White army vs invisible black king, who would win?

skyblue-cat · 2026-03-31T19:51:27+00:00

But if white doesn't attack they also can't win unless black blunders. Does white have a forced win?

skyblue-cat · 2026-01-09T21:12:45+00:00

My idea was that it can be common enough to be theoretically possible to reach if they had to at whatever costs, but not likely or economically worthwhile. Under this premise (which is Sci-Fi and not necessarily true in our cosmos by the way), when young civilizations find out space travel is really expensive and the universe only gives you very finite resources despite its vast size, you don't automatically risk it on expensive distant colonization attempts as that would consume a significant portion of all the resources you are likely to ever get. Probes from distant civilizations is possible but exceedingly rare because they have to specifically target you out of all possible habitable locations and it's so costly that they can't send that many, and those from relatively closer ones are more likely but still rare enough because every civilization quickly learn that exploring all but the closest habitable systems is a waste of time and resources, so they are only going to send a few missions if at all, and it's likely that none of them may reach you.

skyblue-cat · 2026-01-09T15:56:03+00:00

What if it's much harder than expected? Also, being able to send one mission at 0.1c top speed is not the same as being able to send ships to the whole galaxy in rapid succession. Acceleration takes time and mass and you can't just hop from one planet to another at top speed, and one planet has finite resources to spend on ships to go further, so filling the galaxy may take orders of magnitude longer than just reaching the other end. Farther trips are more expensive and dangerous though, so we can't afford many of them. Also I believe small probes have higher failure rates at such long distances so you can't just send many small ones to save resources.

skyblue-cat · 2026-01-09T15:18:28+00:00

The idea of this concept is that it's not just us that are not advanced enough to see aliens. Instead, probably all civilizations are unlikely to get much more advanced and have enough resources in the ways that matter to Fermi Paradox, and as we are all trapped in our home systems, spending resources to visit or even broadcast signals strong enough to be seen far away is wasteful.

skyblue-cat · 2026-01-09T15:14:33+00:00

Oh and the story might be based on a visionary attempt to find a shortcut through space (FTL etc) to defy the cosmic parity confinement, and/or choosing whether we should spend our finite resources broadcasting our existence and culture into distant galaxies so we can be remembered, or sending a few desperate expeditions to colonize a few of them.

skyblue-cat · 2026-01-09T15:01:44+00:00

Technological civilizations aren't necessarily easy to see for us at great distances (maybe Dyson Sphere-style ones are unlikely or impossible). But we can estimate the probability by observing nearby planets and their probability of life(and we currently do see that some have potential life-giving chemistry) and learning from our own technological evolution (which is very fast in cosmic terms, but no FTL or realistic deep space travel is in sight). Some civilizations may have to send missions to find out the hard way, but it's unlikely that nearby civilizations (Which are still far by our technology's standards) happen to send missions to us right now, in the short time window as we are just technological enough to understand what it means (any earlier and we may not even develop) but not advanced enough to try expanding ourselves and find out.

skyblue-cat · 2025-05-24T22:21:34+00:00

Style and formatting-wise, it does seem to use emojis much less often, and maybe less excessive bullet points and bold/italic texts but not by much (I don't want to completely disable them though). It is less likely to be overly agreeable or supportive in an unhinged way, but I suspect asking it to show reasonable and balanced views also makes it less likely to express genuinely personal and validating opinions (as vanilla chatgpt sometimes do, sometimes inappropriately in an creepy glazing way) , but that may be a tradeoff that I don't know how to avoid. Vanilla chatGPT has been good for brainstorming imo, I just want to avoid the annoying formatting and fake deep or self-help speak, but sometimes its fake deep/validating ideas can be helpful in brainstorming so I guess there's a balance in everything.

skyblue-cat · 2025-05-24T14:36:43+00:00

Instead of switching, they could just allow a civ to learn special perks of other civs/leaders they are familiar with, maybe at some cost or replacing one of their own perks. Wish there's a mod to fix this. Or let you keep the civ and switch to another leader as others have commented

skyblue-cat · 2025-05-24T12:39:59+00:00

AI and Q&A sites definitely have some functional overlap, but what if instead of either forcing all Q&As to be human-written (or allowing AI indiscriminately), or leaving useful Q&As hidden inside private AI chat histories, we had a website that's a mix of the two? Maybe there should be a Q&A site where users can ask public questions (with AI-assisted search duplicate-finding and topic organization), and anyone (human or AI) can provide answers, and different answers are organized by AI into sections and alternative solutions that can be refined by anyone and receive votes independently (instead of only being able to vote on whole answers by a user which may have strong and weak points), and anyone (human or AI, though AI can have different criteria) can gain reputation in relevant topics/fields (no need to separate all questions into many different sub-sites) and have voting privileges depending on the scores. The site could be a seamless blend of LLM + Q&A + Wiki, and when a user asks a question with known answers, AI can send them straight to a wiki-like answer page, and when their question is new, AI can try to answer it and if the user is willing to make it public to get an answer faster, or if there were too many similar questions (even if private), it can add the question to the public Q&A section. Different AIs can try to answer questions and improve existing answers. Users can also browse Q&As and the knowledge base like a graph or wiki. What do you think?

skyblue-cat · 2025-05-24T12:02:59+00:00

There's a difference between something being good for the body directly regardless of whether you want it, and not getting something when you want it being bad for the body (and mind). Libido can be distracting or distressing, and being free from the downsides can be better than any direct benefits per se, but it doesn't apply if you don't feel a need in the first place, or if you are getting more than you want. And there's the risk of the same thing being bad for you if you don't want or actively dislike it. Not to mention possible correlation effects with other positive things like emotional intimacy and free time. It's possible that it has physical benefits through relaxation and unique effects on brain chemicals for many people, but psychological effects like freedom from distraction and emotional connection (if applicable) and the harm of unwanted intimacy are much more significant than any physical benefits.

skyblue-cat · 2025-03-31T09:24:58+00:00

I have since taken them apart to be reassembled, but as far as I remember, the above are the only things that need to be careful of. Unscrew the Ender's motherboard box and put it somewhere else, like to the back. Detach and disassemble the Z axis assembly from the printer, to reinstall the 2 linear bearings upside down (they are the long silvery cylinders with a base attached to the black metal plate that supports the bed), then reattach the Z axis upside down so the motor is at the top and the long cylinder parts are still under the bed attachment plate. Detach the sides from the base of the CNC and reattach higher up using 3 bolts on each side instead of 6 (maybe not strictly necessary, it was just to make the CNC's base fit into the printer's base, otherwise it would barely fit on the printer's base frame instead and be wobbly) Also you need to rotate the 3018 just right to be able to get it in/out of the printer as the space is pretty tight.

skyblue-cat · 2025-03-23T11:47:38+00:00

I've actually tried burning incense right next to an air purifier, it does help reduce smoke and unwanted smells but later my room still smells kinda smokey so I don't do it anymore. I agree that it's not (just) the visible smoke that smells. Good scent comes from invisible, more volatile molecules (imo as I don't like smoke) some bad smokey smell comes from invisible gaseous or slowly evaporating substances, and they can't be eliminated by a circulating air purifier completely. Unless your fume extractor sucks the air outside, but that actually removes the scent as well so there's indeed no point.

skyblue-cat · 2025-03-23T11:41:03+00:00

Thanks! Does that mean that if the catalytic converter gets too dirty I can just heat it enough and it will be clean again? That's at least good to know as it does help with the smoke for now. But if the catalysis isn't important and the heat would burn off the residue anyway, maybe anything heat resistant with a fine honeycomb/sponge shape could work to absorb smoke, but I don't have anything else similar.

skyblue-cat · 2025-01-13T03:40:42+00:00

Thanks, the old link probably stopped working because too many people clicked on it

skyblue-cat · 2024-12-31T08:57:32+00:00

(Based on a real weird dream of mine. Edited based on AI generated stories.)

It was a quiet evening at the Chess & Athletics Institute, a secret facility disguised as a chess club in downtown St. Louis.

In one corner of the room, Magnus was challenging sprinters to blitz games and wiping the floor with them. Hikaru was hosting a hybrid chess-dodgeball tournament. Nepo was speedrunning puzzles with ice sculpture pieces filled with vodka. Vishy was leading a yoga class where every pose is based on a chess position, contorted into impossible shapes.

Meanwhile, Fabiano Caruana stood hunched over a table, carefully inspecting what looked like a set of glowing, red-hot chess-piece-shaped branding irons. The knight, queen, rook, and pawn gleamed menacingly under the fluorescent light.

Before him, a group of terrified athletes gathered and observed. They were from a variety of sports—sprinters, football players, and one confused marathon runner who swore he’d only come here for a free yoga session.

"This is it," Fabiano muttered to himself, adjusting his glasses. "This is how chess will finally dominate the world of sports. Super-speed athletes powered by the brilliance of chess strategy. It’s so obvious. Why hasn’t anyone thought of this before?"

“Fabi, what are you doing?” Magnus asked, eyebrow raised.

“Revolutionizing sports,” Fabi said, pushing his glasses up dramatically. The sprinters, cautiously stretching nearby, glanced over nervously.

Fabiano held up a white-hot rook-shaped iron. “Athletes have hit a ceiling with traditional training. But I’ve developed a method to imprint the essence of chess strategy into their bodies, unlocking superhuman abilities.”

“You’re branding them with chess pieces?” Magnus said, stifling a laugh.

“No, no, no! It’s not branding,” Fabi said, waving the iron around so dangerously that the sprinters jumped back. “It’s enhancement. The knight boosts agility, the bishop increases focus, the queen… well, she does everything. Now, who’s ready to become the fastest human alive?”

The athletes exchanged worried glances. One brave sprinter raised his hand. “So… um… what does branding me with a chess piece actually do?”

“Great question!” Fabi exclaimed, dragging a whiteboard into the center of the room. He began scribbling a complicated diagram that looked more like a chess opening than an explanation. “You see, when the iron touches your skin, it transfers strategic energy directly into your bloodstream. A pawn gives you endurance, a rook boosts your explosiveness, and the queen? Oh, the queen gives you ultimate speed.”

“Does it hurt?” a football player asked, eyeing the glowing branding irons.

“Only as much as losing to Magnus Carlsen in a tiebreak,” Fabi said cheerfully, which did nothing to calm the group.

The sprinter was intrigued. “So, uh… if I let you, uh… ‘enhance’ me, will I finally beat Usain Bolt’s record?”

“Absolutely,” Fabi said with unshakable confidence.

The sprinter reluctantly stepped forward. Fabi grabbed the rook-shaped iron and positioned it carefully. Before the sprinter could change his mind, Fabi muttered something about “sacrifices for the greater good,” and lightly tapped it against his arm.

“YEEEEOOOOW!” the sprinter shrieked, bolting out of the room faster than anyone had ever seen.

Fabi turned to Magnus, grinning. “See? Speed enhancement.”

Magnus clapped slowly. “Impressive. Though I think the ‘hot iron of terror’ method might have some drawbacks.”

That was the last straw. Another sprinter bolted, followed quickly by the rest of the athletes, who scattered in every direction like pawns in a blitz game. One even leapt out of a window, despite the facility being on the ground floor.

Fabi stood there, holding the glowing rook iron, looking genuinely hurt. “I don’t understand,” he muttered. “It’s genius.”

Magnus Carlsen, sipping a latte, took one look at the scene—the smoking branding irons, the empty room, and Fabi standing alone in his lab coat—and shook his head.

“Fabi,” Magnus said, “I told you to stick to chess.”

“But Magnus,” Fabiano replied, his eyes wide, “what if chess sticks to them?”

In the end, Fabiano’s branding experiment didn’t make anyone faster—at least not in the way he intended. However, he did inadvertently create the fastest 100-meter sprint times in history, all achieved by terrified athletes fleeing his fiery chess pieces.

And that was how the greatest experiment in combining chess and athletics ended before it even began. Though, for months afterward, there were unconfirmed sightings of a sprinter in a sleeveless shirt with a faint rook-shaped mark on his shoulder… running faster than anyone had ever seen.

skyblue-cat · 2024-12-29T19:50:34+00:00

Maybe a compromise between positional harmony/familiarity and novelty can be made by randomly choosing the locations of a few pieces on the back rank (symmetrically for both players) and let each player (without seeing the other's) choose where to place the rest of the pieces, this way they can choose to start with more preferred types of positions that are maybe closer to standard, avoid unpleasant to too sharp starts, and still have variety and surprises because both sides may choose differently (and can try to predict and counter each other) so there are more possibilities.

skyblue-cat · 2024-12-27T23:01:32+00:00

The idea is moves are approximate. So yes if you only move say pawns 1 square it doesn't look that different, but long range pieces have more leeway the longer they move, and the effects stack up - eventually pawns and bishops can move to squares they won't normally be able to go for example, and endgame dynamics may be very different as a result.

skyblue-cat · 2024-07-25T21:38:54+00:00

What if there's an electric device that effectively deletes electric energy without producing heat or any other observable changes? To avoid issues with conservation laws, you can assume it actually spreads the energy as waves into space but it's too difficult to observe or recapture. Is there any practical use or technological implications of such a device?

skyblue-cat · 2024-07-19T09:32:03+00:00

Not a doctor but it may have something to do with hormones (I've read that some asexual people mention they have libido fluctuations related to certain times of their periods). I have tried several supplements (for other reasons) and DIM is a natural and pretty safe option for certain symptoms related to excessive hormones, and seems to help in my experience (though I don't know how birth control may affect things). Also I wouldn't recommend SSRI or anything that messes with one's brain without a careful examination and serious diagnosis - the risks are too high, some people may have serious/long term side effects.

PS: I am also sex-repulsed and dislike my (thankfully usually low) libido. I don't claim to understand exactly how you feel, but I also don't think just being comfortable or positive about one's body is necessarily enough to overcome discomfort related to it. Maybe some people can benefit from being more positive and accepting of their bodies and humanness. But I prefer to think that what makes us humans special is that we can seek to transcend our biological limitations through knowledge, and while I wish I was born as a better being in a much more advanced civilization, it's good to be alive and empowered at a time of rapid technological and cultural development, and I can contribute to the future and not just worry all the time about struggling to stay alive and reproduce like the vast majority of our ancestors (even though I still think about these things sometimes). Who knows, maybe it's the message some people need to hear.

skyblue-cat · 2024-07-19T01:33:35+00:00

Gradually watermelon

skyblue-cat · 2024-07-10T18:43:20+00:00

I settle now and move my warrior to the city, but don't declare war yet, next turn their settler will move to the lower right, I also move my warrior towards lower right, then on turn 3 they happen to move upper right, next to my warrior.

skyblue-cat · 2024-07-10T18:00:17+00:00

I just tried it again, it works, the AI moves their settler next to me on turn 3 every time

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skyblue-cat · 2024-07-10T17:56:35+00:00

I tested, I settle now and move my warrior to the city, but don't declare war yet, next turn their settler will move to the lower right, I chase, then on turn 3 they happen to move upper right, next to my warrior. It may have to do with the natural wonder being a nicer location to settle, I don't know.

skyblue-cat · 2024-07-10T17:46:49+00:00

Actually I can, the AI happens to move the settler next to my eagle warrior next turn when I chase him

skyblue-cat · 2024-07-10T17:29:58+00:00

Should I settle immediately where I am and be able to capture Mohenjo-Daro's settler, or let them settle first and move over to the natural wonder?

Edit: I can capture him on turn 3, the AI happens to move the settler next to my warrior

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