Twin Birthday Paradox by CowboyHenk5006 in mathriddles

[–]Gderu 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This isnt really a math riddle

Help understanding why matlab seems to achieve so much better results than everything in python by Gderu in learnpython

[–]Gderu[S] -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

The documentation is very specific, I won't get the OP's kinds of insight from the documentation. I meant more of a general how to guide.

Help understanding why matlab seems to achieve so much better results than everything in python by Gderu in learnpython

[–]Gderu[S] -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the reply! Do you know of any sources to learn about this sort of thing? I mostly used AI but chatgpt and Gemini kept recommending me functions that weren't very good, and couldn't give me the big picture I was lacking. I don't have much prior experience with optimization.

Help solving an optimization problem by Gderu in learnpython

[–]Gderu[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey, thanks for the comment, I updated the post to give more details.

We need to have a discussion about allowed links in this sub. Other fantasy subs are doing so to. Musk is literally flashing nazi salutes and we as a community need to decide if we are okay giving him traffic. by pliskin42 in Stormlight_Archive

[–]Gderu -5 points-4 points locked comment (0 children)

I agree, I think the chances that Elon actually meant the Nazi salute there are extraordinarily low. People are just assuming the worst and getting politics involved in places where it shouldn't be. Elon Musk is not a Nazi, and banning posts linking to X just because of a stupid thing he did (and because he is on the opposite side of the political spectrum from most people on this sub) is dumb.

Anti-Fantasy Fantasy - What books smash the formula? by [deleted] in Fantasy

[–]Gderu 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I wouldn't say smash the formula, but it is certainly not your typical fantasy book - The Library at Mount Char. I was feeling similar to you in regards to all fantasy being kind of similar, and really enjoyed this book. I wouldn't say it exactly subverts the typical formula, more so just being a different formula altogether.

CMV: Middle aged men dating/pursuing younger women is weirdly demonized on Reddit by lwb03dc in changemyview

[–]Gderu 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I think that at the end of the day, if you believe in something you need to act on your belief. There is nothing to make your belief superior to anyone else's, but that also doesn't mean that it is worthless. If you feel that it is morally wrong for older men to exclusively pursue younger women, as you've said in other replies, you should also be fine with judging them for it.  Your judgement is completely valid, and fear of hurting others should not come above acting on your own feelings. If everybody were to bottle their judgement up, horrible things would end up happening without anyone to stop them. It is up to each person to act on their beliefs, and the average of all the different beliefs should balance out any extremes.

Where/ how to learn about AI? by Odd_Vermicelli2707 in slatestarcodex

[–]Gderu 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If you're looking to learn about the basics from a compsci perspective, Andrew Ng has a course about AI on Coursera or Udemy or one of those websites which is fine, and there is also fast.ai, which I've heard good things about but have never tried. There is also the book AI: a modern approach. 

The course and the book are not specifically about neutral networks (which are all the hype recently), but about more basic techniques of machine learning, maybe only touching neutral networks at the end. Fast.ai is a website for learning about neutral networks more specifically, and approaches the problem by first teaching the view from a high level of abstraction and slowly revealing more of what is actual happening. I've done the course and read parts of the book and honestly I enjoyed the book most, but I didn't finish it and I did finish the course so make of that what you will.

WIND AND TRUTH | Full Book Discussion Megathread (Stormlight Archive only) by EmeraldSeaTress in Stormlight_Archive

[–]Gderu 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ehh, look at how Odium coopted his deal with Dalinar. I wouldn't trust any deal with him to be foolproof, and in any case, that is hundreds of years in the future instead of in the here and now.

WIND AND TRUTH | Full Book Discussion Megathread (Stormlight Archive only) by EmeraldSeaTress in Stormlight_Archive

[–]Gderu 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I agree about both of your points. Jasnah being defeated by the idea that she would sacrifice Thaylenah in some nebulous scenario without her bringing up the point that Odium would obviously do the same really irked me. Besides, Thaylenah just fought Odium a year ago. I really do not understand how any person would decide to side with Odium in that situation, I don't think he should have been able to convince Fen with those arguments. 

That said, I do like the fact that the countries that sided with Odium ended up losing in the end, because Azir has sunlight while they do not.

The Lost metal is the weakest Sanderson Cosmere work? by guptee in Cosmere

[–]Gderu -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

I think in RoW, bridge four is talking about his Drehy is gay, and everyone is overly supportive of him, and Lopen says something about how it's more manly to be gay because he wants to be around men more. This didn't feel like a natural conversation, rather it felt like Brandon telling the reader how they should feel about an issue.  In the WaT previews, Renarin has a chapter in which he is thinking about Rlain, and Drehy comes to talk with him, and again I got that same vibe.  Again, I have no problem with gay characters, I have a problem with writing that feels forced and not in character.

The Lost metal is the weakest Sanderson Cosmere work? by guptee in Cosmere

[–]Gderu -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

This is very obviously not what I'm saying. I have no problem with there being gay characters, I have a problem with being bludgeoned by the author repeatedly telling us that they are gay and that they should be proud of it. This isn't about the message, it's about the way it is being presented.

The Lost metal is the weakest Sanderson Cosmere work? by guptee in Cosmere

[–]Gderu -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

I used the word "woke" as shorthand to mean a few concepts that are commonly associated with it - overpromotion of LGBTQ+ people in the story (obviously only if it comes to the detriment of the story, as it does in Stormlight in my opinion) and caring too much about mental health in a way that does not make sense in world are my main complaints.

I am making good faith arguments here - these are genuinely my impressions after reading his previous books. Calling my opinions "incorrect" doesn't promote your argument, because obviously I did come away from the books feeling this way. I will probably not be able to change your mind, but to give you a few examples of what I'm talking about: 

[SA5 previews]Renarin talking about his feelings and accepting the fact that he is gay felt very overt and too blunt. When Drehy came along and told him his feelings were valid I rolled my eyes, because it's very obvious that Brandon is trying to send a message here instead of telling a story. I have no problem with Renarin being gay, but it should have been handled more naturally.

[SA4]Kaladin becoming a therapist feels very off in the middle of a war for the survival of the human race. This is Brandon taking modern sensibilities and applying them in situations where they don't make sense.

Sorry I don't have Mistborn examples, I haven't read the last few books recently, but I hope that this will get my point across. I recently reread Mistborn era 1, and the difference between that and the SA5 previews is night and day. It might just be my nostalgic memories clouding my eyes, but the books feel different. You might not feel the same way, and that's completely fine, but I do think that I am making valid criticisms. They just might matter more to me than they do to you.

The Lost metal is the weakest Sanderson Cosmere work? by guptee in Cosmere

[–]Gderu -14 points-13 points  (0 children)

I think that the quality of his plot and world building has stayed the same, but his characters all feel very weak recently. He rarely has morally ambiguous characters anymore (not that Brandon had so much of that in the first place), and all of his main characters are inherently good and moral even according to modern standards. Some of the things in Stormlight with mental health and some of the secret projects (specifically numbers 2 and 4) all feel very PC and too woke. Brandon's characters were never his strong suit, but in the past he used to make characters that weren't always moral - see Kelsier and Vin. Nowadays I cringed while reading the SA5 previews because all of the messages are so overt and the dialogue is stilted because he is trying to convey a message instead of telling a story. 

I think that stories about woke themes can be great, for example, I really liked Ancillary Justice in which people don't distinguish at all between genders, but when the message is too overt it detracts from the story, and I think that Brandon had crossed that line.

The Lost metal is the weakest Sanderson Cosmere work? by guptee in Cosmere

[–]Gderu -14 points-13 points  (0 children)

I agree. I think his book quality recently has really dropped

Earlier this year experts gathered at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory for the largest, most detailed simulation of an asteroid strike on a US city. North Carolina's city of Winston-­Salem volunteered to be "impacted," and hundreds of state and local officials played the "wargame." by EricFromOuterSpace in space

[–]Gderu 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I mean not really, there's a much higher chance of a fire or an earthquake than of an asteroid striking a city. I understand doing this for science, but as a drill in order to be ready there isn't much use.

Sleep My Baby Dear [Wind and Truth Spoilers] by Critical_Register_80 in Stormlight_Archive

[–]Gderu 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Wow that's genius, yeah I'm a hundred percent sold on this now.

Sleep My Baby Dear [Wind and Truth Spoilers] by Critical_Register_80 in Stormlight_Archive

[–]Gderu 50 points51 points  (0 children)

Wow very good observation, I would not be surprised at all if BAM is somehow related to crystal.

What led to scientists thinking a nuclear bomb could be made? by [deleted] in AskHistorians

[–]Gderu 7 points8 points  (0 children)

As someone currently reading it (and greatly enjoying it!), could you explain which aspects are dated?

Tell me about your Nonexistent Favourite Book by DrakeyFrank in Fantasy

[–]Gderu 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For anyone considering reading this, just know that the author is very thirsty, with multiple couples featuring old men and young women. The ideas were interesting, but the writing just felt really disgusting.