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Growing up in “404 Not Found”: China's nuclear city in the Gobi Desert

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191–200 of 391 posts

Re: Growing up in “404 Not Found”: China's nuclear city in the Gobi Desert

#191

Post by nephihaha »

amdivia wrote: post #176
the_af wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It feels off to me as well. It's the kind of unverifiable story that we would like to believe, but there's almost zero way of having independent confirmation. The photos could be from anywhere. The author seems likeable and writes an interesting story, but who knows how much of it is true. The story seems almost tailored to cater to HN, with secret projects, nuclear power, China, and secrecy.

Feels AI-ish as well, and OP used em-dashes in some of their replies. But it could be attributed to a language barrier of sorts requiring the use of LLMs to communicate

I use em dashes in prose — and I am not AI.

Re: Growing up in “404 Not Found”: China's nuclear city in the Gobi Desert

#192

Post by bsagdiyev »

0_____0 wrote: post #160
fcpguru wrote: post #68

Amazing, related story. I had a friend that always talked about growning up in 418 Pennsylvania. It began as a company town for a ceramics manufacturer in the 1920s. The factory specialized in heat resistant vessels. You know like kettles, pitchers, industrial teapots. Each stamped each with a model number tied to production lines. Line 418 was the most profitable. When the post office opened, the clerk assumed “418”…

You had me there!! But I've been to a place called "Pie Town" NM which got its name in a similar way, so I figured it could have been true!

There's also Truth or Consequences, NM named after a game show (I believe?)

Re: Growing up in “404 Not Found”: China's nuclear city in the Gobi Desert

#193

Post by marssaxman »

oofbey wrote: post #157
allan_s wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks a lot, I really first thought "404" was just a geek reference and not the actual code name ! I have some very good friends which are Chinese but are not able to read English, do you mind if I do a AI translation, and if you can check it to see if it translate what you're trying to convey ? (I propose that as I think it would be too much to ask to ask to redo the text in Chinese) Edit: haha I see you actually d…

Is it just a coincidence that the HTTP code for “not found” became the same as the code name for this city?

I find it hard to imagine otherwise. HTTP codes are based on the server return code system used in FTP, first published in 1971, where each of the three digits had a specific role and the values simply counted up from 0-9 as different meanings were assigned. HTTP is a little looser about the syntax, but it's the same general idea. Given the scheme, something was going to be code 404.

Re: Growing up in “404 Not Found”: China's nuclear city in the Gobi Desert

#194

Post by o10449366 »

the_af wrote: post #184
o10449366 wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When the translation differs so much from what the author is trying to say in their native language, it loses its earnestness. That's why translation is a job in the first place and you don't see publishers running whole books through Google translate. No one, least the authors, would accept that.

We don't know how much the imperfect translation would differ from the author’s intent, but we would sure try to meet him halfway. Nobody would criticize his broken English. Contrast this with the faux polite, irritating tone of the AI, complete with fabrications and phrases the author didn't even intend to write. Authenticity has value. AI speech is anything but authentic.

I mean, you're making assumptions about the author's intent going one way, but not the other. What if the polite tone is what they intended? And how do you know they didn't review the output for phrasing and fabrications?

The author acknowledged they used AI to translate. Is the translation they decided to publish among the given tools they had available to them not by definition the most authentic and intentional piece that exists?

All of this aside, how do you think tools like Google Translate even work? Language isn't a lookup table with a 1:1 mapping. Even these other translation tools that are being suggested still incorporate AI. Should the author manually look up words in dictionaries and translate word by word, when dictionaries themselves are notoriously politicized and policed, too?

Re: Growing up in “404 Not Found”: China's nuclear city in the Gobi Desert

#195

Post by triyambakam »

ZeWaka wrote: post #114
cman1444 wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't this happen for lots of area codes? 305 for Miami in particular as Mr. Pitbull likes to remind us.

Yep. 808 is synonymous with Hawaii, since the whole state uses just that area code.

"808 all day" as an example

Re: Growing up in “404 Not Found”: China's nuclear city in the Gobi Desert

#196

Post by FarmerPotato »

Vincent_Yan404 wrote: post #74
fcpguru wrote: post #68

Amazing, related story. I had a friend that always talked about growning up in 418 Pennsylvania. It began as a company town for a ceramics manufacturer in the 1920s. The factory specialized in heat resistant vessels. You know like kettles, pitchers, industrial teapots. Each stamped each with a model number tied to production lines. Line 418 was the most profitable. When the post office opened, the clerk assumed “418”…

This is an incredible story! Thank you for sharing the legend of '418'. It’s fascinating how industrial logic can accidentally become a place's identity, whether it’s a production line in Pennsylvania or a secret code in the Gobi Desert. The fact that residents remained 'oddly proud' of a name that was essentially a clerical error resonates deeply with me. In 404, our pride was tied to a secret mission; in 418, it wa…

That’s a lot of LLM replies, and counting.

Re: Growing up in “404 Not Found”: China's nuclear city in the Gobi Desert

#197

Post by panic »

Vincent_Yan404 wrote: post #60
thenthenthen wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you for sharing. I have been researching this topic for about ten years now and no first hand accounts like to talk or are they alive anymore, this is a very important story, especially in contrast the the dominant Western narratives, thank you!

Thank you for this profound comment. It is incredibly humbling to hear this from someone who has spent a decade researching the topic. You are right—the generation that built '404' is aging, and many of their stories are fading into silence. One of my primary motivations for writing this was the realization that if I didn't document these memories now, they might be lost forever. I hope my first-hand account can prov…

[flagged]

Re: Growing up in “404 Not Found”: China's nuclear city in the Gobi Desert

#199

Post by pbalau »

o10449366 wrote: post #148
xena wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd rather read something in "bad English" than laundered through generative artificial intelligence tools.

Highly doubt this. Have you read a translated book? Are you looking for literal translations or a translation from someone who's an expert in both languages and makes subjective adjustments based on their experience?

In my new domain, photography, the most common "advice" for beginners is to learn the exposure triangle, shoot manual and get everything done in camera. This kind of advice comes from beginners, quite close to take a fall from the Dunning-Kruger scale. I'm working towards a distinction from one of the most respected photography organizations in the world and nobody involved with it that gave me guidance ever asked how I took the images.

Maybe or, most likely this is the same for writing: there are people that think correct grammar and punctuation and no help on achieving this, means writing.

Re: Growing up in “404 Not Found”: China's nuclear city in the Gobi Desert

#200

Post by shimman »

FarmerPotato wrote: post #196
Vincent_Yan404 wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is an incredible story! Thank you for sharing the legend of '418'. It’s fascinating how industrial logic can accidentally become a place's identity, whether it’s a production line in Pennsylvania or a secret code in the Gobi Desert. The fact that residents remained 'oddly proud' of a name that was essentially a clerical error resonates deeply with me. In 404, our pride was tied to a secret mission; in 418, it wa…

That’s a lot of LLM replies, and counting.

Yeah I was willing to suspend disbelief but that comment kinda did it there.
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