Timothy Rice
@timothyrice.org
τὸ φῶς ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ φαίνει, καὶ ἡ σκοτία αὐτὸ οὐ κατέλαβεν
ὥσπερ γὰρ τὸ σῶμα χωρὶς πνεύματος νεκρόν ἐστιν, οὕτως καὶ ἡ πίστις χωρὶς ἔργων νεκρά ἐστιν
Non est beatus, esse se qui non putat.
📍 Portland, OR
timothyrice.org
ὥσπερ γὰρ τὸ σῶμα χωρὶς πνεύματος νεκρόν ἐστιν, οὕτως καὶ ἡ πίστις χωρὶς ἔργων νεκρά ἐστιν
Non est beatus, esse se qui non putat.
📍 Portland, OR
timothyrice.org
Pinned
Timothy Rice
@timothyrice.org
· Mar 29
Any time I hear someone pine for a post-scarcity economy I think about how I can buy 41,000 calories of flour for less than $10.
For whatever reason "pallet" shows up all the time in fantasy literature. It's similar to how scifi authors can't stop using the word "creche".
Funny thing:
A few years ago I learned the word "pallet" to refer to something like "a pile of bedding on the floor" is a fading southernism. My grandma used it ("I'll set up a pallet in front of the TV"), and I'm told elder black folks use it, but most people associate it with medieval speech?
A few years ago I learned the word "pallet" to refer to something like "a pile of bedding on the floor" is a fading southernism. My grandma used it ("I'll set up a pallet in front of the TV"), and I'm told elder black folks use it, but most people associate it with medieval speech?
People think "y'all" is the defining southernism, but really it's saying "have a good one" when parting, especially if pronounced "havagoowuh." If you tag the y'all it becomes "havagoowahyaw."
November 15, 2025 at 3:50 AM
For whatever reason "pallet" shows up all the time in fantasy literature. It's similar to how scifi authors can't stop using the word "creche".
Purchased!
My book, Lamb of the Free: Recovering the Varied Sacrificial Understandings of Jesus’s Death, is 50% off throughout Nov with code CONFSHIP from the publisher’s site. Tell your friends!
wipfandstock.com/978166670304...
wipfandstock.com/978166670304...
November 8, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Purchased!
Advertising is one of the great evils of our civilization and we should fervently strive to purge it from our society.
Do you have any extremely niche, but serious, ethical stances?
October 17, 2025 at 12:52 AM
Advertising is one of the great evils of our civilization and we should fervently strive to purge it from our society.
@adapalmer.bsky.social a question for you about history, GenAI, and public trust.
It seems to me that most of the fear I see about how GenAI will erode public trust are making arguments from an assumption that we've always had an ability to trust media evidence (photo/video/audio) as factual.
It seems to me that most of the fear I see about how GenAI will erode public trust are making arguments from an assumption that we've always had an ability to trust media evidence (photo/video/audio) as factual.
October 10, 2025 at 4:16 PM
@adapalmer.bsky.social a question for you about history, GenAI, and public trust.
It seems to me that most of the fear I see about how GenAI will erode public trust are making arguments from an assumption that we've always had an ability to trust media evidence (photo/video/audio) as factual.
It seems to me that most of the fear I see about how GenAI will erode public trust are making arguments from an assumption that we've always had an ability to trust media evidence (photo/video/audio) as factual.
Oregon
What’s the word where you’re from that, when pronounced exactly as it looks, identifies a tourist immediately?
October 9, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Oregon
Reposted by Timothy Rice
Good morning.
Immigration is good. Trade is good.
There are nuances but they are narrow enough that free and open movement of people and goods should be the default.
Immigration is good. Trade is good.
There are nuances but they are narrow enough that free and open movement of people and goods should be the default.
September 22, 2025 at 11:15 AM
Good morning.
Immigration is good. Trade is good.
There are nuances but they are narrow enough that free and open movement of people and goods should be the default.
Immigration is good. Trade is good.
There are nuances but they are narrow enough that free and open movement of people and goods should be the default.
@dys-morphia.bsky.social plenty of the west coast has lots of water! You just have to get up to the Cascade range.
(yes, I also don't think about water much, except during the annual July/Aug dry spell. The first big rain of September is a release of pent-up stress you forgot you were carrying).
(yes, I also don't think about water much, except during the annual July/Aug dry spell. The first big rain of September is a release of pent-up stress you forgot you were carrying).
August 29, 2025 at 7:22 PM
@dys-morphia.bsky.social plenty of the west coast has lots of water! You just have to get up to the Cascade range.
(yes, I also don't think about water much, except during the annual July/Aug dry spell. The first big rain of September is a release of pent-up stress you forgot you were carrying).
(yes, I also don't think about water much, except during the annual July/Aug dry spell. The first big rain of September is a release of pent-up stress you forgot you were carrying).
@papamurphyspizza.bsky.social Can you help me understand why your app is by far the most paranoid on my phone? I feel like there must be an incredible story behind the absolute refusal to let android developers order take 'n bake pizza.
August 26, 2025 at 3:12 PM
@papamurphyspizza.bsky.social Can you help me understand why your app is by far the most paranoid on my phone? I feel like there must be an incredible story behind the absolute refusal to let android developers order take 'n bake pizza.
I've been thinking about this a lot, and am hung up on a particular point. Namely, that for all the talk about mechanizing thought, it seems that most of the benefits of computers has come from machines "doing things that humans are bad it". And we haven't made much progress at recreating thought!
I think there's this belief that computers are a machine that does what humans are bad at, but the idea of recreating human thought has been baked in from the beginning and reiterated throughout. From Leibniz's calculus ratiocinator to ENIAC's neuron-based architecture, to today's neural networks.
August 25, 2025 at 5:13 PM
I've been thinking about this a lot, and am hung up on a particular point. Namely, that for all the talk about mechanizing thought, it seems that most of the benefits of computers has come from machines "doing things that humans are bad it". And we haven't made much progress at recreating thought!
As a self-professed methane pipe enthusiast, I want to take a moment to defend:
1) Natural gas as a service and
2) Natural gas for cooking in particular.
1) Natural gas as a service and
2) Natural gas for cooking in particular.
And yet we still have people being like "no, I love that pipe filled with methane that goes into my house"
August 21, 2025 at 3:55 PM
As a self-professed methane pipe enthusiast, I want to take a moment to defend:
1) Natural gas as a service and
2) Natural gas for cooking in particular.
1) Natural gas as a service and
2) Natural gas for cooking in particular.
I want to stress that while playing a game of "find the most mundane task that stumps the billion dollar LLM" is very *entertaining* it doesn't really demonstrate anything of value.
The true measure of any tool is simply: "Is it useful?" All other metrics hang on this question.
The true measure of any tool is simply: "Is it useful?" All other metrics hang on this question.
I feel like I've been given some super powered version of ChatGPT that is immune to all the problems everyone else has with the tools. 🤷♂️
chatgpt.com/share/689601...
chatgpt.com/share/689601...
August 8, 2025 at 2:21 PM
I want to stress that while playing a game of "find the most mundane task that stumps the billion dollar LLM" is very *entertaining* it doesn't really demonstrate anything of value.
The true measure of any tool is simply: "Is it useful?" All other metrics hang on this question.
The true measure of any tool is simply: "Is it useful?" All other metrics hang on this question.
I feel like I've been given some super powered version of ChatGPT that is immune to all the problems everyone else has with the tools. 🤷♂️
chatgpt.com/share/689601...
chatgpt.com/share/689601...
August 8, 2025 at 1:56 PM
I feel like I've been given some super powered version of ChatGPT that is immune to all the problems everyone else has with the tools. 🤷♂️
chatgpt.com/share/689601...
chatgpt.com/share/689601...
August 8, 2025 at 4:14 AM
How is it acceptable that a journalist can write 500 words about the valuation and sale of a website and NOT ONCE link to the site under discussion?? How is this even remotely acceptable as a journalistic practice?
(To be clear, this happens all the time, I use this example because I saw it today).
(To be clear, this happens all the time, I use this example because I saw it today).
FT Exclusive: Weiss has met with David Ellison, the incoming owner of CBS News, over a potential deal to sell her three-year-old media company, according to several people familiar with the matter. https://on.ft.com/4eZ6WbM
July 23, 2025 at 3:22 PM
How is it acceptable that a journalist can write 500 words about the valuation and sale of a website and NOT ONCE link to the site under discussion?? How is this even remotely acceptable as a journalistic practice?
(To be clear, this happens all the time, I use this example because I saw it today).
(To be clear, this happens all the time, I use this example because I saw it today).
I checked in with my wife (romance novel enthusiast) about this and have learned that most women find bare chested cover art to be distasteful. Or any cover art that depicts the characters. This is because it interferes with the reader's ability to imagine for themselves their own characters.
Can all the people talking about female gaze explain romance novel covers to me?
I understand they've been trending away from this style of cover art (you should see my wife's collection of 90's/00's novels!), but still! Square this circle for me.
I understand they've been trending away from this style of cover art (you should see my wife's collection of 90's/00's novels!), but still! Square this circle for me.
July 21, 2025 at 3:41 PM
I checked in with my wife (romance novel enthusiast) about this and have learned that most women find bare chested cover art to be distasteful. Or any cover art that depicts the characters. This is because it interferes with the reader's ability to imagine for themselves their own characters.
Reposted by Timothy Rice
School supplies are baffling to me.
Our district furnishes every child with an Ipad or chromebook as part of enrollment. AND YET, every year I'm asked to go out and supply, from my own pocket, glue sticks for the class to use.
Our district furnishes every child with an Ipad or chromebook as part of enrollment. AND YET, every year I'm asked to go out and supply, from my own pocket, glue sticks for the class to use.
July 20, 2025 at 12:52 PM
School supplies are baffling to me.
Our district furnishes every child with an Ipad or chromebook as part of enrollment. AND YET, every year I'm asked to go out and supply, from my own pocket, glue sticks for the class to use.
Our district furnishes every child with an Ipad or chromebook as part of enrollment. AND YET, every year I'm asked to go out and supply, from my own pocket, glue sticks for the class to use.
Can all the people talking about female gaze explain romance novel covers to me?
I understand they've been trending away from this style of cover art (you should see my wife's collection of 90's/00's novels!), but still! Square this circle for me.
I understand they've been trending away from this style of cover art (you should see my wife's collection of 90's/00's novels!), but still! Square this circle for me.
July 20, 2025 at 11:57 AM
Can all the people talking about female gaze explain romance novel covers to me?
I understand they've been trending away from this style of cover art (you should see my wife's collection of 90's/00's novels!), but still! Square this circle for me.
I understand they've been trending away from this style of cover art (you should see my wife's collection of 90's/00's novels!), but still! Square this circle for me.
Reposted by Timothy Rice
In general, I've found LLMs to be *amazing* at helping with what I call "problems that have already been solved". That is, a problem that has already been encounted by many other people and a solution found and documented.
It's for this reason that it's especially good at helping with homework.
It's for this reason that it's especially good at helping with homework.
July 11, 2025 at 8:47 PM
In general, I've found LLMs to be *amazing* at helping with what I call "problems that have already been solved". That is, a problem that has already been encounted by many other people and a solution found and documented.
It's for this reason that it's especially good at helping with homework.
It's for this reason that it's especially good at helping with homework.
It's kinda amazing to me that so many people still hold the stance of "how could LLMs possibly be useful for anything??"
I continue to find very useful applications for them in my day to day life. The next time you're trying to fix some bizarre household problem try feeding the symptoms into an LLM
I continue to find very useful applications for them in my day to day life. The next time you're trying to fix some bizarre household problem try feeding the symptoms into an LLM
Recently, I used ChatGPT to help me fix my washing machine. It was giving me some arcane error message and presenting with an odd problem of "running water for hours."
July 11, 2025 at 8:49 PM
It's kinda amazing to me that so many people still hold the stance of "how could LLMs possibly be useful for anything??"
I continue to find very useful applications for them in my day to day life. The next time you're trying to fix some bizarre household problem try feeding the symptoms into an LLM
I continue to find very useful applications for them in my day to day life. The next time you're trying to fix some bizarre household problem try feeding the symptoms into an LLM
Reposted by Timothy Rice
And the logic is stupidly simple. Let people move to places where they can be more productive. That's it. Imagine we disallowed this inside the country. It'd be a disaster. Massive wealth destruction. But we do it every day worldwide.
June 8, 2025 at 1:29 AM
And the logic is stupidly simple. Let people move to places where they can be more productive. That's it. Imagine we disallowed this inside the country. It'd be a disaster. Massive wealth destruction. But we do it every day worldwide.
Science fiction writers all have this fascination with the word "creche" and I have no idea why.
Example: questionablecontent.net/view.php?com...
Example: questionablecontent.net/view.php?com...
May 23, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Science fiction writers all have this fascination with the word "creche" and I have no idea why.
Example: questionablecontent.net/view.php?com...
Example: questionablecontent.net/view.php?com...
Reposted by Timothy Rice
In other words, I don't think AI is the problem. Students were already doing things like taking the easiest possible classes, using chegg, begging teachers to give them answers in advance, and other things that are spiritually no different. ChatGPT just exposes the problem.
May 16, 2025 at 1:00 PM
In other words, I don't think AI is the problem. Students were already doing things like taking the easiest possible classes, using chegg, begging teachers to give them answers in advance, and other things that are spiritually no different. ChatGPT just exposes the problem.
If you're going to heavily incentivize credentialization through all layers of our culture, you're going to get students that only care about getting the certificate, not learning.
I get concerns on AI use in universities, but to my mind the utility of AI in college is the measure of how sick the system has become. If students view their job as playing a game to get a piece of paper that opens the gate to middle class life, rather than something idealistic, AI makes sense.
May 16, 2025 at 7:56 PM
If you're going to heavily incentivize credentialization through all layers of our culture, you're going to get students that only care about getting the certificate, not learning.
Reposted by Timothy Rice
I wrote a cheat sheet version of my Using ChatGPT is not bad for the environment post. It's paired down and more focused on simple responses to common objections, without a long intro or my background environmental philosophy. andymasley.substack.com/p/a-cheat-sh...
A cheat sheet for conversations about ChatGPT and the environment
Arm yourself with knowledge
andymasley.substack.com
April 28, 2025 at 3:32 AM
I wrote a cheat sheet version of my Using ChatGPT is not bad for the environment post. It's paired down and more focused on simple responses to common objections, without a long intro or my background environmental philosophy. andymasley.substack.com/p/a-cheat-sh...
Reposted by Timothy Rice
"They teach us to call evil ‘evil,’ a simple change but one which leads us to choose evil less."
From @adapalmer.bsky.social's 'Perhaps the Stars'. The line has stuck with me since I read it and I've tried to live that practice more.
From @adapalmer.bsky.social's 'Perhaps the Stars'. The line has stuck with me since I read it and I've tried to live that practice more.
April 12, 2025 at 9:31 PM
"They teach us to call evil ‘evil,’ a simple change but one which leads us to choose evil less."
From @adapalmer.bsky.social's 'Perhaps the Stars'. The line has stuck with me since I read it and I've tried to live that practice more.
From @adapalmer.bsky.social's 'Perhaps the Stars'. The line has stuck with me since I read it and I've tried to live that practice more.