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tejasvi88on Tor Browser 15.0

Why is this downvoted? This is a valid method for measuring frequency of visited sites. The exist node has to know the unencrypted destination to be able to provide the requested content.

tejasvi88on The NIH ordered me to stop my 'dangerous' gain-of-function research

We know so little about biology that any kind of research can lead transformative benefits. Therefore the outcomes of a certain line of biological research including GoF are unknown. Penicillin is a great example of this.

> COVID did - not - change the probability.

True from the perspective of omniscient universe, but for humans with limited knowledge, it will change our priors based on the origin.

There is a valid reasoning for how GoF research can lead to pandemic but we do not know how often it will happen in practice. There are many things we already do with potential global consequences. Historical example is the risk of chain reaction during first atomic test. Contemporary example is the universal dependance on digital infrastructure which can be hacked. Timeless example is asteroid hitting the earth.

We make decisions for each of the scenarios based on perceived (objective + subjective) probabilities and the tradeoffs.

If natural origin is proved, there is less reason to add mitigations to the GoF research because mitigations are hard to design and limit the exploration space.

To summarize:

P(GoF causing pandemic) = P(GoF) = GoF pandemics / total pandemics

Mitigations ∝ P(GoF)

If natural origin, P(GoF) stays same. If lab origin P(GoF) increases and calls for commensurate increase in mitigations.

tejasvi88on The NIH ordered me to stop my 'dangerous' gain-of-function research

Any new technology has its dangers and its uses. The whole EA vs e/acc is a more recent example. A utilitarian will try to probabilistically measure expected benefit of the technology based on existing data points.

> Doing GoF research in major metropolitan areas is very obviously unacceptable.

It is not so obvious to the people wanting to accelerate the research and solve cancer, aging or whatever their pet problem at (in their opinion) slim risk of catastrophe.

> nature can produce pathogens orders of magnitude worse than COVID on any dimension

Everything is possible, including nature producing mass extinction pathogens. The key missing information is the probability. Else we all will be living in bunkers.

> If after learning that COVID was zoonotic, your conclusion is "guess it's okay to keep WIV and WIV-like labs in major cities doing the type of research they were doing," then you are simply insane.

Agree, a single data point does not warrant extreme change in status quo. But it does weaken the argument to a non-zero extent that GoF research leads to global pandemic. This has trickle down effects of eschewing additional regulations which would have been added otherwise.

tejasvi88on The NIH ordered me to stop my 'dangerous' gain-of-function research

Zoonotic origin reduces the risk of GoF research because understanding the underlying biology becomes more useful to address novel variants popping up in the wild (apart from other potential uses).

A poor analogy is suppose in 1800s humans encountered nuclear explosion near nuclear research lab. It could have human or natural origin. If natural then it is important for us to accelerate nuclear research with relatively lax regulations and develop countermeasures. If human origin, lack of sufficient regulation is a more probable cause.

tejasvi88on The NIH ordered me to stop my 'dangerous' gain-of-function research

> decide to continue doing dangerous GoF research in metropolises, that is bad.

How do you know GoF research is bad? By analysing the consequences of previous GoF research.

If lab origin is confirmed, it adds support to GoF research being bad hypothesis helps creating relevant regulations. If zoonotic origin is confirmed, it adds another data point of naturally created dangerous pathogens and weakens the argument of banning GoF research.

There are no _a priori_ truths, only approximations at a time based on past statistics.

Let me know if you are convinced, either way :)

tejasvi88on OpenAI's hunger for computing power

It is destruction from whose point of view? Life will find its way. If AI actually elevates humanity as promised, climate change would be just another adaptation challenge.

tejasvi88on OpenAI's hunger for computing power

Or maybe our universe represents the dregs of what once was a vibrant dense universe teeming with life, working hard to maximize entropy. We are like the end stage bacteria relegated to do a deep clean.

Ultimately there appears to be no purpose of life apart from child rearing for the majority. There's subconscious hope that kids might eventually figure it out for the rest of us. The only thing constant is the increase in entropy. At least that is what bound to happen. Should the purpose be accelerating that process or joining the resistance?

tejasvi88on OpenAI's hunger for computing power

I read the parent as very subtle satire. They are following the logical conclusion of the desire to suppress disagreeable speech.

tejasvi88on The Tesla protests are getting bigger – and rowdier

I suspect 5yo won’t be arrested for hit and run either. What matters is the intent and the punishment proportional to the harm. If someone is doing unacceptable acts to my property I should have a way to disincentivize the act.

tejasvi88on Fucking Tired of AI

Over time, being adaptable is what really matters for survival. If something could adapt perfectly, it’d always come out on top.

Sure, “survival of the fittest” in the short term is obvious, but it’s hardly worth pointing out.

tejasvi88on Notes against note-taking systems

> From neuroscience perspective, it is the Anticipation of the task that releases dopamine, not the "Doing" of the task [..]

Source?

tejasvi88on Cryptocurrencies – An Assessment by Reserve Bank of India

They are referring to

> AEs have the political power to control the crypto companies.

You won't find scammer's name on block explorer.

tejasvi88on Quit Your Job

The quote resonated with me so well that I decided to read the article. It is telling that individual failures do not make _risk_ undesirable if it strengthens the community as a whole. OP is not communicating information but emotion which is _much_ harder task with language defined by the common denominator and for me as a reader, he is quite skilled at it.

tejasvi88on Show HN: Instantly listen to any URL

I do not think extra spaces are the issue (since there aren't any in the link). I suspect it is converting fix chunk of words into audio and before the next chunk there is an awkward pause. Still, very soothing and natural voice.

tejasvi88on Twitter's new font, Chirp, is apparently giving some users headaches

    *:not([class*='icon' i]):not(i):not([style*='icon' i]):not([aria-hidden='true']):not([aria-label]):not([class*='fa-']) {
        font-family: "Operator Pro" !important;
    }

tejasvi88on Ncdu 2: Less hungry and more Ziggy

In the end, downvotes indicate how many people had a strong negative reaction towards a post. It leaves out majority of the aspects worth considering. I found your post insightful so thank you. I wonder if the downvoters press dislike emoji more often during code review.

tejasvi88on Things I wish someone told me about getting a promotion

> Get the bosses to make a soft public commitment regarding your competence

s/commitment/compliment ?

tejasvi88on Spooks are turning to superforecasting in the Cosmic Bazaar

Search for "Cosmic Bazaar" turns up nothing relevant. Which website are they talking about?

tejasvi88on Complexity No Bar to AI

> [..] something is impossible to demonstrate conclusively and/or via observed reality does not automatically mean it can't be true [..]

An even greater danger than "SuperAI" which needs immediate attention. [0][1]

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahma_Kumaris#Criticism

[1]: https://archive.org/details/newbelieverssurv00barr/page/403