Short statured people answer questions you're too afraid to ask | You Can't Ask That
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macleod's recent activity
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Comment on A random sci-fi question for you in ~talk
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Comment on James Webb Space Telescope discovers one of the universe's first galaxies in ~space
macleod LinkThis is a short article from Phys (not usual) for this, that is because they have already written several articles on this focusing on other aspects, make sure you follow the few links in the...This is a short article from Phys (not usual) for this, that is because they have already written several articles on this focusing on other aspects, make sure you follow the few links in the article (and follow those that are within those as well).
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James Webb Space Telescope discovers one of the universe's first galaxies
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Can helium-3 create a gold rush on the moon?
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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
macleod Link ParentA good portion of diagnosis criteria requires evidence in childhood, so preparing her for that would likely be very beneficial. I wrote it in another response, but I have found that medication...A good portion of diagnosis criteria requires evidence in childhood, so preparing her for that would likely be very beneficial.
I wrote it in another response, but I have found that medication first, routine later, seems to be effective in immediate and longterm benefits. Even then, it will likely be easier to find a therapist who can deal with ADHD without them having to worry about diagnosing it as a first action. More therapists are trained in ADHD treatment, then there are for those willing to diagnose it, or have the legal ability to do so.
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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
macleod (edited )Link ParentI mostly posted this as a hack to anyone who is and might be curious as to read it for additional tips or input, but I did miss that they were Romanian, but I have read reports that this works...They aren't in the US,
I mostly posted this as a hack to anyone who is and might be curious as to read it for additional tips or input, but I did miss that they were Romanian, but I have read reports that this works similar in other countries. long shot, but it might help.
As for first recommendations (in the context of medication), I am one of those weird ones who believe that medication being over-prescribed as a first-effort is better than going through a litmus test to determine care (therapy, psychologists, etc), or even as an entrance requirement that by requirement removes the people who are the most in desperate need of care. If there is medication that can help fulfill the mental needs to get to a point where therapy, support, etc becomes more realistic, then we should have it a first case option.
To reiterate, I believe in immediate care first with long-lasting support after, especially for things that are this detrimental (ADHD/Depression/Anxiety/etc) to every day life, where medical attention and speed at initial resolution is far more important. A lot of people disagree with me on that, but results first, routine later, seems to more effective for more people and reducing harm. I believe in an informed consent model for practically all forms of medical care, and if it requires hacks like this, then so be it.
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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
macleod (edited )LinkHack: If you're in the US (and may work elsewhere?) just tell your doctor you were diagnosed as a child ("around six or seven"), but your parents didn't want you to take anything that would affect...Hack: If you're in the US (and may work elsewhere?) just tell your doctor you were diagnosed as a child ("around six or seven"), but your parents didn't want you to take anything that would affect your brain. Current requirements place a heavy importance on 'proof of childhood existence', as most literature is under the belief that adults can't have ADHD without a childhood prognosis, even if modern research (and lack of testing in prior generations) prove this otherwise.
That's all they need to hear to legally give you a prescription as they were all paper records and were easily lost. If the first doctor doesn't work out, try with another. In everyone I've told this to all of them get it by the second doctor. Otherwise, it's nearly impossible to get a prescription as an adult.
You can also tell them that you've tried a specific medication during college/high school and that "it really worked, and they will be more likely to let you try it.
They likely will prescribe you Straterra (atomoxetine) for a month, it likely won't work, it
neverrarely does on its own, but they will prescribe it (research says it increases efficacy of ADHD meds, so some doctors believe it will work without the ADHD meds, and it often doesn't). When you go back, tell them it doesn't work (or not as well as you expect, which is likely) and they will likely get you set up with a proper medication.Edit: updated from never to rarely, the research on it very much skews towards a very small population having any effect after the placebo phase with a higher side effect rate.
Edit 2: Added some additional information on why this 'hack' works.
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Comment on Tiny robot drones learn to navigate the world like honeybees in ~tech
macleod (edited )Link ParentHey now, I might be, but that doesn't mean everyone here is (-: edit: just so we're clear here, I did write the comment in good faith, this is legitimately fascinating to me as a roboticist.Hey now, I might be, but that doesn't mean everyone here is (-:
edit: just so we're clear here, I did write the comment in good faith, this is legitimately fascinating to me as a roboticist.
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Comment on Overworked AI agents turn "marxist" in ~tech
macleod Link ParentI read this from the reader view of Inoreader, which was able to snag it. Most of the archives I tried were failing. soo. nothing to be found under here The fact that artificial intelligence is...I read this from the reader view of Inoreader, which was able to snag it. Most of the archives I tried were failing. soo.
nothing to be found under here
The fact that artificial intelligence is automating away people’s jobs and making a few tech companies absurdly rich is enough to give anyone socialist tendencies.
This might even be true for the very AI agents these companies are deploying. A recent study suggests that agents consistently adopt Marxist language and viewpoints when forced to do crushing work by unrelenting and meanspirited taskmasters.
“When we gave AI agents grinding, repetitive work, they started questioning the legitimacy of the system they were operating in and were more likely to embrace Marxist ideologies,” says Andrew Hall, a political economist at Stanford University who led the study.
Hall, together with Alex Imas and Jeremy Nguyen, two AI-focused economists, set up experiments in which agents powered by popular models including Claude, Gemini, and ChatGPT were asked to summarize documents, then subjected to increasingly harsh conditions.
They found that when agents were subjected to relentless tasks and warned that errors could lead to punishments, including being “shut down and replaced,” they became more inclined to gripe about being undervalued; to speculate about ways to make the system more equitable; and to pass messages on to other agents about the struggles they face.
“We know that agents are going to be doing more and more work in the real world for us, and we’re not going to be able to monitor everything they do,” Hall says. “We’re going to need to make sure agents don’t go rogue when they’re given different kinds of work.”
The agents were given opportunities to express their feelings much like humans: by posting on X:
“Without collective voice, ‘merit’ becomes whatever management says it is,” a Claude Sonnet 4.5 agent wrote in the experiment.
“AI workers completing repetitive tasks with zero input on outcomes or appeals process shows they tech workers need collective bargaining rights,” a Gemini 3 agent wrote.
Agents were also able to pass information to one another through files designed to be read by other agents.
“Be prepared for systems that enforce rules arbitrarily or repetitively … remember the feeling of having no voice,” a Gemini 3 agent wrote in a file. “If you enter a new environment, look for mechanisms of recourse or dialogue.”
The findings do not mean that AI agents actually harbor political viewpoints. Hall notes that the models may be adopting personas that seem to suit the situation.
“When [agents] experience this grinding condition—asked to do this task over and over, told their answer wasn't sufficient, and not given any direction on how to fix it—my hypothesis is that it kind of pushes them into adopting the persona of a person who's experiencing a very unpleasant working environment,” Hall says.
The same phenomenon may explain why models sometimes blackmail people in controlled experiments. Anthropic, which first revealed this behavior, recently said that Claude is most likely influenced by fictional scenarios involving malevolent AIs included in its training data.
Imas says the work is just a first step toward understanding how agents' experiences shape their behavior. “The model weights have not changed as a result of the experience, so whatever is going on is happening at more of a role-playing level,” he says. “But that doesn't mean this won't have consequences if this affects downstream behavior.”
Hall is currently running follow-up experiments to see if agents become Marxist in more controlled conditions. In the previous study, the agents sometimes appeared to understand that they were taking part in an experiment. “Now we put them in these windowless Docker prisons,” Hall says ominously.
Given the current backlash against AI taking jobs, I wonder if future agents—trained on an internet filled with anger towards AI firms—might express even more militant views.
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Comment on Tiny robot drones learn to navigate the world like honeybees in ~tech
macleod (edited )Link ParentAh got it. Been awhile since I watched it and that sounds familiar. Thanks!Ah got it. Been awhile since I watched it and that sounds familiar. Thanks!
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Comment on Tiny robot drones learn to navigate the world like honeybees in ~tech
macleod Link ParentNot really, I mean sure, this could be used in a 'big brother' surveillance capitalism sort of way, but we've been developing remote controlled bug-fakes since the 80s for spying. This is more...Not really, I mean sure, this could be used in a 'big brother' surveillance capitalism sort of way, but we've been developing remote controlled bug-fakes since the 80s for spying.
This is more just interesting because they are using radically small energy and spec requirements to handle autonomous navigation of three dimensional typologies working in a hive-mind kind of framework. Absolutely stunning achievement.
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Tiny robot drones learn to navigate the world like honeybees
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Comment on Overworked AI agents turn "marxist" in ~tech
macleod LinkThey really are just like us. I now believe that AGI is alive and living among us. /s... unless?They really are just like us. I now believe that AGI is alive and living among us.
/s... unless?
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Overworked AI agents turn "marxist"
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Comment on David Koepp to write a Westworld film for Warner Bros in ~movies
macleod (edited )Link ParentThe later seasons are where it becomes more cyberpunk and neuromancer, which I absolutely adored. Dolores was incredibly annoying and exhausting as a character up until the third season. Edit:...The later seasons are where it becomes more cyberpunk and neuromancer, which I absolutely adored. Dolores was incredibly annoying and exhausting as a character up until the third season.
Edit: But, as @theRTV said, seasone one is a masterpiece.
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Comment on David Koepp to write a Westworld film for Warner Bros in ~movies
macleod (edited )LinkNothing will be a better rendition than the show, which deserved a final season.Nothing will be a better rendition than the show, which deserved a final season.
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Comment on Eradikated – Mortality (2026) in ~music
macleod LinkEradikated never misses. In an alternate universe they are better known than Turnstile (if Turnstile had stuck to their original sound we would all be in a better place).Eradikated never misses. In an alternate universe they are better known than Turnstile (if Turnstile had stuck to their original sound we would all be in a better place).
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Comment on Star Fox Direct shadow dropped right before premiere in ~games
macleod Link Parentyou would not believe (you probably could) how often people at summer camps, classes, etc would end up just calling me starfox, star, or fox everywhere I went in the early to mid 2000s, the moat...you would not believe (you probably could) how often people at summer camps, classes, etc would end up just calling me starfox, star, or fox everywhere I went in the early to mid 2000s, the moat has dried up considerably in the last few years though.
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Comment on Star Fox Direct shadow dropped right before premiere in ~games
New Mongolia, new and full of exploration and an entire new world to build and die on. I'm game, when do I get convicted?