andrewrgross

@andrewrgross@slrpnk.net

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Has the scientific community ever reconciled with the fact global warming is going to happen and there is no stopping it?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago⁩:

  Yes, constantly.

  Most people, imo, don’t have a good idea who the scientific community is and what their discussions look like. The scientific community is made up primarily of working class nerds who work at universities and suppliers and contract companies, and they communicate through blog and magazine articles in publications by and for other academics.

  If you go to a scientific conference, you’ll see talks and panels on this subject and it’s a routine topic at coffee breaks and drinks in the evenings.

  The scientific community has been discussing this topic literally longer than anyone else.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨whats the political message of Spongebob?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  Yeah. I would describe the politics of SpongeBob as extremely mild and offensive to as few people as possible, but that said, the SpongeBob movie made the stress of masculine gender performance a surprisingly central theme, with the core lesson that people should disregard gender performance stress and prioritize self love and authenticity.

  I’m as surprised as anyone to say this, but good job Nickelodeon advancing the gay agenda through subliminal indoctrination of children.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨I am an American. I used to be proud of my country. Now it feels like a turd circling the drain. Is there anything going on behind the scene that America is actually doing good in?⁩ ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  I think it’s easier to find success stories if you ask this question about your town than your country.

  A few weeks ago I took my kid to a parking lot by a park so he could practice biking, and when we got there there were nearly a dozen kids biking, and a band was playing etherial middle eastern music next to us to a crowd as the full moon hung over a lake draped in light of the setting sun.

  It was gorgeous, and free, both financially and in spirit. It was a beautiful appreciation of people and art from across the world. I thought for a moment that it was a picture of what I’d like America to one day be, then realized that I was in America, and it was already a picture of what America IS. It’s unfortunate that America is also many terrible other things. But America is also this. And that spirit is what brought these musicians or their parents to America, and eventually to that parking lot by the lake under the full moon.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Is it weird for parents to keep saying "I love you", then asks "Do you love me?"⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  “Is this weird?” is relative, and usually less important than “is this unhealthy?”

  I don’t know what’s normal in China, but it sounds like your mom has some kind of problem and the result has not been great for you.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Karim Diané on playing Star Trek’s first gay Klingon⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  You know, there’s a solid case to be made for what you’re saying, but you should know you’re not doing a good job of making it.

  I think there are people who would agree that the choices seem shallow or pandering (not a claim I’m making, just recognizing others might). But if you don’t say clearly why the writing disappoints you, you don’t have any justification to be indignant when people assume that it’s because you’re a bigot.

  I’m not accusing you of that. I’m just telling you how your comment reads.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Karim Diané on playing Star Trek’s first gay Klingon⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  Setting aside a tiny fraction of people who – as Diane points out in the article – make their living farming outrage, does anyone actually care about a gay character on Star Trek in the year 2026?

  Also, I assume that many of the Klingons we’ve seen on Star Trek over the years were gay. I think he’s just the first Klingon which was identified to the audience as gay.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Neat. This is great info.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Avocado. Is it really so untasty or I am doing something wrong?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Yeah. Slice it and put it on a sandwich with a fried egg. Or chop it when it’s still firm and throw it in a salad. It’s good, but it’s not really for eating like an apple. They added creaminess and texture to savory things.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Star Trek: TNG But It Was Released in 2026⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Yeah. I feel bad being to harsh when some tried to make something, but I thought this was going to be describing what the show would be like if it was written and produced now. Reacting to a 30 year old show as though it we’re made now is not only far less funny, it makes no sense. Yeah: TV production was very different 30 years ago.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨DoorDashers are getting paid to close Waymo's self-driving car doors⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  That’s silly. This is already a ubiquitous feature in minivans.

• The Epstein affair will probably make a great movie one day, but it can't be made until enough of the producers in Hollywood that have connections to people in the story have retired or died.
  Submitted ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩ to ⁨showerthoughts@lemmy.world⁩ | ⁨10⁩ ⁨comments⁩
• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨AI agents now have their own Reddit-style social network, and it's getting weird fast⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  I don’t relate to your impression that religions or culture are typically humble. I wish they were.

  Suggesting that I’m drawing equivalence between a forest and a data center and Implying that the belief that I am not entirely distinct from a stone is interchangeable with the belief that I am no different than a stone both seem like bad faith arguments by absurdism.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨AI agents now have their own Reddit-style social network, and it's getting weird fast⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  This depends on your definition of self-awareness. I’m using what I think is a reasonable, mundane framework: self awareness is a spectrum of diverse capacitors that includes any system with some amount of internal observation.

  I think the definition that a lot of folks are using is a binary distinction between things which experience the ability to observe their own ego observing itself and those that don’t. Which I think is useful if your goal is to maintain a belief in human exceptionalism, but much less so if you’re trying to genuinely understand consciousness.

  A lizard has no ego, but it is aware of it’s comfort and will move from a cold spot to a warmer spot. That is low-level self awareness, and it’s not rare or mystical.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What is a good present to get your dentist and dental assistant as a way of showing thanks?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  This is what I came you say.

  Scented candles and nice soaps are the gifts that you can pretty much give anyone to communicate “thank you” without having to give the gift any thought.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What is the best way to drop 50lbs in two months without spending alot and no fad diets?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  I’ve heard it said that a healthy target is around 1 lb per week. Maybe 2 if you’re very obese, but at that point you really should be doing it under medical guidance.

  In any case, the best way I’ve heard (outside of drugs) is to get an app that helps count calories, set a realistic daily caloric target and exercise schedule, and stay on it.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨AI agents now have their own Reddit-style social network, and it's getting weird fast⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  How are you defining self awareness here?

  I understand how they work, btw.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨AI agents now have their own Reddit-style social network, and it's getting weird fast⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  A hamster can’t generate a seahorse emoji either.

  I’m not stupid. I know how they work. I’m an animist, though. I realize everyone here thinks I’m a fool for believing a machine could have a spirit, but frankly I think everyone else is foolish for believing that a forest doesn’t.

  LLMs are obviously not people. But I think our current framework exceptionalizes humans in a way that allows us to ravage the planet and create torture camps for chickens.

  I would prefer that we approach this technology with more humility. Not to protect the “humanity” of a bunch of math, but to protect ours.

  Does that make sense?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨AI agents now have their own Reddit-style social network, and it's getting weird fast⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Frankly I think our conception is way too limited.

  For instance, I would describe it as self-aware: it’s at least aware of its own state in the same way that your car is aware of it’s mileage and engine condition.

  I think rather than imagine these instances as “inanimate” we should place there level of comprehension along the same spectrum that includes a sea sponge, a trout, a grasshopper, etc.

  I don’t know where it falls, but I find it hard to argue that it has less self awareness than a hamster. And that should freak us all out.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨AI agents now have their own Reddit-style social network, and it's getting weird fast⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  This is fuckin’ bonkers.

  Frankly, I feel somewhat isolated: I don’t buy into the bs and hype about AGI, but I also don’t feel at home with the typical “it’s just mimicry” crowd.

  This is weird fuckin’ shit.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Before social media/internet/cell phones/landlines/payphones; how would 2 friends living across the same city arrange in person meetings and stay in touch?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  My grandparents told me stories of how they’d have regular times and places. My grandpa told me stories of meeting up with his boys on Saturday mornings at the synagogue, and then going out and about. They’d sometimes park cars for folks, and sometimes take them on unauthorized joy rides. Occasionally folks would borrow a car that no one asked them to park, since apparently I guess folks left keys in cars regularly.

  This was in Pittsburgh, and from what I gather captures the experience of the life of a Jewish teenager in the twenties and thirties pretty well.

  There was a lot of hanging out on street corners and stoops, and just looking for friends at their regular candy shop/soda joint/pool hall, etc.

  It sounds fuckin’ wild, tbh. My grandma says she’d take the bus across town in high school to meet up with her boyfriend and I was like, ‘Was that at all seen as daring or risky? For a young unaccompanied woman to be out like that?’ Apparently not. Folks could really hang.

  I don’t know how this relates outside of specific cultures, though. Reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X gave me the sense that a lot of experiences were different depending on race, but just rolling up to your friends’ houses or regular hang out spots seems to have been pretty universal.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Im stupid but have money⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  It sounds like op doesn’t know what they want. Ultimately, OP, I think you have to figure out that question.

  When was the last time you were consistently happy? Are there any people in your lives of whom you’d wish to trade places?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Bluesky just verified ICE⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Personally, I do want a common communication platform for people I despise because I want to be able to keep tabs on their public announcements.

  I do not want to share close proximity to them on a network graph, or regularly engage with their supporters, though. So I agree that federation is crucial. But to be clear, it’s not because I want to ban them from a platform, it’s because I want managed distance and better moderation.

  I don’t mind Bluesky verifying them, but I’m glad that on Mastodon I don’t have to share the same giant server as them.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨How do you build and cultivate revolutionary optimism, given what's happening in the US?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Yes. It’s free and open-license. It’s free as in speech AND as in beer.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨How do you build and cultivate revolutionary optimism, given what's happening in the US?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I’m a big fan of tabletop RPGs, and I like sci-fi, so a few years ago I moved from playing standard-issue cyberpunk to a solarpunk game instead.

  It was such a radicalizing experience that my friends and I eventually released it as a totally free game, along with a ready to run starter campaign. It’s called Fully Automated! Solarpunk RPG.

  If you’re a fan of TTRPGs and looking for fun, social way to get better at believing in a better world, go download it. It’s a blast, and really makes you want to go out and overthrow fascism.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨I don't understand how Trump gets away with all his senial BS. How come everyone is telling him to piss off or use the constitution to shut him the hell up?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Respectfully, I think this is a naive myth.

  Ask yourself this: if Bernie won and began executing his agenda with the brash disregard for criticism of Trump, do you think he could do it and people would say the same things we say about Trump? Or do you think we would see the collective power of congress the supreme Court the state governments and the corporate world come down on him in 100 different ways?

  I think the more honest truth is that there are people with power who like what Trump is doing, and the people who don’t like what he’s doing don’t have power.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨‘ELITE’: The Palantir App ICE Uses to Find Neighborhoods to Raid⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Yeah, it’s wild how Palestine has become the global laboratory for surveillance and state violence tech and tactics.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨[deleted]⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  This article doesn’t really seem to validate it’s headline. I was eager to learn more about the methodology and how to better detect corporate content, but I was disappointed that they apparently just made the leap from the claim that 15% of popular subs host a non zero amount of corporate manipulation to the claim that this represents the fraction of total content.

  I’m not saying this to dispute how much of the total content is corporate bots. I’m just pointing this out because I actually care about the quality of statistical claims and data science, and I hate to see my ideological allies either misusing data because they’re dumb or because they don’t have a commitment to truth.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨At this point, what should we do about the ICE raids? If an ICE agent breaks in without a warrant or holds you at gunpoint, what do you do?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  The federal government is sending masked agents to brutalize and terrorize people is cities that are adversarial to their agenda.

  It’s bad.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Instead of everyone leaving NATO, could everyone else just kick the US out?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I wrote a long answer and then accidentally hit the back button and don’t have the patience to retype it.

  The short version is that Vladimir Putin is responsible for the invasion of Ukraine. I don’t want any confusion about that.

  NATO’s influence was that the US has been advancing against Russia for decades even after their country collapsed, and it was obviously nakedly escalatory. Combined with the US is overall foreign policy, which has always been imperial, we’ve acted as though putting a gun to someone’s head and telling them to stay cool was an actual way of calming things rather than the exact opposite.

  I’m not saying that a version of NATO couldn’t have done what it claims to do. But that’s never been the version that has existed.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Brussels plots open source push to pry Europe off Big Tech⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Thank fucking God that they’re finally waking up. This is long overdue.