stray
@stray@pawb.social
- Comment on Liquid Trees 4 days ago:
I disagree. Pavement is valuable to pedestrians, cyclists, emergency and service vehicles, and the disabled. While it’s important to preserve nature as much as possible, some urbanisation is also a good thing. That said, I’m not sure algae tanks would be necessary in areas where huge tracts of land aren’t dedicated to parking. I can’t really think of where my city would benefit from them.
- Comment on Enshittification of ChatGPT 1 week ago:
Search engine is one of my main uses. Traditional search engines are worse than they used to be at a basic text search, and ChatGPT has the added bonus of being able to parse complex text and “figure out” what you mean when describing something that you don’t have a name for. You have to ask it for sources rather than just reading whatever it generates, and/or do traditional searches on the keywords it provides.
- Comment on Enshittification of ChatGPT 1 week ago:
Making users feel better is one of the usefulnesses of this technology. Factuality and scientific rigor are not something text generators are capable of due to the nature of the technology itself.
I would instead argue that being overly agreeable and not challenging the user may conflict with making the user feel better long-term.
- Comment on Accessibility in Science 1 week ago:
I think it matters in terms of psychological health. Internally thinking that an older teenager is attractive is a pretty normal thing that might happen to an allosexual human, whereas the same attraction for a younger teen or child is clear “get in therapy now before something bad happens” territory.
Please note that I have specified internal thoughts and not making gross conversation about how hot young people are and/or approaching them with sexual intentions.
But I agree that this is really not the context to bring up the difference.
- Comment on Accessibility in Science 1 week ago:
I get what you’re saying, but popular usage is what it is at this point, and pointing out the wider range of accurate terminology is just going to get people accusing you of being a pedophile.
- Comment on Sagan, you look high. 2 weeks ago:
I’m glad stoners are so eco-conscious that they’re not wasting plastic on packaging.
- Comment on Jack Dorsey would like to ‘delete all IP law’. 3 weeks ago:
How do you explain the vast wealth of free software and entertainment media created by both professionals and hobbyists alike? How do you explain the profitability of games and movies when any of us can pirate a copy with little effort? Why is it possible to sell copies of public domain books when we have libraries?
- Comment on Jack Dorsey would like to ‘delete all IP law’. 3 weeks ago:
Why wouldn’t we buy his book? Is it bad?
- Comment on Jack Dorsey would like to ‘delete all IP law’. 3 weeks ago:
You’re making this argument via FOSS.
- Comment on nature is music 3 weeks ago:
They’ve so far used AI to detect all the different parts of a particular whale species’ language, like the different sounds and timing. Deciphering the meaning will be much harder since it’s difficult to observe their behavior, but small land mammals should go much smoother.
- Comment on The Director of ‘A Minecraft Movie’ Is OK with Chaos During Screenings: ‘People Are Making Memories’ 3 weeks ago:
I don’t know that it’s hard to hire. You can’t just not have income under capitalism, and you don’t have a lot of choice as a worker when pretty much everywhere is offering the worst conditions they can get away with. They’re more likely to replace you than give you a raise.
- Comment on The Director of ‘A Minecraft Movie’ Is OK with Chaos During Screenings: ‘People Are Making Memories’ 3 weeks ago:
No one asked him to change the movie or to anticipate audience reaction beforehand. I just think he’s a moron for endorsing rude (and occasionally dangerous) behavior. (Possibly also for making a terrible film; haven’t seen it.)
- Comment on The Director of ‘A Minecraft Movie’ Is OK with Chaos During Screenings: ‘People Are Making Memories’ 3 weeks ago:
I was suspicious about the idea that cops were getting called over popcorn, and wouldn’t you know it, there’s more context:
In another video with police involvement, embedded below, an officer says that a group “body slammed” a theater employee. (Theater employees are understandably not loving the situation.)
pcgamer.com/…/cops-called-as-a-minecraft-movie-se…
At least one person has even brandished a live chicken in a theater at that moment.
kotaku.com/minecraft-movie-director-chicken-jocke…
Also the idea that large teenagers intentionally dumping whole buckets of popcorn is the same as what a six-year-old spills accidentally is just stupid on its face. If you think you’re old enough to vape, you’re old enough to not be an asshole.
- Comment on The Director of ‘A Minecraft Movie’ Is OK with Chaos During Screenings: ‘People Are Making Memories’ 3 weeks ago:
I’m sure the understaffed folks making minimum wage really appreciate all the extra income this film is bringing their overlords.
- Comment on The Director of ‘A Minecraft Movie’ Is OK with Chaos During Screenings: ‘People Are Making Memories’ 3 weeks ago:
It’s from the movie. At one point Jack Black says “chicken jockey” in a very loud and serious tone, and it’s exactly the sort of line a Twitch chat would latch onto.
- Comment on shrimp colour drama 4 weeks ago:
This is the best I could find on the specific topic: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7888369/
People with visual or hearing sensory impairments had twice the odds of past-year suicidal ideation (OR 2.06; 95% CI 1.17 to 2.73; p<0.001), and over three times the odds of reporting past-year suicide attempt (OR 3.12; 95% CI 1.57 to 6.20; p=0.001) compared with people without these impairments. Similar results were found for hearing and visual impairments separately and co-occurring.
- Comment on shrimp colour drama 4 weeks ago:
Oh, I see. I thought they communicated much more complex information than that, but it’s very practical for simple directions with no further details.
- Comment on shrimp colour drama 4 weeks ago:
I can see only in a limited area at any given time, but I can hear in a full sphere around me simultaneously. I don’t think it’s accurate to characterize such a large area as “the periphery”. One sense is imprecise and covers pretty much everywhere while the other is detailed, but very limited. Both senses work in concert to build a full map of the world, and the loss of either is concerning. I’m more comfortable in a blindfold than isolating headphones though, because I can still echolocate while my vision is impaired, but my vision has no way of emulating hearing’s function. I’d have to be constantly looking around all over the place.
- Comment on shrimp colour drama 4 weeks ago:
“Spiders can detect danger coming their way with an early-warning system called eyes.”
Really fantastic book. I did have some notes though. Firstly, if honeybees have such low dpi vision, how can they see each other dance? I assume it’s because they’re experiencing the dance some other way, but how? (Also it’s hella dark in there, isn’t it?)
He says many times that humanity’s umwelt is dominated by sight, but I very much disagree. To lose my hearing or sense of touch would make me feel quite blind, as I use them to perceive things outside my cone of vision constantly. Being in deep water is unnerving for this reason, because I can’t “see” what’s around me, and I have this whole new area below that I can’t hear either. So I have to wonder whether other people feel that way he does or whether my usage is more unique.
He really blew my mind when describing exafference and reafference because these things are reliant on a sense of self in the first place, which means that even the worm in his example must have some form of ego.
- Comment on pee was stored in the balls 5 weeks ago:
A comma can be used to improve readability, but it can also indicate a pause while talking. I feel a pause after “and that” is as common as no pause. That said, I cannot know if that was the poster’s intent; it’s only my interpretation of the usage.
- Comment on Ninja sword owners will be paid to surrender weapons before ban 5 weeks ago:
They are unfortunately being used by children, who understandably think they look sick as shit, to murder each other. Here are some “highlights”:
- Comment on Ninja sword owners will be paid to surrender weapons before ban 5 weeks ago:
It’s not legal to carry a water pistol full of acid either.
- Comment on Ninja sword owners will be paid to surrender weapons before ban 5 weeks ago:
If they’re blunt or made before 1954, you’re good.
- Comment on Ninja sword owners will be paid to surrender weapons before ban 5 weeks ago:
yeah, decoration/recreation (or do you want to ban the bow and arrow too? maybe ban boxing gloves?)/historical preservation
Blunt weapons and historical items are not banned per this legislation.
- Comment on 🐙🐙🐙 1 month ago:
I feel like any linguist upset by non-prescriptive language needs to maybe reconsider their life choices. Imagine telling someone they’re painting incorrectly or being mad at the discovery of a new species.
- Comment on ARMADILL-NO 1 month ago:
You leave the stroller for a moment to grab your take-away order and come back to a crow repeatedly attempting to insert a still-living snail into the baby’s face. The snail is confused, but calm. The crow is frustrated. The baby won’t stop screaming, further frustrating the crow. Just eat the snail, idiot.
- Comment on Depart, men of education. 1 month ago:
You have to say that on Meta if you want them to read it.
- Comment on Jonathan Majors has addressed the rumors he'll return as Kang in the MCU and revealed that Kevin Feige didn't respond to the letter he sent him shortly after his trial 1 month ago:
I think you replied to the wrong post. This is supposed to be under the one about him defending himself, right?
I dunno though. Abuse is obviously easier in a physical sense from the statistically larger sex, but I’ve seen it go both ways, especially in the sense of both partners being abusive to each other simultaneously. When it comes to celebrities, I will just let the appropriate authorities decide what’s what instead of trying to have an opinion on people I’ve never met. I would feel better knowing that the authorities aren’t often biased by things like racism and sexism, but they’re still better than any zero evidence speculation on my part.
- Comment on Anon appreciates Chris Sawyer 1 month ago:
I know what Rollercoaster Tycoon is, I just can’t identify random game developers by their vacation photos.
- Comment on Christie's First-Ever AI Art Auction Earns $728,000, Plus Controversy 1 month ago:
It just seems like a lot of people don’t realize that, based on how they phrase their concerns. I wanted to put the idea out for consideration without calling out anyone specifically as I feel that’s needlessly hostile. I think the less direct approach allows people to decide for themselves whether I’m talking about them, without feeling they need to respond to an accusation.