scojjac's recent activity
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Comment on Op Ed from UnitedHealth Group CEO: The US health care system is flawed. Let’s fix it. (gifted link) in ~society
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Comment on What do you use for 2fa? in ~tech
scojjac LinkTo be almost as vague as @skybrian, even if you use a password manager that handles auth codes and passkeys and syncs cross-platform, you will probably still end up using: another auth app for...To be almost as vague as @skybrian, even if you use a password manager that handles auth codes and passkeys and syncs cross-platform, you will probably still end up using:
- another auth app for that app's codes
- specified auth apps required by online service providers
You might also consider whether physical keys are worth setting up for your most critical online accounts. (h/t @kacey)
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Comment on Are we all capable of being slaveowners or nazis? in ~humanities
scojjac Link ParentI'm going to add a very personal example here. My great-great grandfather was convicted of high treason, along with a few other men he associated with, for printing materials opposing Hitler. He...I'm going to add a very personal example here. My great-great grandfather was convicted of high treason, along with a few other men he associated with, for printing materials opposing Hitler. He was imprisoned then moved about concentration camps. He died in Dachau in 1941. From what I can tell, while he was imprisoned, my great-grandmother wrote him to ask if she could join the Hitlerjugend.
After he died and her mother died, she went to live with an aunt and uncle who also became political prisoners. She then left Germany and began working as a telephone operator in one of the German helferinnen (female auxiliary services) groups. Researchers say this choice was usually made because of the opportunities it provided, not explicitly with helping the war effort or political aims in mind. Based on my personal time with her and what I know of her youth and early adulthood, she was probably trying to not stand out and protect herself.
I hope to make different decisions, but I choose not to think less of her for what she did in an extremely bitter time in her life. I think her choices are a reflection of the fact that many people will make decisions that they believe will give them the best chance of survival or improving their lot. Rarely will people make self-sacrificing decisions based on moral principles when it comes down to brass tacks.
Regarding those that simply want to live without being concerned with the sociopolitical environment around them, I found the book Pachinko pretty remarkable for the way it presented this, particularly from Sunja's perspective.
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Comment on Had an amazing trip to New Mexico. Has anyone else been? What would you suggest for a return trip? in ~travel
scojjac (edited )LinkI'm so glad you enjoyed yourself. I lived in southern New Mexico and El Paso, TX for over 20 years and never made it to those two places. The northern part of the state is particularly beautiful...I'm so glad you enjoyed yourself. I lived in southern New Mexico and El Paso, TX for over 20 years and never made it to those two places. The northern part of the state is particularly beautiful and has amazing lightning storms in the summer.
- Jemez is beautiful along with Valles Caldera National Preserve and Bandelier.
- Kasha-Katuwe is a slot canyon with tent rocks, cool trail.
- I haven't been but would LOVE to see Chaco Canyon. I believe it's one of the oldest and most culturally significant indigenous sites in the state and was a major trade crossroads.
- Gila National Forest and Cliff Dwellings
- White Sands
- Albuquerque has Sandia tram and the BioPark on the river.
- Santa Fe has Meow Wolf.
- City of Rocks State Park has cool formations, camping, and is a great place to see the stars.
Enjoy the red and green chile, the sunsets, the low humidity, and hiking. Unfortunately, it seems like fires are affecting the state more than in the past. Happy to answer follow up questions.
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Comment on Germany: 288,000 foreign workers needed annually until 2040 in ~society
scojjac LinkWe have considering seeking a certificate of citizenship due to recent law changes regarding eligibility. Collecting the right documentation takes time, and at the end of it, there is still the...We have considering seeking a certificate of citizenship due to recent law changes regarding eligibility. Collecting the right documentation takes time, and at the end of it, there is still the wait for everything to be processed. For my mother, it's more about the connection to her grandmother than a desire to leave the United States. For me, I suppose having more options is nice. I'm under no illusion that emigration is easy or that other countries are problem-free. Nationalism is rearing its ugly head around the world.
What's funny is that when we talk to various German friends about pursuing citizenship, they say in disbelief, 'Why would you want to do that?' I suppose they see the problems in their own country in finer detail and see only broad strokes of the US (though I suspect they are more informed of US events than many Americans). If the attitude of our own friends is to discourage us from living there, I can only imagine what it is like for Ausländer that are non-white or lack a strong support network.
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Comment on Your boss is probably spying on you: New data on workplace surveillance in ~life
scojjac Link ParentThere are sufficient numbers of incompetent and unethical managers who feel important by collecting and re-arranging vanity metrics (and can't be bothered to learn and use a more effective method)...or at least have semi competent managers
There are sufficient numbers of incompetent and unethical managers who feel important by collecting and re-arranging vanity metrics (and can't be bothered to learn and use a more effective method) or who are impressed by how much info they can collect from unaware subordinates. I think it scratches a very primal peeping itch, it can be done under the guise of security and efficiency, and it gives people in power the same feeling that a predator might have while watching trapped prey.
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Comment on Your boss is probably spying on you: New data on workplace surveillance in ~life
scojjac LinkThis has always been a wise, though discouraging, view to take. Unfortunately, we live in a very surveillance-happy society. I don't only mean airport security theater, or NSA mass data...This has always been a wise, though discouraging, view to take. Unfortunately, we live in a very surveillance-happy society. I don't only mean airport security theater, or NSA mass data collection, or allowing corporate tracking for questionable ancillary benefits, or school spyware for digital learning platforms and school-owned devices, but also products like Life360 that allow parents to check on location and myriad other details about their children at any time.
The linked article mentions that the motivation and usage of monitoring tools matters. If the purpose is to promote well-being and there are policies to that effect, it might not cause an immediate detrimental effect. Yet, even when such systems are marketed this way, they are often used to harass and discipline the surveilled. And even if one administration (whether government, school, or parent) may not abuse the tools, another will.
Collectively, we are too comfortable allowing others to watch and catalog everything we do. As @x08 appropriately noted, though you may think you have nothing to hide today, someone may dig it up and use it against you someday. And that day may come sooner than you think.
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Comment on Thousands of Americans see their savings vanish in Synapse fintech crisis in ~finance
scojjac Link ParentFair point. I'm inclined to think the dollar will lose all its value before I'll feel compelled to dive into gold or crypto. Having a system implies structure and rules that are followed, and I'm...Fair point. I'm inclined to think the dollar will lose all its value before I'll feel compelled to dive into gold or crypto.
Having a system implies structure and rules that are followed, and I'm not sure we can reasonably expect that much longer. We are instead entering an era where consistently applied rules and protections are very much not de rigueur.
Money in a HYSA isn't any good if its gone because of deregulation or frozen under anti-terrorism pretense.
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Comment on Turkish woman convicted under anti-terror laws for sharing Guardian article on social media in ~society
scojjac (edited )LinkUnsurprising, really, which is a statement about such laws or the nature of human government, not about Türkiye in particular. The US and Russia have likewise used such laws to target peaceful...Unsurprising, really, which is a statement about such laws or the nature of human government, not about Türkiye in particular. The US and Russia have likewise used such laws to target peaceful individuals and groups. Expect more of this as the world slides into nationalism once again.
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Comment on Thousands of Americans see their savings vanish in Synapse fintech crisis in ~finance
scojjac LinkI had a great experience with Simple (nee BankSimple) — and then they sold to BBVA Compass, who sold to PNC, who shut the product down. So now I avoid any fintech banking service. For FDIC to say...I had a great experience with Simple (nee BankSimple) — and then they sold to BBVA Compass, who sold to PNC, who shut the product down. So now I avoid any fintech banking service. For FDIC to say it's not their problem seems crazy to me.
Tangentially, while this is very unlike me, current events have me wondering whether I even want to keep my money in banks or the Treasury anymore.
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Comment on How has your industry changed in the past decade? in ~life
scojjac Link ParentThat might be. I usually find the answers to be some combination of wrong, fictional, and overly generic. Also, while there are some heuristics for the reliability of a webpage (domain authority,...That might be. I usually find the answers to be some combination of wrong, fictional, and overly generic. Also, while there are some heuristics for the reliability of a webpage (domain authority, amount of ads/popups, formatting), all of that is stripped away in genAI. Even tools like Perplexity that cite their sources are not trustworthy on their own, so (in my case) I'm back to reading through source material to determine accuracy and reliability. For finding answers to questions, I find it god-awful.
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Comment on How has your industry changed in the past decade? in ~life
scojjac Link ParentLooking at your comment and @jackson's comment above, genAI is creating both time and financial costs for workers and companies. What's fascinating to me is that some users insist that, when...Looking at your comment and @jackson's comment above, genAI is creating both time and financial costs for workers and companies. What's fascinating to me is that some users insist that, when wielded properly, genAI can save tremendous amounts of time and mental energy. Others find that it requires so much prompting and checking over copious output that it doesn't actually save them any effort.
I wonder where the discrepancy in perception of genAI's usefulness lies. Is it truly that some people just aren't putting the time and effort into effectively using genAI, or are they doing different kinds of work, or are they inaccurately estimating the time/energy expenditures with/without it, or something else?
For myself, I prefer to work on a problem myself than supervise a computer that pretends to think. Prompting output is so much worse than producing output. I don't want to deny that some people are having positive experiences with such tools. At the same time, I see high costs and low benefits, resulting in negative value overall.
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Comment on The Business-School research scandal that just keeps getting bigger in ~science
scojjac LinkJuliana Schroeder was one of Francesca Gino's peers and launched an intense effort to verify the papers in question. Regarding her and the field at large: It's no shock that there is deep rot in...Juliana Schroeder was one of Francesca Gino's peers and launched an intense effort to verify the papers in question. Regarding her and the field at large:
In October 2023, a former graduate student who had helped tip off the team of bloggers to Gino’s possible fraud wrote her own “post mortem” on the case. It paints Schroeder as exceptional among her peers: a professor who “sent a clear signal to the scientific community that she is taking this scandal seriously.” Several others echoed this assessment, saying that ever since the news broke, Schroeder has been relentless—heroic, even—in her efforts to correct the record.
But if Schroeder planned to extinguish any doubts that remained, she may have aimed too high. More than a year since all of this began, the evidence of fraud has only multiplied. The rot in business schools runs much deeper than almost anyone had guessed, and the blame is unnervingly widespread. In the end, even Schroeder would become a suspect.
It's no shock that there is deep rot in business schools; one only has to look at what MBAs have wrought in the real world and the thick disdain people hold for them.
I'm not at all surprised that research students, like Ms. Brooks at Wharton, make up data. Based on my own high school experiences, it's completely believable that smart, tired students take shortcuts and make things up as long as its convincing enough to 'get the grade', so to speak. As one who tried to do things the right way even if it meant a worse score, I was continually frustrated by such behavior.
A highlighted quote in the article, from Uri Simonsohn, goes, "It’s embarrassing how few protections we have against fraud and how easy it has been to fool us."
It's remarkable how well that statement applies to modern society. A large swath of the population is absolutely fooled, not trying too hard to find truth or verify, because it would mean grappling with inconvenient realities. When this phenomenon is discussed with regard to the world outside academia, it's said that this is a result of lack of education. Yet here we have highly educated people falling susceptible to the same sorts of problems.
Ambitious students, researchers, and business people are united by that ambition and are willing to forego rigor and ethics if it gives them an edge. In a cutthroat world where the incentives are for an exceedingly few at the top, some will do anything to stand out and reap rewards. How can they be expected to put in much work or great risk for vanishing returns?
There are no doubt concerns specific to academia and publishing, but they are symptoms of more fundamental forces that, terminally unchecked, are rending society apart.
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Comment on What's the biggest YouTube channel still run by just one person? in ~creative
scojjac Link ParentI can see why! Though, I was under the impression Mike and Brady are the podcasters and the agreement is that he show up. ;)I can see why! Though, I was under the impression Mike and Brady are the podcasters and the agreement is that he show up. ;)
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Comment on What's the biggest YouTube channel still run by just one person? in ~creative
scojjac Link ParentOh very cool, thank you for sharing! That was the best apology video I've ever watched.Oh very cool, thank you for sharing! That was the best apology video I've ever watched.
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Comment on What's the biggest YouTube channel still run by just one person? in ~creative
scojjac LinkI've think CGPGrey may still be solo; I don't follow him closely anymore, so can't be sure. But he's over 6M subscribers.I've think CGPGrey may still be solo; I don't follow him closely anymore, so can't be sure. But he's over 6M subscribers.
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Comment on United States Department of Justice will push Google to sell Chrome to break search monopoly in ~tech
scojjac LinkInternet browsers are expensive to maintain and unprofitable. The five major browsers today are all owned by tech giants and billionaires. (I hear someone saying, "What about Firefox‽" It was...Internet browsers are expensive to maintain and unprofitable. The five major browsers today are all owned by tech giants and billionaires. (I hear someone saying, "What about Firefox‽" It was reliant on that sweet Google cash, and we don't yet know whether it will survive without its sugar daddy.)
I fully realize that Google has engaged in unethical behavior and there's a strong desire to punish them (and maybe to score an antitrust win). However, the most realistic way that this plays out is that Chrome gets discontinued and most people who use it move to Edge because sites are optimized for Chromium-based browsers. Microsoft once again has the dominant browser. Is this a 'hurts itself in confusion' moment, or is there a positive outcome I'm not seeing?
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Comment on Maybe Bluesky has "won" in ~tech
scojjac LinkMaybe. Threads had some potential and provided some great self-moderation tools, but Meta botched their moderation so badly (read: cheaped out by using AI instead of people) that they lost early...Maybe. Threads had some potential and provided some great self-moderation tools, but Meta botched their moderation so badly (read: cheaped out by using AI instead of people) that they lost early adopters. Some of those moved to Bluesky, while others were tired of moving to the next platform. Some people preferred Bluesky because it wasn't attached to Instagram or Meta in any way.
But Bluesky, as the author notes, has control over two key components of their not-so-federated platform: the DIDs and DMs, with no known plans to relinquish that control. Ultimately, they've rebuilt early Twitter, and there are some that say Bluesky feels like the past instead of the future, in a non-complimentary way.
For myself, I've realized that social media increases my anxiety. If I'm already stressed, it makes me more stressed. I already maintained a quite small Instagram profile (private, with less than 100 following and followers, each), and it was too much for me. I think there's more of a sense of lurkers or dead connections that I find disconcerting. The few stronger connections I can maintain in other ways.
I deactivated my socials maybe two or three weeks ago. Other than my mom, no one asked about it. But in that time, I've had a few really nice video calls with friends, and a couple others that have at least popped in via text message to share an update. For real-life interpersonal connections, I like this way better. And I still work on getting out and about for some meatspace interactions.
Online, I'm still indulging in discussions here and posting on my own blog. Tildes moves at a slow enough pace that it feels manageable, and the conversations are thoughtful. My own blog moves at whatever pace I want it to and there's no expectation or worry about interactions. And if people want to reach me, they have options like email or Signal. (Signal with a username is far more private and secure than any social platform's inbox.)
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Comment on "Americans get screwed because they can’t read" in ~society
scojjac (edited )Link ParentI know what you mean! I enjoy seeking out reading material that is more challenging than usual to keep the brain engaged. But heavy reading is cyclical for me and I feel it when I'm coming off of...I know what you mean! I enjoy seeking out reading material that is more challenging than usual to keep the brain engaged. But heavy reading is cyclical for me and I feel it when I'm coming off of a break. I see greater benefits when I read to study and learn, not just for pleasure.
Also, while audiobooks are books, I tend to think that people who heavily rely on them don't develop the same analytical skills that visual readers do. But I am also one who absolutely cannot get into an audiobook, so there is some bias. 😅
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Comment on "Americans get screwed because they can’t read" in ~society
scojjac LinkI write articles for a company website and take pride in making them easy to understand without a technical background. But now I want to see what grade level my articles come in at. It requires...I write articles for a company website and take pride in making them easy to understand without a technical background. But now I want to see what grade level my articles come in at.
It requires skill and creativity to express complex ideas at a reading level that is not only accessible, but engaging, for most readers. But it is depressing that so many Americans lack the ability to parse more advanced works.
This probably isn't reasonable of me, but the current state of things makes me want to forgo a Marketplace plan and health insurance entirely. My premiums next year will be lower for the same plan thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act. The increase is really just more money going into the profits of my insurer.
This year, I used my annual check-up visit, a couple telehealth visits, pharmacy benefit, an urgent care visit, a couple specialist visits. I'm nowhere near my $700 deductible or $3,000 out-of-pocket max. I suppose I should be thankful, since that's because of having co-pays instead of co-insurance.
The current system is like a caricature of the Insuricare scene in The Incredibles.