metzgeria's recent activity
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Comment on US President Donald Trump’s Latin America policy: short-term gains, long-term risks in ~society
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US President Donald Trump’s Latin America policy: short-term gains, long-term risks
6 votes -
Comment on What are your favorite static site generators for creating text based and fast blogs/web pages? in ~tech
metzgeria LinkI have been using lektor-cms for years https://www.getlektor.com/ and it works well. There is not much development in the last few years but one could argue it is feature complete for a simple cms.I have been using lektor-cms for years https://www.getlektor.com/ and it works well. There is not much development in the last few years but one could argue it is feature complete for a simple cms.
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Comment on GenAI is reshaping work—don’t let it dull human intelligence in ~tech
metzgeria LinkGenAI is transforming the workplace by reshaping not only how tasks are performed but also how individuals think and solve problems. While it offers efficiency, there is a growing concern about...GenAI is transforming the workplace by reshaping not only how tasks are performed but also how individuals think and solve problems. While it offers efficiency, there is a growing concern about the erosion of critical cognitive skills as workers increasingly rely on AI for decision-making and problem-solving. This shift can lead to a workforce that is adept at consuming AI-generated outputs but lacks the ability to generate original insights.
The blog post outlines three waves of cognitive transformation driven by technology, culminating in the current phase where GenAI automates entire cognitive workflows.
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GenAI is reshaping work—don’t let it dull human intelligence
20 votes -
Comment on "The Bullshit Machines" - A free humanities course on LLMs for college freshmen from UW professors in ~humanities
metzgeria LinkTwo University of Washington professors (data science and biology) have developed an 18-lesson course specifically designed to help students navigate the world of Large Language Models. Unlike...Two University of Washington professors (data science and biology) have developed an 18-lesson course specifically designed to help students navigate the world of Large Language Models. Unlike typical AI courses, this is approached from a humanities perspective and requires no technical background.
Each lesson is 5-10 minutes long and explores a core principle about LLMs, taking a balanced view that acknowledges both their impressive capabilities and serious concerns. The course includes instructor materials for classroom use, though it's also suitable for self-study.
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"The Bullshit Machines" - A free humanities course on LLMs for college freshmen from UW professors
43 votes -
Comment on ArcFox, an opensource project to make Firefox flow like Arc browser in ~tech
metzgeria LinkWhile playing with this I combined the custom CSS of ArcFox (the file called userChrome.css) with the Firefox Tab Stash extension: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/tab-stash/ and the...While playing with this I combined the custom CSS of ArcFox (the file called
userChrome.css) with the Firefox Tab Stash extension:https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/tab-stash/
and the result is great! It offers a side bar that is easily customizable and persistent between sessions.
Tab Stash to my mind is the better version of Vivaldi workspaces, and the ArcFox layout is an improved version of hiding the address bar.
The only thing is that with this CSS the extension menu does not show the next level. I use that for profile switching. But this is not so hard to move over to a brief command line instruction (eg.
> firefox -P personal tildes.net) -
Comment on Red and blue US states: dichotomized maps mislead and reduce perceived voting influence in ~society
metzgeria LinkAbstract In the United States the color red has come to represent the Republican party, and blue the Democratic party, in maps of voting patterns. Here we test the hypothesis that voting maps...Abstract
In the United States the color red has come to represent the Republican party, and blue the Democratic party, in maps of voting patterns. Here we test the hypothesis that voting maps dichotomized into red and blue states leads people to overestimate political polarization compared to maps in which states are represented with continuous gradations of color. We also tested whether any polarizing effect is due to partisan semantic associations with red and blue, or if alternative hues produce similar effects. In Study 1, participants estimated the hypothetical voting patterns of eight swing states on maps with dichotomous or continuous red/blue or orange/green color schemes. A continuous gradient mitigated the polarizing effects of red/blue maps on voting predictions. We also found that a novel hue pair, green/orange, decreased perceived polarization. Whether this effect was due to the novelty of the hues or the fact that the hues were not explicitly labeled “Democrat” and “Republican” was unclear. In Study 2, we explicitly assigned green/orange hues to the two parties. Participants viewed electoral maps depicting results from the 2020 presidential election and estimated the voting margins for a subset of states. We replicated the finding that continuous red/blue gradient reduced perceived polarization, but the novel hues did not reduce perceived polarization. Participants also expected their hypothetical vote to matter more when viewing maps with continuous color gradations. We conclude that the dichotomization of electoral maps (not the particular hues) increases perceived voting polarization and reduces a voter’s expected influence on election outcomes. -
Red and blue US states: dichotomized maps mislead and reduce perceived voting influence
25 votes -
Comment on Windows 10 end of life could prompt torrent of e-waste as 240 million devices set for scrapheap in ~tech
metzgeria Link ParentAs far as I know e the closest we have at the moment as open source alternative for photography is Darktable (https://www.darktable.org/). It might be worth a try, in the light of looking for a...As far as I know e the closest we have at the moment as open source alternative for photography is Darktable (https://www.darktable.org/). It might be worth a try, in the light of looking for a long term alternative.
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Comment on Is there a programming language that brings you joy? in ~comp
metzgeria LinkBy far my favorite language is R, because it gets out of my way as a language and lets me focus on doing stuff with data that I'm interested in. Although probably the fluency that comes after many...By far my favorite language is R, because it gets out of my way as a language and lets me focus on doing stuff with data that I'm interested in.
Although probably the fluency that comes after many years of use create a bias, there are design desicions that make it enjoyable. The tidyverse and tidymodels in particular bring me joy, because the end result - to my biased eyes - typically looks readable en elegant.
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Comment on Seeking advice for choosing an inexpensive, plug and play headset with microphone for recording presentations and participating in video chat in ~tech
metzgeria LinkThe "Sennheiser EPOS PC 5 Chat Lightweight Headset" is the one I have been using for the past few years. The packaging has changed a bit but the price remains the same around USD 25. The...The "Sennheiser EPOS PC 5 Chat Lightweight Headset" is the one I have been using for the past few years. The packaging has changed a bit but the price remains the same around USD 25.
The microphone is great for recording speech. And the headphone is light and comfortable to wear for extended periods of time. The ear pads do not last for ever, but they do last between one and two years of daily use. I'm on my third pair.
Title: President Trump’s Latin America Policy: Short-Term Gains, Long-Term Risks
President Trump's Latin America policy has seen short-term gains but carries long-term risks. The U.S. has increased attention to the region, focusing on countering China's influence, criminal organizations, and record migration flows. The administration has
adopted a Monroe Doctrine 2.0 approach, emphasizing military force and economic coercion over soft-power initiatives. Soft-power programs like USAID have been significantly reduced, impacting Central America, Colombia, and Haiti, and allowing competitors like China to gain leverage. Hard-power initiatives include militarizing the war on drugs, designating cartels as terrorist organizations, and deploying military assets to the southern border and Venezuela.
Economic coercion has been used through tariffs on key trading partners, leading to diversified trade relationships and reduced reliance on the U.S. The region's responses have been mixed, with some countries defending sovereignty while others cooperate with U.S. policies. The implications include weakened U.S. influence, potential instability, and increased anti-American sentiment.