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Don't Take the Black Pill [video]

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Re: Don't Take the Black Pill [video]

#131

Post by __MatrixMan__ »

leecommamichael wrote: post #28

> “I almost fell into this trap (...) I was raised by conservative Christian parents and thereby had so, so much to learn, and unlearn, in order to date comfortable and confidently. Is this engagement bait? Is this a cultural critique? What is meant to be said here? At any rate, this is the kind of speech which will alienate a lot of people. Look, I'm more on the progressive end of things, I get it, but I think this…

Its a set up for part 4 (27:45 or so) which talks about irrationally choosing to have faith in humanity. I see it as a sort of "full disclosure" disclaimer. I'd summarize:

> In my past I've dabbled in sorts of faith that I later found to be problematic, but there's also this other faith that I think is good.

Re: Don't Take the Black Pill [video]

#132

Post by vouaobrasil »

staticshock wrote: post #66

The comments here indicate a surprisingly, in my view, mixed reception, for such an unambiguously good talk? The main thrust is simple: - Technology is not good or bad, it is an amplifier of human values and our collective ambitions. - Those of us who are terrified of where technology is going are actually terrified that humans are, on the net, bad, and technology will amplify that, bringing about dystopia. - Believi…

I don't really think the main thrust is correct, though, if that's what it really is. Because humans don't have to be bad for tech to bring about a dystopia even under your first premise. They just have to have enough instincts that are even potentially adaptive in times of scarcity that become maladaptive in a high-tech environment for tech to bring about a dystopia. And I don't think that dystopia will be a self-fulfilling prophecy, even if your second premise is correct, because if humans have a sufficient number of instincts to interact with technology to bring about a dystopia, it's very likely to happen whether we believe it or not.

Finally, even the majority can be optimistic about humanity or even everyone, and it could still lead to a tech dystopia because of the additive effects of good intentions sometimes adding to bad (see fossil fuel use for example).

I don't think we have many opportunities to redefine the world. We're already in a state where people just trying to get by is contributing to the destruction.

Re: Don't Take the Black Pill [video]

#133

Post by thin_carapace »

slyall wrote: post #124
zoobaloo wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I can't speak to the universality or novelty of the world falling apart, I feel the same way. Some people aren't yet in a place to understand this perspective. Others have been hurt by Christians who failed to live their faith or were otherwise misguided in their actions or teachings. Some slander the faith based on ignorance or misunderstanding. We're called to forgive our enemies and respond with patience, hu…

A thing you might want to consider is that how "good" a person is is largely independent from their level of religious faith. It is common for religious people to assume they are linked and that a religious person does good deeds because they are faithful while somebody who does bad deeds has less faith. Which leads to an assumption by some that atheists are have no morals and priest are exception good.

could you please explain your reason for posting this? it doesn't seem related to the preceding comment.

Re: Don't Take the Black Pill [video]

#134

Post by newsomix9xl »

Why isn't software better is a complex question and can be a matter of market forces. For example, who remembers a company that sold buggy software and made you a beta tester, then sold the fixes to their customers as updates?

Clearly they had discovered or created an incentive to write "bad software", push testing onto users, and sell the fixes. Bad software or smart business?

Look at Rock stars GTA V Online a money printing machine: still has bugs. Are we to assume they are incapable of fixing them? Or that there is no market for doing so. People play anyway.

The "developers are no good" is a red herring that blames individuals who are doing what they are told to do, or not do.

Re: Don't Take the Black Pill [video]

#135

Post by slyall »

thin_carapace wrote: post #133
slyall wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A thing you might want to consider is that how "good" a person is is largely independent from their level of religious faith. It is common for religious people to assume they are linked and that a religious person does good deeds because they are faithful while somebody who does bad deeds has less faith. Which leads to an assumption by some that atheists are have no morals and priest are exception good.

could you please explain your reason for posting this? it doesn't seem related to the preceding comment.

I was mainly replying to this sentence:

" Others have been hurt by Christians who failed to live their faith or were otherwise misguided in their actions or teachings. "

Re: Don't Take the Black Pill [video]

#136

Post by CalRobert »

throwawaythekey wrote: post #129
bryanrasmussen wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think I have ever encountered anyone who could not write a for loop that got a job as a programmer. I encounter plenty that used a for loop when something else would have been advisable.

I hired a data engineer who was unable write a for loop in their primary language (python). The task was to write a simple sum of a list, but they had to convert the list to a pandas dataframe and then call some series of arcane functions. I originally thought this was just a preference but when I asked them for the simpler version while standing over their shoulder they were unable to do it. They had ~8 years of cla…

Data engineering started off as just another discipline in software engineering, but then the BI people got jealous and anyone who used sql started calling themselves DE. The term is fatally cheapened.

Re: Don't Take the Black Pill [video]

#137

Post by jdub »

staticshock wrote: post #66

The comments here indicate a surprisingly, in my view, mixed reception, for such an unambiguously good talk? The main thrust is simple: - Technology is not good or bad, it is an amplifier of human values and our collective ambitions. - Those of us who are terrified of where technology is going are actually terrified that humans are, on the net, bad, and technology will amplify that, bringing about dystopia. - Believi…

A positive vision of humanity alone doesn't bestow personal agency.

Personal agency alone doesn't solve structural dystopia.

Re: Don't Take the Black Pill [video]

#138

Post by thin_carapace »

slyall wrote: post #135
thin_carapace wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

could you please explain your reason for posting this? it doesn't seem related to the preceding comment.

I was mainly replying to this sentence: " Others have been hurt by Christians who failed to live their faith or were otherwise misguided in their actions or teachings. "

may i ask a bit more specifically why your comment evaluating the abstract concept of goodness and its relation to faith is related to this sentence? i'm still not seeing the connection.

Re: Don't Take the Black Pill [video]

#139

Post by jrflowers »

tptacek wrote: post #72
javcasas wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> OK, produce a SHA-2 collision. - Why a collision? > Because man made SHA-2, so it must be breakable. I don't dispute that there are systems humans make that are breakable (that would be weird given my career). Thus implying there are man-made systems that are not breakable, and furthermore SHA-2 is one of them. > I haven't discarded any date. Going back so quickly?

I'm sorry, you've lost me. I was responding to the claim that any man-made system was breakable. The most obvious example of a man-made system that is unlikely to be breakable in our lifetimes (so, I'll say, "ever") is SHA2. Then someone responded that SHA2 wasn't an interesting target. It doesn't have to be; it just has to be man-made, or concede the narrowing of the original claim.

lmao at substituting “ever” for “in our lifetimes”

“That will never happen” and “I think I’ll die before that happens” aren’t interchangeable. Hydrogen will never have two protons, SHA-2 will be broken. “I personally don’t consider a future where I’m not around as existing” is like busting out an Uno reverse card when you lose a hand at poker

Re: Don't Take the Black Pill [video]

#140

Post by staticshock »

mdgld wrote: post #120

Wow. I have been really put off by seeing some of the vitriol he’s spewed lately, but this is a shockingly engaging and simultaneously thought-provoking talk. I’m totally going to riff on this in the future, for something completely unconnected to computer science and with credit, of course.

What are some examples of his vitriol? I'm not familiar.
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