snek_boi

@snek_boi@lemmy.ml

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What are your approaches to donating?⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  There’s actually research on this. There are groups of people that donate more than others. There are two groups of people that really matter for this: people who have protection values and people who have democratic values.

  People with protection values care about themselves and their people (their family, their clan, their tribe, their religion, their nation). People with democratic values care about humans in general, regardless of their religion, nationality, what family they come from, etc.

  So, who donates more money? People with democratic values.

  You can check out Christian Welzel’s Freedom Rising for more on this :)

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Why are ghosts never racist?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  Ghosts are the creation of our minds. And it turns out that our minds are flawed machines. This was shown by someone and they won a Nobel Prize for it (Daniel Kahnemann). Turns out, that flawed machinery is precisely why ghosts aren’t racist.

  When you think of something, you run a simplified simulation of the world. When you run these simulations, you don’t think about other things. For example, when people fantasize about achieving something, they usually run the simulation of having gotten the job and the money or having solved the tough problem. However, they usually don’t think about the path to achieving that goal. This is called the planning fallacy. It’s also called the Motivation Wave in Behavior Design.

  Another example of these simplified simulations is the halo effect. The halo effect starts when you notice something good about someone. Maybe they’re attractive. Maybe they’re on your same team or political group or religion or whatever. The thing is that you end up building a good preconception of that person. You assume they’re kind and smart and many other positive things. Again, your mind is running a simplified simulation. Even if you notice bad stuff about the other person, you may ignore it because our mind is a flawed machine and it’s stuck with the idea that the other person is good.

  So, how do simplified simulations lead to non-racist ghosts? Well, we all share an idea of what a ghost is. We tell each other ghost stories or we watch movies with ghosts in them. All of that feeds the simplified simulations we run when we think of ghosts. And we don’t include racism in those simulations.

  This doesn’t mean that we can’t escape simplified simulations. This is a tough problem that many people have tried to solve in many different ways. These attempts have resulted in an arsenal of methods: psychological flexibility exercises, mental contrasting, pre-mortems, the Delphi method, red team blue team exercises, weak signal detection, etc. Notice that all of these tools try to transform our preconceptions.

  Of course, a very simple way of transforming our preconceptions is to prove them wrong. I suppose in the case of non-racist ghosts, it’s a matter of creating racist ghosts. This project, however, brings up the old adage: just because you can doesn’t mean you should.

  If you’re interested in simplified simulations, I recommend Lisa Feldman Barret’s books. You can also check out Daniel Kahnemann, Gary Klein, and Dave Snowden.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Hertz, showing the difference between science and engineering⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  This post tickles a fond memory of mine. I was talking to a right-wing libertarian, and he said there should be no research done ever if it couldn’t prove beforehand its practical applications. I laughed out loud because I knew how incredibly ignorant and ridiculous that statement was. He clearly had never picked up a book on the history of science, on the history of

  • electromagnetism (it would be a shame if the poor libertarian didn’t have a generator nearby when his eyes were being operated on with LASIK; generators are a technology built by basic research that didn’t have practical applications in mind)
  • quantum mechanics (it would be a shame if the poor libertarian didn’t have semiconductors in his phone, or if he didn’t have access to lasers for his LASIK surgery, both of which are technologies built by basic research that didn’t have practical applications in mind)
  • superconductivity (it would be a shame if the poor libertarian didn’t have superconductors for an MRI if he ever needs it, a technology built by basic research that didn’t have practical applications in mind)
  • radio waves (it would be a shame if the poor libertarian didn’t have radio waves for his phone and computer’s wifi and bluetooth to run his digital business, technologies built by basic research that didn’t have practical applications in mind)
  • X-rays (it would be a shame if the poor libertarian didn’t have x-rays to check the inside of his body in case something went wrong, a technology built by basic research that didn’t have practical applications in mind)
• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Driving through Nebraska twice nearly broke me. The people who live there must be among the hardest motherfuckers alive.⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  This sounds interesting. I’m just not sure it’s a shower thought. Is it?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Are most people who avoid turn signals do it to feel more normal? (Imitating their parents, avoiding perceived stupidity of using turn signals when it seems useless, etc)⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  People do or don’t do things depending on three variables: motivation to do it, the ability to do it, and the prompt to do it.

  • Motivation could be lacking in some cases. People need to understand the purpose of turn signals. However, I don’t think there’s an anti-turn signal discourse going around. At least as far as I know.
  • I don’t think it’s ability, because activating turn signals is relatively easy for most people.
  • I think prompts could also be lacking.

  How do we change this?

  The Behavior Design answer would be something like this: We need to patiently and kindly train people to recognize prompts to the turn signals. “When you get to the corner, put your left hand on the turn-signal control and move it up. Then turn right.” We also need to celebrate it the instant they do it. “Perfect”. Of course, you need to have a good relationship with whomever you’re doing this with.

  Now, that is not the only solution; there are many. We might have one solution if we zoom in on one person. We might have another solution if we zoom out to a whole city or country.

  In any case, if we want to solve the problem with Behavior Design, you could check out Tiny Habits.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨How good are amphetamines for brain fog?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Besides talking to a doctor, would she be against doing cognitive training?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What's going on with Borderlands 2? Steam is giving it for free, but the game has 23% positive recent reviews.⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Interesting. So the terms of service have not changed, and yet people are saying that they did. I wonder if there are criticisms that are still valid. For example, the terms of service that you linked:

  • do not let me use a VPN (¶6.4)
  • do not let me use glitches (¶6.4)
  • do not let me own the game but instead give me a limited license to it (¶2.1-2.2)
  • do not inform you about updates to their terms of service (¶10.2)
  • force me to enter arbitration and do not let me be part of a class action lawsuit or have a trial by jury (¶17.5)
  • link to their privacy policy, which:
    • does not let me opt out of having my data bought, merged, and sold through ad networks or data brokers (§ Categories of Information Collected, § How We Use Information and Our Legal Grounds, § Sources of Information We Collect, and § When We Share Information ¶ 5— all sources combined)
    • does not attempt to deliberately minimize data collection to protect user data (with the only exception of children’s data, their purposes are extremely vague § How We Use Information and Our Legal Grounds, they do not anonymize data, and they broadly do not make the attempt to do so— I cannot provide a citation because there is no attempt to do this in their privacy policy)
    • does not specify the purposes of gathering and using information about any installed application on my device (§ Categories of Information Collected)
    • does not let me opt-out of data collection categories for specific purposes (cannot give a direct citation because they simply do not do it; instead, they wrote vague types of information they collect —such as “details about… other information related to installed applications” in § Categories of Information Collected, as well as vague purposes in § How We Use Information)
• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What grass starvation does to the perma-online⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  It seems like you really don’t like it. What makes you say that?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨The IRS Tax Filing Software TurboTax Is Trying to Kill Just Got Open Sourced⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  The problem you’re describing (open sourcing critical software) could both increase the capabilities of adversaries and also make it easier for adversaries to search for exploits. Open sourcing defeats security by obscurity.

  Leaving security by obscurity aside could be seen as a loss, but it’s important to note what is gained in the process. Most security researchers today advocate against relying on security by obscurity, and instead focus on security by design and open security. Why?

  Security by obscurity in the digital world is very easily defeated. It’s easy to copy and paste supposedly secure codes. It’s easy to smuggle supposedly secret code. “Today’s NSA secrets become tomorrow’s PhD theses and the next day’s hacker tools.”

  So what’s the alternative? If you can’t secure some and hack others, you’ve got to choose between insecurity for all or security for all. If you rely on security by design and open security for military equipment, it’s possible that adversaries will get a hold of the software, but the attack surface will be smaller than if relying on security by obscurity.

  So, insecurity for all or security for all? I’d go for security for all every time. I want my critical infrastructure without ransomware. I want tyrannical governments out of my private life. I want reliable software. If someone is waging a war, they’re going to have to use methods that can actually create a technical asymmetry of power, and insecure software is not the way to gain the upper hand.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨If AI was going to advance exponentially I'd of expected it to take off by now.⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Already happening youtu.be/evSFeqTZdqs

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Japan enacts the Active Cyberdefense Law, which permits the country's authorities to preemptively engage with adversaries through offensive cyber operations⁩ ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Omg I just squinted and saw the pirate ships. Thanks for your contribution.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨YSK You don't need Teflon pans for nonstick⁩ ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Same here, but with a different order.

  • Turn the heat on.
  • Wait
  • Test with water. If it doesn’t sizzle, wait and test again. If it does sizzles,
  • Add oil
• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨If Christians were real, they’d be lining up to post for their sins (not trying to avoid judgement).⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  How does being Christian destroy your sense of self?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨You know how fire trucks, ambulances, and cars all have strobe lights? Well, if you add up those lights, street by street, there is a single street on earth that has the most strobe lights.⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Indeed.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨You know how fire trucks, ambulances, and cars all have strobe lights? Well, if you add up those lights, street by street, there is a single street on earth that has the most strobe lights.⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  The more I think about it, the more it makes sense to have multiple categories. One of them definitely should be “Buildings count too”!

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨You know how fire trucks, ambulances, and cars all have strobe lights? Well, if you add up those lights, street by street, there is a single street on earth that has the most strobe lights.⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  A strong contender

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨You know how fire trucks, ambulances, and cars all have strobe lights? Well, if you add up those lights, street by street, there is a single street on earth that has the most strobe lights.⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Oops. Thanks for pointing this out! Strobe lights are a specific kind of flashing light, which is what I meant.

• You know how fire trucks, ambulances, and cars all have strobe lights? Well, if you add up those lights, street by street, there is a single street on earth that has the most strobe lights.
  Submitted ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩ to ⁨showerthoughts@lemmy.world⁩ | ⁨28⁩ ⁨comments⁩
• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨The key takeaway of science is that observation constitutes the primary reality.⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Which is why philosophers of science like Lee McIntyre do not use the scientific method as their basis for defining science. Instead, there’s a way to flip the strategy on its head: define science not by its method but by its attitude. Funnily enough, the attitude is precisely what the comment says: embrace empiricism; assume reality is real and we can understand it.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨The youtube algorithm is so bad, I say to my screen "why the fuck would I care about this!?" like 10 times a day.⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  It sounds like you think Lemmy is unusual in that sense. In reality, absolutely any moderation is political. Politics deals with the distribution of political goods, goods such as attention, relevance, access to distribution channels, discourses, approval… I know I probably sound reductive, but I’m simply being systematic and consistent in using words’ meanings.

  A like button distributes a political good. A chronological algorithm for a social media site distributes a political good. Saying the OP belongs to this community distributes a political good. So does saying that it doesn’t.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What causes individual variation in what animals you like?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  I’m so glad you like !snakes@lemmy.world.

  We have different thoughts and memories with different animals. We hear what people say and they can become our own thoughts. We live life and it becomes our own emotions.

  Sometimes the memories take charge of the ship and we’re in for the ride. Sometimes our thoughts take charge of the ship and we’re in for the ride.

  Mindfulness can help us choose, regardless of what our emotions or thoughts say or do.

  If I had to choose one book to recommend, maybe check out How Emotions are Made, by Lisa Feldman Barret. Read it and you’ll have clear answers to your questions and more.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Are there democratic countries whose democratic institutions survived an auto-coup attempt?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  If you look at the human empowerment model, it will all depend on whether the technological conditions, the educational resources, and the connective resources have gotten worse or not. If not, then people will mobilize and the massive protests will demand change, regardless of the government’s forceful opposition.

  The critical question is whether the institutions of a nation are more or less democratic than its people. The World Value Survey clearly shows that some people like hierarchy, strict gender roles that confine people into little boxes, and clearly-defined “me-versus-them” boundaries. Those people will not protest against dictatorships. The rest will.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨[deleted]⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  If you’re going to download it, try the torrent option! That way, you can give back to the community that gives you LibreOffice.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨my dreams in colour⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Please mark it as NSFW :)

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨You should know there's a font designed to make reading easier, especially for people with low vision. It's called Atkinson Hyperlegible Next. It's free for personal and commercial use.⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Thank you so much for taking the time to research and share you findings.

  As to Atkinson Hyperlegible, I suppose its merit could be, at most, making it harder to confuse characters. This blog post shows how Atkinson Hyperlegible makes it easy to distinguish:

  • Capital I, lowercase l, pipe |, numeral 1: I l | 1
  • Capital O, zero: O 0
  • Capital B, numeral 8: B 8

  Beyond these benefits (and as you mentioned), there is just not enough information on whether Atkinson Hyperlegible definitely helps or not.

  Also, thanks for the link on dyslexia. I suppose that, to an extent, promoting fonts like Open Dyslexia could lead to the unintended consequences described in the article.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨You should know there's a font designed to make reading easier, especially for people with low vision. It's called Atkinson Hyperlegible Next. It's free for personal and commercial use.⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I’m glad you found it useful.

  If you’re experimenting with fonts to see how they change comprehension, you could try Open Dyslexic too! It looks quite ugly, but it makes reading easier to me and another commenter on this thread. I suppose it’s a matter of testing what works best for you.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨You should know there's a font designed to make reading easier, especially for people with low vision. It's called Atkinson Hyperlegible Next. It's free for personal and commercial use.⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  That’s interesting. I’d love to know if you have the same experience on a desktop and with different font sizes.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨You should know there's a font designed to make reading easier, especially for people with low vision. It's called Atkinson Hyperlegible Next. It's free for personal and commercial use.⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I actually changed my Anki to OpenDyslexic a couple of months ago! I changed it again when Atkinson Hyperlegible Next came out, but I agree that OpenDyslexic makes reading a breeze.

  My only grievance with OpenDyslexic is that I don’t think I could send reports with this font without pushback. On the other hand, I have sent multiple reports using Atkinson Hyperlegible and nobody has ever said a thing.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨You should know there's a font designed to make reading easier, especially for people with low vision. It's called Atkinson Hyperlegible Next. It's free for personal and commercial use.⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  A couple of years ago I tried using the original Atkinson Hyperlegible (the one published a couple of years ago, before “Next”) on GNOME and my settings didn’t quite work. I had scaling at around 100% and increased the font size a little bit because I was having a hard time reading the font (the irony!). You inspired me to try again, but now with Atkinson Hyperlegible Next!

• You should know there's a font designed to make reading easier, especially for people with low vision. It's called Atkinson Hyperlegible Next. It's free for personal and commercial use.www.brailleinstitute.org ↗
  Submitted ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩ to ⁨youshouldknow@lemmy.world⁩ | ⁨93⁩ ⁨comments⁩