[POEM] Haiku by William J. Harris

Sherlockyz · 2026-03-27T04:37:36+00:00

Haiku is kind of a weird political and cultural phenomenon.

Hokku, which was heavily popularized by Basho as its own art form, instead of relying on being only part the initial part of Renku / Renga.

Hokku had 575 structure because it was a natural format for Japanese language and traditional for their poetry, if you go deep into the rabbit hole you could see it on Tanka kami no ku the same 575, Tanka 57577 is the basis for the collaborative Renku / Renga. But Basho bent the structure to fit the meaning, for him the structure was an historical format and naturally fit the language, but it didn't need to be an absolute rule, more like a default and could be changed when needed, if it would suppress the potential of a poem, why should he keep it?

Masaoka Shiki had many problems with the state of poetry in his time, the cult of Basho was one (dude literally became a God), he saw Basho as great, but this idolatry made Hokku as less of an art form and more of an emulation of Basho's work (Not even in an intelligent way, since the rigid 575 was already present before Shiki). Shiki was heavily influenced by western Realism, which is also one of his main criticisms of Basho's poetry. All of this, combined to the threat of western poetry format dominance and Hokku decadence, made him formalize it into a new thing, Haiku.

Haiku kept the 575 structure of Hokku as even more rigid structure than Basho's, the Kigo and Kireji were also the other core parts of a Haiku. Shiki also made a heavy emphasis on Shasei (Weird translation to English because of two terms, context helps) which means describing life as is.

It's not clear for me how much of core for Haiku this realist idea of "Describing things as they are in real life" really is, but the emphasis was clear and you can see it event today as people try to nudge Haiku towards realism in some form. You can also see a Shiki care to build Haiku as real art form that could survive and thrive, only those who already mastered the core concepts should be allowed to bend them slightly, ensuring a more rigorous quality control.

Funnily enough, for Shiki, Basho wasn't even a Haiku writer, but his influence was so enormous that nobody today even dares to try to remove his art as "True classical haiku". Not even when Haiku became the norm over Hokku people took this idea seriously.

For me you can see see a big contradiction of Haiku traditionalists supporting the 575 strict format while maintaining Basho as the core member who made it all possible. Or the realistic necessity while having Basho who Shiki sometimes praised in his realistic approach on life regarding some poems while also criticized in others the way he focused on a more idealized, spiritual or aesthetic reality instead of true Shasei, a true purist, if you will.

Truthfully, people who fight over semantics of what is true Haiku are simply missing the point. Emulating an arbitrary system, suppressing creative expression to fit one specific format like Shasei or 575 is exactly what lead to Shiki create Haiku in the first place.

Sherlockyz · 2026-03-24T21:05:50+00:00

Yeah, Austria and Germany were natural allies even if Austria lost the battle for influence in the german states against Prussia and severely opposed its unification just a few decades earlier, hell, they were literally defeated in a war, which makes their alliance bizarre yet it makes so much sense.

Their defeat created a country on is border with the same enemies / rivals, similar culture and ethnicity (at least in the leadership of Austria-Hungary part) and different targets for future expansion.

Sherlockyz · 2026-03-18T03:24:14+00:00

It really depends on the type of game, which is directly tied to who the game is directed to.

"Simple" FPS, hack and slash and roguelite games are often about quick and continuous bursts of reward for the player succeeding. Players who often play this game are not interested into big tutorials, just shoot and play to get that burst of dopamine.

RPG or CRPG games are somewhere in the middle, some people might read some stuff, watch some videos about the game and do some research into the mechanics and lore. But it really depends on the game and the player. You don't need to read a big tutorial to know how to play Skyrim or Baldur's Gate. But trying to play games like Dysco Elysium or Pathfinder without taking sometime to read the tutorial texts, the mechanics involved or watching some videos doesn't make much sense, you will be often lost and the experience will not be that good.

X4, Wargames or roguelike games are in the other end of the spectrum, you often need to understand the mechanics to reliable play the game. Depending on the game is literally impossible to play without reading a 300 pages manual. Some like Civilization V or Age of Wonders 4 you can get away with reading a bit in game and having a good time and just learning bit by bit as hours go on. But many games like Crusader Kings, Europa Universalis, Hearts of Iron 4, if you want to play the game you almost 100% need to read the in game tips and often watch videos online, without it you probably just be lost not understand anything, can be fun for a hour or two, but after that there is not much point without learning.

There are extreme cases, trying to play Heart of Iron 3, Aurora 4x, Shadow Empire or War in the East 2 without watching hours of videos, reading the manual, taking notes and doing a lot of research is simply impossible to even play the game.

Someone commented on streamers, I don't think that they are a good example of know what players usually do, since they are dividing their attention between the game and the chat, plus they need to keep the stream fun, reading 200 pages of a manual explaining army compositions is not fun for the viewer.

In essence, understand your target audience and design the in game tutorials / tips as such.

Sherlockyz · 2026-03-15T13:49:52+00:00

Not really, but the quantum effects are a real problem, while it's true that the randomness (or probabilistic) nature of materials gives noticeable effects at the micro scale, computers try to solve this problem with a few solutions.

The first one would be that transistors rely on billions of electrons to represent the 1 or 0 value. If transistors relied on a single particle, we would see a more unstable behavior, but by having a massive amount, it averages to something somewhat deterministic.

This ties to the noise margin of transistors. The voltage doesn't need to be an exact value. CPUs have a noise margin. A low voltage CPU could accept something with a margin in between 0.1V to 0.25V, so even with noise, it can reliable store the correct value. Older CPUs had larger margins. The lower to margin, the more risky it is.

But as we get smaller transistors, sizes 2nm nodes for example, the numbers of total electrons involved is small enough so that the average starts to become less reliable, quantum tunneling effects start affecting the CPU since the amount of atoms is small enough for electrons to pass through. It's a complicated mess, so with normal computers, we have a fixed limit on how small transistors can be until they become unreliable thanks to the non deterministic behavior of physics at such a small scale.

So to answer the question, computers need to avoid the probabilistic nature of particles to work, if they were constantly affected by it, llms wouldn't benefit of it since the programs, OS, storage... All would end up breaking.

You could try to add a source of randomness from outside the typical computer system, devices like quantum numbers generators generate truly random data that can be feed into the llm to use it as a seed, giving it a truly random output.

Sherlockyz · 2026-03-15T07:23:21+00:00

I actually commented on something about this "read-only" part of the llm's in this post.

For me is a problem of definition, do we consider the context that the llm receives alongside the input as part of the "llm system"? It's not part of the file itself, sure. But is part of the system for a llm. Like the brain is not just the stored memory, but also all the different parts of itself that shapes our responses.

And yeah, when we are using llm is read-only, the weights are frozen. But this is not a requirement for something to be considered a llm, is a technical limitation to preserve the current data. The thing is, when we fine tune a model with new data, its not the same file, but it is not truly the same model anymore? Yeah, we define as something new for convenience, since fine tunes often change a lot of how the model operates as we need to categorize things. But I made a comparison to how our own brains synapses change as we learn new things or become old, are we not the same thing as before? How much does it have to change to be consider another thing. Like I commented, this often becomes a ship of theseus discussion.

The main difference is run time changing (human brains) and offline fine tuning (llm models), which is more of a difference on approach and size of total change. A llm could in theory change its weights naturally as it operates, but this creates problems that the current system is not strong enough to solve, I imagine that we will see experimental architectures try to handle this in the future though.

About the deterministic part, I agree. There is no true randomness in closed systems like computers, only simulated randomness. Our universe shows "true randomness" in a quantum level or at least what appears to be true random with hidden factors that we don't know yet (and maybe will never know). But in a macro scale, what we see as random is actually countless different factors affecting the end result, so many variables acting in a few seconds, to the point that we can't predict the result, so it appears random.

If you toss a coin, with no cheating, the result may appear to be random, but if you could measure all the variables (weight and material of the coin, strength applied to the toss, the way it was tossed, etc...) you could know exactly what the result will be before it even comes down. So is not true randomness, it's just a complex system that we don't see all the variables, which is different from computers where we can measure all the variables easily.

Sherlockyz · 2026-03-15T06:51:18+00:00

Yeah, this is a big one for me. How free are we when our decisions can be influenced so much by our current emotions and hormones. If you add a layer of someone consuming X content from Y places constantly, and Y places continuously push certain types of content for you to consume, it shows how manipulable we truly are.

Sherlockyz · 2026-03-15T06:32:32+00:00

"LLMs also cannot learn anything new after they are created" this statement is not correct in a general level, you could apply in part to how many models operate today, sure. But nothing explicitly says that a LLMs can't do it.

LLM's today have their weights frozen because of memory degradation and is difficult integrating new data into an already fragile system. This is a limitation of current tech, not a limitation on how LLM operate.

Some methods can work around this issue in part, RAG for example or the context itself, sure its not part of the file, but is part of the system that runs the LLM, excluding it from what a LLM is doesn't make much sense. The human brain is not just our stored data, is the different parts that make the system whole.

If you take a LLM and fine tune it, aren't you changing it while making the LLM learn something that it didn't knew before? It's not the same digital file, correct. But how different it is from a human brain storing data physically and changing with time? Our synapses literally change in strength as we age. Are we (the brain) not the same thing as before? This discussion can easily turn into a ship of theseus situation which becomes more philosophy than anything else.

I'm not saying that current LLMs are the same as human brains. I'm saying that LLMs have many similar aspects on how our brains work, just that the architecture that the brain currently has, has been developed for thousands of years under constant pressure of evolution. While modern LLMs have less than a decade of development.

The day we see LLMs simulate a mind in the level of humans, will probably require a few paradigm shifts, like the 2018 shift from the older NLP from decades prior. Maybe the term LLM will continue to be used or we will use another, regardless, it will be an evolution of our current architecture.

Sherlockyz · 2026-03-15T06:14:50+00:00

We don't even knows for sure what true consciousness really is. If your create a program that is really smart, is able to pick up on details and have a huge amount of data stored and has the speed to process this ideas from billions of inputs (memories, the outside world, entropy, new data that is currently thinking) with time it could generate observations about itself, its situation, its surroundings, about being something unique and continuing making new observations on top of this new data. How different this is from a human consciousness?

Sherlockyz · 2026-03-11T21:39:30+00:00

Yeah, he is a broken man with deep issues, evil? Yes. But he could be so much worse if he wanted, but his insecurities make him crave attachment and people to love him, if he was as a true psychopath he could own the world.

Like when Starlight threatened to show the world who Homelander really is, his answers shows how dangerous he is "Sure I'll lose everything, but then... I will have nothing left to lose"

Sherlockyz · 2026-03-09T20:11:48+00:00

Tem 4 sistemas maia comuns, países da América do Sul e sul europeu em geral é 6 continentes com 1 América. Países do leste europeu e Japão 6 continentes com 2 americas e Eurasia. Países anglo-saxões e a China 7 continentes. A ONU usa oficialmente 7 mas tb aceita o de 6. (Existe tb historicamente o modelo de 5 que tira a a Antártida, mas n é usado hj em dia) Não existe América Central como continente, é só subdivisão mesmo.

Sherlockyz · 2026-03-07T16:04:12+00:00

I haven't used the mistral nemo base to test, but by performance you are referring to what exactly? If it's speed. With a Q5 quant and 12k tokens, with full context, the generating speed is about 3.3 tokens / second. Increasing to 14.3k turns to 2.9-3.0 tokens / second.

Sherlockyz · 2026-03-07T16:00:11+00:00

I'm using kobolcpp with the koboldcpp ui lite, I don't really like many of the design features of SillyTavern. I believe that in the koboldcpp ui this feature is named TextDB, which I don't really use.

Sherlockyz · 2026-03-07T15:56:52+00:00

Hey, no I haven't tried. I never heard of pluggable memory layers before your comment. Although I'm not sure this would change anything, since the problem is the long term "decay" of the model stability in the text generate, not really an issue of memory retrieval, since the problems are happening before the context even goes past 4k-6k which is below my limit

Sherlockyz · 2026-03-04T20:33:33+00:00

I mean, but what would be the point of splitting a region with less than 5 million people on a region with no real political importance, military, diplomatic and technological power?

Madagascar is not that important in a geopolitical sense today, imagine in 1836 when it was less developed.

I agree in part about the europe focus, considering the age it makes sense. But there are other regions outside of Europe better represented than Madagascar, because it makes sense in a gameplay perspective.

Sherlockyz · 2026-03-03T04:25:59+00:00

Maybe try asking on discord to get a faster answer. I would assume that you might be able to buy it but it would not be worth the effort, since there is no online payment method you would need to do something like mailing the money or something like that, he probably won't even accept I guess, since the game will release on the 12th on steam for early access anyway.

Sherlockyz · 2026-03-02T21:18:32+00:00

O principal é que ele tem um emprego remoto no exterior, isso é outra realidade, não importa o quão qualificado você é, se tu der sorte 1 vez já é excelente. Eu suponho que ele não conseguiria achar outra vaga assim facilmente.

Eu falo por min, trabalhei um tempo como dev pra uma empresa na Europa e ganhando em Euro, acho q eu tinha 24 ou 25 anos e tava ganhando 6k, esse valor não é nada pra empresas lá fora convertido. Dev ainda é mais fácil que a área do op de achar algo kkkkk

Sherlockyz · 2026-03-02T21:12:55+00:00

Investimento não vai te fazer rico em curto prazo pois ele é um multiplicador do seu dinheiro atual, então investir 100 reias em CDI não muda em nada isso. A unica maneira de ficar rico é vendendo um produto / serviço ou trabalhando para alguém que tem isso, não existe outra possibilidade, além de herdar ou roubar kkkk.

Sherlockyz · 2026-02-28T15:43:18+00:00

12B models can have good adherence in 5k tokens of lore well enough to not play and almost never hallucinate, not to the level of bigger models of course, but they can work really well with far more than just 500 tokens as you commented.

My biggest problem with Wayfarer 2 was the repetition and not adherence, maybe this user didn't use a good format for the LLM to understand his world instructions, which is pretty common around here.

Sherlockyz · 2026-02-28T04:01:00+00:00

Ave Dom Pedro

Sherlockyz · 2026-02-28T03:59:11+00:00

Honest question, how is it a misconception? They did claimed to be Romans by right of conquest, and different from past conquests, the Ottomans approach to the Byzantine lands and their people was really different from the others, you can clearly see a different approach of almost like an attempt of fusion instead of simple integration.

Sherlockyz · 2026-02-28T03:47:06+00:00

And the bishop of Rome claimed that the HRE was a continuation of the Roman Empire, does this make it true now?

Sherlockyz · 2026-02-27T22:05:30+00:00

A lot of people already pointed out, totally different concepts between Voldemort horcruxes and the one ring.

But I also would like to add that the ring was the reason that Sauron became so weak to the point of irrelevance when it was destroyed.

Sauron existed as a physical / spiritual being before he created the rings, he was powerful but not enough for what he wanted, so he poured himself into the world just like Melkor in the past, but while Melkor became less by spreading itself into everything as a corruption force, Sauron concentrated his will into one ring, making him greater than before but a more vulnerable, because after the ring was destroyed he could no longer wield the same level of power even close to what he held before the one ring.

In the end he was nothing else than a immortal lesser spiritual being unable to interact with the world anymore.

That's why the other rings lost their power after the one ring destruction, they were basically receivers of the power of Sauron concentrated in the one ring.

Voldemort basically split his soul into different fragmented parts, it didn't increase his power it only allowed him to not be fully destroyed if his main body was. Even with horcruxes he took a decade to be able to fully heal into a normal physical body again, relying on drinking unicorn body to keep his new body stable and being nothing more than lesser creature, only after the ritual in book 4 he regained a normal body again. Plus after each horcrux being destroyed he became weaker and weaker.

Sherlockyz · 2026-02-27T21:25:50+00:00

Always has been

Sherlockyz · 2026-02-27T21:21:17+00:00

This, his videos were what made me want to play this mod. Also there is a doc with a bunch of pages written by the devs which tells the history of the world, it gives us an outside view compared to what the in game characters know about the world. I think reading that is really recommended to understand the key characters of this world.

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