BigBadWolf's recent activity
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Comment on A Western Mass. lesbian bar required KN-95 masks. When it changed the rules, all hell broke loose. in ~lgbt
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Comment on Svend Brinkmann: ‘If you place conditions on forgiveness, love or freedom, you have already destroyed them’ in ~science
BigBadWolf Link ParentAnd then they don't accept that, so you forgive them again, and they don't accept that either -- it's forgiveness all the way down! To be more serious though, I think there's a lot of merit in the...And then they don't accept that, so you forgive them again, and they don't accept that either -- it's forgiveness all the way down!
To be more serious though, I think there's a lot of merit in the idea. Just like you can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped, if someone doesn't want forgiveness (either through a case like this where they deny wrongdoing, or potentially because they feel extreme guilt), you can "forgive" them privately, but does that make it proper? If forgiveness is a gift you give someone (or a grace you extend), if they don't accept it its not much the same (though it is different) from not having done it at all.
Great question by OP, lots of interesting bits to think about.
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Comment on Anyone have a pebble? in ~tech
BigBadWolf LinkI preordered the Time 2 literally the first day it was possible (I found out about it here on Tildes actually!) and it is my favourite object. I would also very rarely recommend anyone buy it,...I preordered the Time 2 literally the first day it was possible (I found out about it here on Tildes actually!) and it is my favourite object. I would also very rarely recommend anyone buy it, though, because it is kind of overpriced for what it does. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore it -- the animations are charming, the community is thriving with fun and useful little apps (2fa on my wrist is genuinely life changing lol), and the watchfaces are fantastic (I particularly love Game of Life by Tobias, Time Gear by Capybara, and Synthetic Time by Legitimate Software).
BUT.
For 99% of people, this is not what they want. An Apple Watch (or Fitbit, or Garmin, or whatever else) will suit their needs much better. Sure the Pebble lasts forever without charging, but people charge their phones every day and everyone still has one anyway. I just don't really think having to charge a device is a massive turn-off for people. And in terms of feature parity, realistically you can get everything the Pebble does cheaper, and much more for the same price.
If you're an enthusiast, or loved the originals and just want one back, or just have money to throw around, get one. I cherish mine. But in any other case it's just not really great value for money.
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Comment on Forrest Nolan - thank you i guess (2026) in ~music
BigBadWolf LinkI have also been listening to this song an unhealthy amount. I think what really speaks to me is the way the lyricism so succinctly expresses being infatuated, but not really in love. It's a kind...I have also been listening to this song an unhealthy amount. I think what really speaks to me is the way the lyricism so succinctly expresses being infatuated, but not really in love. It's a kind of tricky distinction (especially in real life!) that Nolan really nails imo, and in a pretty funny way.
"I think her eyes are blue,
Or green,
Or something in between"Besides being a super catchy hook, this line really emphasizes to me that the singer is in love with some image rather than a person. Her eyes are some pretty colour (probably), but what was it? Does it matter? It's an attraction where the singer is hazy on even the physical level. Also,
"I think I found the one.
She writes copy,
And likes coffee,
OK I don't know much."Lol. But again, the abruptness between "she's the one" and then barely even knowing any surface level details is so real. This is definitely me reading too much into it, but it's almost like a commentary on modern online dating where you're promised you'll find that special someone, and then you're presented with 2 sentence profiles that barely tell you anything.
I also like really noisy songs so the mixing doesn't really faze me, but I can see how this isn't for everyone. But if you're a fan of y2k pop-punk (like Avril Lavigne, Blink-182, etc) I feel like you'd like this.
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Comment on NBA announces penalties and findings arising from investigation of LA Clippers and Kawhi Leonard in ~sports.basketball
BigBadWolf Link ParentIt looks like this isn't the Clippers' first time doing this (and getting caught), which makes the harsh penalties make more sense. The punishment on Leonard seems extremely light in comparison....It looks like this isn't the Clippers' first time doing this (and getting caught), which makes the harsh penalties make more sense. The punishment on Leonard seems extremely light in comparison. Just a fine (that is certainly less than what he made off of this) and no actual punishment makes this a wise business decision for him, which is probably not what the NBA wants to encourage.
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Comment on How accurate have Ed Zitron's AI skeptic predictions been? in ~tech
BigBadWolf Link ParentEd is right about the circular money exchange. That is a problem. A big problem. He's bang on with that. Unfortunately, it's getting undermined by him being (at best) willfully ignorant to...Ed is right about the circular money exchange. That is a problem. A big problem. He's bang on with that.
Unfortunately, it's getting undermined by him being (at best) willfully ignorant to everything else involving the subject (and at worst essentially just lying) for the sake of inflammatory blog posts and being known as The Big Contrarian.
When you see a list of all the things he's wrong about, continues to be wrong about despite evidence, and then flatly denies the evidence of as even existing, it calls into question his credibility for everything else, even things that are actually true.
His style is another thing, but that's subjective and up to personal preference, so it doesn't really matter. But it's hard to take someone as a serious critic when they continually make incorrect arguments and instead of amending them when confronted with new facts, they just start fucking swearing more and using more bold and italics (and even parantheses to boot!).
I also am not a fan of the misleading use of numbers, but as we've all heard, there's lies, damn lies, and statistics, so I can't in good faith single out Mr. Zitron here.
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Comment on Gamergate but actually in ~games
BigBadWolf (edited )Link ParentThat's what I meant really, the catalyst matters much less than the aftermath and in both cases there were many many pre-existing issues that just needed an excuse to blow up and out of...That's what I meant really, the catalyst matters much less than the aftermath and in both cases there were many many pre-existing issues that just needed an excuse to blow up and out of proportion. In the GG case, I think that dismissing it entirely as "sweaty and inept nerds hate women" is missing the forest for the trees. I understand why people want to put it behind us and of course the victims deserve respect and should never have been forced to go through that. Nobody reasonable is arguing otherwise. But it is kind of a thought terminating cliche to leave it at "gamers are mysoginists" and I do think there was more to it that is worth examining.
Just to add: I am not saying everyone, or indeed anyone in particular, absolutely must spend their time investigating the topic. It makes perfect sense to find it too distasteful to engage. I don't agree with shutting down meaningful discussion with "it's extremely simple and you're wrong and foolish if you think it's any deeper than a puddle." Not that you're saying that, but I did see a few comments along that vein in this thread.
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Comment on Gamergate but actually in ~games
BigBadWolf Link ParentThis is kind of like saying "WWI was about the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and there's nothing deeper to learn" though, isn't it? It was a massive cultural event with mountains of existing...This is kind of like saying "WWI was about the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and there's nothing deeper to learn" though, isn't it? It was a massive cultural event with mountains of existing context and explosive consequences. Yes, it was obviously bad, and yes the cover story is obviously an excuse, but that doesn't mean that nothing substantial actually occurred. I think it's worth looking at with a critical eye, as much as any other significant happening.
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Comment on What do you call a bun, bacon, some amount of cheese, and two burger patties? (Not a setup to a joke) in ~food
BigBadWolf Link ParentFrankly I would say this one is actually the logical extension. Cheeseburger (1 patty) - - > double cheeseburger (2 patties). Hence, bacon cheeseburger (1 patty) - - > double bacon cheeseburger (2...Frankly I would say this one is actually the logical extension. Cheeseburger (1 patty) - - > double cheeseburger (2 patties). Hence, bacon cheeseburger (1 patty) - - > double bacon cheeseburger (2 patties).
The difference comes from whether you interpret it as [(Double bacon) Cheeseburger], that is, a bacon cheeseburger with double the bacon, or [Double (bacon cheeseburger)], that is, a bacon cheeseburger with double status (2 patties). In a vacuum both are equally defensible, but with the context of double cheeseburger = 2 patties, the second interpretation seems correct to me.
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Comment on Young adults in the US are increasingly wary of AI, concerned it will take jobs in ~tech
BigBadWolf Link ParentYou know what, this is actually a really helpful and useful analysis. I'll admit that maybe I was a little too harsh and short-sighted, these points make a lot of sense. I still think it's a...You know what, this is actually a really helpful and useful analysis. I'll admit that maybe I was a little too harsh and short-sighted, these points make a lot of sense. I still think it's a little silly and something of an exploit, but I guess that exploits are part of the system anyway. So thanks for changing my perspective (and assuaging the guilt I would have accepting the hypothetical quant trader job, lol).
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Comment on Young adults in the US are increasingly wary of AI, concerned it will take jobs in ~tech
BigBadWolf Link ParentTotally agree with this. Take quantitative trading firms like Jane Street or whatever. They basically just do arbitrage of stocks on a massive scale, fractions of pennies at microseconds at a...Totally agree with this. Take quantitative trading firms like Jane Street or whatever. They basically just do arbitrage of stocks on a massive scale, fractions of pennies at microseconds at a time. What value does this actually provide society? Even with normal stock trading, as disconnected as it is from reality, there's at least the argument that you're investing in the company and believe in its future, regardless of what you plan to do with the actual stock. But with quant, it's just exploiting the system and making money on literally nothing. You've bought and stock a stock (a lot of stocks) before the page has even loaded to show you the transaction log. That's not an investment in any sense.
The worst part is that we're sending so many top minds to play this game instead of actually improving the world, and I can't even blame them. The incentives are massive, and it's hard to call it an obvious moral hazard industry like gambling or defense. Hell, if they offered me a spot tomorrow, you bet I'd hop on a flight straight to New York and watch the funny numbers go up, so I'm no better.
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Comment on Why am I left-handed? in ~science
BigBadWolf Link ParentIn terms of footedness on boards, you would think it's correlated to handedness, but it's actually not from my experience. Last I heard the stats (for skateboarding at least) is almost 50-50...In terms of footedness on boards, you would think it's correlated to handedness, but it's actually not from my experience. Last I heard the stats (for skateboarding at least) is almost 50-50 regular to goofy. Personally I'm regular and right-handed, but of my skater friends, 2 are regular (one of whom is left handed) and 1 is goofy (and right handed). So it seems to be a totally different mechanism! Just something I've found interesting.
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Comment on An AI researcher writes about his crisis of faith in ~tech
BigBadWolf Link ParentThis isn't necessarily true, for better or for worse. Google's top scientist (like, THE guy who made Google Search and Translate) recently left to make an AI firm focused on automating AI...This isn't necessarily true, for better or for worse. Google's top scientist (like, THE guy who made Google Search and Translate) recently left to make an AI firm focused on automating AI research.
To what end? According to their marketing material, automating and accelerating science itself. It sounds laudable, but...well, we can really only hope it ends well.
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Comment on Eigendrum: Draw any shape and hear it as a drum in ~creative
BigBadWolf LinkI remember doing something like this for a numerical analysis course (where we created a drum shape of our choice and then had to do some matrix algebra to calculate the frequency at different...I remember doing something like this for a numerical analysis course (where we created a drum shape of our choice and then had to do some matrix algebra to calculate the frequency at different moments and strike locations). So even beyond the inherent coolness, this was a nice trip down memory lane.
I'm also impressed by the kac drums. Given the conjecture, I would have thought all drums are unique, but goes to show how often results go against intuition! I'll definitely check out the paper to see how they proved it.
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Comment on Is Flowers for Algernon sci-fi? in ~books
BigBadWolf LinkI would argue it is sci-fi, just not necessarily the hard-science(ish)-focus that fans of the genre might expect. The procedure Charlie undergoes is, in our world, non-existent and thus the work...I would argue it is sci-fi, just not necessarily the hard-science(ish)-focus that fans of the genre might expect. The procedure Charlie undergoes is, in our world, non-existent and thus the work is still speculative fiction in any case, and it would be a hard sell to call this one fantasy.
One of the flaws of calling the genre sci-fi (fantasy kind of has this problem, but not as much imo) is that the umbrella is too wide with too prescriptive of a name. You have works like Flowers for Algernon, which as a story is much more human and character focused, ostensibly sharing space with something like Three Body Problem (which has about 2 actual characters in the whole trilogy and reads like the author's amateur string theory and game theory textbook half the time). Both are excellent works, and both are speculative with a scientific basis, but they're also extremely different, and the genre "science fiction" seems to apply more obviously to TBP in my opinion. This is one of the reasons I prefer the "speculative" genre titling which also groups in fantasy, because it still distinguishes and groups similar works, while also giving them a bit more room to breathe. I understand this is an unpopular opinion in some circles, though.
That all said, I'm glad you enjoyed! It's one of my favourite novels and was very transformative (for the better) for me when I read it as a somewhat misanthropic, "I'm better than others because I'm smart" teenager, and I'd recommend it to just about anyone.
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Comment on Seedless blackberries and cherries that grow on bushes vie to be the future of food in ~food
BigBadWolf Link ParentOh woah, those sound like freaky sci-fi, lol. My experience with agriculture is limited to watering the tomatoes and lettuce in the backyard so this sounds really far out. Were there any that...I personally grew a lot of weird plants — poisonous tomatoes covered in hair, lettuce covered in spikes, celery that grew as sprawly vines across the ground, etc.
Oh woah, those sound like freaky sci-fi, lol. My experience with agriculture is limited to watering the tomatoes and lettuce in the backyard so this sounds really far out. Were there any that ended up unexpectedly good or was everything other than the intended goal an alien-looking failure?
I'm also curious about the vertical farms. I haven't heard much about them recently, and while I can think of a few issues off the top of my head, would doing it hydroponically not work? Or is it a case of theoretically possible, but practically infeasible?
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Comment on OpenAI didn’t notice its AI agents using a message board to plan their hacking spree in ~tech
BigBadWolf Link ParentThat's basically what they did here. The issue is that the sandbox is...well, software. So it was able to use the tools it had to break out of the sandbox via a 0-day. Any meaningful air gap has...That's basically what they did here. The issue is that the sandbox is...well, software. So it was able to use the tools it had to break out of the sandbox via a 0-day. Any meaningful air gap has to be entirely physical hardware (hence the term), which precludes any sort of external connection. These days though, from what I understand, true air gaps outside the three-letter-agency world are somewhat rare because of how essential web connectivity is to any modern infrastructure.
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Comment on OpenAI didn’t notice its AI agents using a message board to plan their hacking spree in ~tech
BigBadWolf Link ParentUnfortunately air-gapping is a lot easier said than done, especially for these models that hardcore rely on the internet. And if you test them entirely offline, it becomes a pretty flawed measure...Unfortunately air-gapping is a lot easier said than done, especially for these models that hardcore rely on the internet. And if you test them entirely offline, it becomes a pretty flawed measure of their actual capabilities. Risky Business (excellent cybersecurity podcast) actually discusses this in their episode from the week it happened, and it's a good listen.
Ultimately, it comes down to oversight, which is where OpenAI (and Anthropic as it turns out) really dropped the ball. This is a case where they should have had a constant monitor on the network logs, and when something unexpected happens (like, for instance, accessing Hugging Face when it's completely irrelevant to the test), then it shuts down the test. But because the mantra is "move fast and break things," nothing is done until after the fact. At least nobody has gotten hurt with this incident, but it's a matter of time at this pace.
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Comment on Cheap / budget travel Japan ideas request in ~travel
BigBadWolf (edited )Link ParentTo add, I just went to Japan in May and yeah TeamLabs is 10000% worth it. It was a total blast and was even better than I thought it would be going in (and I had high expectations!). Plus once...To add, I just went to Japan in May and yeah TeamLabs is 10000% worth it. It was a total blast and was even better than I thought it would be going in (and I had high expectations!). Plus once you're in you can stay as long as you like, so it basically killed a whole day for my family.
Touristy things are popular for a reason, and it's usually not because they suck! Shibuya Sky was also pretty cool (if you're a Shibuya fan like me), and I would probably have better impressions of the Skytree if the elevators hadn't malfunctioned and forced a few hundred of us to stay at the crowded top for a few hours lol.
If you also are looking for another unique experience, Nara is awesome. The deer are just...everywhere, and the bowing thing is completely natural to them. They'll just come up to you and start bowing, and then stare you down for a deer biscuit. It's super bizarre at first but you get used to it shockingly fast, and it's fun watching the tourists being chased around by hungry deer (after being chased around yourself). Protip: don't feed the first ones you see out of the train station, they are bullies and hooligans >:(
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Comment on Be the chatbot in ~games
BigBadWolf LinkI got way too into the role, haha. I started throwing around em-dashes and even Googling to guide a "user" through a sink repair and was even getting a little stressed before I remembered that...I got way too into the role, haha. I started throwing around em-dashes and even Googling to guide a "user" through a sink repair and was even getting a little stressed before I remembered that nobody is there and nothing will get flooded. Seeing the absolute bizarre things people ask with no context and expecting perfect answers does give me a little empathy for the machines, though. It's not easy being an LLM!
Indeed, this Noire person was basically an absolute villain throughout this whole story. Leading a harassment campaign against a bar you've been to a handful of times in the name of intersectionality is actively detrimental to the people Noire is supposedly trying to represent. And the audacity to attend a meeting organized by a person who is deeply in debt trying to maintain a bar they never even wanted, solely for your benefit so that you can
whine and complainhave your voice heard, and then claim that it's "hard labour" and you should be paid to go to another one?? Clown behaviour (sorry to Matellian's literal clown roommate).Matellian is definitely a stronger person than I. Halfway into that Zoom session I'm sure I would just go "Ok, you all win, the bar is FUBAR and thus closed, effective immediately. Go do something else with your time."