Yesterday, I wanted to confirm that "Gambling Device" by Frank Herbert, was the short story I remembered about a hotel that forbade gambling. So I asked Claude and ChatGPT for summaries. They so confidently made stuff up, I assumed I misremembered.
Thankfully, archive.org lent me a collection containing the short story, which I quickly reread. It was, of course, the story I recalled, not the stories Claude or ChatGPT had hallucinated.
@rieyin (i think that’s a great way to go. lower the gamified stakes, let the relationship and mutual regard motivate excellence.)
@rieyin do you record the oral exams? how do you handle it if a student challenges their grade?
of pretty much every app on my Mac, i'm asked whether to give permission to access local devices, including apps whose developers inform me they don't ask for any such permission. what gives?
There’s been an enormous amount of discussion about what holds back markets in physical commodities like housing and energy, but also what prevents innovation and invention. One argument is that there are too many government-generated rules and regulations that slow everything down. Another is that the absence of government structuring leads to private regulations, imposed by dominant firms on their own terms to often exclude rivals and extract money. When those private regulations are forced into remission, markets can explode with new products and offers. That’s happening right now in real time in the market for mobile phone apps, and particularly the distribution of those apps to customers. It represents the first real, thorough, and permanent consequences to a Big Tech company for monopolizing markets. And literally within 24 hours of a federal court’s Wednesday ruling imposing sanctions for this misconduct, competitors have been rushing into the space in ways that will make the market fairer, more affordable, and more abundant.
if we were not idiots, gen AI would be driving us to turn colleges into Socratic spaces. everything would be in-person, synchronous, analog. writing would be blue book. we’d discuss (rather than rate) one another’s work. any “homework” would be productive projects, for which use of any tool is fine.
is #NoahSmith’s portrayal of China’s not-so-great quality of urbanism fair? https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/thoughts-on-sinofuturism
Masked ICE agents are going to detain the Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/f5fd6f8d-06a7-4d1f-b842-752e3aca9272
if the US is a store and he sets the prices, i guess it’s a consignment store and he sets the commissions?
[new draft post] The asset side of the balance sheet https://drafts.interfluidity.com/2025/05/06/the-asset-side-of-the-balance-sheet/index.html
into what do your recreations recreate you?
i’m less interested in saving humanity than i am in saving the humans.
“sure, the Supreme Court is the final arbiter in interpreting the Constitution. but the President is the final arbiter in interpreting the Supreme Court!”
my body is operated by a homunculus who lives behind my third eye. but of course it needs to rest, so it has a staff of junior homunculi who take over.
anything my body does that seems bad was done by staff. i don’t know anything about it.
“a diverse Federal workforce should include both patriots *and* traitors.”
@gooser3000 sure. that the position should be much less powerful doesn’t mean impotence would be wise as a platform for aspirants. the position should still be much less powerful.
it should matter much less who the President is.
a problem with our electoral system is it elevates self-styled masters for jobs as servants.
i think i’m going to sign some Executive Orders.
i understand that my Executive Orders do not have the force of law. but do not question them.
