Need to let loose a primal scream without collecting footnotes first? Have a sneer percolating in your system but not enough time/energy to make a whole post about it? Go forth and be mid: Welcome to the Stubsack, your first port of call for learning fresh Awful you’ll near-instantly regret.
Any awful.systems sub may be subsneered in this subthread, techtakes or no.
If your sneer seems higher quality than you thought, feel free to cut’n’paste it into its own post — there’s no quota for posting and the bar really isn’t that high.
The post Xitter web has spawned soo many “esoteric” right wing freaks, but there’s no appropriate sneer-space for them. I’m talking redscare-ish, reality challenged “culture critics” who write about everything but understand nothing. I’m talking about reply-guys who make the same 6 tweets about the same 3 subjects. They’re inescapable at this point, yet I don’t see them mocked (as much as they should be)
Like, there was one dude a while back who insisted that women couldn’t be surgeons because they didn’t believe in the moon or in stars? I think each and every one of these guys is uniquely fucked up and if I can’t escape them, I would love to sneer at them.
(Credit and/or blame to David Gerard for starting this.)
Grumble grumble. I don't think that "optimizing" is really a factor here, since a lot of times the preferred construct is either equivalent (such that) or more verbose (a nonzero chance that). Instead it's more likely a combination of simple repetition (like how I've been calling everyone "mate" since getting stuck into Taskmaster NZ) and identity performance (look how smart I am with my smart people words).
When optimization does factor in its less tied to the specific culture of tech/finance bros than it is a simple response to the environment and technology they're using. Like, I've seen the same "ACK" used in networking and in older radio nerds because it fills an important role.
And much of it is very likely born out of humorous usage. Like "pinging" a colleague with a direct message to see if they're online. I might even greet my nerdier IT friends with "SYN" or "EHLO", or a ham with "QSO" in a non-radio context.
A lot of it is, but let's agree that using "prior" is just fucking pretentious
The way rationalists use "priors" and other bayesian language is closer to how cults use jargon and special meanings to isolate members and tie them more closely to the primary information source (the cult leader). It also serves as a way to perform allegiance to the cult's ideology, which is I think what's happening here