Yeah, the only thing I could imagine would be that image loading/processing uses an optimized library, but a single color is (unlikely but possibly) implemented poorly as a loop over every pixel, with some egregious overhead.

~~Most likely shit post though...~~ See reply, apparently real!

good enough simulations that you can't tell the difference.

This requires us having actual conversations with those dead people to compare against, which we obviously can't do.

There is simply not enough information to train a model on of a dead person to create a comprehensive model of how they would respond in arbitrary conversations. You may be able to train with some depth in their field of expertise, but the whole point is to talk about things which they have no experience with, or at least, things which weren't known then.

So sure, maybe we get a model that makes you think you're talking to them, but that's no different than just having a dream or an acid trip where you're chatting with Einstein.

I think he didn't really get that "Picard gets a neurological link to the Borg" == "not good"...

Anybody want a peanut?

St. Hawking don't you call me 'cuz I can't go...

and is nothing more than a figurehead

Fine by me.

Come November, I will not be voting for an old guy named Biden. I will be voting for the Biden administration, an administration that rejoined the Paris climate accords, has made progress wrt medical debt, has seen decreasing levels of uninsured Americans, and made progress on myriad other issues. Because the alternative is...well, you know.

I am not voting for my ideal candidate, or my ideal administration, but that's because 1) I'm not an accelerationist, and 2) I'm smart enough to know how this works given our deeply flawed voting system.

I'm not sure you can really have it both ways

the only alternatives for someone who doesn't want Trump but won't vote for Biden that I see are accelerationism, or complete and utter naivety...which is functionally equivalent to accelerationism.

I thought that's the accepted definition of a "New York Minute"

the time between the light turning green and the cabbie behind laying on their horn...

It's not the paying taxes that's annoying, it's what we get in return that hurts.

Why should I have to pay bus or subway fare? Why is the only reason I have fantastic healthcare because I am gainfully employed?

A perk of belonging to my city's bike advocacy group is that you can rent this for no additional charge:

64″ aluminum truss-frame trailer; easily carry a 4×8 sheet of plywood, eight bags of groceries, or whatever else you can fit on it up to 300 lbs; holds 4 plastic tote boxes before stacking

Nosireebob, can't haul stuff around with that... /s

Indica Joe >> Sleepy Joe

Doesn't matter if this is a shameless grab for the gen X/millennial/Z vote, or a principled stand

progress is progress.

My guess is that this technique works better with a small company

trying to get cute with a multinational with the legal budget of a small nation (and ironclad contracts + knowledge of local regulations) might not work well.

I like the referenced riddle because you can't "fully" solve it, in the sense that you know all the information. You can figure out which path to take (which solves the riddle) but you cannot simultaneously know who lies and who tells the truth, which gives the riddle a bit of an unresolved feel. (I'm assuming it's one yes-no question only.)