public's recent activity
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Comment on A deadly accident has Hawaii officials pleading for an end to amateur fireworks shows [three killed, twenty injured] in ~society
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Comment on One state tried eighth grade algebra for all. It hasn’t gone well. in ~society
public Link ParentMy teachers called it number sense. In a less advanced situation, it’s the gut instincts that tell you when you miskeyed the arithmetic in your calculator.My teachers called it number sense. In a less advanced situation, it’s the gut instincts that tell you when you miskeyed the arithmetic in your calculator.
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Comment on One state tried eighth grade algebra for all. It hasn’t gone well. in ~society
public Link ParentThe specific topic of epsilon-delta proofs may be one of the few topics that aren't an actual blockage for students who don't get it in the allocated curriculum time. They're necessary so students...There's no amount of rote demonstration that will convey understanding of epsilon-delta proofs, for example, and those are week 2 or 3 of a calculus course (if you are teaching for material mastery). So if your goal is more people who take calculus successfully, you need a mechanism to assess when they are ready to start learning the concepts that are beyond the "math facts" variety.
The specific topic of epsilon-delta proofs may be one of the few topics that aren't an actual blockage for students who don't get it in the allocated curriculum time. They're necessary so students don't take the theorems and derivative formulas by faith, but not understanding them doesn't preclude understanding the application of limits and integrals.
Contrast with most of the rest of math, where there is a strong sequence that must be followed to build understanding.
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Comment on The average American spent 2.5 months on their phone in 2024 in ~tech
public Link ParentYou're making me nostalgic for my fraternity days. Instead of being on the phone, we were in the living room of the frat house working on homework (or browsing porn), making fun of whatever was on...You're making me nostalgic for my fraternity days. Instead of being on the phone, we were in the living room of the frat house working on homework (or browsing porn), making fun of whatever was on TV, be it Doctor Who, porn, someone playing video games, Storage Wars, or the Food Network.
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Comment on One state tried eighth grade algebra for all. It hasn’t gone well. in ~society
public Link ParentBolded my change. While what you said is correct, I have met far too many elementary teachers (or aspiring teachers in my college years) with math anxiety. Math is not some insurmountable tricky...Part of the problem is that most elementary teachers are also terrible at math. And I think a lot of people have a sort of mental block with it.
Bolded my change. While what you said is correct, I have met far too many elementary teachers (or aspiring teachers in my college years) with math anxiety. Math is not some insurmountable tricky magic; it's just math.
I'd also add that much of what makes students hate math is arithmetic. They get bored and frustrated, so they check out, thus causing gaps in their knowledge that make later topics actually insurmountably challenging. Math is unique in how rigid its prerequisite structure is—there is no need to start the study of history with the speciation of H. sapiens.
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Comment on The return of non-PC language in the US mainstream in ~talk
public Link ParentOn a similar note, I remain shocked that BIPoC hasn’t yet taken off as an all-purpose racial slur in offline chuddy circles.On a similar note, I remain shocked that BIPoC hasn’t yet taken off as an all-purpose racial slur in offline chuddy circles.
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Comment on The return of non-PC language in the US mainstream in ~talk
public Link ParentI’ve definitely seen “neurodivergent” used as an insult online for the past few years. It’s probably not yet escaped the terminally-online bubble. I’m waiting for “chromosome collector” to take off.I’ve definitely seen “neurodivergent” used as an insult online for the past few years. It’s probably not yet escaped the terminally-online bubble. I’m waiting for “chromosome collector” to take off.
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Comment on The ugly truth about Spotify is finally revealed in ~music
public Link ParentThe more I think on your first paragraph, the more convinced that this anti-Spotify sentiment is similar to anti-AI activism: it’s asking the law to compensate for the fact that the public has...The more I think on your first paragraph, the more convinced that this anti-Spotify sentiment is similar to anti-AI activism: it’s asking the law to compensate for the fact that the public has terrible taste and willingly enjoys slop if it kills the silence and paints the digital wall. Artists can’t compete against free when the market is indifferent to quality.
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Comment on Pornhub to block access in thirteen states as age-verification laws expand across US in ~tech
public Link ParentIf it were just like the clerk checking your ID at the liquor store, it would be another one of the necessary lies of civilization. Those laws don’t stop teens from getting their booze & smokes,...If it were just like the clerk checking your ID at the liquor store, it would be another one of the necessary lies of civilization. Those laws don’t stop teens from getting their booze & smokes, but it makes the voting public feel good to pretend.
However, such laws almost certainly have auditing and verification requirements which turn the measures into “papers, please” Statsi nonsense by requiring a paper trail to be made. The best way to prevent a data breach is to minimize the data collected.
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Comment on Merry Christmas, people of Tildes in ~talk
public Link ParentDepends on the airport. Not a lot of lines within the airport, but the planes were full.Depends on the airport. Not a lot of lines within the airport, but the planes were full.
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Comment on Merry Christmas, people of Tildes in ~talk
public LinkMerry Christmas! Who else is celebrating in an airport because it's $200+ cheaper than the rest of December?Merry Christmas! Who else is celebrating in an airport because it's $200+ cheaper than the rest of December?
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Comment on Suggestions for a tablet or a light laptop in ~tech
public Link ParentI was going to second the MBA, but it seemed important for them to have USB-A ports. That's the only downside if you don't have any Windows-only software you enjoy.I was going to second the MBA, but it seemed important for them to have USB-A ports. That's the only downside if you don't have any Windows-only software you enjoy.
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Comment on The US "Ice Cream Truck Song" is rooted in racism in ~music
public Link ParentTrue, my female classmates weren’t conservative (they would later become Hillary Clinton megafans). I assumed it was boy-coded behavior because the boys doing that largely lacked fixed political...True, my female classmates weren’t conservative (they would later become Hillary Clinton megafans). I assumed it was boy-coded behavior because the boys doing that largely lacked fixed political positions and the girls didn’t join in.
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Comment on The US "Ice Cream Truck Song" is rooted in racism in ~music
public Link ParentI agree with pretty much everything you said. The one caveat I'd add is that there's a fine line between informing people while their worldview is still under construction and informing them while...I agree with pretty much everything you said. The one caveat I'd add is that there's a fine line between informing people while their worldview is still under construction and informing them while they're still too immature to care. Especially for teens, if you tell them that some melody used to be associated with super-racist lyrics, some non-trivial portion of them (almost exclusively male) will start looking for the most fitting metrical places to slot in the n-word.
Also, my hunch on the “rather remain ignorant” crowd is that it's driven by an annoyance at those who view it as their duty to inform others. As you say, it doesn't become your job to tell them. There'd be less resistance to learning if it were just another historical curiosity instead of followed with “…and we should do something about it.”
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Comment on Tenant unions are coming. US landlords aren't ready. in ~life
public Link ParentWhere should people live, then?And if we ever want to win against climate change, building hundreds of millions of new homes is impossible.
Where should people live, then?
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Comment on Louisiana forbids public health workers from promoting COVID, flu and mpox shots in ~health
public Link ParentI went to college with those women while they were in their early 20s. However, in my experience, the biggest airheads concentrated in elementary education instead of nursing. They used their...otherwise unassuming late 20s girl… from a background that otherwise should have been educated
I went to college with those women while they were in their early 20s. However, in my experience, the biggest airheads concentrated in elementary education instead of nursing. They used their diligence to overcome an absence of understanding. Between hard work and memorization, they aced every assignment while struggling to earn Cs on the tests.
Young men of similar intellectual profile either were dropouts or in nonsense majors like business, so I rarely crossed paths with them.
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Comment on What does your computer setup look like? in ~tech
public LinkM1 MacBook Air Hyper dock Two 24" 4K monitors by LG PreSonus AudioBox 96 <- Rolls MS111 mute button <- KlarkTeknik mic booster <- Shure Beta 58 Monoprice headphone amp -> HiFiMan Edition XS...- M1 MacBook Air
- Hyper dock
- Two 24" 4K monitors by LG
- PreSonus AudioBox 96 <- Rolls MS111 mute button <- KlarkTeknik mic booster <- Shure Beta 58
- Monoprice headphone amp -> HiFiMan Edition XS
- Evoluent vertical mouse
- The mechanical keyboard of the day (been the F62 + a numpad on the far side of the mouse lately, strong preference for 60% size)
I use a 4 foot IKEA shelf atop matched-height stacks of old textbooks as my monitor stand.
- Acorn Master Key 49
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Comment on Luigi Mangione prosecutors have a jury problem: 'So much sympathy' in ~society
public Link ParentBeing a lawyer is a de facto lifetime exclusion from jury duty. Even being a fireman whose sister is an attorney is close enough to knowing too much to be admitted into the jury box.Being a lawyer is a de facto lifetime exclusion from jury duty. Even being a fireman whose sister is an attorney is close enough to knowing too much to be admitted into the jury box.
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Comment on Luigi Mangione prosecutors have a jury problem: 'So much sympathy' in ~society
public Link ParentA retrospective opinion about Occupy that I remember being popular once “How could Donald Trump ever actually had won?” stopped being the only political discourse was that, much like how the...A retrospective opinion about Occupy that I remember being popular once “How could Donald Trump ever actually had won?” stopped being the only political discourse was that, much like how the Kaiser closed the Eastern Front by sending a boxcar of Bolsheviks for the Tzar to deal with, Occupy was co-opted by identarian—some would say “woke”—grifters who sandbagged the movement by distracting it from its core economic message.
I find that analysis to be too conspiratorial when taken literally. First, I don’t think the protests by themselves ever would have amounted to much without lasting long enough to change behavior in the voting booth. Second, the grifters did not need to sneak in—or even be cynical grifters in the first place. A crowd that passively agrees with the idea that the less privileged should speak first combined with people who have an unexpected opportunity to spread the causes they truly believe in to a crowd is a recipe for leftist dysfunction in a leaderless movement that requires zero bad actors.
However, trying to make it into an everything movement means that its successors can’t capture the broad appeal due to infighting (or the lack of message discipline scaring away the normies). No one suppressed the peaceful reforms, yet the adage “those who prevent peaceful reformation promote violent revolution” still applies.
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Comment on Tildes Book Club 2024 retrospective in ~books
public LinkFirst, thank you for running these. Even though I have—mostly due to zero time management skills—not participated anywhere near as much as I promised myself when the threads first caught my...First, thank you for running these. Even though I have—mostly due to zero time management skills—not participated anywhere near as much as I promised myself when the threads first caught my attention. Nonetheless, I will be forever grateful that the club forced me to (finally!) read my copy of Piranesi. I was an avid reader before I went to college. However, my buying habits did not decline with my reading habits, so my shelves are full of books I obtained while hitting up used bookstores as hard as if I were still a high schooler with all summer to do nothing but read. Between having a job and free range internet access, the volume of words going through my eyes isn't any less, but it's no longer primarily in narrative form.
Strongly hoping February is a good month for me to jump back in—will be busy through January. Then again, my life is full of broken promises I imposed on my future self.
State line firework shops. Buy them from where they’re legal.