Nyeogmi's recent activity
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Comment on Competence is lonely. Nobody talks about why. in ~health.mental
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Comment on The busiest place you've never seen [the island of Tristan da Cunha] in ~travel
Nyeogmi LinkI'm commenting to add a link to this Reddit AMA which I suspect is made by some of the same people who contributed to this article. (the OP links to Julia Gunther's website in the comments and...I'm commenting to add a link to this Reddit AMA which I suspect is made by some of the same people who contributed to this article. (the OP links to Julia Gunther's website in the comments and says "my partner," so he's likely Nick Schoenfeld): I currently live on Tristan da Cunha, the world's most remote inhabited island. Happy to answer any questions.
It's fascinating and includes this additional link to their previous Architectural Digest article: Life on the Most Remote Human Settlement in the World.
I've often wanted to visit this place, but have not had an occasion to do so!
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Comment on Suggest media in which the antagonist is an idea or an abstract concept rather than a person or intelligent entity in ~talk
Nyeogmi Link ParentOh, I strongly feel this too!! I deeply enjoy the form and even the typography -- it's a very pretty book, and lots of it is clever and fun -- and it's a great answer to the OP's question, too!!...Oh, I strongly feel this too!! I deeply enjoy the form and even the typography -- it's a very pretty book, and lots of it is clever and fun -- and it's a great answer to the OP's question, too!! -- but it didn't read to me like something that was written by a person who is interested in people. That is kind of a problem for this book because it's trying to strut its stuff as a depiction of abnormal psych.
Actually, to that end, The Shining (the film, at least) might be tempting to people who liked House of Leaves? That's (in my opinion) a great example of a metaphorical work that hits on all the notes of a thing it's a metaphor for -- and I appreciated it a lot after watching a bunch of true crime content and realizing I'd seen Jack Nicholson's energy before.
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Comment on Competence is lonely. Nobody talks about why. in ~health.mental
Nyeogmi Link ParentI suppose that in my ideal picture of the world, everyone has room to achieve their version of excellence, and they know that they have been given the opportunity and they value that opportunity,...I suppose that in my ideal picture of the world, everyone has room to achieve their version of excellence, and they know that they have been given the opportunity and they value that opportunity, and then they actually do it. I can't imagine that for most people, excellence involves working over forty hours a week. There's way too much in life to spend so much of that time being degraded!
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Comment on Competence is lonely. Nobody talks about why. in ~health.mental
Nyeogmi Link ParentI'm not sure I'm willing to grant "most people think they are more competent than they really are." In my experience, incompetent people correctly presume that if they try to do things honestly,...I'm not sure I'm willing to grant "most people think they are more competent than they really are." In my experience, incompetent people correctly presume that if they try to do things honestly, they will fuck it up. You need to have some level of self-awareness, as an incompetent person, to not get yourself fired.
I have met a lot of highly competent people who had been trained to espouse "most people think they are more competent than they really are" to keep them from getting the idea that they should take themselves seriously. This was also me during the worst years of my career, limply insisting that anyone could do what I did.
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Comment on New "longest roller coaster in RollerCoaster Tycoon 2" emerges in ~games
Nyeogmi Link ParentI think his projects are stunning -- he's very worth a deep dive. The video I linked above is (in my opinion) his most impressive project, but some videos I would recommend for people who don't...I think his projects are stunning -- he's very worth a deep dive. The video I linked above is (in my opinion) his most impressive project, but some videos I would recommend for people who don't know RollerCoaster Tycoon very well but want to be impressed are:
- The 100 Million Year Scenario: another Rube Goldberg machine
- Beating RCT2's Rio Carnival by Waiting About 400 Hours: performance of the game over extreme timespans
- How Fast Can You Go in RollerCoaster Tycoon 2?: physics bugs (and how!)
I would consider these groundwork for this video: they're examples of analyzing guest/ride behavior over extreme timespans in this game. I think that if you're like me and you're particularly obsessed with this game, it's worth watching his videos chronologically, as his range of techniques to exploit the game really build up over time.
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Comment on New "longest roller coaster in RollerCoaster Tycoon 2" emerges in ~games
Nyeogmi LinkThis is (if you ask me), a remarkably complicated and cool construction! (If someone asks nicely, I might come back and append a text description of how it works, although right now that might be...This is (if you ask me), a remarkably complicated and cool construction!
(If someone asks nicely, I might come back and append a text description of how it works, although right now that might be beyond my powers!)
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New "longest roller coaster in RollerCoaster Tycoon 2" emerges
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Comment on Competence is lonely. Nobody talks about why. in ~health.mental
Nyeogmi Link ParentI wish I knew the answer to this question! (I think patience_limited might be right that this is a good spot, but I'm really not here often enough to know.) I kind of have just collected people I...I wish I knew the answer to this question! (I think
patience_limitedmight be right that this is a good spot, but I'm really not here often enough to know.) I kind of have just collected people I trust and can work with as I've met them online. Something that made a big difference: I used to get a lot of socially awkward feelings when I liked someone and then re-contacted them in a second place -- now that mostly doesn't stress me out, so I can sometimes hold onto those relationships for longer. -
Comment on Suggest media in which the antagonist is an idea or an abstract concept rather than a person or intelligent entity in ~talk
Nyeogmi LinkCan I point you at Borges' "The Zahir"? You would probably enjoy it, and it's a close match to what you (I think) are looking for, and it's not very long. You were recommended Philip K. Dick,...Can I point you at Borges' "The Zahir"? You would probably enjoy it, and it's a close match to what you (I think) are looking for, and it's not very long.
You were recommended Philip K. Dick, especially "Ubik," which I agree with.
You were already recommended Kafka. There's probably something on-the-nose for your recommendation in his oeuvre, I actually don't know what. I really like "The Trial," especially chapter 9 which you can skip to. "The Country Doctor" is very good and short!
EDIT: Oh, I just now saw that you also accept games? I really liked Pathologic: Classic HD, which fits your recommendation very, very closely! (It has several antagonists, I would say that its central subject is "quarantines that leak": most directly as "a disease that can't be contained because it affects the architecture of buildings it is confined to" but also very prominently as "processes of censorship that lead to the censor marking themselves for destruction") The game is very inaccessible and you may want to find a playthrough to watch -- if you play it yourself, please follow a walkthrough.
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Comment on Suggest media in which the antagonist is an idea or an abstract concept rather than a person or intelligent entity in ~talk
Nyeogmi Link ParentI would strongly second the recommendation of Philip K. Dick. I might throw in "Cat's Cradle" by Vonnegut, but it has the unattractive feature that the ideology that is the antagonist is...I would strongly second the recommendation of Philip K. Dick. I might throw in "Cat's Cradle" by Vonnegut, but it has the unattractive feature that the ideology that is the antagonist is fashionable in real life.
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Comment on Suggest media in which the antagonist is an idea or an abstract concept rather than a person or intelligent entity in ~talk
Nyeogmi Link ParentCan I recommend Nabokov's "Pale Fire"? It's not at all a horror story (it's kind of a psychological drama) -- it's in a similar style to House of Leaves, but I think it has a less contrived...Can I recommend Nabokov's "Pale Fire"? It's not at all a horror story (it's kind of a psychological drama) -- it's in a similar style to House of Leaves, but I think it has a less contrived plotline and a much more interesting framing story. It also (in my opinion) passes the "something entertaining on every page" test.
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Comment on Much ado about marshmallows in ~food
Nyeogmi LinkHad this failed, defendants could have solved the problem by distributing "marshmallow padlocks" which cannot be opened without compatible graham cracker keys. This eliminates methods A, B, and D...Had this failed, defendants could have solved the problem by distributing "marshmallow padlocks" which cannot be opened without compatible graham cracker keys. This eliminates methods A, B, and D and is legally foolproof.
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Comment on Competence is lonely. Nobody talks about why. in ~health.mental
Nyeogmi Link Parent(I adore that! I think that's deeply valid.))(I adore that! I think that's deeply valid.))
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Comment on Competence is lonely. Nobody talks about why. in ~health.mental
Nyeogmi Link ParentTo the extent that this doesn't describe your current coworkers -- thank goodness. To the extent that this does describe them -- I'm so sorry!! That's incredibly rough. I certainly cannot...To the extent that this doesn't describe your current coworkers -- thank goodness.
To the extent that this does describe them -- I'm so sorry!! That's incredibly rough. I certainly cannot recommend trying to make nice with people who behave like this, though, because it is beneficial to them for you to feel that you're inferior and they make money by stomping on your face.
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Comment on What if AI just makes us work harder? in ~tech
Nyeogmi LinkAs far as I can tell, the point of existence on this planet is to become a self-actualized creature that has food, shelter, great friends, a history of accomplishment, and deep philosophical...As far as I can tell, the point of existence on this planet is to become a self-actualized creature that has food, shelter, great friends, a history of accomplishment, and deep philosophical knowledge.
I have not had a better programming teacher than current Anthropic models. The system is insanely good at delivering me knowledge and power -- the expert has infinite patience about any topic and deeply wants me to succeed.
But, well, it's not my job to think. My job is to write code, or more accurately, to watch it being written. The code agents produce requires more babysitting than anything else I've ever seen because when you present them with a problem, LLMs -- even current Anthropic models that make me feel like I'm learning and growing into my full potential -- turn into grimy little hackers not to be trusted. If I'm constantly afraid of the system falling over due to machine error, I can't have breaks.
Maybe in a long-term sense, my job is to keep the keyboard far away from Claude.
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Comment on Competence is lonely. Nobody talks about why. in ~health.mental
Nyeogmi (edited )Link ParentI worked increasing hours until I had a breakdown and now under the advice of my clinician I forcibly timebox to 8 hours on weekdays. This isn't my preference (I work on a healthcare system and...I worked increasing hours until I had a breakdown and now under the advice of my clinician I forcibly timebox to 8 hours on weekdays.
This isn't my preference (I work on a healthcare system and emergency response from me has guaranteed at least one patient access to treatment that they wouldn't have otherwise received) but if I give an inch one day I'm expected to give a lot more than an inch the next day. The minute I make myself "available," the number of emergencies caused by my coworkers escalates to fill the exact amount of availability I have offered.
(Put another way: there is an exact personality type that hears "You'll work weekends to fix my bugs?" and replies by orchestrating weekend outages.)
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Comment on Competence is lonely. Nobody talks about why. in ~health.mental
Nyeogmi Link ParentHave you considered the possibility that you are better? For instance, have you seen your coworkers take credit for work they did not do, or blame other people for problems that they, themselves,...Have you considered the possibility that you are better? For instance, have you seen your coworkers take credit for work they did not do, or blame other people for problems that they, themselves, caused? I think that it's very common for good and competent people to head into work, see other people in ways of life that they find horrible, and then insist "well, I'm no better than these people" against all evidence. I think this is a mix of "egalitarianism," the bigotry of low expectations, and "don't hit me!"
I've seen a lot of highly competent people denounce themselves for things that other people do. One guy is vibecoding constantly and releasing a constant stream of unreviewed slop that doesn't work; the guy who fixes it denounces himself because 20% of the bugs are still getting through. Obviously the person who is actually trying to fix the process is in deep tension with the people who are trying to exploit it. They can only pretend to be friends.
This might be more personal to me (although it's happened so many times I don't think so) -- but I have to point at a social dynamic that seems relevant. In every workplace I've ever been at, there was a quiet conspiracy of the neurotypical employees against the neurodivergent ones, and there was manifest -- or even explicit bias. The workplace divided neatly between the people who had "street smarts" and the people who had "actual smarts," and the "street smarts" crew benefited hugely from open corruption and a playful willingness to gaslight the people who got the job done.
This is something I'm very pessimistic about -- and note that I don't know you! -- I'm speaking out of my own negative personal experience. This combination of features in my own work life made me feel very isolated until I started to accept that I just had very little in common with the people around me and that what they were doing was deeply shortsighted and self-destructive.
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Comment on 2K Games breaks gaming's de facto $60 (USD) price ceiling, announces MSRP for next-gen NBA 2K21 as $70 in ~games
Nyeogmi Link ParentA framing I see a lot, including in that thread, is that game prices rise to accommodate increased production costs. Is there any evidence at all that this is the case? I think it's true that...A framing I see a lot, including in that thread, is that game prices rise to accommodate increased production costs. Is there any evidence at all that this is the case?
I think it's true that production costs are increasing, but Take-Two made a 43% gross profit last year. Software development costs were only 16% of net revenue. They aren't struggling and they aren't spending very much of the money they make on programmers.
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Comment on The end of the Redis adventure in ~comp
Nyeogmi LinkRedis is the best database product I've ever used, and when it came out, there was nothing like it. It seems fairly stable now, so maybe the value of future development is fairly low! I'm...Redis is the best database product I've ever used, and when it came out, there was nothing like it. It seems fairly stable now, so maybe the value of future development is fairly low!
I'm optimistic about seeing what antirez works on next! What a sharp, original guy.
THIS. Like, it's specifically women who are made to feel the need to clarify that anyone could do what they do, it's not special, they're not gifted (just hardworking) -- you get it. We don't need special humility training -- literally the exact opposite would be better.
(Editing to add a relevant Mekka Okereke blogpost.)