PleasantlyAverage's recent activity

  1. Comment on James Webb Space Telescope finds stunning evidence for alternate theory of gravity in ~space

    PleasantlyAverage
    Link Parent
    So people know, the linked post was written by Hossenfelder in quite a contrarian and provocative tone.

    So people know, the linked post was written by Hossenfelder in quite a contrarian and provocative tone.

    6 votes

  2. Comment on New largest prime number found! 2¹³⁶²⁷⁹⁸⁴¹-1. See all 41,024,320 digits. in ~science

  3. Comment on Starship Launch 5 successfully caught by launch tower in ~space

    PleasantlyAverage
    Link Parent
    I don't get it. The director of the Environmental Integrity Project interviewed by NPR about the application, says these contaminants are in the water, but doesn't quantify their amount. It leaves...

    I don't get it. The director of the Environmental Integrity Project interviewed by NPR about the application, says these contaminants are in the water, but doesn't quantify their amount. It leaves the impression that these are significant, but the lab reports indicate they fall within the EPA's limits for drinking water, which explains SpaceX's insistence on the water being potable. It makes sense not wanting to drink it, but from an analytical perspective it would be fine.

    Tables with limits and measurements

    EPA Primary Limits:

    Compound Limit (mg/l) Sample 1 Sample 2
    Arsenic 0.01 0.002 0.00002
    Chromium (Total) 0.1 0.002 0.0003

    EPA Secondary Limit (non-enforceable guidelines):

    Compound Limit (mg/l) Sample 1 Sample 2
    Aluminum 0.05-0.2 0.07 0.062
    Zinc 5 1.42 0.004

    Application (pg. 79)
    EPA Primary water limits
    EPA Secondary limits

    8 votes

  4. Comment on SpaceX launches fifth Starship and catches Super Heavy booster in ~space

  6. Comment on Brazil's top court says X paid pending fines to wrong bank in ~tech

    PleasantlyAverage
    Link Parent
    It could however also be a way to delay the reinstatement of X ahead of today's elections, or simply their fuck-up. Supposedly, X's lawyers claim to have paid the fine with a deposit slip provided...

    It could however also be a way to delay the reinstatement of X ahead of today's elections, or simply their fuck-up. Supposedly, X's lawyers claim to have paid the fine with a deposit slip provided by the court.

    “X Brasil was never ordered to make this payment by depositing it in the account linked to these proceedings (Banco do Brasil - code 0001; agency 1607-1, account 170500-8). On the contrary, the payment was made by means of a deposit slip issued by Caixa Econômica Federal (CEF) in accordance with the guidelines received from the Federal Supreme Court,” the document says.

    https://www.correiodopovo.com.br/jornal-com-tecnologia/em-mais-um-capítulo-x-tenta-voltar-após-pagar-multa-definida-por-moraes-1.1540009

    5 votes

  7. Comment on Meet DAVE: Discord’s new end-to-end encryption for audio and video in ~tech

    PleasantlyAverage
    Link Parent
    E2E however doesn't prevent people from reporting malicious activity. It wouldn't be hard to have a report button send the message in question to a moderation team for further analysis. The same...

    E2E however doesn't prevent people from reporting malicious activity. It wouldn't be hard to have a report button send the message in question to a moderation team for further analysis. The same thing applies to live audio/video. The last few minutes could be locally stored, and then send off on request.

    6 votes

  8. Comment on CO2 turned into fuel: Japan’s scientists convert captured carbon into green fuel in ~engineering

    PleasantlyAverage
    Link Parent
    Sure, if your proposition is that people are so self-centered that they couldn't possibly imagine reducing their carbon footprint by flying less, then we are of course left with science having to...
    • Exemplary

    Sure, if your proposition is that people are so self-centered that they couldn't possibly imagine reducing their carbon footprint by flying less, then we are of course left with science having to do the dirty work.

    The only problems of course, which these environmentalists are very much needlessly concerned about, are that the current mathematical reality looks more like n-0, which also totally ignores x historical carbon and z climate feedback loop emissions.

    Furthermore, this is a time sensitive issue and these inventions do not currently work on industrial scales in any significant manner. Until this changes, expect to hear more dogmas from environmentalists.

    9 votes

  9. Comment on Study finds people are consistently and confidently wrong about those with opposing views in ~science

    PleasantlyAverage
    Link
    A ~40% accuracy isn't exactly something I would describe as that. The in-group predictions were better at ~50%, but also not "consistently correct".

    even though participants were prepared to seek out [...] information about someone they disagreed with, their predictions were consistently incorrect

    A ~40% accuracy isn't exactly something I would describe as that. The in-group predictions were better at ~50%, but also not "consistently correct".

    8 votes

  10. Comment on The new Flappy Bird game has a hidden secret; crypto in ~games

    PleasantlyAverage
    Link Parent
    That's likely just the Play Store throwing a fit. The game still works when sideloaded on my Android 14 device.

    That's likely just the Play Store throwing a fit. The game still works when sideloaded on my Android 14 device.

    2 votes

  11. Comment on The theory that men evolved to hunt and women evolved to gather is wrong in ~science

    PleasantlyAverage
    Link Parent
    I used one of their sources, though I'm having trouble finding the exact documents they used. One difference is that they show the enrollment rate of all US residents, whereas my source shows it...

    I used one of their sources, though I'm having trouble finding the exact documents they used. One difference is that they show the enrollment rate of all US residents, whereas my source shows it only for 18-24 year olds. According to the 2020 US Census (Excel document) white people represented 58% of the total population, and 50% of the 18-24 year olds. 52% is somewhere in the middle of that, and presumably there should be a bias towards the lower number, so the enrollment rate doesn't immediately strike me as being majorly off.

    2 votes

  12. Comment on The theory that men evolved to hunt and women evolved to gather is wrong in ~science

    PleasantlyAverage
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    That by far does a bit of lifting. They are underrepresented compared to most female groups, but not men: Percentage of 18- to 24-year-olds enrolled in college (2022) Race/ethnicity Male Female...

    by far the most underrepresented group of people in colleges (in the US)

    That by far does a bit of lifting. They are underrepresented compared to most female groups, but not men:

    Percentage of 18- to 24-year-olds enrolled in college (2022)
    Race/ethnicity Male Female
    Asian 62.1 65.9
    Black 30.3 40.7
    Hispanic 29 38.8
    Pacific Islander 22.2 29.3
    White 37.4 46

    https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d23/tables/dt23_302.62.asp

    It might also be worth pointing out that this statistic only shows the enrollment rate, and not the graduation rate. The percentage of white men of ages 25-29 with a degree has paradoxically increased, despite what the decreasing enrollment rate would imply. More of them also seem to have degrees compared to some female groups. Though not compared to white females, of whom a higher percentage do indeed seem to obtain higher levels of education.

    Percentage of persons 25 to 29 years old with Bachelor's or higher degree (2023)
    Race/ethnicity Male Female
    Asian 76.3 73.2
    Black 30.2 32.9
    Hispanic 18.8 30.4
    Pacific Islander ‡ ‡
    White 40.2 51.4

    https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d23/tables/dt23_104.20.asp

    2 votes

  13. Comment on Boeing’s Starliner will perform a unique ‘breakout burn’ as it returns to earth on friday, without astronauts in ~space

    PleasantlyAverage
    Link Parent
    Could be that they only mentioned it during the post-landing briefing. Yeah, overall NASA seems happy about its performance. After all they still need it as a backup solution for access to the ISS.

    Could be that they only mentioned it during the post-landing briefing.
    Yeah, overall NASA seems happy about its performance. After all they still need it as a backup solution for access to the ISS.

    2 votes

  14. Comment on Boeing’s Starliner will perform a unique ‘breakout burn’ as it returns to earth on friday, without astronauts in ~space

    PleasantlyAverage
    Link Parent
    Perfectly isn't the word I would use, as one of the crew module thrusters failed, and two of the RCS ones got hotter than expected. My concern is they will use this successful landing to brush off...

    Perfectly isn't the word I would use, as one of the crew module thrusters failed, and two of the RCS ones got hotter than expected. My concern is they will use this successful landing to brush off all their internal issues. At least we are now done with this chapter of Starliner.

    11 votes

  16. Comment on Internet Archive loses appeal in Hachette v. Internet Archive in ~tech

    PleasantlyAverage
    Link Parent
    I'm not totally sure, but to me this sounds like one-to-one lending is illegal: There is also this in the footnotes of the conclusion:

    I'm not totally sure, but to me this sounds like one-to-one lending is illegal:

    This appeal presents the following question: Is it “fair use” for a
    nonprofit organization to scan copyright-protected print books in their
    entirety, and distribute those digital copies online, in full, for free, subject to
    a one-to-one owned-to-loaned ratio between its print copies and the digital
    copies it makes available at any given time, all without authorization from
    the copyright-holding publishers or authors? Applying the relevant
    provisions of the Copyright Act as well as binding Supreme Court and
    Second Circuit precedent, we conclude the answer is no. We therefore
    AFFIRM.

    There is also this in the footnotes of the conclusion:

    IA makes a final argument that, even if its Open Libraries project did not qualify as a fair use,
    we should restrict the injunction to the Open Libraries project and allow IA to continue CDL for
    books that IA itself owns. Appellant’s Br. at 62. In support of that argument, IA argues that the
    fourth factor analysis would be more favorable if CDL were limited to IA’s own books. Id. In
    our view, the fair use analysis would not be substantially different if limited to IA’s CDL of the
    books it owns, and the fourth factor still would count against fair use. So we decline IA’s
    invitation to narrow the scope of our holding or of the district court’s injunction.

    9 votes

  17. Comment on Internet Archive loses appeal in Hachette v. Internet Archive in ~tech

    PleasantlyAverage
    Link Parent
    That was the case for a few months during the pandemic, but the court has now ruled against even one-to-one lending.

    That was the case for a few months during the pandemic, but the court has now ruled against even one-to-one lending.

    16 votes

  18. Comment on Looking for a clean, simple phone in ~tech

    PleasantlyAverage
    Link
    From what I've seen the Pixel 7 or 8 are decent phones. If you can live with the unremovable Google search bar on the home screen or are fine with installing a custom launcher, then it's also...

    From what I've seen the Pixel 7 or 8 are decent phones. If you can live with the unremovable Google search bar on the home screen or are fine with installing a custom launcher, then it's also relatively bloat free. The photo camera is also top notch, and imo only beaten by iPhones when shooting videos.

    The Pixel 8 is more expensive but will also receive security updates until 2030-2031 instead of 2027-2028 in the 7's case. Otherwise these phones are pretty similar.

    Keep in mind GrapheneOS may not always be an option due to Google's push of Play Integrity which causes some apps and features (e.g. Google Pay, RCS) to refuse to work though it doesn't seem to be consistent for everyone. There is for example currently a workaround to get RCS functioning but that may well be shut down at some point. You would also need to sideload Google's camera app for the better image processing.

    3 votes

  19. Comment on NASA decides to bring Starliner spacecraft back to Earth without crew | Crew to return on SpaceX Dragon Feb 2025 in ~space

    PleasantlyAverage
    Link
    What SpaceX achieved is remarkable. They went from nearly failing to beeing seem as a wildcard provider, and have now emerged as a reliable partner NASA can rely on. Hopefully this debacle doesn't...

    What SpaceX achieved is remarkable. They went from nearly failing to beeing seem as a wildcard provider, and have now emerged as a reliable partner NASA can rely on.
    Hopefully this debacle doesn't prove to be the end of Boeing's space division, and instead marks the beginning of major internal reforms.

    10 votes