burkaman's recent activity

  1. Comment on “Wherever you get your podcasts” is a radical statement in ~tech

    burkaman
    Link Parent
    I've been using https://bazqux.com/ for 7 years and I would recommend it to anyone, it is paid but at least for me it's more than worth it. It is permanently open in a pinned tab and I check it...

    I've been using https://bazqux.com/ for 7 years and I would recommend it to anyone, it is paid but at least for me it's more than worth it. It is permanently open in a pinned tab and I check it probably 10+ times a day. It works perfectly on my phone as well. Most things you can read directly in the reader, unless it's behind a paywall so you need to visit the site and be logged in.

    It is intentionally modeled after Google Reader, which I never actually used but it might feel like the old days you remember.

    5 votes
  2. Comment on Elon Musk's Neuralink implants brain chip in first human in ~health

  3. Comment on God and the unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics in ~humanities

    burkaman
    Link
    I found this article very frustrating to read. It is structured as a series of questions answered by non-theists and theists, but the author doesn't seem to have put much thought into the...

    I found this article very frustrating to read. It is structured as a series of questions answered by non-theists and theists, but the author doesn't seem to have put much thought into the non-theistic answers. In order to write a piece like this in good faith, you have to really deeply engage with people representing the other side of your argument, otherwise it comes across as a series of strawmen.

    How is it, for example, that a mathematical theorist like Peter Higgs can sit down at his desk and, by pouring over mathematical equations, predict the existence of a fundamental particle which 30 years later, after investing millions of dollars and thousands of man hours, experimentalists are finally able to detect?

    He's still alive, why not go ask him? Or at least ask some physicists and mathematicians familiar with the field. The author is a philosopher, so I understand why they exclusively reference other philosophers, but since this is framed as a persuasive essay ("Theism provides the best answer to this question"), I don't think it's acceptable to misrepresent the non-theism side.

    For the non-theistic realist, the fact that physical reality behaves in line with the dictates of acausal mathematical entities existing beyond space and time is, in the words of philosopher of mathematics Mary Leng, “a happy coincidence.”

    This is not a mainstream view. I've never heard any mathematician or physicist say anything like this, and I find it hard to believe this is a common view even among mathematical philosophers. I think the author would benefit from asking actual working mathematicians who consider themselves mathematical realists whether they believe that the applicability of math to reality is a coincidence.

    Later on, in the anti-realism section:

    Balaguer admits that he has no explanation why, on anti-realism, mathematics is applicable to the physical world or why it is indispensable in empirical science.

    I'm sorry to hear that Balaguer had trouble answering this question. Did you look for any other philosophers or mathematicians who might have had an answer? No, you just immediately moved on to your own theistic view? That seems a little uncharitable.

    In order to convince someone, you need to attempt to understand their point of view. When you wildly misrepresent that view, as I believe this essay has done, you can't expect anyone who disagrees with you to take you seriously. I don't know who the intended audience of this is, but as a persuasive essay it is not effective.

    36 votes
  4. Comment on A new kind of climate denial has taken over on YouTube in ~enviro

    burkaman
    Link Parent
    I realize this isn't an unbiased source, but I just want to point out that ICE vehicles also tend to have issues when it's -40, and apparently in Norway they are failing a lot more than EVs:...

    I realize this isn't an unbiased source, but I just want to point out that ICE vehicles also tend to have issues when it's -40, and apparently in Norway they are failing a lot more than EVs: https://electrek.co/2024/01/17/electric-vehicles-fail-lower-rate-than-gas-cars-extreme-cold/.

    Not saying you don't have a point, and obviously your experience is real and valid, but I just wanted to mention this because I have a gas car and I've been unable to start it in the cold a couple times because the battery died.

    6 votes
  5. Comment on Google's Say What You See - Come up with a prompt to match an already generated image in ~comp

    burkaman
    Link Parent
    Works for me in Firefox 123.0a1

    Works for me in Firefox 123.0a1

    1 vote
  6. Comment on Is fandom.com actually getting worse? in ~tech

    burkaman
    Link Parent
    I don't think you're an idiot, I just think that you correctly predicted what most people's response would be, and if you don't want to talk about that (which is fine), there isn't much else to...

    I don't think you're an idiot, I just think that you correctly predicted what most people's response would be, and if you don't want to talk about that (which is fine), there isn't much else to discuss. Looking through the top-level comments here, nearly every single one is recommending some way of finding the content you want without financially supporting fandom.com.

    Thinking about it a little more, I realize I am just not very good at talking about a problem without trying to come up with solutions, which a lot of people find annoying. So I'm sorry for taking that out on you, I should be better at just empathizing.

    53 votes
  7. Comment on Is fandom.com actually getting worse? in ~tech

    burkaman
    Link Parent
    Yeah, to me this post reads like "Anyone feel like everything is betting blurrier? (no I'm not going to wear glasses)". Yes, you're right, fandom.com and everywhere else is getting worse, that's...

    Yeah, to me this post reads like "Anyone feel like everything is betting blurrier? (no I'm not going to wear glasses)". Yes, you're right, fandom.com and everywhere else is getting worse, that's why you need an ad blocker.

    78 votes
  8. Comment on The morality of using AI-generated art in my web app in ~comp

    burkaman
    Link Parent
    Honestly 74k euros is fairly cheap for that sort of thing, but wow that new logo is horrendous. If they wanted to make it more vector-friendly they could have just replaced the coat of arms with...

    Honestly 74k euros is fairly cheap for that sort of thing, but wow that new logo is horrendous. If they wanted to make it more vector-friendly they could have just replaced the coat of arms with the yellow circle and called it a day. Even the font is bad, it looks less modern than the old one.

    10 votes
  9. Comment on Tesla confirms wireless inductive electric car home charger is coming in ~transport

    burkaman
    Link Parent
    Wireless EV charging apparently can be very efficient: https://www.ornl.gov/news/ornl-demonstrates-120-kilowatt-wireless-charging-vehicles,...

    Wireless EV charging apparently can be very efficient: https://www.ornl.gov/news/ornl-demonstrates-120-kilowatt-wireless-charging-vehicles, https://witricity.com/newsroom/blog/what-is-efficiency-how-do-you-measure-it-and-why-should-you-care/.

    I don't know why it's different than wireless phone charging, my only guess is that phones have to use very cheap components because nobody will pay a big premium for wireless charging, and they are also very space-constrained.

    10 votes
  10. Comment on NY Times 2023 Faces Quiz in ~misc

    burkaman
    Link Parent
    No I don't. I saw that too, I'm guessing someone is just manually looking through the results and adding common incorrect guesses that they think are close enough.

    No I don't. I saw that too, I'm guessing someone is just manually looking through the results and adding common incorrect guesses that they think are close enough.

  11. Comment on NY Times 2023 Faces Quiz in ~misc

    burkaman
    Link Parent
    The page does helpfully print a JSON array of all the images and answers in the console, but unfortunately the image URLs have each person's name in them, so even if I only include the URL it's...

    The page does helpfully print a JSON array of all the images and answers in the console, but unfortunately the image URLs have each person's name in them, so even if I only include the URL it's not really a quiz. Here's the whole thing if you want it though: https://pastebin.com/zHkPrCYj.

    3 votes
  12. Comment on The unexpected climate policy that could tackle both national debt and China: Carbon pricing has the potential to become a bipartisan policy in ~enviro

    burkaman
    Link
    This is admirably optimistic, I think it has the potential to become bipartisan in that like 5 senators from each party support it and everybody else votes it down.

    This is admirably optimistic, I think it has the potential to become bipartisan in that like 5 senators from each party support it and everybody else votes it down.

    7 votes
  13. Comment on Should I stop flying? It’s a difficult decision to make. in ~enviro

    burkaman
    Link Parent
    I disagree that solely focusing on the easiest targets is the best use of time, because basically all emissions need to be eliminated, not just the easy ones. Maybe we pick personal transport, and...

    I disagree that solely focusing on the easiest targets is the best use of time, because basically all emissions need to be eliminated, not just the easy ones. Maybe we pick personal transport, and decide to focus all our efforts there because there's a clear path to decarbonization (EVs with renewable charging and better public transit). If we successfully accelerate the decarbonization of personal transport, but completely ignore aviation (where there is basically no realistic plan), then we have failed. If I had to choose a single issue to focus on, I would pick one of the hardest to abate sectors - aviation, shipping, cement, steel, etc. It's better accept slower progress in one sector in exchange for non-zero progress in another, rather than faster progress in one sector in exchange for zero in another. Another way of saying that is that the marginal value of creating a plan where there was none is much higher than the marginal value of improving an existing plan.

    All that said, I understand that personally not flying or pressuring a billionaire to fly less does not magically fix the whole industry, but neither does personally buying an EV or installing solar panels on your roof or eating less meat. The theory is that social and financial pressure on airlines and powerful people helps incentivize R&D so that we can figure out a plan for aviation. Obviously it is best to pair that pressure with actual constructive action, like working for a company that's putting up solar panels or improving public transit or any of a million other necessary tasks. If you're just tweeting at billionaires and doing nothing else then I agree you're not helping.

    Unless you are immensely powerful, and none of here are, absolutely any action you take as an individual could be described as making "literally zero difference in the world" as you say. But companies are made of individuals, movements are made of individuals, nothing happens without individual action. If every individual decides that flying isn't worth worrying about, then it will never change, and we will fail.

    2 votes
  14. Comment on Should I stop flying? It’s a difficult decision to make. in ~enviro

    burkaman
    Link Parent
    What single thing has a larger impact than 8% of total US emissions? 8% is enormous. Also, what makes you think people can't focus on more than one thing? I work a full-time job trying to reduce...

    What single thing has a larger impact than 8% of total US emissions? 8% is enormous. Also, what makes you think people can't focus on more than one thing? I work a full-time job trying to reduce the emissions of the electricity sector, but I also find plenty of time to advocate for many other things, including recommending people fly less.

    I might flip your percentage around: if I spend less than 0.1% of my week trying to shame billionaires into polluting less, isn't that worth it?

    5 votes
  15. Comment on ‘Gobsmackingly bananas’ record temperatures are dividing scientists in ~enviro

  16. Comment on Office chair recommendations? in ~health

    burkaman
    Link Parent
    If you're looking at the Steelcase and Herman Miller chairs and you do bump your price range a little, I recommend this site: https://www.crandalloffice.com/. They sell refurbished and returned...

    If you're looking at the Steelcase and Herman Miller chairs and you do bump your price range a little, I recommend this site: https://www.crandalloffice.com/. They sell refurbished and returned chairs at a significant discount, I got a Steelcase Gesture from here and it was indistinguishable from a brand new chair.

    For example, here's a Steelcase Leap for $600: https://www.crandalloffice.com/shop/chairs/steelcase/462-leap-v2/remanufactured-steelcase-462-leap-v2-office-chair/. I believe this would be $2000 from the Steelcase website, and the Crandall version will be exactly the same.

  17. Comment on Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro to get seven years of software updates in ~tech

    burkaman
    Link Parent
    I actually think security updates are a bigger deal. I bought a Pixel 5 in May 2021, and this month is the last time it'll receive Android or security updates. No more Android updates is no big...

    I actually think security updates are a bigger deal. I bought a Pixel 5 in May 2021, and this month is the last time it'll receive Android or security updates. No more Android updates is no big deal, the phone works great as it is so I don't care if I don't get new features, but no more security updates means it will gradually become less safe to use at all. I would support a legal requirement to provide security updates for some reasonable amount of time, feature updates are just nice to have and can be up to the manufacturer.

    15 votes
  18. Comment on NFL revises gambling policy to toughen ban for players who bet on own team in ~sports.american_football

    burkaman
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    First, it's much more practical to have a simple blanket ban than to try to make complex rules about what particular bets are allowed. You couldn't just say "you can bet for your own team",...

    First, it's much more practical to have a simple blanket ban than to try to make complex rules about what particular bets are allowed. You couldn't just say "you can bet for your own team", because there are lots of prop bets like "player X runs at least 100 yards" or something like that. You don't want players ignoring play-calls or something to try to hit a certain statline, even if they're still trying to win. Also, even if you're betting on the outcome of the whole game, you usually pick a particular point spread. You don't want a player trying to win, but then trying not to score once they're ahead so they stay within the spread.

    Finally, even if players were only allowed to make dead simple bets that their own team will win, they could still offer players on the other team a cut of the winnings (or even all the winnings) if they throw the game. Better to just ban everything than have to worry about all these possibilities.

    11 votes
  19. Comment on Is multiculturalism bad for women? (1997) in ~life.women

    burkaman
    (edited )
    Link
    I haven't read the whole thing closely yet, but this article feels a little tautological. Are cultural practices that are bad for women still bad if they are practiced by immigrants? Yes,...

    I haven't read the whole thing closely yet, but this article feels a little tautological. Are cultural practices that are bad for women still bad if they are practiced by immigrants? Yes, obviously. The implication is that acceptance of other cultures as a whole encourages acceptance of anti-women practices, but I don't really see much evidence for that. There are a couple examples cited from the 80s, like polygamy in France (but they stopped recognizing polygamous marriages 30 years ago), and this issue of "cultural defense" (this is the only example I could find, from 1988: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-07-15-mn-7189-story.html). I don't think it's the case that modern-day liberal democracies allow immigrants to break the law in the blatant ways described in this article, and I also don't think that oppressive practices happening "in the private or domestic sphere" would somehow stop happening if we tried to forcibly assimilate everyone.

    The article admits that "multiculturalism" is hard to define, which is true, but I've never heard anyone claim it means that immigrants should get like diplomatic immunity and not be prosecuted for crimes that their culture allows. In my understanding it just means acceptance of relatively benign things like different food, clothes, languages, music, holidays, etc. Monocultural society means forceful punishment of things that are not crimes nor harmful to anyone, but are visibly different from the majority. I don't see a middle ground between these two and don't see why you would want one.

    Edit: Ok the article is 25 years old, that explains it. I think the arguments and examples are out of date, and it's hard to see it as relevant to current issues.

    13 votes
  20. Comment on Spotify (with OpenAI) is going to clone podcasters’ voices — and translate them to other languages in ~tech

    burkaman
    Link Parent
    Agreed in general, but I don't think I've ever heard of a podcast being translated before, and they've been around for a while. This specific application is not taking work away from anyone -...

    The problem is that it takes away work from voice artist and translators.

    Agreed in general, but I don't think I've ever heard of a podcast being translated before, and they've been around for a while. This specific application is not taking work away from anyone - podcasts have been around for 20 years and nobody yet has been willing to pay voice actors and translators to do this work.

    7 votes