NoblePath's recent activity
-
Comment on Live updates of day one executive orders / actions taken by US President Donald Trump in ~society
-
Comment on Apple Intelligence doesn't work the way I want it to in ~tech
NoblePath LinkJust as an aside, Siri used to be much better. It could do more and answer more questions without resorting to the web and had a connection to the Wolffram Alpha API. I assume the loss of Wolf...Just as an aside, Siri used to be much better. It could do more and answer more questions without resorting to the web and had a connection to the Wolffram Alpha API. I assume the loss of Wolf from the alpha was some kind of licensing thing, but I could never understand why or how it lost so much of its basic functionality especially as compared to Google and Alexa.
-
Comment on US$ 30 million to reinvent the wheel (Bluesky vs. Mastodon) in ~tech
NoblePath Link ParentBecause marketing requires some skills. This is a problem with a great many open source type projects. The engineers are often brilliant and wonderfully-hearted, but they think like engineers at...Because marketing requires some skills.
This is a problem with a great many open source type projects. The engineers are often brilliant and wonderfully-hearted, but they think like engineers at times they and their projects would be better served to think like communications students.
I don’t know how to solve the problem, but it’s a major barrier to widespread adoption.
-
Comment on CES 2025 in ~tech
NoblePath Link ParentSecond this, high dpi monitors just don’t exist outside apple, and sub 32” don’t seem tonexist at all. I keep my old imac m1 24” (4500k they call it, 219 dpi i think) and use it a lot simply...Second this, high dpi monitors just don’t exist outside apple, and sub 32” don’t seem tonexist at all. I keep my old imac m1 24” (4500k they call it, 219 dpi i think) and use it a lot simply because i can’t find acceptable monitors for my macbook.
Hell, I’d consider paying like 80% the imac price, maybe full price, for an equivalently specced monitor.
-
Comment on Google’s ad policy changes to allow device fingerprinting in ~tech
NoblePath Link ParentAdblockers aren’t enough tonstop fingerprinting though, right? You have to use a browser that reports only generic or null information to the requestor. Which means no javascript, and not even...Adblockers aren’t enough tonstop fingerprinting though, right? You have to use a browser that reports only generic or null information to the requestor.
Which means no javascript, and not even slashdot looks ok without javascript these days.
-
Comment on Most adults will gain half a kilo this year – and every year. Here’s how to stop ‘weight creep’. in ~health
NoblePath (edited )Link ParentThat’s very sage advice, I’m glad you shared. But I mis-parsed your last sentence and spent an unfortunate amount of time pondering how I might change my measures of success after each poop. Edit:...That’s very sage advice, I’m glad you shared.
But I mis-parsed your last sentence and spent an unfortunate amount of time pondering how I might change my measures of success after each poop.
Edit: this comment meant for amusement purposes only
-
Comment on Pornhub is now blocked in almost all of the US South in ~tech
NoblePath Link ParentI’m a parent. I have enough time and money to parent-but that’s a privilege. Many parents do not. Even with sufficient time and money, I cannot watch my kids’ every move, and I don’t believe that...I’m a parent. I have enough time and money to parent-but that’s a privilege. Many parents do not.
Even with sufficient time and money, I cannot watch my kids’ every move, and I don’t believe that would be healthy.
I bleived even before I wanted kids that it really does take a whole community working together to raise healthy kids, which in turn benefits the whole community.
This law may be ineffective and have unintended consequences, I don’t know. But I do know we ought to have society wide guardrails to protect the vulnerable (including most children, but not just them) when they cannot protect themselves.
Kids will do some stupid things with innocent intentions. And they don’t always have the means to properly contextualize what they experience. And that’s with “good”, involved parents.
-
Comment on Pornhub is now blocked in almost all of the US South in ~tech
NoblePath Link ParentThis might work at the kid’s house, but what about a friend’s house? Or a friend’s phone? Or any of a myriad other circumstances outside your control?This might work at the kid’s house, but what about a friend’s house? Or a friend’s phone? Or any of a myriad other circumstances outside your control?
-
Comment on Pornhub is now blocked in almost all of the US South in ~tech
NoblePath (edited )Link ParentThere are many children who have no parent available to help, educate, or set limits for them. As @lou said, no law or technical feature will 100% prevent access. But do we really want those kids...There are many children who have no parent available to help, educate, or set limits for them. As @lou said, no law or technical feature will 100% prevent access. But do we really want those kids to have unfettered access to porn? Guns? Drugs?
Even for kids with decent parents, social restrictions are still needed
Communities benefit tremendously from healthy children growing into healthy adults, and suffer grievously from unhealthy kids and unhealthy adults. Communities can and should have a sizeable hand in supporting parents and raising g kids.
Edit: also, if you think parents should be restricted from having children unless they meet criteria, we should probably have a different, more urgent conversation.
-
Comment on Is it just me or has advertising lost the plot entirely? in ~life
NoblePath LinkIf don’t advertising is not inherently bad, anymore than production and an economy are bad, but midern advertising is the pits. I need stuff to live, and I want the best stuff for me, and at some...If don’t advertising is not inherently bad, anymore than production and an economy are bad, but midern advertising is the pits. I need stuff to live, and I want the best stuff for me, and at some point a producer has to announce the stuff they made that might be the stuff I want, and that’s necessary advertising.
Of course, modern advertising goes so far beyond this. As another user put it, most midern advertising is attempting to motivate you to do something the advertisers want, regardless of your actual needs or wants, by altering your perception of reality. Sometimes this has disastrous results, see for example edvard bernays operations for united foods in Central America.
It’s especially horrific for young minds who are soaking everything in and accepting agressive messaging as true. And I’m old, but I’m pretty sure as adults media has become more sophisticated, the evil effect had magnified.
I wish to God I had a solution. It’s annoying at best, deadly at worst and ever on the rise.
-
Comment on Why I am pursuing a life, professionally and personally, of Christian Virtue in ~humanities
NoblePath Link ParentI'm sorry,, I had a lot of family stuff around xmas and couldn't really focus on this meaningfully. I'm not sure that I have ever been afraid of something I didn't believe in, or at least believe...I'm sorry,, I had a lot of family stuff around xmas and couldn't really focus on this meaningfully.
I'm not sure that I have ever been afraid of something I didn't believe in, or at least believe was possible, which is admittedly, a really big universe.
I also struggle with anxiety, which I define as fear with no immediately discernable source. As opposed to actual fear, which feels the same but I can identify the source while in the fear. For example, when I first learned I was getting divorced, i was terrified with fear. I also wake up terrified in the middle of the night feeling exactly the same, but there's no reason. I'm not about to get divorced, I'm not about to get eaten by a tiger, my kids are sleeping soundly. this is anxiety.
Now, the anxiety does have a source I believe. Part of it is brain based, when certain things resemble terrifying and horrifying expirences I endured, especially as a child, my brain reacts as if those things are happening agin right now.
One of the horrifying things I experienced as a child was being taught about an evil god who stood ready to send me to a lake of fire for all eternity just because I forgot to beg forgiveness for swiping an extra piece of pie. And so, sometimes when I wake up in the wee hours some part of my brain is recalling the terror of lying awake desperately trying to remember all my sins and get forgiveness for them.
I say all that to say this, when I find something supernatural scary in a movie or story, it's usually related to this residual emotional belief that's stored in my brain. Intellectually I don't believe in that nonsense (unless it's HP Lovecraft), but a part of my emotional self still does. And maybe, in some cases, my intellectual self also admits at least the possibility. Per the bard, there is more in heaven and earth than is dreamt of in the mind of men (or something like that).
In your case, I wonder whether there are some residuals for you, and what those are, that would make god's ancient law so terrifying for you. A couple of possibilities, and note I am totally just pulling these out of my hat, are that your early conditioning is stil in effect on some level, or that there is still some lingering belief in the power and authority of god, no matter how evil.
Incidentally, struggles like these go back to the very early years of Christianity. Marcion, later declared heretic, maintained that the God of the old testament was the same character in the new testament that tempted Jesus in the desert, and that Christ's father was another, pure loving, being altogether.
FWIW, my personal current professional and confessional belief about the old testament is that it represents a myopic and woefully incomplete human attempt to codify poorly understood godly principles.
-
Comment on "The Telepathy Tapes" is taking America by storm. But it has its roots in old autism controversies. in ~misc
NoblePath (edited )Link ParentI call baloney on your living in the dark timeline if post Voyager star trek doesn’t exist in yours. Which means it’s your moral duty to transport the rest of us. edit: a wordI call baloney on your living in the dark timeline if post Voyager star trek doesn’t exist in yours.
Which means it’s your moral duty to transport the rest of us.
edit: a word
-
Comment on Why I am pursuing a life, professionally and personally, of Christian Virtue in ~humanities
NoblePath Link ParentMaybe, but this conclusion seems pretty plain and decisive: How would you propose we apply buddhism in America today to reign in the worst of human behavior? Is there another better way? Where...It seems like you are struggling with comprehension of these quotes
Maybe, but this conclusion seems pretty plain and decisive:
The split in the Western mind therefore makes it impossible at the outset for the intentions of yoga to be realized in any adequate way
How would you propose we apply buddhism in America today to reign in the worst of human behavior? Is there another better way? Where would you say Dr. King’s ideals came from? Are his aligned with western ideals of goodness in your opinion?
-
Comment on Why I am pursuing a life, professionally and personally, of Christian Virtue in ~humanities
NoblePath Link ParentYour text box is what I am trying to understand with you. I’m curious why you are scared of this god if you don’t believe in it? And i’m absolutely not trying to induce an “aha he is real” kind of...Your text box is what I am trying to understand with you. I’m curious why you are scared of this god if you don’t believe in it? And i’m absolutely not trying to induce an “aha he is real” kind of moment. I’m perfectly fine for you not to believe.
It seems at one time you did believe, and what changed is that your perspective on evil superceded the notion that whatever god does is good, all else is evil?
-
Comment on Why I am pursuing a life, professionally and personally, of Christian Virtue in ~humanities
NoblePath Link ParentI don’t claim “western excellence,” my claim is that Christ is good, and that what is excellent in western culture at least from a “goodness” perspective is of Christian origin. But what of my...I don’t claim “western excellence,” my claim is that Christ is good, and that what is excellent in western culture at least from a “goodness” perspective is of Christian origin.
But what of my question, what paradigm has done better?
-
Comment on Why I am pursuing a life, professionally and personally, of Christian Virtue in ~humanities
NoblePath Link ParentI disagree with your provided interpolations of the quoted passage. You are significantly changing the meaning of the passage as written. I also note the original passage describes that the...I disagree with your provided interpolations of the quoted passage. You are significantly changing the meaning of the passage as written. I also note the original passage describes that the Buddha's followers have "wholehearted faith and joy," which reads like a qualification to me.
But I will defer to your firm commitment and concede that as respresented by you, Pure-Land Buddhism requires nothing of its adherents to become members.
Regarding your bigger point, I have thinking to do. I am not ultimately responsible for the meaning people take from my work. but I don't presently understand how anyone could find what I've said to indicate that I believe "western" ways are better than "eastern" ways, especially when viewing the entire corpus. And not everyone who disagrees with my pursuit agrees with you that I"m bordering on some kind of christina nationalism. For example, when discussing my recent turn with a dear friend who is a linguisitics professor at a leading university, religious trauma survivor, and avowed atheist, I share my notion that America is a Christian nation to which she wholeheartedly agreed. Like you, she wished it were otherwise. Unlike you, she understood that a virtuous Christian point of view has significant value in making the world better. She certainly has no notions that I might be a threat to universalism or inclusion, otherwise she'd never let her kids near me. But she knows me more intimately than anyone on tildes.
I'll add, too, that one the most influential movements toward justice in recent memory was entirely Christian based. Dr. King was Reverend King first, a vocal believer and powerful preacher. We've also seen how horrible things can be when leaders disavow Christianity. The National Socialist Workers Party and late stage capitalist oligarchies are all decidedly anti-theist movements.
I'll also pose the question, what alternatives have reigned in human propensity for evil at the national level and above? Buddhism did little to prevent the horrific atrocities of Imperial Japan, Best Korea, or CCP. The Indian Caste system is second to none and Mumbai can barely breathe.
Ultimately, though, if I'm persuading vast swaths of people, maybe I'm doing it wrong? Christ was controversial and despied by zealots and intellectuals alike, and so to follow Christs is to presumably do the same.
As a side note, here is the Jungian quote which led me to believe he and I were in alignment:
The West, … with its bad habit of wanting to believe on the one hand, and its highly developed scientific and philosophical critique on the other, finds itself in a real dilemma. Either it falls into the trap of faith and swallows concepts like prana, atman, chakra, samadhi, etc., without giving them a thought, or its scientific critique repudiates them one and all as “pure mysticism.” The split in the Western mind therefore makes it impossible at the outset for the intentions of yoga to be realized in any adequate way.
I believe this is from Collected Works. He was speaking directly of yoga and the chakras, which is distinct from Buddhism. I don't have sufficient insight as to whether Jung would have agreed this limitation applies equivalently to buddhism, so I'll retract the statement.
-
Comment on Why I am pursuing a life, professionally and personally, of Christian Virtue in ~humanities
NoblePath Link ParentI had to look up Marble Hornets. I'll leave it where it is, thank you very much. Before we continue, I need to add I don't have an answer or a solution, all I have is perhaps a broader...I had to look up Marble Hornets. I'll leave it where it is, thank you very much.
Before we continue, I need to add I don't have an answer or a solution, all I have is perhaps a broader understandig of the texts and a little more experience.
Please correct this if I misunderstood, but I heard you say, I once believed, and am intimatetly connected to people who do still believe, and what they believe is that scripture is largely accurate and authoritative about the god being who seems capable of pretty great evil.
I'm curious about a couple more things.
First, does it seem to you that a lot of other people around you also believe more or less in the existence of this same god?
Second, are you familiary with the basic tenets of athiesim? Super simplistically it is:
God can't be ubiquitious, all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-loving at the same time if there are horrible things in the world which god could prevent.
The usual theistic response to this is something about all-loving means free will.
I buy this, but with the further acknowledment that free will that is never exercised in both directions is not really frew will. That is, if an agent with free will only ever chooses good, they don't really have free will, because they don't have actual knowledge of what it is to choose evil. I'm still working on my understanding of this.
-
Comment on Why I am pursuing a life, professionally and personally, of Christian Virtue in ~humanities
-
Comment on Why I am pursuing a life, professionally and personally, of Christian Virtue in ~humanities
NoblePath Link ParentI’m not trying to to be obtuse, I’m just asking a ldifferent question. I’ll ask it this way: why does it matter to you that the Bible contains this commandment? Presumably you don’t care, for...I’m not trying to to be obtuse, I’m just asking a ldifferent question. I’ll ask it this way: why does it matter to you that the Bible contains this commandment? Presumably you don’t care, for example, that the ancient vedic text of manu requires that husbands should be worshipped as a god. Why then does a problematic Bible edict strike an emotional response for you?
-
Comment on Why I am pursuing a life, professionally and personally, of Christian Virtue in ~humanities
NoblePath Link ParentI'm taking a swing at distinguishing between preaching and pastoring, which includes everything you say. Around my school we call it public theology. As it happens, I am skillful one on one in...I'm taking a swing at distinguishing between preaching and pastoring, which includes everything you say. Around my school we call it public theology.
As it happens, I am skillful one on one in bringing people some peace and joy, however that is not my hearts desire.
Not that it matter much in a system hell bent on abuse, but arrest requires probable cause, a more involved standard than reasonable suspicion.
The system has always had bias and abuse, mostly against black folks, but in saner times there was a reasonable correlation between arrest (as opposed to simply a stop) and guilt.