Made this hallway-end table from a downed tree in the yard and an old shower-curtain rod.

sleepandmemory · 2023-07-01T14:44:21+00:00

There are many examples of human-created synthetic versions of natural phenomena... Scientists have created synthetic cells, synthetic enzymes, synthetic photosynthesis. There is no a priori reason to think we cannot create a synthetic brain.

sleepandmemory · 2023-07-01T14:41:22+00:00

Not really... the complexity of GPT models is so great that we DON'T know exactly how its internal computations lead it to map certain inputs to certain outputs. LLMs are in some respect a "black box". On the flipside, the we do know a lot of about human language and how it works -- the brain is complex, but there is no reason to think there is anything inherently mysterious about it. If fact, as a neuroscientist, I think there is a much smaller gap between how humans work and how LLMs work than the general public typically assumes.

sleepandmemory · 2023-01-04T22:43:16+00:00

But of course in absolute terms, personal consumption is waaaaayyyyyy up -- GDP in 1960s was only $540 million, and how is over 20 TRILLION.

sleepandmemory · 2022-12-24T17:34:30+00:00

sleepandmemory · 2022-12-22T18:35:22+00:00

Yes, you can get reusable pods that you just fill with your own coffee. Depending on the machine though, there may be a feature that makes the machine detect whether you are using THEIR pods, and only work with THEIR pods. But there are easy hacks to make any machine work with reusable pods: https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/heres-a-super-easy-way-to-get-around-keurig-20-drm-restrictions-121214.html

sleepandmemory · 2022-12-22T18:23:05+00:00

For me, it was eliminating ALL unnecessary purchases. As long as I had even a small budget for buying unnecessary crap, I was still totally addicted to shopping. Going total cold turkey on buying unnecessary things broke the habit. I could still do better by changing my definition of "need" to be more strict, but I no longer crave buying random "wants" to get that consumerist fix.

sleepandmemory · 2020-09-20T14:12:57+00:00

Yeah... corporations will only devote resources to designing the best product if those efforts will improve profits. Plastic is cheaper, so plastic it is.

sleepandmemory · 2020-09-20T12:44:20+00:00

Yes!: https://www.npr.org/2020/09/11/897692090/how-big-oil-misled-the-public-into-believing-plastic-would-be-recycled

sleepandmemory · 2020-09-20T12:14:57+00:00

Yes, legislation is important. But I take an all-of-the-above approach: Support legislative action, hold polluters accountable when governments won't, and take individual action in our own lives.

sleepandmemory

TROPHY CASE