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StefanBatoryon I stopped following the news

I wonder what one agenda in posting that right now would be, ehh?

And to think Americans used to take pride in being nation of freedom.

StefanBatoryon I stopped following the news

Tell me you're in majority without saying you're in majority.

StefanBatoryon I stopped following the news

Anti-LGBT zones in Poland were not officially introduced via state law.

Neither were out bishops speaking about rainbow disease and calling us all ideology, not people.

You are privileged if you can afford to only rely on official sources.

StefanBatoryon I was banned from Claude for scaffolding a Claude.md file?

Because in the past you weren't beholden to payments?

StefanBatoryon Trump says Venezuela’s Maduro captured after strikes

I know, not disagreeing with you on that. I felt though it's important to add that too though.

StefanBatoryon Trump says Venezuela’s Maduro captured after strikes

"This isn't about conquering Ukraine, it's about coal and removing Nazi Żeleński from power"

StefanBatoryon Trump says Venezuela’s Maduro captured after strikes

How does this differ from Russia invading Ukraine?

We have to wake up to the world where USA no longer cares about ideals like liberal democracy or allies, but is a warmongering corporatist autocracy.

StefanBatoryon Trump says Venezuela’s Maduro captured after strikes

https://vxtwitter.com/FaytuksNetwork/status/2007338956241985...

Not Venezuelan helicopters...

StefanBatoryon Italians celebrate village's first baby in 30 years

At least in Poland, the societal attitude for having a child when you're poor is that you're "stupid" for doing so and a burden for society.

You can't win either way...

StefanBatoryon OMSCS Open Courseware

I can tell you something scarier.

My specialisation was databases there.

...

Do not worry, I do not work with databases in professional life as my main aspect. But I was not given a comprehensive education, and not even once there was a focus on anything more in depth. I came out without even knowing how databases work inside.

Naturally, I know what I could do - read a good book or go through open source projects, like Sqlite. But that knowledge was not was my uni gave me...

I am jealous of American/Canadian unis in this aspect.

StefanBatoryon OMSCS Open Courseware

Is this a common thing to have at university? I'm from one of top universities in Poland; our database courses never included anything more than basic SQL where cursors were the absolute end. Even at Masters.

StefanBatoryon State Department to deny visas to fact checkers and others, citing 'censorship'

I think what you wanted to do is to rant.

StefanBatoryon State Department to deny visas to fact checkers and others, citing 'censorship'

That's their goal.

Nothing's true anymore, everything's permitted... And at one point they'll get you to a point where you are unable to tell what's true or false. So you stop caring. And they win; your apathy is what they need.

StefanBatoryon State Department to deny visas to fact checkers and others, citing 'censorship'

I can form my own opinion on things I know about. If I don't, then it's natural that I will defer to those who I believe know better.

Learning without thinking is useless but thinking without learning is dangerous.

StefanBatoryon State Department to deny visas to fact checkers and others, citing 'censorship'

Because to the vast majority of people doing their own research involves reading random pages on Facebook and consuming fakes.

I am sorry but that's how it goes and that's how I see it in my country. Self proclaimed free-thinkers who eat everything that's on FB.

StefanBatoryon Honda: 2 years of ml vs 1 month of prompting - heres what we learned

Back in the days I've heard it's why delve is so popular; as it's common in Nigerian English.

I learned it from MtG and I do believe it's a very cool word and I hate that I can't use it without people raising their eyebrows.

StefanBatoryon Honda: 2 years of ml vs 1 month of prompting - heres what we learned

True now.

At the same time, as a nonnative speaker of English, this is literally how we were taught to write eye-catching articles and phrases. :P

A lot of formulaic writing is what we were taught to do, especially with more formal things. (This is more of a sidenote to this example)

So in a hunt for LLMs, we also get hit.

StefanBatoryon Dutch spy services have restricted intelligence-sharing with the United States

I genuinely can't tell whether you are serious or trolling. Please tell me more about how Europe is socialist.

Or what does that even mean to you. Is socialism when state exists? You are not first American to say that, and every time it happens, I'm genuinely surprised. (I mean, rhetorical question. I suppose that's what socialism is to you. And you are a part of a problem too, because you are growing up internally people who genuinely believe that socialism is good because it means healthcare and higher education. Words no longer have meaning to you in America.)

StefanBatoryon Heroin addicts often seem normal

As long as the society won't decide you are to be removed from the society, too.

At which point I'm sure you will comply and decide to sacrifice yourself for the society, you will, right?

What has happened in your life that you are so devoid of empathy?

StefanBatoryon Heroin addicts often seem normal

Both functional and non functional people without empathy can be put into prison for life with no parole and it will fix both the problems of dysfunctional peoplewithout any morals. With real consequences people will actively avoid being assholes.

StefanBatoryon New Poll: Democratic Socialism Is Now Mainstream

Is Jacobin a reliable source? As far as I know, while I wouldn't call it a rag, it is very ideological to the point you'd be better very careful taking anything from it for granted. It is interesting though, that's true too.

And well... As a Pole, it saddens me to see this. Mainly because it's clear that Americans don't know what socialism is, to conservatives, state existing is literally communism, to progressives, if a state has health care, it is socialism. I was reading a book recently - What Everyone Needs to know about China - and there was one sentence I remarked. Author naming Norway socialist country. In an otherwise reputable publisher.

Communism and socialism are evil ideologies, and never again. Words have their meanings, and this I fear will mangle it all up. After all, if communism is health care, it can't be that bad, right?

StefanBatoryon That Secret Service SIM farm story is bogus

Ah, so like Russia. The ultimate dream of all authoritarians. A society that no longer even dreams of freedom, that becomes fully apathetic.

Do you know how many independent newspapers there are in China? Zero. Even ones with what we'd call liberal ones are controlled and will be dealt with if they go too far.

Just because things aren't working well does not mean we have to tear it all down

StefanBatoryon Universities should be more than toll gates

Sorry, I wrote it in a confusing way because I thought of something else - so that's on me for confusion.

I was thinking of high school, not uni itself. I'm myself also from a technical university equivalent in Poland.

StefanBatoryon Universities should be more than toll gates

Yup - I'm Polish, and vast majority of people faced with a diploma from private university would think "You bought your degree because you were too dumb to get into public university."

There are some good private ones; but most of them are degree mills.

StefanBatoryon Universities should be more than toll gates

For us in Poland we have normal high schools, technikum - which is similar, but year longer and you are trained in a job, and zawodówka - which is vocational.

And issue with them is not the school itself, but the type of teenagers that attend them. As much as it pains me, for zawodówka schools - you will get the most demotivated people. And even if you really just want to be trained, you will get into an environment that will destroy you.

I wonder how Germans are faring with this.

StefanBatoryon Repetitive negative thinking associated with cognitive decline in older adults

/r/thanksiamcured

StefanBatoryon Life, work, death and the peasant: Rent and extraction

It's a problematic work. From what I remember from my time on /r/askhistorians, they really did not like it.

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/wd6jt/what_d...

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/wiki/historians_views...

https://web.archive.org/web/20210619035356/http://www.columb...

My impression is that it is correct enough the look good on surface. Like learning Freud, you see his points, it makes sense, but the details are wrong and so you spend most of your time learning why he wasn't exactly right.

StefanBatoryon Nepal picks a new prime minister on a discord server days after social media ban

It is. Communists are just imperialists in a red coat of paint.

They do not believe that people can act on their own, everything is a conspiracy to them. Because why you would rebel against their utopia?

Not worth arguing with them. Cast them to the dustbin of history where they belong.

StefanBatoryon North Korea executing more people for watching foreign films and TV, UN finds

Communism is evil, and so is everyone who believes in it.

StefanBatoryon North Korea executing more people for watching foreign films and TV, UN finds

I grew up in Eastern Europe.

Yes, in the height of terror - that is what communists would do. Having a wrong book would mark you as an enemy of state.

Or look, even Cambodia - even if how much they were communist first, or nationalist first is debatable - mere glasses would mark you for death.