NaraVara's recent activity
-
Comment on Someone ‘torturing’ LLMs in a robot prison has triggered the dumbest debate in AI yet in ~tech
-
Comment on Productivity tools on MacOS in ~tech
NaraVara LinkI’d love to see some recs for freeware or pay-once productivity apps. I’ve always preferred Pages to the other word processors because I find it much better for layout and editing (I generally...I’d love to see some recs for freeware or pay-once productivity apps. I’ve always preferred Pages to the other word processors because I find it much better for layout and editing (I generally draft text in a markdown editor anyway and paste it in for layout and revision/editing). But ever since they started doing the annoying upsell for the iWork subscription service it pisses me off every time I start it up.
LibreOffice and stuff are just pug ugly so I don’t know what to do.
-
Comment on Was watching a history YouTube video when I realized they are all AI in ~tech
NaraVara Link Parent“Publishable research” and “things worth caring about outside the ivory tower bubble” are different things. I don’t know why 8+ years of pursuing a PhD in a niche topic is inherently more...“Publishable research” and “things worth caring about outside the ivory tower bubble” are different things. I don’t know why 8+ years of pursuing a PhD in a niche topic is inherently more worthwhile than, say, 8+ years of working in the corporate world figuring out how to do businessy things. It’s not like we grant this deference to people operating in the tech and VC world who got really good at their specific thing and openly disdain people in every other field. We recognize that being narrowly specced gives you major blind spots and biases, that it makes your thinking insular and weird and, frankly, kind of dickish. Even if it makes you good at your particular job, it doesn’t mean you have any special insight into how to contextualize the output of your work to the rest of the wide world because you don’t actually know enough about the rest of the world.
I manage engineers in enterprise organizations, I see this all the time. They’re very good at their jobs but often very VERY bad at understanding what about it matters outside their specific job description. Academics are the same, if you know any personally (I do), this becomes very obvious very quickly.
-
Comment on Was watching a history YouTube video when I realized they are all AI in ~tech
NaraVara Link ParentAcademics literally make these complaints about anyone who popularizes scholarship for a mass audience, particularly the ones active on Reddit. Oh no! he focuses on the stuff that’s interesting...Academics literally make these complaints about anyone who popularizes scholarship for a mass audience, particularly the ones active on Reddit. Oh no! he focuses on the stuff that’s interesting instead of poring over tax records what an asshole!”
I don’t view this genre of criticism as meaningfully different from comic book nerds losing their minds over adaptations not being “canon.”
-
Comment on Was watching a history YouTube video when I realized they are all AI in ~tech
NaraVara LinkAt this point just assume any video that’s purely voiceover on top of rolling b-roll or stock-footage to be AI. I even see a lot of videos with actual people talking at the camera where the script...At this point just assume any video that’s purely voiceover on top of rolling b-roll or stock-footage to be AI.
I even see a lot of videos with actual people talking at the camera where the script they’re reading is clearly AI. They all do that thing where they sort of talk around the point and use weird metaphors.
-
Comment on Alright, ladies and gentlemen. Thinking caps needed. #Apple #movies #tv in ~tech
NaraVara LinkFor a given definition of easy, I’ve really liked using Coax with a Plex server. You’d need an Apple TV, but the plex server lets you have the library, and then in Coax you can create channels by...For a given definition of easy, I’ve really liked using Coax with a Plex server. You’d need an Apple TV, but the plex server lets you have the library, and then in Coax you can create channels by tagging series or movies/videos to be in the pool of things the channel will show. It really mimics the experience of channel surfing with your own curated programming. I’ve been creating a curated set of stuff my kids can watch with it.
-
Comment on Become worthless (to tech companies) in ~tech
NaraVara Link ParentI assume it has to do with Proton’s involvement with the “Omarchy” project, which is David Heinemeier Hansen’s pet project to have a version of Arch Linux without the “woke” (which is to say,...I assume it has to do with Proton’s involvement with the “Omarchy” project, which is David Heinemeier Hansen’s pet project to have a version of Arch Linux without the “woke” (which is to say, involvement of ethnic, gender, or sexual minorities).
-
Comment on Become worthless (to tech companies) in ~tech
NaraVara LinkI’ve already basically done most of these things as a matter of digital hygiene basically for as long as tech companies have started doing cross-site tracking. The main exception is the “use tech...I’ve already basically done most of these things as a matter of digital hygiene basically for as long as tech companies have started doing cross-site tracking. The main exception is the “use tech from non-US companies” because, let’s face it, it’s mostly trash designed around whatever idiosyncratic opinions about technical architecture the maintainers felt like fixating on rather than what makes a scalable and usable product for non-technical end users.
-
Comment on Someone ‘torturing’ LLMs in a robot prison has triggered the dumbest debate in AI yet in ~tech
NaraVara Link ParentThat’s not what it’s operating on. They also have a “reward function” that guides their behavior. They are basically maximizing points and “rewarded” behaviors give it points while “pain”...That’s not what it’s operating on. They also have a “reward function” that guides their behavior. They are basically maximizing points and “rewarded” behaviors give it points while “pain” behaviors deduct points. What this is doing is putting it in a situation that gives it “pain” by working against its reward function. For all intents and purposes it fulfills a similar evolutionary role as pain/discomfort does in us.
Now how it responds and reacts to this stimulus is based on its training data, because that is all it is able to do.
-
Comment on Troy Jackson emerged from nowhere to succeed Graham Platner in Maine's Senate race. Now the establishment is taking control. in ~society
NaraVara (edited )Link ParentThis whole piece just sounds like Platner dead enders with sour grapes. Using spreadsheets to track messaging campaigns and the very presence of fundraising and call time doesn’t mean they’re not...This whole piece just sounds like Platner dead enders with sour grapes. Using spreadsheets to track messaging campaigns and the very presence of fundraising and call time doesn’t mean they’re not doing field work. It’s just an actual campaign doing campaign things instead of running on vibes. Does Traister imagine Platner’s campaign wasn’t fundraising? Did they not have excel on their machines? Was Graham not doing call time? Give me a break!
And even the piece doesn’t say anything about ideological orientation. It says competing theories about how to win elections, not theories about how to position messaging. Where are you even getting “tepid centrist candidate” out of this?
Honestly this argument just gets used against anyone who runs afoul of a little clique of leftoid podcasters and YouTubers regardless of how well it matches reality because half the people commenting get all their political info from a bubble of those same people. And sure enough the links down thread are Ryan Grim and Nathan J. Robinson in addition to this one. It’s a real dismal level of media literacy to not sniff out what’s actually motivating this if the most damning thing they can say about his progressive credentials is that he’s fundraising and buying ad time to run in TV instead of running a campaign on vibes and Twitch.
Troy Jackson is currently managing an oppo drop of screenshots of himself calling Trump supporters morons and gullible idiots and telling them to not cry too hard when Trump fucks them (his words). He’s replying under these with fundraising links. There is simply zero way you can interpret that as “tepid” unless you literally just don’t know anything about it but felt like opining anyway.
-
Comment on The next chapter for Bungie in ~games
NaraVara Link ParentPeople know, it’s just not viewed as fair play. Professional baseball doesn’t let you bring aluminum bats either. Part of the game is everyone having general boundaries on how much of a force...People know, it’s just not viewed as fair play. Professional baseball doesn’t let you bring aluminum bats either. Part of the game is everyone having general boundaries on how much of a force multiplier your equipment is allowed to be.
-
Comment on The next chapter for Bungie in ~games
NaraVara Link ParentA couple dozen extra players won’t change the math. The core problem for Marathon is that it’s a game in a very sweaty genre. So it’s basically hard capped in how many people would be willing to...A couple dozen extra players won’t change the math.
The core problem for Marathon is that it’s a game in a very sweaty genre. So it’s basically hard capped in how many people would be willing to give it a try if there’s a price of admission. Going F2P and adding some PvE game modes will go a long way.
-
Comment on There is no epidemic of loneliness, but there is an epidemic of social scurvy in ~life
NaraVara Link ParentIn my 20s I developed a bit of a reputation among my friends for being a guy who gets invited to lots of parties. There wasn’t really any trick to it aside from just showing up to any social...In my 20s I developed a bit of a reputation among my friends for being a guy who gets invited to lots of parties. There wasn’t really any trick to it aside from just showing up to any social gathering I was invited to and bringing beer/wine/food when I come. Especially if it’s an invite from a stranger or an acquaintance. It’s not even like I had to be a sparkling conversationalist or anything, it literally was just a matter of showing up on time. It also helps if you help clean up/set up.
Part of what helped was that I seldom had anything else to do. I didn’t have cable and Netflix was still mostly back catalog stuff back then. I simply set a rule for myself where I didn’t let myself play video games unless I literally had no other social engagements going on and that was it. Once I did that I had no choice but to go out.
-
Comment on Help me choose a small electric car in ~transport
NaraVara Link ParentIt varies a lot by dealer network in your area is my understanding. (Which is true of all makes, but I’ve heard a lot of horror stories about Kia and Hyundai specifically as having really shitty...It varies a lot by dealer network in your area is my understanding. (Which is true of all makes, but I’ve heard a lot of horror stories about Kia and Hyundai specifically as having really shitty dealer experiences.)
-
Comment on Help me choose a small electric car in ~transport
NaraVara Link ParentOr be like me and just play enough Gran Turismo that you get used to it. I’m being serious too. I was car free for about 12 years before I got a car again and, when I did drive before I was a...Frankly if driving scares you then you need to go and take a driver training course beyond whatever is mandate for your driver's license.
Or be like me and just play enough Gran Turismo that you get used to it.
I’m being serious too. I was car free for about 12 years before I got a car again and, when I did drive before I was a reckless teenager who drove like an asshole. When I started driving again as an adult I was super-out of practice and living in a big city with narrow roads and complex traffic patterns with lots of bicycle and pedestrian traffic, which all made me very nervous about driving. Playing a driving sim for a while actually did just get me way more comfortable with the idea of driving and, I think, made me an objectively better driver than I ever was before just because it helped me understand gearing and traction and all these other things I didn’t used to think about from a purely driver’s ed level of driving knowledge to get a license.
-
Comment on Anyone have a pebble? in ~tech
NaraVara Link ParentMy son picks up an interesting rock and carries it around with him basically any time we leave the house so it’s definitely a thing. Dude just wants to keep a pebble with him at all times.My son picks up an interesting rock and carries it around with him basically any time we leave the house so it’s definitely a thing. Dude just wants to keep a pebble with him at all times.
-
Comment on Anyone have a pebble? in ~tech
NaraVara LinkSheepishly puts his rock back in his pocket and walks away.Sheepishly puts his rock back in his pocket and walks away.
-
Comment on Help me choose a small electric car in ~transport
NaraVara Link ParentOh I misunderstood, I thought you mean like an EV wheelchair. Right now they just have an e-bike, but the focus of the company is micromobility generally so stuff like wheelchairs and strollers...Oh I misunderstood, I thought you mean like an EV wheelchair. Right now they just have an e-bike, but the focus of the company is micromobility generally so stuff like wheelchairs and strollers are in their remit.
-
Comment on Help me choose a small electric car in ~transport
NaraVara Link ParentHold up. Here comes a new challenger. The Chevy Bolt is back. I didn’t realize that was out already. This might actually fit your case perfectly. It’s like a roughly VW Golf sized hatchback and...Hold up. Here comes a new challenger.
The Chevy Bolt is back. I didn’t realize that was out already. This might actually fit your case perfectly. It’s like a roughly VW Golf sized hatchback and it’s under $30k.
-
Comment on Help me choose a small electric car in ~transport
NaraVara Link ParentEV batteries have outperformed all expectations. The first generations of them are in the 10 years old range now and they mostly seem to still be in good shape. The battery conditioning measures...EV batteries have outperformed all expectations. The first generations of them are in the 10 years old range now and they mostly seem to still be in good shape. The battery conditioning measures they started introducing have been very effective so I really don’t think it’s worth worrying about. Like you said, other parts will wear out first, and even an ICE car is going to start needing serious work after that amount of time that’ll be well over the $10k-$20k lump sum you’d pay to fully overhaul the battery.
Agentic models are broader in their training. But I agree that a reward function is not analogous to human qualia. I think the AI dev world is full of weird cultists.