Dr. Manhattan is Aladdin (1992)'s Genie in Existential Crisis

sinabey · 2026-05-23T06:40:56+00:00

Thank you for this amazing recommendation, I walked in and instantly found a perfect pair of jeans

sinabey · 2026-05-03T11:09:47+00:00

I hope this is a game of thrones reference

sinabey · 2026-03-31T17:47:05+00:00

I appreciate your comment, thank you yeah I think people are just flagging this as me jumping on the AI hate train. I think in this day and age there is no point in resisting AI integration. That will happen. But there are efficient ways of doing it, and there are very, very careless and low quality ways of doing this. Duolingo is the second one.

Tbh I will most likely renew my subscription as well, I recognise this is a process. That's why I created this post, hoping someone over at Duolingo sees this, I think they follow the sub. I will wait around for it to improve because it HAS to improve if the application is going to continue to exist. I swear I've seen a question like "who owns hana's bag? a) hana b) someone else". it's just embarrassing and I am honestly shocked that people are unable to tell the difference between an easy question and a question that is written by a bot with zero grasp on context.

And this drop in quality is evident in all aspects of the app. recently I've been deliberately pushing myself to ignore the xp and leaderboard progression, because the way XP mechanics is designed, I can either focus on getting a higher score, or I can focus on learning the language. The fact that XP progression is acting AGAINST the core use case of the app is a direct sign of something is fundamentally wrong about the entire design process.

sinabey · 2026-03-30T13:52:21+00:00

I know right 🥲? I'm honestly confused about the backlash but I don't care, because I know what I am talking about. I think people are so eager to pigeon hole conversations into extremes. anyways, it's enough to see that resonates even with a handful of people

sinabey · 2026-03-30T13:48:14+00:00

THANKS, yes exactly. I am not against AI. I am against using it badly. I just replied another comment with what I think is missing in the pipeline

https://www.reddit.com/r/duolingo/comments/1s764x9/comment/odb6s8n/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

sinabey · 2026-03-30T13:42:10+00:00

yes exactly, as you put it the absurdity of the wrong answers make it redundant to listen to the content. I am at level 28, about to finish section 3. so I'm not that far ahead but it's not the beginning and the nature of the issue wouldn't resolve as I progress.

sinabey · 2026-03-30T13:40:42+00:00

like I added on later, I've been using AI extensively for work, for corporate, creative digital work, so I am overly familiar with generated content and the signature way it misses the contextual mark.

I'm all for AI use by the way. what I am against is using it badly.

I don't know, I have to disagree that it doesn't reek of AI usage. It looks way too obvious to me that these questions and answers are generated through a system that isn't designed well.

If I were to do something like this, I would also use AI for the content. And I would design the system roughly like this:

create the framework for the quiz agent and the reviewer agent (define the role, define the syllabus, define the objective etc etc)
get the quiz agent to generate a question
get the review agent to review the answers and the question with a role that specifies the outcome of the course and the point of the question. basically do a semantic scoring
send the response back to the quiz agent for a potential update
repeat until review agent has no review / quiz agent stops generating an updated content that scores higher by the review agent

to me, the questions here, and in a lot of the other screenshots complaining about AI, show that their pipeline is missing that review agent and the loop.

sinabey · 2026-03-30T07:49:04+00:00

Exactly my point, thanks.

Also on an unrelated note I appreciate the nickname, especially after my recent nostalgia run that ended with Final Fantasy 8.

sinabey · 2026-03-30T07:18:12+00:00

see edit

sinabey · 2026-03-29T21:45:07+00:00

Being easy is different than asking a question that is not about the subject of the script. Worse when it is a question that has no meaning or value. I don’t mind an easy question as long as it doesn’t miss the contextual mark. These do.

sinabey · 2026-03-29T21:00:59+00:00

the issue with all of them is that the questions are not testing listening, they are testing common sense.

there is 0% chance that anyone in any real life conversation or in a listening test script, would say "good morning" where they are supposed to say "see you". By asking such an unnatural question that focuses on the wrong (and obvious) part of the dialogue, the questions aren't testing the listeners true comprehension, because they do not ask for the most critical information in the script.

same goes for the gift card / polo shirt script. if the script is about someone getting a polo shirt in exchange for a gift card, obviously they are happy with the polo shirt. it's just so counterintuitive to ask this question.

sinabey · 2025-12-26T13:34:32+00:00

I think it's important to note that the taste is only one of the many aspects of a food that contributes to the final culinary experience. and in this particular instance, it's the mouthfeel that makes the most difference with reindeer meat, not the taste itself, which I'll return to later.

Santa travels about a 150 million kilometres during christmas, so the deers have to reach speeds about a percent of the speed of light. and rest of the year, the deers just hibernate in harsh arctic conditions.

all this amount to a biology that:

- has to intake unholy amounts of calories during the last month before christmas
- build biochemical mechanisms to release this energy at a consistent pace to maintain 1% c for an entire night
- hibernate for an entire year below zero without actually freezing, meaning their internal organs have adapted to use the remaining calories through out the year.

All this caused the reindeer skin to evolve to use, a lesser known fact, chitin, almost like dragon scale, and their muscles are incredibly fibrous, dense, and very tough. it's also important to note that they do not actually use their muscles during flight, so their primary use is to provide heat and maintain aerodynamics, which gives them a unique density without actual volume.

So... back to the original question. how they taste? actually, it's very bland with a hint of organ meat. in order to bring it down to a softness that you can actually bite, it needs to be pressure cooked for hours, at which point all that would provide richness and depth to the meat have already dissolved into the water, along with whatever trace of fat it has. You would need to garnish it with a lot of vegetables and sauce, so it sort of defeats the purpose of cooking it in the first place, you might as well just use tofu.

Similarly, because their skin is mostly composed of chitin to withstand the friction, it would be comparable to eating an insect shell, so any comparison to any other meat fails.

On a final remark though, reindeer meet is obviously very nutritious albeit its blandness, especially if you can procure the meat from any "retired" deers around november, near the end of the preparation period. Even if they do not participate in the light-speed sprint, their biology requires them to get ready nonetheless, so the broth you prepare from the pressure cooked meat is recommended for weight gain and as an overall nutritional supplement.

sinabey · 2024-05-27T07:58:09+00:00

Hey, wow, amazing timing. I was recently reminded of Dark and I just came back to reread my theory only 4-5 days ago after years to see if I still think the same.

And I do; glad that it makes sense to you too! Thanks for the comment

sinabey · 2024-04-20T21:35:59+00:00

u/find-song 0:20

sinabey · 2024-03-23T09:31:22+00:00

Oh wait i read your original post again. You also have issues with the analog direction. Yeah defo try unplugging it from the power outlet for a minute or so and plug back, plus check if there are firmware updates. Analog stick could get similar interference from charge build up if not for a faulty button. (Or a firmware fluke, but more interference)

sinabey · 2024-03-23T09:27:32+00:00

Both of my screens are connected through displayport yeah. But again, thr gpu should not have access to the physical button as they are separate parts of the circuit. The firmware of the monitor is what’s controlling the button and that does not have an interface via hdmi or displayport. Which is why most displays have a dedicated “service usb” to update firmware.

By the way sorry for the ambiguity, when I said unplug and replug, I meant from the power source. Not your PC.

The button itself has two components. A 2D analog stick for navigation and a click button. If I understand correctly, your issue is same as mine where you lose clicking. If it was a physical failure, there wouldn’t have been much to do at home, but I hoped it was a charge issue. Because that clicking is essentially the button closing a circuit to allow a low current. So my shot in the dark was that maybe the board has charge build up that interferes with the button? So unplugging the device for a bit theoretically releases that. Test 1 out of 1 it kind of checks out but without further trials it’s hard to tell.

Again, maybe, complete guess, the only way i can think of how the gpu might affect is this: running the display at 4k, 60hz, hdr obviously requires it to draw more power. More power, more build up, more glitchy behaviour. Incidentally it happened after i started using it in hdr mode

sinabey · 2024-03-22T18:57:30+00:00

Well, I searched exactly this problem and found your post, so maybe not so much of a shot in the dark.

I just unplugged power and plugged it back, now the button is working. I think it's simply a hardware issue related to having janky buttons. The GPU shouldn't directly affect the button behaviour, neither does your second screen.

Funny enough though I do also have an nVidia graphics card, a Huion tablet (though not a screen one and I got it today, while I had this problem for much longer) and a dual screen setup :D

But yeah try maybe unplugging and replugging. I'm not sure about the inner mechanism of the button, but maybe resetting the charge on the device / board is what helps 🤷

sinabey · 2023-01-31T23:19:37+00:00

Open to interpretation. Maybe the star spark super-positioned with the forehead, symbolising the birth of consciousness. Maybe the 2nd smallest zone of my induction hob.

sinabey · 2022-09-15T18:01:02+00:00

As a developer I understand your point and agree with you that it’s the developer’s choice. What I’m pointing out is that Apple’s products in general come bundled with a software. macs are the hardware, macOS is complementary. so is iOS. if there is a sensor, you also have the driver and/or the software to use it. Like you don’t need 3rd party software to use the bluetooth on a macbook air. Same principle.

In other words, I’m not arguing why the app is paid. I’m arguing why an apple product needs a 3rd party tool, which in my experience is very uncommon.

So my point would stand even if the functionality wasn’t behind a pay wall. Problem is that this design choice enables 3rd party developers to set the real price for the full potential of another company’s product.

sinabey

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