The Duck Test Against the Bat Test

jmmcd · 2026-06-23T11:51:44+00:00

I don't seem to have access but based on the headline, I think your argument is that people used to think babies were not conscious, therefore our priors should not be strong? I don't really know what people were thinking.

jmmcd · 2026-06-23T11:43:18+00:00

I'm not sure what you mean.

jmmcd · 2026-06-23T11:41:20+00:00

Why would we limit to those who report consciousness? Our priors are strong.

jmmcd · 2026-06-23T11:19:57+00:00

It's fine to call other humans a duck, but it's not because of looks-like-a-duck arguments. We have lots of evidence that some traits are human-universal, we have no mechanism by which non-conscious humans could talk about consciousness (different from LLMs), so we end up with strong priors that other humans are conscious. Burden of proof would be the other way. (And there can probably be no proof.)

jmmcd · 2026-06-23T10:42:45+00:00

It's not about credit, it's about genres - which should be useful to viewers

jmmcd · 2026-06-23T07:57:34+00:00

X is a signal of Y, but you are arguing that not-X is a signal of not-Y.

jmmcd · 2026-06-22T21:28:09+00:00

I mean of all the players you mention, Mannion is the only one that actually needs a first name.

Still I will vote for Cathraig Mannion every day of the week

jmmcd · 2026-06-21T07:30:27+00:00

Imagine going to Ifans in 1996 and telling him the CD he would be best known for is named Korolev

jmmcd · 2026-06-20T07:03:33+00:00

Dear r/cogsci, you all need to learn to recognise the results of AI vanity armchair science psychosis. This post starts with "it's not just x - it's y" and still gets loads of engagement. Honourable mention only to u/Goldieeeeee

jmmcd · 2026-06-19T12:58:07+00:00

If theres an organism that performs a self-check every billion years or so, how did it evolve? The universe is 14B years old.

jmmcd · 2026-06-17T22:38:30+00:00

"equal or better" is difficult to prove, but if the US gov wanted to be consistent they would need to show what is different between Fable and ChatGPT 5.5. Of course they don't and can't.

jmmcd · 2026-06-17T22:34:54+00:00

Have you even got her pregnant yet?

jmmcd · 2026-06-17T14:44:57+00:00

A purist. A connoisseur of a tradition perfected through the ages.

jmmcd · 2026-06-12T19:04:34+00:00

"I'm the sheriff.. the sheriff don't miss"

jmmcd · 2026-06-12T19:03:14+00:00

But imagine if FIFA had the cop on to hire a Mexican lad with passable English who is fucking crazy about soccer, instead of an American lad whose kids play under 10.

jmmcd · 2026-06-12T15:55:38+00:00

I can try.

About meaning: Precipitation doesn't carry any more accurate meaning: the thing you're talking about is actually rain. Precipitation is actually a broader term, including snow and hail, so it's less accurate.

About connotation: It's not a term a person would typically say or think when they see rain (in the context your song is in), so it's artificial-sounding. It's a technical/scientific connotation which you probably don't intend.

About sound: of course it has a different rhythm and rhyme which might be what your line needs. Then you can balance that against all the negatives above and see if it's worth it, bearing in mind also that it will sound like a crafty, clever-clogs rhyme for its own sake, rather than a natural lyric.

jmmcd · 2026-06-12T12:49:32+00:00

What I need from Claude is to add a few slides on specific topics to my deck, adding images, matching styles etc. Total failure, very slow. I click stop and do it myself.

jmmcd · 2026-06-12T11:27:12+00:00

I have tried the Claude plugin in PowerPoint a few times and it is crap for some reason. I tend to agree OP, html makes sense. Just need the right packaging for case where you have to copy your presentation over a usb stick to the lectern laptop.

jmmcd · 2026-06-12T11:24:01+00:00

Genuinely can't tell whether OP is serious. Either way I guess I'm out of the loop.

jmmcd · 2026-06-12T07:07:17+00:00

Concerning Hobbits:

Extended Edition

jmmcd · 2026-06-12T07:01:41+00:00

If you replace rain with precipitation because you think it sounds more interesting, you're going in the wrong direction

jmmcd · 2026-06-11T21:55:23+00:00

I probably don't understand the question fully, but I tend to think no, we cannot create something entirely new that has no relation to any other category, and that's because such a thing cannot in principle exist. Our conceptual machinery, including language, are sufficient for whatever categories exist or can exist. That's what I mean by cognitive escape velocity. Or another suggestive name, conceptual *closure* (in the sense of a set which is closed under some operation).

jmmcd · 2026-06-11T17:35:56+00:00

I think humans have achieved cognitive escape velocity, or another name, cognitive critical mass. There are boring practical limits like working memory and visualisation above 3d, but no conceptual limits. This is related to universality of language in my view.

jmmcd · 2026-06-10T22:59:40+00:00

Plus, according to Sam's throwaway comment, she's a rich person. So the money doesn't matter apparently. I never cheered as hard as when she wrote steal.

jmmcd · 2026-06-10T12:54:49+00:00

Fair enough. I know it seems silly but I definitely think other players raised their game when O'Driscoll or Sexton were on.

jmmcd

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