Flother's recent activity
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Comment on What change would make you quit Tildes? in ~tildes
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Comment on What new poems have you come across this year? in ~books
Flother Link ParentNo worries! I am aware of a few others, but not any which have left as lasting an impression on me as the ones posted. If I had to guess, it is closer to "bother". It's a Hapax Legomenon with an...No worries! I am aware of a few others, but not any which have left as lasting an impression on me as the ones posted.
If I had to guess, it is closer to "bother". It's a Hapax Legomenon with an uncertain origin, so I am not sure there is a standardised pronunciation. In my head, I have always pronounced it that way - ha!
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Comment on What change would make you quit Tildes? in ~tildes
Flother LinkMight be somewhat hypocritical as I am sure I have probably added low-value comments before, but if there were to be a significant increase in low-effort comments consisting of recycled memes etc....Might be somewhat hypocritical as I am sure I have probably added low-value comments before, but if there were to be a significant increase in low-effort comments consisting of recycled memes etc. that would push me closer to the door.
As an example, if you browse the ukpolitics subreddit you'll often see the same recycled joke about 'here's how this is bad for Rachel Reeves' often near the top of voted comments. It gets boring and I'm sure there's a wider meta-analysis on stale online discourse that could be made here with enough reflection.
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Comment on What new poems have you come across this year? in ~books
Flother (edited )Link ParentI have periodically reminded myself to pass you a reply to this, and I am now doing so after all this time. Wendy Cope is quite diverse in theme, I like some of her more humorous and caustic poems...I have periodically reminded myself to pass you a reply to this, and I am now doing so after all this time.
Wendy Cope is quite diverse in theme, I like some of her more humorous and caustic poems a bit more:
Bloody Men
Bloody men are like bloody buses.
You wait for about a year
And as soon as one approaches your stop
Two or three others appear.You look at them flashing their indicators,
Offering you a ride.
You're trying to read the destination,
You haven't much time to decide.If you make a mistake, there is no turning back.
Jump off, and you'll stand there and gaze
While the cars and the taxis and lorries go by
And the minutes, the hours, the days.And a poem from a collection of the same name, Two Cures for Love
Don’t see him. Don’t phone or write a letter.
The easy way: get to know him better.Edit: Goodness, I hadn't realised this was the one I put in the first post on this thread - we may as well enjoy it twice!
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Comment on "The Machine Stops" by E.M. Forster (1909) in ~books
Flother Link ParentI feel there's something ironic about the idea of reading a thesis like that after my previous admiration for the quote: Haha! I did give it a quick peruse and this short story in question doesn't...I feel there's something ironic about the idea of reading a thesis like that after my previous admiration for the quote:
Let your ideas be second-hand, and if possible tenth-hand ... seraphically free, from taint of personality.
Haha!
I did give it a quick peruse and this short story in question doesn't appear there often, but I will try and read it in some more depth later, looks interesting - thanks!
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Comment on "The Machine Stops" by E.M. Forster (1909) in ~books
Flother LinkThank you for posting this, I ended up reading this yesterday via the .PDF form. I've only read one of E M Forster's works before (Where Angels Fear to Tread) and have been intending to read more....Thank you for posting this, I ended up reading this yesterday via the .PDF form. I've only read one of E M Forster's works before (Where Angels Fear to Tread) and have been intending to read more.
What an incredibly salient piece of literature, and incredibly prescient as already mentioned in this thread. One wonders whether Aldous Huxley and George Orwell had engaged with this, as not-yet-fleshed-out elements of their seminal works are perceptible in Forster's work — the Central Committee, the modification of language in respect to the names of countries and continents, the omni-present dulled opiate sensation the machine gives, the religious nature the machine adopts.
I'm impressed with how many topics the work managers to cover, as it reaches beyond simply critiquing an over-reliance on technology to criticising elements of academia, as well as emphasising the role of communication amongst our species. Two moments which particularly stood out to me
And that white stuff in the cracks — what is it?
I have forgotten its name.and:
Let your ideas be second-hand, and if possible tenth-hand ... seraphically free, from taint of personality.
For the former, you can easily transpose 'snow' with a bird, fish, tree, or flower for a more modern take, as many younger people no longer know the names of these artefacts of nature which their (grand)parents would likely know by heart. The latter is a beautifully critical view of academia and second-hand reporting in general, when we learn about a topic through X who is reporting on Y's work who is interpreting Z's work based on an event experienced by Q it's undeniable that something is certainly lost in terms of passion and emotion. Is it necessarily a bad thing? I am not so sure, as each of these people can contribute collectively, even if indirectly, to the topic at hand.
For a more critical point, I would also remark that many of these texts which lament the idea that 'people have forgotten to do X, so we are doomed if X breaks' hasn't yet played out in society. I am certain that people in 1909 and before that were lamenting that fewer and fewer people knew how to do <insert specific technical skill here>, and, yet, this hasn't caused any catastrophic event in our world. Year by year, I imagine that those in the sciences and technology move farther away from the fully concrete and to the abstract — how many people with degrees in Computer Science could really physically create the components of a PC and write in Assembly? Not many, and yet we aren't seeing a catastrophe rise out of this.
Overall, fantastic piece of literature, thank you genuinely for sharing it!
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Comment on Bricks & Minifigs corporate stole a man's $200,000 Lego collection and told him to get bent in ~hobbies
Flother Link ParentIMO I really do think it takes an American to look at this issue and conclude 'all's well that ends well'. It's absolutely baffling for anyone in this thread to think this is moral justice. It...IMO I really do think it takes an American to look at this issue and conclude 'all's well that ends well'.
It's absolutely baffling for anyone in this thread to think this is moral justice. It might be legal justice, but, in the eyes of many, this certainly isn't a victory for a consumer.
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Comment on If you let AI do your writing, I will come to your house and kill you in ~tech
Flother (edited )Link ParentI think you have many erroneous assumptions in this comment here, and, upon seeing further down that you have an extensive history with AI and large language models, I am not that surprised to see...I think you have many erroneous assumptions in this comment here, and, upon seeing further down that you have an extensive history with AI and large language models, I am not that surprised to see an attempt to distil down a complex topic which fundamentally goes against your beliefs to simply an either/(and) or scenario.
There's no philosophical consensus on what consciousness is, but the idea that 'humanity can be replicated by a machine' doesn't curry much favour nor hold much credence in this field because - quite simply - we aren't replicable by a machine. Our brains aren't mere functions. A LLM isn't capable of 'deep insight' into the human condition just as Akinator isn't actually an omniscient being.
I think your approach to human art, culture, and language is naïve and overtly structuralist as well as eliminativist, attempting in vain to distil the human condition down into mere sequences, numbers, tokens, with the assumption that that's all there is to humanity.
Language and literature, the central focus of the article, are heavily influenced by the authors of their works and the circumstances in which they were created. Ayn Rand's philosophy is interpretable given her childhood under repressive communist regime in Russia, Kafka's works are teeming with the roots of his father issues, Masefield's recurrent themes of sailing and the ocean in his poems all stem from the enchantment of his young adulthood; even anonymous poems such as Beowulf, The Ruin, Widsith, Deor, and so on, offer us a direct connection with our history and provide numerous valuable insights into the cultural development of our ancestors.
No AI will ever replicate this in our lifetime, and no AI without consciousness ever will.
Language is not just a "bunch of paper and ink" as you put it. The failure to comprehend the intricacies and complexity of human language, along with the author's genuine lamentations (the hollowness of LLM text devoid of all personal meaning and the machine equivalent of a styrofoam packaging peanut) indicates you don't understand the human condition.
Will we all be effed? Those who fail to understand the artistic and cultural merit in well-written literature compared to the idle vapourings of a diseased language model certainly will be.
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Comment on Britain still has conversion therapists. Here’s why. in ~health
Flother LinkA fairly longer video essay from PhilosophyTube than normal, but I found it quite eye-opening. I live in the UK and I had not realised the extent to which healthcare for transgender individuals...A fairly longer video essay from PhilosophyTube than normal, but I found it quite eye-opening.
I live in the UK and I had not realised the extent to which healthcare for transgender individuals had become so deteriorated under the current Labour government, in particular. The 'charities' and various organisations with a trans-sceptic view being able to play such a pivotal role in a supposedly independent report, as well as being given exclusive access to meetings with the health minister instead of organisations who actually aid trans people on a daily basis is quite disturbing.
I think now is a particular pertinent time to watch this video, given that the Health Minister who has just resigned supposedly intends to put himself forward for leadership of the party.
Most revealing for me, is the fact that no trans people have had any involvement in the policies being drafted for healthcare which directly concerns them. This is directly parallel to what happens in healthcare for women, people of colour, and other parts of the LGBTQ umbrella. It's quite shameful that this continues to occur.
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Britain still has conversion therapists. Here’s why.
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Comment on When Richard Dawkins met Claude in ~health.mental
Flother Link ParentMany philosophers of the mind continue to disagree with the idea that our brains simply 'compute' and that this is all consciousness is. The name for the theory that our mental states are...Many philosophers of the mind continue to disagree with the idea that our brains simply 'compute' and that this is all consciousness is.
The name for the theory that our mental states are comparable to simple functions is, uninterestingly, functionalism:
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/functionalism/
A majority of philosophers do not outright accept functionalism. The common problem will always be the problem of 'qualia' i.e. the subjective phenomenological experience of something "what is it like to see something". The computer produces a colour, but is it the same thing as seeing the colour?
There are of course, numerous retorts to this, with retorts to those too.
What is it like to be a
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Comment on Iceland pushes Apple to add Icelandic language support in ~humanities.languages
Flother Link ParentI think this comment really is in quite poor taste and doesn't really specifically address anything in the article in any intelligent form? I am not sure why you would post this, really. It is...I think this comment really is in quite poor taste and doesn't really specifically address anything in the article in any intelligent form?
I am not sure why you would post this, really. It is rare I see something like this on Tildes as the whole style of this comment is written like something I'd see on a low-effort Reddit thread.
The Icelandic language is not exactly an obscure language and there very much does exist a real issue surrounding accessibility to residents if you don't offer it. Whilst English comprehension may be high, it's not 100% and some residents are , undeniably, being disadvantaged by one of the two major phone OSs not offering content in the native language of a country in which they also sell their products.
Something being more trivial than a more serious human rights issue does not thus mean it is irrelevant.
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Comment on Wikipedia:AI or not quiz in ~tech
Flother LinkNot bad! I got 8/10. C. B. Fisk and Rapa fruit dove were the ones I got wrong.Not bad! I got 8/10.
C. B. Fisk and Rapa fruit dove were the ones I got wrong.
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Comment on Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone | Teaser in ~tv
Flother Link ParentI'll also piggyback off this with Contrapoint's video: JK RowlingI'll also piggyback off this with Contrapoint's video: JK Rowling
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Comment on Tildes Book Club - How is it going with The Metamorphosis? in ~books
Flother LinkI'm not part of the book club; just came to profess my love for Kafka. For anyone wanting to understand more about Kafka's themes and motivations in his novels and novellas, I would strongly...I'm not part of the book club; just came to profess my love for Kafka.
For anyone wanting to understand more about Kafka's themes and motivations in his novels and novellas, I would strongly recommend reading "Brief an den Vater" (Letter to His Father) as it i) is a pretty phenomenal and rare piece of literature to exist, and ii) pretty much explains what his whole deal is.
And if you're ever in Prague please visit the Kafka museum, I thought it worth the money.
I have only read his works in German, so I can't recommend any English translations, unfortunately.
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Comment on ‘I took two bites and had to spit it out’: US candy makers are phasing out real cocoa in chocolate in some products in ~food
Flother LinkGood to see Chocolonely mentioned. Nowadays this is about the only large bar of chocolate I'll buy "regularly" for a premium price. If you're in the UK it's actually not that expensive. I believe...Good to see Chocolonely mentioned. Nowadays this is about the only large bar of chocolate I'll buy "regularly" for a premium price.
If you're in the UK it's actually not that expensive. I believe it's usually £4, but I have seen it this year for £3 at two supermarkets on offer. This price is not that far off what Cadbury's costs now.
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Proton Mail helped US FBI unmask anonymous ‘Stop Cop City’ protester
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Comment on Color game — how well can you remember colors? | Dialed in ~games
Flother (edited )LinkGot 40 first time, 42.15 second time. At some point I ended up screenshotting the colour shown as evidence, because I was so convinced they were showing different original colours. But, nope....Got 40 first time, 42.15 second time.
At some point I ended up screenshotting the colour shown as evidence, because I was so convinced they were showing different original colours.
But, nope. Memory of colour really is just that bad it seems - how interesting!
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Comment on What healthy habit has made a difference for you? in ~health
Flother LinkNot reading as much mainstream news, and making an active effort to read forums or outlets which focus on 'good' i.e. more optimistic news. It's been about a month and a week since I stopped doing...Not reading as much mainstream news, and making an active effort to read forums or outlets which focus on 'good' i.e. more optimistic news.
It's been about a month and a week since I stopped doing the former (and I used to do it constantly) and my outlook on my country and the rest of the world has changed considerably.
It really is remarkable how much of an effect this constant cycle of doom after doom (both real and manufactured) has on you.
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Comment on Life: Your personal year in review for 2025 in ~life
Flother Link ParentThank you for the response to this, I think this is a nice way to put it: I believe some research came out earlier on this year stating that our brain's adolescent phase actually goes on until 32,...Thank you for the response to this, I think this is a nice way to put it:
To me, people in their 20s are real young adults, while those in their 30s are young real adults.
I believe some research came out earlier on this year stating that our brain's adolescent phase actually goes on until 32, so this would align well with that.
Completely agree with you here and I think we're at a point where we've witnessed Reddit throw everything into it's IPO to promote activity and engagement over any meaningful discussion.
Numerous large forums over the years are no longer moderated with the same quality as before, save for a very small number of exceptions (AskHistorians for example) which only survive under this way of working as their raison d'etre is not for engagement, but as a genuine forum for help and discussion. Of course I am exempting small niche forums from this.
Because everything is based on engagement and gaming upvotes, there's no need to invest in a sensible comment for most threads now. You're right that it's easily predictable what the top few comments will be on many threads now, and you often have to scroll down for serious discussion, where present. I see parallels here with what had happened to search engines as well.
I really do think Reddit is approaching the acme of enshittification. It decimated most online communities, took pole position, and has now drifted more into a social medium alike to Twitter.