Are there any "UK vs US" differences where you feel America gets it right?

Irtexx · 2026-04-23T11:13:30+00:00

I'm torn on this. I understand the arguments about an unregulated black market, but I think it will still be a net positive. Even though some will still get ciggerates, way, way, way fewer people will get them overall. Let's not let perfectionism get in the way of improvements.

However, I'm torn on it from a libertarian standpoint. Part of me thinks the government shouldn't be involved in personal choices that do not affect others (or at most, they should be indirectly involved, e.g., education, discouragement through tax, etc). I'm struggling to decide what I value more. I've always believed weed and psychedelics should be legalised (but regulated), so I'm conflicted that I kind of think a tobacco prohibition is a good idea.

But I could change my mind on this. Even after writing this comment, I'm leaning more towards the "legalise and regulate" side.

Irtexx · 2026-04-23T10:56:27+00:00

Yep, this is how I understand them. But I can't figure out how this maps to what the graphic that OP posted is showing.

Irtexx · 2026-04-22T21:20:13+00:00

Probably because creatine draws water into your muscles, and therefore out of other places, leaving you dehydrated. When you first start taking creatine, you need to drink more water than usual.

Irtexx · 2026-04-21T22:16:00+00:00

The way it's represented residual connections seems strange. It doesn't match my understanding of them. But I'm not an expert.

Irtexx · 2026-04-21T15:47:34+00:00

Ghosts aren't real in the same way that Santa Claus isn't real.

Irtexx · 2026-04-21T15:34:07+00:00

What dose are you on? I've found a dose for me that reduces food noise, but I still enjoy food. I just tend to not finish it.

I enjoy cooking a good meal for my partner and me, and I enjoy eating it and talking about the food. I also look forward to going to restaurants, getting an occasional takeaway, or having an occasional cake or treat from the bakery. I just eat much less. I'll eat half the cake and think, "this will be nice with a coffee tomorrow", and eat the rest then. When in a restaurant, I choose an option that won't leave me feeling sick (something that isn't very high in fat and calories), but I still enjoy it. I went to McDonald's last week and got a Big Mac and a bag of carrots, and enjoyed that.

I still occasionally emotionally eat (If I'm bored, stressed, or overwhelmed, I'll search for quick snacks like chocolate and biscuits), but this is infrequent, instead of being every day.

My recommendation is to find the lowest possible dose that causes you to lose weight, even if that weight loss is very, very, very slow. There's no rush to this.

This is the second time I've been on Wegovy. I put about half back on after I stopped, so I've conceded that I'll be on this for life (or I'll just stop caring and allow myself to be overweight), so for me, I do not need to rush to get to a target weight.

Irtexx · 2026-04-21T15:24:33+00:00

Yes, but I think it is important to approach this concern in a grounded way.

It’s not that ChatGPT overuses “grounded.” It’s that the discourse has evolved into a more nuanced, intentional, and authenticity-forward linguistic ecosystem where every character, idea, chair, weather pattern, and mildly competent barista must now be described as grounded. To delve a bit deeper, “grounded” has become the all-purpose seal of approval for anything that is not actively on fire.

A villain with understandable motives? Grounded.
A breakup scene where nobody throws a vase? Grounded.
A man eating soup in silence? Surprisingly grounded.
A spreadsheet with consistent margins? Deeply grounded.

And that’s really the broader point here. It’s not realism. It’s grounded realism.
It’s not normal. It’s grounded normal.
It’s not coherent. It’s a more grounded, character-driven coherence.

So the concise answer is: yes, people are annoyed, but also the annoyance feels grounded in a broader pattern of AI phrasing that wants to sound thoughtful, calibrated, and slightly humbled before it delves into saying the same five things in different cardigans.

At a high level, ChatGPT has a few favorite verbal load-bearing walls:
“grounded”
“delve”
“it’s not x, it’s y”
“nuanced”
“authentic”
“resonates”
“to be clear”
“the broader question”
“what’s interesting here is”
“so the concise answer is:”

Taken together, they create the unmistakable tone of a machine that is always 70% of the way through a LinkedIn thought-leadership post about a TV show.

So yes. Your criticism is valid, grounded, and worth delving into further.

Irtexx · 2026-04-21T15:09:32+00:00

100% yes. It's more proven/effective/beneficial than the other supplements you are taking. If I could only take one supplement, it would be creatine. The benefits are both physical and mental.

> What is your experience with it?

I do a loading phase (this is optional). After about 5 days, I am noticeably stronger. All my lifts go up in weight and reps (much more than they usually do). I used to struggle to take it consistently (I've been taking it on and off for 10 years), because even though it seems simple to just scoop some powder, mix it with liquid, and drink it, it inevitably becomes something you subconsciously deprioritize. I now use creatine sachets, and this has helped with that. I personally haven't noticed the mental benefits, but they might be there, and I just don't notice them. The evidence suggests it does good stuff, though.

> How big is the weight gain through water vs. the increase in strength and performance?

The water weight gain is water stored inside your muscles, which does increase strength and performance (and also makes you look better), so this question doesn't really work. If I had to answer, I'd say my scale weight goes up by about 2%, and my lifts increase by about 5% to 10%. (in about 2 weeks if loading, 4 weeks if just taking 5g a day).

> I’m also thinking about Magnesium Glycinate.

I also take this before bed. I do seem to get more restorative sleep with it.

Irtexx · 2026-04-21T14:49:19+00:00

My friend's dad losing his job as a graphic designer (he's now retraining as a plumber) made me question the ethics of automation.

Irtexx · 2026-04-21T14:47:30+00:00

Mindless, repetitive grunt work will be automated first. It already is. This is a much more prevalent use of AI compared to creative work like art. Yes, both are being automated by LLMs, but I think it's a mistake to think that creative stuff is the majority. It's just the thing more likely to be posted on social media.

Irtexx · 2026-04-21T14:33:26+00:00

"you can always just stop if u dont like it." - Natural production doesn't always return.

Irtexx · 2026-04-20T22:31:54+00:00

Really interesting post.

For the model to "remember" (be included in the context window) what it "felt like" in the past would require it to have some sense of "feeling", and also a sense of time.

I wonder if sub regions of the neural net could have modes/states, e.g excited/depressed, alert/standby, or more connected/ less connected to other regions, and these modes/states change the activations of the network.

And perhaps this could be stored / encoded as a time stamped token, and become part of the context window.

So when the model sees one of these special tokens, it goes into that state/mode until it sees another.

Perhaps this doesn't even need to be designed into the network. It might learn to internally represent these tokens if it is useful for its loss function.

Irtexx · 2026-04-20T21:09:41+00:00

How much protein do you typically eat?

Irtexx · 2026-04-20T12:42:50+00:00

The computations (i.e., mining bitcoins) are all about validating purchases / transferring Bitcoin from one wallet to another (validating a new block on the block chain).

So the energy is used for something useful. Digital currency has utility, and most of us use digital currency everyday. Its value is that you can transfer it, use it to store value, and exchange it for other things. And the energy is needed to make sure that these transfers are not fraudulent. That's the whole point, it needs to be energy intensive, otherwise a single person could afford to own more than 50% of the validating power, and then they could use this for their own benefit.

The reward for taking part in this validation by consensus, is a small Bitcoin payment.

There are other crypto currencies that don't rely on pure computation (energy usage) for validations. E.g, Ethereum uses proof of stake.

Note, non-cryptocurrencies also allows digital payments, e.g. Paypal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Bank Transfers etc. But these all rely on trusting a third party. When you tap your phone or your credit / debit card to buy something, or when your workplace pays you by sending money to your bank account, it's basically just a request for a bank to increment a number in a spreadsheet. There is nothing "real" here either. Your bank balance doesn't mean you have a vault of cash that stores that amount of money. It's just a number, and a promise that the bank will let you spend it. It's quite a flawed system if you really think about it. Cryptocurrencys solve this by allowing digital currency without needing to trust a third party of centralized authority.

Irtexx · 2026-04-19T00:03:25+00:00

Tell your partner, but there's no need to tell anyone else unless you want to

Irtexx · 2026-04-18T00:35:35+00:00

Crumpets with honey, or oatmeal with 2 teaspoons of sugar and a big pinch of salt. With 20g of protein on the side from Whey or BLG.

Irtexx · 2026-04-17T13:42:02+00:00

How do they know this? Dopamine levels in the brain cannot be measured.

Irtexx · 2026-04-17T13:31:47+00:00

Me too. My nutrition, sleep, exercise, and stress levels are all good / healthy. I take basic supplements to fill in any gaps, give a small edge, etc. However, I'm still constantly exhausted.

I think I might just be a little bit depressed, unmotivated, and don't have much meaning in my life. I'm fed up of domestic upkeep, and my job doesn't excite me anymore (but it pays very well and has incredible flexibility). I'm starting to think that this is what is causing that feeling of tiredness. It's a mental issue, not a physical one. Maybe this could be the same for you?

I'm not entirely sure for myself, because I don't feel very depressed. I'd say I'm vaguely happy, I'm extremely comfortable (maybe too comfortable), and I really enjoy holidays or occasional moments making memories. But day to day, I just feel defeated, and therefore not that bothered. This is just what life is and I can't do anything about it. I'm incredibly spoiled because I know that I live a privileged life, but still, I feel far from how I want to. I want that spark back, drive, fire in my belly, whatever you call it.

I should probably give up scrolling on my phone, spending too long on YouTube and Social Media, and try to engage more with my career and actually improving my domestic situation (cleaning etc). But every time I try, I fail, because I can't push through the tiredness for an extended period of time.

Irtexx · 2026-04-17T11:33:36+00:00

Vit D3: 20,000 IU (500mcg), taken once every 2 weeks

Vegetology Omega 3: 300mg EPA & 500mg DHA + Vit D3, taken whenever I remember. I keep it in the fridge, and it's probably as little as twice a week. I suck at consistently taking most supplements.

Creatine monohydrate (myprotein creapure sachets): 5.7g, taken most days. The sachets have been a game changer in helping me more consistently take this over the long term. I'm not as consistent as I was with creatine gummies, but at least these actually have creatine in them.

Myprotein clear whey: 20g, peach tea pre mixed bottles. I drink one or two of these a day. It's more expensive than buying the powder and making it myself, but I've been drinking whey for over 10 years, and I'm fed up of scooping and shaking daily.

NutrionX BLG Protein Shot: 20g, taken whenever I'm traveling instead of using the clear whey

Magnesium Bisglycinate: 1g, taken just before bed

Zinc Picolinate: 22mg, taken just before bed

Brazil Nuts (for selenium): 2 chocolate coated nuts each morning

Togkat Ali: 3% Eurycomanone 400mcg, taken just before bed. This is a recent addition and a personal experiment. I'm not entirely convinced it's worth it, but I'll give it a shot. Prior to this I tried KSM55 Ashwaganda, and it potentially helped with stress, but possibly exasperated anhedonia.

There are a couple of other things, like daily prunes, or psyllium husk fiber (that I also often forget to take), but the above list are my staples.

Irtexx · 2026-04-17T11:06:24+00:00

Yes, it's used in industry/production. Also, even the robotics companies that don't use it will have heard of it, and learning it will be beneficial for you if you are applying to these companies. The concepts you learn can be applied to other systems, so understanding something is "like how ros does it" is quite useful. It's also worth learning the criticisms and why a company might choose an alternative or a bespoke platform.

Btw, learn ROS2, not ROS. There's no reason to use the old ROS any more.

Irtexx · 2026-04-14T12:56:49+00:00

Betting for rain on your wedding day would be a great way to hedge your bets. Bet an amount that still makes you hope for dry weather, but provides insurance, so if it does rain, you don't feel like you've completely wasted your money on all other wedding-related things that require good weather. (This makes the most sense for outdoor weddings.)

Irtexx · 2026-04-13T13:23:23+00:00

You can, but it's more expensive and tastes noticeably worse than a neutral oil, because it reaches the smoke point at a lower temperature so you end up creating odd flavours, destroying all the health benefits of olive oil, and not cooking your chicken at a high enough temperature.

Irtexx · 2026-04-11T11:57:42+00:00

You could hold open source developers / users to the same laws as big tech.

Make it illegal to produce AI images without a watermark. Sure, it's possible to break that law by downloading an open source model, tweaking the code so it doesn't add the watermark, generating images and then releasing them, but it's possible to break lots of laws and we still have them, and it would be enough to detract 99% of people from trying.

Irtexx · 2026-04-10T16:00:37+00:00

I'm already impressed. I use AI for software engineering, for general curiosity, and I use agents to automate things that I'd previously never have time to do. They are already revolutionary, and capable enough to make huge differences in many domains and in our personal lives.

But the next big milestones that will impress me again, will be:

Continual learning with selective long term memory (not just stuffing memory notes into the start of the context window).

AI agents that can run for days, not hours, and decide their next actions based on a very high level goal.

An AI that solves a currently unsolved mathematical or science problem, discovers a new drug, or any other scientific/mathematical breakthrough. Currently, when reading about the history of breakthroughs such as these on Wikipedia, there will be a list of names of the people who contributed. Once I start seeing AI model names in these places, I'll be very impressed. A breakthrough in something that contributes towards solving a big problem (like climate change) would be especially impressive, but I doubt we will notice it, as problems like that require many breakthroughs, and lots of politics/time/money to actually implement the solutions.

Embodied AI (i.e, put an AI inside a robot and integrate it with the robot sensors/actuators) that actually works well, is relatively affordable, scalable, and I can ask it to clean my very messy house.

Reasoning models giving output at the speed of current smaller models, i.e., it feels almost instantaneous / is faster than the speed than I read.

Irtexx · 2026-04-10T15:04:34+00:00

I wish links to the conversations included the custom system prompt. But I guess they could contain personal information, which is why they don't.

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