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maegul (he/they)

@ maegul @lemmy.ml

Posts
219
Comments
2765
Joined
3 yr. ago

A little bit of neuroscience and a little bit of computing

  • Honeybees pass their math test, upending an animal intelligence debate

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  • Oh I think this is for sure the case. And it’s very interesting to see Darwin appreciated that too.

  • Mushroom drive that can get you anywhere in the universe?

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  • Yea … I tried watching Disco recently and surprisingly enjoyed myself … until like episode 3 or whatever when Stamets first explains the spore drive. Then I realised that for me Disco was dead on arrival just because of that damn spore drive.

  • xkcd #3238: Soniferous Aether

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  • At 0Hz sound is just the local air pressure and the weather forecast is technically sheet music.

    👌

    Thought this was from the hover text for a second!

  • What's a scam that's so normalized that we don't even realize it's a scam anymore?

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  • Ah! Yea, resonates strongly with where I was coming from.

    Something, I suppose, like “not all good things can be scaled and mechanised, and not all scaled and mechanised things are good”.

  • What's a scam that's so normalized that we don't even realize it's a scam anymore?

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  • I don’t know anything about this, actually! What’s the controversy?

  • What's a scam that's so normalized that we don't even realize it's a scam anymore?

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  • Education system

    Maybe a bit more spicy. And I’m not against education itself. Just seems like an obviously contingent system that’s got a monopolistic lock on “demand” while having glaring issues around its quality.

  • ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Season 4 To Debut In July; Watch Teaser Trailer

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  • Yep. This is the last hurrah of this cycle of trek. After this 1.5 seasons of SNW and Starfleet Academy’s last/second season, that’s it.

    I always figured the “secret” plan for SNW was to transition into an original series reboot. And I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s still on the table and that’s why SNW is getting to sail off into the sunset. But it also seems likely that the appetite just isn’t there anymore for that sort of thing (or maybe, as I do, some exec just doesn’t think it’s a good idea).

  • Report: Meta will train AI agents by tracking employees' mouse, keyboard use... AI usage goals among some employees...

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  • Feudal serfdom. I keep call AI this and they keep giving me reasons.

    They’re not smart computers, it’s all of our data give agency. It’s us sold back to us by those who happen to own data centers and platforms that were never valuable in the first place without us.

    Cliche, but maybe we should wake the fuck up … if not now, it could be very soon … we’re in one of those historical moments not merely the gradual progress of society.

  • The AI Revolution Could Usher In a New Age of Stagnation

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  • Yea … it’s the bit I don’t get why people don’t care about this more.

    If we’re replaced, there’s nothing really left for us in the terms of the way we’ve conceived our whole world for centuries. Sure maybe we go native again or something, but let’s be real, that is a massively tough transition even if it’s viable.

  • Google Starts Scanning All Your Photos As New Update Goes Live

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  • Certainly feels like we’re on the precipice of being lost to a techno-dystopian timeline.

    It’s been a long while in the making, but even so, it also feels like we’re sleepily walking right into it.

  • Car hits pedestrians in Melbourne, killing Supernova Comic Con attendee

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  • Fuck cars

  • Claude: papers please?

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  • Ha yes … on the other hand, it was easy to forget how good damn expansive non-internet information is: the whole world ran on that shit for millennia.

  • Claude: papers please?

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  • Oh I hear you (and appreciate the response).

    For me, I can’t help but think of another alternative, which I’m surprised I haven’t heard of yet …

    stripping down one’s personal technological cognitive load to a stack of systems that can fit into one’s brain (like the Python mantra), focusing on learning that stack well building sustainable and stable systems, and then just detoxing from the increasingly polluted digital information stream (protected commons, traditional formats such as books and in person engagement … dunno).

    Depends on what the end goal is, but AIs seem to be about using tech more or just opting out of sovereignty. Something like the above seems to me to be about using tech less (in the end) and pushing toward being a secondary tool rather than an end of its own.

  • Claude: papers please?

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  • Probably a shallow response …

    But I always figured AI/LLMs are basically apocalyptic for all sorts of individualistic values in computing (including privacy but also independence and diversity).

    Whether they’re good or useful etc, I just struggle to see how they will ever be justifiable against these sorts of values.

    Sure, local models and our hardware will get better … but better than the state of the art from the big labs and providers? Given that data and training are the big bottlenecks on quality … I struggle to see how AI isn’t a complete feudal capturing of information computing and processing. Not to mention what happens to the pipeline that produces information content if everyone is only consuming it through the models that train on it.

    So for me the big question is, what’s our call on a possible (likely even?) future where we are forever stuck using cloud provided AI along with all of its negatives, in the same way that basically all of us has been and still is stuck using MS windows, Google and the big-social-media hellscape?

    For me, I baulk at this.

  • Back to books - Sweden's schools cutting back on digital learning

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  • Thank you and interesting!

    I’ve only skimmed the paper, but this line in the conclusion captures my impression so far:

    the results should not lead to premature decisions in school practice or completely replace other existing teaching methods. In fact, digital tools show the largest positive effects on student learning outcomes if they are used in addition to non-digital material. Despite the potential of using digital tools in mathematics and science classes, teachers should always assess additional benefits in regard to the context they want to use it in, and learning content should still take center stage

    …

    there was only one variable that significantly influenced the overall effect due to differences between content-related categories, which was teacher training.

    Additionally, their analysis highlights that the following are more impactful: simulation/ smart-tutorial tools, getting students working together (rather than using tools solo), and shorter durations of tool use (or, studies that ran for shorter times had better results).

    All of which indicates to me that this study may well support the notion that digital tool use in schooling can be overdone and that a correction could very well be reasonable, especially if prior policies have focused on student-laptop provisioning all encompassing digital platforms.

    Beyond all of that (and general scepticism I’d naturally have with any reaearch) … I’d still wonder whether it’s reasonable to combat the negative effects of saturated computer usage by leaning into non-digital education approaches, however “worse” the educational outcomes may be. Especially if digital education could be optimised with specialised and intermittent exercises and tools.

  • Back to books - Sweden's schools cutting back on digital learning

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  • Interestingly, I don’t share your presumption. Personally, I’d start from the opposite end and ask where is the evidence that using computers is good for education. Anything that’s computer specific can be taught with computers as necessary. But generally everyone has computers now and so the basics likely don’t need to be covered by forcing complete use across the board.

  • When did programming become "coding"?

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  • Yea this vibes.

    For me, it felt like coding was a more attractive term for people who weren’t “proper” computer science and “engineering” types who weren’t confident that they knew what “program” meant or even “algorithm”, as they were working things as they went.

    I’d guess that as computing involved more and more people with this non-standard background, coding became preferred. I certainly encountered people uncomfortable with my casual use of “algorithm” because it triggered their imposter syndrome, and my pointing out that they write algorithms with the code the write all the time certainly didn’t help.

  • The World Hates Jacks

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  • Yea, I figured, and it’s a predictable trend. Just hadn’t noticed it had already become a toxic social media phenomenon.

    Relatedly, one of my anti-arguments is that we’re basically failed the rise of social media tech and so should hold off until we work out how to do tech better at a socia level. Seeing this intersection here just emphasises my feeling.

    Also thanks for the reply!

  • xkcd #3232: Countdown Standard

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  • I’m genuinely surprised it’s not mentioned in the hover text … though I think you can see it in between the lines there.

  • Fuck AI @lemmy.world
    maegul (he/they) @lemmy.ml

    Why the future doesn’t need us, Bill Joy (2000)

    en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Why_the_Future_Doesn%27t_Need_Us
  • [moved to piefed] movies @lemm.ee
    maegul (he/they) @lemmy.ml

    Anyone else found Mickey 17 embarrassingly bad? (Just watched it)

  • Music @lemmy.world
    maegul (he/they) @lemmy.ml

    Jinjer - Tumbleweed (2025)

  • science @lemmy.world
    maegul (he/they) @lemmy.ml

    Short and pointed video from Sabine on the corruption of science

  • [Dormant, move to !television@lemm.ee] Shows and TV @lemm.ee
    maegul (he/they) @lemmy.ml
    Spoilers

    Silo season 2 finale

  • [moved to piefed] movies @lemm.ee
    maegul (he/they) @lemmy.ml

    Just saw Nosferatu (2024, dir Eggers)

  • Music @lemmy.world
    maegul (he/they) @lemmy.ml

    Diwan 2, Rachid Taha

    en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Diwan_2
  • [Dormant, move to !television@lemm.ee] Shows and TV @lemm.ee
    maegul (he/they) @lemmy.ml
    Spoilers

    Rings of Power thoughts after ep 4

  • Today I Learned @lemmy.world
    maegul (he/they) @lemmy.ml

    TIL there's a known massive oil reserve in antarctica discovered only earlier this year (2024)

    www.newsweek.com /russia-ukraine-oil-antarctica-putin-1900233
  • [moved to piefed] movies @lemm.ee
    maegul (he/they) @lemmy.ml

    First "Every frame a painting" video in 8 years: The Sustained Two Shot

  • [Migrated, see pinned post] Casual Conversation @lemm.ee
    maegul (he/they) @lemmy.ml

    Have neutrinos ever been used in some sci-fi premise?

  • [moved to piefed] movies @lemm.ee
    maegul (he/they) @lemmy.ml
    SPOILERS

    About THAT one obviously bad part in Alien Romulus

  • [moved to piefed] movies @lemm.ee
    maegul (he/they) @lemmy.ml

    Corridor Crew compare VFX in Fury Road and Furiosa (at 11.20)

  • Videos @lemmy.world
    maegul (he/they) @lemmy.ml

    INDIA METAL - Chano (Nooran Sisters x Andre Antunes)

  • [moved to piefed] movies @lemm.ee
    maegul (he/they) @lemmy.ml

    Fallout TV Show ... not vibing with eps 1,2 ... what am I missing?

  • [moved to piefed] movies @lemm.ee
    maegul (he/they) @lemmy.ml

    Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes VFX Interview (Corridor Crew, potential spoilers)

  • Learning Rust and Lemmy @lemmy.ml
    maegul (he/they) @lemmy.ml

    Build your own SQLite (in rust), Part 1: Listing tables

    blog.sylver.dev /build-your-own-sqlite-part-1-listing-tables
  • Learning Rust and Lemmy @lemmy.ml
    maegul (he/they) @lemmy.ml

    So ... macros are fun!! (a bit of rant, maybe a kinda tutorial, and a quick hack)

  • Lemmy @lemmy.ml
    maegul (he/they) @lemmy.ml

    What's the "Show Notifications for New Posts" option in settings?

  • Fuck AI @lemmy.world
    maegul (he/they) @lemmy.ml

    AI Survey: Four Themes Emerging

    www.bain.com /insights/ai-survey-four-themes-emerging/