NaraVara's recent activity
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Comment on Violent texts from Democratic nominee for Virginia attorney general leaked in ~society
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Comment on What is your 'Subway Take'? in ~talk
NaraVara Link ParentPeople would actually just consume a lot less across the board so I’m not so sure the established brands would.People would actually just consume a lot less across the board so I’m not so sure the established brands would.
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Comment on Violent texts from Democratic nominee for Virginia attorney general leaked in ~society
NaraVara Link ParentIt’s neither an “inability” nor an “unwillingness.” It’s an intentional effort to conflate obviously objectionable behavior with tactless behavior to minimize the negative impact of the former and...It’s neither an “inability” nor an “unwillingness.” It’s an intentional effort to conflate obviously objectionable behavior with tactless behavior to minimize the negative impact of the former and exaggerate the nature of the latter.
This dynamic only ever goes one way. When Democrats do the latter there will be no grace. When Republicans do the former there will be infinite wells of contextualization.
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Comment on Violent texts from Democratic nominee for Virginia attorney general leaked in ~society
NaraVara Link ParentI don’t really see the equivalence between Jones making an Office reference and dehumanizing threats of open violence coming from the right. On a very broad “violence bad” line they’re in the same...I don’t really see the equivalence between Jones making an Office reference and dehumanizing threats of open violence coming from the right. On a very broad “violence bad” line they’re in the same family of things but it’s like trying to draw a connection between training on a punching bag and knifing someone in the street.
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Comment on Can we bury enough wood to slow climate change? in ~enviro
NaraVara Link ParentI don’t think it’ll take the collapse of humanity. It just seems like committing any level of resources to take action on climate at all has been a Herculean task and it seems to yo-yo back and...I don’t think it’ll take the collapse of humanity. It just seems like committing any level of resources to take action on climate at all has been a Herculean task and it seems to yo-yo back and forth in support so we get 2 steps forward and 1 step back. Knowing that, it’s sensible to think people will just take their eyes off the ball before the job is done. Once our sense of “normal” is a generation in the rear view mirror I worry people will just forget, in the same way the passing of the WWII generation speedily saw the renewal of fascist and neofascist politics.
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Comment on What is your 'Subway Take'? in ~talk
NaraVara Link ParentPeople in TJ’s own time were commenting on the hypocrisy of those words being written by a slaveowner. But to read it as being hypocritical you kind of need to have interpreted it as it sounds,...- Exemplary
People in TJ’s own time were commenting on the hypocrisy of those words being written by a slaveowner. But to read it as being hypocritical you kind of need to have interpreted it as it sounds, with “all men” meaning “everybody.” If it didn’t mean everybody there wouldn’t be any hypocrisy.
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Comment on Can we bury enough wood to slow climate change? in ~enviro
NaraVara Link ParentSequestration needs to happen regardless of how effective emission reduction efforts are just to reverse the damage. We can wait on geology to do it naturally but that’s basically accepting a much...Sequestration needs to happen regardless of how effective emission reduction efforts are just to reverse the damage. We can wait on geology to do it naturally but that’s basically accepting a much less liveable climate for basically the rest of human history.
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Comment on What is your 'Subway Take'? in ~talk
NaraVara Link ParentYeah I was actually thinking about how gay dudes call me “gurl” or “bitch” all the time and I don’t really think anything of it. I don’t even think it’s a familiarity thing I think it’s a similar...Yeah I was actually thinking about how gay dudes call me “gurl” or “bitch” all the time and I don’t really think anything of it. I don’t even think it’s a familiarity thing I think it’s a similar dynamic to reclaiming a slur where gay men were denigrated as being effeminate and ended up adopting it on their own terms.
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Comment on What is your 'Subway Take'? in ~talk
NaraVara Link ParentSure there’s technically “room for discussion.” But strictly speaking it’s not accurate to say “men” can’t include “women.” People can choose to interpret themselves inside or outside of a term if...Sure there’s technically “room for discussion.” But strictly speaking it’s not accurate to say “men” can’t include “women.” People can choose to interpret themselves inside or outside of a term if they want but that says more about the listener than the speaker most of the time.
It’s not so different from a mirror image of “not all men” sorts of responses. It’s obvious that someone venting about experiences with men doing X doesn’t literally mean ALL men do X all the time. A person can decide for themselves if they want to read such a comment as if they’re the general case or an exception case. I just think life tends to be happier if you elect to interpret things in the nicest possible way instead of the most adversarial possible way.
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Comment on What is your 'Subway Take'? in ~talk
NaraVara Link ParentThis isn’t really a topic of debate. “Men” in generic usage was assumed to include everyone. Now the reason it evolved that way is because people’s mental pictures of who mattered only included...This isn’t really a topic of debate. “Men” in generic usage was assumed to include everyone. Now the reason it evolved that way is because people’s mental pictures of who mattered only included males, so they didn’t feel the need to get picky about differentiating. If I had to guess it probably happened as society got more complicated and administrative and lines between “who you are at home/with family” and “who you are in society” started to get more and more attenuated, which coincided with a lot of hardening and formalization of traditional roles.
In fact, “man” originally was gender neutral in Old English. It didn’t start to mean “male” until after people started using the word “woman” (wif-man) to specify they were talking about a female. Only then did “man” take on the implication of being male only.
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Comment on What is your 'Subway Take'? in ~talk
NaraVara Link ParentSpanish has a pretty simple rule where one male in the group makes the group male and you use the feminine form only when the whole group is female. That’s basically the subconscious use of “you...Spanish has a pretty simple rule where one male in the group makes the group male and you use the feminine form only when the whole group is female.
That’s basically the subconscious use of “you guys” that I see used. Similar to phrases like “all men are created equal” when it’s meant generically it’s presumed to be gender neutral and only becomes masculine when the intended gender is relevant to the statement.
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Comment on Can we bury enough wood to slow climate change? in ~enviro
NaraVara (edited )LinkThese numbers are extremely depressing. We do this for about 75 years and we get barely above half a degree F? And that’s assuming their complete lifecycle emissions calculation isn’t being...These numbers are extremely depressing.
And according to the research team’s models, this would remove a grand total of at least 770 billion tons from the atmosphere by 2100, turning the global thermostat down by at least 0.35 degree C (0.63 degree F).
We do this for about 75 years and we get barely above half a degree F? And that’s assuming their complete lifecycle emissions calculation isn’t being unreasonably rosy and it doesn’t cost way more than expected to dig and rebury our ditches full of wood?
There’s really no good sequestration solution huh?
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Comment on What is your 'Subway Take'? in ~talk
NaraVara (edited )Link ParentI agree with all these except the rainbow. I think it’s a lovely symbol, even though I agree that the meanings for each color feel forced and contrived. My biggest complaint is just that they...I agree with all these except the rainbow. I think it’s a lovely symbol, even though I agree that the meanings for each color feel forced and contrived. My biggest complaint is just that they stole it from Fred Hampton/Jesse Jackson. (No I haven’t actually checked the timeline on which came first.)
That said, the insistence on adding little things for each subgroup to the flag, even though the rainbow is already a metaphor for all the beautiful colors at once starts to make the flag look and feel like /r/Place. It comes from the same issue you mention with Take #1.
At some point culture seemed to shift towards people getting insistent about finding ever more precise and specific labels to categorize themselves into self-segregating groups and I think this is very unhealthy as it both denies individuality (relating your identity to a prepackaged label instead of discovering your authentic self in all its ineffable and inarticulable glory) while also masking the ways in which individual experiences are universal and generalizable. Thankfully I think this trend has actually stalled out by the early 2020s, if not reversed.
I kind of blame the rise of marketing and consulting think for this. The way you’re trained to operate there is to identify discrete groups that you can tailor outreach to. But the point of marketing is to sell shit, not to create community. No surprise it coincides with NGOs turning into fundraising machines instead of organizations that actually do anything but just raise funds to raise more funds. Also not surprising that it gets popular as people shift their social engagement to social media, which is designed from the jump to serve ads and forces people to format their socializing according to the logic of an advertiser.
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Comment on Why cassette tapes are coming back in ~music
NaraVara (edited )Link ParentI didn’t mean actual laserdiscs, just a laserdisc sized format. It is big but I imagine you could have all sorts of artsy designed players for something like that. Like a Video Burger or a scaled...I didn’t mean actual laserdiscs, just a laserdisc sized format. It is big but I imagine you could have all sorts of artsy designed players for something like that. Like a Video Burger or a scaled up version of the various types of weird B&O CD players they’ve made over the years.
As for archiving, I think what we’d really need is that crystal matrix storage thing where the data is stored in glass pucks that have lasers carve grooves inside the crystal. The problem is all the research and money seems to go to being super space efficient and cram as many terabytes or petabytes into as little space as we can. But we don’t actually need that for distributing physical media, we don’t need that much storage just something that’s cheap to produce, and easy to transport and store, that lasts forever and is easy to use.
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Comment on Why cassette tapes are coming back in ~music
NaraVara (edited )Link ParentIt is coming back a bit, but I think it’s inhibited by the fact that working players are sincerely hard to come by. Also I think the quality difference is WAY more apparent between SD and HD video...It is coming back a bit, but I think it’s inhibited by the fact that working players are sincerely hard to come by. Also I think the quality difference is WAY more apparent between SD and HD video to the point where it’s actually hard to tolerate VHS quality once you get used to better.
That said, now that physical media is primarily the domain of geeky collectors, I actually think a format that is more like laserdisc sized is probably better suited for collector needs than DVDs and BluRays. Just have a disc big enough to fit an entire season of a TV show on a single disc at 4k UHD quality + Dolby atmos and all of that. And press it onto a material that is durable and resistant to disc rot for like 100 years, which is easier to do when you don’t need to cram as much compressed data into a tight space.
That and laserdisc sized discs means you can have bigger, cooler art and inserts packaged in with it and makes it more usable as a display piece.
I suppose the other option is to literally just distribute write-protected cassette sized hard drives that the movie’s been written to. . . .the economics probably don’t make any sense but you could slap so many episodes of “Deep Space 9” in this bad boy.
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Comment on Why cassette tapes are coming back in ~music
NaraVara Link ParentThe generation that renewed vinyl was of an age to inherit records from uncles and aunts and parents who were teens in the 60s and 70s. The generation renewing interest in cassettes is inheriting...The generation that renewed vinyl was of an age to inherit records from uncles and aunts and parents who were teens in the 60s and 70s.
The generation renewing interest in cassettes is inheriting tapes from parents who were teens in the 70s and 80s.
Soon, when 90s kids’ children become teenagers, CDs will come back too.
It all comes down to what a curious youth finds in the old junk drawers.
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Comment on Amazon's Prime Day deals could actually cost you more in ~tech
NaraVara LinkEven if we ignore dynamic pricing I think the argument would hold. I got downvoted to hell on Reddit once for saying that if Steam is prompting you to spend $5 a piece to fill up a library full of...Even if we ignore dynamic pricing I think the argument would hold. I got downvoted to hell on Reddit once for saying that if Steam is prompting you to spend $5 a piece to fill up a library full of games you never play then it hasn’t actually saved you any money! You may technically have an entitlement to a game that you got for $35 less than retail, but if you never actually play it then you forked over $5 for something that provided $0 in value to you!
Prime deals are the same way. Over the long run you’re better off just paying full retail price for things you know you will get use out of when you actually need them. It doesn’t do you any good to theoretically save a bunch on stuff you don’t actually need. If anything it adds long terms costs in storage and maintenance and just psychological stress to keep your life tidy. If it happens to be on sale when you need it then go for it, but generally speaking if it’s worth having it’s probably worth paying full price.
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Comment on It begins: AI shows willingness to commit blackmail and murder to avoid shutdown in ~tech
NaraVara (edited )Link ParentHonestly I think the original sin of all these AI companies is trying to design their chatbots to try to trick people into thinking they’re human. It’s a swirl of dishonesty they’ve folded into...Honestly I think the original sin of all these AI companies is trying to design their chatbots to try to trick people into thinking they’re human. It’s a swirl of dishonesty they’ve folded into every single thing they do and it compromises the whole enterprise.
There is no reason your robot should sound like a person. People are very good at separating contexts and you can have a robot that can be very personable without sounding the least bit like a human being. C-3PO is a perfect example where nothing about the design hides that he’s a robot. He talks like a person, but the talking is itself signposted as coming from a robot at every turn. R2D2 has tons of personality and all he does is go beep-boop-warble.
If a thing that is very clearly a computer model starts spouting nonsense, people have plenty of ability to separate and contextualize what they’re seeing and hearing to get its limitations and understand that the nonsense is just that. But they have actively gone out of their way to short-circuit people’s natural bullshit detection systems and built their entire businesses around it so this is what we get instead.
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Comment on Bluesky melts down over Jesse Singal in ~tech
NaraVara Link ParentMost people on a microblogging type platform aren’t interested in putting that much thought into it. That’s the whole appeal of it, even to actual content creators. If they felt the content was...Most people on a microblogging type platform aren’t interested in putting that much thought into it. That’s the whole appeal of it, even to actual content creators. If they felt the content was worth investing real time into, rather than idle time while on the John, they’d have published it as a blog or a podcast or something.
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Comment on Bluesky melts down over Jesse Singal in ~tech
NaraVara Link ParentThe person would need to tag their posts for that to work, which it’s doubtful enough people would do to be worth it.The person would need to tag their posts for that to work, which it’s doubtful enough people would do to be worth it.
Yeah this is important to note. A private message to a colleague is not stochastic terrorism. But going up on TV and beaming dehumanizing and violent rhetoric at impressionable nutcases is. Jay Jones’ texts make him a moron, primarily because he sent them to a Republican who he should have known would pocket it for later. But he was very obviously not trying to wind up random people to do violence against his enemies.