stu2b50's recent activity
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Comment on AI companies are buying tons of old books because they're free of AI slop in ~books
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Comment on Daniel Ortega says Nicaragua will no longer hold elections in ~society
stu2b50 Link ParentThe UN isn’t a global government. Governments rule because they have a monopoly on violence. The UN does not have a monopoly on violence against the nations of the world and never has nor was...The UN isn’t a global government. Governments rule because they have a monopoly on violence. The UN does not have a monopoly on violence against the nations of the world and never has nor was designed to do so.
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Comment on Daniel Ortega says Nicaragua will no longer hold elections in ~society
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Comment on America’s enterprising spirit is booming after decades-long slump in ~finance
stu2b50 Link ParentNo doubt to you, but the question for the small business owner is, what does her average customer think?I was a little sad, I (silently) wished the owner had solicited some art from a grandchild and used it as the basis, it would have been way more interesting and unique.
No doubt to you, but the question for the small business owner is, what does her average customer think?
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Comment on Avengers: Doomsday | Official trailer in ~movies
stu2b50 Link ParentWhen it’s 90 F out sometimes you want to touch grass (metaphorically) somewhere with AC, and it’s an excuse to go to the movies.When it’s 90 F out sometimes you want to touch grass (metaphorically) somewhere with AC, and it’s an excuse to go to the movies.
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Comment on ‘The Odyssey’ conquers $264m+ around the world, best ever for Christopher Nolan ahead of ‘Dark Knight Rises’ in ~movies
stu2b50 Link ParentProbably. The dialogue isn’t all that important in the movie, compared with other Nolan movies. Additionally, I’d imagine most people know the general outline of how the Odyssey goes. It’s not...Probably. The dialogue isn’t all that important in the movie, compared with other Nolan movies. Additionally, I’d imagine most people know the general outline of how the Odyssey goes. It’s not like if you mishear something Odysseus is suddenly going to travel to the 5th planar timeline or something.
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Comment on ‘The Odyssey’ conquers $264m+ around the world, best ever for Christopher Nolan ahead of ‘Dark Knight Rises’ in ~movies
stu2b50 (edited )Link ParentNot just because he won the war, he consistently saves the Greeks from disasters with his wiles. He was the one that recruited Achilles when Achilles tried to hide from the war effort by dressing...Not just because he won the war, he consistently saves the Greeks from disasters with his wiles. He was the one that recruited Achilles when Achilles tried to hide from the war effort by dressing as a women. He kills Rhesus in a night raid with Diomedes. He is Achilles foil in the Illiad - whereas Achilles was a force of nature, Odysseus represented human reason.
But that’s tell and not show. Unless he got hit by the stupid-beam in between the end of the war and the odyssey it doesn’t make sense for him to lose all his cleverness when that was the X factor that saves him and him alone when Hera is trying to kill all of them.
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Comment on ‘The Odyssey’ conquers $264m+ around the world, best ever for Christopher Nolan ahead of ‘Dark Knight Rises’ in ~movies
stu2b50 Link ParentThey need to change more if that’s what they’re going for. Why does everyone glaze Odysseus as a genius among men, the smartest of the Greeks, if you’re not going to make him a clever character?...They need to change more if that’s what they’re going for. Why does everyone glaze Odysseus as a genius among men, the smartest of the Greeks, if you’re not going to make him a clever character?
Also, I don’t think you need to be a god to be a clever dude. I brought up Schindler - that’s, like, an actual person, not even an epic myth. Schindler saves lives with wit and charisma, and he’s an actual human who existed! You can definitely have both a grounded person and still have someone embody polytropos.
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Comment on ‘The Odyssey’ conquers $264m+ around the world, best ever for Christopher Nolan ahead of ‘Dark Knight Rises’ in ~movies
stu2b50 Link ParentI’m not sure I would call Odysseus an every-man. He’s famously more relatable than, say, Achilles, but he’s still an epic hero. It’s like how Steph Curry is more relateable than LeBron James,...I’m not sure I would call Odysseus an every-man. He’s famously more relatable than, say, Achilles, but he’s still an epic hero.
It’s like how Steph Curry is more relateable than LeBron James, because Curry is a small guard who wins with technical skill, whereas LeBron is a physical force of nature that 99.9999% will never be close to be by virtue of genetics.
The movie lowkey has a show not tell problem where everyone glazes Odysseus as the wisest and cleverest of all Greeks while he kinda acts like a dumbass in most of the movie. What clever things does he even do?
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Comment on ‘The Odyssey’ conquers $264m+ around the world, best ever for Christopher Nolan ahead of ‘Dark Knight Rises’ in ~movies
stu2b50 LinkNolan is really the film maker of this generation. His ability to put butts in seats is unparalleled, and with unconventional films. They're not classic hollywood crowd-pleasers, he makes very...Nolan is really the film maker of this generation. His ability to put butts in seats is unparalleled, and with unconventional films. They're not classic hollywood crowd-pleasers, he makes very long movies, that are often hard to follow, with difficult themes and sometimes inaudible dialogue. There's little time to breath, they take themselves very seriously, and despite all that they succeed in the box office the way Marvel can't these days.
After thinking more on the movie, I think a lot of my issues with it come from Matt Damon's performance. It's just so wooden. That's not how Odysseus should be - this is the character given the epithet polytropos. I feel like Damon is playing him like he would a grizzled and jaded US Army Vet.
They cut out a lot of scenes from the poem where Odysseus actually talks to people, but it's really noticeable in the Circe scene and in the beggar scenes. Odysseus is a man who can put on a mask, who has a social charisma shared by charlatans and con-men. Can you imagine Matt Damon playing Schindler in Schindler's list like this? Talking to Goeth like a stone statue?
Like this exercpt from Chapter 6, which was cut from the movie
She fled not, but stood and faced him; and Odysseus pondered whether he should clasp the knees of the fair-faced maid, and make his prayer, or whether, standing apart as he was, he should beseech her with gentle words, in hope that she might show him the city and give him raiment.
[145] And, as he pondered, it seemed to him better to stand apart and beseech her with gentle words, lest the maiden's heart should be wroth with him if he clasped her knees; so straightway he spoke a gentle word and crafty
Odysseus has to convince Nausicaa to help him, when he's a strange naked man and she's a teenage princess, and he's very careful with his words and the persona he tries to create to intentionally cause her to be at ease. I can only imagine if it was in the movie Damon would just have the same expression he has in the rest of the movie.
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Comment on The Odyssey - discussion thread in ~movies
stu2b50 Link ParentI know it’s a nolanism to do out of order stories but actual poem is pretty much 1-1, with Nolan adapting it directly rather than changing things....I know it’s a nolanism to do out of order stories but actual poem is pretty much 1-1, with Nolan adapting it directly rather than changing things.
https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/homer/the-odyssey/william-cullen-bryant/text
It’s actually kind of surprising how little he changed structure wise, other than cutting out some chapters.
The battle scene at the end was bananas, but I have no idea how accurate it is to the source material.
Homeric poems have very little “battle scenes”. It’s more or less a list of X fought Y, Z defeated X. Odysseus also struggled much more in the film. In the poem, he’s a god amongst men and just slaughters everyone.
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Comment on The Odyssey - discussion thread in ~movies
stu2b50 LinkHonestly, not my famous Nolan work. The cinematography is good, and I understand that this is not intended to be an adaption of the Odyssey, as much as reintreptation of the story. Historical...Honestly, not my famous Nolan work. The cinematography is good, and I understand that this is not intended to be an adaption of the Odyssey, as much as reintreptation of the story.
Historical accuracy aside, my biggest complaint is that there is a lack of setup in the first half of the movie. They spend a lot of time on Telemachus, but it's really important to the original story of the Odyssey that you get that the Greeks are like, seriously cursed by the gods for what they did in Troy. Without that backdrop, the first like 5-6 scenes of the movie just seem like random events occurring. It's like random set pieces from the odyssey occurring in sequence.
Now, I think Nolan went more for cycle of violence, rather than explicit gods, but in that case you need to put the scenes of Troy's destruction in front.
On history, I think they really missed the vibe of the movie. Maybe that's intentional, but it does make some parts of the story look pretty silly. Odysseus talking about how Agamemnon just wants access to trade routes, Penelope talking about her "years of experience on the throne" (does she have a linkedin too?), and oh god all the sea peoples references. I'm pretty sure descendants of Mycenaen greeks were part of the sea peoples based on evidence from Ramses. Mycenae fell much earlier than the sea peoples, most likely due to famine, extended drought, and earthquakes. Also, sea peoples is really how, like, Egyptians would talk about them.
I don't think Matt Damon did a great job as Odysseus either. He just, as the kids would say, doesn't have the aura. Honestly, if you didn't know the myths, you'd probably think Odysseus is kind of a dumbass from this movie. He just seems kinda wooden. Oddyseus either needs to have the majesty of a homeric hero or the wilyness of a trickster (preferably both!), and Matt Damon is just kinda Matt Damon.
Not a problem of the movie, but I found Tom Holland really distracting. Just looked like Spiderman in every scene. Robert Pattinson also felt like he was a character from Gladiator that got portaled to the wrong era.
Because of how generally grounded and sort of modern the movie was, some of the scenes definitely felt a bit silly. The Trojan Horse story in general is kind of silly if you're not in Homeric magic realism mode. That they made the cyclops just a monster and not someone that yaps with the greeks both eliminated one of Odysseus great tricks, and really just made him look like an idiot that whole set piece.
Also, were the random medieval European knights supposed to be Laestrygonians? Why do they have such advance metallurgy lmao?
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Comment on 8BitDo FlipPad in ~games
stu2b50 Link ParentI have done this exact thing quite often AMA (every other weekend or so?) Is often at cafe, but also occasionally the “lounge” area at a friends apartment, in Manhattan so pretty close to Brooklyn...I remember even the first wave of Nintendo Switch ads had groups of cool 20-somethings playing with the Switch on trendy Brooklyn roof decks while they sip on drinks
I have done this exact thing quite often AMA (every other weekend or so?)
Is often at cafe, but also occasionally the “lounge” area at a friends apartment, in Manhattan so pretty close to Brooklyn too!
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Comment on Linus Torvalds says Linux is not "anti-AI", tells haters to 'fork it' and 'just walk away' in ~tech
stu2b50 Link ParentI mean, if anyone would know what the right tool for the Linux kernel is, it's Linus Torvalds.Meanwhile, the Linux project is a precision built particle accelerator. I imagine that isn't the nail we're looking for either.
I mean, if anyone would know what the right tool for the Linux kernel is, it's Linus Torvalds.
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Comment on 8BitDo FlipPad in ~games
stu2b50 Link ParentNot really. Here’s one that covers most of the main consoles people emulate. FOSS too. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/delta-game-emulator/id1048524688 At worse you can always sideload something.Not really. Here’s one that covers most of the main consoles people emulate. FOSS too. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/delta-game-emulator/id1048524688
At worse you can always sideload something.
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Comment on 8BitDo FlipPad in ~games
stu2b50 Link ParentI mean, given the themeing, on both android and iPhone I would expect people to play mostly emulated games, no? Of which the library is the same.I mean, given the themeing, on both android and iPhone I would expect people to play mostly emulated games, no? Of which the library is the same.
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Comment on 8BitDo FlipPad in ~games
stu2b50 Link ParentWhy would having an iPhone change anything? The device explicitly supports iPhones.Why would having an iPhone change anything? The device explicitly supports iPhones.
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Comment on More people around the world now favour China over the US, Pew study suggests in ~society
stu2b50 Link ParentUltimately those are pretty small potatoes compared to starting an active war with a major regional power in which you assassinate their head of state and start an active bombing campaign that...but I suspect that the Tibet/Nepal colonizations, saber-rattling, Chinese warships, border skirmishes, illegal fishing, exported pollution, and trade warfare aren't making the populace in neighboring countries happy.
Ultimately those are pretty small potatoes compared to starting an active war with a major regional power in which you assassinate their head of state and start an active bombing campaign that leads into the closure of a strait that has 20% of the world’s oil supply shipped through it, causing massive energy shortages that governments can only fix by demand destruction, leading to huge economic damage.
A bit of a bigger issue than illegal fishing.
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Comment on Linus Torvalds says Linux is not "anti-AI", tells haters to 'fork it' and 'just walk away' in ~tech
stu2b50 LinkActual mailing list email is here: https://lore.kernel.org/linux-media/CAHk-=wi4zC+Ze8e+p3tMv8TtG_80KzsZ1syL9anBtmEh5Z40vg@mail.gmail.com/Actual mailing list email is here: https://lore.kernel.org/linux-media/CAHk-=wi4zC+Ze8e+p3tMv8TtG_80KzsZ1syL9anBtmEh5Z40vg@mail.gmail.com/
Yes.
And no, that's not the position of the Linux kernel.
I realize that some people really dislike AI, but this is an area
where I'm willing to absolutely put my foot down as the top-level
maintainer.Linux is not one of those anti-AI projects, and if somebody has issues
with that, they can do the open-source thing and fork it.Or just walk away.
AI is a tool, just like other tools we use. And it's clearly a useful one.
It may not have been that "clearly" even just a year ago, but it's no
longer in question today.There are other questions around AI (like what the economy of it will
actually look like in the end), but "is it useful" is no longer one of
those questions. Anybody who doubts that clearly hasn't actually used
it.Yes, it can also be a somewhat painful tool, both for maintainer
workloads and just from a "it keeps finding embarrassing bugs"
standpoint.But the solution is not to put your head in the sand and sing "La La
La, I can't hear you" at the top of your voice like some people seem
to do.The solution is to make sure those LLM tools help maintainers
instead of just causing them pain. There's no question on that side.We're not forcing anybody to use it, but I will very loudly ignore
people who try to argue against other people from using it.And no, AI isn't perfect. But Christ, anybody who points to the
problems at AI had better be looking in the mirror and pointing at
themselves at the same time.Because it's not like natural intelligence is always all that great either.
The kernel project has been and will continue to be about the technology.
Sure, the social angle of working on open source is important and
often a very motivating part of the project, but in the end that's a
side benefit, not the point of the project.This is NOT some kind of "social warrior" project, never has been,
and never will be.In the kernel community we do open source because it results in better
technology, not because of religious reasons.And so we make decisions primarily based on technical merit. Not fear
of new tools. -
Linus Torvalds says Linux is not "anti-AI", tells haters to 'fork it' and 'just walk away'
68 votes
Legally, as long as you buy the books you’re fully allowed to train models on them, since that’s considered fair use. So it just removes some FUD.
Ultimately the cost of buying thousands of books pales in comparison to building out server farms, so it’s really a rounding error on the budget in return for legal soundness.