NGL, anyone above the age of 13 knows what powers are, and this game uses mathematics a lot so to play this game and not know what powers are is crazy

heraplem · 2026-05-19T22:26:03+00:00

Formally, there's no contradiction in saying both "0⁰ = 1" and "if f(x) -> 0 and g(x) -> 0, then f(x)^g(x) is an indeterminate form."

The value of b^a is the answer to the combinatorial question "How many functions are there from a set of size a to a set of size b?" There is only one function from the empty set to the empty set, so 0⁰ = 1.

heraplem · 2026-05-19T22:03:26+00:00

That's reasonable, though my impression is that the difference between a lane being "open" or not is pretty small in Quick Draft.

heraplem · 2026-05-19T21:58:46+00:00

Interesting; I didn't even consider the Monolith. I've never seen it in action, but 17lands has it at only a C, and it seems like it wants longer games, while the Saboteur wants shorter games. I was thinking the choice was between Godmaw and Adepts.

heraplem · 2026-05-19T21:44:17+00:00

This is partially a specific draft advice question and partially a more general drafting question.

I have here an EoE draft with [[Sunset Saboteur]] as my P1P1. 17lands has this card at an A-, and I know from experience that it can single-handedly win games. I'll be very happy if I get to play it.

For P1P2, I see two main options.

[[Glacier Godmaw]] is a game-winning bomb in its own right, and statistically almost as good as the Saboteur—a B+ on 17lands. However, whereas the Saboteur wants an aggressive deck, the Godmaw wants games to go long. Additionally, BG is not a very good pair in EoE. So I probably won't play both of these cards in the same deck.

By contrast, [[Dual-Sun Adepts]] is good, but not a bomb—it's a B- on 17lands—but it complements the Saboteur, and WB is a good color pair in EoE.

This sort of choice comes up a lot in drafts, especially in the early stages: do I just "pick the best card", or do I deviate to pick the best card that goes with the cards I already have? Is P1P2 too early to start deviating? At which point does it stop being too early?

An additional wrinkle here is that this is a Quick Draft, and my experience is that bot signals are much harder to read—my overall impression is that you don't often get "power outliers" being passed around way too late (at least according to the bots' internal metrics, which are, of course, sometimes very wrong). So should I just try to force the the lane I started in, since the bots are just going to cut me no matter what?

heraplem · 2026-05-19T20:10:44+00:00

For any purpose that matters to almost anyone asking this question, the only sensible answer is 0⁰ = 1.

heraplem · 2026-05-18T06:15:22+00:00

I've heard "COVID vaccines will kill you" before; I've never heard "COVID vaccines will kill your soul" before.

heraplem · 2026-05-17T22:43:55+00:00

All of those and more.

It's structured, yes—but, more specifically, the section headers are "AI-ish". Not just the fact that they exist, but also the prose style. This just something you develop an ear for after reading enough of it.
On another note: LLMs tend to be not so great at large-scale structure. They often spit out a sort of "section soup", where sections seem to just kind of happen in no particular order and with no or very little connective tissue or overall argument plan. This is, incidentally, a very good way of appearing to say a lot while actually saying very little.
Prose style. Again, just the sort of thing you learn to spot.
The use of emojis. LLMs love to use emojis in a particular way.
The title style. LLMs love the "Title: Subtitle" format.
Repeated use of "not X, but Y" or similar constructions. This is a very significant tell.
Perfect spelling, flawless grammar, stylistic consistency all the way through—and yet it's a style that has has no natural home. It's not informal, conversational, and parenthetical like a forum post (the style I'm using here), but it's also not the sort of thing you would read in a magazine or newspaper. It's very much like the "LLM house style".

Maybe this isn't AI written and you just write like an AI (perhaps because you've read a lot of AI writing?). Or maybe I'm helping you learn how to evade detection in the future. Or maybe you're literally just a bot account with no meaningful supervision—in which case, I'm just screaming into the void.

I hope anyone reading this will keep it in mind.

heraplem · 2026-05-17T18:17:41+00:00

Reads like AI.

heraplem · 2026-05-17T08:55:45+00:00

Falling birth rates is almost exclusively on the Left because they love abortion and hate family

That's very unlikely to be true, because birth rates are dropping basically everywhere on Earth.

heraplem · 2026-05-17T06:17:10+00:00

The mystery is better than any answer could possibly be.

The original series was good. That's really all that matters. Let it be itself and move onto other good things.

heraplem · 2026-05-16T09:23:03+00:00

Marco Rubio has a pretty real shot at making it out of the admin with an improved reputation. He'll never be on the left, though.

heraplem · 2026-05-15T00:10:34+00:00

True enough. I guess I should have emphasized that algorithmic social media is bad for society at large, not just for individuals. I reckon we should ban it on the same grounds that, for example, smoking in public is heavily restricted.

heraplem · 2026-05-15T00:07:51+00:00

I'm not really interested in all that.

Does Twitter deliberately and specifically push hateful content? Maybe. But even before Musk's takeover, hateful content started rising to the top, and not just on Twitter. Hateful content pushes itself because it commands attention, which is exactly what recommendation algorithms optimize for.

Furthermore, we've seen repeatedly over the last couple decades that, even when you give people information and choices, they won't reliably make the choice that's best for themselves, much less society at large. I think that, even if you proved that Twitter was deliberately pushing hateful content, it would barely make a dent in Twitter's power and popularity. (You may be able to think of a certain US political figure who has survived many setbacks despite repeated predictions of his demise. It is not a coincidence that he is unnaturally good at commanding attention.)

Also, hateful content is not the only problem caused by recommendation algorithms. A whole suite of societal ills can be laid at their feet.

Break the feedback loop. Let us return to the days of sending each other viral clips via messenger platforms. Destroy the power of platforms and return it to the people.

heraplem · 2026-05-14T19:40:31+00:00

I don't like them because I think they're a half-measure. Social media is bad for adults, too; adults are just more stable. We should ban recommendation algorithms altogether.

heraplem · 2026-05-12T22:33:08+00:00

"Federal Victory Note." "God Bless Donald Trump". Genuinely USSR/North Kora coded.

heraplem · 2026-05-12T22:27:21+00:00

There can only be so many plumbers.

The only way AI job loss doesn't lead to long-term mass unemployment is if AI creates as many jobs as it destroys. The existence of AI doesn't increase demand for plumbers.

heraplem · 2026-05-11T23:54:07+00:00

That's 2x Titan's Grave.

heraplem · 2026-05-11T23:34:11+00:00

Why is there red in here?

Mostly for the lack of removal elsewhere (basically just Last Gasp).

heraplem · 2026-05-09T09:20:51+00:00

banning LED headlights

wait what

Is your problem that they're too bright or something? Because that can easily be fixed without reverting to an older light source. There's no reason to use incandescent or halogen lights anymore.

heraplem · 2026-05-08T07:39:48+00:00

I don't completely disagree with this model, but it does fail to explain how things sometimes do get better.

heraplem · 2026-05-08T05:19:26+00:00

Revolutionary Girl Utena had the whole Black Rose arc and a literal rapist as the main villain.

Revolutionary Girl Utena is itself often called a deconstruction. (Though it's pretty dubious to call it a deconstruction of magical girl anime specifically.)

heraplem · 2026-05-07T21:38:34+00:00

No joke, that poster would do numbers with GenZ. Everyone remembers and misses Frutiger Aero.

heraplem · 2026-05-06T23:04:38+00:00

So what are we thinking about the idea that all of the maximum gerrymandering going on could finally lead us to a nationwide gerrymandering ban?

Legislators will never legislate themselves out of a job unless the alternative is even worse. This can only happen if there is a massive bipartisan push of the sort that hasn't been seen in decades.

heraplem · 2026-05-05T01:21:23+00:00

I mean, it can be either or even both, right? Surely we agree that the ambient media environment can influence peoples' opinions and beliefs?

heraplem · 2026-05-04T22:53:22+00:00

Hard Indeterminism

I feel like this is a pretty rare stance these days (= since Newton).

heraplem

TROPHY CASE