NonStandardDeviation's recent activity
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Comment on Rupert's snub cube and other math holes in ~comp
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Comment on Rupert's snub cube and other math holes in ~comp
NonStandardDeviation Link ParentI'm always blown away by the sheer creative genius he applies to the silliest applications in these videos (to my infinite entertainment). This one seems a little too almost-useful, but I think we...I'm always blown away by the sheer creative genius he applies to the silliest applications in these videos (to my infinite entertainment). This one seems a little too almost-useful, but I think we can let it slide. /h
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Comment on Peter Watts on ‘Blindsight’, ‘Armored Core’ and working with Neill Blomkamp in ~books
NonStandardDeviation LinkAs usual, while sci-fi authors can conjure up new horrors, reality manages to outdo them all as a boring dystopia. Screw those selfish sociopaths and the whole societal power structure we're...So the head of the consortium, the kind of guy we used to call a “biostitute” on account of his, shall we say, flexible perspectives, kept sidling up to me during Friday afternoon beers and suggesting that maybe it was killer whales to blame for the decline, or maybe...
As usual, while sci-fi authors can conjure up new horrors, reality manages to outdo them all as a boring dystopia. Screw those selfish sociopaths and the whole societal power structure we're trapped in. This is why, of all of Watts' recommendations, I'm a huge fan of Le Guin and her The Dispossessed for daring to dream of an alternative. I think we need both negative warnings and positive directions.
Do people have recommendations for other socially hopeful fiction?
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Comment on Peter Watts on ‘Blindsight’, ‘Armored Core’ and working with Neill Blomkamp in ~books
NonStandardDeviation Link ParentTalk about burying the lede! To be honest, though, Blindsight is such a cerebral story I'm hesitant about how it could possibly be adapted to the moving image. The big reveal being about the...Talk about burying the lede! To be honest, though, Blindsight is such a cerebral story I'm hesitant about how it could possibly be adapted to the moving image. The big reveal being about the nature of human consciousness (see the Chinese Room, P-zombies, etc.) seems like exactly the kind of thing Hollywood wouldn't understand. (Sorry, I don't know if it's possible on Tildes to hide spoilers.) My mind goes to the live-action version of Ghost in the Shell.
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Comment on 'I don’t want to die.' He needed mental health care. He found a ghost network. in ~health.mental
NonStandardDeviation LinkThis is straight fraud. Of course they'd do this to have the appearance of offering services without paying for them. I have personal experience with calling number after number to find each...This is straight fraud. Of course they'd do this to have the appearance of offering services without paying for them. I have personal experience with calling number after number to find each doctor not accepting new patients or the particular insurance.
Insurance companies will continue this malfeasance until forced otherwise by law.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~enviro
NonStandardDeviation LinkIf people are going to be paying for climate change, they might as well put it on the responsible polluters with an actual carbon price. (Yes, many countries already have one; I'm speaking to the...If people are going to be paying for climate change, they might as well put it on the responsible polluters with an actual carbon price. (Yes, many countries already have one; I'm speaking to the laggards, yes, you, United States, you're the big one.) At least pass the PROVE IT Act and set up a carbon border adjustment for a start so we aren't paying for dirty industry overseas.
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Comment on UAE corruption beyond description means COP28 is likely over before it starts — Bill McKibben in ~enviro
NonStandardDeviation LinkIf you like climate Youtubers, here's Just Have a Think on Sultan Al-Jaber and the oil industry's hijacking of COP28 (see also greenwashing, the fox guarding the henhouse), and Al Gore's talk,...- Exemplary
If you like climate Youtubers, here's Just Have a Think on Sultan Al-Jaber and the oil industry's hijacking of COP28 (see also greenwashing, the fox guarding the henhouse), and Al Gore's talk, What the Fossil Fuel Industry Doesn't Want You To Know | Al Gore | TED , about how the fossil fuel industry has used lies to capture the policy-making process around the world, including COP28.
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UAE corruption beyond description means COP28 is likely over before it starts — Bill McKibben
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Comment on US coal power plants killed at least 460,000 people in past twenty years – report in ~enviro
NonStandardDeviation Link ParentPeople are frustratingly bad at assessing danger. People fear newsworthy but rare plane crashes more than mundane but deadly car crashes, scary and badly-understood nuclear accidents over...People are frustratingly bad at assessing danger. People fear newsworthy but rare plane crashes more than mundane but deadly car crashes, scary and badly-understood nuclear accidents over thousands of daily air pollution deaths. (I think this bias is the availability heuristic?)
To blame human nature for holding back nuclear or pedestrian-friendly/transit-first development (to avoid vehicular homicides) etc. might be unproductive. However, I would say that the fossil fuel industry and carmakers have definitely exploited this bias in fearmongering campaigns against their competitors, and this is something I feel we can fight, in the micro by educating friends and family, and in the macro by pushing for an educated society, changing culture, and regulating misinformation.
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Comment on Sam Altman’s second coming sparks new fears of the AI apocalypse in ~tech
NonStandardDeviation LinkI am personally very skeptical about claims by AI companies that they can be trusted to regulate themselves via "mandatory self-regulation through codes of conduct". Regulatory capture is bad...I am personally very skeptical about claims by AI companies that they can be trusted to regulate themselves via "mandatory self-regulation through codes of conduct". Regulatory capture is bad enough; we don't need tech companies to start the game on the final square of the board. We need regulation around not only the big matters such as erosion of democratic institutions and manipulation of public sentiment (aka superpowered a propaganda machine; see Oops! We Automated Bullshit for the suggestion that AI has automated politicians' ability to sway voters using content-free speech) but also the more mundane problems of "job displacement, around discrimination, around transparency and accountability."
And for all the non-profit declarations from OpenAI, I believe this quote from Satya Nadella expresses all we need to know: "I’ll be very, very clear: We’re never going to get back into a situation where we get surprised like this, ever again." Microsoft and money are solidly in control.
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Sam Altman’s second coming sparks new fears of the AI apocalypse
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Comment on New College: How Ron DeSantis is forcing Florida brain drain by targeting an LGBTQ+ campus in ~lgbt
NonStandardDeviation LinkAmong other targets in the culture war, Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida has attacked critical race theory and gender studies. The takeover of New College is one battle. Since January of 2023,...Among other targets in the culture war, Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida has attacked critical race theory and gender studies. The takeover of New College is one battle. Since January of 2023, DeSantis appointees have worked to remake the formerly quite queer liberal arts college into a Christian conservative college. They have ended the gender studies program and aggressively recruited male students to counter the 'feminization' of the school. 40% of the professors resigned before fall classes.
Teen Vogue here presents a close look at the lived experience of students who have fled from the increasingly hostile cultural environment to Hampshire College in Massachusetts. They describe the unique properties of New College that have been lost, how they resisted, and their lives in exile. These students, their hoped-for learning experiences, and the institution that hosted them are casualties of our war of values and politicized education, as Americans fight over what schools can teach and how these young citizens can live.
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New College: How Ron DeSantis is forcing Florida brain drain by targeting an LGBTQ+ campus
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Comment on The unexpected climate policy that could tackle both US national debt and China: Carbon pricing has the potential to become a bipartisan policy in ~enviro
NonStandardDeviation LinkGiven the recent House Speaker kerfuffle and the anti-climate extremist who got picked, I feel Rooney is being optimistic about the prospects, but I suppose he has a background as a Republican...Given the recent House Speaker kerfuffle and the anti-climate extremist who got picked, I feel Rooney is being optimistic about the prospects, but I suppose he has a background as a Republican that makes this a bit more credible.
That said, I've always seen this proposal as one that would rebate the collected money back to people to make the tax more progressive (and avoid unduly burdening poor people), so I'm not sure about using it as a revenue device. And if it works, the revenue collection goes to zero, but I guess that'll take a while to happen.
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The unexpected climate policy that could tackle both US national debt and China: Carbon pricing has the potential to become a bipartisan policy
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Comment on Common degus can spontaneously learn to use a tiny rake to retrieve out-of-reach sunflower seeds in ~life.pets
NonStandardDeviation LinkUtterly adorable. Source: Tool-Use Training in a Species of Rodent: The Emergence of an Optimal Motor Strategy and Functional Understanding -
Common degus can spontaneously learn to use a tiny rake to retrieve out-of-reach sunflower seeds
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Comment on ‘Don’t Look Up’ director Adam McKay wants to win the climate information war — with memes in ~enviro
NonStandardDeviation Link ParentThe idea that it's too late and we should give up is actively being pushed by oil companies. To give in to pessimism is to aid them. There is a case for optimism. Severe consequences are likely,...The idea that it's too late and we should give up is actively being pushed by oil companies. To give in to pessimism is to aid them. There is a case for optimism. Severe consequences are likely, but incremental changes can still save lives and livelihoods. In the US, air pollution kills about 250,000 people per year, but some 92% of new energy projects in the permitting pipeline are solar and wind, only 7.5% natural gas. If legislation (something from about dozen current proposals) can speed that buildout by 1 year, that's thousands of lives saved. More systematically, Canada, Europe, Japan, and other countries already have carbon pricing to reduce emissions.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/climate-deniers-shift-tactics-to-inactivism/
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Comment on ‘Don’t Look Up’ director Adam McKay wants to win the climate information war — with memes in ~enviro
NonStandardDeviation Link ParentYou can do both. I'm literally meeting with my congressperson next week in person to push for a suite of legislation that will have an impact, and which in my opinion has a very good chance of...You can do both. I'm literally meeting with my congressperson next week in person to push for a suite of legislation that will have an impact, and which in my opinion has a very good chance of passing, ranging from reforestation to more wind energy.
It'll help though if we push the zeitgeist away from the climate denalism pushed by oil companies' PR firms. I want their stuff to get downvoted and flooded out of the meme space so that the average Joe doesn't have a chance to get indoctrinated.
Stop with the defeatism. Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Every bit helps.
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Comment on ‘Don’t Look Up’ director Adam McKay wants to win the climate information war — with memes in ~enviro
NonStandardDeviation LinkSome example posts of their darkly satirical humor: 13 Differences Between Oil Executives and AI Robots: They may appear similar, but here’s how to tell them apart. Money, it's great! How does...Some example posts of their darkly satirical humor:
How does Bernard Looney, CEO of British Petroleum, stay so positive?
There's definitely a time and place for serious factual debate, but given that oil companies are well-known to act in bad faith with "public relations" misinformation (aka propaganda) campaigns, we might as well fight the firehose of falsehood with humor. In the Ukraine war, for example NAFO has been quite effective in countering Russian propaganda and disinformation by means of shitposting, more or less bullying Kremlin stooges off the Internet by spamming doge memes.
Yes, both for the technically impressive subject matter and the density of deadpan humor.