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PaperclipPerfector  1mo ago (text post)   2851 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for December 19, 2025

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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The other is to go dumpster diving for unique tastes.

My flair isn't from fanfiction for nothing!

I cannot tell you how many puzzled looks I have gotten from other academics when bringing up stuff like Friendship is Optimal in the middle of conferences on AI. I think a large percentage of them just don't realize that science fiction writers have been constructing thought experiments about this stuff for decades. At most, they might reference some plausibly high-brow (by virtue of being politically en vogue) author like Margaret Atwood. It's understandable; the point of most PhD programs is to get incredibly knowledgeable about something so incredibly specific that the idea of being "well rounded" tends to go out the window completely--there are only so many hours in a day!

But sometimes it pays to be a bit eclectic, too.

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