post_below's recent activity
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Comment on US FCC to vote to restore net neutrality rules years after the agency voted to repeal them in ~tech
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Comment on For those involved / interested in Web3, what do you make of the near and long term future for it? in ~tech
post_below LinkI won't add to the already well articulated practical criticisms of Web3 in the thread. Instead I have a philosophical one: You can't have it. Not you personally, the crypto bros. It's the world...I won't add to the already well articulated practical criticisms of Web3 in the thread.
Instead I have a philosophical one: You can't have it. Not you personally, the crypto bros. It's the world wide web we're talking about. It's a huge part of the digital age and human progress in general. If sanity prevails Web3 will be looked back on as a failed attempt by speculators to co-opt something that is so much bigger than them it's comical.
Web 2 was already just marketing, a term for technologies that had existed for years before it was coined. But at least in that case the technologies were useful and the term had some utility in describing important trends.
Web3 is a joke, not a new major version of the internet.
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Comment on Fellow hardline materialists, how do you "enchant" the world? in ~talk
post_below LinkI answered this in a slightly different context not long ago in this comment. Short answer: Making meaning and connection. I'd also add nature. The complex, nuanced relationships between...I answered this in a slightly different context not long ago in this comment.
Short answer: Making meaning and connection.
I'd also add nature. The complex, nuanced relationships between everything alive and the surrounding evironment that arise from millions of years of co-evolution make this planet home in much more than a literal sense. We're made for and of this place.
We've only scratched the surface of what that looks like and already it's clear that there's more depth and connection in that story than you'll find in any metaphysical belief system.
In that way I don't see the underlying laws of the universe as cold. Our genomes have been informed by those laws for a longer span of time than we can really comprehend. They are more intimate and familiar than any lover.
You may have read that, by some estimates, bacterial cells in and on our bodies outnumber our own cells. The more we learn, the more the line between inside and outside blurs into nonexistence.
Which is to say that lack of metaphysical meaning does nothing to take away from the profoundly connected nature of being a living thing, even if we aren't consciously aware of it.
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Comment on NPR suspends veteran editor as it grapples with his public criticism in ~news
post_below Link ParentTo clarify, I'm not the "jumped to the top of the ladder" poster. I don't think there's anything terribly wrong with what he did, ethically speaking. Maybe a dick move, but that's for the people...To clarify, I'm not the "jumped to the top of the ladder" poster. I don't think there's anything terribly wrong with what he did, ethically speaking. Maybe a dick move, but that's for the people at NPR to judge.
I completely agree that we'd all benefit from expanding the umbrella to make space for near right conservative views. There's not really a place for them in the current republican party, and the left doesn't seem to want them either.
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Comment on NPR suspends veteran editor as it grapples with his public criticism in ~news
post_below Link ParentHe definitely seems to have tried, in good faith, to bring up the issues internally. I think that justifies his actions to some extent. But we don't know what the conversations actually were. I...He definitely seems to have tried, in good faith, to bring up the issues internally. I think that justifies his actions to some extent.
But we don't know what the conversations actually were. I imagine it's a hard topic at NPR where the consensus is likely that the majority of the republican party has lost its mind. To the degree that giving them representation is more problematic than the lack thereof.
It's not surprising that there aren't any (open) republicans at NPR. Ten years ago, before the republican party became the party of Trump, it might have been different, but these days it's really hard for anyone who's paying attention to be a republican. And of course everyone at NPR is paying attention.
I mean what is the answer to "there aren't enough republicans and NPR?" Hiring based on political affiliation?
I can imagine a meeting where everyone considered that rabbit hole a waste of time.
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Comment on Is climate change driving the global rise in populism? If so ... how? If not ... what is? in ~enviro
post_below Link ParentYou don't get a tinfoil hat and I wish it was common enough knowledge to consider obvious. Speaking here of my interpretation of the core point: The role of capital where climate change,...You don't get a tinfoil hat and I wish it was common enough knowledge to consider obvious.
Speaking here of my interpretation of the core point: The role of capital where climate change, nationalism and friends are concerned is, arguably, the most influential among a variety of contributing factors.
I think everyone kinda knows it, but somehow it doesn't feel like common knowledge.
However much of a factor it is, it's hard to imagine solving the problem of authoritatrian politics without first solving the problem of the money and propaganda machines behind it.
Ditto for climate change, the decades long fossil fuel industry sponsored manipulation of the conversation to delay climate action is approaching common knowledge now I hope? It's certainly been reported on by enough reputable outlets, and discredited by none.
I want to note that fossil fuel isn't the only stakeholder here. There are many industries with motivation to limit or delay climate action, and even more that will support whichever political movement offers the most buyable politicians. Which these days usually means the right.
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Comment on Applejuicification: why the fruit is found in so many mixed juices in ~food
post_below LinkCooking fruit breaks down the carbohydrates into simpler sugars and increases the soluble sugar content. And of course the apple in store bought foods is always cooked. So, "apple" in processed...Cooking fruit breaks down the carbohydrates into simpler sugars and increases the soluble sugar content. And of course the apple in store bought foods is always cooked.
So, "apple" in processed foods can essentially be read as "fruit sugar".
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Comment on Scattered thoughts on the absurdity of existing in ~talk
post_below LinkAgreed that existence is fundamentally meaningless. Everything we know about the universe so far points to that conclusion. That doesn't make it true, but it does make it the most likely truth....Agreed that existence is fundamentally meaningless. Everything we know about the universe so far points to that conclusion. That doesn't make it true, but it does make it the most likely truth.
For me personally, the base meaninglessness is part of what makes existence profound.
We have the, arguably useless, but nonetheless incredible ability to make meaning. And, as far as we know, we're the only creatures that can do it. The only apes that can wonder what it means to ape.
As a result of the meaning we create, we experience achingly beautiful moments of joy, wonder and pain. Moments which are more profound because they are so fleeting and so meaningless to anything in the universe but us.
Another piece of the meaning puzzle, for me, is curiosity. I want to exist because I want to know what happens next. It won't matter, not in any universal way, but it's enough that I get to participate in it.
Related to that is the knowledge that, however remarkable or mundane, every moment is unique in the entire span of time and space. Ultimately pointless but also ultimately singular.
And we can share some of those singularities. Only a bit, because we're all hallucinating existence in very different ways, but that's exactly what makes it meaningful. At its core existence is deeply lonely, no one sees the same world we do. No one can fully see us. Which makes those moments when experience feels genuinely shared like flashes of light and warmth in the darkness.
Not just when we connect with other people, but when we connect with any aspect of life, or ourselves, in a way that ties us to a larger scope than whatever our baseline is.
There's meaning in stumbling on in search of the next flash of connection.
Finally, existence is additive. We're constantly collecting context. A moment I experience now, is deeper and more nuanced than one I experienced 20 years ago because I'm bringing 20 extra years of knowledge and memories and accumulated experience into that moment. I have more points of reference, more ways to connect. Which makes the flashes more vivid.
I find a lot of meaning in the knowledge that the adventure is always evolving, and it can always be more than before.
So for me, even though there is no fundamental meaning, each moment has meaning. It's arbitrary and transient, but it's still meaning.
Right up until my heart stops and all that context I collected ceases to exist and, not long after, every impact I've had on the world is lost to time and entropy.
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Comment on You're wrong about Aptera's car. It's ridiculously efficient (and solar powered). in ~transport
post_below LinkI followed Aptera for a while, starting back when they were claiming it would cost 20k or less. As others have mentioned, the launch is always right around the corner and always gets delayed. I...I followed Aptera for a while, starting back when they were claiming it would cost 20k or less. As others have mentioned, the launch is always right around the corner and always gets delayed.
I never really planned on buying one, but it seemed like a cool project. Eventually it went on for long enough that I lost interest. Though I did see a big marketing push they did a couple years ago, complete with pre-orders. I assume that got delayed too. If you can't manage even a small production run after a decade plus on a product that uses existing technology, something is wrong.
Also, now at over $30k for a 3 wheeled vehicle with limited cargo and passenger space and minimal amenities, why not spend an extra 5 to 10k for a fully featured electric vehicle? At this point I'm not sure what they're offering beyond novelty.
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Comment on Fallen crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to twenty-five years in US prison in ~finance
post_below Link ParentNot only is 25 years a big part of a lifetime, when your sentence starts at 30, those are some of the very best years of your life. That's a big deterrent, inasmuch as deterrents are effective at...Not only is 25 years a big part of a lifetime, when your sentence starts at 30, those are some of the very best years of your life. That's a big deterrent, inasmuch as deterrents are effective at all.
When I hear people calling for longer sentences I sometimes wonder if what they're really asking is for criminals not to exist. For people not to be selfish and greedy and hurt others as a result.
I agree with the sentiment, but humanity is what it is, putting people in cages doesn't change that, it's just the best solution we've come up with out of a collection of imperfect options.
Bankman-Fried is done. He won't be scamming anyone else, he won't be a part of society for decades, his shot at a normal life is over. That seems like enough when there's nothing we can do to him that will change the impact he had on people's lives. If we put him away for 100 years it won't return anyone's money.
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Comment on Climate sustainability through a dynamic duo: Green hydrogen and crypto driving energy transition and decarbonization in ~enviro
post_below LinkAllowing for the possibility that I could have missed some important detail while skimming... this is silly. The "study" is really just a proposal, which essentially boils down to: couple bitcoin...Allowing for the possibility that I could have missed some important detail while skimming... this is silly.
The "study" is really just a proposal, which essentially boils down to: couple bitcoin mining with renewable energy to make money which offsets the cost of deploying renewable energy (solar, wind, etc..).
It also, for reasons that aren't entirely clear, includes hydrogen as a companion storage/transportation solution. Not clear because there are a variety of energy storage solutions available and hydrogen (with current tech) is much less energy efficient than other options. I suppose the thinking must be that it's green energy so if we lose half of it to the hydrogen process no worries.
It also uses the concept of "virtual carrier" which, if I'm reading it right, means that the economic value of bitcoin makes it a magical way to move energy around.
There are of course some huge issues with all of this. What happens as mining gets progressively more expensive and there are (inevitable) crashes in the value of bitcoin? Now you have some percentage of your power production that was reliant on bitcoin mining for profit jumping into the red. It's cool though, I guess, because you've built the machines to turn all that unprofitable power into even more unprofitable hydrogen by losing 50% of it in conversion process.
Another issue is that the "study" makes no case for why using bitcoin mining to monetize the power is a better idea then the virtually endless other ways you can turn power into profit, many of which are more profitable, more reliable and more future proof.
Bitcoin remains primarily an investment, it still doesn't have significant real world applications outside of that, and so the volatility problem isn't going to go away. And it will always use a huge amount of power relative to what you get out of it. It's designed that way.
This study feels to me like just another gambit from the world of crypto speculation to prop up the value of Bitcoin in light of people increasingly talking about its carbon footprint.
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Comment on Birthrates are plummeting worldwide. Why? in ~life
post_below Link ParentI think your're right that environmental factors play a part. Add in hormone disrupters in plastics and food additives, and so many things we don't know about yet but undoubtedly exist amongst the...I think your're right that environmental factors play a part. Add in hormone disrupters in plastics and food additives, and so many things we don't know about yet but undoubtedly exist amongst the sea of molecules we've added to our environment that weren't present, or weren't in high concentrations, during any part of our evolution.
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Comment on 'If anything happens, it's not suicide': Boeing whistleblower's prediction before death in ~transport
post_below Link ParentI'd say that's among the least likely possibilities. This is Boeing though, they're not just an ancient behemoth in aerospace, they're also a defense contractor. The number of direct and indirect...The C-suite of Boeing got together
I'd say that's among the least likely possibilities. This is Boeing though, they're not just an ancient behemoth in aerospace, they're also a defense contractor. The number of direct and indirect stakeholders are near endless.
There are plenty of people in the military industrial complex that wouldn't have a problem with causing a murder to be carried out. And so much potentially damaging information to want to stop from coming out.
That doesn't mean he was murdered of course, just that the possibility isn't a stretch.
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Comment on Oregon decriminalized drugs. Voters now regret it. in ~life
post_below Link ParentYes, my mistakeYes, my mistake
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Comment on Oregon decriminalized drugs. Voters now regret it. in ~life
post_below Link ParentI want to clarify that the title of the post/article: "voters now regret it" is subjective at best and an agenda promoting lie at worst The repeal, which was actually only a repeal of certain...I want to clarify that the title of the post/article: "voters now regret it" is subjective at best and an agenda promoting lie at worst
The repeal, which was actually only a repeal of certain parts of the measure, was enacted by lawmakers, voters weren't part of it.
Much of the media seems to have settled on the narrative that this means decriminalization failed. That's not what happened at all. Lawmakers failed.
Portland failed to figure out how to clean up downtown Portland following the pandemic policy of looking the other way at homeless people taking over downtown. The result was a lot of open drug use in areas of the city that, once upon a time, were pristine.
It wasn't a good look, and people started avoiding downtown.
To their credit, they did try to solve the problem in a humane way, but they absolutely didn't succeed.
As time goes on, and credible numbers come out, I'll think we'll see that the measure was actually a success, practically speaking. The optics, though, not so much.
On the bright side, most of the parts of the measure that added funding for support and treatment survived the repeal, and more money for those types of things was added.
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Comment on AI models found to show language bias by recommending Black defendents be 'sentenced to death' in ~tech
post_below LinkI wonder if the bias is nearly as much classism as it is racism. Most people who grew up with resources are more likely to be well educated and have been exposed to a wider variety of language...I wonder if the bias is nearly as much classism as it is racism. Most people who grew up with resources are more likely to be well educated and have been exposed to a wider variety of language styles.
People tend to lean towards more formal language in a setting like a courtroom, but they can only do that credibly if they're comfortable with formal language.
People with more resources are more likely to have good representation in court. They also tend to present as better put together and more trustworthy.
We know from statistics that people on the lower end of the socioeconomic scale are more often arrested and more often convicted. We also know that, as a result of systemic racism, black people are more likely to be be poor than white people.
All of which means, perhaps, that from the perspective of an LLM, elements of "poor" language are closer, in terms of weight, to words like guilty and conviction.
One thing this study exposes is how completely absurd it is to use an LLM for anything important (if that wasn't already obvious enough). But it's also just generally interesting how LLMs can show how deeply classism and racism are baked into both language and our systems.
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Comment on Why is the discourse on Tildes so much nicer than most places on the internet? in ~tildes
post_below Link ParentI think this is a big part of the answer to your OP question: Culture. It's a powerful force. We're wired from way back to read the room and find a graceful way to participate. It's often not even...myself thinking of a funny quip or reply to a post on Tildes, but then I never actually comment it, because it just 'feels' wrong and inappropriate for the tone of the site. Because like you said, this isn't that kind of space.
I think this is a big part of the answer to your OP question: Culture. It's a powerful force. We're wired from way back to read the room and find a graceful way to participate. It's often not even conscious, which is to say that it can influence our behavior in spite of ourselves. Social animals, survival and all that.
Of course we're also wired to sometimes test limits and break shit, which is where the moderation comes in.
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Comment on JavaScript bloat in 2024 in ~comp
post_below Link ParentIf you mean shipped as part of a local cache of commonly used libraries, that doesn't seem less secure than loading the libraries multiple times using arbitrary links provided by random websites....If you mean shipped as part of a local cache of commonly used libraries, that doesn't seem less secure than loading the libraries multiple times using arbitrary links provided by random websites.
What privacy would you be throwing away? If you have the file locally then you don't have to tell anyone you're loading it.
It's true that rendering is (mostly) fast, but only on a fast device. Not everyone has one. Bigger than the processor cycle cost, though, is the bandwidth cost. Even in developed countries people sometimes have slow connections due to congestion or location.
On the scale of common libraries (like jQuery) that are being (re)downloaded for no reason countless times a second, you could even talk about the cumulative carbon footprint.
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Comment on Delaying parenthood via the cryopreservation of live-born children - the unintended consequences of blurring embryonic and human rights in ~life
post_below Link ParentSure, but the legal right to freeze babies is in no way a possible unintended consequence of the ruling.Sure, but the legal right to freeze babies is in no way a possible unintended consequence of the ruling.
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Comment on Delaying parenthood via the cryopreservation of live-born children - the unintended consequences of blurring embryonic and human rights in ~life
post_below LinkEarly on this piece has some really interesting things to say about the recent ruling in Alabama. But later the premise seems to hinge on the idea that if embryos are now people, laws that apply...Early on this piece has some really interesting things to say about the recent ruling in Alabama.
But later the premise seems to hinge on the idea that if embryos are now people, laws that apply to embryos could now apply to people (like it being ok to freeze them).
I'm pretty sure that's not how the legal system works. Am I missing some key precedent here? Children are people but certainly there are laws which apply to children that do not apply to adults, and vise versa.
I don't disagree with the idea that the ruling opens up some bizarre possibilities, but as far as I can tell "it goes both ways" is fantasy. I think there might be better ways to illustrate the absurdity of the ruling :)
Indeed, and a pile of wins (from a progressive perspective) over the last three years.
Perhaps if we imagine businesses as small to medium organizations that are concerned with long term goals informed by legacy, taking care of their employees and doing their small part to make their country a better place to live.
But we're talking about big listed companies that are concerned with shareholder value. To them repealing net neutrality is the best thing ever... they spend a relatively small amount of money on lobbying, campaign contributions and PR and if it works their existing systems can start making (a lot) more money, no investment or significant upgrades needed. It's like a free money button. What self respecting corporation is going to pass that up?
It doesn't even require a major budget change, they're deeply invested in politics by default and have been for decades. Not only to control regulation so they can continue to charge some of the highest prices in the world, but also to get those sweet sweet subsidies and suppress community broadband projects.
Four years of free money (give or take) is worth a lot of bonuses and stock price increases. And they get a shot at repealing it again if things go right in the next election. It may not be stability but there's no downside.