scratchee
@scratchee@feddit.uk
- Comment on Flights disrupted after Airbus discovers intense sun radiation could impact flight control data 2 weeks ago:
I think I read that the issue is relatively new thanks to a software update (speculation in another thread, so questionable veracity). So perhaps a change that wasn’t flawed by itself but by bad luck combined with this radiation sensitivity to make the issue significant.
But also solar flares are kind of rare, especially on the stronger end, so easy to imagine reliant on them sitting idle for years.
- Comment on I respect choice for the name of the game 2 weeks ago:
I understand now you’re focused on an academic definition in the game theory sense, personally I don’t think this has much utility in considering actual games, but I’ll acknowledge that by that definition you’re probably correct. I suspect by that most “AIs” in games wouldn’t pass the bar of counting as an agent, even generous definitions that would accept a flow chart would probably concider most AIs to be part of the game state rather than another player (eg the nazi soldiers in wolfenstein aren’t playing to win, they’re set dressing for you to kill). The opponents in Civ are more likely to count as agents perhaps.
- Comment on I respect choice for the name of the game 2 weeks ago:
AIs in games are just flow charts, that’s almost universally true, almost nobody has put an actual maximiser in a game. But I suppose maybe that counts if you’re feeling very generous.
The map in pressure wash simulator is certainly not dynamic as you describe, I was speaking a little sarcastically, but you could call it asynchronous gameplay, it was crafted by the developer anticipating your play. but no, it cannot respond to the players actual decisions.
- Comment on I respect choice for the name of the game 2 weeks ago:
Depends if you define game ais as “agents”, otherwise your definition of game only allows multiplayer games.
Or you could say the opposing agent in powerwash simulator is the map itself, their “win condition” is overwhelming you with dirt and hiding it in weird places.
As someone who hates multiplayer games (minus coop games I play with friends, but coop breaks your definition too) I am bemused to discover I have never actually played games except maybe back as a kid when I played goldeneye and the couple times I might have played lol or similar before concluding it was crap 😄
Maybe a better definition of “game” is needed. I suspect the underlying point you’re trying to make is that this game requires no skill and is therefore little more than a Skinner box, that’s a valid criticism in my book.
- Comment on The Patent Office Is About To Make Bad Patents Untouchable 2 weeks ago:
I largely agree, software patents are a joke for sure.
- Comment on I respect choice for the name of the game 2 weeks ago:
FPS games are the same, just repeated finding and clicking on things.
- Comment on The Patent Office Is About To Make Bad Patents Untouchable 2 weeks ago:
Rectangle is obviously the standard shape of phone and had been since before mobile phones basically.
Rounding of corners is standard engineering practice, sharp edges are a weak point, rounding them off increases the overall strength.
What is described is not aesthetics or ornamentation, it’s an engineering imperative obvious in airplane windows, car windows, diaries (many have their corners rounded anticipating wear and tear), pockets (many pockets are rounded off instead of sharply square to prevent the corner failing).
Apple could perhaps argue nobody had rounded the corners as much as they did in earlier phones, without further altering the design beyond a rectangle. But that shouldn’t give them such a wide patent, a narrow patent on the specific shape would be sufficient.
Another way to put this. If the shape you’re trying to patent has a css property dedicated to it (corner-radius) it may not be sufficiently specific.
- Comment on UK hospitals bracing for once-in-a-decade flu surge this winter 3 weeks ago:
Seems like they would have to prepare for it more often than it comes, given their predictive models are imperfect, so that makes sense.
- Comment on In 750 deprived areas of England, healthy supervised breakfasts are being prototyped in Primary Schools with government funding before a full rollout. 3 weeks ago:
Same rule as long running meetings, actually. Could call it the unified law of mandatory snacks.
- Comment on The Economist on using phrenology for hiring and lending decisions: "Some might argue that face-based analysis is more meritocratic" […] "For people without access to credit, that could be a blessing" 4 weeks ago:
Indeed, I was channeling Captain Swing, well spotted!
- Comment on The Economist on using phrenology for hiring and lending decisions: "Some might argue that face-based analysis is more meritocratic" […] "For people without access to credit, that could be a blessing" 4 weeks ago:
I really must commend you for overcoming your natural murderous inclinations and managing to become a useful member of society despite the depression in your front lobe. Keep resisting those dark temptations!
- Comment on xkcd #3165: Earthquake Prediction Flowchart 5 weeks ago:
I visited Iceland a couple years ago, loved the way everyone in Iceland discusses geology be default the same way we in the uk discuss the weather.
Possibly that was partly because blue lagoon was directly over a predicted eruption at the time 🤷♂️
- Comment on 5 weeks ago:
They ruled the planet for 150 million years and didn’t ruin the environment once ? What are they even doing?
We’re clearly superior, who else could speed run the mass extinction end game?
- Comment on Three prisoners charged with murder of child killer Kyle Bevan 5 weeks ago:
I prefer the monsters locked in cells forever. Not for the monsters sake of course, but for the rest of us. It’s the final proof that we’re better than the worst we could be, if we refuse to ever execute anyone when there’s an alternative. Thankfully they’re rare enough that we can afford to lock them all up and treat them “well”.
Needless to say, execution by fellow inmate isn’t good enough, I want us to be better than that.
The n the other hand, fuck that guy, I largely agree with your sentiment, if not the result.
- Comment on The Great Firewall: Massive data leak reveals the inner workings of China's censorship regime 5 weeks ago:
Sadly ai didn’t invent that annoying trend, they learnt it from shitty web articles designed to maximise eyes on ads from before ai. Rather than ai shit, it’s just ai regurgitated human shit, which is not any more tasty of course.
- Comment on same, honestly 5 weeks ago:
Tldr: drones/uavs spook bears, probably not a good tool for bear based science, or indeed for anyone else to observe bears.
- Comment on What's your favorite case of a game making fun of you? 5 weeks ago:
Outer wilds, if you manage to
Tap for spoiler
Break the universe
You get the end credits but with a kazoo rendition.
Like, “well done dipshit, I guess this is the end”.
- Comment on MPs urge minister to adopt definition of Islamophobia amid rise in hate crime 5 weeks ago:
Assault is already a generic crime. But random assaults whilst serious are just a form of crime that hurts the country a bit but not a lot (individuals might get badly hurt, but a low level of assaults is just a nuisance from a societal level).
But hate crime is different, hate crimes beget hate crimes, and even a low level can grow rapidly, and once you have a racial/religious/whatever conflict you’re stuck with that for a few generations, so hate crimes are incredibly dangerous for society, so get stomped on very hard.
That’s the theory anyway.
- Comment on NHS makes morning-after pill available for free across pharmacies in England 1 month ago:
Yeah, that matches my understanding.
- Comment on NHS makes morning-after pill available for free across pharmacies in England 1 month ago:
Depends on your specific denomination of pro-life. I think some consider even the morning after pill to be a form of abortion.
But yeah, for everyone else it’s a definite win, including the less extremist pro-life crowd.
Tldr: a very hard change to hate, but of course the most hateful people will manage to somehow.
- Comment on Show your pride 1 month ago:
In everyday context yes, but it’s pretty common to use “colour” to refer to frequency outside the visible range, and it’s interesting to consider what interesting “colours” we are missing out on because they’re outside our visible range.
Silver/grey implies even response across the spectrum, and is the normal expectation.
If we couldn’t see yellow (red/green) then gold would presumably look silver to us, so are there silver/grey metals that would have an interesting colour if only we could see it?
- Comment on I'm fine with being stupid 1 month ago:
If you’re free to put the center vertex anywhere, then I’d think you could position it to avoid that…
- Comment on London woman’s £150 fine for pouring coffee down street drain revoked 1 month ago:
In this country our sewage and drainage are largely combined in the same sewers (we built the system before anyone had the idea of separating them, and now can’t afford to fix it), so hard to believe it could cause any problems, probably just improved the flavour of the broth a little
- Comment on Rachel Reeves ‘plots tax raid on solicitors and GPs in crackdown on UK’s wealthy’ 1 month ago:
Serious answer: the actually wealthy are too good at tax dodging, so taxing them is rarely effective, plus they can scare governments by threatening to fly their private jets to some other country if they were actually threatened with effective taxation.
I’ve heard it claimed that the only effective way to run a wealth tax is to do a single massive one off tax with no warning or lead time, that way the
cockroacheswealthy can’t run and hide in the woodwork quickly enough. - Comment on VPN Comparison 2.0 2 months ago:
The age is useful when considering risk of enshitificarion. A well established and respected vpn has probably figured out how to run profitably, and will probably only go to shit after being sold out or a similar major internal upset, a 3 month old vpn may be offering below cost deals to undercut (or just catch up with) the market whilst the startup funding lasts, in which case they’ll have no choice but to start turning the screws once they have some customers
- Comment on ba bum tsst 2 months ago:
Ankle [eeoh] sore [us]
De-emphasising the bracketed bits
- Comment on EU Chat Control didnt pass - proving the media got to alot of you 2 months ago:
The difference between a fascist government and a democratic government can be distressingly thin, something we should all be aware of by now.
In this case, the EU has just proven it is currently on the right side of that divide. When extremely unpopular and authoritarian ideas were considered, the public felt able to voice their disapproval and the government felt they had to listen. That is a crucial step. Good for you all.
Sadly it likely will continue to require major work to keep the public on guard against future attempts like this one, but that’s life.
- Comment on crop candles 2 months ago:
I admit that when you said “big fan” I imagined a wind turbine in reverse.
Zooming into the picture, I see it’s more like desk fans on sticks. I’m sure they’re bigger than that really, but is it really too much to ask for a windmill that does work that way?
- Comment on Flock Safety and Texas Sheriff Claimed License Plate Search Was for a Missing Person. It Was an Abortion Investigation. 2 months ago:
Humans are brains in a fleshy spaceship. If there’s no brain then there’s no human, just an empty meat sack.
- Comment on Google Confirms Non-ADB APK Installs Will Require Developer Registration 2 months ago:
Agreed