skinks_basking

Karma: 52

skinks_basking 27 Apr 2026 2:17 UTC
1 point
0
on: I thought eight metrics could capture my mental state. I was wrong.
interested in your progress here. Have you considered using text embeddings to compare across less structured self-reports? If it’s the proforma quality of 8 numbers that feels unnatural.

skinks_basking 18 Apr 2026 3:54 UTC
0 points
−3
on: Let goodness conquer all that it can defend
This does not seem “battle-tested”. The explanations in comments haven’t bridged the gap, I would probably fail your ITT.
I read it as
“the USA is good*”, and “atrocities were necessary to achieve this” ⇒ “these atrocities are justified”.
I believe (based on your comments) you wouldn’t endorse that, but I can’t see this interpretation in your post or other comments of yours. Others have already begun discussing the object-level, but I’ve nothing to add there.
*In the sense and to the extent that OP meant to convey.

skinks_basking 11 Apr 2026 23:39 UTC
1 point
0
on: Claude Interviews Me About Writing
I like this format. What prompted you to do this? Did you find it useful?

skinks_basking 6 Apr 2026 5:37 UTC
5 points
0
in reply to: XelaP’s comment on: George Ingebretsen’s Shortform
Without this, using the mouse is faster at moving the text cursor than using arrow keys. Editing code feels either frustratingly sensitive or like dragging finger through honey

skinks_basking 3 Apr 2026 22:03 UTC
1 point
0
on: Sadly, The Whispering Earring
Might there be a way to use Claude to train your own executive function, rather than replace it?

skinks_basking 3 Apr 2026 9:42 UTC
6 points
1
in reply to: No77e’s comment on: No77e’s Shortform
Which rationalists?

skinks_basking 27 Mar 2026 2:00 UTC
29 points
13
in reply to: cousin_it’s comment on: Socrates is Mortal
Is Socrates implying Euthyphro must be wrong because he can’t respond adequately? Or is Socrates pushing Euthyphro to develop further clarity of thought?
When people understand how actions arise from values, they’ll be able to explain their decisions to others, and others will be able to verify their integrity.
And when people start getting sneaky, they’ll know what’s missing from the speech of “shamed”/”depraved” people.
Do you think there’s an answer Socrates would have accepted, had Euthyphro given it? Is that a crux?

skinks_basking 17 Mar 2026 0:01 UTC
1 point
0
in reply to: Adam Scholl’s comment on: adam_scholl’s Shortform
What would AI labs do differently if this were made law? Couldn’t they build datacenters outside the US?

skinks_basking 9 Mar 2026 21:53 UTC
8 points
0
on: I am worried about near-term non-LLM AI developments
Have you assessed your predictions? What have you learned?

skinks_basking 9 Mar 2026 21:48 UTC
6 points
0
in reply to: omegastick’s comment on: omegastick’s Shortform
But if you aren’t religious, what even are morals if not feelings?
There may be some writing, on LW and elsewhere that could help you with this question.

skinks_basking 9 Mar 2026 8:37 UTC
3 points
0
in reply to: koanchuk’s comment on: koanchuk’s Shortform
“We, of course, never target civilian targets.”
I’m mostly being silly, but one might claim this is a Freudian slip: Hegseth referred to “civilian targets”, as of this is one of kinds of targets in discussion. Like that is a phrase he’s been using. He could have referred to them as civilians, but he referred to them as targets. Source

skinks_basking 1 Mar 2026 0:09 UTC
1 point
0
in reply to: Florian_Dietz’s comment on: Already Optimized
Lol I assumed it was Claude’s mischaraterisation !

skinks_basking’s Shortform

skinks_basking27 Feb 2026 22:42 UTC

1 point

0 comments1 min readLW link

skinks_basking 27 Feb 2026 21:53 UTC
1 point
0
on: Already Optimized
Enjoyed, thankyou!
“I was as clever as you, once. Cleverer, perhaps. I looked at the wizarding world and I saw everything you see — the inefficiency, the waste, the tradition without reason, the power unused.
This seems like a mischaracterisation. From what I remember, Dumbledore in HPMOR seemed to have a perspective different enough from Harry’s such that he didn’t really understand him at times. Harry’s optimisation-lust was foreign to him, not a familiar feeling from his youth he’d grown out of.