conductometrist.bsky.social
@conductometrist.bsky.social
Piranesi is good but JS&MrN is an out and out masterpiece. One of the best written and most creative books I've ever read.
NB it's a bit of a J curve in terms of its pacing
NB it's a bit of a J curve in terms of its pacing
December 27, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Piranesi is good but JS&MrN is an out and out masterpiece. One of the best written and most creative books I've ever read.
NB it's a bit of a J curve in terms of its pacing
NB it's a bit of a J curve in terms of its pacing
The timestamp came up wrong for me - key bit starts around 28:00.
100% agree @alicefraser.bsky.social, amazingly raw and honest words 👏👏
100% agree @alicefraser.bsky.social, amazingly raw and honest words 👏👏
December 26, 2025 at 6:46 PM
The timestamp came up wrong for me - key bit starts around 28:00.
100% agree @alicefraser.bsky.social, amazingly raw and honest words 👏👏
100% agree @alicefraser.bsky.social, amazingly raw and honest words 👏👏
He's basically a flesh and blood LLM at this point - just spitting out a statistically likely response to a prompt. That response may or may not bear any relation to reality.
"The suspect is in custody" is a typical thing for a president in this situation to say, so he said it
"The suspect is in custody" is a typical thing for a president in this situation to say, so he said it
December 14, 2025 at 1:08 AM
He's basically a flesh and blood LLM at this point - just spitting out a statistically likely response to a prompt. That response may or may not bear any relation to reality.
"The suspect is in custody" is a typical thing for a president in this situation to say, so he said it
"The suspect is in custody" is a typical thing for a president in this situation to say, so he said it
I know this is about 127th on the list of objectionable things here but if you're doing many things, you're more or less by definition not focused
December 11, 2025 at 7:34 PM
I know this is about 127th on the list of objectionable things here but if you're doing many things, you're more or less by definition not focused
Australian here, we have mandatory voting and it's our best *protection* against voter suppression.
It's very hard for a govt to make it hard for you to vote when they themselves have told you that you have to.
Move elections to weekends while you're at it
It's very hard for a govt to make it hard for you to vote when they themselves have told you that you have to.
Move elections to weekends while you're at it
November 15, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Australian here, we have mandatory voting and it's our best *protection* against voter suppression.
It's very hard for a govt to make it hard for you to vote when they themselves have told you that you have to.
Move elections to weekends while you're at it
It's very hard for a govt to make it hard for you to vote when they themselves have told you that you have to.
Move elections to weekends while you're at it
The best English translation of the final six words of Goethe's Faust is basically the original German reprinted, plus about a page of footnotes. There simply isn't a concise way of saying it in English
October 31, 2025 at 10:08 PM
The best English translation of the final six words of Goethe's Faust is basically the original German reprinted, plus about a page of footnotes. There simply isn't a concise way of saying it in English
Absolutely! Both had their own take on it
October 14, 2025 at 2:14 AM
Absolutely! Both had their own take on it
Not Wagner for that specifically. There are a bunch of Ring Cycle references in LOTR apart from the Ring itself - eg the reforging of the ancestor's broken sword - but Gandalf's name is not one of them.
Wagner's Ring is a hugely rich work in its own right, even if Wagner was a world class arsehole
Wagner's Ring is a hugely rich work in its own right, even if Wagner was a world class arsehole
October 14, 2025 at 12:08 AM
Not Wagner for that specifically. There are a bunch of Ring Cycle references in LOTR apart from the Ring itself - eg the reforging of the ancestor's broken sword - but Gandalf's name is not one of them.
Wagner's Ring is a hugely rich work in its own right, even if Wagner was a world class arsehole
Wagner's Ring is a hugely rich work in its own right, even if Wagner was a world class arsehole
???
There's no Gandalf in Wagner's Ring, though there is (rather more obviously) a cursed Ring of Power
There's no Gandalf in Wagner's Ring, though there is (rather more obviously) a cursed Ring of Power
October 13, 2025 at 11:52 PM
???
There's no Gandalf in Wagner's Ring, though there is (rather more obviously) a cursed Ring of Power
There's no Gandalf in Wagner's Ring, though there is (rather more obviously) a cursed Ring of Power
Behold the majestic beauty of this same train station when viewed from the outside:
September 23, 2025 at 10:45 AM
Behold the majestic beauty of this same train station when viewed from the outside:
All the resources that life would need to evolve from scratch are already being used by existing life, which is exceptionally good at filling the available niches.
Any new form of life, with no chance to evolve defences against existing life forms, would get literally eaten alive immediately
Any new form of life, with no chance to evolve defences against existing life forms, would get literally eaten alive immediately
September 15, 2025 at 8:25 AM
All the resources that life would need to evolve from scratch are already being used by existing life, which is exceptionally good at filling the available niches.
Any new form of life, with no chance to evolve defences against existing life forms, would get literally eaten alive immediately
Any new form of life, with no chance to evolve defences against existing life forms, would get literally eaten alive immediately
Literally summertime
September 15, 2025 at 1:26 AM
Literally summertime
The Sheriff of the Rings
September 8, 2025 at 4:06 AM
The Sheriff of the Rings
They're also the crazy people's streets dickhead.
They're public streets. The public includes the crazy as well as the sane. Where else are they supposed to go if we don't provide shelter for them?
They're public streets. The public includes the crazy as well as the sane. Where else are they supposed to go if we don't provide shelter for them?
August 21, 2025 at 9:10 PM
They're also the crazy people's streets dickhead.
They're public streets. The public includes the crazy as well as the sane. Where else are they supposed to go if we don't provide shelter for them?
They're public streets. The public includes the crazy as well as the sane. Where else are they supposed to go if we don't provide shelter for them?
From a distance, it's beginning to look to me like they realised that they didn't need to actually burn down the Reichstag before they did the whole 'response to the burning of the Reichstag' bit
August 15, 2025 at 4:47 AM
From a distance, it's beginning to look to me like they realised that they didn't need to actually burn down the Reichstag before they did the whole 'response to the burning of the Reichstag' bit
Works the other way too - you can work out what your argument is by going through the process of writing it clearly.
This is why LLMs are so problematic - they can fake clarity for people who don't understand their own argument
This is why LLMs are so problematic - they can fake clarity for people who don't understand their own argument
July 26, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Works the other way too - you can work out what your argument is by going through the process of writing it clearly.
This is why LLMs are so problematic - they can fake clarity for people who don't understand their own argument
This is why LLMs are so problematic - they can fake clarity for people who don't understand their own argument
I think the PRC took over China some time ago already
May 15, 2025 at 3:07 AM
I think the PRC took over China some time ago already
All luggage contains spaces into which things can be inserted, therefore packing a suitcase is an explicitly sexual act
May 15, 2025 at 2:59 AM
All luggage contains spaces into which things can be inserted, therefore packing a suitcase is an explicitly sexual act
I suspect it's as simple as that they're a bunch of people who perceive anyone with talent, skills or training as threatening (b/c they might point out that they're wrong sometimes).
So they have gathered enough power to make those people feel unwelcome to the point that they leave
So they have gathered enough power to make those people feel unwelcome to the point that they leave
May 10, 2025 at 6:24 AM
I suspect it's as simple as that they're a bunch of people who perceive anyone with talent, skills or training as threatening (b/c they might point out that they're wrong sometimes).
So they have gathered enough power to make those people feel unwelcome to the point that they leave
So they have gathered enough power to make those people feel unwelcome to the point that they leave
The parliamentary LNP's problem now is that it is composed almost entirely of people who a) know intellectually that they need to seek out the Australian mainstream but b) also believe that the Australian mainstream is immoral and wrong.
Hard to see how they square that circle
Hard to see how they square that circle
May 4, 2025 at 11:42 PM
The parliamentary LNP's problem now is that it is composed almost entirely of people who a) know intellectually that they need to seek out the Australian mainstream but b) also believe that the Australian mainstream is immoral and wrong.
Hard to see how they square that circle
Hard to see how they square that circle