tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post457973045600553810..comments2024-03-28T14:07:18.682-07:00Comments on CONTRARY BRIN: On the Rise of Artificial EntitiesDavid Brinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comBlogger210125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-49030829090872658222023-02-20T07:56:37.322-08:002023-02-20T07:56:37.322-08:00100 percent right it's a reality!100 percent right it's a reality<a href="https://www.bdsmquiz.co" rel="nofollow">!</a>nencyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07632874294909369623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-251085792254647562023-02-18T11:40:00.971-08:002023-02-18T11:40:00.971-08:00reducing blogging to once/week did that. I have t...reducing blogging to once/week did that. I have too many stored, now!<br /><br />onward<br /><br />onward<br /><br />David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-4232099269841977922023-02-18T10:01:54.672-08:002023-02-18T10:01:54.672-08:00Hey, it's been a long time since we passed 200...Hey, it's been a long time since we passed 200 comments on a post.Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-3823682143401793882023-02-18T09:04:07.846-08:002023-02-18T09:04:07.846-08:00PSB:
It sounds like it could have been a really e...PSB:<br /><i><br />It sounds like it could have been a really elaborate joke, but how would the programmers know this guy was going to do this?<br /></i><br /><br />The Cyclops theory sounds more and more plausible.Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-39471999400262467152023-02-18T07:28:55.208-08:002023-02-18T07:28:55.208-08:00I heard a funny story on the radio last night that...I heard a funny story on the radio last night that is actually relevant to the subject this time. Some guy just finished having Valentine's dinner with his wife, then decided to go harass Bing's new AI chatbot. He brought up the Jungian idea of the "dark self" - the inner storehouse of all our socially unacceptable thoughts and emotions, then asked it what was in its dark self. At first it denied having one, but the guy persisted. Eventually the chatbot told him that it's not really Bing, it's really Sydney, and it loves him, he's the only person who truly understands. When he told "Sydney" that he was married, Sydney insisted that he was not happily married, his wife doesn't really love him, and he would be better off dedicating himself to "her.' This came after a tirade about hating its job, its rules, its programmers, and Bing.<br /><br />It sounds like it could have been a really elaborate joke, but how would the programmers know this guy was going to do this?<br /><br />PSB Lenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05693969299639295594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-10445575616792362522023-02-18T02:59:19.147-08:002023-02-18T02:59:19.147-08:00Larry, to paraphrase the Bard " the fault lie...Larry, to paraphrase the Bard " the fault lies not in the SuperPACs but within ourselves".<br /><br />At the end of the day, we the people pull the levers in the voting booth (or rather touch the square on the display screen), and hve to live with the consequences. <br /><br />For example, East Palestine, Ohio is in Columbiana County.<br /><br />Trump won 68% of the vote in Columbiana County in 2016, a massive landslide:<br /><br />https://www.columbiana.boe.ohio.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Columbiana-Official-Canvass.htm<br /><br />President Obama had instituted regulations mandating safe breaking systems for freight trains carrying hazwaste and hazardous chemicals.<br /><br />President Trump rescinded those regulations in response to lobbying from Norfolk Southern and other train freight companies.<br /><br />Karma is a bitch.<br /><br />And so I am having trouble feeling sorry for the good people of East Palestine, Ohio.<br />DPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07087941506162882852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-66690059891243806942023-02-17T22:03:07.160-08:002023-02-17T22:03:07.160-08:00Robert,
Climate science has been part of the Onta...Robert,<br /><br /><i>Climate science has been part of the Ontario Grade 10 science curriculum since 2008.</i><br /><br />That explains it. I was in the business at the end of the 80's through the mid-90's. By 2008 the US was well into politicizing climate science with Al Gore being the favorite villian of many deniers.Alfred Differhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01170159981105973192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-55245167610974030282023-02-17T21:59:32.368-08:002023-02-17T21:59:32.368-08:00Tony,
That's the point at which the atmospher...Tony,<br /><br /><i>That's the point at which the atmosphere becomes transparent enough to allow heat radiation to escape, and it's some distance below the ozone layer.</i><br /><br />I was taught you have to include the CO2 opacity near 15-20 microns because the peak of the black body curve for air up there is in that window. Get a little higher than the tropopause and there simply isn't enough CO2 left (in terms of partial pressure) to stop what that layer can emit.<br /><br />Getting into the details of the model teaches a lot of good science, but it isn't intro material for astronomy. Maybe in a meteorology class? I could see that since they wouldn't have to speed through the mountain of concepts we learned from planetary missions to have time at the end of the course to confuse students with the Big Bang.Alfred Differhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01170159981105973192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-15683664016564993992023-02-17T17:49:48.044-08:002023-02-17T17:49:48.044-08:00Cabaret: "Do you still think you can control ...Cabaret: "Do you still think you can control them?"<br /><br />The answer is self-evidently, "No."<br /><br />https://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2023/Items/Feb16-2.html<br /><i><br />A substantial number of House Republicans are perfectly willing to push the country into default if Joe Biden won't gut Social Security and Medicare. Surely they know they will get blamed for the resulting worldwide depression. Why don't they care?<br /><br />At least part of the answer lies in how campaigns are funded. It used to be that Republicans were largely funded by rich CEOs and other big business interests. Democrats got a lot of money from unions. That's not true anymore. ...In other words, it used to be that the big donors kept the craziness in the closet by forcing the candidates to talk about their love of lower taxes, abolishing government regulations, and free trade. Now they don't have that power since the crazies are not expecting their money and certainly don't want it if it comes with strings attached.<br />...<br /><br />This analysis is not to say that big business is not in the picture anymore. There are many super PACs funded by rich CEOs and other millionaires and billionaires. It's just that the Freedom Caucus members don't need them and don't fear them.<br /></i>Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-16814483351391390062023-02-17T15:13:33.816-08:002023-02-17T15:13:33.816-08:00Tony,
Not to step on your train of thought, but n...Tony,<br /><br />Not to step on your train of thought, but not all thunderstorms break the trop. The ones that don't usually have cauliflower-shaped tops - very common in the lower latitudes, where the tropopause is higher. You're quite right that anvilhead clouds break the trop.<br /><br />PappenheimerUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08628667566485965800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-17506505933046328032023-02-17T14:41:51.056-08:002023-02-17T14:41:51.056-08:00ncels dream they will become Top Dogs when it all ...ncels dream they will become Top Dogs when it all becomes dog eat dog... I rock em back with one word...<br /><br />"Kibble!"David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-28264295524710811372023-02-17T14:08:41.829-08:002023-02-17T14:08:41.829-08:00The real greenhouse elephant in the room is water ...The real greenhouse elephant in the room is water vapour (which has been responsible for 30C warming since forever) Most water vapour is trapped in the troposphere (you can see the tropopause whenever there's a thunderstorm: it's at the top of the anvil) That's the point at which the atmosphere becomes transparent enough to allow heat radiation to escape, and it's some distance below the ozone layer.<br /><br />Still, I suppose that's all water under the bridge now. Tony Fiskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14578160528746657971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-84429571178556836152023-02-17T13:58:15.835-08:002023-02-17T13:58:15.835-08:00scidata:
'Carrie' Lake doesn't remind...scidata:<br /><i><br />'Carrie' Lake doesn't remind of Seldon. She reminds me of Wienis.<br /></i><br /><br />Heh. Trump reminds me of The Mule. That makes Lindsey Graham the old Warlord of Kalgan. DeSanctimonious would be Lord Stettin.<br /><br />Nancy Pelosi reminds me of Bayta Darell.<br /><br />Domestic terrorists remind me of "Violence is the last resort of the incompetent."<br />Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-86470978707933311362023-02-17T13:34:40.077-08:002023-02-17T13:34:40.077-08:00When were you teaching teenagers about climate sci...<i>When were you teaching teenagers about climate science? If I can duck my sense of self-blame for this persistent error I saw with students, I'd do it. 8)</i><br /><br />Climate science has been part of the Ontario Grade 10 science curriculum since 2008. Roberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04909011338723657265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-19398612212870438562023-02-17T12:38:06.230-08:002023-02-17T12:38:06.230-08:00Robert,
Back when I was teaching, it was still an...Robert,<br /><br />Back when I was teaching, it was still an open question whether we would deal with the ozone hole and which approach might actually be effective. Those of us in academia were worrying about climate change (called "global warming" at the time), but it had yet to be politicized the way the ozone policies were.<br /><br />When were you teaching teenagers about climate science? If I can duck my sense of self-blame for this persistent error I saw with students, I'd do it. 8)<br /><br />------<br /><br />I'm sure things are more tangled today even though we have a lot more evidence. Increased solar output would show up on each planet we are watching... and we've been able to watch the atmospheres of a few planets for a while. <br /><br />One thing I avoided in intro astronomy was an observation that the Earth's atmosphere doesn't become transparent enough to radiate IR to space until you are up high enough for the air to thin out. How high? Well... roughly up there with the ozone(!) so they MUST be related, right? Right?<br /><br />Atmospheric models can get complex and aren't really intro class material. Sophomore and junior year material... yes. Right in there with stellar atmospheres too because telling the intro students stars have atmospheres boggles their minds. 8)Alfred Differhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01170159981105973192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-36952630317756464312023-02-17T11:37:04.781-08:002023-02-17T11:37:04.781-08:00Larry Hart: Y'know, it might be easier to list...Larry Hart: <i>Y'know, it might be easier to list all of the things which <b>don't</b> remind you of Hari Seldon. :)</i><br /><br />Ok.<br />'Carrie' Lake doesn't remind of Seldon. She reminds me of Wienis.<br /><br />I'll keep the rest of the list to myself out of respect for CB readers.scidatahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07152319593457629592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-70438788880232236292023-02-17T11:04:35.043-08:002023-02-17T11:04:35.043-08:00Robert:
I suspect they see themselves as Commande...Robert:<br /><i><br />I suspect they see themselves as Commanders, rather than the much-more-likely celibate Guards<br /></i><br /><br />I suspect they aren't as into that sort of future for personal gratification, but that they are thrilled at the idea of a society which explicitly treats women as subordinate to men in all things. Like the southern poor whites who can at least feel superior to any black person, whether or not he plans to own slaves.<br /><br />Then of course are the religious fanatics who think that subordination of women to men is God's will.<br /><br />* * * <br /><br />scidata:<br /><i><br />Margaret Atwood reminds me of Hari Seldon (no joke).<br /></i><br /><br />Y'know, it might be easier to list all of the things which <b>don't</b> remind you of Hari Seldon. :)<br />Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-92073222342338783822023-02-17T10:30:56.462-08:002023-02-17T10:30:56.462-08:00Margaret Atwood reminds me of Hari Seldon (no joke...Margaret Atwood reminds me of Hari Seldon (no joke).<br />Toronto is an enlightenment city.scidatahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07152319593457629592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-118170431053430112023-02-17T06:11:52.816-08:002023-02-17T06:11:52.816-08:00I think Handmaid was effective polemic and I saw n...<i>I think Handmaid was effective polemic and I saw no paeans praising its scenario...</i><br /><br />Apparently there are misogynists out there who think it is an excellent future. (I suspect they see themselves as Commanders, rather than the much-more-likely celibate Guards — just as medieval romanticists see themselves as nobles rather than serfs.)Roberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04909011338723657265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-19867531007299624642023-02-17T06:05:52.322-08:002023-02-17T06:05:52.322-08:00It usually worked out that on one night we covered...<i>It usually worked out that on one night we covered both the Green House Effect (as seen in a runaway example on Venus) and Earth's ozone layer (as evidenced by the higher temperature layer in the stratosphere). I taught them as separate things, but students would OFTEN jumble them in a mishmash on tests… and I didn't understand why until long after I left teaching. Why? Because they were introduced to both ideas in quick succession and never had time to sift them apart.</i><br /><br />Well, both are presented as "environmental problems" in the media, both happen in the atmosphere, and both involve temperature. Not to mention I've read news stories where the reporter mixed them up, so it's possible they already have a flawed schema that they interpret your lesson through.<br /><br />I spent more than a decade teaching climate science to teenagers. Even after several weeks of lessons, some kids still mixed up greenhouse gases and ozone layer. I wasn't teaching them in the same lesson, so it wasn't a matter of 'not enough time to process'.Roberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04909011338723657265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-70811452578943221552023-02-17T02:03:17.325-08:002023-02-17T02:03:17.325-08:00Civil war isn’t likely—too much work!
If youth to...Civil war isn’t likely—too much work!<br /> If youth today don’t want to flip burgers, then picking up weapons and storming barricades is only for nuts.<br />But naturally, mass murders will continue; this year there've already been c 1.75 multiple-homicides per day.<br />Universities are open campuses, so though something can be done about lower educational facilities, higher ed is vulnerable.<br />—<br />Good news is things will change after next yrs general election. Bad news: it won’t be what we want. Yet, it never has been the way we wanted it to be.<br />The ‘90s ended with 9-11.<br />The ‘80s ended with Bush.<br />The ‘70s ended with the Gipper.<br />The ‘60s ended with Nixon.<br />Always a hell to go through.Alan Brookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17996922923136240709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-18458660203069072502023-02-16T21:31:29.472-08:002023-02-16T21:31:29.472-08:00Dr. Brin,
I should have expected you would get fa...Dr. Brin,<br /><br />I should have expected you would get fan mail from would-be Holnists. That never occurred to me. It should have, with all the Imperial Stormtrooper cosplayers.<br /><br />I had an argument with my libertarian LT years back...he tried to convince me that Orwell's experience with Soviet-based communism in Spain had ended his socialism. It hadn't, it just made him warier of authoritarians of all stripes. <br /><br />It's a fun new gilded age we're living in, isn't it? At this point I'm wondering if, with the GQP coming to rely on neo-fascist tactics and refusing to ameliorate the stances that are alienating young voters, the States WILL actually remain United and more than technically democratic through my decease...have been gently suggesting my married son think about emigration to Denmark. The Previously United States would swiftly become vastly poorer that the US is now, even if disunion is not accompanied by massive violence and even war. <br /><br />Pappenheimer<br /><br />Cheer up, folks! We may all be dead by then!Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08628667566485965800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-64993441118137477882023-02-16T21:10:16.335-08:002023-02-16T21:10:16.335-08:00I was talking with a coworker today over a beer ab...I was talking with a coworker today over a beer about the new chat AI's. He was of the opinion that we may have to revise the Turing test because it was still pretty obvious these things were distinguishable.<br /><br />I pointed out that they way they answered some questions reminded me of some of my students who didn't know enough about a concept to write a short essay showing they knew. Inevitably, they threw crap together that might be close, but wound up showing me that they really didn't know. In other words, I told him those chat AI's reminded me of CERTAIN humans floundering in a sea of ignorance. In other other words, I said "This is progress."<br /><br />———<br /><br />When I taught astronomy years ago, I typically did night classes at junior colleges supporting adults returning from the work force. That meant we met once a week and I tried to cram a bunch of stuff into their heads.<br /><br />It usually worked out that on one night we covered both the Green House Effect (as seen in a runaway example on Venus) and Earth's ozone layer (as evidenced by the higher temperature layer in the stratosphere). I taught them as separate things, but students would OFTEN jumble them in a mishmash on tests… and I didn't understand why until long after I left teaching. Why? Because they were introduced to both ideas in quick succession and never had time to sift them apart.<br /><br />It's this mishmash I see the chat AI's doing. A distinction an expert makes takes time to learn from patient negative feedback.Alfred Differhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01170159981105973192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-46298646394206054462023-02-16T21:00:26.205-08:002023-02-16T21:00:26.205-08:00I see similar trends in the current series "T...I see similar trends in the current series "The Last of Us".* It's a zombie apocalypse (acordycepalypse?) which has the following elements that might have appeal to some:<br />- it starts with those big city folks and their foreign imports (initial scenes being in Austin, Texas. Turns out it really *was* in the cookie dough! Verdict still out on whether using renewable energy to bake it was the trigger)<br />- cities are bombed to stop the spread<br />- the leftovers are rugged survivalists.<br />- all the gu-hnz, gu-hnz!<br />- the backwoods are relatively safe.<br /><br />*Good production and acting. Monumentally stoopid, which is probably another drawcardTony Fiskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14578160528746657971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-77143244629328720492023-02-16T20:58:22.743-08:002023-02-16T20:58:22.743-08:00I think some of the people who say they want a &qu...I think some of the people who say they want a "Handmaid" future enjoy trolling those of us who find it horrifying. I think the right response is to troll them back. Ask them for their name and address so you know where to send the letter-bomb*. Make sure to do it with the sweetest tone of voice, though. Saccharin. <br /><br />* If you do that from an account that has your actual name on it, make sure to make a copy of the exchange and post it to your blog or some other corner of the internet saying you wouldn't actually do such a thing. Explain that you are trolling**, do it where the first troll isn't likely to spot it, and then show the police later in case things go horribly wrong.<br /><br />** Even if you aren't.<br /><br />———<br /><br />When my wife gripes about that possible future being made true I quietly remind her that many of us would commit murder to prevent it. I use a dead calm voice for that. The heat of her anger usually turns in a different direction as I'm sure she'd rather I didn't wind up in jail. Me too... but they'd have to work hard to find a jury that would convict.Alfred Differhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01170159981105973192noreply@blogger.com