whispersilk's recent activity
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Comment on How the Ivy League broke America - The meritocracy isn't working we need something new in ~society
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Comment on US President Donald Trump to issue executive orders to end birthright citizenship, limit gender identity — incoming official in ~lgbt
whispersilk Link ParentI wasn't aware of that (though it makes sense given that XX male development exists). Thanks for sharing!I wasn't aware of that (though it makes sense given that XX male development exists). Thanks for sharing!
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Comment on US President Donald Trump to issue executive orders to end birthright citizenship, limit gender identity — incoming official in ~lgbt
whispersilk Link ParentSo is the argument that this person would be a male and should be forced to use men's restrooms and changing rooms, compete in men's sports, be treated as male in every official capacity? Like,...They could be XY, present female and have internal testes but physically appear (or be surgically altered in infancy to appear) female.
So is the argument that this person would be a male and should be forced to use men's restrooms and changing rooms, compete in men's sports, be treated as male in every official capacity? Like, sure, they're female in every outwardly visible way, but if you were to take a look inside them with surgical instruments you would find sperm so obviously they're male!
In a more general sense, there seems to be some conflation of different things here. You talk about the "biological concept of a gender binary" but the only thing that is binary is individual sexual chromosomes! X and Y are binary, but the possible combination of them in a single human body is not binary, and there are multiple possible sets of outward characteristics that can arise from each combination of chromosomes.
And then the biggest issue, ultimately, is that this isn't just a quibble about accurate terminology or what-have-you, it's a discussion about policy that will categorize human beings and constrain their actions based on which category they're placed in. In that context, I would much rather talk about the diversity of full human beings than the diversity of individual chromosomes.
To be perfectly clear, the biggest issue here is with the chain of thought that goes from "biological sex is exactly one of XX and XY, and XX always means vulva/ovaries/estrogen and XY always means penis/testicles/testosterone" to "all people with the XX set of characteristics are women and all people with the XY set of characteristics are men" to "we can define both public policy and medical interventions in terms of XX and XY and this will cause zero issues." If that chain of thought wasn't in play this "biological sex" conversation would... probably still be harmful, honestly, and would still be annoying to me, but would be a lot less harmful.
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Comment on US President Donald Trump to issue executive orders to end birthright citizenship, limit gender identity — incoming official in ~lgbt
whispersilk LinkThe full text of the relevant executive action, for reference. I'm not a lawyer but it sounds very bad. I pray that it can be fought and found invalid.The full text of the relevant executive action, for reference. I'm not a lawyer but it sounds very bad. I pray that it can be fought and found invalid.
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Comment on How do you organize images you've collected? (e.g. memes, art, inspiration, etc) in ~tech
whispersilk Link ParentHydrus is very cool, and extremely powerful. It definitely takes some effort to set up tags and tag images as you import them, and it doesn't do things a photo-specific application would (face...Hydrus is very cool, and extremely powerful. It definitely takes some effort to set up tags and tag images as you import them, and it doesn't do things a photo-specific application would (face recognition, EXIF parsing, etc) but for images more broadly it's great.
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Comment on What short book series is worth more than its page count? in ~books
whispersilk Link ParentSeconding His Dark Materials. I first read it as a younger teenager, and it affected me emotionally more than anything else I had ever read. I've re-read it as an adult, and the emotional effect...Seconding His Dark Materials. I first read it as a younger teenager, and it affected me emotionally more than anything else I had ever read. I've re-read it as an adult, and the emotional effect is less now but it really does hold up. I recommend wholeheartedly it to anyone who hasn't read it.
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Comment on Favorite "A Christmas Carol" adaptation? in ~movies
whispersilk Link ParentI agree! I expected it to be just okay but wound up really charmed. Same spoilers I think it was really creative to do it as a sequel, and I really like that it's as much about Christmas Present...I agree! I expected it to be just okay but wound up really charmed.
Same spoilers
I think it was really creative to do it as a sequel, and I really like that it's as much about Christmas Present working through his issues as it is about Ryan Reynolds's character working through his.I also think it's really funny that the afterlife (or at least the "Christmas hauntings" part of it) is diegetically a musical, and I think they use that bit to good effect.
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Comment on US election distractions thread in ~talk
whispersilk Link ParentI've always remembered them by making up initialisms (or adopting them from somewhere? I don't remember; I've been doing this since I was a kid). i.e. is "in effect" and e.g. is "example given."...I've always remembered them by making up initialisms (or adopting them from somewhere? I don't remember; I've been doing this since I was a kid). i.e. is "in effect" and e.g. is "example given." They aren't perfect, but I've never confused the two.
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Comment on US study on puberty blockers goes unpublished because of politics, doctor says in ~lgbt
whispersilk (edited )LinkFor additional conversation about this piece, Erin in the Morning responded to it. For context, Erin does not have a glowing opinion of the New York times' reporting on trans issues in general.- Exemplary
For additional conversation about this piece, Erin in the Morning responded to it. For context, Erin does not have a glowing opinion of the New York times' reporting on trans issues in general.
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Comment on Cards Against Humanity pays you to give a shit in ~society
whispersilk Link ParentLess even than that, they're paying people to make a voting plan and a social media post. Whether or not you actually vote afterwards is up to you and none of their concern.They’re not paying people to vote for a candidate, they’re paying people to vote at all.
Less even than that, they're paying people to make a voting plan and a social media post. Whether or not you actually vote afterwards is up to you and none of their concern.
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Comment on US judge rules Google must give rival third-party app stores access to the full catalog of Google Play apps — and distribute third-party stores in ~tech
whispersilk Link ParentFrom the article (emphasis mine):From the article (emphasis mine):
Google will have to distribute rival third-party app stores within Google Play, and it must give rival third-party app stores access to the full catalog of Google Play apps, unless developers opt out individually.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~society
whispersilk Link ParentI think they mean what percentage of the EU's PoC population has emigrated [from non-EU countries to EU countries] within the last decade. That is, how much of the EU's PoC population is "recent"...I think they mean what percentage of the EU's PoC population has emigrated [from non-EU countries to EU countries] within the last decade. That is, how much of the EU's PoC population is "recent" immigrants as opposed to people who have been EU residents for more than a decade.
But that's just how I read the question and it's possible I'm wrong.
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Comment on Sports celebrate physical variation—until it challenges social norms in ~life.women
whispersilk Link ParentI think there are two ways to read this. In the first reading, it says that someone who looks like a woman to you may not be because they may be trans(-masc), gender non-conforming, or literally...There was no widespread knowledge that just because someone looked like a man or a woman to you, your perceptions may or may not be accurate. That's becoming less the case as time goes on.
I think there are two ways to read this. In the first reading, it says that someone who looks like a woman to you may not be because they may be trans(-masc), gender non-conforming, or literally anything other than a cis woman. In the second reading, it says that someone who looks like a woman to you may not be because they may be trans(-fem and thus secretly a man).
Given the context of the conversation — all of the athletes that people wring their hands over are trans women multiple years into their transition and openly femme-presenting if they are trans at all (many are, as the article says, cis but outside "feminine norms") — I can see how sparksbet might read it the second way even though you wrote it intending for it to be read the first way.
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Comment on What LitRPG Series do you recommend? in ~books
whispersilk Link ParentOh, I'm so glad you're enjoying Super Supportive! I've been keeping up with it as well and it's really only gotten better. I recently started reading Sunspot on ScribbleHub; it's both very new and...Oh, I'm so glad you're enjoying Super Supportive! I've been keeping up with it as well and it's really only gotten better. I recently started reading Sunspot on ScribbleHub; it's both very new and very promising, and it gets bonus points from me for having a trans protagonist.
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Comment on cohost.org to shut down by the end of 2024 in ~tech
whispersilk Link ParentNo, I can confirm it's a monthly expense report. One indication of this is the fact that some numbers wouldn't make sense if it was year-to-date. Income, for example, couldn't possibly go *down *...No, I can confirm it's a monthly expense report. One indication of this is the fact that some numbers wouldn't make sense if it was year-to-date. Income, for example, couldn't possibly go *down * from July to August.
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Comment on What the death of Cohost tells me about my future on the internet in ~life
whispersilk LinkI'm very sad to see Cohost go, but I also really appreciate it for what it was and (for a little while longer) still is. I'm also thinking of setting up my own website: like you, I can't imagine...I'm very sad to see Cohost go, but I also really appreciate it for what it was and (for a little while longer) still is. I'm also thinking of setting up my own website: like you, I can't imagine shifting to Reddit- or Twitter-alikes to fill the same gap.
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Comment on What is a software you wish existed? in ~comp
whispersilk Link ParentIf you're on iOS, Sometime handles this use case quite well.If you're on iOS, Sometime handles this use case quite well.
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Comment on Google’s greenhouse gas emissions jump 48% in five years in ~enviro
whispersilk Link ParentAI. Training the LLMs that power Gemini and friends requires a staggering amount of computation and thus energy, and I think running the things once they're trained is only cheap by comparison.AI. Training the LLMs that power Gemini and friends requires a staggering amount of computation and thus energy, and I think running the things once they're trained is only cheap by comparison.
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Comment on Webcomics recommendations in ~comics
whispersilk LinkThere were a ton of good suggestions in this thread from last year, and personally I stand by all the ones I recommended there.There were a ton of good suggestions in this thread from last year, and personally I stand by all the ones I recommended there.
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Comment on Generative AI for Krita in ~tech
whispersilk Link ParentAh, I thought they'd removed that but it was just formatted differently than I remembered. Yes, that works too and is simpler!Ah, I thought they'd removed that but it was just formatted differently than I remembered. Yes, that works too and is simpler!
Archive link.