Joseph Chu
@josephlchu.bsky.social
Things outside our control, make us who we are. To that extent, deserving good or evil doesn't make sense. We are just particles dancing in chaos.
To the extent that happiness is better than suffering, we should act with kindness. We should strive to be what we want to see more of in the universe.
To the extent that happiness is better than suffering, we should act with kindness. We should strive to be what we want to see more of in the universe.
October 2, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Things outside our control, make us who we are. To that extent, deserving good or evil doesn't make sense. We are just particles dancing in chaos.
To the extent that happiness is better than suffering, we should act with kindness. We should strive to be what we want to see more of in the universe.
To the extent that happiness is better than suffering, we should act with kindness. We should strive to be what we want to see more of in the universe.
The first trace of awareness is that the world is more than what we can see and hear. So much happens that is outside of our understanding. You'll never know a billion things, the experiences of others, their stories and dreams.
I wish I could know and understand the tragic beauty of every story.
I wish I could know and understand the tragic beauty of every story.
October 2, 2025 at 2:57 PM
The first trace of awareness is that the world is more than what we can see and hear. So much happens that is outside of our understanding. You'll never know a billion things, the experiences of others, their stories and dreams.
I wish I could know and understand the tragic beauty of every story.
I wish I could know and understand the tragic beauty of every story.
It is super easy to fall through the cracks of the mental health system.
October 1, 2025 at 6:17 PM
It is super easy to fall through the cracks of the mental health system.
On a lark, I tried inputting 3 of my short stories into various chatbots and asking if they were any good. Generally got positive answers, but when I asked specifically for a rating out of 10, they were between 5.5 and 7.5, mostly around 7, which, adjusting for sycophancy, probably means mediocre.
October 1, 2025 at 1:53 PM
On a lark, I tried inputting 3 of my short stories into various chatbots and asking if they were any good. Generally got positive answers, but when I asked specifically for a rating out of 10, they were between 5.5 and 7.5, mostly around 7, which, adjusting for sycophancy, probably means mediocre.
Life updates: Toddler mostly eats bread and refuses many foods. Wife is super busy with her work and I'm doing more of the cooking to help alleviate her stress. Playing Stardew Valley with the wife again is nice. The task list is moving super slowly, but at least it's moving again. Low energy.
October 1, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Life updates: Toddler mostly eats bread and refuses many foods. Wife is super busy with her work and I'm doing more of the cooking to help alleviate her stress. Playing Stardew Valley with the wife again is nice. The task list is moving super slowly, but at least it's moving again. Low energy.
One of the reasons I sometimes post here is that I don't have many IRL friends and family following me here, unlike on Facebook, where lots of IRL people are. Thus, I find I can just sorta say what's on my mind here in a way that I can't elsewhere. I'm basking in obscurity as it were.
October 1, 2025 at 1:45 PM
One of the reasons I sometimes post here is that I don't have many IRL friends and family following me here, unlike on Facebook, where lots of IRL people are. Thus, I find I can just sorta say what's on my mind here in a way that I can't elsewhere. I'm basking in obscurity as it were.
I decided to change my handle and username back for now. It's possible there are old mentions and links that I don't want to break.
September 20, 2025 at 4:59 PM
I decided to change my handle and username back for now. It's possible there are old mentions and links that I don't want to break.
I changed my handle and cut my lastname from my profile so that it's harder for potential recruiters and folks to Google me and discover how much of an idiot I am.
September 19, 2025 at 4:45 PM
I changed my handle and cut my lastname from my profile so that it's harder for potential recruiters and folks to Google me and discover how much of an idiot I am.
Life is music. It has its crescendos and decrescendos, its moments of rest and staccato, and its message is not in words but in the impressions we feel as we experience it.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Wfa...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Wfa...
Satie - Gymnopédie No. 1
YouTube video by Rousseau
www.youtube.com
September 4, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Life is music. It has its crescendos and decrescendos, its moments of rest and staccato, and its message is not in words but in the impressions we feel as we experience it.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Wfa...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Wfa...
I should be more grateful for what I have. Things are objectively not that bad. I just, sometimes, get into a dark place that's hard to reason out of. Most of the time I just don't post when that happens, but for some reason I decided to do so recently.
I should count my blessings. Life is dreams.
I should count my blessings. Life is dreams.
August 29, 2025 at 6:08 PM
I should be more grateful for what I have. Things are objectively not that bad. I just, sometimes, get into a dark place that's hard to reason out of. Most of the time I just don't post when that happens, but for some reason I decided to do so recently.
I should count my blessings. Life is dreams.
I should count my blessings. Life is dreams.
I want to save the world, and yet I can't even save myself.
August 23, 2025 at 1:58 PM
I want to save the world, and yet I can't even save myself.
Words are rarely an adequate reflection of the deeper emotional content in people's lives. By themselves, they don't do justice to the experiences and the conditions that exist.
August 22, 2025 at 2:08 AM
Words are rarely an adequate reflection of the deeper emotional content in people's lives. By themselves, they don't do justice to the experiences and the conditions that exist.
Having an acute medical condition that required an IV stuck in my arm for a week was annoying. Now the toddler is sick and home from daycare, so the job search is again on hiatus. It never ends.
I want to be positive and encouraging, but it's been hard recently.
I want to be positive and encouraging, but it's been hard recently.
August 21, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Having an acute medical condition that required an IV stuck in my arm for a week was annoying. Now the toddler is sick and home from daycare, so the job search is again on hiatus. It never ends.
I want to be positive and encouraging, but it's been hard recently.
I want to be positive and encouraging, but it's been hard recently.
I came up with a dumb D&D metaphor for myself. I'm basically a paladin with the stats of a wizard. Except not really because my INT isn't actually that high either, I just have points in lots of random and mostly useless Knowledge skills for some reason.
July 30, 2025 at 5:25 PM
I came up with a dumb D&D metaphor for myself. I'm basically a paladin with the stats of a wizard. Except not really because my INT isn't actually that high either, I just have points in lots of random and mostly useless Knowledge skills for some reason.
What does it matter? Despite everything, it seems like I still can't escape the nonsense of this world. Indecisiveness strikes again. Many directions, but nothing promising yet. Who am I to dream? Reality is regression to the mean. What is wisdom? Socrates was right (probably).
July 29, 2025 at 3:08 PM
What does it matter? Despite everything, it seems like I still can't escape the nonsense of this world. Indecisiveness strikes again. Many directions, but nothing promising yet. Who am I to dream? Reality is regression to the mean. What is wisdom? Socrates was right (probably).
A very slick, well presented video on AI risk and a particular scenario that's been gamed out by some experts. You may not agree with the AI hype or the exact timeline, but if you think ASI is even in theory possible someday, this is an interesting video to watch.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KVD...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KVD...
We’re Not Ready For Superintelligence
YouTube video by AI In Context
www.youtube.com
July 16, 2025 at 3:17 PM
A very slick, well presented video on AI risk and a particular scenario that's been gamed out by some experts. You may not agree with the AI hype or the exact timeline, but if you think ASI is even in theory possible someday, this is an interesting video to watch.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KVD...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KVD...
Thinking again about abandoning the world of jobs and dealing with people to become a full-time novel writer.
While I'm dreaming, I'd also consider being an indie game dev making my own games, but I'd need an artist, as I can't draw for the life of me.
While I'm dreaming, I'd also consider being an indie game dev making my own games, but I'd need an artist, as I can't draw for the life of me.
July 11, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Thinking again about abandoning the world of jobs and dealing with people to become a full-time novel writer.
While I'm dreaming, I'd also consider being an indie game dev making my own games, but I'd need an artist, as I can't draw for the life of me.
While I'm dreaming, I'd also consider being an indie game dev making my own games, but I'd need an artist, as I can't draw for the life of me.
Despite being a former AI research scientist, I've resisted actually using GenAI for my writing and coding. As a former AI person who still follows developments, I know how unreliable it can be, and I also take a certain amount of pride in my ability to perform these skills on my own.
July 9, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Despite being a former AI research scientist, I've resisted actually using GenAI for my writing and coding. As a former AI person who still follows developments, I know how unreliable it can be, and I also take a certain amount of pride in my ability to perform these skills on my own.
It's much easier to judge and criticize than it is to actually work at difficult challenges and face complex tradeoffs and try to actually make things work in a way that satisfies everyone. I learned this in my days in student government back in undergrad.
July 7, 2025 at 4:09 PM
It's much easier to judge and criticize than it is to actually work at difficult challenges and face complex tradeoffs and try to actually make things work in a way that satisfies everyone. I learned this in my days in student government back in undergrad.
One of the biggest differences between most fiction and real life is that in real life there are many possible reasons for things that happen, and it's almost impossible to know which one is actually the reason. In fiction, it's usually spelled out, but in reality, there's a lot more uncertainty.
June 30, 2025 at 5:28 PM
One of the biggest differences between most fiction and real life is that in real life there are many possible reasons for things that happen, and it's almost impossible to know which one is actually the reason. In fiction, it's usually spelled out, but in reality, there's a lot more uncertainty.
Life is feeling nervous about the toddler going to daycare.
June 24, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Life is feeling nervous about the toddler going to daycare.
Take things one step at a time, one day at a time. Focus on what you can reasonably do given the circumstances. Life is a million little moments put together. Cherish what you can. Let go of what you can't. The world will continue to spin regardless of what you do. Live your values. Don't look back.
June 18, 2025 at 1:20 AM
Take things one step at a time, one day at a time. Focus on what you can reasonably do given the circumstances. Life is a million little moments put together. Cherish what you can. Let go of what you can't. The world will continue to spin regardless of what you do. Live your values. Don't look back.
I'm more of an indoor cat, but the toddler really likes the outdoors, particularly playgrounds, parks, dogs, cars, leaves, and the moon. I've gotten more fresh air just strolling around the neighbourhood almost every day in the last year and a half than probably the prior decade.
June 16, 2025 at 1:15 AM
I'm more of an indoor cat, but the toddler really likes the outdoors, particularly playgrounds, parks, dogs, cars, leaves, and the moon. I've gotten more fresh air just strolling around the neighbourhood almost every day in the last year and a half than probably the prior decade.
In my weaker moments, I wish things could be different. But then I remember that I chose this path for reasons that still hold.
June 15, 2025 at 2:10 PM
In my weaker moments, I wish things could be different. But then I remember that I chose this path for reasons that still hold.