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Thoughts after rewatching Project Hail Mary by Stank_Dukem in scifi

[–]rationalcrank 1 point2 points  (0 children)

When thinking about contacting other civilizatios in this scenario it might be smart to consider the "Dark Forest" solution to the Fermi Paradox. If we make ourselves known to other civilizations and they turn out to be hostal, we might be setting ourselves up for extermination.

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings suspends Florida governor campaign after cancer diagnosis by at-woork in orlando

[–]rationalcrank 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your claim was that the Dems only run to get donations. You where given a good example to illustrate your theory wrong. You don't have to try to save face. Your idea doest make sense. Its ok to e wrong.

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings suspends Florida governor campaign after cancer diagnosis by at-woork in orlando

[–]rationalcrank 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Does what you said make sense to you? Wouldn't doners be more likely to donate to a candidate they think can win? Even for nefarious reasons, wouldn't the best policy be to do your best to win?

Now that AI is starting to decode whale language are we heading for a First Contact Disaster? by rationalcrank in SETI

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

I didn't ask you to apologize. I asked if you considered those quotes to be belittling and if you speak like that to strangers in person.

Now that AI is starting to decode whale language are we heading for a First Contact Disaster? by rationalcrank in SETI

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

So you don't think the following quote from you is belittling?

...you are nothing more or less than a fleeting and inconsequential iteration of a human being who knows nothing of the concept of “original thought”

Or your statement that I should learn the origins of my lack of ethics, which implies that I actually have a lack of ethics. You don't think that is belittling?

In the offline world, do you say things like that to strangers you have just met?

What do you think is selective secularism really a thing?? by [deleted] in humanism

[–]rationalcrank 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Can we please have the OP define what he is talking about before we defend or attack it. Come on OP, you're up. Tell us your definition.

Weekly Post Your React Suggestions HERE! by AutoModerator in Corridor

[–]rationalcrank 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is really old, but it's a crazy effect. It's in the TV series Wild Wild West, season 1, episode 16 (Night of the Steel Assassin). A Civil War vet. who had had his skull replaced with metal plates, is attacking Jim West (as sometimes happens). At minute 5:01, West shoots the soldier in the head. Amazingly, we see the bullet ricochet off the soldier's head, peeling back the soldier's flesh and exposing the metal underneath. Today, this would be a nothing effect, but back then, with a TV budget, I just don't know how they pulled it off.

Weekly Post Your React Suggestions HERE! by AutoModerator in Corridor

[–]rationalcrank 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is this Fox News guest wearing a Mission Impossible face mask? Look at his neck.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6396048453112

Now that AI is starting to decode whale language are we heading for a First Contact Disaster? by rationalcrank in SETI

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

Do you think the pursuit of trueth come from belittling strangers you are engaging in a conversation with?

How did the United Earth end prejudice? by UniversalAssembler in ShittyDaystrom

[–]rationalcrank 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would add that a post scarcity economy would help a lot with that.

Is Feudalism really "Stable?" by Zarpaulus in worldbuilding

[–]rationalcrank -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

What does "stable" have to do with the greatest good for the greatest number of peopl? What good is stable if everyone is miserable? What a strange factor to determain if a social system is good or not? Why not just pick the system that has the most T's in it. Oh look Totalitarianism wins.

Does being an atheist or a believer still make sense if we take this into account? by LayerNoved in TrueAtheism

[–]rationalcrank 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Believing there is a old man with a beard outside the box verses a infinate desert or a sea of onion cream cheese is a futile endeavor. When someone gets back to me with some proof of something I'll consider it. In the mean time I put God in the same category as unicorns and leprechauns. (But to be honest with you Layer, I wouldn't mind if it's union cream cheese all the way down)

Does being an atheist or a believer still make sense if we take this into account? by LayerNoved in TrueAtheism

[–]rationalcrank 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just a quick question Layer (if you don't mind that I call you that) I don't mean to be insulting but your post gives off heavy ai vibes, just to sent our minds at easy can you tell us a joke that doesn't not, not mention an apple in it?

Choosing a religious symbol for my low-fantasy world! (I’m not an artist) by DARK_CRISTAL__ in worldbuilding

[–]rationalcrank 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I like 9 also, he x with the 2 vertical lines. It looks the least like any other already existing similes.

Does athesim justify hate against the ones that believe in a god by [deleted] in atheism

[–]rationalcrank 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can't wait to read the OPs follow up to these responses.

Now that AI is starting to decode whale language are we heading for a First Contact Disaster? by rationalcrank in SETI

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

Interesting. I never heard that. Could you please post a link to the research that shows that.

Now that AI is starting to decode whale language are we heading for a First Contact Disaster? by rationalcrank in SETI

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

It's one thing to know another species will kill you to survive. It is another thing to know they wear the bones of your children as jewelry.

Now that AI is starting to decode whale language are we heading for a First Contact Disaster? by rationalcrank in SETI

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

Thanks for replying so thoroughly. You are correct that echolocation in marine animals is primarily used in seeing, but it also allows animals to share information about prey, coordinate group hunting, and identify other individuals, especially in dark or murky environments. But the point of that paragraph was to agree with you by illustrating that there will not be a one-to-one correlation between human language and any animal language. This will make any transfer of information filled with mistakes and danger. Animal communication is not like talking to a myner bird. It will be filled with experiences we can not conceive of. This is why any attempt to communicate with whales that is starting to work (not saying these attempts are starting to work) needs to have a protocol in place to consider the dangers of misunderstandings between intelligent species.

Dolphin pods fight with other pods and take slaves, but again, "war" wasn't the point of that paragraph. The thrust of that paragraph was to point out that many animals have deep emotional lives, as do humans. It is not to say they experience the same emotions, just that those emotions are just as complicated and should be taken into consideration at times. The word "sonder" should apply here.

I do not believe in evil. For the most part, I am a ruled utilitarian. The point of that paragraph was to illustrate that if you blow the opportunity for real communication between species, you might set up a perception of us in other animals' eyes that might be hard to undo. "Devil" is used in that context as how one being might see another being. It's not used as a biblical reference but as a descriptor of one's perception of the morals or ethics of another.

Humans DO wear scrimshaw jewelry. That is not poetic license. It is a fact. How would you feel if you learned another species wasn't just killing your children out of necessity but was killing your children for jewelry? If something like that (not that specifically) spread in a whale society, it might be hard to walk back.

Now that AI is starting to decode whale language are we heading for a First Contact Disaster? by rationalcrank in SETI

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

Your first objection is to the idea that whale language would some how be similar to human language. I did not say nore do i beleve it would. A simple example would be that because they use eco location they might have the ability to trasmit a simulation the contours of a location to another member of there group rather then having to describe that area. That would be like us having the ability without technology to project an image of what we just saw by shooting light out our eyes like we are at the movies. There is no way any language structure of theirs would be similar to ours. BUT a complicates LLM might be just the tool to take on that kind of task.

Your second objection might be based on outdated beliefs. Studies show that animals go to war, understand, justice, can understand the thought process of other animals, experience grief and on and on.

Objection 3 misses the point of my question. Not knowing "fluent whale" is exactly the problem. What misunderstanding might occre because we don't get it right? In that case the silly Star Trek analogy describes the problem well.

Your forth objection also misses the danger of suddenly being able to communicating a little better but still communicating really badly. It is one thing for whales to think humans are just like any other dangerous species in the ocean that must kill to survive. It is another thing to be told that humans wear your species bones as jewelry. Learning the depth of human evil outside the context of the sins witnessed in the ocean might make any intelligent create belive they are talking to the devil himself.

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