BrenBarn

31 ms·

721.
by BrenBarn 1y ago
> I blame software updates. That's when software went from generally working on release to not at all. I agree. So much software these days treats users as testers and is essentially a giant test-in-production gaffe.
722.
by BrenBarn 1y ago
It's rather surprising how the article just glosses over the whole issue of enforcement. It goes from "can't you just pass laws" to "well it's about social expectations". Well, what about "can'
723.
by BrenBarn 1y ago
> A common theme in concentrated industries is that innovation and quality declines. Yes, big companies are bad. Sysco should be destroyed like all the rest of them.
724.
by BrenBarn 1y ago
But the size of Sysco creates economies of scale that make it even cheaper and exacerbate the problem. It is bad for larger companies to be able to sell things cheaper.
725.
by BrenBarn 1y ago
It seems clear that this dude is engaged in a vendetta, but I feel like a larger issue lurking in the background is the whole swirling mist of Google, Reddit, and mod policies. In the first place it's troubling that Google ever had so
726.
by BrenBarn 1y ago
How is "50x" measured? Is that number of apps or number of app installs? Are they considering things like Facebook and TikTok as "malware"?
727.
by BrenBarn 1y ago
> Unless we agree to fight for freedom everywhere, the only logical excuse is that the digital world doesn't have real world consequences, except that it increasingly patently does now. I think the relevant difference is that it has
728.
by BrenBarn 1y ago
> I'm not sure what level of confidence I have in any major media conglomerate to actually deliver anything resembling unbiased news at this point. I'd go further: I'm not sure what level of confidence I have in any majo
729.
by BrenBarn 1y ago
Such a universal approach as what?
730.
by BrenBarn 1y ago
There are good ideas here. They won't come to fruition without some form of force. I'm not sure if TBL doesn't realize, is unwilling to accept, or just wants to avoid saying out loud that the only reason it worked for him t
731.
by BrenBarn 1y ago
I'm not so sure that having produced new knowledge is so vital to teaching old knowledge, at least not at the scale that's required for a tenure-track job. It's good for a teacher to not be locked into a static view of old k
732.
by BrenBarn 1y ago
It's so tragicomic to see a page that says "the internet is broken" and then offers AI as the solution. It's like saying "Oh, you have a headache? You'll surely want this hammer to bash your skull with."
733.
by BrenBarn 1y ago
I don't really understand what you're saying. What isn't helpful?
734.
by BrenBarn 1y ago
I don't disagree with all that you said about analytical techniques and so on, but those are learning "how" not learning "what". It's not about learning the result of someone else's analysis, it's ab
735.
by BrenBarn 1y ago
I more or less agree with that, with the proviso that I think academia in general (not just the humanities) would benefit from easing up a bit on the insistence on "producing new knowledge". It's good to produce new knowledg
736.
by BrenBarn 1y ago
> I don't want to defend humanities academia too much, but you could ask the same about pure math too. That's true to some extent. I think math has built up enough credibility though because such a huge amount of mathematical
737.
by BrenBarn 1y ago
I agree that this is a problem with how humanities is often (or at least sometimes) done in colleges, and I suspect it's a significant contributor to the animus directed at the humanities. There has been a blurring of the line between
738.
by BrenBarn 1y ago
It seems like violence likely has not gotten worse globally, although it has increased in some specific ways that scare first-world dwellers. I think inequality though has indeed increased.
739.
by BrenBarn 1y ago
If it is "AI-powered" I would expect it to detect itself as BS. :-)
740.
by BrenBarn 1y ago
I think you're confusing "internationally recognized" with something like "there is an interpretation of international law that supports ..." (and it was unwise of me to use the term "international law" in
741.
by BrenBarn 1y ago
The thing is that if not one single country agrees with you it kind of goes beyond just "undue influence".
742.
by BrenBarn 1y ago
I'm under no illusions that the US respects international (or even domestic!) law.
743.
by BrenBarn 1y ago
Are there any countries at all that recognize the West Bank settlements as legal?
744.
by BrenBarn 1y ago
Who cares? My point is the international community regards the settlements as illegal and if Israel cared about that they would immediately and completely withdraw.
745.
by BrenBarn 1y ago
The Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law.
746.
by BrenBarn 1y ago
How do the kids not from wealthy backgrounds pay? Is there some kind of scholarship program? Do you know what proportion of kids are in that?
747.
by BrenBarn 1y ago
This isn't a real answer your question, it's just an idea that's crossed my mind a few times. We've seen with the exploding pagers and all kinds of other covert ops that Israel has a really powerful spy network that&#x27
748.
by BrenBarn 1y ago
Yes, but I wouldn't call that optimistic. It's just an epsilon away from 100% pessimism.
749.
by BrenBarn 1y ago
International law forbids a lot of things Israel already does. If it respected international law it would withdraw to its internationally recognized borders.
750.
by BrenBarn 1y ago
The ending is definitely the most optimistic part of the book, but on balance I think the overall picture is still excruciatingly bleak. It gives me the impression that any optimism of the part of the characters is likely unwarranted. The

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