Well the founding fathers and the powers at be are directly opposed. If I ran a tyranny, the first thing I would do is push propaganda to heavily stigmatize anything that could jeopardize it. The result I’d be aiming for would be a dynamic where firearms are only in the hands of people who support the tyranny, while making sure anyone who would oppose it is piss scared to even be in the same room as a gun. I’d make sure to instill a complex stigma, such that the opposition not only feels a primal fear of guns, but also a fear of social consequences, since there are plenty of people for whom social outcast is worse than death.

It’s funny that you confidently thought this was about AI the way I confidently thought this was about social media

I should add… I also take self defense very seriously, I lived in a town with active neonazis for a good portion of my adult life (outside of my control)

My willingness to engage with strangers is backed up by street smarts, heavy emphasis on situational awareness, and a disarming personality. I also keep pepper spray in my hand in my coat pocket at all times and I carry a handgun.

IMO nobody should let low scam resistance and physical vulnerability stop them from engaging with strangers if they have the ability to properly mitigate these risks. Wise up, get training, become exceptionally dangerous so you have the choice to be exceptionally kind.

If weapons are offputting to you due to cultural or political reasons, get fit and allow yourself to sprint the other direction if you feel threatened. This is the best way to win 90% of self defense encounters anyways.

When I was growing up, attending Jewish day school, my Rabbi taught me that an opportunity to help a stranger is a gift. I would entertain the question and I recommend that you do too in the future. Obviously you don’t need to comply with any unreasonable requests but typically a stranger is only going to ask you for something that takes like 2 minutes of your time and no real loss.

Helping people is enriching and will give you a sense of well-being in this fucked up grim world. You come out ahead in these situations. On the flip side, it’s clear that refusing this stranger is eating at you at least a little and has done some tiny damage to your soul, strictly figuratively speaking.

GrapheneOS btw.

No proprietary software in my life other than games.

Don’t need AI to code.

nasty and inconsiderate

listen man. you think i’m trolling you, i think you’re trolling me, we can just not talk.

I really don’t think my mistake, which I admit, and I’m sorry for, warrant this response. I’m not interested in continuing conversation with you

computer programming 17 years hobby 5 years professional

you are really in a mood today

Take a wild guess

unintentionally misread your comment because this thread has diverged into so many different branches I’m having difficulty tracking it. damn man

While I believe everything I’ve said I also believe that 90% of graphical applications are dogshit and 99% of closed source software is dogshit and I don’t think these things can change due to conflict of interest. I very strictly use only open source software in my workflow and because of this, when I have a problem with the tools I just fix them myself.

I really dislike this sentiment in this context. This sentiment is about applications made for people who barely use computers. It’s for like… iPhone apps to order food. This sentiment is just incorrect when it comes to technical tools made for professionals.

Apply this to like any other profession and it makes it obvious how nonsense it is.

If you need a manual to disassemble this engine, it’s a terrible engine.

If you need a manual to pilot this helicopter, it’s a terrible helicopter.

If you need a manual to operate this electron microscope, it’s a terrible electron microscope.

idk I’m not trying to say I’m built different or anything but I’ve done the manual reading exercise so many times that I usually just need to read it once and it sticks in my head long enough that it doesn’t hinder my productivity. This workflow is cozy to me

If it’s a terminal application, the UI is essentially the same for every program. and it’s a UI i’m comfortable with and enjoy using. GUI apps though, I honestly hate 90% of the time. Almost every graphical application is utter dogshit. So we agree… kinda?

UX only people who are willing to read the manual understand*

i learned pretty much everything about the vast majority of tools i use on a daily basis literally just by reading the manual. i know that attention span, and well, literacy are both high bars but if I can do it you can too.

not everyone wants to give up control of their life’s work in exchange for funding. funding comes with stipulations.

blender is obviously an exception, they have the resources to do it. the vast majority of projects this post is about do not.

if people want to feel special for using difficult software, that’s dumb, but that’s not why the software is difficult.

“the exception proves the rule” and so on

I don’t think this is right. It’s more like:

This software is so obscenely powerful that UX is irrelevant. If you want that power, you are going to learn how to use it. We’re too busy making the software powerful to waste time making it accessible to people who can’t be bothered expending the effort.

This is especially relevant in open-source. It’s free software bro. Pick two ONLY: Free, Easy, Powerful

Good save