LukeZaz's recent activity
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Comment on YouTube tests blocking videos unless you disable ad blockers in ~tech
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Comment on Bluesky is Jack Dorsey’s attempt at a Twitter redo and it’s already growing fast in ~tech
LukeZaz Link ParentI'm less concerned with the system they're building and moreso the social environment they're in, as that's the primary factor that will influence what they create, and that environment has not...I'm less concerned with the system they're building and moreso the social environment they're in, as that's the primary factor that will influence what they create, and that environment has not changed for the better in the intervening time.
Besides, I'd be fine with ignoring it, but it doesn't seem like people are doing that. They're getting excited and pining for invites to a platform that has every reason to be just as bad as the last. It bothers me, especially when better alternatives exist already.
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Comment on Bluesky is Jack Dorsey’s attempt at a Twitter redo and it’s already growing fast in ~tech
LukeZaz Link ParentI'm a firm believer that the evils we deal with in the world today are a product of the systems we live in, not the people that make them up, and so the idea that this time around will be better...I'm a firm believer that the evils we deal with in the world today are a product of the systems we live in, not the people that make them up, and so the idea that this time around will be better because some individuals learned a couple lessons isn't very reassuring when the system that surrounds them has barely changed.
I'd like to be wrong, but from what I can see on Bluesky, I'm just not hopeful at all. I've seen far too much capitalism to be optimistic anymore.
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Comment on Bluesky is Jack Dorsey’s attempt at a Twitter redo and it’s already growing fast in ~tech
LukeZaz Link ParentWhy would it? Twitter didn't.Hopefully, it will get better.
Why would it? Twitter didn't.
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Comment on What's your not-D&D RPG, and why? in ~games.tabletop
LukeZaz LinkI've been in a Dungeon World game as a player for a while now and it's been a pretty interesting D&D alternative to try. I'm not sure I like it more than I do D&D – it's a bit too simplified for...I've been in a Dungeon World game as a player for a while now and it's been a pretty interesting D&D alternative to try. I'm not sure I like it more than I do D&D – it's a bit too simplified for my tastes and the lack of critical successes/failures take away too many interesting moments to me – but it does have some noteworthy advantages.
I think the biggest of them is the fact that the combat system is much faster-paced. Instead of an initiative system, players just ask the DM when they want to do something. They roll for it, and if they fail badly enough, the DM "makes a move" against them. In practice, this usually means a player tries to attack something, misses, and as a result the monster hits them instead.
On the downside, this means enemies get almost no rolls whatsoever, and so they almost can't fail,1 and I find the lack of, for example, a monster failing a stat-save to not get knocked off a cliff after being hit to be a shame. On the upside, this feels way faster and lets players act far more often, as well as dramatically simplifying things.
Overall, I feel like this change in particular is on the whole beneficial, as one of my biggest peeves as a D&D player so far has been that I feel like I spend a lot of time waiting to get to do things, and this solves that. Still, I can't shake the feeling I'd be having more fun if more granularity were available.
1. What more, if players get lucky, monsters might not get to do anything at all.
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Comment on Windows 10 will reach end of support on October 14, 2025 in ~tech
LukeZaz Link ParentFor what it’s worth, it may be a good idea to give it another go sometime if you get the chance. I swapped to Linux Mint last year and it was fantastic. I imagine the Linux user experience has...For what it’s worth, it may be a good idea to give it another go sometime if you get the chance. I swapped to Linux Mint last year and it was fantastic. I imagine the Linux user experience has improved a lot over the last decade.
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Comment on Bluesky is Jack Dorsey’s attempt at a Twitter redo and it’s already growing fast in ~tech
LukeZaz Link ParentThat's fair, but there are better options available if that's what folks want. Mastodon and cohost, for example.That's fair, but there are better options available if that's what folks want. Mastodon and cohost, for example.
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Comment on Bluesky is Jack Dorsey’s attempt at a Twitter redo and it’s already growing fast in ~tech
LukeZaz LinkReally not sure why everybody's jumping on to this so quickly. It just looks like Twitter 2, and will in all likelihood inherit all of the problems that come with that. I mean, it's even run by...Really not sure why everybody's jumping on to this so quickly. It just looks like Twitter 2, and will in all likelihood inherit all of the problems that come with that. I mean, it's even run by the same guy who did Twitter to begin with, so I've got next to no hope that it won't just follow in Twitter's footsteps.
I would've hoped that everything that's happened to Twitter over the years might've helped disillusion people towards it and want something better, but I guess familiarity is stronger.
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Comment on Kurzgesagt: Billionaire propaganda, stories, and trusting science in ~humanities
LukeZaz Link ParentIt seems to me that while your problems with the video's funding criticisms are not unfounded, you've forgotten the rest of the video's value in the process. In particular, one of the biggest...It seems to me that while your problems with the video's funding criticisms are not unfounded, you've forgotten the rest of the video's value in the process. In particular, one of the biggest things this video tries to point out is that being transparent does not mean you aren't propagating problematic ideas. You can do harm without lying or intent, after all.
The video mentions twice, for example, that Kurzgesagt doesn't need to have their opinions bought; after all, Kurz already agrees with the ideas encouraged by their funding sources. Sure, they "don't have a direct incentive to change their content against their own preferences," but it doesn't matter — The B&MG Foundation supports them likely due to the fact that Kurzgesagt already believes in the ideas they want spread. This video was made to point that out, and the fact that these ideas have many issues.
It's possible to discuss this without dragging Kurzgesagt into it, yes. Such a video would likely have been less controversial to those who saw it. But Kurzgesagt is still a channel with roughly 20 million subscribers, and that's a huge platform to have going around spreading ideology you see as harmful, so I don't exactly have trouble understanding why T3 would want to address it. You may see it as smelling blood, but I see it as an opportune moment to discuss a prevalent world issue with ample well-known context to use as a point of reference.
With that out of the way, some more nitpicky things:
They show which videos were funded by the foundation, as they also always do at the end of each video. Curious people can themselves figure out which videos were sponsored. It's in plain sight.
T3 explicitly says they only have problems with "about a dozen" of Kurzgesagt's videos. They're well aware of this, and make such clear in the introduction. Additionally, some of the recent videos regarding Kurzgesagt (in particular, TheHatedOne's video) have criticized this separately as being insufficiently done, as they feel that these sponsorship disclosures should be happening at the beginnings of videos instead of at the end like they currently are. Many viewers will stop watching the video as soon as they realize it's over, and thus miss any disclosures that happen after.
"allowed them to grow this much" Where do they have this insight from? Their financials aren't public to that extent, so how did they reach this conclusion?
Inference from context? They're not proving it as true, but it's a reasonable deduction to make absent the tax info you posted earlier. They were wrong, but I don't blame them for not thinking to investigate tax returns for a tangential point they didn't even originally plan to include at all.
[...] A main point of science is to not trust anything.
I don't think that most laypeople's idea of science is to "not trust anything." They tend to think of it, insofar as I'm aware, more along the lines of "carefully finding out what's true." You're generally correct, but this is subjective, and so I don't really think it's a useful point; T3 isn't speaking with regard to the technical definition of science, after all.
They constantly try to show people differing opinions on contentious topics.
This is something on which I think T3 would especially disagree with you, as a chunk of their video describes how they're disappointed with the presentation of the concept of degrowth, and how little time is spent on ideas like it when compared with ideas that Kurzgesagt supports.
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Comment on How Kurzgesagt cooks propaganda for billionaires in ~science
LukeZaz LinkIt happened a while ago, but since I found it off of Think That Through's recent video, I figured I'd add here anyways that Kurzgesagt has responded to this, and in turn TheHatedOne has responded...It happened a while ago, but since I found it off of Think That Through's recent video, I figured I'd add here anyways that Kurzgesagt has responded to this, and in turn TheHatedOne has responded back. Take these for what you shall.
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Comment on Kurzgesagt: Billionaire propaganda, stories, and trusting science in ~humanities
LukeZaz Link ParentI think you misinterpreted me here. I didn't mean to imply necessarily that the criticism being left-wing made it automatically better, but rather trying to clarify, as the post I was replying to...I think you misinterpreted me here. I didn't mean to imply necessarily that the criticism being left-wing made it automatically better, but rather trying to clarify, as the post I was replying to (likely unintentionally) carried an implication that the criticizers here were "right wing crazy people."
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Comment on Kurzgesagt: Billionaire propaganda, stories, and trusting science in ~humanities
LukeZaz (edited )Link ParentIt's perfectly fine not to want to invest hours of your time watching videos that criticize a creator you love. I watched this video because I found it interesting, and that made it easy for me....It's perfectly fine not to want to invest hours of your time watching videos that criticize a creator you love. I watched this video because I found it interesting, and that made it easy for me. If it's work to you, I can't blame you in the least for not wanting to view it.
The problem I have is with using this as a reason to describe these videos as "hit jobs." Not wanting to spend a large amount of time watching them is fine; passing harsh judgement on them like such despite this is not. These videos had a huge quantity of effort invested into them and – at least to me – make very high-quality arguments, so describing them sight-unseen as a hit job is incredibly disrespectful and unfounded.
The appropriate response in these situations is to leave them alone, as you yourself seem to do. Don't watch, don't pass judgement. Continue as you were. We all have limited energy to spend on things, and not every discussion can be afforded by everyone. Think That Through included a disclaimer along similar lines in their introduction:
And before we begin, a disclaimer: Yes, it's okay to enjoy Kurzgesagt. They have 174 videos, out of which we only have problems with perhaps a dozen. In almost all cases they stick to natural sciences, and they are good at what they do. It's only when they stray into politics that things get... hairy. And this is our major concern, with funding being secondary.
(Incidentally, I want to emphasize the fact they mention "funding being secondary" — T3 is not worried about there being "pennies out of place," they're worried about bad politics, bad philosophy, and dishonest presentation.)
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Comment on Kurzgesagt: Billionaire propaganda, stories, and trusting science in ~humanities
LukeZaz Link ParentThis is fair. Still, I think it's worth noting that an organization committing $320,000 to yours – even if just in the future – enables you to do things you otherwise couldn't, knowing that your...This is fair. Still, I think it's worth noting that an organization committing $320,000 to yours – even if just in the future – enables you to do things you otherwise couldn't, knowing that your financial future is brighter than it was prior. Not as impactful, obviously, but not worth ignoring either.
Of course, it's important to point out here too that the early funding from Gates wasn't the main point of this video, and they even mentioned during it that the initial draft of their script left it out entirely. With that in mind, I don't think this is a major flaw with their video as a whole. Sure, they have issues with Kurz's funding, but this specific instance was not the pillar holding that criticism up.
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Comment on Kurzgesagt: Billionaire propaganda, stories, and trusting science in ~humanities
LukeZaz Link ParentThis very video addresses most of what you talk about here, including funding sources, editorial influence, their agreement with the Gates, and whether or not they spread false information. I...This very video addresses most of what you talk about here, including funding sources, editorial influence, their agreement with the Gates, and whether or not they spread false information.
I don't know if or how much of the video you saw, but if you haven't already, I urge you to watch the full thing. It's careful, thorough, and persuasive. If you're one of the ones who disliked TheHatedOne's video on Kurzgesagt due to it's dramatic presentation, I can very much assure you this one has none of those issues at all, and is far more measured in tone.
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Comment on Kurzgesagt: Billionaire propaganda, stories, and trusting science in ~humanities
LukeZaz Link ParentPolitics isn't the same thing as tension. Kurzgesagt has done many videos involving politics in the past; they remain political regardless of the criticism they did or did not draw. The author of...Politics isn't the same thing as tension. Kurzgesagt has done many videos involving politics in the past; they remain political regardless of the criticism they did or did not draw.
The author of this video even says as much that they have no issue whatsoever with Kurzgesagt's science-focused videos1 — it's just the political ones they have problems with.
1. To be clear, when I say this, I'm talking about things like their videos on ants, or black holes, etc.
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Comment on Kurzgesagt: Billionaire propaganda, stories, and trusting science in ~humanities
LukeZaz Link ParentChrist. I neither want to, nor do I have the energy to write another incredibly long response to a post like this. Thankfully, my existing one already addresses most of the points the post you...Christ.
I neither want to, nor do I have the energy to write another incredibly long response to a post like this. Thankfully, my existing one already addresses most of the points the post you linked brings up, as it was responding to that person's initial complaints.
But even still, hit job? Really? To me, this video was very thorough and well-said, and I find that description of it frankly insulting. It leaves me wondering if you've even watched the summary I linked.
If this is the kind of response I can expect, then I guess I need to stop posting about Kurzgesagt in the future.
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Comment on Kurzgesagt: Billionaire propaganda, stories, and trusting science in ~humanities
LukeZaz Link ParentImportant to note here that the criticism leveled at Kurz that's posted here is not from a right-wing perspective at all, but from a left-wing one instead. Neither TheHatedOne nor Think That...Important to note here that the criticism leveled at Kurz that's posted here is not from a right-wing perspective at all, but from a left-wing one instead. Neither TheHatedOne nor Think That Through consist of any anti-vaxxers or climate deniers.
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Comment on Kurzgesagt: Billionaire propaganda, stories, and trusting science in ~humanities
LukeZaz (edited )LinkThis is another great video by Think That Through on the problems with Kurzgesagt's politics and associated philosophy. As usual for them, it tends towards the long end of the scale at about 50 or...This is another great video by Think That Through on the problems with Kurzgesagt's politics and associated philosophy. As usual for them, it tends towards the long end of the scale at about 50 or so minutes; a summary is available at the 48:54 timestamp if you don't have the time or energy to sit through the whole thing, thankfully.
Of note, this isn't the first video they've done on Kurzgesagt — they initially did another one regarding their climate change videos, which was also posted to Tildes here.
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Kurzgesagt: Billionaire propaganda, stories, and trusting science
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Comment on Tildes Pop-Up Movie Event: Twenty-Twenty Vision in ~movies
LukeZaz (edited )LinkThe Dark Knight (2008) Director: Christopher Nolan Writers: Christopher Nolan, David S. Goyer, Jonathon Nolan Starring: Christian Bale, Michael Cane, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart,...The Dark Knight (2008)
Director: Christopher Nolan
Writers: Christopher Nolan, David S. Goyer, Jonathon Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Michael Cane, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Morgan FreemanRuntime: 2 hours, 32 minutes
Countries: United States, United Kingdom
Release Dates: July 14th (New York), July 18th (US), July 25th (UK)Rotten Tomatoes: 94% (critics & audience)
IMDB: 9/10
So this is a movie that's been on my to-watch list for some time! I was never one much for superheroes in general, and I never ended up reading comics. With Batman, I'd obviously heard of him and some of his villains, and some of it interested me a bit, but I never really cared for it until I tried the Arkham games.
I'd heard of their acclaim, and decided to give them a shot, and boy did they live up to it. City in particular was great fun, and they did an excellent job throughout of making Batman's villains shine. Granted, this is helped a great deal by having folks like Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy on board to do their ever-memorable takes on the characters, but even besides I remember the story of the games being quite good. I ended up playing through all three games to completion, and growing increasingly interested in the characters as a result.
This, naturally, lead me to be curious about this film. The Dark Knight has certainly left an impression, after all! Heath Ledger's Joker in particular has become regarded as one of the most well-done takes on the Joker in quite some time, but even besides him several lines in this movie have endured to this day. I mean, shit, 'til I watched this I'd had no idea the "live long enough to become a villain" line was from this; I thought it was much older.
Yesterday, however, I finally did get around to seeing it, and I absolutely see how it had so much staying power.
The most prominent thing to address is, naturally, the Joker. Heath Ledger certainly lives up to the praise he received for his portrayal. The character does a great job of being strange and chaotic, while still having a sense of internal logic and a consistent (if obviously broken) worldview behind it. I do feel however that too much of the credit goes to Ledger here. He absolutely did a great job, no doubt, but I think the focus on him takes away from the fact that his character was very well written and so he had great material to work with.
To contrast the primary antagonist, however, we have Batman. And wow, he is... not so good. The costume does not look great, to be frank, and while his characterization isn't quite as paralyzingly stone-faced as it usually is, it still manages to be crushingly dull through how generic it is. All this without mentioning the incredibly off-putting voice the actor puts on whenever playing Batman, which – to paraphrase a friend of mine – "sounds like he smoked 30 cigarettes before every sentence."
Still, Batman being dull compared to the rest of the cast is far from typical insofar as I can tell, and the movie manages to stand very well despite him. Most other characters in the film still do a rather good job all things considered, managing to seem sensible and flawed and therefore being interesting to watch throughout. I do feel that Morgan Freeman may have been a bit poor of a casting choice due to how incredibly recognizable he is, as I ended up seeing the actor instead of the character in every scene he was in, but that may just be me — I don't watch many movies, but Morgan Freeman was in many which I have, so he may just be unusually recognizable to me as a result.
Overall, this was great fun to watch, and I'd heartily recommend it to anyone eager to see another good Batman villain performance. It easily stands the test of time, and frankly, I'm already considering giving it a second go.
Sounds like another reason to add to the already-large list that is "why you should use Firefox."