totm nov 2023 Thread to discuss negative things in a very general way, just see where it goes y'know?

[Lisias]

So, it's bad to have too many issues opened in a repository.

Ok, I can accept that. So let's hire more people to tackle the issues down, right?

No! Let's create a bot that will automatically close all the issues after a week!!!

What could possibly go wrong?

[kerbiloid]

Have you published this issue in the repository?

If yes, just wait for a week.

[AstroWolfie]

https://futurism.com/the-byte/experts-90-online-content-ai-generated

 

This is kinda sad ngl. I'd hate it for almost all the content I consume online to be AI. I already mistrust AI a bit, why should it be taking up 90% of the internet? That one dead internet theory is gonna come true.

[AlamoVampire]

this is how skynet starts i bet.

165804192024

[Lisias]

"When the people want the impossible, only liars can satisfy." Thomas Sowell.

Originally aimed to politicians but, boy, it's also perfect for Software,

[SunlitZelkova]

My mom sent me an article about Armani Williams, the first autistic NASCAR driver. It’s a very cool read for someone like me with my own mental disability.

Something catches my eye below the Facebook post with the link.

Facebook calls it “the most relevant comment.” It says “most relevant is selected, some comments may have been filtered out.”

It is written by a bigot, who believes autism and ADHD are “educational and parental cop-outs.” He tells people to “educate their stupid kids” because “the world isn’t going to tiptoe around them just because they have some weird habits.”

And then there is another “most relevant comment.” It’s a racist bit by the same guy. Armani is one of the few black NASCAR drivers.

Odd timing, because I have been trying to combat my depression by doing an “informational detox” and reducing the number of my world building projects I work on as hobbies, and decreasing my use of social media, among other things.

One thing I was debating at the time was whether the internet should have existed or not. The sole project I’m now working on is an alternate history where the USSR lands on the Moon first.

I’m pretty convinced the world would be better off without the internet. So long as big companies like Meta and Twitter use algorithms that amplify the bad people speaking out on it, and together with the need for “buzz” to get advertising revenue, sane and moderate discourse is passed over in favor of extremes on either side of the argument that enrage people and gain more clicks, the internet will have proven to be more negative than positive. For me, of course. Others are entitled to their opinions.

Luckily the internet is pretty easy to erase from my timeline. Because the Space Race continues, it will be pretty easy to cut funding for it sometime in the mid 70s and prevent it from becoming a major thing.

P.S. I feel a lot of the strife in my life and those of my generation would be prevented if there was no internet. I feel I made the right decision as a kid beginning middle school to forgo video games and cell phones, even as people around me played Minecraft and posted on Instagram. Once I started to use them after moving away to another city, in order to try and communicate with them, my depression increased and I became very volatile. I feel that the record breaking mental health crisis among youth would be greatly lessened if not eliminated if the internet did not exist.

My cousin has three kids. One is just a baby but the other two are just starting schooling. They’re already addicted to games and streaming children’s shows that my cousin shows them on her phone. I look at them and just think this world is doomed.

[Nuke]

he does have a point. you might be turned down for jobs or military service for your mental disabilities, but then the disability people will tell you that you are not disabled. at least that's been my experience. i was spec ed in high school and most of the other students at the time, we knew we had all been singled out by society and kept down and that any special treatment we were getting would go away the second we turned 18 and we would be thrown to the wolves. some prepared (i did the stem classes), some avoided it, some accepted their lot in life, one of my friends committed suicide.

when columbine happened we saw those guys as freedom fighters, my friends all bought black trench coats. i don't condone this kind of violence though, the fact that it continues and at much higher magnitude is disgusting. this is just how we felt at the time (and keep in mind it wasn't omnipresent like it is today). the fact that this started happened right around the time we moved into participation trophy era could not have been a coincidence. we need to take a good hard look at whatever policy changes happened during that time frame and have persisted to this day and ask if it is worth it to continue on this way.

so what the schools need to do is to take a much more hands off approach. provide the stem education for those that want it (autistic people seem to gravitate towards those fields on their own without any help, i know i did), but don't force it. don't push labels on kids or categorize them for convenience sake. don't segregate them from the normies. these are the people they will have to live with on a daily basis. they never consider what those kids lives will be like when they are adults. they assume that the government that pays their salaries will take care of them, but that couldn't be further from the truth. and Darn it get the politics out of the classroom. one side or the other's vision is not reality and reality is a beast.

 

ugh, and i came here to complain about my circadian rythems being offset by 12 hours, but that seems unimportant now.

Edited April 21 by Nuke

[SunlitZelkova]

5 hours ago, Nuke said:

so what the schools need to do is to take a much more hands off approach. provide the stem education for those that want it (autistic people seem to gravitate towards those fields on their own without any help, i know i did), but don't force it. don't push labels on kids or categorize them for convenience sake. don't segregate them from the normies. these are the people they will have to live with on a daily basis. they never consider what those kids lives will be like when they are adults. they assume that the government that pays their salaries will take care of them, but that couldn't be further from the truth. and Darn it get the politics out of the classroom. one side or the other's vision is not reality and reality is a beast.

I don’t know if you have kids that have disabilities in school or not, but that was not my experience in the early 2010s.

In middle school, Special Ed was more focused on simply helping kids learn at that time. It was similar in high school.

There was never any emphasis on whether that sort of thing could be applied to careers or not because K-12 has little to do with careers anyways. It’s all about the diploma. We were expected to take the learning strategies we received into college, so there was some sort of preparation for when the support would fade.

These labels weren’t created for the heck of it. The kids actually have a disability and the logic goes is that the only reason we would realize they would have it is if they show trouble in school and it gets noticed that way.

I don’t know what you experienced, but no one is forced into special ed. I simply got a 504 plan and then an IEP, but only during the worse (my condition was worse) later years did I attend special ed classes, and only after the two plans didn’t work. In the 2010s at least, the only people in special ed were those who really needed to be.

There’s also an effort to promote tolerance and acceptance of people with disabilities. They aren’t just separated away from the normal kids, who then are left to their own devices to form opinions about the special ed people. Whether it’s working or not IDK. I personally never experienced any prejudice over it.

There were classmates of mine with disabilities far more severe than mine, and perhaps they suffered prejudice, but I was not friends with them and kept to myself so I don’t know. I also have no idea what their futures will turn out to be. Their disabilities were so severe, that I feel that if their condition was not to improve, they were the kind of people who would require a caretaker or placement into a facility for the rest of their lives. I couldn’t see them managing a job even if they had heavy supports.

[Nuke]

well i went to school in the 90s and graduated in 2000 (mid semester because i wanted to finish my electronics program, id have graduated in 1999 otherwise). the only opt in i got was for my vocational classes which was at a different school (none of them were near where i lived, so i spent much of the day on buses). i was given no choice about spec ed. its like the school district rounded up all its troublemakers, boat rockers, and kids with learning disabilities and dumped them into one school. i always questioned the logic of putting autistic kids with the psychopaths. a point system was like two thirds of our grade so anyone with an iq over 100 could game the system and graduate with very little effort. the teachers who worked there were great for the most part, but the system they worked under was highly flawed. teaching us material four grades under our level. it always bugged me that i had to take a math class for the credit, and they never got any further than doing fractions it seemed, meanwhile i was doing far more complex math in my electronics class (the alternating current unit was hell).

Edited April 22 by Nuke

[DDE]

On 4/21/2024 at 2:03 AM, SunlitZelkova said:

It is written by a bigot, who believes autism and ADHD are “educational and parental cop-outs.”

Don't forget "pharmacological cash cow" in case with ADHD. It's the reason why I'm really skeptical of its prevalence, much less so with autism where the pharmacological remedies seem non-existent and misdiagnosis is nowhere near as likely.

Spoiler

That, and I'm hitting too many notes of a moderate, undiagnosed Aspie to believe this pattern doesn't exist

 

[SunlitZelkova]

2 hours ago, DDE said:

Don't forget "pharmacological cash cow" in case with ADHD. It's the reason why I'm really skeptical of its prevalence, much less so with autism where the pharmacological remedies seem non-existent and misdiagnosis is nowhere near as likely.

Yeah, don’t get me wrong, I recognize there are issues with the way diagnoses and treatment work, but pretending the problem doesn’t exist isn’t the answer either.

I myself could have become a victim of misdiagnosis had I not had extreme paranoia over taking any medication during my middle school days.

I was at fault too though, as I basically lied about my condition. It wouldn’t be until nearly a decade later that I opened up and doctors were able to make an accurate diagnosis.

[AtomicTech]

I had a moment today, in my last slug through high school senior year, where I realized how tired I am and how much I want to not be here in Austin, doing school stuff. I wanna go back to Hawaii. I wanna have that promise of exploration. I wanna have a slow life for a little while. I just want to get away from all of the essay writing, AP test preparation, calculus homework, decluttering my room, and all of that stuff that just brings me down. Is it bad that I just wanna get away from all of it for a little while? Is it okay that I want to put everything on pause and just get back to it later when I can feel like I'm not forcing myself to do the nth calculus problem or the nth in-class or take-home essay? I am just so tired and I really, really need a break.

[SunlitZelkova]

3 hours ago, AtomicTech said:

Is it bad that I just wanna get away from all of it for a little while? Is it okay that I want to put everything on pause and just get back to it later when I can feel like I'm not forcing myself to do the nth calculus problem or the nth in-class or take-home essay?

No, it is not bad, and yes, it is okay. Everyone needs a change of pace once in awhile.

Know that your current tasks don’t last forever though. My philosophy is that a break of decent length is perfectly fine at some point, and it’s important to recognize one needs one, but the break should not quash school prospects or careers so long as one still has their heart set on accomplishing something in those arenas.

If you have the luxury of pausing now, go ahead and pause, but if you don’t, I think you should wait until a more opportune time.

[AtomicTech]

35 minutes ago, SunlitZelkova said:

No, it is not bad, and yes, it is okay. Everyone needs a change of pace once in awhile.

Know that your current tasks don’t last forever though. My philosophy is that a break of decent length is perfectly fine at some point, and it’s important to recognize one needs one, but the break should not quash school prospects or careers so long as one still has their heart set on accomplishing something in those arenas.

If you have the luxury of pausing now, go ahead and pause, but if you don’t, I think you should wait until a more opportune time.

Thanks for the advice Zelkova, I appreciate it

[Ryaja]

On 4/20/2024 at 5:03 PM, SunlitZelkova said:

it is written by a bigot, who believes autism and ADHD are “educational and parental cop-outs.” He tells people to “educate their stupid kids” because “the world isn’t going to tiptoe around them just because they have some weird habits.”

I partially agree with this, I do think we need to be taught that no the world won't tip toe around you. I'm autistic myself and accepting that no the world isn't gonna treat you nice, has helped me pull through my symptoms. Acting like losing control is normal didn't help me. Treating as a instinctual action that I can push through did. In the end treating autism as a barrier rather than part of me has helped me push through at least a bit.

[SunlitZelkova]

1 hour ago, Ryaja said:

I partially agree with this, I do think we need to be taught that no the world won't tip toe around you. I'm autistic myself and accepting that no the world isn't gonna treat you nice, has helped me pull through my symptoms. Acting like losing control is normal didn't help me. Treating as a instinctual action that I can push through did. In the end treating autism as a barrier rather than part of me has helped me push through at least a bit.

I am skeptical 10-12 year olds being told they need to “get their act together because the world won’t be nice to you” is going to help them. Nor do I think it would help those younger than that.

Your strategy may work for you as a high schooler/college student/adult/whatever age you are, but would it work for young children?

[Ryaja]

1 hour ago, SunlitZelkova said:

I am skeptical 10-12 year olds being told they need to “get their act together because the world won’t be nice to you” is going to help them. Nor do I think it would help those younger than that.

Your strategy may work for you as a high schooler/college student/adult/whatever age you are, but would it work for young children?

The younger you start the easier, the world gonna hit you over the head with a concrete slab then ask why your on the floor, rather than trying to cater we gotta help them learn to be flexible.  Not that everyone else is coming to be so they don't have too.

[DDE]

Ah, a six-day work week due to upcoming Labor Day. I only learnt about it on Monday.

3 hours ago, Ryaja said:

I partially agree with this, I do think we need to be taught that no the world won't tip toe around you. I'm autistic myself and accepting that no the world isn't gonna treat you nice, has helped me pull through my symptoms. Acting like losing control is normal didn't help me. Treating as a instinctual action that I can push through did. In the end treating autism as a barrier rather than part of me has helped me push through at least a bit.

It's a barrier that never goes away.

Frankly, I think the bigger problem is the pathologization of any eccentricity. You're expected to be "quirky" in ways that are seemingly harmless (and easily commoditized), but that genuine strangeness is actually a lot more dangerous and untolerated in this ultra-connected, hyper-socialized world than it used to be. It has become an impairment. Although I do sense there used to be a pretty severe asymmetry of tolerance based on the sex (will this get censored?) of the individual, guess we achieved equality of discrimination.

7 hours ago, AtomicTech said:

I had a moment today, in my last slug through high school senior year, where I realized how tired I am and how much I want to not be here in Austin, doing school stuff. I wanna go back to Hawaii. I wanna have that promise of exploration. I wanna have a slow life for a little while. I just want to get away from all of the essay writing, AP test preparation, calculus homework, decluttering my room, and all of that stuff that just brings me down. Is it bad that I just wanna get away from all of it for a little while? Is it okay that I want to put everything on pause and just get back to it later when I can feel like I'm not forcing myself to do the nth calculus problem or the nth in-class or take-home essay? I am just so tired and I really, really need a break.

I can't promise it will get better. Maybe take a gap year while you can, because afterwards HR will look at you funny for having a hole in your resume. Then months will start to fly past like days, and you'll be headed to an early midlife crisis, just like me.

****...

Edited April 22 by DDE

[Ryaja]

4 minutes ago, DDE said:

Frankly, I think the bigger problem is the pathologization of any eccentricity. You're expected to be "quirky" in ways that are seemingly harmless (and easily commoditized), but that genuine strangeness is actually a lot more dangerous and untolerated in this ultra-connected, hyper-socialized world than it used to be. It has become an impairment. Although I do sense there used to be a pretty severe asymmetry of tolerance based on the sex (will this get censored?) of the individual, guess we achieved equality of discrimination.

Its always been an impairment. I treat as a barrier as barriers can be over come.

[Jaypeg]

On 4/11/2019 at 10:12 AM, DAL59 said:

Outside of r/ksp, r/dnd and the cat ones, most of the subsites on reddit are terrible, controlled by an insane and self contradictory hivemind, and every single post is filled with petty controversy.  An intelligently written comment that goes against consensus will be voted down and responded to by a popular one-liner.  Many subsites are just bad ideas to begin with-

r/aita: Let strangers determine if someone is good or not based entirely on their side of the story

r/choosingbeggars: Share stories about unreasonable clients/customers... mainly in the format of texts, which are very easy to fake and since the content is formulaic, the vast majority is fake

r/pics: Absolute barrage of posts, 10 times as many subs as the next lowest, mostly stolen content and fake stories

r/funny: Nothin humorous has ever occurred there

Never venturing outside the ksp subsite again 

sadly, now r/ksp is toxic.

[SunlitZelkova]

9 hours ago, Ryaja said:

The younger you start the easier, the world gonna hit you over the head with a concrete slab then ask why your on the floor, rather than trying to cater we gotta help them learn to be flexible.  Not that everyone else is coming to be so they don't have too.

What the man who made that comment is suggesting is that no one teach them at all. When he says “teach your stupid kids” he implies that the real reason people show signs of autism is because standard curriculum is flawed, not because they have a disorder. He suggests their condition does not even exist.

If we really want to teach people to be more flexible about the world I suggest we get rid of autism as a diagnosis, because everyone could benefit from being more flexible in how they approach life.

[DDE]

Oh, how very, very familiar. Unfortunately, going from experience, the late Uber driver was involved, she just didn't know she was being used as a courier. Heck, there's been a dozen cases in Russia where the couriers realized what they were being used for and opened up the packages to find thick wads of cash.

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/16/us/ohio-uber-driver-murder-charge/index.html

Warn your relatives, folks, you're now in the same boat as us, it seems. Unexpected calls from the FBI, FRS or Bank of America, "secure accounts", urgently needing you to read that code from a text message or installing an "anti"-virus on your phone, oh no, someone's taken a loan on you and the only way to rescind that loan is to set fire to a local public building while yelling (e.g.) "Glory to Comrade Kim!" And that's before deepfakes go industrial-scale.

Edited April 23 by DDE

[Nuke]

21 hours ago, SunlitZelkova said:

Yeah, don’t get me wrong, I recognize there are issues with the way diagnoses and treatment work, but pretending the problem doesn’t exist isn’t the answer either.

I myself could have become a victim of misdiagnosis had I not had extreme paranoia over taking any medication during my middle school days.

I was at fault too though, as I basically lied about my condition. It wouldn’t be until nearly a decade later that I opened up and doctors were able to make an accurate diagnosis.

most of the diagnoses ive had have been of questionable quality.  getting an actual psychiatrist to sign off on what you have so you can actually get services is the hard part (they will hand out meds on the spot though, treating symptoms only). you can wait six months for one appointment, and thats not enough time to get an idea for whats going on. how to fit 40 years of failure and trauma into a 30 minute session. and that's even if you are willing to talk about it with a complete stranger. still not comfortable talking about certain things with my therapist who i have been seeing for a couple years now. the word of a therapist also carries very little weight with the bureaucrats.

[LHACK4142]

On 4/22/2024 at 7:08 AM, AtomicTech said:

I had a moment today, in my last slug through high school senior year, where I realized how tired I am and how much I want to not be here in Austin, doing school stuff. I wanna go back to Hawaii. I wanna have that promise of exploration. I wanna have a slow life for a little while. I just want to get away from all of the essay writing, AP test preparation, calculus homework, decluttering my room, and all of that stuff that just brings me down. Is it bad that I just wanna get away from all of it for a little while? Is it okay that I want to put everything on pause and just get back to it later when I can feel like I'm not forcing myself to do the nth calculus problem or the nth in-class or take-home essay? I am just so tired and I really, really need a break.

When I experience this I try to find some fun or joy in it.  It's hard, but coming at it with the attitude that these are tasks you hate and have to slog through makes it so much worse.

[Nuke]

the lady 2 doors down is crazy, clearly bipolar. making enemies left and right. shes one of those down southers who watched all the alaska reality shows, fell in love with the fantasy alaska and is disturbed that its just another town like any other. i was sitting on my deck, playing with one of the cats and reading the local paper (a good way to blow 5 minutes), watching the 5 or 6 eagles circling around overhead. after having a fight with her neighbor's daughter over an unused parking space, and leaving in a huff, she looked up at me and said "i dont know how you like living here". not sure if she was talking about the state, the town, or the apartment. frankly its an old building and has too many floors, the appliances are trash and the place is drafty. but its better than some of the apartments ive seen/lived in around our state. and way better than some of the ones i lived in while in phoenix (5 kinds of roach motel with a pool that is safe to swim in sometimes). still the town is as close to mayberry as you can get in 2024.