Lia's recent activity

  1. Comment on Super PAC aims to drown out AI critics in US midterms, with $100M and counting in ~society

    Lia
    Link Parent
    Creating a sense of urgency "or else [something bad]" is the oldest trick in the scammer's handbook. For me, it's a conversation killer in i) online dating, ii) business negotiations, iii) buying...

    “AI boomers,” who argue that the industry must be allowed to accelerate without restrictions if AI is going to help society advance.

    Creating a sense of urgency "or else [something bad]" is the oldest trick in the scammer's handbook.

    For me, it's a conversation killer in i) online dating, ii) business negotiations, iii) buying an apartment (or similarly significant thing that locks me in), iv) choosing whether or not to listen to advice, v) etc. Just an obvious sign that someone is trying to pull my leg.

    As an EU citizen, I'm not sure what to wish for: that these people would pour in all available and unavailable funds, get what they're after, and show the rest of the world what a dumpster fire of a society it results in - which will hopefully cause a counter reaction that takes us on a path of regulation over fast profits. Or that they'd get squashed before they ruin their section of the globe for the coming decades (/century?)

    The blindness and hubris is astounding, almost as if they're all getting their advice from ChatGPT.

    11 votes

  2. Comment on Financial collapse? in ~finance

    Lia
    Link Parent
    The reason I'm thinking about "just one" scenario is because I have made basic preparations for environmental/societal disasters years ago. Appropriately diversifying my finances is something I...

    The reason I'm thinking about "just one" scenario is because I have made basic preparations for environmental/societal disasters years ago. Appropriately diversifying my finances is something I haven't figured out yet at all. Which is why I'm here talking about that in particular. Buying a second tent will do little to protect me against inflation or unpredictable changes in our tax system.

    I have trouble imagining scenarios where money is no good anymore but these things are still running.

    And I was saying I don't think it's very likely I'll end up in a real life situation where money is no good anymore (even though I have prepared for it).

  3. Comment on Some protein powders and shakes may contain high levels of lead in ~health

    Lia
    Link Parent
    I see. Thank you for the info! Sounds quite similar to sugar or flour then. I eat a large portion of full fat Turkish yoghurt daily with fresh berries/fruit and pecan nuts. I'm sure whatever whey...

    both result in whey as a byproduct

    if you have a dehydrator (or an oven that can maintain <130°F) you could even turn that liquid whey into whey powder yourself

    I see. Thank you for the info! Sounds quite similar to sugar or flour then.

    I personally love milk and most milk products (including whey protein) though. :)

    I eat a large portion of full fat Turkish yoghurt daily with fresh berries/fruit and pecan nuts. I'm sure whatever whey powder based dish you're having is equally delicious. :p

    1 vote

  4. Comment on Some protein powders and shakes may contain high levels of lead in ~health

    Lia
    Link Parent
    An environment of nutritional ingredients that can be found or grown in nature and turned into palatable dishes by domestic means. I understand that whey isn't processed to the same extent that...

    What do you mean by "natural environment"?

    An environment of nutritional ingredients that can be found or grown in nature and turned into palatable dishes by domestic means.

    I understand that whey isn't processed to the same extent that low-fat foods are, but it's also probably not something we could conceivably make at home, although I'm too lazy to look up if it would be harder to make than for example sugar or flour. Both of which are already borderline "unnatural" according to my definition, but I do still eat a little bit of bread because I find the best ones very enjoyable to eat. Whey is not something I enjoy at all, which ultimately excludes it from my diet.

    1 vote

  5. Comment on Financial collapse? in ~finance

    Lia
    Link Parent
    My plan is to seduce Jeff Bezos and make him fly me to Mars. Equally realistic and lets me dodge WWIII.

    My plan is to seduce Jeff Bezos and make him fly me to Mars. Equally realistic and lets me dodge WWIII.

    1 vote

  6. Comment on Financial collapse? in ~finance

    Lia
    Link Parent
    This conversation was about an economic collapse though. Earthquakes and hurricanes aren't a thing where I live anyway. Another pandemic? Sure, but I'm more concerned about the global financial...

    I think if you’re going to do disaster prep, it should probably be doing things that would be useful after any disaster, like an earthquake or hurricane or pandemic.

    This conversation was about an economic collapse though. Earthquakes and hurricanes aren't a thing where I live anyway. Another pandemic? Sure, but I'm more concerned about the global financial instability rippling over and reaching my shore, and the many unpredictable effects it can have.

  7. Comment on Some protein powders and shakes may contain high levels of lead in ~health

    Lia
    Link Parent
    Well sure, and the chemical components in emulsifiers also ultimately come from nature. That doesn't mean they are as good for us as items that haven't been industrially processed to the same...

    The protein from protein powder ultimately just comes from milk.

    Well sure, and the chemical components in emulsifiers also ultimately come from nature. That doesn't mean they are as good for us as items that haven't been industrially processed to the same extent. Note that I'm not trying to vilify protein powder either - I have no idea what its health effects are (besides those that people take it for). I'm just skeptical of things that don't seem to meet one of my main criteria for food: palatability.

    When you've had a rich dinner that you know overallocates on fats and carbs, a protein shake is a way to to get the protein up without then adding a bunch more fats and carbs, when you've already more than hit your daily amount for those.

    I hear you. I tend to just accept that I didn't hit my macros that day because I do hit them most days. It took some effort in the beginning to learn to eat like this, but it was more or less a one time investment, so much less demanding than doing regular exercise for the rest of your life.

  8. Comment on Some protein powders and shakes may contain high levels of lead in ~health

    Lia
    Link Parent
    This is easy for me to understand, thanks for explaining. My gripe with the whole "optimising" idea (I would rather say maximising) is that an end goal that would be unattainable and...

    I've felt truly ashamed of my body for the majority of my life, so I'm trying to fix that by turning it into something I can be proud of...

    I wouldn't mind eventually looking like one of those people on the cover of fitness magazines. ;)

    This is easy for me to understand, thanks for explaining. My gripe with the whole "optimising" idea (I would rather say maximising) is that an end goal that would be unattainable and unmaintainable in a natural environment is by definition not optimal in my book. However, if the point is to attain a body like this, not merely to optimise your overall health, then sure! Humans do all sorts of unnatural things driven by personal interest.

    Don't forget to post a link when you land your first cover. :)

    1 vote

  9. Comment on Some protein powders and shakes may contain high levels of lead in ~health

    Lia
    Link Parent
    I hear you, I was that kid too! I also struggled for the longest time to eat healthy, balanced meals. I thought that there was simply something wrong with my body and felt guilty that I couldn't...

    I hear you, I was that kid too!

    I also struggled for the longest time to eat healthy, balanced meals. I thought that there was simply something wrong with my body and felt guilty that I couldn't make myself eat 3-5 meals a day (the official recommendation in my country). Finally it clicked when I decided to try keto to help my ADHD symptoms. It removed the excessive glucose fluctuations that cause a hunger response that is unrelated to your actual energy deficit. I was able to actually listen to my body and what it needed. Once I was fat adapted, I didn't feel any need to eat more than one meal a day. No matter what the recs say, this is the right way for me. The food I get to eat tastes great because I need to get the while day's worth of fat, salt, etc. from a single meal. Eating isn't a struggle anymore.

    After this change I've been able to exercise productively for the first time, rather than feeling like I'm just damaging my body. Even doing yoga used to be a challenge but it started going well a few years back and now I'm at a point where I've started doing a running program for beginners (one that I've tried twice before and didn't get anywhere). I'm astonished how much better my body works! Once I get this down, I'll probably look into weight training or something similar. Or just start doing a more demanding version of yoga. I'm also going to sign up for street dance classes as soon as my stamina is good enough!

    I'm sure that using protein supplements as a backup is better than not eating enough. For me, a few pecan nuts has been enough if I feel at all peckish after exercise but I guess it isn't out of the question to start eating a second, small meal once I ramp things up.

    1 vote

  10. Comment on Some protein powders and shakes may contain high levels of lead in ~health

    Lia
    Link Parent
    Sounds reasonable enough. I'm inherently skeptical of relying on nutrition that doesn't read as "food" to me, which does include protein powders and many protein bars (due to their strikingly...

    Sounds reasonable enough.

    I'm inherently skeptical of relying on nutrition that doesn't read as "food" to me, which does include protein powders and many protein bars (due to their strikingly artificial taste). This skepticism first activated decades ago when I was a teenager and low-fat items started being introduced. It didn't make sense to me that fat - a macronutrient vital to our health - got taken out of food as it must obviously be substituted with something less vital and more artificial, in order to bring back the original volume and consistency.

    Like, why don't people rather eat smaller quantities of the same, unaltered food if they're currently eating too much for their health? Why put something in your body that doesn't seem to belong there but that your system must process anyway, now that it's there? And well, recently I heard that the emulsifiers this process often requires may cause adverse health effects (low-grade inflammation, leaky gut / increased intestinal permeability, disrupting gut microbiota). It just took a few decades for the findings to emerge, and they're not super conclusive yet from what I can tell, but I'm still glad I never got on the low fat bandwagon.

    Similarly, I struggle to believe that optimal health outcomes wouldn't be within reach without protein powders. Given how poorly my body used to work before I fixed my eating habits, I'm already so pleased about my current ability to develop muscle that I haven't felt the need to "optimise" further. I fall a little short of the recommended daily amount of protein but it wouldn't be hard to fix that by a minor dietary change. And maybe I'll want to do that once I'm further along in my health journey - we'll see!

    I get that some subset of people who are after extreme results, need supplements to achieve them and once achieved, to maintain them. It just doesn't make sense to me that a member of a hunter-gatherer tribe wouldn't have been able to achieve a state of "optimal" health because there were no protein powders available in the savannah, or something. It probably comes down to differing definitions of what optimal means.

    ETA, obviously if there just isn't enough protein in the family meals and the situation can't be fixed, then I get the idea that it may be better to take a supplement.

  11. Comment on Some protein powders and shakes may contain high levels of lead in ~health

    Lia
    Link Parent
    Out of curiosity, what is this optimal muscle growth needed for? Like, outside of lifting weights, are you unable to live life in the way you want if you don't attain optimal muscle growth - or is...

    to get the protein I require for optimal muscle growth (which many studies have shown to be 0.8-1g of protein per lbs of body weight per day)

    Out of curiosity, what is this optimal muscle growth needed for? Like, outside of lifting weights, are you unable to live life in the way you want if you don't attain optimal muscle growth - or is the optimising mostly serving the weightlifting hobby?

    2 votes

  12. Comment on Financial collapse? in ~finance

    Lia
    Link Parent
    As a bit of a tangent: I don't know about you but most of my liquidity isn't cash. It's numbers on a digital bank account. Why does it matter? Because in an unprecedented economic collapse it'll...

    It's not about expecting collapse when cash is completely useless (won't happen)

    As a bit of a tangent: I don't know about you but most of my liquidity isn't cash. It's numbers on a digital bank account.

    Why does it matter? Because in an unprecedented economic collapse it'll be a lot easier for, say, a morally and financially bankrupt government to take a look at how much people have in there and find a way to take it.

    I find it very hard to gauge what form my assets should be in if I want the best protection against a crisis, because I assume whatever the crisis, if one takes place, it will be very different from anything that humanity has faced before.

    1 vote

  13. Comment on ‘I realised I’d been ChatGPT-ed into bed’: how ‘Chatfishing’ made finding love on dating apps even weirder in ~tech

    Lia
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    Can confirm. As a rule of thumb, the more one night stands a guy is having, and the more conventionally attractive he is, the less satisfying the experience. And it makes sense: women tend to be...

    I disagree with choosing the "hot" ripped, tall guy for a hookup, in my experience they're the least enjoyable in bed

    Can confirm. As a rule of thumb, the more one night stands a guy is having, and the more conventionally attractive he is, the less satisfying the experience. And it makes sense: women tend to be geared towards longer term connections even if not as many guys are, so someone who is a great lay will be snatched up by a woman sooner or later. The remaining ones are either interested in improving or not. If they are, they eventually graduate to the "good lover" category.

    The ones who are awful in bed and stay that way will have to develop exceptional pick-up skills because no one will want to sleep with them a second time, so their only option is someone who doesn't yet realise how disappointing they are. I guess that's where the conventional attractiveness comes in handy.

    I don't personally do hookups but sometimes I look for a FB/FWB, and outside of basic stuff like hygiene and grooming, looks are not a factor in the equation. The same would go for hookups too.

    4 votes

  14. Comment on ‘I realised I’d been ChatGPT-ed into bed’: how ‘Chatfishing’ made finding love on dating apps even weirder in ~tech

    Lia
    Link Parent
    While I agree with you about texting in general being too normalised, and an inadequate way to form real connections, I disagree when it comes to meeting new people. I chat with people for a while...

    Texting is way too impersonal and different from how people act in person, so having a protracted text conversation prior to meeting in person is just setting yourself up for some sort of disconnect, even if you're meeting someone who's a great fit for you.

    While I agree with you about texting in general being too normalised, and an inadequate way to form real connections, I disagree when it comes to meeting new people.

    I chat with people for a while to determine the following:

    • Did this person write his bio himself? (The bio is why I'm interested in getting to know him, so this information is important to me.)
    • Are there any dealbreakers on either side that would result in an impossible situation even if we otherwise hit it off really well?
    • How self-aware is my chatting partner? What kind of relationship experience does he have and has he been able to learn from those experiences? (Many people simply blame their former partner without realising how their own behaviour influenced the dynamic.)
    • Does he have healthy levels of patience wrt my response frequency and style? Someone who gets offended when he can't summon me to chat with him at any time, or that my responses are emotionally in line with how well we know each other (meaning I'm not acting like his girlfriend yet) is not someone I want to meet in real life. These people are often the same ones who see nothing wrong with texting as a way to build a relationship.
    • Is the conversation balanced? Are both people curious about each other and is there enough overlap to be able to build on what the other person is saying, both ways?
    • How does he talk about sex?

    If someone is super reluctant about chatting first, it can seem like they put a lot of emphasis on things like chemistry and physical attraction and don't really care about structural/psychological compatibility. I care more about the latter, and I've never not experienced chemistry with someone I was genuinely interested in after chatting for a while. Obviously, it's important to realise the initial chatting doesn't convey people's full personality and refrain from becoming overly excited based on incomplete information. But that's a learnable skill.

  15. Comment on Do other people who grew up with an anonymous internet feel a bit hopeless at the moment? in ~society

    Lia
    Link Parent
    Was that before or after they tried to hide their internal research results, according to which their products hurt people's mental health? How about when they recently explicitly started allowing...
    • Exemplary

    This one might have been true once but is actually something Meta take pretty seriously and they have been putting a lot of effort into handling stuff like this better.

    Was that before or after they tried to hide their internal research results, according to which their products hurt people's mental health?

    How about when they recently explicitly started allowing hate speech?

    I mean, this statement seems pretty clearly untrue to me given how shitty the user experience is and how it hasn't been getting better at all despite many of the problems having been called out years ago. They know what they're doing, they just don't want to do better.

    it's just bad business for your social media platform to make people feel bad. They won't come back and see more ads!

    They absolutely will if you get them addicted. Which is the main goal of every algorithm out there, for a reason. In case you weren't aware, feelings like rage and hate are known to generate addictive behaviours a lot more effectively than peace and love.

    8 votes

  16. Comment on ‘I realised I’d been ChatGPT-ed into bed’: how ‘Chatfishing’ made finding love on dating apps even weirder in ~tech

    Lia
    Link Parent
    It took me a while after I first started online dating, but I developed a way to chat with people that lets me avoid bad (and even just uninspiring) dates altogether - as long as I take my time...

    It took me a while after I first started online dating, but I developed a way to chat with people that lets me avoid bad (and even just uninspiring) dates altogether - as long as I take my time and don't rush out to meet them. I'm sure that the same doesn't apply to everyone, so maybe meeting people quickly works better for others.

    I'm glad that I've spent some time dabbling with LLMs even though I'm not interested in using them in any serious capacity for work, because I'm at least a little better equipped to recognise when someone is using one to chat with me. I'll have to see how long my chatting protocol still lasts me until LLM users start getting through. I'm already considering adding a mandatory synchronous element because that'll at least make it harder for them to run the conversation through an LLM.

    What a world.

    2 votes

  17. Comment on ‘I realised I’d been ChatGPT-ed into bed’: how ‘Chatfishing’ made finding love on dating apps even weirder in ~tech

    Lia
    Link Parent
    In theory, yes. I'm hoping that even that would already be too much effort for them to go through. At the moment there's an avalanche of (likely) scammers with generated profiles that might pass...

    With all the generative technologies at their fingertips now, they could in theory create a whole new person with photos and videos instead of actually trying to be forthcoming!

    In theory, yes. I'm hoping that even that would already be too much effort for them to go through.

    At the moment there's an avalanche of (likely) scammers with generated profiles that might pass my initial vibe check but don't pass my "must have written an exceptionally descriptive bio in a creative way" requirement (which most humans don't even pass). Out of curiosity, and to check my perception, I've chatted with a few of them. They have for example a cute but grainy, natural looking selfie "taken" in their apartment and when I ask what art they have on the wall, they have absolutely no clue. Don't know the artist, don't even know if it's a photo or a painting. But they're absolutely a huge lover of art (I'm an artist and I say so in my profile).

    I heard that some scammers are in fact victims of human trafficking and are doing their job in some shitty foreign country while being held captive. As if using these apps wasn't already emotionally challenging enough.

    5 votes

  18. Comment on Do other people who grew up with an anonymous internet feel a bit hopeless at the moment? in ~society

    Lia
    Link Parent
    Linking this data that you consider surface level to statistical phenomena will sometimes produce information about you that even you yourself aren't aware of. I remember an example where someone...

    Linking this data that you consider surface level to statistical phenomena will sometimes produce information about you that even you yourself aren't aware of. I remember an example where someone received a marketing message from a store who had deducted she was pregnant, based on some changes in her shopping habits, before she even took a pregnancy test. The information got out to her relatives (who saw the leaflet congratulating her on her pregnancy, IIRC) way before she herself would have chosen to disclose it.

    Facebook will direct particular kind of advertising to teenage girls who have recently deleted a selfie, because that indicates they are suffering from a bout of lowered self-esteem, which makes them especially vulnerable to that style of advertising. It's no doubt something that makes them feel even worse about themselves.

    These are just the first two examples that come to mind and I really don't think any of this is okay.

    8 votes

  19. Comment on ‘I realised I’d been ChatGPT-ed into bed’: how ‘Chatfishing’ made finding love on dating apps even weirder in ~tech

    Lia
    Link Parent
    The apps are rife with this type of lad, one reason for why there are way less women than men on them. Most women find it too off-putting that they have to wade through an army of dicks to uncover...

    I manipulate women for hook ups

    The apps are rife with this type of lad, one reason for why there are way less women than men on them. Most women find it too off-putting that they have to wade through an army of dicks to uncover one decent individual. (I'm not, and I think that's because a compatible partner has always been very rare and hard to find for me - even in real life - so from a young age I've gotten used to putting in a lot of effort.)

    The other large group is simply people who don't want to make any effort - they won't try to deceive others but they also won't do anything to help others get to know them. An extreme example being someone who doesn't have a single photo of himself and whose bio is something like: "Just ask".

    Both groups are of course going to jump on the LLM train if even a tad technically inclined, or have already done so, making things even worse for the rest of us. But I'm sure some part of this fairly large consumer base is willing to pay for the service, so here we are.

    11 votes

  20. Comment on ‘I realised I’d been ChatGPT-ed into bed’: how ‘Chatfishing’ made finding love on dating apps even weirder in ~tech

    Lia
    Link Parent
    This may work for some guys, especially when it comes to filtering out bots and scammers (those obviously won't be into meeting you any time soon). But for women who get a lot of attention, it's...

    Dan Savage's advice of "go meet them in person as soon as possible" rings very true!

    This may work for some guys, especially when it comes to filtering out bots and scammers (those obviously won't be into meeting you any time soon). But for women who get a lot of attention, it's bad advice.

    There is a very limited number of first dates I can go on before I start getting fatigued. Accurately gauging people's personalities, some of whom will be lying to you as much as they can possibly get away with, while still making it a fun situation for both, conveying your authentic personality and communicating appropriate boundaries, is an extremely taxing undertaking. Before I agree to do that, I have to ascertain that the person on the other side is worth investing that amount of energy in getting to know.

    Were I going about it in a more nonchalant way, I'd essentially be doing the same I'm now doing in the chat box: vetting a bunch of people with the full assumption that most of them aren't going to be a good fit, which would lead to my having a very non-serious attitude on the dates. I don't believe that this would be ethical. And it would still take up a lot of my resources when it comes to setting the dates, clearing out my calendar for them, getting ready, then dealing with the aftermath.

    If you've ever seen people complain about dating fatigue, that's why it's happening. It can make you jaded enough that you won't even recognise a good potential partner if you do happen to end up on a date with one.

    I strongly believe in vetting properly before the first date, which results in a small number of very high quality dates, usually several with the same person, and very often leads to at least making a good friend if not a romantic partner.

    At the moment I'm still able to weed out the LLM-generated profiles without having to even chat with the person, but I dread the future where they may become indistinguishable from something that could be a real person.

    10 votes