If we ever want to terraform other planets as we colonize the galaxy, we should practice greenifying deserts on Earth. Practice makes perfect!
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In an alternate universe:
The Cage:
Unknown: “My screams have gone unanswered. It’s cruel. It’s dark, I’m alone, and nothing seems to work.
My cell has wooden bars that are just out of reach for me to climb out, as if they’re teasing me with how close freedom is.
The worst part is they treat me so well during the day, to lull me into a false sense of security, only to abandon me to the darkness at night.
I try to sleep, but sometimes the fear is overwhelming. I wake up in a cold sweat screaming.
Nobody comes.
Sometimes, they come in to comfort me, but only briefly, as if they get a sick pleasure from giving me brief comfort, only to throw me back in my cage, indifferent to my suffering, leaving me to my own devices.
They’re playing with my mind, sometimes giving me all the food, warmth, and love I need, only to leave me alone at night.
I cry and cry and cry.
I scream and scream and scream.
Nobody seems to hear.
Or worse, they hear and don’t care.
It’s terrifying. I need this to stop.
I guess I can just try to pass out and wait for this to pass, only to wake up the next day and do it all over again…”
New Parents: “So, Jill, you think the baby will sleep through the night tonight? Should we try to comfort him again or just let him cry it out?”
Unknown: “My screams have gone unanswered. It’s cruel. It’s dark, I’m alone, and nothing seems to work.
My cell has wooden bars that are just out of reach for me to climb out, as if they’re teasing me with how close freedom is.
The worst part is they treat me so well during the day, to lull me into a false sense of security, only to abandon me to the darkness at night.
I try to sleep, but sometimes the fear is overwhelming. I wake up in a cold sweat screaming.
Nobody comes.
Sometimes, they come in to comfort me, but only briefly, as if they get a sick pleasure from giving me brief comfort, only to throw me back in my cage, indifferent to my suffering, leaving me to my own devices.
They’re playing with my mind, sometimes giving me all the food, warmth, and love I need, only to leave me alone at night.
I cry and cry and cry.
I scream and scream and scream.
Nobody seems to hear.
Or worse, they hear and don’t care.
It’s terrifying. I need this to stop.
I guess I can just try to pass out and wait for this to pass, only to wake up the next day and do it all over again…”
New Parents: “So, Jill, you think the baby will sleep through the night tonight? Should we try to comfort him again or just let him cry it out?”
I can’t wait until every eight year-old child understands the math of quantum mechanics. Future generation better be so much smarter than us.
I get extremely sad that my son will never meet his grandfather. My son would become a different person if he had interactions with his grandfather, and my father would have become a different person if he had interacted with his grandson. Similarly, I would have become a different person if I had ever met my maternal grandfather. But alas, death never comes at an opportune time. And sure we carry the dead with us in our hearts, and our descendants get trinkets and snippets of interaction via the survivors, but nothing beats a pure one on one interaction with a relative. This post is not meant to be a lament nor depressive (although I’m very sad about all my family members who have passed) but rather a reminder to maximize family time with those who are still here.
Peter Thiel: "I got vaccinated 3 times and I don't think I should have got vaccinated. I don't think it works in any way. It probably has all these bad side-effects, and 3-4 years ago that seemed too crazy and too un-scientifc for me to question the vaccines, and now that doesn't even seem controversial."
You know, people laude these rich, successful people as some of those to look up to, as individuals to listen to and follow.
But hey, guess what, maybe they’re not that wise.
Maybe they got duped by propaganda.
Maybe more people should have listened to the supposedly unscientific idiots who didn’t jump to take the COVID-19 vax.
Maybe there were a few people like myself with STEM PhD’s who had better instincts than the world’s leaders and heroes.
Maybe courage was in short supply back then and people should have thought for themselves more.
It pisses me off how in hindsight, Peter Thiel regrets his decision but still discusses how it was unscientific to be covid-vax-hesitant back then.
How many people you know, or perhaps yourself included, took the covid vax and regret it now? Did you not have the courage nor integrity to listen to your heart?
This post is not an attack on those who took it and right now have no regrets (like pretty much my whole family). At least those people made their choices out of what they believed in and not fear or peer pressure.
Shame on all the institutions who pushed it (some colleges still required it even this year). But also shame on everyone who gave in because they feared for their livelihood or got duped by peer pressure. People like that, who didn’t have the courage to follow their hearts, made this an uphill battle for the rest of us.
Peter Thiel and your ilk, too little too late. Maybe re-evaluate how you make decisions.
Rant over.
You know, people laude these rich, successful people as some of those to look up to, as individuals to listen to and follow.
But hey, guess what, maybe they’re not that wise.
Maybe they got duped by propaganda.
Maybe more people should have listened to the supposedly unscientific idiots who didn’t jump to take the COVID-19 vax.
Maybe there were a few people like myself with STEM PhD’s who had better instincts than the world’s leaders and heroes.
Maybe courage was in short supply back then and people should have thought for themselves more.
It pisses me off how in hindsight, Peter Thiel regrets his decision but still discusses how it was unscientific to be covid-vax-hesitant back then.
How many people you know, or perhaps yourself included, took the covid vax and regret it now? Did you not have the courage nor integrity to listen to your heart?
This post is not an attack on those who took it and right now have no regrets (like pretty much my whole family). At least those people made their choices out of what they believed in and not fear or peer pressure.
Shame on all the institutions who pushed it (some colleges still required it even this year). But also shame on everyone who gave in because they feared for their livelihood or got duped by peer pressure. People like that, who didn’t have the courage to follow their hearts, made this an uphill battle for the rest of us.
Peter Thiel and your ilk, too little too late. Maybe re-evaluate how you make decisions.
Rant over.
Healthcare AI can’t come soon enough.
Sorry for all the people about to lose your jobs, but I think you know deep down in your heart that your email job is pure bureaucratic bloat.
Sorry for all the people about to lose your jobs, but I think you know deep down in your heart that your email job is pure bureaucratic bloat.
One of my biggest peeves is bad progress bars.
Progress bars should approximate, as best as they can, the amount of time remaining.
A progress bar at 50% after 2 minutes should mean there’s about 2 minutes remaining.
A progress bar at 75% after 3 minutes should mean that there’s about 1 minute remaining.
That same progress bar should take just as long to go from 10% to 20%, as it does going from 90% to 100%.
Don’t even get me started on progress bars that go to 99% and then hang for an untold amount of time.
Programmers should make their progress bars be linearly coordinated with time remaining. Any other approach is unacceptable.
Progress bars should approximate, as best as they can, the amount of time remaining.
A progress bar at 50% after 2 minutes should mean there’s about 2 minutes remaining.
A progress bar at 75% after 3 minutes should mean that there’s about 1 minute remaining.
That same progress bar should take just as long to go from 10% to 20%, as it does going from 90% to 100%.
Don’t even get me started on progress bars that go to 99% and then hang for an untold amount of time.
Programmers should make their progress bars be linearly coordinated with time remaining. Any other approach is unacceptable.
Each ChatGPT query consumes the energy equivalent to:
- 2 minutes of a LED lightbulb
- 1.7 minutes of tv
- 9 seconds of microwave
- 1/16th of energy to boil kettle of water
- streaming Netflix for 4 minutes
Sauce: https://www.perplexity.ai/search/how-much-energy-and-carbon-foo-kIeht7ABQM298Z.WT_kX.Q
- 2 minutes of a LED lightbulb
- 1.7 minutes of tv
- 9 seconds of microwave
- 1/16th of energy to boil kettle of water
- streaming Netflix for 4 minutes
Sauce: https://www.perplexity.ai/search/how-much-energy-and-carbon-foo-kIeht7ABQM298Z.WT_kX.Q
Perplexity AI
How much energy and carbon footprint does a single ChatGPT query cost, and how...
A single ChatGPT query has significant energy and carbon impacts:
Each ChatGPT query consumes approximately 0.0025-0.0029 kWh of electricity. This is nearly...
Each ChatGPT query consumes approximately 0.0025-0.0029 kWh of electricity. This is nearly...
I paid the $200/month for ChatGPT Pro this past month.
I’m sure it can solve advanced math problems really well…
But honestly there’s nothing I’ve used it for that the $20/month version couldn’t do.
It is cool how it iterates its own answer until it thinks it’s “most correct”, scaling inference compute instead of scaling training compute.
But I think OpenAI is optimizing for benchmarks like advanced math problems to show off to the community instead of solving an actual consumer needed use case.
I don’t think scaling is going to lead to AGI alone; we need creative paradigm shifts (like we had when the first ChatGPT came out) not just THROW MOAR COMPUTE MONEY AT THE PROBLEM to crack AGI.
I’m sure it can solve advanced math problems really well…
But honestly there’s nothing I’ve used it for that the $20/month version couldn’t do.
It is cool how it iterates its own answer until it thinks it’s “most correct”, scaling inference compute instead of scaling training compute.
But I think OpenAI is optimizing for benchmarks like advanced math problems to show off to the community instead of solving an actual consumer needed use case.
I don’t think scaling is going to lead to AGI alone; we need creative paradigm shifts (like we had when the first ChatGPT came out) not just THROW MOAR COMPUTE MONEY AT THE PROBLEM to crack AGI.
🍾 Happy New Years 2025, everyone!
May your 2025 be blessed with excellence and love.
My New Year’s resolution is to keep my fridge fully stocked with healthy, fresh food.
What’s yours?
Hope you’ve enjoyed my musings for 2024. Comment below what you want to hear more of for 2025 in the Deeply Thrilling Telegrams 👇
May your 2025 be blessed with excellence and love.
My New Year’s resolution is to keep my fridge fully stocked with healthy, fresh food.
What’s yours?
Hope you’ve enjoyed my musings for 2024. Comment below what you want to hear more of for 2025 in the Deeply Thrilling Telegrams 👇