4 ms·

I know the r-word is coming back in vogue, but it was still unpleasant to see it in the middle of an otherwise technical blog post. Ah well. Diffusion LMs are

I know the r-word is coming back in vogue, but it was still unpleasant to see it in the middle of an otherwise technical blog post. Ah well. Diffusion LMs are interesting and I'm looking forward to seeing how they develop, but from playing around with that model, it's GPT-2 level. I suspect it will need to be significantly scaled up before we can meaningfully compare it to the autoregressive paradigm.

mountainriver 2y ago
Meta has one based on flow matching that is bigger, it performs pretty well
- gsf_emergency_2 2y ago
  A possible detente between SCHMIDHUBER & the school of Yann Lecun ? https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.129.228004 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.129.228004
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
gsf_emergency_2 2y ago
I've got a couple more related snowclones.. Sufficiently humourous sneering is indistinguishable from progress Sufficiently high social status is indistinguishable from wisdom
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- gsf_emergency_2 2y ago
  Sufficiently profane reasoning is indistinguishable from autoregression Sufficiently anti-regressive compression is indistinguishable from sentience (--maybe the SCHMIDHUBER) https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2007-12667-001 https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2007-12667-001
IncreasePosts 2y ago
Retarded is too good of a word to go unused. It feels super wrong to call a mentally disabled person retarded or a retard. And we're told we can't call stupid things retarded. So who gets to use it? No one? With gay, on the other hand, gay people call each other gay and are usually okay being labeled as gay. So, it's still in use, and I think it's fine to push back against using it to mean "lame" or whatever. Finally, you should keep in mind that the author may not be American or familiar with American social trends. "Retarded" might be just fine in South Africa or Australia(I don't know). Similar to how very few Americans would bat an eye at someone using the phrase "spaz out", whereas it is viewed as very offensive in England.
- kazinator 2y ago
  If you have a burning urge to use "retarded" with complete dick-o-matic immunity, try a sentence like, "the flame retardant chemical successfully retarded the spread of the fire". You may singe a few eyebrows, that's about it.
- billab995 2y ago
  Might seem like a descriptive word but the fact is, it's hurtful to people who are working harder to make their way in life than I'll ever have to. Even when just heard in passing. Why do things in life that will hurt someone who'll likely just retreat away rather than confront you. Be the good guy.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - mitthrowaway2 2y ago
    That's the euphemism treadmill though, isn't it? "Retard" literally means late or delayed (hence French: en retard). Back when it was originally introduced to refer to a handicap, it was chosen for that reason to be a kind, polite, and indirect phrasing. That will also be the fate of any new terms that we choose. Hence for example in physics the term retarded potential (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retarded_potential https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retarded_potential) was chosen to refer to the delaying effect of the speed of light on electromagnetic fields, before the word had any association with mental disability. Words don't need to retain intrinsic hurtfulness; their hurtfulness comes from their usage, and the hurtful intent with which they are spoken. We don't need to yield those words to make them the property of 1990s schoolyard bullies in perpetual ownership. To that extent I'd still say this article's usage is not great.
echelon 2y ago
> I know the r-word is coming back in vogue This is so utterly fascinating to watch. Three years ago this would have cost you your job. Now everybody's back at it again. What is happening?
- esperent 2y ago
  For anyone else confused, this "r-word" is "retarded". They're not talking about a human. To me that makes it feel very different. However, there's also a large component coming from the current political situation. People feel more confident to push back against things like the policing of word usage. They're less likely to get "cancelled" now. They feel more confident that the zeitgeist is on their side now. They're probably right.
  - bongodongobob 2y ago
    Eh, I'm as left as they come and I'm tired of pretending that banning words solve anything. Who's offended? Why? Do you have a group of retarded friends you hang out with on the regular? Are they reading the article? No and no. Let's not pretend that changing the term to differentently abled or whatever has any meaning. It doesn't. It's a handful of loud people (usually well off white women) on social media dictating what is and isn't ok. Phrases like "temporarily unhoused" rather than homeless is another good way to pretend to be taking action when you're doing less than nothing. Fight for policy, not changing words.
    - esperent 2y ago
      > I'm as left as they come and I'm tired of pretending that banning words solve anything. Who's offended? Why? I'm with you on this, also speaking as a strong leftist. I do think that "banning" , or at least strongly condemning, the use of words when the specific group being slurred are clear that they consider it a slur and want it to stop is reasonable. But not when it's social justice warriors getting offended on behalf of other people. However, I think it's absolutely ridiculous that even when discussing the banning of these words, we're not allowed to use them directly. We are supposed to say "n-word", "r-word" even when discussing in an academic sense. Utter nonsense, it's as if saying these words out loud would conjure a demon.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

mountainriver 2y ago

Meta has one based on flow matching that is bigger, it performs pretty well

gsf_emergency_2 2y ago
A possible detente between SCHMIDHUBER & the school of Yann Lecun ? https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.129.228004 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.129.228004
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]

gsf_emergency_2 2y ago

I've got a couple more related snowclones.. Sufficiently humourous sneering is indistinguishable from progress Sufficiently high social status is indistinguishable from wisdom

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
gsf_emergency_2 2y ago
Sufficiently profane reasoning is indistinguishable from autoregression Sufficiently anti-regressive compression is indistinguishable from sentience (--maybe the SCHMIDHUBER) https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2007-12667-001 https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2007-12667-001

IncreasePosts 2y ago

Retarded is too good of a word to go unused. It feels super wrong to call a mentally disabled person retarded or a retard. And we're told we can't call stupid things retarded. So who gets to use it? No one? With gay, on the other hand, gay people call each other gay and are usually okay being labeled as gay. So, it's still in use, and I think it's fine to push back against using it to mean "lame" or whatever. Finally, you should keep in mind that the author may not be American or familiar with American social trends. "Retarded" might be just fine in South Africa or Australia(I don't know). Similar to how very few Americans would bat an eye at someone using the phrase "spaz out", whereas it is viewed as very offensive in England.

kazinator 2y ago
If you have a burning urge to use "retarded" with complete dick-o-matic immunity, try a sentence like, "the flame retardant chemical successfully retarded the spread of the fire". You may singe a few eyebrows, that's about it.
billab995 2y ago
Might seem like a descriptive word but the fact is, it's hurtful to people who are working harder to make their way in life than I'll ever have to. Even when just heard in passing. Why do things in life that will hurt someone who'll likely just retreat away rather than confront you. Be the good guy.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- mitthrowaway2 2y ago
  That's the euphemism treadmill though, isn't it? "Retard" literally means late or delayed (hence French: en retard). Back when it was originally introduced to refer to a handicap, it was chosen for that reason to be a kind, polite, and indirect phrasing. That will also be the fate of any new terms that we choose. Hence for example in physics the term retarded potential (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retarded_potential https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retarded_potential) was chosen to refer to the delaying effect of the speed of light on electromagnetic fields, before the word had any association with mental disability. Words don't need to retain intrinsic hurtfulness; their hurtfulness comes from their usage, and the hurtful intent with which they are spoken. We don't need to yield those words to make them the property of 1990s schoolyard bullies in perpetual ownership. To that extent I'd still say this article's usage is not great.

echelon 2y ago

> I know the r-word is coming back in vogue This is so utterly fascinating to watch. Three years ago this would have cost you your job. Now everybody's back at it again. What is happening?

esperent 2y ago
For anyone else confused, this "r-word" is "retarded". They're not talking about a human. To me that makes it feel very different. However, there's also a large component coming from the current political situation. People feel more confident to push back against things like the policing of word usage. They're less likely to get "cancelled" now. They feel more confident that the zeitgeist is on their side now. They're probably right.
- bongodongobob 2y ago
  Eh, I'm as left as they come and I'm tired of pretending that banning words solve anything. Who's offended? Why? Do you have a group of retarded friends you hang out with on the regular? Are they reading the article? No and no. Let's not pretend that changing the term to differentently abled or whatever has any meaning. It doesn't. It's a handful of loud people (usually well off white women) on social media dictating what is and isn't ok. Phrases like "temporarily unhoused" rather than homeless is another good way to pretend to be taking action when you're doing less than nothing. Fight for policy, not changing words.
  - esperent 2y ago
    > I'm as left as they come and I'm tired of pretending that banning words solve anything. Who's offended? Why? I'm with you on this, also speaking as a strong leftist. I do think that "banning" , or at least strongly condemning, the use of words when the specific group being slurred are clear that they consider it a slur and want it to stop is reasonable. But not when it's social justice warriors getting offended on behalf of other people. However, I think it's absolutely ridiculous that even when discussing the banning of these words, we're not allowed to use them directly. We are supposed to say "n-word", "r-word" even when discussing in an academic sense. Utter nonsense, it's as if saying these words out loud would conjure a demon.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]