domain:nfinf.substack.com
ulyssessword
54m ago
Yglesias is a decent example, but he's also heterodox enough that he doesn't consider himself a part of the core. In fact he calls out the core constituency for continuing to make the mistake he just admitted to:
One thing that I do think I was right about is that the chorus of pundits, myself included, who suddenly rose up to say “Ezra was right, Democrats need a new nominee” had basically no efficacy. People love to get mad about articles, but the Democratic Party is not, in fact, run by a cabal of center-left columnists.
Were they just a bit slower than him, and admitted their mistakes some time after the article was written (Jul 08, 2024)?
I couldn't read the Times article because they patched my latest paywall bypass, and the WSJ is completely broken and threw my browser into an endless loop of reloading the page before crashing to the desktop.
phailyoor
1hr ago
Not to mention all the sloppy typos that go to press
Show me one.
Many journalists are fools who can't even ask a clear question!
They are pretending to be stupid in order to push their talking points, not yours. Your comment is only needed as a formality. When your quote is taken out of context, it's completely intentional, but at least they won't make one up.
First-rate LLMs are easily on par with the average journalist and that's extending every generosity to the humans.
Not even close. If you think so, then show me an LLM writing better than a generic whatever-tier human news article.
RandomRanger
Just build nuclear plants!
1hr ago
His writing is almost certainly in the top 99th percentile of writing skills, and certainly far better than yours or mine.
Have you ever actually worked with journalists as a collective, not just a few people? I know someone in regular contact with the media. Many journalists are fools who can't even ask a clear question! They often don't understand what you're saying and introduce errors if you make any kind of complex point. Not to mention all the sloppy typos that go to press. What they're really good at is taking down talking points from corporations or media manipulators and regurgitating it as legitimate news.
First-rate LLMs are easily on par with the average journalist and that's extending every generosity to the humans.
phailyoor
1hr ago
Worth noting that the article you linked is much longer
Yours: 499 words Guardian: 702 words
So yours is 30% shorter, which is a decent difference but not really huge. The AI piece just seems short because it's so much lacking in actual content and is mostly filler.
it would deliver something equal to the Guardian piece there.
No it can't
Dean
Flairless
1hr ago
Gullibility is the tendency to be persuaded, which is method agnostic. If your idea of gullibility is tied to social conformity pressure alone, your concept needs to be expanded.
phailyoor
1hr ago
When was the last time you read a generic article at, say, some mid-tier US city paper?
Ok, pick a generic article that rehashes an AP article. Then have ChatGPT (or an AI of your choice) rehash it better.
But actually local rehashes are a dying thing, because most local papers just directly syndicate articles for US and world news, and only write local ones nowadays.
RandomRanger
Just build nuclear plants!
1hr ago
The US maintains about 100,000 troops overseas in Europe. If Europe can't deploy a quarter of that number to Ukraine as peacekeepers, how much help are they actually going to be if they actually have to defend Estonia or Latvia?
The Europeans as a collective have huge forces, they just don't want to use them. They have 2 million active troops and huge potential mobilization. It's taken Russia ages to chew through the population of Ukraine, barring all else the EU could just throw meat at them over a huge front until they win. I guess it's unlikely they'd have the will to do this but that brings us back to will, not capability.
It makes no strategic sense to send peacekeepers to Ukraine. Why take risks for no reward? What are the benefits of moving into Ukraine? Hans and Roger and Jean don't see it as their war, they're just not that enthusiastic about supporting the enterprise, risking their lives.
There's a media cinematic universe where Putler must be stopped and we must show Resolve and Defend the Rules Based Order and in that world it makes sense to send troops to Ukraine. Otherwise Putler will keep on invading the Baltics or Finland or wherever else. But why would he do this? How do the cost-benefit ratios weigh up for Russia?
From the European perspective (albeit not the Polish or Baltic perspective), the most valuable thing in Ukraine is gas transit routes to Russia. Not pretend rare earths reserves or gas resources that are a fraction of Russia's. These can't be defended by frustrating Russia, quite the opposite.
EU policy is trapped between reality and the MCU, so they need to fight for freedom but not so much that they'll actually win. I think it's all a giant façade. This is the best explanation for the humiliating 'yes we will, no we won't' approach by Keir Starmer and Macron, they're in a dreamy state between the MCU and reality.
I'm aware of a research report by some neocon think tank that said 'if we lose Ukraine then the EU will have to station all these troops in Romania and the Russian air defence zone will advance forwards and that will leave us weak in the Baltics. I don't understand this line of argument, if you have more of everything save nukes then you ought to win, regardless of whether the front line becomes marginally shorter or longer.
If the much richer, more advanced, populous EU can't beat a corrupt Russian oligarchy without the US despite the enemy having a fraction of the resources then there's no point in defending it, there's no point strategizing to advance its position. Clearly the entire political system is grossly inadequate, EU corruption and demoralization must be far greater than Russian... Or they can win and there's no need to worry.
WandererintheWilderness
1hr ago
No, because the average fad isn't really making a factual claim. Someone who adopts the latest fashion trend isn't really believing anything that objective reasoning would show to be untrue.
stolen_brawnze
I am the way Sia says "batteries" in that one song.
1hr ago
My chest and back are generally more developed now, and that comes with more confidence standing upright, walking around, etc. I went to one pool party recently, and usually at these things I used to wait for someone else to undress and get in first, I guess to get permission(?) to do the same, but this time I was the first one in!
I'm not huge or anything, but I could soon be something other than scrawny or skinny-fat for the first time in my life, and the excitement of that has not worn off.
I think I will prefer to stay with my bodyweight. I want a habit that I can do mostly anywhere, and, crucially, something I can do every day without injury.
WandererintheWilderness
1hr ago
Yes, but the necessity of such techniques paints a different picture from the idea that humans are gullible in the sense of automatically going along with any social consensus. Buttons other than the sheer instinct to conform need to be pressed.
ABigGuy4U
1hr ago
Also just prosaic stuff like small arms, bullets, vehicle replacement parts, tires and gasoline. A big part of the reason for the complete collapse of the German Army in 1945 was that you had entire surviving units going combat ineffective because they couldn’t operate their vehicles and had no guns or bullets to shoot them with.
magic9mushroom
If you're going to downvote me, and nobody's already voiced your objection, please reply and tell me
1hr ago
Of course aislop grifters should be fedposted just like indian call center scammers, but sometimes I can't help but feel like the victims deserved it. But when they bother me waste 5 seconds of my time again, I am right back in fedposting mode.
Dude, just say they should be executed and/or assassinated by crack teams of commandoes. That dodges the "zomg terrorist" problem.
sockpuppet2
2hr ago
My understanding that Somalia's primary effect on the West is that its coast needs to be avoided. Yemen policy is inextricable from Iran policy. Syria is the closest parallel I can think of.
sockpuppet2
2hr ago
If you look at your link in the key points section it says things like "CBT-I across several delivery modes improves global and sleep outcomes compared with passive control in the general adult population (moderate strength evidence). Evidence was insufficient to assess adverse effects of CBT-I."
Keep in mind that that the quotes you pulled out are looking at individual sleep metrics as opposed to global sleep outcomes. It is not unreasonable for a treatment method to have more impact on say sleep onset than sleep maintenance.
But why aren't the results positive in a clear majority of trials, and why are trials with sham controls less likely to have positive results? If an intervention is effective, shouldn't it be consistently effective, including when compared to sham controls? The evidence for global outcomes wasn't very good, either.
"CBT-I is the most effective treatment modality for sleep" comes across as something of a bailey to the motte of "All of the guidelines recommend CBT-I over medication in most circumstances because of severe safety/benefit issues with medication management," given that the former is a statement about effectiveness and the latter is a statement about safety - in a like-for-like "per-protocol" or "intention-to-treat" comparison, to account for "adherence issues" and safety/abuse potential, is there a clear difference in QALYs?
Thanks!
phailyoor
2hr ago
Firstly, this is not really a work of writing but just a bunch of bullet points thrown together. If we're talking about comparing the quality of prose, this isn't the ideal medium.
But let's delve into the slop:
Vinyl adhesive masks
I think you already fucked up. masks are more of a thing for electro etching. Not really the correct concept for ECM, but slopgpt doesn't point it out.
offers a unique approach to material removal.
Nope. This is the oft derided slopgpt sycophanthty. What's unique about it? How is it different from "normal?"
widely available compared to specialized electrolytes, reducing operational costs.
What specialize electrolytes? Is it really widely available? Is chatgpt assuming you can just sprinkle some table salt in the water?
Does it reduce operational costs? Is electrolyte a major operational cost? How much does it cost?
The process mimics basic electroetching or electrolysis,
False. ECM uses electrolysis as a mechanism of action.
4000-series aluminum, which is prone to cracking due to its silicon content.
Jewgle says that 4000 series aluminum is prone to cracking during welding, not during machining.
At <20V, the process operates at a relatively low energy level, potentially limiting excessive or uncontrolled material removal compared to higher voltages.
Voltage isn't the factor that matters when talking about excessive material removal.
4000-series aluminum contains silicon, which is less conductive and reactive than pure aluminum. This can lead to inconsistent dissolution rates, leaving rough or pitted surfaces where silicon particles resist machining.
Sounds wrong. The silicon should be alloyed into the metal at a molecular level, not embedded as silicon grit or whatever.
Salt water is a basic electrolyte and may not provide the uniform current distribution of more optimized solutions (e.g., sodium nitrate)
Very suspect logic.
Salt water (a chloride-based electrolyte) is highly corrosive to aluminum, especially 4000-series alloys
Totally false and retarded.
Since this is a low-voltage, DIY-style setup
Slopgpt just assumed this is a DIY process. What if we're talking about doing a commercial process with this setup?
or add a buffer to stabilize pH.
pH just appeared out of nowhere with no mention of it before at all.
Post-machining, acrylic paint can often be stripped with solvents (e.g., acetone) or mechanical abrasion, which might be simpler than peeling vinyl, especially if the vinyl degrades and leaves adhesive residue.
Sounds wrong
acetone works well but could leave the aluminum surface slightly altered if not rinsed quickly.
I don't believe acetone affects aluminum at all.
math math math
Beyond my ability to evaluate.
output has demonstratably worked
You already knew it would work before asking chatgpt, and knew what you wanted to do. How much value add did asking it actually provide? Did any of the problems that it predicted actually happen?
So the same thing that's been happening for the last 3 months?
No.
What has been happening for the last 3 months is a result of the different legal authorities for government agencies existing.
While Congress is the root authorizer of all money for the government, Congress is not the origin of all agencies. Certain agencies / offices exist because Congress says so, and some exist because the President thinks it'd be a good idea. When Congress funds the later, it tends to be in a far more open-to-executive discretion way. Instead of 'spend X amount on Y program for Z purpose,' where a failure to spend is against the law, the authorizations may be structured more like 'here is X amount for you to figure out how to spend best for Z purpose.' The last 3 months has been, in effect, the Executive branch saying 'we don't need all this after all' in the agencies where the Executive gets to make greater calls in what to spend on.
What Schumer is referring to is what happens when Congress does not pass a spending bill at all, and/or shifts to a continuing resolution model. Which has far more expansive in implications.
Arnaud
2hr ago
What weapons? Who were 'some' ? Even though US has some thousands of armored vehicles in storage, it's known all the critical weapons -air defense, artillery are in short supply. Any sort of useful weapon system (good air defense, cruise missiles) that might make big trouble for Russians is in very short supply. At this point, only some sort of wunderwaffe like AI-powered FPVs AND China not cutting off supplies of parts there in a brutal manner could save Ukrainians.
I think I disagree with the idea that thousands of armoured vehicles are useless and I suspect that Ukraine would agree with me, I can think of at least a few good uses for a large quantity of Bradleys and Abrams, hell even the M113 could be put to use. The Russians seem to be pretty close to burning through their soviet inheritance of armoured vehicles, hence the increasing presence of things like Mad Maxified Ladas and golf cart riding stormtruppen, so armoured vehicles that are donated from now on should produce a greater impact on the battlefield as the Russians become increasingly resource constrained.
Russians are confident they can keep this going and Ukraine will give in, so why'd they accept a peace that'd not solve the issues they have.
It probably is worth mentioning here that Putin was confident that the "special military operation" would have been over in days and that he also has a tendency towards "missing the bus" when it comes to strategic decisions, procrastinating and making decisions weeks and months after they would have had the most effect. Putin is quite lucky that the western world lives in abject terror of actually winning a war for change (Defeating your enemies? Sounds awfully escalatory that) and that we are instead treated to this tragic comedy of errors.
Arnaud
2hr ago
Even the ancient greeks acknowledged that Zeus was something of a cunt, what with constantly cheating on his wife by raping women and all the other petty stuff greek gods got up to.
Lykurg
We're all living in Amerika
2hr ago
He had like 50 responses
And he prefered telling people theyre to blinkered to respond to what he actually asked, to responding to someone who did.
If you threaten to shoot me and I leave I did not ‚self-deport‘ of my own free will.
(1) Being banned is not actually worse than leaving, while shooting is. (2) He may have behaved better on other topics, and learned the expected communication style eventually. You dont actually think being condescending was necessary to make his point, no? Most users dont start with a top-level post, and the ones who do are high-variance and a bit negative in terms of rule-following.
phailyoor
2hr ago
Good and great writers nowadays will go to so many other places before they go to a paper.
Where?
celluloid_dream
3hr ago
Did you notice that I described Carney that way in my post? That's also what I said in my introduction of the video transcript to the LLM (not included with the pastebin), so the fault is mine, though I don't even admit it's false. Two months is a short enough time to be PM that I think most people would still describe him as "new", especially since the time was almost entirely spent campaigning.
I agree! No one is writing a bland and direct summary. That's a problem! I have such a hard time getting that anywhere. Journalists invariably give too much "important context", while excising things they deem "not important", and that's largely where the bias creeps in.
Worth noting that the article you linked is much longer (I specifically asked for short), and includes additional Q&A not included with the video I gave it. I'm confident if I could find the full video + Q&A, and altered my prompt to ask it to give context on important recent events, and gave it a word count, it would deliver something equal to the Guardian piece there.
Barfknuckle
3hr ago
ChatGPT fucked up halfway through the first sentence. Mark Carney has been PM for almost 2 months now. Almost as long as Trump has been president, and it would be unthinkable to refer to Trump as "America's new president"
This is the problem with your slop. Not even an ounce of sense or awareness.
Referring to a guy who took office less than two months ago as new isn't much of an own, it just looks like you're reaching here. AI could replace pretty much all of written journalism and as long as there were a couple guys left to filter out hallucinations I don't think many people would particularly notice.
sohois
3hr ago
As much as I hate journalists, they are quite good at writing. Some no-name journalist at AP has gone to school for writing and honed his craft for years. His writing is almost certainly in the top 99th percentile of writing skills, and certainly far better than yours or mine.
This is an absurd claim. We have to remember that at this point journalism has been a dying industry for decades. The aspiring novelist working on their book away from their day job at the paper is a relic of 50 years ago. Good and great writers nowadays will go to so many other places before they go to a paper.
There are only a tiny number of prestigious bylines at top newspapers. When was the last time you read a generic article at, say, some mid-tier US city paper? There are still plenty of positions rehashing whatever comes through from AP or Reuters, or working in industry publications or niche hobby stuff. And these are never noted for quality.
And even amongst good journalists, writing is not often a big selling point. How many people read Matt Yglesias for his quality prose compared to just finding his ideas interesting? Good investigative journalism can be performed independently of good writing.
magic9mushroom
If you're going to downvote me, and nobody's already voiced your objection, please reply and tell me
3hr ago
· Edited 3hr ago
We're largely missing the Borderers, and so they're culturally alien to us (so are American Descendants of Slaves, but for various reasons including good PR and relative invisibility there's less friction there).
We also have a much-weaker two-party system, so instead of being a faction with some amount of influence in our major right-wing parties, the alt-right has its own party (well, technically two parties, One Nation and the Clive Palmer Party the United Australia Party Trumpet of Patriots, but the latter is a bad joke). There's no cordon sanitaire in Australia (there was one, like 25 years ago, but it fell apart); the Coalition (the neoliberal Liberals and rural-conservative Nationals) put One Nation above anybody besides themselves on their how-to-vote cards and they're willing to work with One Nation when they have to. But because One Nation's primary vote is quite a bit lower than that of the Coalition and they're not unusually-concentrated like the (hippie/SJ) Greens voters, they have no lower-house seats (though they do manage a few Senate seats, as the Senate is pseudo-proportional representation), so the Coalition mostly haven't had to (or have been impotent even with them).
And yeah, as the others have mentioned there's a bit of an issue that Trump wasn't being all that friendly to Australia. Friendly fire isn't, and all that.
Furries annoying everyone as usual: https://www.loweringthebar.net/2025/04/dragon-lawyer-files-complaint-with-cartoon-dragon.html
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