aradian's recent activity
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
aradian Link ParentDiaspora was my introduction to Greg Egan back when I was starting my undergrad studies. I've since read many of his other works, but the ending of Diaspora makes it still one of the most...Diaspora was my introduction to Greg Egan back when I was starting my undergrad studies. I've since read many of his other works, but the ending of Diaspora makes it still one of the most memorable. I got a kind of agoraphobia feeling from the sense of sheer distance traveled, if that makes sense.
You might already know, but there is a section for most of his books on his website with more details about the science and math. I always go straight there after finishing one of his books lol
Yeah, the characters mostly exist to provide a point of view into the universe. I think he does make more fleshed-out characters in later works (and in less-exotic settings).
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
aradian LinkI'm taking a bit of a break from Act 3 of Silksong. I've found the locations of two of the main quest bosses and one optional boss fight, and I can tell all three of those are going to require a...I'm taking a bit of a break from Act 3 of Silksong. I've found the locations of two of the main quest bosses and one optional boss fight, and I can tell all three of those are going to require a substantial amount of grinding/practice to get past.
As such, I've started playing Expedition 33. This is the first proper RPG I've played in quite a while. I'm really liking it so far. The music and visual style are beautiful. The story and atmosphere has this tone of sincerity that is really refreshing.
The way each character has their own unique skill system, and those systems interact via status effects makes it kind of feel like deck-building when assigning Pictos to characters. I'm still quite early in the game, but it really strikes a good balance between creating a variety of strategies and being too intimidating. I am struggling quite a bit with the timing of dodging and parrying. It seems the intention is that the player just has to learn the timing for each enemy attack by experience. Really looking forward to playing more.
As I've gotten older, I think I've become reluctant to start any game that seems like it will have too complex of gameplay mechanics, kind of assuming that I won't have the time or energy to properly learn it. Then it will feel like too much of a burden to pick up when I have some free time. I'm glad I overcame that and just jumped in to E33.
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Comment on Most parked domains now serving malicious content in ~tech
aradian LinkFunny how with the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) you can be prosecuted for manually editing a url, but massive organized crime in plain sight has no problems.Funny how with the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) you can be prosecuted for manually editing a url, but massive organized crime in plain sight has no problems.
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
aradian LinkI just finished reading Asimov's original Foundation trilogy. I had read the first two books when I was younger and found them too dry and the plot too slow. I did not remember much of the story...I just finished reading Asimov's original Foundation trilogy. I had read the first two books when I was younger and found them too dry and the plot too slow. I did not remember much of the story from then. This time around, though, I enjoyed it much more than I expected to. Here I'll try to write down some of my thoughts on it as they occur to me. Apologies if it's a bit disjointed.
Asimov really seems to have a passion for science communication and education. I was aware that he wrote a number of nonfiction science books aimed at the general public. In his fiction, he also seamlessly integrates tidbits of facts and knowledge so that the reader ends up almost accidentally acquiring some familiarity with math and science concepts.
The author's writing of women is very much a product of his time. I can see this being a grating irritation for some modern readers. Almost all characters are men. Women are never in positions of official authority. There are several points in the story where women characters are integral to driving the plot forward, though they don't tend to be acting by their own agency and wit.
spoilers
I wonder how much thought Asimov put into the future development of the galaxy after the end of the third book, Second Foundation. Is Seldon's Plan for the Second Foundation to be a permanent part of galactic civilization in the Second Empire, as some kind of Illuminati shadow government? Will it merge with the First Foundation when the Second Empire becomes established, and thus the mental sciences become an open part of government, society, and research?
Many aspects of Foundation bear a strong resemblance to the setting of Star Wars and to some elements of its story. A galactic empire, in decline, with its government centralized on a city-planet. A sort of rebellion in the form of the Foundation. A charismatic, badass, free-agent character in Hober Mallow. A proud last general of the Empire defeated, leading to the Empire's fall. The Foundation trilogy was published at least a decade before Star Wars. I wouldn't be surprised if it was directly inspired.
The basic assumption of psychohistory seems very plausible to me. The idea being that the behavior of people becomes more predictable as larger groups are considered. This would be due to individual variations and circumstances becoming averaged out, leaving only innate human behavior that changes on evolutionary time scales remaining. Extending that to the point where we can create mathematical models of behavior that have accurate predictive power seems much more questionable, though.
I think from here I'm going to take a break from Asimov. Maybe I'll come back to the later books in the Foundation series, or maybe more Robot books? Earlier this year, I read Caves of Steel and Naked Sun and really enjoyed those.
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Comment on The EU wants to decrypt your private data by 2030 in ~tech
aradian Link ParentThat's the intended effect, I think. You'll have normal people using the mainstream apps, and people wanting to avoid surveillance using more niche apps with real cryptography. Then you can launch...So what you'll end up with is criminals having access to secure encryption and law abiding citizens not.
That's the intended effect, I think. You'll have normal people using the mainstream apps, and people wanting to avoid surveillance using more niche apps with real cryptography. Then you can launch a PR campaign to brand those apps as being "for criminals" and push to make it a crime to have access to real cryptography.
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Comment on I hate the new internet. I hate the new tech world. I hate it all. I want out, and I can't be the only one. in ~tech
aradian Link ParentI think this isn't just a one-way cause and effect. People also prefer what they're used to, and centrally controlled media have a lot of power to decide what kind of content people get used to...Indeed. The Internet sucks because humans suck. Apps like TikTok and Snapchat are full of mindless crap because it's what sells; it's what people want. Less than 1% want enlightening content; 99% of people just want crap shoveled into their mouths.
I think this isn't just a one-way cause and effect. People also prefer what they're used to, and centrally controlled media have a lot of power to decide what kind of content people get used to seeing.
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Comment on Using Tails when your world doesn't feel safe anymore in ~tech
aradian Link ParentSecurity and privacy aren't binary things. Nothing provides perfect privacy, but there's a real benefit to taking steps to protect yourself. Authorities depend on the ease and scalability of...it's extremely easy to break and deanonymize tor traffic
[citation needed]Security and privacy aren't binary things. Nothing provides perfect privacy, but there's a real benefit to taking steps to protect yourself. Authorities depend on the ease and scalability of surveillance. It's disappointing to see in this thread the amount of defeatism, essentially saying "don't even try to resist".
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Comment on How would you moderate this scenario? in ~tech
aradian LinkMy thinking is that human interaction is better for community health than the "use of force"/deleting their post (maybe there's a better way to put that). I'd post a public reply as moderator...My thinking is that human interaction is better for community health than the "use of force"/deleting their post (maybe there's a better way to put that). I'd post a public reply as moderator saying that we'd like to avoid things like supporting violence against specific people.
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
aradian LinkJust finished Eyes of the Void by Adrian Tchaikovsky. It's a fun read, with a grand, gang-of-friends-saves-the-universe plot and written like an action movie. Previous to this I read Service Model...Just finished Eyes of the Void by Adrian Tchaikovsky. It's a fun read, with a grand, gang-of-friends-saves-the-universe plot and written like an action movie.
Previous to this I read Service Model by the same author. I think I will remember that one more as it's a unique story that's not quite like anything I've read before. Humorous, but also making commentary on the unintentional (or otherwise) patterns of society.
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Comment on Tildes Minecraft Survival - Countdown and launch day in ~games
aradian Link Parentok, that's totally understandable. I didn't know it worked like that. Thanks for taking the time to replyok, that's totally understandable. I didn't know it worked like that. Thanks for taking the time to reply
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Comment on Tildes Minecraft Survival - Countdown and launch day in ~games
aradian Link ParentI, too, never migrated my account; not interested in agreeing to MS's terms of service. Any chance that unregistered clients could be allowed for verified Tildes users? I think I remember a server...I, too, never migrated my account; not interested in agreeing to MS's terms of service. Any chance that unregistered clients could be allowed for verified Tildes users? I think I remember a server option for that back when I played.
In any case, thanks for running this! Sounds like a lot of fun
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Comment on Ask Manga Recommendation thread in ~anime
aradian Link ParentNausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is excellent and only 7 volumes.Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is excellent and only 7 volumes.
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Comment on The small web and minimalist websites - what are your thoughts and experiences? in ~tech
aradian LinkThanks for linking sourcehut. Looks like that closely aligns with my values. For me, "small web" type sites are the only kind of web dev that still feels fun and creative.Thanks for linking sourcehut. Looks like that closely aligns with my values.
For me, "small web" type sites are the only kind of web dev that still feels fun and creative.
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Comment on Hand-crafted lanterns made for a festival contest in ~creative
aradian Linkvideo: https://peertube.live/videos/watch/9b6409b1-82bb-48d7-b66e-b698a1b6f514 Recently saw these at this year's Loy Krathong festival in Sukothai Historical Park. Absolutely amazing amount of...video: https://peertube.live/videos/watch/9b6409b1-82bb-48d7-b66e-b698a1b6f514
Recently saw these at this year's Loy Krathong festival in Sukothai Historical Park. Absolutely amazing amount of detail. I wish I knew more about these, but I don't speak Thai.
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Hand-crafted lanterns made for a festival contest
8 votes
Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Similar to Shroud in that the setting is a future spacefaring humanity, but even more strongly dystopian (or maybe the same level of dystopian, but from a less-privileged PoV). Features some cool ideas about alien life, about which I'm not far enough into the book to be able to say much more. I have been somewhat disappointed with the writing in this book, though, in a way that I never noticed in his previous books. It's very heavy with chunks of exposition and background info making the same point repeatedly, often even using the same wording. Also, the first-person narration sometimes feels a bit forced in trying to be snarky at all times.
Just previous to this I read A World Out of Time by Larry Niven, and that has a very different style and tone to this, so maybe I'm just overreacting to the contrast. On balance, though, it's still interesting and I'll definitely finish it.