NaraVara's recent activity
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Comment on I bought the $100,000 Amazon Rivian van you’re not supposed to own in ~engineering
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Comment on I bought the $100,000 Amazon Rivian van you’re not supposed to own in ~engineering
NaraVara LinkThis video is an electrical engineering thrill ride. Dude is trying to revive a dead Rivian without any support from Rivian (since he owns it illegally). He’s using spare batteries from a...This video is an electrical engineering thrill ride. Dude is trying to revive a dead Rivian without any support from Rivian (since he owns it illegally). He’s using spare batteries from a junkyard, there’s leaking battery acid everywhere, he does not have the equipment to be doing any of this work.
And yet he soldiers on.
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I bought the $100,000 Amazon Rivian van you’re not supposed to own
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Comment on Is sumo just offensive line without pads? in ~sports.combat
NaraVara LinkWow Jason Kelce has super duper tight hips lol. You gotta work on your mobility brother! Get on the Yoga mats!Wow Jason Kelce has super duper tight hips lol. You gotta work on your mobility brother! Get on the Yoga mats!
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Comment on Proposal: For sensitive topics, if a thread is intended for a particular demographic, there needs another thread open for everyone to discuss without having to join the targeted thread in ~tildes
NaraVara Link ParentTildes has always been overburdened with meta topics unfortunately. It’s just the founder-effect from mostly being populated by disaffected Redditors who wanted to experiment with the Reddit...Tildes has always been overburdened with meta topics unfortunately. It’s just the founder-effect from mostly being populated by disaffected Redditors who wanted to experiment with the Reddit concept done better. The fact that it’s main “why should I use Tildes” story is a meta one about interface design and incentives basically guarantees it’s going to draw a large number of people interested in discussing that sort of thing. It’s what brought us here. It’s like moving to a resort town in the mountains and wonder why everyone here seems to be so into winter sports.
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Comment on Proposal: For sensitive topics, if a thread is intended for a particular demographic, there needs another thread open for everyone to discuss without having to join the targeted thread in ~tildes
NaraVara LinkMy idea is that people simply not engage in these threads if they’re not enjoying it and don’t have anything useful to add but joining a pile-on or triggering a pile-on.My idea is that people simply not engage in these threads if they’re not enjoying it and don’t have anything useful to add but joining a pile-on or triggering a pile-on.
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Comment on I can kinda see why social media sites use divisive topics to solicit engagement in ~tech
NaraVara Link ParentThats how financial incentives work. If I get a room full of compulsive gamblers in a room and I structure the entire layout of the room to make it hard for them to step away my financial...I don’t think it’s entirely financial incentives, I think this is natural human behavior and they’re just taking advantage.
Thats how financial incentives work. If I get a room full of compulsive gamblers in a room and I structure the entire layout of the room to make it hard for them to step away my financial incentive is to exploit their human frailties to clean them out.
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Comment on Non-queer men of Tildes: PLEASE consider before commenting on ~life.women and ~lgbt without careful consideration. We are losing members over this issue. in ~tildes
NaraVara Link ParentIt mostly has to do with the US being rich enough that most people can just kind of raw dog it without public support. Our big problem is the “welfare cliff” where people in the middle class get...It mostly has to do with the US being rich enough that most people can just kind of raw dog it without public support. Our big problem is the “welfare cliff” where people in the middle class get squeezed to cover the tax base because the rich pay really low effective tax rates. The very poor get access to enough benefits to keep going and the very rich can afford whatever. But the middle is always one disaster away from poverty because they’re paying all the bills and means tested out of getting anything and that is stressful.
But also, most people don’t experience the disaster. Probabilistically it only impacts a minority of people so there’s never a critical mass willing to make the sacrifices to create a solution.
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Comment on iPhone Duo sells out immediately, now backordered until next year in ~tech
NaraVara Link ParentI have a friend who used to work for Sony and he said the Japanese engineers would complain about the American overfixation of spec sheet metrics all the time. (Sony also, notably, was one of the...I have a friend who used to work for Sony and he said the Japanese engineers would complain about the American overfixation of spec sheet metrics all the time. (Sony also, notably, was one of the few companies that Steve Jobs believed actually understood how to do hardware right. To the point where I think there was a possibility of them opening up the hardware side of things and letting Sony make Mac clones.)
I think it’s because of how we buy stuff here vs. there. It’s not random online reviews and stores staffed by high schoolers there. They used to go to stores with career store clerks who were expected to know and have tried all the inventory. They’d walk them through what works best and curate the selection of products.
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Comment on iPhone Duo sells out immediately, now backordered until next year in ~tech
NaraVara Link ParentI honestly think it’s just the friction of putting these big clunky things on and taking them off. The same reason I often reach for my phone or iPad rather than going through the comparatively...I honestly think it’s just the friction of putting these big clunky things on and taking them off. The same reason I often reach for my phone or iPad rather than going through the comparatively mild effort of opening up my Mac.
I think if they got these devices to the point where you can just wear them like ski goggles or welding goggles, and pull them on and off casually and have them hang around your neck comfortably then people would be more inclined to use them. But as is it’s too much effort to be worth the benefit of a more immersive interface.
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Comment on Metallica’s James Hetfield has a message for entertainers who bring their ‘bullshit‘ agenda to the stage in ~music
NaraVara Link ParentI imagine this must be an extra concentrated thing with celebrities and they’re all cooking their brains on Twitter for want of genuine social interactions since they’re too famous to meet new...I imagine this must be an extra concentrated thing with celebrities and they’re all cooking their brains on Twitter for want of genuine social interactions since they’re too famous to meet new people.
Like I’m probably in the top 1% of political engagement and I live in Washington DC, which is politics central. I am heavily plugged into the news and current events and general discourse, but even I don’t feel pressured to “state my political opinions at all times.” Like it’s just not a thing IRL. I wake up angry just about every day (not healthy, I know) but for the most part it’s ICE and the National Guard goosestepping through my neighborhood several times a day. Not “oh no people are too opinionated.”
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Comment on The dock on Mac, from OS 10 to macOS 27 in ~comp
NaraVara LinkWorth sharing that the Dock was not always beloved. Bruce Tognazzini apparently hated it! His criticisms seem pretty spot on to me too, despite me actually liking it.Worth sharing that the Dock was not always beloved. Bruce Tognazzini apparently hated it!
His criticisms seem pretty spot on to me too, despite me actually liking it.
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Comment on Those viral claims about plummeting Russian ‘bot’ activity have no basis in fact in ~society
NaraVara Link ParentI think both can be true. Most of what bot activity does is signal boosts authentic activity that's identified as being extreme or controversial or contentious. And it doesn't take THAT much...I think both can be true. Most of what bot activity does is signal boosts authentic activity that's identified as being extreme or controversial or contentious. And it doesn't take THAT much activity to do the boosting, it's most a matter of timing it to generate a mirage that there's momentum behind the post. I think you can see a lot less of the copy paste spam garbage just by virtue of the fact that a few thousand fewer accounts are operating and not auto-clicking "like" or quote tweeting the post to raise it's virality.
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Comment on Why is there no word for please in the Nordic languages – are their speakers simply more direct, or is politeness expressed in ways outsiders may not immediately recognise in ~humanities.languages
NaraVara Link ParentIn Telugu it’s also not customary to use the equivalent of “please” and “thank you” for requests. Using the direct translation of those terms connotes desperation and seems like you’re begging. It...In Telugu it’s also not customary to use the equivalent of “please” and “thank you” for requests. Using the direct translation of those terms connotes desperation and seems like you’re begging. It used to be seen as vaguely insulting to the recipient of the request as well, with the implication that they’re so self-absorbed and stingy that you would need to grovel to make them do something as basic as handing you a cup of water.
The hospitality culture is totally different though, where you’re basically obligated to provide whatever is asked of you and it’s really on the asker to not burden others by asking too much. Refusing to assist someone if you’re capable is sort of digraceful/dishonorable. Respect is indicated through tone and use of honorifics or formal modes of address rather than bookending questions with “please” or “thank you.”
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Comment on Someone ‘torturing’ LLMs in a robot prison has triggered the dumbest debate in AI yet in ~tech
NaraVara Link ParentAgentic 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.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.
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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.
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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.
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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.”
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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.
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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.
As with all roller coasters, it ends where it began.