jbrains

@jbrains@sh.itjust.works

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Do you ever simply not understand a piece of text no matter how many times you read it despite the fact that you understand the language and individual words?⁩ ⁨⁨7⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago⁩:

  I found that text difficult to parse, due to a relative lack of punctuation. This means that I spent my energy trying to parse the sentences and my brain struggled to engage with the meaning and significance of the text. Maybe if I tried reading it again a few more times, I’d find it easier to follow and therefore easier to understand.

  Maybe it’s just as well that I never tried to read any Joyce. Or maybe if I’d tried, then I’d be better prepared for this. 🤷

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What is "forming questions in an affirmative voice?"⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Forget “affirmative voice” for a moment, since that seems to be tripping others up as well as you. Prompt Engineering suggest sounding like the LLM, asking questions with “the same voice” as the one the LLM uses to respond. Perhaps PE needs to clarify this with some examples, because calling it “affirmative voice” hasn’t seemed to make it clear enough.

  I suggest asking them, then perhaps sharing what you learn for the benefit of other folks who are similarly confused.

  The only interpretation that comes to my mind is avoiding “not” and “don’t”. Ask for what you want instead of what you don’t want. 🤷 That’s just a guess.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Why is it considered sexist to ask women to smile?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  I’m enjoying being told about these counterexamples, as I’m seeing even more clearly how this attitude is embedded in our shared culture.

  So far, all the specific contexts in which men are being told to smile is one in which others feel entitled to the man attempting to impress them. In contexts such as dating or performing on video or working in retail, this doesn’t particularly surprise me.

  I suppose another reasonable context is one in which the people asking you to smile are genuinely worried about your emotional state and want you to seem happier. By chance is it typically like that for you? (Let’s set aside for now the complex matter of whether they actually want you to feel better or they merely want to control your behavior or feel less uncomfortable themselves.)

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Why is it considered sexist to ask women to smile?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  How interesting! That makes it even less surprising.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Why is it considered sexist to ask women to smile?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  That’s one exception that doesn’t surprise me. Do you have any sense how often they are doing this with intentional irony compared with genuine obliviousness?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Why is it considered sexist to ask women to smile?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Tell us a story of the last time you witnessed someone telling a man to smile because he would look so much better if he did.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨why does everyone i know treat me like a child or if i was a very childlike person??⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Think of the people who seem to do this to you. Pick the one who trust the most. Now ask them.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨how do I become the dullest, most boring coworker so this needy man leaves me alone?⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  You’re not responsible for meeting this man’s needs. You don’t need to trick him. “Please leave me alone.” If he does not do this simple thing, then you have not committed any offence and you can train yourself not to feel bad about it. You already meditate, so you might make your tendency to feel bad about this into a object of meditation.

  Unfortunately, you can’t control his behavior. He might still try to sit down next to you and talk to you about things that don’t interest you. I don’t know what more you can do than ask him to stop doing this and hope he complies. “Please stop doing this. I’m just not interested. I prefer to be alone.” It is compassionate to say nothing more than this.

  As for why you’re like this, that’s very likely because someone taught to you to care about other people’s feelings and didn’t teach you that their feelings are not your fault. This seems pretty common.

  The stories you tell yourself about why he does this and the stories you tell yourself to explain your own behavior… they probably don’t help you much, do they?

  Peace.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨If a contestant on Jeopardy! gave the correct response "Alexandre Dumas" but pronounced the surname as "dumb ass", would the response be accepted?⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  How strange. I never pronounced it any other way. I don’t think of it as a regionalism. I grew up near Toronto.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨If a contestant on Jeopardy! gave the correct response "Alexandre Dumas" but pronounced the surname as "dumb ass", would the response be accepted?⁩ ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Strange conceptions?

  Yes. That’s humor.

  Tsunami doesn’t start with a T sound, It’s just a strange artifact of the romanization of the Japanese sounds.

  Yes, and English speakers have an established collective inconsistency regarding whether to pronounce loanwords anywhere on the spectrum from (somewhat) faithfully to the original language to transcribed to entirely reinterpreted with English pronouciation norms. To declare that the “t” in that word is silent overstates the situation. At most, it’s optional.

  I pronounce those cities as two syllables, although it doesn’t bother me when others don’t. I also pronounce “Mangione” as three, even though I don’t overdo it on the Italian vowels.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨If a contestant on Jeopardy! gave the correct response "Alexandre Dumas" but pronounced the surname as "dumb ass", would the response be accepted?⁩ ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Typically, yes. Pronunciation mistakes are not ruled incorrect unless they change the spelling of the name or word, such as adding consonants. Ken corrects the pronunciation without calling the mistake out, usually, although he labors under strange conceptions, such as insisting in not pronouncing the initial “t” in “tsunami” and “tsar”.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Would social events be better if phones didn't have data?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  People can choose. It is even better when they choose.

  It’s fairly well established that experiencing the moment does more to promote one’s mental health than not.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What gives you hope to keep going?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  The alternative is certain death. If I were satisfied with that outcome, I’d already be dead.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Not disparaging the dead or anything. But why does it seem in the US we are expected to feel sorry for a person who overdoses on illegal drugs? Didn't they make the choice knowing the outcome?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  There is an emerging field of research that reframes addiction as a reasonable reaction to traumatic conditions. This doesn’t explain all addiction, but it seems to explain a large amount of it. We are learning how complex a condition addiction can be and that makes it easier to feel compassion for these folks.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What do you create?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  A hopeful path towards peace for people who struggle with stress at their job.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Is there a word, phrase, or trope for an idea that gets more popular the more it fails?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  There’s a certain amount of Gambler’s Fallacy in this, too: I’ll keep going, because it’s going to turn around.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Is there any, any takeaways at all from the next 4 years that's about to happen?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Demonizing people who disagree with you makes them dig in their heels and elect the dangerous candidate. Demonizing those people feels good and necessary, but ultimately backfires.

  The so-called enlightened people can’t be counted on to vote. (I say this as one of those so-called enlightened people, albeit not in your country and therefore unable to shift the balance with you.)

  Until you folks figure these two things out, this is your new reality.

  The System is held together with baling wire and gum. Never forget that.

  You will get through this, but you might need help and to help others along the way. I wish you many goods and cheese.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Is it okay to continue to work for a (non-defense) federal government agency under an administration hostile to my own moral and ethical beliefs?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Yup. Watch The Good Place, then ask again.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Are disabled people and the elderly going to survive another Trump presidency?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  “Are there no prisons? Are there no work houses?”

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨I'm going to try not to swear when you're around. Is this a good apology to a coworker?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  “I’ll try not to swear around you. I’m sorry. I will probably not be perfect, but I assure you I’m trying.”

  That’s enough.

  I assume you are genuinely sorry and have decided you want to behave differently around them.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What's the point of a long-distance friendship?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  In that case, I’m not sure you’re missing anything and I’m not even sure you have a problem to solve here.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What's the point of a long-distance friendship?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I understand better. I might relate, too.

  I’m not the type to keep relationships “alive” by checking in, but at the same time, when someone re-enters my life after even years, it can be as though no time had passed. If I can help, I will. We can chat for minutes or hours. I’m happy to pick up where we left off.

  I have the distinct impression that many other people don’t operate this way. I do. Do you?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What's the point of a long-distance friendship?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  The same as any friendship: mutual support and love. What you’re describing sounds like an acquaintance to me, not a friend, if conversations don’t develop past small talk. Maybe that’s what you’re missing.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Why do cell phones have a data limit but home internet doesn't?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Where are my Rogers home internet customers at? 🇨🇦

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Why does it seem the majority of protests in the US are to oppose something while so many protests in other countries are looking to influence improving something?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  As for the difference, there’s a lot more Learned Helplessness in the Republic of Gilead than there is in, say, northern Europe. 🤷‍♂️

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Why does it seem the majority of protests in the US are to oppose something while so many protests in other countries are looking to influence improving something?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Why do things need to improve, generally speaking?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Is there a way to have a "watch later" or "favorite" list that works across different websites?⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Would bookmark folders suffice for organizing?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨How come people like Cosby and Weinstein seem decrpit appearing before a judge or jury? Cosby could barely walk and W had to use a walker. Why do this because it doesn't influence anyone?⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  It influences folks subconsciously, which in legal proceedings with a significant public relations component, is powerful and effective. It’s even better to influence people without their conscious awareness that it’s happening. And yes, some folks aren’t taken in by it, but a surprising number are. It would be tantamount to legal malpractice not to advise your client to try. 🙄

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Does alcohol expire? Specifically whiskey?⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I have drunk some decades old bottles of wine. I was worried each time that the bottle had become undrinkable, but not that it had become dangerous.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨We lost Keanu⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Anyone else remember when Joe Rogan was a harmless comedian?