Fiachra's recent activity
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Comment on Study shock! AI hinders productivity and makes working worse. in ~tech
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Comment on Study shock! AI hinders productivity and makes working worse. in ~tech
Fiachra LinkMany new technologies have gone through this same hype cycle where they peak in acclaim before crashing down in disappointment, and then regaining a more modest peak when they've found their...Many new technologies have gone through this same hype cycle where they peak in acclaim before crashing down in disappointment, and then regaining a more modest peak when they've found their realistic place in the economy.
LLMs are engineered to statistically emulate the appearance of someone who knows what they're talking about. In a way, you can classify them as "bluffing machines". I think this has contributed to LLMs having an exagerrated hype peak, which means they're being optimistically jammed into roles where they don't belong and getting in the way of productivity instead of helping. The crash of disillusionment this causes could be as drastic as the rising hype was.
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Comment on Engineers develop a recipe for zero-emissions fuel: soda cans (aluminium), seawater and caffeine in ~science
Fiachra LinkMy first thought was how efficient is this fuel? Hydrogen fuel is already better than petrol in terms of energy per kg, so that's promising BUT how much salt water does 1 gram need? Are you...My first thought was how efficient is this fuel?
They estimate that just 1 gram of pellets would generate 1.3 liters of hydrogen in the same amount of time
Hydrogen fuel is already better than petrol in terms of energy per kg, so that's promising BUT how much salt water does 1 gram need? Are you getting a pellets + water mix every time you refuel, or is it more like changing the oil in your car? Might not matter much for marine craft but could be a limiting factor for use inland, which probably motivated the idea to pull moisture from the air:
"Perhaps, instead of having to carry water as well, we could extract water from the ambient humidity to produce hydrogen. That's down the line."
But if this pans out as described it could be great for shipping. Replacing a tank of liquid fuel with a much smaller stockpile of small metal pellets leaves more room for valuable cargo. Spilling aluminium pebbles into the sea isn't as costly to the PR and insurance premiums as an oil spill. This has potential.
The downside of course is, where are they going to get enough gallium and indium to make this work?
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Comment on IOC enters a new era with the creation of Olympic Esports Games – first Games in 2025 in Saudi Arabia in ~games
Fiachra Link ParentNo guns, no chance, and I assume licencing is a blocker as well. What popular eSport is there besides chess that isn't owned by a games company? The only way I see this working is if the IOC...No guns, no chance, and I assume licencing is a blocker as well. What popular eSport is there besides chess that isn't owned by a games company?
The only way I see this working is if the IOC creates generic versions of popular eSport genres, that are designed so that the skills are transferrable. A fighting game with similar (but legally distinct) mechanical richness to Tekken but minimalist visuals. Off-brand StarCraft where the units are throwing tomatoes. Mario Kart but without the randomised item drops. Nerf gun Valorant.
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Comment on Ireland’s datacentres overtake electricity use of all urban homes combined in ~enviro
Fiachra LinkThe shortage of urban homes isn't helping either.The shortage of urban homes isn't helping either.
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Comment on How do you avoid the "getting started" loop? in ~talk
Fiachra LinkA few tricks that can help: the five minute rule: just start doing the thing for five minutes. If you still don't want to do it you can stop, but usually that's enough to get over the hump....A few tricks that can help:
- the five minute rule: just start doing the thing for five minutes. If you still don't want to do it you can stop, but usually that's enough to get over the hump.
- minimum viable product: create the smallest most basic version of the thing that could be called "done", then increase it in complexity over time. Makes the thing less daunting and ensures that you'll always have something to show for it
I'll probably think of more...
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Comment on IOC enters a new era with the creation of Olympic Esports Games – first Games in 2025 in Saudi Arabia in ~games
Fiachra LinkI'll be curious to see what games are in the running, after the baffling list that was floated the last time this came up.I'll be curious to see what games are in the running, after the baffling list that was floated the last time this came up.
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Comment on Non-parents give crappy parenting advice in ~life
Fiachra Link ParentI was badly in need of a book recommendation like that, thank you.I was badly in need of a book recommendation like that, thank you.
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Comment on Non-parents give crappy parenting advice in ~life
Fiachra LinkI'm due to become a parent in November, it's daunting but I haven't yet been offered any unsolicited parenting advice or seen any online. The impression I get from observation is that parenting...I'm due to become a parent in November, it's daunting but I haven't yet been offered any unsolicited parenting advice or seen any online. The impression I get from observation is that parenting style is far less intentional than people let on. It seems like parental life is so chaotic and tiring that your decisions in the moment are defined more by your temperament than by any coherent plan or philosophy you might hold, and people then work backward to rationalise their actions after the fact. If this is even partially correct, any parenting advice, from parents or non-parents, is likely to sound unhelpful or nonsensical.
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Comment on IVF alone can’t save us from a looming fertility crisis in ~health
Fiachra (edited )LinkI find it very strange that for most of 2000 - 2017 or so the Internet was constantly hand-wringing about a looming overpopulation crisis ("30 billion world population by 2050! We're all going to...I find it very strange that for most of 2000 - 2017 or so the Internet was constantly hand-wringing about a looming overpopulation crisis ("30 billion world population by 2050! We're all going to starve!"), only to abruptly swap polarity and start stressing about an underpopulation crisis.
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Comment on Microsoft laid off a DEI team, and its lead wrote an internal email blasting how DEI is 'no longer business critical' in ~tech
Fiachra Link ParentBecause people generally assume that the future will trend toward being better than the past. The ones that believe we have a future, at least. There's many points to make for and against the...Many liberals talk about how "history is on our side", but why?
Because people generally assume that the future will trend toward being better than the past. The ones that believe we have a future, at least.
There's many points to make for and against the assumption, but that's why.
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Comment on A wife’s revenge from beyond the grave in ~life
Fiachra LinkThis sounds like the easiest defamation suit in history. Really boils my piss the way gossip-flingers will big themselves up with this journalistic lingo "the reporting of the story" as if they do...This sounds like the easiest defamation suit in history.
Last September, Allan filed a defamation lawsuit against the TikToker for $150 million to compensate for his loss of earnings and his “destroyed reputation.” On July 5, 2024, they settled the case under undisclosed terms.
On the day of the settlement, Harvey issued a nine-minute apology video. Sitting in a plaid shirt, in a dark room lit by purple LED lights, he admits that he “made some mistakes in the reporting of the story” of Catherine and Allan’s divorce.
Really boils my piss the way gossip-flingers will big themselves up with this journalistic lingo "the reporting of the story" as if they do anything resembling journalism. No fact-checking, no verification, no competing perspectives, spinning new accusations (at the guy's kids!) in real time. And when criticism (or worse) comes knocking the 'citizen journalist' is gone, suddenly it's just 'just a normal person sharing their opinions'.
It's this entire species of personality on social media who self-appoint as experts and don't seem to realise that they are making entertainment, not education or politics or journalism.
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Comment on Does anyone have any advice for new dads? in ~life.men
Fiachra LinkI'm in the exact same boat so all I can offer is solidarity. Also, thanks for this thread, it's a gold mine.I'm in the exact same boat so all I can offer is solidarity. Also, thanks for this thread, it's a gold mine.
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Comment on Dozens were sickened with salmonella after drinking raw milk from a California farm in ~health
Fiachra LinkMay legal consequences fall on every one who let those children down, and swift ruinous litigation on the companies selling this biohazard to people. I would think "selling unsanitary milk" is...Nearly 40% of illnesses were reported in children younger than 5, officials said. Twenty people were hospitalized.
May legal consequences fall on every one who let those children down, and swift ruinous litigation on the companies selling this biohazard to people. I would think "selling unsanitary milk" is clearly not a sustainable business model but apparently it wasn't clear enough.
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Comment on Easy access to stimulants aided scientific progress in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in ~talk
Fiachra LinkIt never occurred to me until now that people with ADHD centuries ago would probably tend to self-medicate with stimulants available at the time. That's what I apparently did with energy drinks...It never occurred to me until now that people with ADHD centuries ago would probably tend to self-medicate with stimulants available at the time. That's what I apparently did with energy drinks long before I ever suspected I should seek a diagnosis. Imagine an age where you had access to meth dissolved in gin or whatever the Victorians were on.
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Comment on How to raise your artificial intelligence in ~tech
Fiachra Link ParentI think what's causing this reaction in so many people is how blatantly profit seeking tech companies have been over the last decade or two. A bunch of them are very openly declaring that they...I think what's causing this reaction in so many people is how blatantly profit seeking tech companies have been over the last decade or two. A bunch of them are very openly declaring that they think AI might end the world (silly) while also barreling headlong into creating it and jamming it into everything they can. It feels like that "you okay bro?" moment when you realize your buddy has an addiction because he clearly thinks what he's doing is bad but he just can't seem to stop himself either.
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Comment on What's a life lesson you've applied that has changed your life? in ~life
Fiachra LinkWith repeating tasks, when the possibility of failure is discouraging, reframe it as a measurement; "let's see how far I get". When it's a measurement, any number above zero is progress, which is...With repeating tasks, when the possibility of failure is discouraging, reframe it as a measurement; "let's see how far I get". When it's a measurement, any number above zero is progress, which is inherently more motivating.
This has done wonders for my exercise. I used to plan rigid, X minute long sets and then fail to make it to the end, which means 0 sets completed, very discouraging. Now it's a measurement. I lasted A minutes yesterday, B minutes today, so I can track small improvements in fitness over time. My sets are still roughly the same length as before, but with some flex for good or bad days. It's worked for my writing too.
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Comment on Climate disinformation researcher Geoffrey Supran's presentation to the European Parliament about Exxon's propaganda campaign in ~enviro
Fiachra Link ParentIt's optimistic because it shows that this was a systemic failure. That means we can (in theory at least) fix or replace the system that made it happen. The pessimist view is that this is just...It's optimistic because it shows that this was a systemic failure. That means we can (in theory at least) fix or replace the system that made it happen. The pessimist view is that this is just 'the tragedy of the commons', it's inherent to human nature and we're doomed to repeat it forever until we destroy ourselves.
Nay! It is this way by the hands of others, and by our hand it may be different
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Comment on Tildes Minecraft Survival - Returning blockier than ever on Friday July 12th (1.21 update) in ~games
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Comment on Fossil of Neanderthal child with Down’s syndrome hints at early humans’ compassion in ~humanities.history
Fiachra Link ParentI recall an anecdote from (I'm almost certain it's this book I'm thinking of) A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson, about paleolithic human remains being found with growths on their...I recall an anecdote from (I'm almost certain it's this book I'm thinking of) A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson, about paleolithic human remains being found with growths on their bones suggesting they were in an advanced stage of hypervitaminosis A and had been cared for long after they would have lost the ability to walk.
Best way to scam someone is to convince them you're helping them scam someone else.