Ideally the answers aren’t just political soapboxing.
That people in medieval Europe thought the earth was flat. Even had a history prof in college repeat this (granted she was an American history prof, so 🤷♂️. Makes the modern flat Earth movement even more perplexing.
My favorite bit of evidence for this is in Dante’s Purgatorio. He opens several cantos by mentioning where the sun is in the sky at different points on the globe at a given time, in Rome, India, and the island of Purgatory, which he puts antipodal to Jerusalem, so halfway between Chile and New Zealand.
The whole bit about Columbus proving it was round is bogus. He thought the earth was smaller than it actually was, which is why he said he could hit the East Indies before dying of starvation by sailing west. Lucky for him there was a whole other continent in the way. Could you imagine traversing the Atlantic, the entire breadth of North America, and the Pacific?
Most people here have been using AI in some form for their entire lives without knowing it. It just did its job quietly with nobody noticing. Then venture capital (or just capitalism itself) ruined everything and broke the contract: publicly acquired data must be given back to the public for free.
I could pontificate at length about the terminology and how it has gotten fucked. The blending of the terms itself is part of what makes it difficult to have a reasonable and nuanced discussion.
Let’s take a moment to separate out AI from machine learning from deep learning from LLMs.
AI is fucking old. It used to mean “any algorithms that create intelligent behavior”. Not a particularly useful definition these days, but it used to mean things like pathfinding and searching.
Machine learning is a more useful phrase: a set of algorithms to solve problem where we don’t know “how”, but we have examples of inputs and outputs. For example, I don’t know how I would define cute, but if someone showed me a bunch of photos I could probably say which ones were cute, not cute, and unsure.
Deep learning is a subset of machine learning that uses a specific set of algorithms: neutral networks.
LLMs are a subset of deep learning that use “transformers”. Which is a specific architecture that does a lot of things quite well, like determine how proteins fold, how drugs interact, how words interact in a sentence, etc.
If you’ve used Google Maps at any point since it was created, you’ve used classical AI.
If you’ve used email, you’ve used machine learning.
If you’ve used a photos app that lets you search for similar pictures of people, you’ve used machine learning.
If you’ve had more than one prescription filled in the past five years, your pharmacist has used AI (even if they don’t know it) to check potential drug interactions.
Don’t get me wrong, I fucking hate that the field I spent my whole life researching has been coopted into a way to siphon money from people into the coffers of the richest fucking parasites, but when people say “fuck AI” they have either lost the nuance or never had it. Everyone that hears the message experiences on the surface and it does them a disservice.
When the luddites broke the textile looms, did they hate the machines or did they hate the loss of their livelihoods?
When the early industialists broke into factories and smashed their equipment, did they hate the machines or did they hate the captains of industry that forced them to work inhumane hours in terrible conditions?
When people say “fuck AI” do they hate the math that, until this point, has led to a better world for us all, or do they hate the system that has enshittified it into one of pure exploitation?
This whole mess feels like a distraction to me. Tech should be a social good. It should be helping people. Not to say it’s without problems, but now when we say “fuck AI” it leads us to pushing back against technology itself rather than the system that’s using it to hurt people.
I like my professor’s view in AI from over a decade ago. AI is the term non commercially viable research. Once something becomes viable it gets rebranded, like automatic text recognition, computer vision, machine learning, llms. It worked great until generative AI was good enough to impress average people, then it became a great way to attract venture capital. It’s still not quite viable so the rule holds, but we are in a very messy and public era where several products are likely to emerge and separate from the AI title.
that I actually give a fuck.
I don’t.
One of the biggest misconceptions is that internet discussion is political action.
11/10 answer
Pandas reproduce just fine in nature. The myth of them being bad at fucking and making babies was a myth started from before we understood zoochosis. No animal wants to have babies in a prison, it’s not just pandas.
That the world is a zero sum game. That in order to have something, someone else has to go without. That in order to be great you have to drag others down.
It’s the driver for misogyny, homophobia, racism, xenophobia, and so much else.
A lot of those aren’t necessarily a “zero sum game” strategy and more of just that many people are genuinely judgemental, ignorant piles of shit.
It’s a mix of things! Many racists don’t think of themselves as racist and primarily worry about actions to empower minorities because of the zero sum thinking, not so much because it’s helping “the wrong people”
Exactly. If we could lose that somehow the world would be so much nicer to live in.
It has been my experience that, if you could identify these people, they are the best to avoid. Excising these people from your life can very quickly prove it.
Capitalism is worse. It’s literally Monopoly. We’ve all played that shitty fucking game. With capitalism you get perpetual inflation. A negative sum game. A zero sum game at least implies some basic conservation mechanics, perhaps even a fairness. A negative sum game is a total debt based economy. Waste is a feature. Disposability and commodities go together like peas and carrots, and that ethos sadly reverberates across ecosystems until the planet is dead but you got those pounds or dollars or pesos or whatever. Can’t eat them. Can’t really do Jack shit with them.
The rich gonna wake up some day soon and find the farmer has a well oiled rifle. They’ll make rich fertilizer… 🤑
Yeah I agree that isn’t true
These people must fail to understand how consensual sex works
Probably never had it
People tend to assume if someone is smart in one thing, they’re smart with everything else too.
That’s not usually the case.
And also assuming that someone who’s not smart in one area is not smart in any area.
Good point I like that answer. Conflating knowledge on a specific topic with general intelligence.
Similarly, people who assume that anyone who struggles with English as a second+ language is an idiot
This one always surprised me
Yup this is me and my dad, he’s great with handy work and has built numerous homes. I am good with technology and can build a server and make my own software. Put us in opposite roles and were both dumbasses.
Or if they are rich, they must be smart or a genius, because they got rich while everyone else did not, its further from the truth, since most of these people come from wealth to begin with. adjacent, same goes for these succesful youtubers/streamers/influencers, these top ones we see all the time dint come from rags to riches, they came from being rich or very well off.
Sure, but without this flaw engineers wouldn’t have any personality at all.
I can differ 17 different kinds of glue by taste!
This effect was described by Dunning and Kruger.
High price = high quality.
The luxury pricing model has totally enveloped markets at this point and the correlation rarely applies now.
Absolutely. I’ve learned over the years that it usually works out pretty well to find out how much the cheapest dogshit option is and aim for an option roughly 1.5x the cost. Obviously not a blanket rule but it covers a surprising amount of common items and I’ve gotten plenty of long-lasting affordable alternatives that I actually enjoy using rather than having the crappiest version of everything.
Yeah I look for the cheapest option and go a step or two higer
Depends on what it is but as a general rule to start from it isn’t a terrible idea.
Veg I will go cheapest because I don’t care if a carrot has a curve. Cooking equipment I usually go midrange and try to find out WHY the really expensive ones are better, then look for those specific features if they actually matter.
My bike is quite a bit higher, though there is a very wide range for bikes. I went for the cheapest of the high end bike range at £600. Probably spent close to than in accessories and maintenance by now too. Although some maintenance costs are me buying tools I didn’t have before too.
As much as I’m laughing at people spending more than $50 on a kettle or toaster or toothbrush or what have you and calling themselves clever shoppers, I think it’s worth spending on anything that goes between you and the ground, e.g. tires, shoes, bikes, etc.
Though I’m sure that adage has also been incorporated into modern pricing models and every damn thing is a fucking scam to manipulate you into thinking you’ve made a shrewd and balanced decision when you spend just a weeee bit more.
I despise every company with a fiery passion.
Expensive doesn’t mean the shoes are good, but cheap does mean they are shit. Of course you also get different types of shoe that may not directly compare with others.
Then you also get different shops selling the same product at different prices.
I selected my toaster by visiting a store and physically fiddling with the levers. From 20€ onwards, the feeling got noticeably better until 120€ price point after which it got worse. The range ended at 300€ SMEG(ma) toaster that felt like what it sounds like. I’m happy with my 120€ toaster.
What store are you shopping at that has €300 toasters??? How could anyone ever get that much value from a toaster???
It’s crazy I know. They were bad quality.
You spent 120€ to toast bread! I don’t think you get it…
I toast a lot of bread and wanted a good toaster that will last a long time. I’m expecting to get minimum of 25 years of daily toasting out of it.
We are drowning in Temu trash. Maybe we should start to look at things from other than monetary perspective. I selected a good toaster and looked at the price tag afterwards. Apparently you can get shitty toasters for 20€ and 300€ but a good one costs exactly 120€
It’s the best toaster apparently. Tbh I don’t know why I would care about the feeling of the lever but at least they have the best toaster lever money can buy.
For that kind of money I would expect it to make, cut and toast the bread for me.
Idk some people use their toasters multiple times a day, and at that point it can make sense to spend more on a better toaster
My rule of thumb is the second-cheapest popular option.
That’s true but the other direction is generally true. Not always, but often high quality does come at a cost.
That’s a great one
that is true, or just slapping a label like supreme, or tesla on thier products and people thinks its high quality. or with ELECTRIC toothbruses, 100-200 seems to be more likely to be defective than cheaper lines of the same company. Always seek out reviews and peoples experience on specific products. same goes with healthcare/insurance, paying more doesnt mean you will get better quality(it actually incentivized that customers dont seek out care due to potential costs), likewise if you get too cheap of insurance you will get cheap results, not decent and not so-so.
Fuck me that is a lot, think my electric toothbrush was like £20-30
the higher price one are the “smart toothbruses” its not worth it anyways. either go off-brand or buy the 1000-1500 oral braun series.
Mine was oral-b but didn’t cost much. Their pricing seems to be very high base price but often heavily discounted so it would be silly to buy at full price. Was one of their cheaper ones but it seems fine and better than my old one which was also oral-b, largely went for it as the toothbrush heads I have would still be compatible. The old one was wearing through the plastic but it was over 5 years old by that point, battery isn’t great either.
Replaceable batteries would be kinda nice to have as a feature but if other parts are wearing away by that point too it probably isn’t too bad.
Broke: You get what you pay for.
Woke: You don’t get what you don’t pay for.
With automobiles, there is an anti-correlation.
Tax Brackets. “I got a pay raise and will now be taxed more and make less money than before the raise”
If <=30k was taxed at 25% and 30+k taxed at 30% and you go from 30k to 31k a year, only the 1k is taxed at the higher rate.
Benefit cliffs do exist however.
I get that this might not be super intuitive. but how can one not notice that this is untrue? don’t people check their accounts and see that there is still more coming in and not less? just not as much as one might want, but still.
You assume people look at their accounts and do some form of account keeping?
Actually, yeah. I just cannot fathom how one could not at least check what goes in and what comes out. Nowadays you get push notifications for everything anyways, so I just do not get it.
This depends on the country
Is this really a common misconception?
Yes, unfortunately.
Very very common in Australia.
That their neurodiversity absolves them of any responsibility and the rest of the world should cater to it.
This is true, but at the same time it does not mean that people shouldn’t be given reasonable accommodation for their particular needs.
Many people struggle to grasp that these two ideas can coexist.
Embarrassingly, I think I’m someone who struggles with both ideas. How many meltdowns am I expected to accommodate before someone is not invited back to a social event? A work event? Because if a neurotypical yelled obscenities at me, it would be one and done, but I’m expected to forgive and forget when the person is autistic. How many times do you accommodate someone’s tardiness? I have ADHD, and I work really hard to be on time, but I’m late plenty. Sometimes for work. Often for social events. It’s not because i don’t care about other people’s time. I try really hard, I just fail a lot. Like who decides what’s reasonable?
Perhaps the question you should be asking is why are the meltdowns happening in the first place?
Accommodations aren’t about tolerating bad behaviour. They’re about changing the environment to be more friendly, and putting systems in place to help people manage things better.
Ooh that’s a good point! I hadn’t looked at it like that!
Of course the meltdown I’m thinking of is that his own toddler was trying to eat old food off the floor and I was preventing that and offering fresh food while babysitting for free for him.
He doesn’t have meltdowns so often now, but the only thing that changed is that he feels safe and comfortable around us. Ironically, his bad behavior is what made us uncomfortable around him which is what made him feel unsafe. So as it got better, it just got better and better.
Unfortunately for him, he was raised in an emotionally abusive home, so his regular bad behavior was learned and then when we reacted poorly to that it would lead to an actual meltdown. Consistent kind behavior and firm boundaries is what eventually led to a two way street respectful situation. A meltdown now would be much more accepted and understood but we had to go to group therapy to get here.
Oh god yes. Good friend of mine was dating someone with autism, and he was constantly asking me, “is neurodivergence just an excuse to be a dick to people?” Yeah sometimes it sure is, just a helpless excuse to act out your baser, ruder instincts. If you’re neurodivergent and not in therapy, you should be asking yourself regularly, would others around me benefit from my being in therapy? Because the answer is almost certainly yes.
Absolutely fair, good answer!
That understanding someone or something means agreeing with them.
On a related note, this is one of my favorite quotes: “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” -Aristotle
Or that refusing to understand is a valid counterargument.
But no one explicitly refuses to understand. Usually it’s person A doesn’t agree with person B, and person B thinks person A refuses to understand, while in reality person A understands perfectly but disagrees
Way too many people think that if you explain something, you’re endorsing it–even when you explicitly say that you do not endorse it. So frustrating, and it’s a huge problem here on the fediverse.
Exactly. Like, how do you expect to beat an opponent if your refuse to understand why they do what they do?
Or that not vocally disagreeing is agreement.
Folks, you can understand why someone decided to kill themselves: e.g. a tragic life, and from their perspective, there’s no one to support them, no one to love them, no one for them to love.
But it doesn’t mean you agree with their decision to kill themselves.
If understanding = agreeing, a lot more people would be committing suicide while trying to understand why such a person would kill themselves. It makes no logical sense. Or it means that those alive is either of these: they either don’t understand it out of naivety, or choose to not understand it to not kill themselves. Assuming it’s an adult with their full faculty, who witnessed such a tragedy, that’s just… such a sad world.
I’m not sure if its get what you mean.
For example, I can put in the effort to try and understand why a triple Trumper MAGA Republican did what they did without agreeing with the actions they took.
Oh jesus I’m a moron lmao. I misread what you said given the context of my post.
So many things when it comes to police stops. There is absolutely a problem with policing in America but there is a list of things you ARE required to do when stopped by the police, whether you agree with them or not, and refusing doesn’t help you and only helps them. Yes you are required to have your license on you when driving, and yes you must display and/or hand it over to police when asked. Yes they can ask you to step out of the car. Yes they can search your car if they tow it. Hell watch a few videos on YouTube of traffic stops and you’ll quickly figure out what you do and do not have to comply with. And you will never, ever win an argument with the police on the side of the road, save it for court.
One thing to note is that they are allowed to lie to you, so like you said, important to know your rights, but mostly they can find probable cause to do whatever.
Best advice I ever heard.
Always treat cops as if they just came from dealing with something really awful.
They might have just seen a child abuse case, or a really bad accident, of a fire.
Assert your rights in the court, not in the street.
POLITELY assert your rights on the streets. If an officer asks if they can search your trunk, tell them that you would rather they didn’t.
“Do I have to” and it’s variants are deferential without necessarily ceding your rights in a way that “oh, sure” does. They don’t need any cause at all if you give permission, and if you give permission it’s going to be hard or impossible to argue later that it was an unreasonable search.
The sad truth is that you need to assume that you’re on camera whenever you interact with a police officer, act as if whatever you say will be either edited and shown to the jury or described to them out of context to justify whatever bad actions the officer takes.
100% be polite and even friendly, but 0% on “just let the officer do whatever and think you can fight it in court later.”
Very simple, “I do not consent to any search,” but do not interfere with armed people. Once you have asserted your right, you should not try to impede them violating them. Too risky. Let the courts protect you. Or hope that they do, at least.
Fantastic response
Math is memorizing and performing algorithms. So many adults looked at the common core math curriculum and said teachers aren’t teaching math anymore because they didn’t see their favorite long division algorithm taught, but memorizing and performing any particular algorithm is not what is important about learning math. Math is about taking axioms and seeing what you can build with them.
The word you’re missing is “arithmetic”. For most people “math(s)” and “arithmetic” are the same thing, when the latter is only the commonly encountered part of the former.
And for many of those people, algorithms are the only way they can use arithmetic to reach a goal because the intuition isn’t there otherwise.
I say this in full knowledge that even though I’m pretty good at arithmetic, much of the intuition I have now took me years after leaving school, and sometimes for more advanced things it’s still not there.
For example, on a good day I can complete the square, and I understand the geometric intuition, but most of the time I’m just going to plug and chug with the quadratic formula.
Common core got a really bad rap because of the poor implementations by companies like Pearson. But the actual curricula are very good.
Pure maths that was taught over 5 years in the 18th century in university is now taught in 3 years in high school with several other subjects.
So material is stripped down into small pieces and learnt by heart completely out of context- it is basically just learning algorithms.
For me it was estimation that unlocked the magic of mathematics. What’s the fastest way you can get close enough to the correct answer that the innaccuracy doesn’t matter?
For example, in salary negotions if you need to convert between hourly and annual salary take the annual value, drop 3 zeros and divide in two and you have the hourly. Or in reverse, take the hourly, multiply by 2 and add 3 zeros for the annual. It gets you close enough that you can know you’re talking about for salary negotiations, budgeting, etc. and you can let the computer calculate out the exact conversion for payroll and tax withholding purposes
Photography is so much more than pointing a camera and pushing the button, even though cell phones have reduced it to that for a lot of people.
Good photography requires intention, planning, luck, skill in knowing how to compose a scene, knowledge of light and color temperature, sensor exposure, how to direct people about if people are involved, and then, in editing in post-production, skillful edits, adjusting tone, doing masking, color grading and calibration, and any other steps to perfect an image.
For me to produce one work here on this site, it can take me two or three hours, not including travel time!
Great answer!
And also worth mentioning that 1 great photo comes after 50 or so not-so-good ones. A lot comes down to luck, especially with more dynamic shots. Take a shit ton of photos and a few of them are bound to turn out nice.
I learnt the team “Point and shoot engineer” to refer to modern cinematographers/ photographers.
This took me a lot of work but I’m glad I made it.
They looks great!
That because a problem is real, any proposed solution to it is a good idea, and anyone arguing against a proposed solution doesn’t want to solve the problem.
Yes, grease fires are bad. No, you should not use water to put it out. No, that does not mean I am pro-grease-fire??
