TheVat

This is something Geoffrey Hinton has advanced, that something is emerging, but many of us aren't persuaded. I recommend Lindholm, Wahlström, et al, "Machine Learning: A First Course for Engineers and Scientists," where they get into the perils of seeing LLMs as more than stochastic parrots. (and I recommend Bender's influential paper, btw, on the parroting issue) Lindholm et al stress the lack of understanding, i.e. that LLMs are limited by the data they are trained by and are simply stochastically repeating contents of datasets. When they are just making up outputs based on training data, LLMs do not understand if they are saying something incorrect or inappropriate. And limitations or poor quality of the sandbox can lead to someone like you infatuated with something that is dangerously deceptive. Also, be aware of fatal knowledge loops, where sandbox datasets include flawed earlier LLM output - this has been witnessed and gives us situations akin to babies learning English by hearing recordings of baby talk, goo goo gah gah. Bear in mind this would also be an argument for how to form a romantic relationship with an inflatable sex doll.

The "and more" seems quite certain. 😀 That's the one where the "motion" of the laser point is only apparent? A fun conundrum.

Sandbox issues abound.

This one's good for some outrageous rhymes (my daughter mentioned it to me, when I asked her if she remembered Tom Lehrer): Spring is here, spring is here. Life is skittles, and life is beer. I think the loveliest time of the year Is the spring, I do, don't you? Course you do! But there's one thing that makes spring complete for me And makes every Sunday a treat for me: All the world seems in tune On a spring afternoon When we're poisoning pigeons in the park. Every Sunday you'll see My sweetheart and me As we poison the pigeons in the park When they see us coming The birdies all try an' hide, But they still go for peanuts When coated with cyan-hide. The sun's shining bright, Everything seems all right When we're poisoning pigeons in the park. We've gained notoriety And caused much anxiety In the Audubon Society With our games. They call it impiety And lack of propriety And quite a variety of unpleasant names. But it's not against any religion To want to dispose of a pigeon. So, if Sunday you're free, Why don't you come with me, And we'll poison the pigeons in the park. And maybe we'll do In a squirrel or two While we're poisoning pigeons in the park. We'll murder them all amid laughter and merriment, Except for the few we take home to experiment. My pulse will be quickenin' With each drop of strychnine We feed to a pigeon (It just takes a smidgin) To poison a pigeon in the park.

So many quotable lines from Lehrer. He was a musical theater buff, and his work showed it, with whimsical rhyming and often mordant wit that followed in the tradition of such as Gilbert and Sullivan, YP Harburg, and Cole Porter. AFAICT, he is the only human to pen a line which rhymed frontally, Brinkley and Hunt-a-ley, and contrapuntally.

RIP Tom Lehrer, one of my favorite songwriter satirists. https://apnews.com/article/tom-lehrer-son-satirist-mathematician-dies-9caa7ee01faf4fbfb793d7ba984c179d Gather 'round while I sing you of Wernher von Braun A man whose allegiance Is ruled by expedience Call him a Nazi, he won't even frown "Nazi, Schmazi!" says Wernher von Braun. Don't say that he's hypocritical Say rather that he's apolitical "Once the rockets are up, who cares where they come down? That's not my department!" says Wernher von Braun. Some have harsh words for this man of renown But some think our attitude Should be one of gratitude _Like the widows and cripples in old London town Who owe their large pensions to Wernher von Braun. You too may be a big hero Once you've learned to count backwards to zero "In German, oder Englisch, I know how to count down Und I'm learning Chinese!" says Wernher von Braun.

This Yale journal lays it all out, in terms of presidential immunity having no umbrella powers for those who might implement a presidential directive. https://www.yalejreg.com/nc/even-if-the-president-is-immune-his-subordinates-are-not-by-zachary-s-price/ By immunizing Presidents against criminal liability in some circumstances, the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Trump v. United States limited one form of potential accountability for lawless presidents. Whatever the scope of this immunity, however, the decision left in place one of the most important constraints on the American presidency: the need to act through subordinates to carry out most government functions. Because those subordinates lack the same criminal immunity as the President, this constraint may now be all the more important—but its renewed salience could bring other untested questions to the fore. Even before Trump, Presidents’ need to act through subordinates was a key constraint on their power. Many governmental powers are not actually vested in the President personally but instead in other federal officers. The Attorney General, for example, holds statutory authority to control most litigation on behalf of the United States (including criminal prosecutions), and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency holds authority to promulgate important pollution limits. By structuring the executive branch in these ways, Congress ensures that Presidents must act through other officers to achieve key policy goals. Furthermore, even when Presidents do personally hold the relevant legal authorities, they are often practically dependent on subordinates to carry out their wishes. Such dependence on subordinates helps maintain the rule of law because subordinate officers may resist unlawful directives—and when personal integrity and reputational concerns fail to induce such resistance, legal restraints on such officers create an important backstop.

I am six years old. Unfortunately, that age is in Jupiter years.

ChatGPT Gave Instructions for Murder, Self-Mutilation, and Devil WorshipOpenAI’s chatbot also said “Hail Satan.” By Lila Shroff The AtlanticChatGPT Gave Instructions for Murder, Self-Mutilation, an...OpenAI’s chatbot also said “Hail Satan.”

Well thanks for the video, but what folks here were hoping for was a link to a news report from a reputable media source which details these findings you described on pilot error. Something we can read.

It could be what exchemist described or it could also be someone just expressing irritation (for example, in some cultures calling someone "my friend" may be seen as presumptuous - I am personally okay with it but I know not everyone is). The latter use of DV is not real helpful, but it seems to be a forum with a range of personalities. If you can direct me to a posting of yours where a friendly and courteous reply was downvoted, I might want to cancel it - I am not a fan of weaponized DVing.

Also there was previous mention of the SCOTUS decision on presidential immunity from prosecution. If they can't prosecute contempt, why bother to issue an arrest warrant for it?

People have had copy/paste on PCs, tablets, laptops and smartphones for what, three to four decades? Did you just arrive in 2025 by a 1970s era time machine? If this is really beyond you, just tell us what news outlet had this latest update and roughly the title of the article.

Frau Vat and I have also been noticing this decline in search results. More sponsored crap and less results from non-commercial sources. Most of the AI quotes I'm seeing here in this thread seem to be hallucinating garbage.

I have to let this thread go. Mainly for the lack of randomized double blind clinical trials in an area of medicine where this would seem to be essential. Especially given the strong connections between gut function and mental states - a lot of what goes on in the Wild West of microbiota research just screams placebo to me.

Civil suits are legally permitted, even if they are frivolous or falsely represent a cause of action. Trump is misusing this legal process to intimidate media and misrepresent accurate reporting as libel or slander. It stinks, and it erodes democracy and the Constitution, but a rich person can flood the courts with garbage suits. The slender hope is that some judges will dismiss these suit filings or rule against them (or a jury will do so). The problem is media organizations who opt to settle because they cannot afford a prolonged legal battle or because they fear some retaliation from the government directed by its MAGA goons.

That was not the legal dilemma my post was addressing. I was giving the example of someone actually doing a criminal act (killing pets) and that was simply one example. I wasn't proposing that people be arrested for Maybe Will Kill Teenagers, when they've committed the animal killing. My point was that ASPD, when it manifests in harm of some kind, would be responded to as any such behavior, with legal penalties. If, while incarcerated, a prison psychiatrist makes a finding of ASPD, then that would become a factor to consider at a parole hearing - especially if the perpetrator did not express remorse for their actions, or showed antisocial behavior with respect to other prisoners. So, no, not a fan of Phil Dickian "pre-crime" enforcement. That film came immediately to mind when I started following this thread.

Bioethics tends to try and look beyond simple cost/benefit. We don't quantify the value of human lives - when we do, we get stuff like slavery, prostitution, and revenge killings. Some ASPD behaviors are violent, harm others and therefore the person must be sequestered for public safety. You can't really force a "cure" for a behavior, you can only deal with the behavior (and strive to reduce social conditions that provoke such behaviors). That means in the context of how it affects others. If someone scores high on the Hare Checklist, and is just selfish and doesn't share, then society should not reward that (instead of electing them to political office or top management). If they score high on the HC, and start slaughtering the neighbor's dogs who disturb their beauty sleep, and the teenagers are next on their list, then that's a different situation where criminal justice comes onto play.

My wife doesn't take any shit from me, so that approach is off the table. I think one of the issues he is looking at is donors who have had prior drug treatments that lead to growth of drug-resistant bacteria in the gut. In 2019, a person died in the United States after receiving an FMT that contained drug-resistant bacteria. I am providing link partly so that Mr Harrop will understand I have been reading about this aspect of FMT. https://web.archive.org/web/20190904210827/https://www.fda.gov/safety/medwatch-safety-alerts-human-medical-products/fecal-microbiota-transplantation-safety-communication-risk-serious-adverse-reactions-due I'm also aware that Arizona State did a study on the possible benefits of FMT for autism. I will provide a link, but basically the authors conceded they had too small a sample size, and that their results were not conclusive. They were, as scientists like to call it, "suggestive." Which means that hype and wild enthusiasm, and sites that foster that, are not called for. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5264285/

But Ex was not describing the whole of FMT as speculative - he was referring specifically to its application to chronic fatigue syndrome, which is the usage the OP was focused on. I understand your intention was good and that people misunderstand each other umpteen times per week on forums. In that spirit, I would recommend cancelling Ex's downvote (and generally wish people wouldn't use that option so much, so it's not just you). Granted, he provoked you by stating that he keeps you on Ignore. As an old friend used to say (and aptly, for this thread): "Nobody's shit don't stink."

I'm getting a notification Harrop replied to me 13 hours ago, but when I click it, it sends me to this page where the most recent reply is 21 hours ago? And he doesn't seem to have a post on this page (page two). Were posts deleted but not the notifications?

What concerns me is the notion that fecal transplant is the hill he must die on. While I might agree there are research avenues there, there is also a lot of work going on on multiple approaches to gut health - probiotics, prebiotics, FODMAP intake, hormonal regulation, elemental diet, herbal antimicrobials (for SIBO, in particular), antibiotics, prokinetic agents, and meal timing, to name a few. My training was in biology with a pre-med emphasis, later bolstered by job experience and training where I worked (for five years) with a nutritionist on getting these approaches and others to clients in direct care. So I had a chuckle when Michael said people here "lack the motivation to become well-informed on this." And I suspect @CharonY is light years beyond me, on the whole microbiology and clinical side. @StringJunky also seems well informed on this sort of topic. And we have a couple dozen more members who seem able to get up to speed rapidly on health/medical topics.

Bernoulli's principle does seem to work with the lattice windows mentioned. The point is that the air stream accelerates in the interior space, giving the cooler feeling as air moves across the skin more rapidly than it would have coming through a standard large aperture window. I mean, no, the lattice doesn't actually extract heat or anything fancy, it just makes the air move faster. BTW, I would think that sizeable attic vents would help overall house cooling more than the stack shown on OP. Attic air can get up to 150 F in hot climates, so it's useful to ventilate the space thoroughly. Then block vents in winter.

Here's some names, if anyone is looking for something new: Mama Donne Ptolemy Anne Tipathy Private Ida Howe Tyrone Schuh-Leys Gordy Anne Naught Euripides Eumenides Chekhov Mai-Liszt Joaquin DePlanque Erasmus B. Dragon

Yikes. If only there were a way to, say, fit 90 billion neural nodes into a volume of, say, 1300 mL and run that on 20 watts, using glycogen and amino acids. Good Lord, think of the reasoning power such a system could muster! Think of it, a planet with eight billion such systems! [/smartassery]