Pinned
Linas Vepstas
@linas.org
· Sep 17
@linas.org please please make an opencog profile here so you can talk a bit about it and where you are going in the development , looks like you are doing a lot of interesting things there and i bet other people would be as fascinated by it as me :)
I am fascinated by ideas from AGI: a mashup of math, computing, physics, sociology, linguistics, psychology, structuralism and more. I explore these ideas via Atomese, this odd compute system that is part of the OpenCog AtomSpace. Described here: bsky.app/profile/flee...
Some people post cat photos on their timeline. Others repost politics only. Me, I will sometimes post about the kinesthetic experience set to words. Or perhaps about the act of setting the sublime, ineffable transcendence into words.
Did not expect one of the best paragraphs I’d read about baseball would come from an Irish newspaper
www.irishexaminer.com/sport-column...
www.irishexaminer.com/sport-column...
November 2, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Some people post cat photos on their timeline. Others repost politics only. Me, I will sometimes post about the kinesthetic experience set to words. Or perhaps about the act of setting the sublime, ineffable transcendence into words.
I don't fear the creation of a self-aware monster. I do fear that someone will create a propaganda machine and psychotic mind-control system. Some QAnon/Facebook disinfo pushing system that will drive entire populations to delusional endpoints. This is where the danger lies.
November 2, 2025 at 8:15 PM
I don't fear the creation of a self-aware monster. I do fear that someone will create a propaganda machine and psychotic mind-control system. Some QAnon/Facebook disinfo pushing system that will drive entire populations to delusional endpoints. This is where the danger lies.
Did I mention I have a PhD in physics? One of my more interesting experiences was when a prof closed his office door and made me swear an oath of secrecy that I assume dated back to Los Alamos. The strange part was not that it was about bombs, but rather, how to keep the cranks and crackpots away.
November 2, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Did I mention I have a PhD in physics? One of my more interesting experiences was when a prof closed his office door and made me swear an oath of secrecy that I assume dated back to Los Alamos. The strange part was not that it was about bombs, but rather, how to keep the cranks and crackpots away.
OK, Don't come trying to lynch me or anything, but I am actively trying to build such a feedback loop. It's a lot harder than you might think, technically. But there's also, uhh, well, gee, a philosophical issue. What wants and desires could, should, would it have?
November 2, 2025 at 8:00 PM
OK, Don't come trying to lynch me or anything, but I am actively trying to build such a feedback loop. It's a lot harder than you might think, technically. But there's also, uhh, well, gee, a philosophical issue. What wants and desires could, should, would it have?
Honestly, beats me. Right now, I'll just say "overheard at a party" cause I'm too lazy to dig deeper.
November 2, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Honestly, beats me. Right now, I'll just say "overheard at a party" cause I'm too lazy to dig deeper.
OK, Yes, its not exclusive to mammals, but I get tired of explaining so I start there. As to understatements about the nature of life, well, the LLMs force a rethink of basic beliefs, assumptions and definitions. I encounter a lot of expressions of dogma, which makes discussion hard.
November 2, 2025 at 8:58 AM
OK, Yes, its not exclusive to mammals, but I get tired of explaining so I start there. As to understatements about the nature of life, well, the LLMs force a rethink of basic beliefs, assumptions and definitions. I encounter a lot of expressions of dogma, which makes discussion hard.
Well, the lack of mammalian love is perhaps one of the more dangerous traits. The gut sense of love-for-mother helps drive compassion, even in carnivores. The lack of this in LLM's is I suppose the scary part !?
November 2, 2025 at 8:45 AM
Well, the lack of mammalian love is perhaps one of the more dangerous traits. The gut sense of love-for-mother helps drive compassion, even in carnivores. The lack of this in LLM's is I suppose the scary part !?
I'm happy to draw the line at a biological-cell level, "Embodied Cognition" is the catch-phrase, and Michael Levin writes very nicely about it. But there are also those youtubes of some cell bleeding out and dying that are somehow more tragic than watching russians get blown up. Go figure.
November 2, 2025 at 8:42 AM
I'm happy to draw the line at a biological-cell level, "Embodied Cognition" is the catch-phrase, and Michael Levin writes very nicely about it. But there are also those youtubes of some cell bleeding out and dying that are somehow more tragic than watching russians get blown up. Go figure.
Well, speaking from personal experience, its usually when the wrong paper is from someone far more famous and important than you are. So its like "why are people listening to that dunderhead when they should be listening to me?"
November 2, 2025 at 8:32 AM
Well, speaking from personal experience, its usually when the wrong paper is from someone far more famous and important than you are. So its like "why are people listening to that dunderhead when they should be listening to me?"
Other things that I like are astronomical objects.
Holy shit look at this
Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon), photographed by Chuck Ayoub on 30 October 2025.
The comet made its closest approach to Earth (90 million km) on October 2025.
Source: Chuck's Astrophotography (@chucksastropho1 on Twitter), h/t @p-s-v.bsky.social
Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon), photographed by Chuck Ayoub on 30 October 2025.
The comet made its closest approach to Earth (90 million km) on October 2025.
Source: Chuck's Astrophotography (@chucksastropho1 on Twitter), h/t @p-s-v.bsky.social
November 2, 2025 at 6:03 AM
Other things that I like are astronomical objects.
Oh. Says in your bio that you're autistic. Maybe that's the explanation. Well, we all do as best we can.
November 1, 2025 at 11:14 PM
Oh. Says in your bio that you're autistic. Maybe that's the explanation. Well, we all do as best we can.
OK. So you decided that the correct response is to harass me? Very interesting decision.
November 1, 2025 at 11:11 PM
OK. So you decided that the correct response is to harass me? Very interesting decision.
So, the construction of the federal highway system, the electrification of rural America, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Works Progress Administration, the Grand Coulee dam, and the guys who pick up your curbside garbage, these are not done by the government?
November 1, 2025 at 11:05 PM
So, the construction of the federal highway system, the electrification of rural America, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Works Progress Administration, the Grand Coulee dam, and the guys who pick up your curbside garbage, these are not done by the government?
You realize you are setting yourself up for failure, right? Perhaps its some kind of impulsive control disorder. I dunno. We are, in principle, on the same side. In practice, you are burning bridges and making enemies. Perhaps you should reconsider your tactics.
November 1, 2025 at 10:59 PM
You realize you are setting yourself up for failure, right? Perhaps its some kind of impulsive control disorder. I dunno. We are, in principle, on the same side. In practice, you are burning bridges and making enemies. Perhaps you should reconsider your tactics.
Which part? That some teenagers have problems being anti-social? Or that the median Army Colonel is well-adjusted and socialized?
November 1, 2025 at 10:51 PM
Which part? That some teenagers have problems being anti-social? Or that the median Army Colonel is well-adjusted and socialized?
The "civil war" bullshit was a meme he picked up on Fox News, BTW. It was a very very popular meme at the time. Everybody who was anybody was talking about it. It was a deeply held conviction. 10-12 years ago. A little older than QAnon. About contemporaneous.
The Fairness doctrine was abolished in 1987, after a long GOP campaign. Fox News was incorporated a day later. That is, Fox News was already being constructed and designed, hand-in-glove with the repeal of the Fairness doctrine. This is one of the large propaganda spigots that were opened.
Fairness doctrine - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 1, 2025 at 10:44 PM
The "civil war" bullshit was a meme he picked up on Fox News, BTW. It was a very very popular meme at the time. Everybody who was anybody was talking about it. It was a deeply held conviction. 10-12 years ago. A little older than QAnon. About contemporaneous.
Things I write about. This is a short thread about my personal experience with business owners and the capitalist class. Part of a longer thread on the nature of socialism in the USA.
"Some capitalists". I know some small business owners that hire disabled people, organize events for low-income classes, and are generally involved in positive community building. They have traditionally voted GOP, staunch republicans, while also performing these obvious "socialist" activities.
November 1, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Things I write about. This is a short thread about my personal experience with business owners and the capitalist class. Part of a longer thread on the nature of socialism in the USA.
And I'm like "duude, if all the cities of America are gonna get torched, I'm pretty sure that the buyers of your product are gonna vaporize and you'll be filing bankruptcy, so don't tell me 'business is good, there will be civil war'" Well, we were both drunk, and he doubled down on civil war.
November 1, 2025 at 10:27 PM
And I'm like "duude, if all the cities of America are gonna get torched, I'm pretty sure that the buyers of your product are gonna vaporize and you'll be filing bankruptcy, so don't tell me 'business is good, there will be civil war'" Well, we were both drunk, and he doubled down on civil war.
One guy, CEO of a company of about 3K or 4K people, told me ten years ago: "Buy a gun, they're going to be breaking down your doors and coming in your windows and they will torch this entire city. Austin will be a smoldering wasteland. Business is good, we're hiring, want a job?"
November 1, 2025 at 10:25 PM
One guy, CEO of a company of about 3K or 4K people, told me ten years ago: "Buy a gun, they're going to be breaking down your doors and coming in your windows and they will torch this entire city. Austin will be a smoldering wasteland. Business is good, we're hiring, want a job?"
I have no problem with this. Guy wants to drive a fancy sport car and do good works? OK, why not. The problem are the psycho anti-social CEO's. I've gone drinking and socializing with them too. They are (very) evil, in a very classical "mundane" or "banal evil" kind of way.
November 1, 2025 at 10:21 PM
I have no problem with this. Guy wants to drive a fancy sport car and do good works? OK, why not. The problem are the psycho anti-social CEO's. I've gone drinking and socializing with them too. They are (very) evil, in a very classical "mundane" or "banal evil" kind of way.
"Some capitalists". I know some small business owners that hire disabled people, organize events for low-income classes, and are generally involved in positive community building. They have traditionally voted GOP, staunch republicans, while also performing these obvious "socialist" activities.
November 1, 2025 at 10:17 PM
"Some capitalists". I know some small business owners that hire disabled people, organize events for low-income classes, and are generally involved in positive community building. They have traditionally voted GOP, staunch republicans, while also performing these obvious "socialist" activities.
Citizens United is another major cause of political dysfunction. Perhaps you can blame both of these on "capitalists". But I want to blame both of these on the GOP mind-virus, the collection of thought-patterns that encourage fascism and authoritarianism.
Citizens United v. FEC - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 1, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Citizens United is another major cause of political dysfunction. Perhaps you can blame both of these on "capitalists". But I want to blame both of these on the GOP mind-virus, the collection of thought-patterns that encourage fascism and authoritarianism.
The Fairness doctrine was abolished in 1987, after a long GOP campaign. Fox News was incorporated a day later. That is, Fox News was already being constructed and designed, hand-in-glove with the repeal of the Fairness doctrine. This is one of the large propaganda spigots that were opened.
Fairness doctrine - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 1, 2025 at 10:10 PM
The Fairness doctrine was abolished in 1987, after a long GOP campaign. Fox News was incorporated a day later. That is, Fox News was already being constructed and designed, hand-in-glove with the repeal of the Fairness doctrine. This is one of the large propaganda spigots that were opened.