mandolingual's comments

On: The most underreported story in AI is that scaling...

[mandolingual]

I'm subscribed to his substack because he's curmudgeonly and it's funny, and he occasionally makes good points, but he's constantly beating the same anti-hype drum. He might not get any particular facts wrong but you can count on him only focusing on the facts that let him continue to show AI through that same anti-hype lense.

[th0ma5 → mandolingual]

How would it be possible to, say, show the reality of a forest fire's devastation while not appearing to show a bias for showing charred trees?

On: Every board game rulebook is awful [pdf]

[mandolingual]

We've "lost something in society" because we don't want to be immersed in lore and pictures and dreams of what we could do while our friends sit patiently around the table waiting for us to look up if we can build a dairy barn in the farm flash step?

[jvalencia → mandolingual]

This is referencing a rule. I'm not sure I'm arguing against a clear reference, I like those. But I've certainly been at a table where we open the box, the host hasn't read the rules and frankly doesn't want to. I would hope you'd be excited about the board game, enjoy the book that comes with it, and then invite your friends over to play :-)

[bluGill → jvalencia]

I've been that friend who was invited over to play with hosts that were really good and knew all the obscure rules. Not very fun when you discover your strategy fails because of some rule you didn't know of that they waited until you were committed to point it out.

[thaumasiotes → bluGill]

> Not very fun when you discover your strategy fails because of some rule you didn't know of that they waited until you were committed to point it out.

At least half the time you get this feeling, they pointed it out with the rest of the rules and you just didn't notice.

[bluGill → thaumasiotes]

Sometimes that is true, but often it is "oh, I forgot to tell you about that obscure rule". It always feels malicious when it happens to you though.

[thaumasiotes → bluGill]

> Sometimes that is true, but often it is "oh, I forgot to tell you about that obscure rule".

Yes, that's also true. But it's still very common that the rule that trips you up was covered beforehand.

The fundamental problem here is that, at the time you're having the rules explained, you're not in a position to know what is or isn't important.

[naming_the_user → bluGill]

Realistically with anything more than the most basic of games I feel as if it's reasonable to expect that the first 1-2 games are just practice because as you say, there will definitely be something that you've missed.

On: FBI Raids Home of Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan

[mandolingual]

He shits out his perspective into every conversation and buys himself a bigger voice, let's not spread his drivel for him.

On: New York Times Tech Guild goes on strike

[mandolingual]

Yes, workers will take advantage of opportunities for their strike action to be more effective, good point.

On: Ask HN: What are some homeless shelter innovations...

[mandolingual]

Probably the shift to (or supplementing of shelters with) tiny home villages would be the biggest one over the last few years.

[hooverd → mandolingual]

Tiny home villages are a terrible use of land.

[throwaway4aday → hooverd]

For low density urban areas they aren't. It's not only major cities that have homeless populations you know.