random324's recent activity

  1. Comment on Criminals are getting increasingly adept at crafting malicious AI prompts to get data out of ChatGPT in ~tech

    random324
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    If there's any silver lining to this, it's that criminals abusing AI will force us to take AI safety more seriously

    If there's any silver lining to this, it's that criminals abusing AI will force us to take AI safety more seriously

    6 votes

  2. Comment on In general, which laptop maker (OEM) provides the best compatibility for Linux desktops in terms of driver support and things like wifi, bluetooth, power efficiency, etc? in ~tech

    random324
    Link Parent
    I didn't own a system76 laptop but I owned a clevo laptop from another reseller and the build quality was worse than I expected and my expectations were low. The thing had coil whine and the...

    I didn't own a system76 laptop but I owned a clevo laptop from another reseller and the build quality was worse than I expected and my expectations were low. The thing had coil whine and the screws would strip easily. I returned it and got a framework.

    3 votes

  3. Comment on Gaza reports more than 11,100 killed. That’s one out of every 200 people. in ~misc

  4. Comment on Why I don't criticize Israel - Sam Harris - transcript from a 2014 podcast in ~misc

    random324
    Link Parent
    I'm not sure what you're trying to say here. No he didn't say that verbatim. He is saying if an Islamist regime gains the capability to strike the US, they should be striked first. Pakistan's lack...

    Is he quoted as saying "If an Islamist regime gets nuclear weapons and develops the capability to build and reliably launch rockets, as well as a MIRV warhead to prevent interception, then we should nuke them"?

    I'm not sure what you're trying to say here. No he didn't say that verbatim.

    No? Then why is the state of Pakistan's rocket/ICBM program relevant?

    He is saying if an Islamist regime gains the capability to strike the US, they should be striked first. Pakistan's lack of ICBMs is relevant because even though it's an Islamist regime, it doesn't have the capability to strike the US.

    3 votes

  5. Comment on Why I don't criticize Israel - Sam Harris - transcript from a 2014 podcast in ~misc

    random324
    Link Parent
    Pakistan doesn't have long-range nuclear weaponry capable of reaching the US. Also, I think you're giving Sam Harris too much credit - if Pakistan does get ICBMs, this quote would be advocating...

    Pakistan doesn't have long-range nuclear weaponry capable of reaching the US. Also, I think you're giving Sam Harris too much credit - if Pakistan does get ICBMs, this quote would be advocating for a nuclear first-strike on Pakistan.

    8 votes

  6. Comment on Why I don't criticize Israel - Sam Harris - transcript from a 2014 podcast in ~misc

    random324
    Link Parent
    He could caveat the quote from his book with online articles after controversy all he wants but that doesn't change what he originally wrote. And his response in the article is incoherent. Why are...

    He could caveat the quote from his book with online articles after controversy all he wants but that doesn't change what he originally wrote.

    And his response in the article is incoherent. Why are the people of Pakistan less certain of paradise than the Taliban? Why didn't he mention pragmatism in his book? How is he measuring pragmatism? What level of pragmatism is needed before a nuclear first-strike is off the table? All of this is just hand-waved away, which is why he didn't bother mentioning it in his book.

    11 votes

  7. Comment on Why I don't criticize Israel - Sam Harris - transcript from a 2014 podcast in ~misc

    random324
    Link Parent
    Do you have any evidence that he was referring to the Taliban?

    Do you have any evidence that he was referring to the Taliban?

    9 votes

  8. Comment on Why I don't criticize Israel - Sam Harris - transcript from a 2014 podcast in ~misc

    random324
    Link Parent
    Pakistan doesn't have long-range nuclear weaponry capable of reaching the US. Also, I think you're giving Sam Harris too much credit - if Pakistan does get ICBMs, this quote would be advocating...

    Pakistan doesn't have long-range nuclear weaponry capable of reaching the US. Also, I think you're giving Sam Harris too much credit - if Pakistan does get ICBMs, this quote would be advocating for a nuclear first-strike on Pakistan.

    9 votes

  9. Comment on Why I don't criticize Israel - Sam Harris - transcript from a 2014 podcast in ~misc

    random324
    Link Parent
    He wasn't just considering a hypothetical - he was advocating for it. Here is longer quote with the advocacy in bold: Do you have evidence that he was talking about ISIS? The quote seems to just...

    Considering a hypothetical scenario does not equal advocating for that scenario (I might consider the possible consequences of potential Russian victory in Ukraine - that does not mean I am advocating for it... why do so many people seem to have trouble distinguishing those?)

    He wasn't just considering a hypothetical - he was advocating for it. Here is longer quote with the advocacy in bold:

    What will we do if an Islamist regime, which grows dewy-eyed at the mere mention of paradise, ever acquires long-range nuclear weaponry? If history is any guide, we will not be sure about where the offending warheads are or what their state of readiness is, and so we will be unable to rely on targeted, conventional weapons to destroy them. In such a situation, the only thing likely to ensure our survival may be a nuclear first strike of our own. Needless to say, this would be an unthinkable crime—as it would kill tens of millions of innocent civilians in a single day—but it may be the only course of action available to us, given what Islamists believe. How would such an unconscionable act of self-defense be perceived by the rest of the Muslim world? It would likely be seen as the first incursion of a genocidal crusade. The horrible irony here is that seeing could make it so: this very perception could plunge us into a state of hot war with any Muslim state that had the capacity to pose a nuclear threat of its own. All of this is perfectly insane, of course: I have just described a plausible scenario in which much of the world’s population could be annihilated on account of religious ideas that belong on the same shelf with Batman, the philosopher’s stone, and unicorns.

    that hypothetical scenario was about a fanatical Islamist regime, something akin to ISIS... you are misrepresenting this as if Sam Harris was talking about the Middle East in general.

    Do you have evidence that he was talking about ISIS? The quote seems to just refer to an Islamist regime, which is basically any Muslim regime.

    9 votes

  10. Comment on Why I don't criticize Israel - Sam Harris - transcript from a 2014 podcast in ~misc

    random324
    Link Parent
    That's true but it also means Sam Harris is non-credible and he doesn't need to be debunked because of the bullshit asymmetry principle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandolini%27s_law

    That's true but it also means Sam Harris is non-credible and he doesn't need to be debunked because of the bullshit asymmetry principle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandolini%27s_law

    13 votes

  11. Comment on Why I don't criticize Israel - Sam Harris - transcript from a 2014 podcast in ~misc

    random324
    Link Parent
    I like how you dismiss nearly a century of military occupation as something Israelis could be doing better. It's like saying the Americans could've did chattel slavery better. The wording is...

    I like how you dismiss nearly a century of military occupation as something Israelis could be doing better. It's like saying the Americans could've did chattel slavery better. The wording is absurd and minimizes Israeli crimes to paint Israel as the victim.

    19 votes

  12. Comment on Why I don't criticize Israel - Sam Harris - transcript from a 2014 podcast in ~misc

    random324
    Link Parent
    And what about Israel's military occupation and apartheid regime? Is there any moral difference there?

    And what about Israel's military occupation and apartheid regime? Is there any moral difference there?

    18 votes

  13. Comment on Why I don't criticize Israel - Sam Harris - transcript from a 2014 podcast in ~misc

    random324
    Link
    I don't think Sam Harris's opinion is worth two cents when he advocates for glassing the middle east: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Harris#Accusations_of_Islamophobia

    I don't think Sam Harris's opinion is worth two cents when he advocates for glassing the middle east:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Harris#Accusations_of_Islamophobia

    Chris Hedges accused Harris of "advancing neoconservative agendas" and of advocating a nuclear first strike policy on Muslims if an Islamist regime ever obtained nuclear weapons, quoting from The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason by Harris that "in such a situation, the only thing likely to ensure our survival may be a nuclear first strike of our own."[118][119][120] In 2018, Nathan J. Robinson also criticized Harris for promoting the possibility of a nuclear first strike on an Islamist regime.[121]

    29 votes

  14. Comment on Getting frustrated studying for a certification in ~health.mental

    random324
    Link Parent
    You're taking notes - not writing a textbook. In your notes, you can add references to the source materials (such as textbook page or video timestamp) for further explanation. Also, if you're...

    A 10 minuet video lecture can take me over an hour to get through, stopping it ever few seconds to take notes.

    You're taking notes - not writing a textbook. In your notes, you can add references to the source materials (such as textbook page or video timestamp) for further explanation. Also, if you're taking notes digitally, feel free to copy and paste text and images to save time.

    1 vote

  15. Comment on People who turn off their electronics hours before bed... What do you do at night? in ~talk

    random324
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    In my experience, I find using screens at night is fine for sleep hygiene as long as I dim the brightness, use aggressive blue light filter software and turn off the lights after sunset. I also...

    In my experience, I find using screens at night is fine for sleep hygiene as long as I dim the brightness, use aggressive blue light filter software and turn off the lights after sunset. I also try to stick to a consistent sleep schedule to sleep and wake up at the same time each day. With this setup, I get really sleepy as the night progresses and I sleep at 10PM-11PM.

    As a bonus, don't eat anything after 7PM so that you can avoid washroom use from disrupting your sleepiness and brush your teeth earlier in the night.

    10 votes

  16. Comment on Introducing the Epic First Run program in ~games

    random324
    Link Parent
    It's frustrating when the original commenter says their opinion (presumably speaking for a certain demographic) and the response is semantics and claims of subjectivity. Of course it's subjective...

    It's frustrating when the original commenter says their opinion (presumably speaking for a certain demographic) and the response is semantics and claims of subjectivity. Of course it's subjective and no one told anyone what to value.

    1 vote

  17. Comment on Introducing the Epic First Run program in ~games

    random324
    Link Parent
    This is clearly not what the original commenter meant by value. I agree with them. I don't care if it's cheaper on EGS. I'm okay with spending more if I get a better product or support the PC...

    This is clearly not what the original commenter meant by value.

    I agree with them. I don't care if it's cheaper on EGS. I'm okay with spending more if I get a better product or support the PC ecosystem.

    4 votes

  18. Comment on Introducing the Epic First Run program in ~games

    random324
    Link Parent
    When people talk about adding value, they mean adding value to a product i.e. making a product better. Selling an inferior store at lower prices is not adding value.

    I'd argue that Epic are in fact adding some value by increasing competition in the distribution space. Certainly their revenue split is more favorable to developers than Steam, though not by an awful lot.

    When people talk about adding value, they mean adding value to a product i.e. making a product better. Selling an inferior store at lower prices is not adding value.

    7 votes

  19. Comment on Twitch will let streamers ban users from watching their streams in ~tech

    random324
    Link Parent
    Wouldn't it make more sense to ban stream participation instead then? Banning stream viewing seems to incentivize ban evasion

    Wouldn't it make more sense to ban stream participation instead then? Banning stream viewing seems to incentivize ban evasion

  20. Comment on Report: Potential New York Times lawsuit could force OpenAI to wipe ChatGPT and start over in ~tech

    random324
    Link Parent
    Since when did the definition of plagiarism require formality? Maybe in informal contexts you could get away with plagiarism but it's still plagiarism.

    Since when did the definition of plagiarism require formality? Maybe in informal contexts you could get away with plagiarism but it's still plagiarism.

    4 votes