qob's recent activity

  1. Comment on Reducing Europe's nuclear energy sector was 'strategic mistake', EU chief Ursula von der Leyen says in ~society

    qob
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    There's also the rebound effect). Not sure how that differs from Jevon's Paradox and induced demand. They all seem to refer to the same phenomenon.

    There's also the rebound effect). Not sure how that differs from Jevon's Paradox and induced demand. They all seem to refer to the same phenomenon.

    3 votes

  2. Comment on Reducing Europe's nuclear energy sector was 'strategic mistake', EU chief Ursula von der Leyen says in ~society

    qob
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    Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Russia control more than 50 % of the global uranium production. How is that not a disadvantage? Wind, solar and batteries are not only vastly cheaper and faster to build...

    Being "completely dependent on expensive and volatile imports" of fossil fuels ​puts Europe at a disadvantage to other regions, von der Leyen said in a speech.

    Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Russia control more than 50 % of the global uranium production. How is that not a disadvantage? Wind, solar and batteries are not only vastly cheaper and faster to build but can also be recycled indefinitely. Once you are running close to 100 % on renewables, you don't really need to import all that much anymore, leaving you in control over your economy and not some saudi prince or a baby king.

    If we're crying over spilled milk, we should lament that we didn't invest more in renewables 30 years ago.

    7 votes

  3. Comment on Can coding agents relicense open source through a “clean room” implementation of code? in ~comp

    qob
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    The GPL isn't rejecting copyright, it simply enforces that users get access to the source code so they have control over the software they use.

    The GPL isn't rejecting copyright, it simply enforces that users get access to the source code so they have control over the software they use.

    1 vote

  4. Comment on Can coding agents relicense open source through a “clean room” implementation of code? in ~comp

    qob
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    Copyright has been dead since copying data became free. It is a dead horse and we keep riding it. Engineers are forced to dance around legal intricacies when they could do actual work. They would...

    Copyright has been dead since copying data became free. It is a dead horse and we keep riding it. Engineers are forced to dance around legal intricacies when they could do actual work. They would literally be more productive if they played with a puppy or watched wallpaper dry.

    My apologies to any law nerds who enjoy this sort of stuff. But please don't force normal people to play your weird games.

    16 votes

  5. Comment on What are you no longer a fan of? in ~talk

    qob
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    I think this is just part of the human condition. Very few people are ready to jeopardize their wellbeing for complete strangers. We've been knowingly buying products made by slaves for many...
    • Exemplary

    I think this is just part of the human condition. Very few people are ready to jeopardize their wellbeing for complete strangers. We've been knowingly buying products made by slaves for many decades. Not because we support slavery but because it's the easiest option in a life full of mixed hardships and temptations.

    This is why competition is a bad way to run an economy. It encourages this type of behaviour. I believe that we could already live in a utopian world if we would just teach our kids that caring for each other is more important than caring for ourselves, because then you will never run out of people that care about you.

    23 votes

  6. Comment on Single vaccine could protect against all coughs, colds and flus, researchers say in ~health

    qob
    Link Parent
    I think you overestimate the impact of popular memes from foreign cultures. Even the most die hard Star Trek fans in the UK still spend the majority of their lives interacting with other Brits....

    I think you overestimate the impact of popular memes from foreign cultures. Even the most die hard Star Trek fans in the UK still spend the majority of their lives interacting with other Brits.

    Foreign culture is extending local culture, not replacing it. Brits learned from Star Trek that Americans say "yellow alert" instead of "amber alert", but they still say "amber alert" if they talk to each other about things that have zero relation to Star Trek.

    If there was a Samurai movie fad in the US, Katana sales would probably go up, but Americans would still kill each other with guns.

  7. Comment on Single vaccine could protect against all coughs, colds and flus, researchers say in ~health

    qob
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    Star Trek is a US show. Americans, man. You guys don't even understand there are other cultures if you are given a concrete example. :)

    Star Trek is a US show.

    Americans, man. You guys don't even understand there are other cultures if you are given a concrete example. :)

    8 votes

  8. Comment on In a blind test, audiophiles couldn't tell the difference between audio signals sent through copper wire, a banana, or wet mud in ~tech

    qob
    Link Parent
    Sounds like a nightmare. If I can enjoy 96 kbps MP3 over shitty speakers, why would I spend thousands upon thousands on equipment to ruin that experience? I assume it's your job to do that, so...

    and you'll never be able to stop hearing it.

    Sounds like a nightmare. If I can enjoy 96 kbps MP3 over shitty speakers, why would I spend thousands upon thousands on equipment to ruin that experience?

    I assume it's your job to do that, so this question isn't really for you. But I know there are audiophiles who are just regular dudes with too much cash.

    11 votes

  9. Comment on ‘House burping’ is a cold reality in Germany. Americans are warming to it. in ~life.home_improvement

    qob
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    If you do Stoßlüften, it has almost no effect. But some Germans are absolutely crazy when it comes to fresh air. They claim they can't breathe or it stinks as soon as all windows are closed. So...

    changing the air for fresh cold air isn't all that costly in terms of heat loss.

    If you do Stoßlüften, it has almost no effect. But some Germans are absolutely crazy when it comes to fresh air. They claim they can't breathe or it stinks as soon as all windows are closed. So they have a window cracked 24/7. Even in winter! It's infuriating!

    17 votes

  10. Comment on Amazon’s promotion of ‘Melania’ has critics questioning its motives (Amazon has spent 35M on marketing on top of its 40M budget) in ~movies

    qob
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    I don't think it's about control or power, it's just about the numbers. They are basically playing Cookie Clicker and comparing their scores. They rationalize this behaviour somehow. They are...

    I don't think it's about control or power, it's just about the numbers. They are basically playing Cookie Clicker and comparing their scores.

    They rationalize this behaviour somehow. They are driving the economy, creating jobs and giving back via fundraisers and donations. They are inspiring millions of people with their awesome ideas, driving humanity into a better future. It's better to put money into the hands of rational futurists with a knack for business than slow and corrupt government bureaucracies.

    They clearly don't care about any of this, or they would just give 99% of their wealth away without having to change their life style, but I think they actually believe it. They belive they are the good guys.

    5 votes

  11. Comment on Lawsuit alleges that WhatsApp has no end-to-end encryption in ~tech

    qob
    Link Parent
    E2EE is pointless if the implementation is a secret. WhatsApp can have perfect E2EE and still send messages (and anything else it has access to) over a completely different channel. Even if you...

    E2EE is pointless if the implementation is a secret. WhatsApp can have perfect E2EE and still send messages (and anything else it has access to) over a completely different channel. Even if you analyze the traffic, it's probably very easy to disguise the leak as harmless telemetry.

    22 votes

  12. Comment on Why everyone is suddenly in a ‘very Chinese time’ in their lives in ~tech

    qob
    Link Parent
    But why does he want it? Feel free to school me, but as far as I know, a major reason is that Taiwan is so close to the US, and he doesn't want the US military right in front of the heart of...

    But why does he want it? Feel free to school me, but as far as I know, a major reason is that Taiwan is so close to the US, and he doesn't want the US military right in front of the heart of Chinese business hubs.

    It's basically like the US/Cuba situation during the cold war, except that China didn't have the means to put pressure on US/Taiwan in the same way the US could on SU/Cuba.

    1 vote

  13. Comment on Why everyone is suddenly in a ‘very Chinese time’ in their lives in ~tech

    qob
    Link Parent
    Unless you are looking for violence you need to regard the (real or imagined) needs of anyone you interact with in any way. This is true on every level, from personal human-to-human to...

    Unless you are looking for violence you need to regard the (real or imagined) needs of anyone you interact with in any way. This is true on every level, from personal human-to-human to international diplomacy.

    The current US administration thinks they can do whatever they want because they don't care if things go violent. Some in the regime would probably even welcome a war because wars give you more authoritarian power over your population and you can funnel money into your own pockets more easily.

    China is not looking for a war. That may change in the future (they are massively investing in their navy and may be less hesitant to use it when they can face the US navy head on), but for the forseeable future, you can do regular, boring diplomacy with them, which is impossible with the Trump administration.

    9 votes

  14. Comment on Why everyone is suddenly in a ‘very Chinese time’ in their lives in ~tech

    qob
    Link Parent
    The thing is, it's much, much more difficult to collaborate with a bastard that is completely insane and not embarrassed to show it. You can probably count the countries that wouldn't become...

    The thing is, it's much, much more difficult to collaborate with a bastard that is completely insane and not embarrassed to show it.

    You can probably count the countries that wouldn't become bastards if they had world police powers on a single finger. It's always been like that. Power corrupts. At least for now China wants to do business, which is something you can work with, and not lick the boots of its newfound dear leader.

    If the US empire could speed up its decline, maybe China could even be persuaded to leave Taiwan alone. Without the threat of the US navy right on their door step, the downsides of a war could outweigh the benefits.

    4 votes

  15. Comment on Why we are excited about confessions in ~tech

    qob
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    I'm still skeptical about the whole sentience thing. I know, it's all just statistics, but what if everything that's going on in our brains is just statistics as well? We know that chemical...

    I'm still skeptical about the whole sentience thing. I know, it's all just statistics, but what if everything that's going on in our brains is just statistics as well?

    We know that chemical processes are just statistics, and we know that the behaviour of complex systems can be ... complex, i.e. hard to understand and predict. What if all that is needed for conscience to emerge is a sufficiently complex system, and whether it is made out of biochemistry or silicon chips doesn't matter at all? Why would it matter?

    9 votes

  16. Comment on I feel that Destin (SmarterEveryDay on Youtube) is straying from the path in ~talk

    qob
    Link Parent
    Sounds like he was the best uncle one can hope to have.

    Sounds like he was the best uncle one can hope to have.

  17. Comment on I feel that Destin (SmarterEveryDay on Youtube) is straying from the path in ~talk

    qob
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    Anything interesting you would like to share about him? Maybe something about his early life as a drag queen and sleazy gangster?

    Anything interesting you would like to share about him? Maybe something about his early life as a drag queen and sleazy gangster?

  18. Comment on I feel that Destin (SmarterEveryDay on Youtube) is straying from the path in ~talk

    qob
    Link Parent
    This is a great point. We need more people who are part of two or more (seemingly) conflicting groups. I want more evangelical LGBTQ bikers who teach astrophysics and love monster trucks, crotchet...

    I appreciate someone being sincerely science positive and also open about their faith, since maybe he can open the minds of people who would not otherwise be persuaded.

    This is a great point. We need more people who are part of two or more (seemingly) conflicting groups. I want more evangelical LGBTQ bikers who teach astrophysics and love monster trucks, crotchet and guns, and they host a local prepper book club, but twice a year they read a young adult romantic novel. I can't even imagine how interesting a person like that would be.

    It is so sad to me that many people seem to be surprised that someone who believes in science can also believe in god. If you see something you didn't expect, it usually means you found an opportunity to learn something!

    10 votes

  19. Comment on I feel that Destin (SmarterEveryDay on Youtube) is straying from the path in ~talk

    qob
    Link Parent
    Depends on the church. I know there are a lot of religious people who spread hate and fear, but I don't get any of those vibes from Destin. I think he geniuinely loves humans, with all their...

    Depends on the church. I know there are a lot of religious people who spread hate and fear, but I don't get any of those vibes from Destin. I think he geniuinely loves humans, with all their freakiness and faults. I'd be surprised if he believed in a vengeful god who likes to punish humans.

    I'm not religious at all, but I don't mind meeting lovely people, and I know there are a lot of religious people full of love. Nobody has yet converted me, but I'm not going to tell people to fuck off if they want to share that kind of message with me. In my book, that would put me in the same category as those hateful preachers everyone associates religions with.

    5 votes

  20. Comment on I feel that Destin (SmarterEveryDay on Youtube) is straying from the path in ~talk

    qob
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    I mostly watch Destin because he's the most positive human I can imagine. He's basically a Golden Retriever in human form. I believe he could walk up to almost any stranger in any part of the...

    I mostly watch Destin because he's the most positive human I can imagine. He's basically a Golden Retriever in human form. I believe he could walk up to almost any stranger in any part of the world and become friends. He always seems genuinely interested in every person he meets, even if it's some grumpy old redneck dipshit with a gun. It's always a joy to watch him meet new people.

    6 votes