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• Post #4501564

  Most of what happens in software production is a distraction from things of import. It is a game: a conflict between aesthetic factions. Much of the rest is malevolent, designed specifically to abuse, victimize, and extract. Very little is truly helpful anymore. Software development is now mostly pointless at best, pathologically harmful at worst.

• Post #4501343

  The sad reality is that a lot of people are obsessed with exerting control over others, for no reason but the thrill of having and exercising power. Power for power's sake. An emotional drive which subordinates the healthy drive to help and care for others. But consider how humanity evolved. (Everything about us must be understood in the context of our evolutionary history!) It is optimal for an organism (or social group) to harvest energy and resources from the easiest—least energetically...

• Post #4500997

  How do you equalize the imbalance of power without starting a war? Is class war—civil war—inevitable? Is it desirable? Is it the only realistic option? Or is it just that we are too impatient, and unwilling to look for better solutions? Is it that the revolutionaries lack any organizing principles, other than anger and retribution? Or do they lack any concrete, inspirational vision, other than revenge and abstract ideas of freedom? A better society—a better world—requires more people to activ...

• Post #4424026

  Creatine, ketamine, whatever!

• Post #4414802

  "When all is said and told, the "naturalness" with which we use our native tongues boils down to the ease with which we can use them for making statements the nonsense of which is not obvious." The essay is nonstop bangers. I am firmly on his side. While symbolic language is no guarantee—and any given instance has its strenghts and weaknesses—it is a requirement to be unambiguous and definitive. The exact qualities required when defining a process. Doesn't matter if the...

• Post #4399706

  Does Microsoft destroy everything they touch?

• Post #4365643

  Just cracked a bottle of Featherstone Onyx 2020. Any other #niagarawine drinkers on this network?

• Post #4365611

  I’m skeptical of basically every theory based on “feelings”. Emotions are your subconscious lying to you, as often as not.

• Post #4365213

  Entitlement is a bad look. But all too common. I get it. The world is not fair. But bitching won’t change it. Do something. Even if it’s just inspiring someone with a positive vision. But bitching ain’t that. Only thing worse than pointless complaining is a complainer circle jerk.

• Post #4284501

  RE: https://mas.to/@dmacphee/117014790449463409 I haven't read the article, but the quotation alone is worth boosting. I used to work for this person. He has, shall we say, socialization issues. But he also has a (quite small) cult of personality, which prevents many people from recognizing his pathological qualities.

• Post #4140119

  I keep waiting for people to share their ideas for how to reduce fossil fuel consumption. Other than a firehose of dire facts, shouting, blaming, and scolding. What was that they say about doing the same thing, and expecting a different result?

• Post #4113309

  It's always worth remembering that people are *inherently* selfish. Also, not that good at predicting problematic outcomes of their selfish choices. People are *biased*. They are not reasonable, nor rational, nor open-minded. So many problems arise not so much from that, but form irrationally expecting people to be otherwise.

• Post #4062964

  Basing your life and identity on fandom is a risky choice, in the long run.

• Post #4034800

  Evil people only have power because stupid people adopt their narratives, take their money, obey their orders, and buy their products. What is the cure for stupid?

• Post #3983634

  RE: https://mastodon.world/@davidho/116956653915957598 People saying this writing is slop, without evidence. Whatever, the information is valuable. Our governments should be paying for this kind of work. Except our governments are just as corrupt as these greedy corporations. The site also has a “ledger” of trustworthy companies and their brands. But very USA-centric. I hope it expands to Canadian brands. One problem may be that brands are increasingly easy to generate as new “fronts” for th...

• Post #3861556

  Birch seedling in my backyard.

• Post #3859961

  I feel bad for the wildlife. Even far from the fires, they still have to breathe the toxic air. #wildfires

• Post #3859942

  I can’t get over how “Corsi-Rosenthal box” sounds like a science fiction macguffin for warping time and space. In stark contrast to the simplicity and everyday practicality (in these weird times) of the actual thing.

• Post #3859510

  RE: https://indieweb.social/@jbz/116928835677520503 I know it’s uncool to like centralized power generation, but this is bad-ass.

• Post #3833822

  RE: https://indieweb.social/@jbz/116922991823197987 Emblematic of… things…

• Post #3833741

  Everything consequential is now a collective action problem. Our future is now utterly dependent on whether we can learn to work together. But we have spent decades internalizing an anti-collective philisophy: we should all act as atomic units, driven only by personal appetites, and coordinated wholly through financial transactions. The next few decades may be very painful. How might things improve?

• Post #3808389

  RE: https://tldr.nettime.org/@tante/116917430203992463 Ignoring the browser, and its interpreters and renderers, which are a few orders of magnitude bigger than DOS and BIOS.

• Post #3784709

  A life plan that assumes repeated good fortune is a recipe for disasater.

• Post #3763611

  Celebrating someone's death makes their supporters hate you more.

• Post #3763461

  People, in general, are reliably disingenuous. But no point calling them out on their bullshit.

• Post #3763253

  RE: https://techhub.social/@rayckeith/116905177927252921 Every product that makes you feel good will have negative consequences somewhere down the line. Not a provable fact, but a good rule of thumb. Most people don't think about the long term, however. Certainly not when it comes to other people, but not even usually for themselves. People cherish their optimistic delusions.

• Post #3762745

  Frustrating part of this article: the subject makes astounding claims about their use of, and the capabilities of, LLMs, and the claims *are never questioned*. The journalist says their "jaw dropped", whereas their skepticism should have been roused. https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/jul/12/mark-lanier-the-lawyer-who-took-on-meta-and-google-and-won-interview

• Post #3720588

  Blame is a kind of failure. It doesn't fix the past, or improve the future.

• Post #3720159

  RE: https://social.gamefan.net/@gamewire/116896437013533420 I have not played the game, but the lore in these sorts of games is utterly incomprehensible and nonsensical to me. I cannot imagine how one could derive a coherent story with it. Their worlds all seem like endless hellscapes. Similar to the Diablo series. Just endless misery. Are there any real people, living real lives, doing real work? Who builds all these mad architectures? I suppose any kind of natural grounding is utterly besid...

• Post #3719937

  What will it take to attract the right people to roles in leadership and management? People constantly bemoan corrupt politicians, and greedy, sociopathic executives. But how often do we consider the challenge of finding and electing better candidates? Is it not delusional to think we can give power to those who want it, for selfish reasons, and somehow restrain them? Even if we cycle through them faster and faster, those who volunteer are nearly always unsuited. While frequent change in leade...