Aaron

#MachineLearning engineer. #NLU enthusiast. #AutisticZebra (#autism & #EhlersDanlos). Guitarist, singer, songwriter. Rude-sounding kind person. (he/they)

https://hosford42.github.io/

Public Key

npub1ctugzl4z9dfxlwqqv8aa4yan9l4zwjtpkzql7fg6w37axns3rw5q84tk45

NIP-05 Address

hosford42_at_techhub.social@mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsv97yp063zk5n0hqqxr776jwejl638f9smpq0ly5d8glwnfcg3h2qltnrj7

Author Public Key

npub1ctugzl4z9dfxlwqqv8aa4yan9l4zwjtpkzql7fg6w37axns3rw5q84tk45

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Last Notes

2024-05-06 19:36:33

I invented my first algorithm in 3rd grade. I taught myself to program at 12. I coded my first neural network at age 16. I was a National Merit Scholar. I have a patent for an application of machine learning to natural language processing. ML has been my special interest for 30 years, and my career for 10. I've been programming for even longer, 33 years on my own time and and 20 in the workplace.
But I don't have a degree, due to mental health and an undiagnosed invisible disability. So I'm not good enough to hire.

2024-04-16 13:53:12

I am so ready for this absurdly overblown LLM hype cycle to wrap up, so the adults can get back to the real work.

2024-04-11 19:49:34

My dentist appointment started at tooth hurty.

2024-04-03 05:28:26

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@npub1gnx…d5kh Watching this space for reports of a busted water pipe tomorrow.

2024-04-03 05:23:53

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@npub19fc…ay3c I honestly thought this was going to end with, "and then they shot him."

2024-03-28 13:23:20

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@npub14zq…fddd This feels like a distinction between meta- and base-level ambiguity. Like, we can handle ambiguity if there is an unambiguous boundary defined for it.

2024-03-19 06:04:04

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@npub1wje…kd27 Looks delicious, and nice presentation, too!
I need to try vegan chili sometime. It's weird to imagine, growing up in Texas where meat is central to most food, but with all those spices I bet it works great!

2024-03-17 15:05:07

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@npub12wq…caty @npub1mew…tau6 I have the worst case of earworms of anyone I have ever discussed it with. I've had up to 3 unrelated songs stuck in my head, each in a different key and in a different tempo. I also get non-musical sounds stuck, like doors closing or people coughing. I relied on it in high-school when I was called out by the teacher for not listening; I just repeated back my internal echo of his words to him, verbatim, even imitating his intonation and pronunciation.

2024-03-15 00:48:47

Was going to get some job hunting done today. Instead I have spent the whole day feeling like crap, too tired to move and struggling to keep my eyes open. Why does this happen to me every single day? Even while taking a medication specifically indicated for wakefulness.
#nuvigil
#DaytimeSleepiness
#SleepDisorder

2024-03-13 14:28:58

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@npub16ls…r2ev @npub19fc…ay3c And services can be withdrawn at the whim of the provider.

2024-03-09 19:35:31

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@npub1skv…aky3 I really hope there are folks there to represent the interests and perspectives of those being studied. The autistic community, and the larger neurodivergent community, regularly encounter research that looks at us as broken and in need of repair, presuming from the start that the way we function is a malfunction, because it is not common or typical. This leads to ableism and ethical violations that are invisible from the perspective of the researchers making these faulty assumptions. I would love to see some representation from the neurodivergent community there, to give an insider's perspective.
I think the field is already waking up to this, as well as similar effects for race and gender. I just want to make sure it's being consciously addressed.

2024-03-08 22:01:23

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@npub15sw…x855 It's one of the biggest unsolved problems in artificial neural networks, as well. One potential avenue that I find really interesting is hypervector computing/semantic pointers. ANNs and HVC are very complementary in their capabilities, with HVC supporting instant memorization and local generalization, while ANNs support the learning of implicit decision surfaces. I'd love to find a way to put these together effectively, or, barring that, even just to see someone else do it.

2024-03-08 01:13:05

I'm probably preaching to the choir here, but if you know someone who has a chronic health problem, and they mention it to you, that's not an invitation to suggest 20 different quick fixes. Odds are, they've already tried all of them and about 200 more you've never even heard of. It takes energy to swat down superfluous suggestions, and that's something chronically ill folks are often short on. Don't add to it. If we want advice or troubleshooting, we will ask directly.

2024-03-03 19:50:19

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@npub1ytn…qclv I wonder why doors like that are so rare here in the US. They're kind of cool.

2024-03-02 16:25:49

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@npub1h7y…py5p @npub18lj…80hq Same. I used to actually consider it rude, because I didn't understand the reason for it. I couldn't understand why people would make me jump through needless hoops to figure out what they wanted from me. To me, stating a request directly is a way to make it easier on the requestee -- less total work to be done. It wasn't till I got older that I began to understand that there is a reason for the behavior, and it is rooted in sexism and oppression, not an obtuse desire to make things unnecessarily difficult.

2024-03-02 16:16:33

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@npub18lj…80hq I was gonna say it is sexism before you asked about that, so yeah. My wife still asks things this way and IDK how to make her feel safe just being forthright with her needs. I'm fighting against too many years of social training before we ever met. But at least I can teach my daughters to stick up for themselves.

2024-03-02 14:27:46

Sites that stop my browser's back button from working so I can't escape their paywall really irritate me. Once I see the paywall it's too late and I can't just say "Never mind, it's not worth it," and hit the back button.
Congratulations, now I won't even click links to your articles in the first place.

2024-03-01 22:22:16

Boycott profit!
Take your business to a cooperative or non-profit company. Every penny wisely spent makes a difference. Down with our corporate overlords! Down with their billionaire owners!
#BoycottProfit
#coops
#cooperatives
#ConsumerCooperatives
#ConsumerCoops
#WorkerCooperatives
#WorkerCoops
#NonProfit
#WealthInequality

2024-03-01 16:56:52

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@npub1gmx…atcq @npub156h…zws3 @npub1n5r…gm63
> Its an ongoing acute stress reaction im having.
Thank you for putting words to my existence.

2024-02-25 19:20:26

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@npub1gmx…atcq The only place where this is right to do is when you are deciding if a person matters or not. The answer is "yes" regardless of labels. Everything after that is intentional ignorance of societal unfairness and injustice.
But people don't differentiate, and conflate the latter with the former, and that's what opens them up to having their poorly thought out attitudes exploited and coopted, turning them into the very kind of people they think they're working against. "See, I'm not a racist!"

2024-02-25 19:12:45

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@npub1s88…lw9d @npub1gmx…atcq Ran into this face first the other day, when a cop told me that asking for a neighborhood without excessive noise pollution that torments autistic people like me was *me* imposing on *other* people. Like, did you not just hear what I fucking said, dude? *They* are tormenting *me*, in my own home, no less, and people apparently have the legal right to do this to me daily -- a legal right that they blithely exercise without inhibition or consideration.

2024-02-24 14:48:25

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@npub1zdp…vqv8 The military-esque garb is also a dog whistle, for fascism, I think.

2024-02-24 07:42:46

What would a cooperative startup incubator look like?
#coops
#cooperatives
#incubator
#startup

2024-02-23 17:13:30

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@npub1yne…sy9d There's a whole thing about carrots for dogs. For some of them, it's a literal treat. Labradoodles, in particular, are huge fans. My pomeranian, OTOH, could care less.

2024-02-23 07:38:31

My cat is super excited that I just gave him our leftover steamed broccoli.
It's still weird to me that any cat likes broccoli. He also enjoys avocado, and has even tried sweet potato.

2024-02-23 07:10:09

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@npub1r4h…u0jf I wish I didn't know exactly what you mean. :(

2024-02-16 19:05:34

The entirety of humanity could really benefit from doing away with the concept of social status. Nobody matters less than you. Nobody matters more than you.
Doesn't matter if they are homeless people or super wealthy, intellectually disabled or brilliant, peasants or royalty, nobodies or world leaders, foreigners or fellow citizens, ugly or beautiful... I can go on, but I hope you get the point. Every human life has value. Period.

2024-02-13 03:07:38

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@npub1r4h…u0jf @npub1hxz…m0f7 I am 'floored'. (Sorry, it was 'building' to that all along.)

2024-02-13 03:01:04

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@npub1r4h…u0jf @npub1hxz…m0f7 I guess that's why they call being cursed, being "hexed". :)

2024-02-12 18:09:37

I love how I can switch between social consciousness and science/tech geekery posts on Mastodon. I can even find them mixed together! My people are here.

2024-02-05 18:47:21

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@npub1yck…ujmw @npub1uuv…zpxv @npub1udr…8gc6 Money comes before people, is what I'm hearing. Especially if it's people who already get shit on by society.

2024-02-05 18:17:06

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@npub1yck…ujmw @npub1uuv…zpxv @npub1udr…8gc6
"those people"
A quick check with a search engine informs me that 13% of the population is disabled. The number of people who will ever be disabled at some point in their lives is higher, around 25%. Those people are these people.

2024-02-05 17:00:32

Ugh. Fleas can bite my ass.

2024-02-01 11:41:23

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@npub1zak…d6uu I tried it before, but it was basically just me talking at someone while they asked questions and provided zero actual input. I felt like I could've gotten similar utility by calling one of those 1-900 numbers and just spilling my guts to some anonymous stranger who was paid to sit and listen to me. The group I'm setup to meet with tomorrow seems more professional. Maybe I'll get to see what therapy is actually supposed to be like.

2024-02-01 11:33:10

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@npub1zak…d6uu Thank you.
I'm gonna start with physical needs and work my way up the Maslow pyramid. Maybe if I'm not hungry, too, I'll be able to go back to sleep, and that'll be two basic needs met and I can think clearly enough to sort the rest of this crap out.

2024-02-01 11:27:35

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@npub1zak…d6uu I was there. I was holding it together. Then this straw landed on the camel's back. i gotta find my calm again.

2024-02-01 11:23:31

Perfect timing for major family drama to erupt in the middle of the night, right? I swear there is a god after all and he's fucking with me and laughing about jt. It wasn't enough for my boss to die, followed by a mystery virus that had me really sick for a month, followed by covid that had me even sicker for a month, followed by a communication breakdown with my new boss, followed by severe anxiety that had me out of work for a month, followed by a mass layoff. No. The very night after I got laid off, this crap has to happen. Hello again, panic attacks. At least I'm supposed to start therapy tomorrow. #FML

2024-01-21 15:43:37

In modern times, when rich people levy taxes against poor people to support their lavish lifestyles, they don't use government to do it. They use corporations. We call these private sector taxes "profits", and we have been effectively sold the lie that they are not only just, but beneficial to us, and necessary for our economic survival.
#NewAristocracy

2024-01-19 17:47:37

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@npub189n…satx "And you too, disabled people, and trans people, and gay people, and non-Christians, and poor people, and women, and anybody else I don't particularly like."

2024-01-01 16:56:55

Reading an article on some professors teaching physics to Buddhist monks, and this quote stood out to me:
“The thing that stood out to me there, and matters to me as a teacher, is that the monks, it seemed...use debate not as a way of ‘proving’ an idea or demonstrating mastery of a concept, but as a genuine effort to ensure that their own personal ideas hold water."
The world would be a much better place if we humans were more inclined to approach things this way.

2023-12-30 05:53:39

My single biggest gripe about neurotypical people is the profound reluctance that so many of them have towards learning about neurodiversity, autism in particular. Most cannot be bothered to read one Wikipedia article about us, even knowing that one of their acquaintances is autistic and needs them to understand.
I am not trans, but I take the time to learn about trans people, from trans people, so I can better understand the unique difficulties they face. I also do the same for races other than my own, genders other than my own, nationalities other than my own, religions other than my own, neurotypes other than my own, disabilities other than my own, etc. If one disabled, exhausted, and socially encumbered person can find the time to actively learn about and from all these groups, then I can say with confidence that it is not too much to ask the same from a neurotypical person regarding just one. But when I ask for it, I only get excuses and conversational redirections.

2023-12-30 00:50:35

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@npub1nw8…8pu2 @npub108p…z6zd @freemo@qoto.org @npub1lrp…n7q6 @npub1q8n…kct8 @npub1l3t…cal9 @npub1nqz…838y I love running into conversations where people are arguing with him, but I can't see his BS because I already blocked him.

2023-12-25 01:50:20

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@npub17sh…6e06 I learned a long time ago that the worst thing you can do to someone who is full of bluster and threats is to blow them off nonchalantly. It takes the steam right out of them. And in the off chance it doesn't work, well, my wife and I have enough video of them saying all kinds of horrible things that we could easily get them for a hate crime.
I wish they would just go away, or at least keep to themselves, though.

2023-12-24 23:57:58

Some new neighbors have decided to make me miserable, playing instruments and partying on their front porch. One of the ableist, racist, homophobic, misogynistic, verbally abusive neighbors with anger issues that live directly across the street noticed me looking unhappily at the other ones currently making the noise and decided to chime in by talking loudly about how he'd punch me in the face if I ever have the nerve to ask them to stop being obnoxious again.
So I stood in my front yard and looked towards him till he noticed me, and then gave him a friendly wave. Naturally he started in cursing me immediately and tried to claim he wasn't talking about me. Coward who likes to run his mouth and sound like a big man. I just laughed, told him to keep running his mouth, and went inside. I don't think he's too happy with me.

2023-12-21 03:24:34

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@npub1zdp…vqv8 @npub16pz…zgfm There is a related number I've been playing around with a bit. I have yet to find other references to it, so maybe I'm the first to stumble upon it. 1.77677... For this number, c^c = c + 1. It's kind of a hyper operational parallel of phi. I'd love to find out what sorts of parallel properties might hold for it as a result of this similarity.

2023-12-21 03:20:00

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@npub1zdp…vqv8 @npub16pz…zgfm It's maximally irrational, in the sense of slowest convergence of rational approximations, IIRC. There was a Quantum Magazine article on it that I read just the other day.

2023-12-21 01:22:08

2 days and 5+ support agents later, I have finally exited AT&T's internet service support infinite loop, thanks to that one who chose to actually listen instead of just following the script and trying to send a technician out to fix a software problem.
AT&T, WTF are you doing? Get it together!

2023-12-16 16:10:21

The Hill: Homelessness in US surges to highest-recorded level
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/4363103-homelessness-sours-highest-recorded-level/

2023-12-12 20:53:34

Sorry for being so negative lately. It has been a difficult time. You all hear the stuff I don't say out loud. I appreciate all the support. It's nice to know people care, even if it's just internet acquaintances.

2023-12-08 08:53:04

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@npub1aum…5jx0 Love this illustration! Makes me think of another comparison I like to make. There are fungi that take over ant brains, nematodes that hijack snail eyes, and any number of other parasites that take over not just the resources of the host, but the mind or behavior of the host. Evangelical religions are exactly this, only they are purely software, like a computer virus that runs on wetware. Mental illness that's actually infectious.

2023-11-28 01:02:38

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@npub19fc…ay3c @npub1hqv…ude4 I never would have guessed, growing up in a Christian household, that the words for Easter and estrogen might share a common word root.
https://www.elitehavens.com/magazine/5-fascinating-things-we-bet-you-didnt-know-about-easter/

2023-11-28 00:58:48

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@npub1hqv…ude4 @npub19fc…ay3c Having been a Christian for the first decade or two of my life, it boils down to an attitude of, don't listen to the evil "worldly wisdom" of those Satanistic atheists. It's just the Devil trying to lead you astray!
You can't learn if you can't bring yourself to listen or think beyond the confines of what's been set out for you as "fact", and there are all kinds of mechanisms in place to prevent exactly that. "It's sinful to question God. You should just have faith. Of *course* what we are telling you is God's Truth, because we too have faith! Pay no mind to how we learned it in the first place."

2023-11-28 00:16:34

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@npub19fc…ay3c Easter eggs and eater bunnies, too! It goes back to the long-practiced Catholic strategy of moving Christian holidays to coincide with pagan ones in order to coopt them, as I understand it.

2023-11-26 13:05:30

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@npub1zak…d6uu I felt profoundly awkward when I started antidepressants the first time. I didn't even know how to be myself without the depression and anxiety.

2023-11-25 04:07:24

Euronews: Autistic people have a lower life expectancy, new study reveals
https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/11/24/people-with-autism-have-a-lower-life-expectancy-than-the-uk-average-new-study-reveals
“Autism itself does not, to our knowledge, directly reduce life expectancy, but we know that autistic people experience health inequalities, meaning that they often don’t get the support and help that they need when they need it.”
“It’s linked to many aspects of their lives, their rights not being respected, being discriminated throughout their lives. There are many factors: the stress of not being understood and living in a world that doesn't accommodate the needs of autistic people.”
“These findings demonstrate that autistic people continue to face unacceptable inequalities through a lack of understanding, barriers to vital services, and inadequate care, which lead to poorer mental and physical health outcomes.”

2023-11-23 15:53:08

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@npub1yg2…a2l6 @npub19fc…ay3c It's possible it's the people and not the venue, I suppose. Some of it might just be cultural.
I'm probably guilty of this pretty often. I know that it's a thing for neurodivergent folks like myself to make less common connections between things. In our mutual discussions, it's very normal to take an abrupt turn in the conversation, and no one blinks.
I am only just now starting to realize that that bothers some people, rather than being a pleasant surprise. While I do care and want to do right by people who have different preferences, it can be difficult to know which side of that fence people sit in advance. It's also difficult to understand why it's upsetting, esp. when someone works differently from yourself. And then there's the difficulty in knowing what counts as the same topic vs a subject change, as people will often disagree about where that line falls.
Do you have suggestions on how to track these things, for someone who is trying to do better?

2023-11-21 21:17:38

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@npub1g7j…7unj This person is not barefoot. Why are you posting fakes?

2023-11-19 20:43:21

Are their #news agencies out there which are structured as consumer #cooperatives?
I see (and agree with) people complaining that news agencies are profit-driven, and that this introduces inherent biases in what gets reported, and how it gets presented. If we want our news to tell us what we need to know, they should get paid for doing precisely that, rather than getting paid for grabbing and holding our attention any way they can manage to do so.

2023-11-14 00:14:32

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@npub1vz5…qdta @npub1k7x…9d0w I am perfectly aware of what you asked. And I recognized it as an attempt to dictate the flow of conversation, which you have now confirmed for me. Why should I lay out a plan for what "exactly" to do. You asked what I would do. I responded with constraints on what I would do. But that's not good enough. You want to make me commit to a detailed plan so you can nitpick it. I'm not in a position to make a detailed plan, and you already know that. But I can still clearly see from my vantage point the lack of regard for civilian life. I can hear it plainly in the words used to describe the goals, as well. So this is as specific as it's going to get, and it is good enough: I would defend myself, as they are doing, but I would try a hell of a lot harder not to kill innocent people in the process. I would *care* if innocent people die, and that would affect my plan, were I to make a specific one. Something I don't see in the current plan.

2023-11-13 20:47:19

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@npub1vz5…qdta @npub1k7x…9d0w At least not close the gates and trap people inside? Allow humanitarian aid? Don't attack hospitals? I know they are in a difficult place and have to do something. That's not the issue. The issue is that I don't see sufficient efforts being made to mitigate harm to bystanders.

2023-11-13 20:38:40

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@npub1vz5…qdta @npub1k7x…9d0w Okay. So they just need to do so *without murdering innocent people*.

2023-11-13 20:33:54

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@npub1vz5…qdta @npub1k7x…9d0w You keep going on about policies. Whatever positive actions the Israeli government has taken, they deserve credit for. Whatever negative actions they have taken, they deserve blame for. Same for Hamas. Same for Palestinians in general. Same for Israelis in general. Same for Jewish people in general. But taking positive actions doesn't cancel out negative actions. The credit they get for disengaging with Palestine has no bearing on their blame for killing Palestinian babies afterward.
The guilt of Hamas is not in question for me. They have disgusting policies and followed through with disgusting acts. You don't need to convince me of this; we already agree. But that does not excuse anyone else murdering innocent people. Full stop.

2023-11-13 19:59:28

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@npub1vz5…qdta @npub1k7x…9d0w I don't care about policies if actions don't match.

2023-11-13 17:03:48

I'd like to make something very clear:
Whether a person is neurodivergent or not has no bearing on whether they are capable of making sense when they speak. It has no bearing on whether they are worthy of being listened to. And it has no bearing on whether they are capable of understanding you.
If you dismiss someone's opinion or insights on the basis of their neurodivergence, that is ableism, and you are being an asshole. That does not change if you extend them pity because they are disabled. In fact, it makes it a thousand times worse.
If you disagree with what someone who is neurodivergent or otherwise disabled has said, disagree with their words. Point out the error of their words. That's fine. But if you drag who they are into the argument and use it as a reason to ignore what they are saying, even if you don't say so out loud, you're the asshole.
/end rant
#ActuallyAutistic
#disability
#neurodivergence

2023-11-13 01:11:34

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@npub1efv…8zve @npub10gv…vzat @npub1ft4…u768 @npub1vy8…jfs5 @npub1h0d…qs5p @npub1ccn…czwu Pretty much, yeah, and well said. Sometimes I don't have the words to effectively convey my thoughts, so I appreciate the back-and-forth to sort that out.

2023-11-13 01:02:48

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@npub1778…08sc @npub10gv…vzat @npub1ft4…u768 @npub1vy8…jfs5 @npub1h0d…qs5p @npub1ccn…czwu It is a difficult perspective to take, I'll admit. Science deals in facts and evidence, rather than ancient teachings and claims of miracles, but it's still a system of belief. I guess that distinction, though, is what makes science trustworthy and religion not.
An alternative perspective I like to take is science as a distributed learning algorithm. This highlights the core distinction between science and religion. Religion says it has all the answers. Science says it will find all the answers. Religion says it has jumped to the end and knows the truth. Science says its a never-ending asymptotic process of discovery and verification.

2023-11-13 00:39:12

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@npub1ccn…czwu @npub1efv…8zve @npub10gv…vzat @npub1ft4…u768 @npub1vy8…jfs5 @npub1h0d…qs5p Funny how the model dictates what is true, isn't it? Combine that with the fact that the way we experience the universe we live within is entirely through a model constructed from sensory data, and it might become clear to you why I say it's impossible to know anything with certainty because we live within the universe, not outside it.

2023-11-13 00:14:48

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@npub1ccn…czwu @npub1pha…68fq @npub1ft4…u768 @npub1h0d…qs5p Or did you mean that entire post as the intent for the gif, rather than as a taunt?

2023-11-13 00:13:42

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@npub1ccn…czwu @npub1pha…68fq @npub1ft4…u768 @npub1h0d…qs5p Please don't play games. I'm autistic and I don't like my difficulty inferring social intent to be the subject of people toying with me. I find that sort of behavior extremely rude and offensive. I will give you the benefit of the doubt in this case, if you will kindly cease to do so.

2023-11-12 23:59:18

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@npub1efv…8zve @npub10gv…vzat @npub1ft4…u768 @npub1vy8…jfs5 @npub1h0d…qs5p @npub1ccn…czwu I would argue that any so-called god that was relevant to our existence in any way would behave in a way that generated evidence of its existence. So an absence of evidence for a *human-relevant* god is indeed evidence of absence. But this is only evidence, not a certainty. As for broader definitions of godhood, just how meaningful are such claims, whether positive or negative, if they are not relevant to our existence in any way?

2023-11-12 23:41:54

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@npub1ccn…czwu @npub1pha…68fq @npub1ft4…u768 @npub1h0d…qs5p I'm not sure what the intent is for this gif.

2023-11-12 23:30:24

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@npub1ccn…czwu @npub1ft4…u768 @npub1h0d…qs5p Again, we agree in our conclusions, just not in the degree of certainty we think it is possible for an embodied human mind to attain. I don't believe anyone can be *justifiably* absolutely certain about anything at all, because human perception is a constrained hallucination of the underlying reality. But thankfully we do have evidence and consistency therein to lend support to our conclusions, which is why the hallucination is constrained instead of freewheeling.

2023-11-12 23:19:02

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@npub1ccn…czwu @npub1pha…68fq @npub1ft4…u768 @npub1h0d…qs5p I do disagree with "easier" being a good reason, while still agreeing with the conclusion.

2023-11-12 22:54:54

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@npub1ft4…u768 @npub1h0d…qs5p @npub1ccn…czwu Correction: I have a huge crack in my phone screen, and couldn't see the missing "a". I'm an agnostic atheist.

2023-11-12 22:53:39

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@npub1pha…68fq @npub1ft4…u768 @npub1ccn…czwu @npub1h0d…qs5p We don't even get to know the laws. We can only infer them, and infer that they hold in other places we can't observe.

2023-11-12 22:49:48

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@npub10gv…vzat @npub1ft4…u768 @npub1vy8…jfs5 @npub1h0d…qs5p @npub1ccn…czwu I don't think she's wrong. We must weigh not only the evidence for/against a conclusion, but the evidence for/against the reliability of our information sources. Science has a lot of evidence to support its reliability -- far more than any religion, IMO -- but it's still an educated guess any time we draw a conclusion based on evidence. Contrast this with the only other alternative, which is to guess *without* evidence, i.e. to make a leap of faith. I know which method I'll trust, but I have no illusions about its limitations.

2023-11-12 22:45:50

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@npub1ft4…u768 @npub1h0d…qs5p @npub1ccn…czwu I'm under that heading.

2023-11-12 22:44:44

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@npub1h0d…qs5p @npub1ccn…czwu That link is broken.
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6del%27s_incompleteness_theorems

2023-11-12 22:42:08

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@npub1ccn…czwu @npub1h0d…qs5p What? No. I'm an agnostic atheist. That means I've drawn the conclusion I think best fits the evidence, but I don't have the hubris to claim I have any oracular relationship with the truth. All I have is evidence, which stacks on the scale to lean it one way or the other. But no matter how much weight is on one side of the scale, it's always possible to add more to the other side. In other words, I'm capable of changing my mind if there's new evidence that comes to light. That's the core of agnosticism. If you think you can be absolutely certain about things, to the point that you can ignore additional evidence, then IMO you have more in common with those with fervent religious faith than with me, despite our common conclusion in answer to this particular question.

2023-11-12 17:37:51

Can we go back to, "Fuck, I have to go to work," being the shittiest part of the day?

2023-11-10 19:46:14

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@npub10vw…m5m4 @npub1wpj…7m4z IDK, it wouldn't be us (not) having this conversation, if we hadn't developed intelligence. You and I would have never existed, and I can't bring myself to say I wish I'd never been born. There are a lot of things that went haywire because nature made such a major edit to our design, but here we are, and we can either tamp down on the problematic side effects to make the new feature worthwhile, or wallow in the bugs that were introduced into our brain design along the way. Eventually they'll all get ironed out, and the cool part about this particular new feature is, we can actually consciously participate in that process. Without intelligence, we wouldn't get this amazing opportunity to become who we choose to be instead of following the path laid out for us by externalities.

2023-11-10 19:22:40

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@npub1wpj…7m4z @npub1swy…snpj (A fun aspect of this analogy is, autistic brains are more akin to drag racers than family sedans. Neurospicy indeed!)

2023-11-10 19:20:58

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@npub1wpj…7m4z @npub1swy…snpj Agreed. My favorite analogy is vehicle design. Every tweak to the design has a cost/benefit tradeoff. Sometimes the benefits outweigh the costs, sometimes vice versa. But which it turns out to be depends not just on the vehicle's (or brain's) design, but on the environment and usage, as well. Take a look at drag racers. Amazing acceleration, maxed out at the expense of everything else. If you want to win a drag race, only drag racers are an option. But if you want to take your kids to school, it's probably the last thing you want. There are all kinds of uses for vehicles and brains, and, thankfully, all kinds of vehicles and brains to match those uses. When you recognize that, it becomes much easier to understand why neurodiversity proponents say variation is a normal part of being human and should be embraced to everyone's mutual benefit.

2023-11-10 18:44:10

"disrupted cortical development and disordered neural circuitry"
Please, for the love of God, researchers, can you just get to know a few #autistic people personally before you do research on us? I think that might cut down on the horribly normative language that you invariably use when describing us. If our cortical development is "disrupted" and our neural circuitry is "disordered", why is it that so many of us have *above* average IQs or otherwise can do things that people with blandly normal brains cannot? Normal doesn't mean best. Normal doesn't even mean good. Just take the value judgments out of your language and be done with it. There are both normal and autistic people who can or can't do all kinds of things. None of us is broken because of those differences. Mere variation should never be labeled as broken or inferior. If you so desperately need to label something as broken, ask people what they'd like "fixed". You'll be surprised by the answers.
#ActuallyAutistic

2023-11-09 22:48:09

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@npub1ccn…czwu Honestly, this sounds like a psychotic break to me. I had a roommate in college who went through one, and it was very hard on everyone, including him. I'm not religious, but I can still have compassion for someone trying to use it to make sense of experiences that aren't based in reality. This person needs to see a professional and get medical treatment before the situation becomes even more dangerous.

2023-11-07 17:03:40

Business Insider: Google researchers may have just turned the race to AGI upside down with a single paper
https://www.businessinsider.com/google-researchers-have-turned-agi-race-upside-down-with-paper-2023-11

2023-11-01 16:47:59

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@npub1ccn…czwu I'm not sure if you're suggesting my priorities changed from feeling suicidal, or that his will as he ages. I'm sure both are true. As he has gotten older, he has become more religious, and also critical of my focus on healthy living to have a long and happy life. He and my mom decided to stop taking their cholesterol medication and eating right, and just trust God. I see it as a slow-motion suicide. It's a death cult, after all.

2023-11-01 16:33:56

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@npub1ccn…czwu I think this is the case for my dad. Somewhere in there, I know he genuinely loves me. But it gets so twisted up on the way to the surface that he's painful and dangerous to be around.

2023-11-01 16:28:33

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@npub1ccn…czwu
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binding_of_Isaac#%3A%7E%3Atext%3DIn_the_biblical_narrative%2C_God%2CGod_commends_Abraham%27s_pious_obedience.

2023-11-01 16:23:09

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@npub1ccn…czwu I have a dad like this. Told him I was struggling with suicidal thoughts because of something profoundly awful that someone did. He proceeded to blast me with his self-righteous rage for not forgiving the person, and to tell me it was my fault it happened anyway. I don't speak to him anymore.

2023-10-28 19:19:57

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@npub1z24…mvj9 I have a friend who actually pronounces it this way. Boo-lean. Like something a ghost might rest its elbow on. He learned most of his vocabulary from reading, apparently.

2023-10-28 18:21:54

A person with a mental illness can't commit a mass shooting without a gun, but a person with a gun can commit a mass shooting without a mental illness.

2023-10-25 15:25:25

ScienceAlert: A Genetic Link Between Synesthesia And Autism Has Just Been Revealed
https://www.sciencealert.com/a-genetic-link-between-synesthesia-and-autism-has-just-been-revealed

2023-10-23 19:40:43

I have a list in my head of all the assholes who treated me badly because I'm autistic, from the guy who kicked me out as a roomie leaving me homeless, to the group of thugs that held me down and beat me, to the random assholes that punched me in the mouth for looking at them the wrong way or using the wrong words, to the bank manager who decided I was being flippant and did what she wanted with my money instead of what I asked, to the judge who yelled at me and humiliated me in court for asking questions about what the different pleas actually meant, to the boss who nicknamed me "autistic boy", to the boss who refused to promote me and picked me to lay off because of my social skills, to the boss who actively tried to get me fired for refusing a command that I couldn't understand... It goes on and on. If you think ableism isn't real, isn't an actual source of disability all on its own, or is a thing of the past, think again.
#DisabilityRights
#ActuallyAutistic
#autism
#disability

2023-10-21 18:42:57

Did you know that evolution can take place with zero competition? There are only 2 ingredients necessary for evolution: mutative reproduction (organisms having kids that resemble but aren't identical to them) and trait-dependent reproductive success. Competition for resources is only one of many ways that reproductive success can be trait-dependent. Often the primary selection pressure comes not from peers, but from the environment itself. And often selection pressure from peers is *positive*, meaning that cooperation benefits reproductive success. The whole notion that evolution means the world is dog-eat-dog is a misunderstanding of what evolution actually is. Remember this the next time you have to interact with your local racist, ableist, self-proclaimed "uberman", or other people supporting eugenicist ideas.

2023-10-20 20:05:11

The Amazon smile is actually the Amazon smirk.

2023-10-11 15:44:31

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@npub1k0h…xygc WTF is this. Fuck off. You sound like an angsty teenager trying to piss off as many people in one go as possible. How sad and small your life must be if this is the only way you can find joy. But you're going to have to go do it elsewhere. Reported and blocked.

2023-10-04 11:29:24

Lying in bed all night long, unable to fall asleep despite severe exhaustion, because of unrelenting back and neck pain, is an experience so miserable it borders on traumatic. FML

2023-09-29 19:26:31

I was just thinking about spoon theory, and I realized we talk a lot about having the spoons to do things, and spoons being taken away. But what activities *give* you spoons?
#SpoonTheory

2023-09-29 16:18:53

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@npub1y98…gke7 It's weird when something so pretty comes from something so hideous. (Those bulbs remind me of Little Shop of Horrors...crossed with specific human anatomical features I won't describe in detail.)