sparksbet's recent activity
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Comment on Startups in Berlin in ~finance
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Comment on Why is it so hard to get an ADHD diagnosis? How do you find a good psychologist? in ~health.mental
sparksbet Link ParentFirstly, don't make fucking assumptions, because I do know someone who's abused stimulants. Secondly, studies have shown that when patients take stimulants orally in the amounts prescribed by a...I'm happy you don't know anyone who has abused stimulants, but people can and will develop actually destructive addiction to stimulants, even ones legally prescribed for legitimate diagnosis.
Firstly, don't make fucking assumptions, because I do know someone who's abused stimulants.
Secondly, studies have shown that when patients take stimulants orally in the amounts prescribed by a doctor, the risk of addiction is extremely low. People who become addicted to prescription stimulants are overwhelmingly taking stimulants at higher doses than they've been prescribed (if they themselves have been prescribed them at all) and/or are snorting them. These are things that the fact sheets that came with my prescribed stimulant medication explicitly include as instructions. Moreover, refusing to prescribe prescription stimulants is not a no-risk anti-addiction decision, as people with ADHD have much higher risk of addiction than average when unmedicated and prescribed stimulant medication has been shown to lower that risk significantly.
I'm not gonna deny that there's abuse potential, because of course there is, but there are already plenty of hoops to jump through to get prescribed ADHD medication. After having been diagnosed by a professional and reaching someone who is qualified to prescribe and titrate your medication, being forced to spend months trying something that is less likely to help you and has its own side effects solely because providers are overly cautious about prescribing one of the most effective psychiatric treatments that exists regardless of the lack other risk factors for addiction is, in fact, bad.
I'm glad that the psychiatrist I saw when I began medication, who was very experienced with patients with ADHD, didn't waste my time like that, as due to the fact that stimulant medication doesn't take months to kick in, it was much quicker to find the right dose and medication that way. Since I was self-paying for sessions with them at the time, it would also have been significantly more expensive if I'd had to wait for a non-stimulant medication like that.
As for the rest, congrats on not having ADHD, but stop implying that others are faking because it's normal to get bored by things that are boring. Even the symptoms OP listed in this post exceed that, and spouting misconceptions from an uninformed place isn't helping anyone here.
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Comment on Why is it so hard to get an ADHD diagnosis? How do you find a good psychologist? in ~health.mental
sparksbet Link ParentLuckily for me, my psychiatrist started me with methylphenidate, so I didn't have to spend several months seeing if one of the non-stimulant options works.Luckily for me, my psychiatrist started me with methylphenidate, so I didn't have to spend several months seeing if one of the non-stimulant options works.
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Comment on Why is it so hard to get an ADHD diagnosis? How do you find a good psychologist? in ~health.mental
sparksbet Link ParentYeah, mine couldn't interview my parents since I lived in a different country at the time, but I did ask my mom for some relevant info to pass along as part of the process. When I was in school...Yeah, mine couldn't interview my parents since I lived in a different country at the time, but I did ask my mom for some relevant info to pass along as part of the process. When I was in school ADHD was just the "hyper young boy" disease, whereas public perception has luckily been changing since then. The number of comments I got on my work that were essentially "really smart, but needs to pay more attention to details" though... it was practically textbook.
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Comment on Why is it so hard to get an ADHD diagnosis? How do you find a good psychologist? in ~health.mental
sparksbet Link ParentI think the main issue is prescribers (especially in Europe, from what I've heard, although luckily this was not my experience) defaulting to non-stimulant medications like atomoxetine when there...I think the main issue is prescribers (especially in Europe, from what I've heard, although luckily this was not my experience) defaulting to non-stimulant medications like atomoxetine when there aren't any contraindications for stimulants, despite the fact that stimulant medications are the most effective option for such a large proportion of people with ADHD. The fact that it takes several months for non-stimulant medications to "kick-in" only adds to the unnecessary delays added by forcing people with ADHD to try non-stimulant options first due to an undue fear of prescribing stimulants. That said, it is a very good thing that we have non-stimulant options for people who cannot take the stimulant options or for whom the stimulants are effective for whatever reason.
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Comment on Why is it so hard to get an ADHD diagnosis? How do you find a good psychologist? in ~health.mental
sparksbet Link ParentIt is one of the diagnostic requirements that symptoms of ADHD must have begun at a young age (I think the DSM says before age 12), so definitionally ADHD cannot be developed later in life. People...But it is extremely rare to develop ADHD later in life and is often misdiagnosed.
It is one of the diagnostic requirements that symptoms of ADHD must have begun at a young age (I think the DSM says before age 12), so definitionally ADHD cannot be developed later in life. People who are being diagnosed as adults aren't people who develop the disorder later in life, but rather people whose ADHD was not diagnosed when they were children for any number of reasons. Merely being a girl was often enough reason to have one's ADHD overlooked, so a lack of a childhood diagnosis does not entail that there were not ADHD symptoms in childhood. The teachers' comments on my elementary school report cards (which luckily my mom saved) were helpful during the process of getting my ADHD diagnosis, because they made some of my symptoms during childhood much more evident deapite the fact that I generally got good grades and was a "smart kid" (another thing that commonly prevents ADHD from being noticed and diagnosed in children).
But if it isn't impacting your wife's life negatively and she doesn't want to take medication, there genuinely doesn't seem to be much reason for her to get a diagnosis. The main utility of a diagnosis is access to medication and the ability to address your symptoms in therapy through an ADHD-informed lens. If you don't want either of those things, there's not much point in a diagnosis. You don't need a doctor to relate to TikToks, and one can't stop you from doing so by denying you a diagnosis either.
There are definitely people with ADHD whose lives aren't severely negatively impacted, but that tends to be due to their having robust support networks that make up for the negative impacts of ADHD symptoms. For instance, picture the (now somewhat old-fashioned) idea of a man with a wife to handle his affairs at home and a secretary at work -- most of the stuff adults with ADHD struggle with would be handled by these other people and he could focus on the aspects of his career and home life that are more spontaneous and require less of the executive function that people with ADHD have deficits in. I'm not sure if this is the case for your wife, but it is something that happens.
I'm a little confused by what you say about your wife embracing obsessive tendencies, but it's also possible she's neurodivergent in some other way and relates to ADHD-related content due to similarities between her experiences and those of someone with ADHD. But figuring that out would also be the job of a professional, and it might be difficult to investigate if she's wed to the idea that she has ADHD specifically.
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Comment on Why is it so hard to get an ADHD diagnosis? How do you find a good psychologist? in ~health.mental
sparksbet LinkI would recommend looking for a second opinion and finding a psychologist who specifically has experience with ADHD (and thus presumably deems themselves qualified to administer the DIVA-5, though...I would recommend looking for a second opinion and finding a psychologist who specifically has experience with ADHD (and thus presumably deems themselves qualified to administer the DIVA-5, though iirc it was literally designed to be easy for providers to use even if they aren't very familiar with it 😒). Therapists will often list information like this on their websites -- but when I was diagnosed, I was self-paying for therapy due to how bad the German public health system is when it comes to insurance, so I don't know how much the public health system of your country will influence things there.
The first therapist I saw in Germany told me I couldn't have ADHD because I was able to sit down and write an essay (despite the fact that I described the fact that I couldn't ever write something like that in a gradual, planned way, only in one big burst). Then she went on maternity leave and her replacement suggested ADHD without my prompting during our first session (so presumably it was pretty obvious). We then did what I think was the DIVA-5 (or something quite similar) over the course of the next couple sessions and afterwards she wrote up my official diagnosis. Then I had to start the process of searching for a psychiatrist, which was its own struggle. So my experience probably isn't super replicable, but it's a good illustration of how much even therapists who are presumably otherwise aligned can differ on ADHD depending on their experience with it.
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Comment on How I feel about LLM (AI) writing in ~tech
sparksbet Link ParentI recall one person has admitted to polishing their comments using AI, because they're a non-native English speaker. But ultimately I care about the quality of the contribution and whether they...I recall one person has admitted to polishing their comments using AI, because they're a non-native English speaker. But ultimately I care about the quality of the contribution and whether they stand by it more than whether AI was involved. The reason noticeably AI-generated material is so loathed online is largely because they're not good contributions imo.
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Comment on How I feel about LLM (AI) writing in ~tech
sparksbet Link ParentI think this depends heavily on what videos you're watching, which lends credence to the idea that it's all young kids. I've found Youtube comments on a lot of channels I follow have gotten a lot...I think this depends heavily on what videos you're watching, which lends credence to the idea that it's all young kids. I've found Youtube comments on a lot of channels I follow have gotten a lot better than they once were, but it still depends more on which channel I'm watching even among those I subscribe to.
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Comment on How long would a society comprised of video game protagonists survive? in ~games
sparksbet Link ParentIt's probably a bad sign that when you said "giving the notorious alcoholic IPAs" I was confused by your next sentence because there are two of them you can do that to lmao Though ig for Shane he...It's probably a bad sign that when you said "giving the notorious alcoholic IPAs" I was confused by your next sentence because there are two of them you can do that to lmao
Though ig for Shane he only loves normal beer, not pale ale. Must not be a hops fan. And at least he doesn't operate heavy machinery.
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Comment on How long would a society comprised of video game protagonists survive? in ~games
sparksbet Link Parentto be fair, if flower pots contained cash that often irl, I'd be breaking them too I also don't think this "causing havoc" factor depends on whether the character has a defined...to be fair, if flower pots contained cash that often irl, I'd be breaking them too
I also don't think this "causing havoc" factor depends on whether the character has a defined personality/backstory, as least not as it's described above. Link definitely causes more havoc than the Stardew Valley main character, as the games they're in are mechanically so different. I don't even think you can break pots or crates outside the mines in Stardew. The actual trouble that would be caused by such hijinks depends heavily on what you're mechanically able to do in the game.
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Comment on How I feel about LLM (AI) writing in ~tech
sparksbet Link ParentUltimately being less confident that you can always spot AI writing is probably a bigger asset, as humans are not super consistent at distinguishing the two on the whole. Most people who think...Ultimately being less confident that you can always spot AI writing is probably a bigger asset, as humans are not super consistent at distinguishing the two on the whole. Most people who think they can easily detect AI are over-confident in their abilities and have no way to actually confirm that they don't get loads of false positives or false negatives -- and they almost certainly get loads of one or the other. Sometimes a certain case will be really obvious, especially when a text is longer, but because AI is trained to mimic the work of real humans, it will always bear a high resemblance to human-created slop, and even automated tools struggle to distinguish it from human-created work consistently. We don't need more people starting witch-hunts against humans because their work felt too AI-y, so I wouldn't emphasize trying to learn to identify what's AI work. Learning to quickly recognize that you think something is written poorly (so you can bail instead of wasting your time on it) and verifying facts regardless of who the author is supposed to be are better habits to cultivate.
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Comment on How I feel about LLM (AI) writing in ~tech
sparksbet Link ParentI think the type of comment you describe is a big part of why the Noise label was implemented in the first place tbh, as more innocent use-cases are covered by the Off-Topic and Joke labels (which...I think the type of comment you describe is a big part of why the Noise label was implemented in the first place tbh, as more innocent use-cases are covered by the Off-Topic and Joke labels (which also lower a comment in the rankings but don't iirc auto-collapse it or mute notifications like Noise does).
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Comment on How I feel about LLM (AI) writing in ~tech
sparksbet Link Parentlabeling a comment as Noise is probably the closest equivalentlabeling a comment as Noise is probably the closest equivalent
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Comment on Vaping DMT in ~talk
sparksbet Link ParentThe one I was prescribed was what's sold as Abilify in the US, I think. Not sure if it's sold as a liquid in the US or not though, as it was prescribed while I was in Germany. It was prescribed to...The one I was prescribed was what's sold as Abilify in the US, I think. Not sure if it's sold as a liquid in the US or not though, as it was prescribed while I was in Germany. It was prescribed to me off-label for anxiety in doses of 1-2mg maximum, and the small amount was much easier to dole out with the solution and provided syringe than it would've been if I'd had to cut up a pill. Especially since my psychiatrist instructed me to play around with how much I took and how frequently as long as I stayed below 2mg a day.
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Comment on Vaping DMT in ~talk
sparksbet Link ParentMedications taken orally do take time to kick in, but as a nitpick, it's worth noting that it doesn't necessarily require a pill to dissolve. I took a low dose of an antipsychotic for anxiety and...Medications taken orally do take time to kick in, but as a nitpick, it's worth noting that it doesn't necessarily require a pill to dissolve. I took a low dose of an antipsychotic for anxiety and it was a liquid. It did still take time to kick in, but y'know. Like I said, it's a nitpick.
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Comment on ‘It’s shameful’: New York’s elite lash out at Zohran Mamdani’s second-home tax in ~finance
sparksbet Link ParentYour modesty is commendable, but I don't think a post has to be perfect to be worth marking Exemplary, and I think yours definitely fits the bill.Your modesty is commendable, but I don't think a post has to be perfect to be worth marking Exemplary, and I think yours definitely fits the bill.
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Comment on ‘It’s shameful’: New York’s elite lash out at Zohran Mamdani’s second-home tax in ~finance
sparksbet Link ParentI already used up my exemplary for now but in case I don't remember to come back later when the cooldown is over, this is a really well-written comment.I already used up my exemplary for now but in case I don't remember to come back later when the cooldown is over, this is a really well-written comment.
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Comment on Mythos finds a curl vulnerability in ~comp
sparksbet Link ParentI think you're overestimating the degree to which an exploit can be engineered to explicitly get around AI code review systems. There is a risk of missing a potential exploit being sneakily...I think you're overestimating the degree to which an exploit can be engineered to explicitly get around AI code review systems. There is a risk of missing a potential exploit being sneakily inserted into your code in a PR, but that risk exists with humans reviewing and merging PRs too. If you still have humans in the loop, it's not clear to me how also using an AI tool designed to detect hidden vulnerabilities makes your software any more at risk than it would be with solely human oversight. Someone who's trying to play the long game to insert a vulnerability like that is already going to be designing their work to evade human scrutiny, after all.
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Comment on I think that we won’t see any new and radical new gaming input devices or form factors anymore in ~games
sparksbet Link ParentIt also seems quite strange to criticize modern gaming handhelds in a post that also glazes earlier handhelds for which all of this remains true -- the Nintendo DS, for instance, retailed at $150...It also seems quite strange to criticize modern gaming handhelds in a post that also glazes earlier handhelds for which all of this remains true -- the Nintendo DS, for instance, retailed at $150 but adjusted for inflation that's almost $300. And all of these criticisms are only increased for those earlier consoles, which are a lot smaller, easier to steal, and had a target audience consisting primarily of children (who are probably on the whole more likely to accidentally drop/break such a device). A steam deck, by contrast, targets adult enthusiasts and is much harder to inconspicuously steal, alongside having a much larger screen. And that's before considering that the target audience already owns a large game library that will run on the Steam deck prior to buying one, which obviously wasn't the case with handhelds like the DS.
Even if this isn't AI (and it smells like AI writing to me too), it's very scattered and poorly written. As someone who has personal experience in the subject matter, as I moved from Berlin just a month ago after over a year of unsuccessfully hunting for a tech job as a qualified applicant, I also disagree on some of the contents, but I'm hesitant to put in that effort if it is just an AI-generated article, since I don't really want to spend my time discussing this topic with AI as opposed to another human user of Tildes (who, if they cared enough to write about this topic themselves, would presumably have similar experiences to me and could be an interesting perspective on how Berlin's market has changed over the past several years).
Also, even if this is a human-written article, it's kinda lame to have your first post on Tildes be a link to your own blog. Self-promotion is allowed on Tildes but not if it's the only way you participate (from the code of conduct, emphasis mine):