worstspotgain

11 ms·

91.
by worstspotgain 2y ago
In unrelated news, apparently most world leaders in the Internet era, from Thatcher to GHWB to Mitterand to Rabin, expressed great admiration for Vladimir Putin.
92.
by worstspotgain 2y ago
One way the simulation argument starts is: Is this the ultimate nature of reality? A universe out of thin void? One possibility is that all possible universes exist, we just have survivorship bias. But we're blessed with poetry and rai
93.
by worstspotgain 2y ago
To your first point, if it's a simulated universe, the simulators can just choose to make it finite, and come up with their preferred particle behavior rules. As observers, we perceive time as passing, but is there anything special in
94.
by worstspotgain 2y ago
Can we reduce this to an estimate of survivorship bias? If there is only one universe, then our survival is clearly explained: we're in the only reality there is. If all possible universes exist, then we really lucked out in ending up
95.
by worstspotgain 2y ago
> It doesn’t actually exclude the “something extra”, it is neutral as to whether or not there is any “something extra” Roger, that's even better. I tried to clarify the log book idea in another reply.[1] The question is whether you
96.
by worstspotgain 2y ago
Sure, but the timebases are different. Maybe it took the butterflypeople a thousand butterflyweeks to write it out. Let me restate the metaphysics a bit differently. Let's say there's no us, no butterflypeople, nothing at all. Ent
97.
by worstspotgain 2y ago
OK, but if you own the machine, you can just pick the outcome you want, or draw it from the distributions at random. We (observers inside the machine) cannot know the future of course.
98.
by worstspotgain 2y ago
I agree with your post. However, I was using the most mechanical meaning of simulation: "the production of a computer model of something, especially for the purpose of study," which implies determinism and excludes the "somet
99.
by worstspotgain 2y ago
If the universe is not infinite, and if individual particles and waves are calculable, it follows that one can postulate a larger universe capable of simulating it, or a large enough log book in this example. What I find interesting is look
100.
by worstspotgain 2y ago
Good question? :) I'd say no. How about an exact copy of the log book, but with one bit flipped. Voila, mostly universal physics.
101.
by worstspotgain 2y ago
Are you saying that some things are just not simulable, given a sufficiently large and powerful computer, or that the universe is or might be infinite?
102.
by worstspotgain 2y ago
It's an argument about simulations, not about reality. If reality is a simulation, then arguments about simulations apply to it, but that's the big if.
103.
by worstspotgain 2y ago
Thought experiment on the nature of reality: - In a much larger universe, write down in a log book every event to every particle at every instant, from the Big Bang to the restaurant. - Put it on the fireplace mantle and leave it there. Thi
104.
by worstspotgain 2y ago
One could even argue it has all of the benefits and less of the dynamite scent.
105.
by worstspotgain 2y ago
When the most significant advance since electrification needs to hop the fence to be recognized, perhaps it's time to add a new field. It can be done, the Economics prize was added in 1968.
106.
by worstspotgain 2y ago
Just an obligatory link to the awesome and relatedly-inspired Wes Anderson movie, ICYMI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_of_Dogs_(film) Don't forget to spay and neuter your pets.
107.
by worstspotgain 2y ago
Touch screen but no iOS.
108.
by worstspotgain 2y ago
EINTR's design is one of computing's absolute classics. To MIT and New Jersey, we should add the McDougals approach: "I cannot work under these conditions." When faced with the PC loser-ing issue, just don't impleme
109.
by worstspotgain 2y ago
It's not C++ that has been replaced, it's VB.
110.
by worstspotgain 2y ago
If they called it a Macbook Air with an upside-down bulge and a detachable keyboard, would that be just as well?
111.
by worstspotgain 2y ago
The uops aren't smart or terribly proprietary IIRC. Aside from security/integrity/testing, the documentation would have to be automated, and releasing it early might tip off competitors to some stuff. I don't think you&#
112.
by worstspotgain 2y ago
It's nice that they're finally starting to "compress" the instruction space. To take a related concept further, it would be nice if there were totally unportable, chip-superspecific ways of feeding uops directly, particu
113.
by worstspotgain 2y ago
Don't underestimate the possibility of Satoshi being an anti-West nation state. They tend to have brainpower lying around, and have an enormous interest in currency systems they cannot be excluded from (see e.g. Russia's Swift ban
114.
by worstspotgain 2y ago
Well, OK, there are ways for a young tech family to avoid the 2+ hour commute: - Be extremely well paid, and don't mind buying a $1.5m house that would go for $500K in, say, Pittsburg CA. - Squeeze into an apartment. - Buy near one BAR
115.
by worstspotgain 2y ago
LNG is currently important for the politics of decarbonization, not so much for its engineering or economics. The war in Ukraine happened, and Putin's natural gas threat to the EU was (partially) countered via LNG deliveries from the
116.
by worstspotgain 2y ago
Just chiming in to add one factor that you overlooked: selective caloric restriction. We know caloric restriction can extend lifespan. It's usually tested as a discrete variable, but its statistical effect in the wild is continuous. It
117.
by worstspotgain 2y ago
Too young to remember Abba's song when it was new, too old to not remember Narada's song and get confused by it.
118.
by worstspotgain 2y ago
Holy Schweiz
119.
by worstspotgain 2y ago
There are three sewersheds [1] but we don't know which one the signal was detected in (or do we?) If it was the Northpoint one (~ NE quadrant) there aren't as many lawns there. There are a few small parks, street cleaning and what
120.
by worstspotgain 2y ago
She's not my bride. She's my fare.

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