Pepetto's recent activity
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Comment on The average US college student is illiterate in ~life
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Comment on The average US college student is illiterate in ~life
Pepetto Link Parentwell yes, this is why this segways us beautifully back to the main topic.well yes, this is why
I do keep an eye on the cars from the corner of my eyes (to abort in case of an inattentive driver which is way too common), but I try to make it as unobvious as possible.
this segways us beautifully back to the main topic.
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Comment on The average US college student is illiterate in ~life
Pepetto Link ParentThe pedestrian might be more aware than you realize... I very often pretend to check my phone when crossing the street, here is my reasoning: The driver wants to avoid running over the pedestrian...The pedestrian might be more aware than you realize...
I very often pretend to check my phone when crossing the street, here is my reasoning:The driver wants to avoid running over the pedestrian almost as much as the pedestrian : pedestrian doesn't want to die, but the drivers don't want the inconvenience of running a pedestrian over (time explaining themselves, and most would even get sad from it (not enough to choose to drive carefully, but still)).
So both interests are mostly aligned.
But both would also rather the other stops and wait until after they've passed. We no longer want exactly the same thing.
And there is asymmetry in that the driver can easely check that the pedestrian has seen him, whereas the pedestrian has much greater difficulty checking the driver has seen him (the reflection in the windshield stops you from seeing if the driver is looking at you, and judging if a vehicle is slightly slowing down is rather hard). So the driver can very easely barely slow down, keep there their foot near the pedal to emergency break if the pedestrian does show intent to cross anyway, but keep cruising if the pedestrian doesn't dare take the right of way (I've come to the conclusion that pedestrian should have priority everywhere, always).
So when I'm a pedestrian and I want to cross, I do keep an eye on the cars from the corner of my eyes (to abort in case of an inattentive driver which is way too common), but I try to make it as unobvious as possible such as by pretending to check my phone. Drivers have no choice then but to give the right of way.
I believe driver can do the good thing, as long as they don't really have a choice... -
Comment on What creative projects have you been working on? in ~creative
Pepetto LinkI've recently aquired a semi old e-ink reader, the Sony PRS T2. Just replaced the battery and it's good as new. Now for the creative part. This reader hasn't got a backlight, so the case/cover...I've recently aquired a semi old e-ink reader, the Sony PRS T2. Just replaced the battery and it's good as new. Now for the creative part. This reader hasn't got a backlight, so the case/cover that comes with it has a very cool and retro swivel light integrated. So I wanted to use that case, but the faux leather cover was falling to pieces... So I've unglued the cover from the plastic shell and replaced it with blue suede.
The result is pretty good (I had to redo it once as my initial tactic didn't give good result, the tldr is that it's much easier to glue then cut to size rather than measure precisely and cut before gluing.)I also did a few pottery thing.
Does anyone know of a good ultra low effort way to share pictures? Ideally without even needing to create an account.
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Comment on A day in the life of an ensh*ttificator in ~tech
Pepetto Linkthis was funny, thank you! but for real, I feel like we are misapplying/overusing the concept of enshitification. there mostly isn't a cabbal of cackling evil businessman working to make every...this was funny, thank you!
but for real, I feel like we are misapplying/overusing the concept of enshitification.
there mostly isn't a cabbal of cackling evil businessman working to make every product shity, just market pressure not aligned with self-professed consumer interest.
most crappy product are crappy because consumer don't bother comparing before buying, whereas a price difference is immediately apparent, so product are optimized to be the cheapest possible. consumer notice price and most don't really care about quality (if you look at what they buy, so... revealed preference I guess?).
Holes in socks isn't enshitification, most socks always had holes eventually, we just used not to realize because
- our feet grew fast enough to need new ones quickly,
- we didn't notice our parents buy new ones/repair them
obviously enshitification can be real, especially in web services, but I think we should try I save this word for the appropriate situation, like when the term of the deals are progressively altered after the purchase.
Precise word/concept help us think better about the problem.
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Comment on Fix your hearts or die: The path to liberation for lonely men is feminism in ~life
Pepetto Link ParentIf I somehow get to it, would you be open to proof-reading / giving feedback on my best try at giving sane advice to incel in a way they can accept it? I'd try and keep it short of course.If I somehow get to it, would you be open to proof-reading / giving feedback on my best try at giving sane advice to incel in a way they can accept it? I'd try and keep it short of course.
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Comment on Fix your hearts or die: The path to liberation for lonely men is feminism in ~life
Pepetto Link ParentFor what it's worth, I agree with you that which is proposed here would actually help. It's just that the way it's worded in the article makes it look like helping isn't really the main goal here.For what it's worth, I agree with you that which is proposed here would actually help.
It's just that the way it's worded in the article makes it look like helping isn't really the main goal here. -
Comment on Fix your hearts or die: The path to liberation for lonely men is feminism in ~life
Pepetto (edited )Link ParentI truly don't understand what you are trying to say, and I am also close to burning out, so I'll just repond to the last paragraph. I believe it is good to have discussion about things even when...I truly don't understand what you are trying to say, and I am also close to burning out, so I'll just repond to the last paragraph.
I literally had trouble sleeping because of it, and I'm going to now block the thread and ignore all responses.
I believe it is good to have discussion about things even when some feel the conclusion is obvious and shouldn't even be discussed. I even believe it is good to push ourselves a bit out of our comfort zone.
Now obviously, I agree that it is apparently impacting you too much and withdrawing is understandable here. Take care of yourself.I'm absolutely out of this thread, now.[...] If you feel the need to take the last word, you can have it.
Now I must call out this blatant attempt to have the last word yourself. This is the equivalent of leaving and slamming the door shut while saying "you can have the last word". Unfortunately, I don't have enough social grace to let you have it, so there!
;)
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Comment on Fix your hearts or die: The path to liberation for lonely men is feminism in ~life
Pepetto Link ParentWhat would it take to convince you at least some (me) resonate with this post yet actually want a real solution? (I'm offering to try accommodate that if reasonnable) Everyone hates being blamed...What would it take to convince you at least some (me) resonate with this post yet actually want a real solution? (I'm offering to try accommodate that if reasonnable)
Everyone hates being blamed for things they don't feel responsible for. -
Comment on Fix your hearts or die: The path to liberation for lonely men is feminism in ~life
Pepetto Link ParentFriendly reminder that dog whistle are purposely chosen from widely innocently used things, otherwise they wouldn't work as dog whistle (plausible deniability). Obviously this doesn't mean you...Also, for the record, 13/50 is a well-known dog whistle. It is a distortion of facts.Thank you for calling them out. There're some weird discussion points around these parts.
Friendly reminder that dog whistle are purposely chosen from widely innocently used things, otherwise they wouldn't work as dog whistle (plausible deniability).
Obviously this doesn't mean you shouldn't call it out when you're confident it's being used as a dog whistle (like if someone uses many different dog whistle), but if every use of some particular word (or stat) seems like an obvious dog whistle, well, you're probably wrong about most of those.
Also, dog whistle =/= recurrent talking point obsessed over by one side of the debate and ignored by the other. -
Comment on Giving away three copies of my friend's recently-released game in ~games
Pepetto LinkI like puzzles, and the premise of "people are puzzle" hits! would try.I like puzzles, and the premise of "people are puzzle" hits! would try.
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Comment on Telegram CEO vows to fight for app amid Russia pressure in ~tech
Pepetto Link ParentPeople use threema where you live? I had a hard enough time convincing my family to switch to signal.People use threema where you live? I had a hard enough time convincing my family to switch to signal.
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Comment on E-ink tablet recommendations for note taking in ~tech
Pepetto LinkOnly half joking: Why not use pen and paper and then scan the notes if you really need a digital version (most people don't)? it's a very robust technology, tried and true. Infinite battery life,...Only half joking: Why not use pen and paper and then scan the notes if you really need a digital version (most people don't)?
it's a very robust technology, tried and true. Infinite battery life, litteraly paper-thin, foldable, pretty much fully compatible between vendors, the tactile feedback is exactly as good as real pen and paper, and the learning curve is already done with! you can even rip out a page to give someone a memo, with 100% compatibility with his existing hardware.
I ask because I've been in this situation of thinking I needed those fancy notetaking tablets and it just ended up in a drawer, as paper is so much more convenient.
Why use a high tech product to mimic a superior analogue low tech product? -
Comment on The hidden cost of AI art: Brandon Sanderson's keynote in ~tech
Pepetto (edited )Link ParentI've had a long think about what you said and decided to change up my response as we're just talking past each other at this point. What I originally wrote Friendly reminder that pretty much all...- Exemplary
I've had a long think about what you said and decided to change up my response as we're just talking past each other at this point.
It appears you value the connection a reader has with the author, sharing feelings across space and time. I do not value this connection as much. to me this feels mostly parasocial. instead I value the meaning and beauty I give to something, reguardless who/what created it, and if the meaning was intentional. I feel snobed when you claim my enjoyment of anything is more superficial than yours just because I don't care enough about the author being human. You sound like the people of old claiming photography or cinema isn't art. So far, I much prefer human art than AI art, because it's still much better. But I see no reason to think [AI art](https://maxread.substack.com/p/what-ai-art-spiral-images-tell-us) will never ever get better than human art.What I originally wrote
Friendly reminder that pretty much all of what you consider classical art was produced as a product, for financial gain, except for a few madman.You claim that the meaning I ascribe to things not designed by humans (landscape, biology, astronomy, AI poem) is not as valuable as the meaning ascribed to human made "art", even when the meaning wasn't even intentional by the author.
That seems very ... arbitrary, I guess?I have not so far talked with anyone capable of defining art in a coherent way. reasonable people say it's just a catch all term for "cool things I enjoy" or "beauty".
Unreasonable people say things like "that which has no purpose".
Apparently, to you, "ART" means "HUMAN MADE", in which case I'll agree the AI will never be humans, so they'll never make "HUMAN MADE" things. Doesn't mean AIs can't make beautiful or meaningful things...It sounds like you're mostly against mass production and low quality (and being kind of a snob about it). just checking: if we could pool all AI resources towards writting just a single excellent novel, the best novel ever written, and the AI was 100% powered by hand crank (so mostly ecofriendly, and plenty of humans toiled hard to make this novel) does this successfully disarm your knee jerk reaction against AI made things?
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Comment on Why computers won’t make themselves smarter - Ted Chiang in ~tech
Pepetto Link ParentIn "understand" (great short story btw if anyone is interested) the protagonist gets an experimental drug that make him significantly smarter, he uses his intelligence to somehow steal more of the...In "understand" (great short story btw if anyone is interested) the protagonist gets an experimental drug that make him significantly smarter, he uses his intelligence to somehow steal more of the drug to get even smarter, then reinvents a new language to think more clearly in, then thinks about building a computer to overcome the limitation of a human brain.
I mean, it's just fiction, but I truly assumed he was talking about recursively self improving AI when I read this story. -
Comment on The hidden cost of AI art: Brandon Sanderson's keynote in ~tech
Pepetto LinkWhile I love most of Sanderson's books, I'd don't think what he says is really relevant... He is clearly focusing on the writer's point of view, not the reader's. If he wants to grow as a writer...While I love most of Sanderson's books, I'd don't think what he says is really relevant...
He is clearly focusing on the writer's point of view, not the reader's. If he wants to grow as a writer nothing stops him from continuing to write after the AI replaced him. But he hasn't really provided a reason to prefer consumming human art over AI. (I'm not saying there are no reasons to do so, but he hasn't given any).
I don't read his books to feed his ego, or help him acheive writter enligthenment, I read books because they are entertaining, or help me apprehend new complex situation, or train my empathy. The end product definitely does matter very much. If AI can write books twice as good as he can, with incredibly tight plot and unforgettable twists, then I'll read AI books. -
Comment on The hidden cost of AI art: Brandon Sanderson's keynote in ~tech
Pepetto Link ParentPresumably you cann't make your own GPU from raw sand you collected yourself, or code your own kernel either... Why would you need to be able to build/train a new model from scratch to control it?...Presumably you cann't make your own GPU from raw sand you collected yourself, or code your own kernel either...
Why would you need to be able to build/train a new model from scratch to control it?
(This might sound like a dig at you, it isn't, genuinely wondering why the isolated demand for rigor) -
Comment on I'm back in ~talk
Pepetto LinkI only got here mid 2023. I feel like since early 2025, the ambient hyperpolarization hasn't completely spared tildes, we regularly (about 1/week, but with dips and lows) get some topics that are...I only got here mid 2023.
I feel like since early 2025, the ambient hyperpolarization hasn't completely spared tildes, we regularly (about 1/week, but with dips and lows) get some topics that are pretty much outrage bait, and sometime enough of us forget ourselves and engage with it emotionally and Deimos has to step in and delete the topic (and ban a few users (me included) for the week to cool off). So far it's mostly under control. -
Comment on Xikipedia in ~tech
Pepetto Link ParentPerhaps Wikipedia is the quality it currently is because the wrong kind of editor self select out of it. Maybe more engagement would dillute the quality contributions among a sea of low effort...Perhaps Wikipedia is the quality it currently is because the wrong kind of editor self select out of it.
Maybe more engagement would dillute the quality contributions among a sea of low effort ones.
We don't really have many good things like wikipedia, we should be carefull with it. -
Comment on You are being misled about renewable energy technology in ~enviro
Pepetto Link ParentThey often could, but for some industrial application requiring high temperature (steel and cement), adapting the manufacturing process is apparently more technically difficult than low heat...They often could,
but for some industrial application requiring high temperature (steel and cement), adapting the manufacturing process is apparently more technically difficult than low heat application, and is currently still being worked on.
and plants are expensive and long‑lived, retrofitting them (kilns, furnaces) will take decades.
That was also my experience for the first few weeks of uni.
Then you end up developing strategies.
You're not supposed to write everything the professor says verbatim, just keywords. And good professor (most of them) repeat the same thing twice in 2 different way to ensure proper retention by more student, obviously just write a synthesis. The act of thinking up the synthesis under pressure is mentally taxing, but it's what makes you learn! (You may already know this, or think you do, but every time I checked over the shoulder of someone who "take better notes by typing" IRL, they were not synthetizing enough)
You cann't avoid needing to grind taking notes a bit to get good at it.
Hand written is absolutely more effective if your goal is learning.