?
So yes, I agree with you. Positioning liberalism as a counter point to Christianity is a mistake. It's not just a mistake because of practical terms, it's a mistake because the entire point of liberalism is liberty, which means your personal religious beliefs are tolerated, whatever those beliefs are.
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Comment on OpenAI launches new AI video app spun from copyrighted content in ~tech
papasquat Link ParentFunny how that somehow will work for openAI, but if I pirated 200tb of movies and got sued for it, I don't think the defense of "Well yeah I downloaded those movies and didn't pay for them, but...Funny how that somehow will work for openAI, but if I pirated 200tb of movies and got sued for it, I don't think the defense of "Well yeah I downloaded those movies and didn't pay for them, but Disney, Paramount, Sony, Universal and Warner Bros didn't specifically opt out of me downloading them." would work, and I'm not even making any money from them.
Copyright holders are now somehow expected to individually opt out of every single entity in the entire world that want their work for free?
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Comment on White House in a bind as soybean sales to China plummet to zero in ~society
papasquat LinkI mean... If you adopt an isolationist trade policy, you get isolated from trade. How is this in any way surprising or shocking? How are any of them responding to this like this is a crisis? The...I mean... If you adopt an isolationist trade policy, you get isolated from trade.
How is this in any way surprising or shocking? How are any of them responding to this like this is a crisis? The administration campaigned on and has implemented a trade war. The entire point of a trade war is to reduce trade. When that happens, how can you say "this is highly unfortunate?" This is what you guys wanted to happen.
If I went to work and sold off all of our manufacturing equipment, it would be absolutely insane for me a week later to say "hey we're not producing products anymore. This is highly unfortunate". It's nonsensical because the result is one step removed from the cause. It was the direct, obvious cause of it and easily predicted by literally anyone.
I'm so curious to know what they thought would happen.
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Comment on OpenAI enables shopping directly from ChatGPT in ~tech
papasquat Link ParentThis seems horribly exploitable in ways we haven't even considered yet. It's sort of like how when the internet was new, and ad funded websites started to become the norm, the concept of clickbait...This seems horribly exploitable in ways we haven't even considered yet.
It's sort of like how when the internet was new, and ad funded websites started to become the norm, the concept of clickbait and SEO became a knock on effect that hadn't even be considered. People started optimizing for the type of content search engines liked instead of what people liked. That brought anti patterns like tons of redirects, nonsense articles that try to appeal to every search term imaginable, popup ads, and so on.
The fact that if this takes off, it means that companies need to appeal to LLMs as the gatekeepers of sales makes me shiver to think what we'll end up with.
What types of products are LLMs more likely to recommend? What type of product descriptions or websites are more likely to make them choose that product over another? Are those things even remotely aligned with what people actually want? What are the second and third order effects of optimizing for those things?
These are the types of questions we've done an extremely poor job of answering before implementing new technology, historically.
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Comment on Proton batteries - new still-in-the-lab batteries that use hydrogen ions instead of lithium ions (also a different anode/cathode) in ~tech
papasquat Link ParentEnergy density is the main reason why lithium ion is so dominant in the first place. Costs came down because tons of process improvement resources were thrown at them since they were so useful due...Energy density is the main reason why lithium ion is so dominant in the first place. Costs came down because tons of process improvement resources were thrown at them since they were so useful due to energy density.
You can use a less energy dense chemistry, but it's a tough sell if you make a car that only goes 75% as far as your competitors.
I think there are niches where a far cheaper, safer, less dense alternative can eat up lithium ion; variants like LifePO4 are already the standard for solar storage, and I imagine they'll start eating up the UPS and backup power market too since they're so much safer and more stable than LI.
Cost and energy density are really the biggest competitive measures for batteries though.
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Comment on ‘Simpsons’ movie sequel sets summer 2027 release date in ~movies
papasquat Link ParentHoly shit you're right. I thought the Simpsons movie came out like... Maybe 8 years ago. I thought you were just confused and were thinking of how old the Simpsons in general was, and was...Holy shit you're right. I thought the Simpsons movie came out like... Maybe 8 years ago. I thought you were just confused and were thinking of how old the Simpsons in general was, and was scratching my head because I thought it was quite a bit older.
36 years older, to be exact. Crazy. Time is weird.
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Comment on Will an AI actress really become ‘the next Scarlett Johansson’? in ~movies
papasquat LinkThe idea doesn't even make sense. Scarlett Johansson is Scarlett Johansson because there's one of her. You can make infinite copies of an AI "actress", so there's no scarcity that actually makes...The idea doesn't even make sense. Scarlett Johansson is Scarlett Johansson because there's one of her. You can make infinite copies of an AI "actress", so there's no scarcity that actually makes its inclusion in a movie valuable.
Sure, you can copyright it, but there nothing stopping someone else from making another "actress" that basically looks and sounds just like it.
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Comment on Brannon Braga calls for longer Star Trek seasons in ~tv
papasquat Link ParentEntry points into Star Trek historically were achieved because the show is mostly monster of the week type episodes. The next generation had only a very slight overarching plot to follow, and it...- Exemplary
Entry points into Star Trek historically were achieved because the show is mostly monster of the week type episodes. The next generation had only a very slight overarching plot to follow, and it was mostly having to do with characters that appeared in previous episodes making a guest appearance in the later ones. The enterprise isn't taking 7 years to unravel some deep conspiracy or grand mystery. They're doing their normally assigned rotational mission of exploring strange new worlds and seeking out new life and new civilizations. DS9 sort of expanded the serial format, but most episodes were still monster of the week style episodes. It wasn't until the paramount plus era that Star Trek started trying to be "prestige tv", which nowadays is just synonymous with a serial format; basically just a 12 hour long movie.
This has the effect of requiring people to watch every episode, and although the shows themselves can be more diverse, the episodes generally aren't. They're working on more or less the same thing, with the same characters, the same issues, and the same general plot and tone every episode.
To me, that's not what's interesting about Star Trek. The whole setting is designed explicitly for stand alone episodes. You've got widespread colonization of the galaxy, all sorts of crazy aliens with wildly different belief systems and stories, and you get the impression that the federation is dealing with this stuff all the time. One episode is on a wild west planet, the next takes place in space with a standoff between ships, the next takes place in a Dyson sphere, and so on. You don't need to have the main cast be whacky and out there, or have the ships have some crazy new twist that's totally unlike what we've seen before, that's what the guest stars are for. You can explore all of these whacky ideas and if it's a stupid idea, the worst that happens is you get a single bad episode, instead of a whole series that has to be cancelled because the writers are clueless.
You can jump in and watch any episode and feel like you understand what's going on. You might not fully grasp each character and what their role is and their motivation, but watching the show isn't a huge commitment to gain some sort of satisfaction. You can just watch one good episode and think "wow, that was a great story".
I think shows about certain types of things benefit from a serial format; deep character dramas, mystery shows, war miniseries, and so on. Its very much shoehorned into genres and show types that really didn't need it nowadays though. Star Trek is one of them in my opinion.
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Comment on US President Donald Trump’s National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 labels common beliefs as terrorism “indicators” in ~society
papasquat Link ParentI honestly cannot thing of a single thing the Democratic party has advocated for domestically in the last decade that could be considered even slightly authoritarian. The extremely common one I...I honestly cannot thing of a single thing the Democratic party has advocated for domestically in the last decade that could be considered even slightly authoritarian.
The extremely common one I see trotted out are vaccine mandates and mask mandates. Vaccines were never mandated by law anywhere. They were mandatory as a condition for schooling and employment, neither of which the federal government controls, with the exception of federal employees. As an employer, they're allowed to mandate something they feel is for the best interest of their organizations though. Saying that federal employees are being oppressed because they need the vaccine makes as much sense as saying their freedom of speech is being oppressed because they can't look at porn at work.
The whole idea that literally anything the government does that requires individuals take some action for the good of everyone is somehow authoritarianism is a popular right wing talking point, but it somehow only applies when a democratic president is in charge. Taxation is theft, requiring drivers licenses are oppression, drunk driving laws are tyranny, but only when Joe Biden was president. If Trump does any of those things, or, say, builds a massive masked army that snatches people up off the streets, their homes, their places of worship, and their jobs, that's somehow not authoritarianism.
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Comment on How to stop seeking validation? in ~life
papasquat LinkYou're framing a desire for validation as a negative, abnormal behavior. It isn't. Every single person has a desire for validation. Even people who are perceived as antisocial or independent want...You're framing a desire for validation as a negative, abnormal behavior. It isn't. Every single person has a desire for validation. Even people who are perceived as antisocial or independent want validation, just from different groups of people or a different kind of validation.
This can cross into excess where everything you're doing is a desperate need for approval, but wanting validation for something you worked hard on, or something you're doubtful about is completely normal and not something you need to actively work to "fix". It's just part of being human.
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Comment on British AI startup beats humans in international forecasting in ~tech
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Comment on Tesla influencers tried Elon Musk’s coast-to-coast self-driving, crashed before sixty miles in ~transport
papasquat Link ParentThis is an argument that I keep seeing Tesla fanboys tout, and it makes no sense. Human beings don't only need optical sensors. We also need minds, which AI systems do not have. We understand that...This is an argument that I keep seeing Tesla fanboys tout, and it makes no sense.
Human beings don't only need optical sensors. We also need minds, which AI systems do not have.
We understand that it's okay to run over an inflated shopping bag, but it's not okay to run over a piece of scrap metal, because we've interacted with shopping bags and metal. We know that we shouldn't swerve off the road to avoid hitting a raccoon, but we should swerve off the road to avoid hitting a child even if it's Halloween and that child is wearing a raccoon costume. We know that driving over a puddle of oil is more dangerous than driving over a puddle of water, and we can identify puddles of oil because of the subtle shimmer it gives off. We know that a dump truck carrying gravel is likely to damage our car if we drive behind it, but a cargo truck isn't.
AI systems don't understand any of that. They might be trained on some of it, if the training data exists, or they might be explicitly coded to deal with some of it, but I listed four examples. There are millions, if not more unique scenarios where a human being that's lived a full life of experiences can make good judgements, even if they've never been in that specific scenario before, and an AI system that's solely been trained with reinforcement methods cannot.
So the argument that cars don't need lidar because humans don't makes about as much sense as saying that cars don't need brakes because humans don't have those either. They're completely separate problems with completely separate requirements.
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Comment on The Mandalorian and Grogu | Official trailer in ~movies
papasquat Link ParentFilmmaking is a collaborative art form, but traditionally, the creative decisions were left to the creatives. (This is a bit nostalgic and not entirely true, but it's a matter of degrees). The...Filmmaking is a collaborative art form, but traditionally, the creative decisions were left to the creatives. (This is a bit nostalgic and not entirely true, but it's a matter of degrees). The cinematographer would make decisions on how it was filmed, the composer would make decisions on how it was scored, the editor would make decisions on how it was cut, the key grip would make decisions on how it was lit and so on, with input from and final approval by the director. Ultimately the director was where the buck stopped with creative decision making.
It's just not like that anymore. Studios have wayyyy more oversight than they once did. Directors are subject to the demands of market research and profitability calculations, and frequently now that everything needs to be a franchise, they're not even free to tell the actual story they want to tell.
It just waters everything down.
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Comment on The Buff Scammer, isolation, and the male loneliness epidemic in ~life.men
papasquat (edited )Link ParentYes, I'm not speaking about individuals, I'm speaking about large groups as a necessary generalization, since we're discussion the effect of those attitudes on men as a whole not the cause. Even...Yes, I'm not speaking about individuals, I'm speaking about large groups as a necessary generalization, since we're discussion the effect of those attitudes on men as a whole not the cause.
Even though it would be rare for an individual to specify that they're turned off by men eating ice cream and having a good cry, the fact that we're broadcasting those things so much means that men take it as a generally expected set of behaviors, rather than an individual demand from a single specific person.
It's much like how women feel like they're expected to raise children and be extremely thin and small, and have a good career (but not be too masculine), and support her husband's career. Sure, there are men that expect all those things at once, but it's not exactly common. That's the general messaging though, and the effect is the same; reinforcing strict gender roles.
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Comment on The Mandalorian and Grogu | Official trailer in ~movies
papasquat Link ParentYeah, I think its a side effect of so many milquetoast, committee written and approved pieces of media being released in the past decade. It only gets worse as budgets increase too. Personally,...Yeah, I think its a side effect of so many milquetoast, committee written and approved pieces of media being released in the past decade. It only gets worse as budgets increase too.
Personally, I'd much rather experience a single person's poorly executed, absolute piece of shit vision than a focus tested, executive approved chunk of corporate produced "content" any day of the week.
The former is at least memorable and makes me feel something. The latter leaves my memory as soon as I'm out of the theater.
I couldn't tell you the plot of a single marvel movie released since 2016, and I feel like I've seen a lot of them.
I don't really have a routine except for going to the gym 3x a week. Personally, I find routines really depressing for some reason.
I know that my life would be objectively better if I went to bed at 10 every night, had a reasonable regular breakfast, planned my meals, had everything in the same place, and so on. When I've done that though, I don't know. It makes me feel too regimented and responsible and adult. I'm middle aged, but I still have that teenage rebellious spirit that makes me hate monotony, bed times, doing laundry, and so on, even though the only thing I'm really even rebelling against at this point is my own comfort.