Recent posts

#61

Gaming HQ / Re: Europa Universalis V confi...

Last post by Syt - Today at 02:38:34 AM

I fired the game up yesterday but then got distracted and when I got back it was time to go to bed, but I still decided to just look at the Ottoman start. And was immediately annoyed by the "Child can get better education" alert and having like a dozen kids in there. Together with marriage this could be automated, I guess.

#62

Gaming HQ / Re: The Miscellaneous PC & vid...

Last post by Syt - Today at 02:15:03 AM

I also fired good ol' Dark Souls on the weekend. Not for a playthrough, but just to enjoy the atmosphere. The later games are prettier and have evolved mechanically (and Elden Ring has some gorgeous locations and revelatory moments), but DS1 has this feeling of quiet melancholy. It's not as hectic or aggressive as DS3 or Elden Ring or Bloodborne and you can just enjoy being in the world a bit more IMHO. The muffled, subdued sounds in Undead Burgh, the clanging of André's hammer near the Undead Parish bonfire, and a lot of silence in a world that has persisted far longer than it should have. It creates the feeling of being truly alone and the world being indifferent to you. Kind of like stepping into one of the more sombre Caspar David Friedrich paintings. Not many games that hit the spot.

#63

Off the Record / Re: The Off Topic Topic

Last post by HVC - Today at 02:05:39 AM

Heard a fun travel review the other day from a guy whose work went him to Las Vegas - it's crap. Like a toddler built a city in an oven.

It's ok for a day or two. If you're walking the strip then duck into the casinos along the way to cool off. Or was last time I went about a decade ago. I hear it's a lot more expensive and shittier now.

#64

Off the Record / Re: The Off Topic Topic

Last post by Josquius - Today at 02:00:28 AM

Heard a fun travel review the other day from a guy whose work sent him to Las Vegas - it's crap. Like a toddler built a city in an oven.

#65

Off the Record / Re: Russo-Ukrainian War 2014-2...

Last post by Zoupa - Today at 01:43:17 AM

The call was on an unsecured cell phone. There are dozens of countries that could have intercepted that call.

Sure...but who leaked it?

(I expect you to answer...everyone but the US would be rushing to do so.  )

My guess is a european country. No idea who, but yeah I don't see a downside to show how compromised Witkoff/Vance/Driscoll are.

#66

Off the Record / Re: Russo-Ukrainian War 2014-2...

Last post by Tonitrus - Today at 01:21:20 AM

The call was on an unsecured cell phone. There are dozens of countries that could have intercepted that call.

Sure...but who leaked it?

(I expect you to answer...everyone but the US would be rushing to do so.  )

#67

Off the Record / Re: The AI dooooooom thread

Last post by Zoupa - Today at 01:06:44 AM

Wake me up when a machine invents something on its own.

#68

Off the Record / Re: The AI dooooooom thread

Last post by DGuller - Today at 12:50:10 AM

IMO, I think part of the point of the article that set off this current discussion was making is that human reasoning is largely non-language based and therefore, in my reading, it is making the prediction that LLMs are not going to be able to satisfy that if no matter how much computational power is applied.

Even if human reasoning is non-language based, the ultimate, useful output is expressed with language.  If you can emulate the useful output well enough even in novel contexts, then why does it matter whether you arrive at it with human reasoning or with canine intuition? 

This whole line of argument seems fixated on the mechanism rather than the result.  Human reasoning is the  mechanism we're familiar with for generating insights, but it doesn't have to be the only one, or even the best one.

#69

Off the Record / Re: The AI dooooooom thread

Last post by Valmy - Today at 12:41:57 AM

I don't necessarily see how that is inconsistent with what Minsky was saying. Surely generalizations beyond it's data must still be consistent with that data, yes?

#70

Off the Record / Re: Russo-Ukrainian War 2014-2...

Last post by Zoupa - Today at 12:40:32 AM

The call was on an unsecured cell phone. There are dozens of countries that could have intercepted that call.