Arshan's recent activity

  1. Comment on The evidence that AI is destroying jobs for young people just got stronger in ~tech

    Arshan
    Link Parent
    I don't disagree with anything you've written. My hope is that the workers themselves, especially tech workers, get more class consciousness, not that executive's learn common sense.

    I don't disagree with anything you've written. My hope is that the workers themselves, especially tech workers, get more class consciousness, not that executive's learn common sense.

    5 votes

  2. Comment on The evidence that AI is destroying jobs for young people just got stronger in ~tech

    Arshan
    Link
    I agree with the text of the argument, but not the conclusion. I imagine many companies are hiring less and/or laying off employees because they either believe LLMs can replace them or that's just...

    I agree with the text of the argument, but not the conclusion. I imagine many companies are hiring less and/or laying off employees because they either believe LLMs can replace them or that's just a good cover. However, that doesn't mean the LLM is actually capable of replacing that role, it simply means some executive BELIEVES that it can be. I'm extremely skeptical that people at the level who make these decisions have the ability or even desire to properly vet if LLMs can replace those roles or not. And even if LLMs can truly do the entry-level job, how do you get experienced workers? Just hope that they have personal projects that are big enough to cover it? The shortsightedness will only increase the class power of experienced workers, though entry-level workers are still fucked and people today are still fucked. And LLMs are still heavily subsidized so they could very well not be cheap enough to be worth it.

    41 votes

  3. Comment on You need to be bored in ~life

    Arshan
    Link
    Whenever I hear the term 'boredom' used in this way of simply not doing something in particular, it kinda confuses me. Boredom is a very specific feeling for me; its the browsing...

    Whenever I hear the term 'boredom' used in this way of simply not doing something in particular, it kinda confuses me. Boredom is a very specific feeling for me; its the browsing YouTube/Netflix/Your Fridge for forever and not picking anything, or trying 10 things for 5 seconds and continually switching. Its used here to mean closer to 'avoidance through stimulation', which won't be solved by just not taking your phone to the gym. I'm also not bored when I'm letting my mind wander; it might be a negative experience, like ruminating on some thing I've ruminated on for maybe actually hundreds of times, but that's not boredom. I'm not against using your phone or the internet less, but I feel like the particulars of that are so person-dependent.

    30 votes

  4. Comment on Question about Marginalia Search in ~tech

    Arshan
    Link Parent
    I don't really understand the hypocritical argument, being Anti-AI Bot doesn't mean your anti-LLM/Generative AI. It just means you don't want your server constantly scraped top to bottom. As to...

    I don't really understand the hypocritical argument, being Anti-AI Bot doesn't mean your anti-LLM/Generative AI. It just means you don't want your server constantly scraped top to bottom.

    As to paying to remove the anime girl image, it seems fine? Its not actually a feature, its purely aesthetics. If you're making meaningful money off of open-source code, you should be paying the project anyway.

    11 votes

  5. Comment on Andor discussion thread in ~tv

    Arshan
    Link
    I have a lot of thoughts about Andor s02. Overall, I'd give it an 8.5/10, but man do I have a lot thoughts about it. The show doesn't quite feel rushed to me, but I kept thinking I'd like a bit...

    I have a lot of thoughts about Andor s02. Overall, I'd give it an 8.5/10, but man do I have a lot thoughts about it.

    The show doesn't quite feel rushed to me, but I kept thinking I'd like a bit more of pretty much everything. A bit more in each arc, a bit more between the characters, just a bit more. The cast are all phenomenal. Mon Mothma and Kleya become such nuanced and interesting characters from being mostly side characters in s01. The lack of any blood/gore feels weird for such a grim show. A lot of the sets have less of a sense of place then s01 to me; all the main arcs in s01 feel meaningfully connected to a place, but I didn't feel the same here.

    A lot of spoiler stuff in no particular order!
    • Andor with the chucklefuck brigade should never have been in the show or should have been 10 minutes long.
      So much time was wasted on truly nothing.
    • The time skips are only kinda jarring, but still break up the flow a bit.
    • Cyril and Andor just missing each a bunch of times felt very contrived and took away from my favorite episode.
    • Having blasters ragdoll people in the Ghorman massacre made it feel way more visceral, especially with zero gore.
      Man, its weird to have a literally bloodless massacre scene.
    • I kinda forgot about the Death Star being a thing until they mention it.
      It just feels so cartoony next to the mundane brutality of the show.
    • Mon Mothma's speech fell flat to me, and maybe that's the point, but I'm not sure.
      The whole objective truth is the most important thing feels very vapid liberal to me.
      But again that's kinda what Mon Mothma is, especially up to that point in the show.
    • This season doesn't have an Andy Serkis character
      I fucking adore the prison arc of S01 and S02 just doesn't have anything that hits quite like it.
    • Ending the show literally right before Rogue One starts is pretty funny, but I have to imagine its to prevent any possible third season or any other Disney shenanigans.
    5 votes

  6. Comment on A newly surfaced document reveals the US beef industry’s secret climate plan in ~enviro

    Arshan
    Link Parent
    Yeah, vegetarianism is one of those things I have a hard time being convinced of pushing the last 10% of. I already rarely have meat twice a day and I've gone vegetarian for years at a time, but...

    Yeah, vegetarianism is one of those things I have a hard time being convinced of pushing the last 10% of. I already rarely have meat twice a day and I've gone vegetarian for years at a time, but it would make my life objectively worse if I never had salmon or steak again. And having meat a few times a year is not meaningfully different from eating no meat a year.

    1 vote

  7. Comment on A newly surfaced document reveals the US beef industry’s secret climate plan in ~enviro

    Arshan
    Link Parent
    I mean you can also just significantly reduce your meat consumption; it doesn't need to be all or nothing. I imagine there's a lot more people who would could easily cut meat consumption by...

    I mean you can also just significantly reduce your meat consumption; it doesn't need to be all or nothing. I imagine there's a lot more people who would could easily cut meat consumption by 50-75%, but not drop it to zero. More people reducing their meat consumption is good, but framing the only meaningful level as 0 is unhelpful in my opinion.

    30 votes

  8. Comment on Going Mouseless, Or Using The Computer Without a Physical Mouse in ~comp

    Arshan
    Link
    Another mouseless convert. I switched when my mouse broke, and I had been having RSI issues in my mouse hand. Honestly, I thought I'd give up after a few weeks, but its been 2 and a half years...

    Another mouseless convert. I switched when my mouse broke, and I had been having RSI issues in my mouse hand. Honestly, I thought I'd give up after a few weeks, but its been 2 and a half years with no complaints. With the right software, it really isn't that obtrusive and those RSI issues vanished.

    We generally seem to have a similar setup, but I've marked the few differences.

    • Instead of Vimium, I use Surfingkeys. I don't have a particular reason, it just seemed good when I started.
    • I use a Steam Controller as the fallback. With SC Controller, it works surprisingly well. Its probably my best $5 purchase.
    1 vote

  9. Comment on Are you tech-savvy enough? in ~tech

    Arshan
    Link Parent
    It didn't cross my mind that they could have meant it like that, but that's a fair reading. I have always kept my installs pretty up to date, so that could play into it.

    It didn't cross my mind that they could have meant it like that, but that's a fair reading. I have always kept my installs pretty up to date, so that could play into it.

  10. Comment on Are you tech-savvy enough? in ~tech

    Arshan
    Link Parent
    No? I don't care what OS a random person uses, but I do care about bad-faith representations of a thing I like and this post felt bad-faith to me. It claims that Linux breaks frequently after...

    No? I don't care what OS a random person uses, but I do care about bad-faith representations of a thing I like and this post felt bad-faith to me. It claims that Linux breaks frequently after updates, which is a factual argument I disagree with. Personally, the conflation with Desktop Linux and Android is what convinced me that they weren't writing in good faith, because they have close to nothing in common for the end-user.

    15 votes

  11. Comment on Are you tech-savvy enough? in ~tech

    Arshan
    Link
    Is this marketing for Apple, or Linux-nerd rage-bait? Because it feels like it could be either. Feels like a literal marketing line. Its also comparing Android with desktop Linux, which while...

    Is this marketing for Apple, or Linux-nerd rage-bait? Because it feels like it could be either.

    It’s great that Linux and Android exist, but I would never run them on my main devices that I use for actual work.

    Feels like a literal marketing line. Its also comparing Android with desktop Linux, which while sharing a kernel, functionally have nothing else in common. Its fine to try Linux and realize you don't like it, but no every update is not Russian Roulette, like what do you mean? I've had an update "break" my Linux install once over 10 years (it was Arch adding systemd-homed).

    23 votes

  12. Comment on Best "complete" anime you'd recommend? in ~anime

    Arshan
    Link
    Two of my favorite less popular anime fit into this category. Astra Lost in Space Sound of the Sky

    Two of my favorite less popular anime fit into this category.

    4 votes

  13. Comment on Why aren't we talking about the real reason male college enrollment is dropping? in ~life.men

    Arshan
    Link Parent
    Ah, I misinterpreted that then! I don't really have a general answer, because I think it heavily depends on all the particulars of the situation, but I'll try. I think the most likely person to...

    I'm actually really comfortable with my strategies and boundaries regarding learning from and potentially changing minds of people in general, thank you!

    Ah, I misinterpreted that then!

    How would you discuss toxic masculinity without 1) being so long winded as to tune people out, 2) being confusing, 3) upsetting people who would be upset by the phrase "toxic masculinity" or 4) just using the phrase?

    I don't really have a general answer, because I think it heavily depends on all the particulars of the situation, but I'll try. I think the most likely person to fit the venn diagram of significantly bothered by the term 'Toxic Masculinity' and similar progressive jargon but are open to an actual conversation about the root issues would be centrists who consume some right-wing media. If they are more of the academic type, I would talk about the etymology of the term, i.e. it comes from the mythopoetic men's movement from the 1980s that was explicitly centered on the harm this socialization caused men themselves not other people. If they are just parroting talking points, I would try and bring up something that is rooted in Toxic Masculinity but isn't in the popular right-wing zeitgeist; personally I'd talk about conscription in the Ukraine. I guess my point is that you try and have a conversation about the effects of Toxic Masculinity, not simply the term itself.

    7 votes

  14. Comment on Why aren't we talking about the real reason male college enrollment is dropping? in ~life.men

    Arshan
    Link Parent
    Well, I have a lot of opinions about changing people's minds, but most are about how incredibly difficult and slow it is. First, you're not going to change the mind of someone who isn't at least a...

    Well, I have a lot of opinions about changing people's minds, but most are about how incredibly difficult and slow it is. First, you're not going to change the mind of someone who isn't at least a little open to it. What would it take for you to change your opinion on a deeply held belief? I assume it would be a lot or impossible, almost certainly not a single or even a hundred conversations. The same is true for them; they believe as truly and sincerely as you, regardless of the content of that belief.

    For more positive suggestions, you need to find a point on which you both agree and work your way from there. Listening to them first, and I mean actually listening, will get you good will from most people, and if it doesn't, it can quickly show that trying is a waste of your time. People hate to be preached at, so make sure you ask them questions without being accusatory or trying to setup intellectual traps. Just being kind to them will do more for whatever your trying to convince them of then any intellectual argument; people internalize random kindness far more then random arguments.

    5 votes

  15. Comment on Why aren't we talking about the real reason male college enrollment is dropping? in ~life.men

    Arshan
    Link Parent
    But doesn't the fact that it produces incalculable anger mean its not a useful term? If you know it is a landmine, why not avoid the term and talk about the concepts more directly? If the...

    But doesn't the fact that it produces incalculable anger mean its not a useful term? If you know it is a landmine, why not avoid the term and talk about the concepts more directly? If the difference between someone hearing you out or not is whether or not you use a loaded term, why use it? I am not trying ro be antagonistic, but I just don't understand the thought process.

    14 votes

  16. Comment on Why aren't we talking about the real reason male college enrollment is dropping? in ~life.men

    Arshan
    Link
    I have a hard time with the male flight example because it seems to ignore the transition from 50/50 gender balance. Sure, I can understand someone being intimidated by a classroom that is 90% the...

    I have a hard time with the male flight example because it seems to ignore the transition from 50/50 gender balance. Sure, I can understand someone being intimidated by a classroom that is 90% the opposite gender; I'd personally be surprised if that was the primary source of this effect, but I can understand it to a degree. But a 50/50 to 60/40 split is something that I don't think I could notice, like what kind of person is so quick to parse the gender balance of a room with like 30 or more people? And then they change long-term plans because there was 6 more people of the opposite gender then their own? I guess its possible, but that Millions of men are doing this as their primary reason? That's a big statement that I don't see backed up with enough evidence. Personally, I don't think there is a single CAUSE for the gender imbalance, but most likely a loose collection of social and economic factors.

    23 votes

  17. Comment on Valve is possibly making a Steam Controller 2 and a ‘Roy’ for its Deckard in ~games

    Arshan
    Link
    My Steam Controller is having joystick problems and I use it instead of a mouse, so I've been kinda worried. I really hope this is real and that its comparable to the preexisting one.

    My Steam Controller is having joystick problems and I use it instead of a mouse, so I've been kinda worried. I really hope this is real and that its comparable to the preexisting one.

    5 votes

  18. Comment on Paper: Feminism in Programming Language Design in ~comp

    Arshan
    Link Parent
    I feel like we are talking across each other a bit. I am not saying I can't identify with any particular feminism or feminist, but that I don't feel included in an abstract and unspecific...

    I feel like we are talking across each other a bit. I am not saying I can't identify with any particular feminism or feminist, but that I don't feel included in an abstract and unspecific Feminism™ or in many feminist dialogues. I agree that 4th-wave feminism is MORE inclusive then earlier iterations, but not that its inclusive enough for me to feel actually safe and welcome.
    It still minimizes the harm and extent of both female perpetrators and male victims, which is a lot of my personal experience. I think my main point is that 4th-wave feminism uses a lot of anarchist language, while not adopting the underlying principles, or at least that is my concern. I will try to critical engage with this opinion and not take it as fact.

    5 votes

  19. Comment on Paper: Feminism in Programming Language Design in ~comp

    Arshan
    Link Parent
    Okay, I will. I'd appreciate you doing the same. I dislike the biggest-tent feminism that the paper pretty explicitly argues for, because I don't believe I am actual welcome as a fully equal...

    Okay, I will. I'd appreciate you doing the same. I dislike the biggest-tent feminism that the paper pretty explicitly argues for, because I don't believe I am actual welcome as a fully equal member. Maybe that's because I have unexamined biases around feminism, but it might also be that I am not welcome. I'll try to spend sometime considering it.

    4 votes

  20. Comment on Paper: Feminism in Programming Language Design in ~comp

    Arshan
    Link Parent
    Yes, but only if the ideas actually retain the core values and aren't white-washed to oblivion. Anarchism has few core concepts, but they are all necessary, they are interwoven into the whole. One...

    Yes, but only if the ideas actually retain the core values and aren't white-washed to oblivion. Anarchism has few core concepts, but they are all necessary, they are interwoven into the whole. One is anti-capitalism; of course some feminists and some feminisms are anti-capitalist, but I don't believe feminism is as a whole can be described that way. The other core tenet is an absolute rejection of hierarchies, not a thinking there in bad taste, but fundamentally wrong. Again not a necessary tenet of feminism.

    I used the a word appropriating because that's the feeling I get from this paper and similar works. Now, I will note that is feeling that I've had for a while, so I do believe that colored my interpretation of the paper. And I admit its mostly a feeling, but I also can't think of a better word or way to describe it. I really tried here, but nothing else worked. It simply feels like appropriation to me.

    5 votes