Nathan Wiles
@ntwiles.bsky.social
Talk to me about:
💻: ATProto, Rust, TypeScript, FP, architecture, language design.
🧠: Metacognition, neurochemistry, consciousness.
📚: Sci-Fi, literary fiction, postmodern lit and what comes next.
💻: ATProto, Rust, TypeScript, FP, architecture, language design.
🧠: Metacognition, neurochemistry, consciousness.
📚: Sci-Fi, literary fiction, postmodern lit and what comes next.
Henry Darger was a janitor who built a massive fantasy world with a strange mythology, illustrated with collages cut from magazines. His scenes alternated between serene/idyllic and graphically violent, with a plot centered on the "Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion."
Henry Darger - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
January 10, 2025 at 10:17 PM
Henry Darger was a janitor who built a massive fantasy world with a strange mythology, illustrated with collages cut from magazines. His scenes alternated between serene/idyllic and graphically violent, with a plot centered on the "Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion."
Terry Davis wrote and vlogged TempleOS, a years-long software development project to build an operating system that he saw to be a prophesied temple to the Abrahamic God. The project reflects both his impressive technical skill and his struggles with severe mental illness.
Terry A. Davis - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
January 10, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Terry Davis wrote and vlogged TempleOS, a years-long software development project to build an operating system that he saw to be a prophesied temple to the Abrahamic God. The project reflects both his impressive technical skill and his struggles with severe mental illness.
These are really good resources, thanks. Yeah it's funny, I've noticed a lot of these metrics seem to disproportionately select posters who appear to be off their meds.
January 5, 2025 at 8:40 PM
These are really good resources, thanks. Yeah it's funny, I've noticed a lot of these metrics seem to disproportionately select posters who appear to be off their meds.
I wasn’t the type to hoard my scans, but now I am.
January 5, 2025 at 7:12 AM
I wasn’t the type to hoard my scans, but now I am.
They don’t necessarily need to be private, sites could implement authentication systems to prove a real human is behind the keyboard. There’s precedent for that in other apps to varying degrees of success.
January 3, 2025 at 7:27 PM
They don’t necessarily need to be private, sites could implement authentication systems to prove a real human is behind the keyboard. There’s precedent for that in other apps to varying degrees of success.
LLMs are fascinating technology and have no end of valid, ethical uses. It awes me what humanity has discovered, and it makes me sad to see people calling AI itself a cancer.
We should be talking about how to integrate them into our culture ethically, not condemning. There will be growing pains.
We should be talking about how to integrate them into our culture ethically, not condemning. There will be growing pains.
January 3, 2025 at 7:15 PM
LLMs are fascinating technology and have no end of valid, ethical uses. It awes me what humanity has discovered, and it makes me sad to see people calling AI itself a cancer.
We should be talking about how to integrate them into our culture ethically, not condemning. There will be growing pains.
We should be talking about how to integrate them into our culture ethically, not condemning. There will be growing pains.
Fair enough, but I think it's important to realize that there are people who are not super educated on this but recognize it for the big issue it is and what to spread awareness. So they may not be forming their arguments to our standards (and I'm with you on that) but the attention is a good thing.
January 3, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Fair enough, but I think it's important to realize that there are people who are not super educated on this but recognize it for the big issue it is and what to spread awareness. So they may not be forming their arguments to our standards (and I'm with you on that) but the attention is a good thing.
I get the impression you just want to argue. Idk what to tell you at this point except that this is not good for the market and you should reconsider your position.
January 3, 2025 at 5:42 PM
I get the impression you just want to argue. Idk what to tell you at this point except that this is not good for the market and you should reconsider your position.
It's exactly the "mom and pop" sites you mentioned that I'm worried about. The idea here is that any service can pay ISPs for preferential treatment. They get bandwidth "lanes" that others can't use. It's a zero sum game that only the big dogs can play. So, yes, mom and pop can be affected strongly.
January 3, 2025 at 5:33 PM
It's exactly the "mom and pop" sites you mentioned that I'm worried about. The idea here is that any service can pay ISPs for preferential treatment. They get bandwidth "lanes" that others can't use. It's a zero sum game that only the big dogs can play. So, yes, mom and pop can be affected strongly.
I would say that this situation is exactly the reason behind the principle of charity, or "steel manning", which is more important than catching someone on a "gotcha".
Principle of charity - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
January 3, 2025 at 2:56 PM
I would say that this situation is exactly the reason behind the principle of charity, or "steel manning", which is more important than catching someone on a "gotcha".
No, but it aligns with the sentiment of the argument, that this can have devastating consequences for our access to services.
January 3, 2025 at 2:31 PM
No, but it aligns with the sentiment of the argument, that this can have devastating consequences for our access to services.
My understanding is that it’s not that Facebook would want to work only with Comcast, but that X might pay Comcast to prioritize requests to X, throttling requests to Facebook.
January 3, 2025 at 1:42 PM
My understanding is that it’s not that Facebook would want to work only with Comcast, but that X might pay Comcast to prioritize requests to X, throttling requests to Facebook.
Fair enough and well said. I just know that reading of difficult content (like the Joyce you invoked) is on the decline, which is sad, and it's helpful to support readers challenging themselves rather than disparaging that.
December 30, 2024 at 1:27 PM
Fair enough and well said. I just know that reading of difficult content (like the Joyce you invoked) is on the decline, which is sad, and it's helpful to support readers challenging themselves rather than disparaging that.
I think that’s a perspective in alignment with the overwhelming trend of instant gratification.
December 30, 2024 at 11:33 AM
I think that’s a perspective in alignment with the overwhelming trend of instant gratification.
I take real satisfaction from my projects and from my work. I do my projects because I can’t stop thinking about how fascinating they are until I finish them. I work hard for the satisfaction of seeing my finished work. YMMV, but that hardly makes it a scam.
December 26, 2024 at 8:00 PM
I take real satisfaction from my projects and from my work. I do my projects because I can’t stop thinking about how fascinating they are until I finish them. I work hard for the satisfaction of seeing my finished work. YMMV, but that hardly makes it a scam.
What did you think of Calvino? I have Invisible Cities on my to-read list.
December 26, 2024 at 3:29 AM
What did you think of Calvino? I have Invisible Cities on my to-read list.
Also I think it's funny/helpful that I can't make a post with the entire 400+ character quote, but I can post a screenshot and provide the entire quote as alt text.
December 24, 2024 at 7:37 PM
Also I think it's funny/helpful that I can't make a post with the entire 400+ character quote, but I can post a screenshot and provide the entire quote as alt text.
Outer Wilds fits the bill and is my favorite game I’ve ever played (not to be confused with Outer Worlds). 12 Minutes is another one that’s pretty good. Also seconding Braid.
December 23, 2024 at 12:35 AM
Outer Wilds fits the bill and is my favorite game I’ve ever played (not to be confused with Outer Worlds). 12 Minutes is another one that’s pretty good. Also seconding Braid.
I’m always a sucker for a good Feynman quote and this one is no exception.
December 21, 2024 at 8:19 PM
I’m always a sucker for a good Feynman quote and this one is no exception.
Bad wording but I think their point is that they would rather work out their own solution than implement and debug some known solution, which, felt.
December 20, 2024 at 9:51 PM
Bad wording but I think their point is that they would rather work out their own solution than implement and debug some known solution, which, felt.