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• Post #4498133

  I now consider it rude to cite a scientific paper in an internet discussion or argument if you haven't read the whole paper. If you don't *know* it don't cite it. What is the point? If you are just pointing to the paper because you read the abstract and think it's interesting you need to say that. If you are pointing to a paper because you saw someone else make a similar point and then point to that same paper... you should instead use that person as your reference. Not doin...

• Post #4497910

  As a teacher I’ve given a few presentations about ants for kids. I tell them about scientific names and why they are useful. Every single time I say a scientific name they always ask “why is it called THAT?” This is, in truth, my first question too. It’s not always easy to answer. In some cases these reasons are lost to time. Which is why I wish that they were a required and expected part of a type description, not just a “nice to know.” 1/

• Post #4497844

  Lets assume most of the uses for LLMs that are popular now continue to be used with linear growth. So, there isn't any mass public rejection of the tech altogether, but the exponential explosion never happens. Do we need to build data centers to make this possible? The current built-out is for projected explosive growth. Which is silly and financially wishful reasoning. But what would sane adoption look like? 1/

• Post #4494698

  @mulchmaxxing@blahaj.zone Ants are a family and they are also a clade with a single common antcestor. There are +15,700 described species of ants currently recognized. All of them are eusocial, with wingless worker females, all of them have a body with three segments, all of them have antennae where the first segment is longer than the rest and an "elbow" and they have a metapleural glands for pheremones. Invalid ants can be found here: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?p...

• Post #4482625

  The fallout from "No, not Hank Green using that AI" is at the stage where people are debating if "canceling" people is bad. This because about 10k people unsubscribed from his youTube channel, something that probably caused him to take stock and leave the internet for a bit. Unsubscribing from a youTube channel isn't "canceling" someone. Can we all calm down please? Also, that he used AI isn't really the big issue, it has just formed a concise talking p...

• Post #4468099

  What changes for ordinary Americans if the US is not as much of an imperial power? Would our nation become so poor the quality of life would deteriorate? Would a other nations with imperial ambitions fill the void and start some project of world domination? Would gas cost $6 a gallon forever into all of time? I'm not as interested in the answers to these questions (in this post) as I am interested in what other Americans who do not share my politics THINK are the answers.

• Post #4454667

  Imagine you think you understand ants. And you go to Australia and see this: This is an ant from the genus Lioponera. They are really tiny and look like the plastic barrettes my mom used to put in my hair up in pigtails. It looks like they have six body segments, but this is just an illusion. They are still valid ants. I once scoffed at someone who drew an ant by making a bunch of circles with legs coming out like this. I should not have done that. She's real.

• Post #4451431

  Aunt: Do you still make furniture? Me: What? I don't think I've ever made furniture. Aunt: But I remember when you were just out of college you were so proud of that job in NYC doing table design. On the computer. I guess you didn't really build them yourself, then. For two decades this sweet woman thought I was making literal wooden tables. I just thought that designing the tables was the most fun and glamorous part of database design.

• Post #4451111

  Little people are ants, yes? #Monsterdon

• Post #4451091

  Not chewbacca! Don't kill chewy!! #Monsterdon

• Post #4451088

  That is too many muscles. #monsterdon

• Post #4451074

  I don't care who you blame Zeus. I blame you. It's always starts with your nonsense. #Monsterdon

• Post #4451073

  "He's nothing but bones" ho ho ho we've got a real genius right here... oh we *had* a real genius right here. #monsterdon

• Post #4436715

  is there another real silicone valley with smart people in another country where they make good software and don't have cults?

• Post #4435391

  @Wyatt_H_Knott@mastodon.sdf.org The real problem with Trump during early COVID was that he didn't (and as never) understood the responsibility and weight of his words as a president. It's very silly that people do what the president says because he's the president but it's also true. At some very deep level people seek an authoritative voice in scary times. This isn't irrational: being coordinated as a nation is important. But just ... says things. It's like he has...

• Post #4433567

  "what kind of dog is that?" "oh pomo" I'm over here eavesdropping thinking there is a postmodern dog until I relize the lady MUST have meant "Pomeranian" 🤦🏿

• Post #4419533

  If you were to describe this ant would you use the word "Glänzend" The auto translate tells me that this means "shiny" and I think it seems like the English word "glazed" and I would say, no, this ant isn't shiny or glazed. However... I thought I'd check. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/388470685 (I would call this ant velvety, covered in fine appressed hairs or "lasius" as this fine layer of hairs is found in many ants of that name....

• Post #4418539

  I identified an undescribed species on iNaturalist. I'm feeling pretty proud of myself as a self-taught myrmecologist. But let me be clear about what I did: I noticed a group of ants "stuck at the genus level of ID" this means that no one knows what species they are. I did the research to try to pin down the exact species and hit a wall. Then I found out from more accomplished myrmecologists that, yes, these ants need to be described. They don't have a name yet. 1/

• Post #4416449

  Husband calls me "I'm so mad I didn't by datadog" "what on earth is a datadog" "it's a stock this Dave said his stocks podcast said to buy it two months ago and I didn't and now it's way up. Maybe we should buy it now." "Absolutely not. What does 'datadog' do." "It's a tech stock." "..." "no idea" "Do not buy it. It's up. This could be the all time high. And don't listen to Dave.&qu...

• Post #4404555

  Bernie has a video up summarizing and celebrating progressive wins and suggesting a minimal platform of focus for progressives moving forward. It's pretty good. You should watch it if you like progressives. If you don't progressive them I'd be curious what you think. But you might not like it as much. However *this* post isn't about all that. No this is about how Bernie mentions AI and how I want to talk about THAT. 1/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nY6E_W2rDo

• Post #4396049

  I'm a big fan of seasteading everyone who proposes any kind of stateless "seastading" idea, housing, data centers, etc. should absolutely be put on one. In fact, we should build it for them (union labor please) put them all on it and push it off ...

• Post #4390293

  Why doesn't anyone care that Iran (maybe) did a cyber attack on US water plants? Without the context of the war and a US strike leaving 10,000 in Iran without water I wouldn't give this much attention either. But, this fits in with the tit-for-tat restrained but persistent strategy of Iran. It's a great reason to end the war because it just keeps getting bigger and more and more of the world is being sucked into it. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-investigating-iran-cyberatta...

• Post #4386640

  situational awareness kid really said "im gonna make TAS speed runs for real life" and they gave him $45 billion dollar. He said "this is the future:" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccTGKiqGxQM

• Post #4385976

  RE: https://mas.to/@havvyhh2/117039791242598049 If you are running for a local office money is important, but do you know what matters more? A good volunteer. A retired person, or a teacher with summer time, a student or the head of the local church choir. Get these people with sharp minds, boundless enthusiasm, deep community times and a modest amount of free time on your side and VOTES will come with them. Spend your meager funds on a pizza to keep them going, or a car to pick them all up i...

• Post #4383696

  Some myrmecologists, both amateur and professional have started to wince away from the term "slavery" when used to describe the way that some ants capture other ants. This is mostly a kind impulse to not mix up the horrors of human slavery with something insects do. I've made the case that the word is probably fine since it's hard to distinguish what humans have done from what ants do. But, there is another word I *don't* think should ever be applied to ants. This is the...

• Post #4373501

  The new king was a tyrant and the people lived in fear. The king's first advisor, a magician of a new religion claimed that he would make the stones speak, and that that those who listened to the stones (any merchant, bard or lord) might unlock endless wealth. The magician made and offering to all: for 100 barrels of pitch any man could own a speaking stone. And so fleets of ships set sail heavy with pitch. Since the new king was a tyrant they were waylaid by pirates. They would never arri...

• Post #4371715

  Will someone write a poem about the Americans? The Americans were a war-like people but they made delicious little sandwiches and bewitching music but that age is long long gone lost in time.

• Post #4366505

  A machine with unbounded output can't be integrated into a company, into your life, or into greater systems since you can't imagine the range of possible outputs and plan to interface with them. LLMs and systems that execute macros generated by LLMs strive for the illusion of unbounded output (although there are limits they are just very broad and can't be user defined or "guard railed")

• Post #4362958

  This is the best summary of the facehugger 'hack' incident. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpTw9z5RIM8

• Post #4362918

  American capitalism has always had no chill. No sense of reflection, no moral floor. But, that was supposed to be the point. A feature, not a bug. Like a hurricane or a wildfire only the tallest and most healthy trees would survive. And this would make companies efficient, prices low, trade networks rational. If you ask Democrats what they think about capitalism and socialism at this moment polls show that Democrats like BOTH. Capitalism has grown less popular, socialism has made gains. 1/