I don't normally post about politics but this article is a painfully honest take on the detrimental effect of social media noise on society and democracy.
Fact checking or re-posting every bit of noise is an endless trap. At some point you are best to let it go and reserve your energy and/or take action for what you believe in, no matter how small.
Join your own local groups who have been taking action long before attention-seeking social media ever existed.
https://www.404media.co/you-cant-post-your-way-out-of-fascism/
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One thing I just noticed about online convo is it's really hard to truly listen to someone with full acceptance (but not agreement), and for that person to feel it and for both parties to benefit.
There's something healing when that happens in IRL convos, especially between people with opposing views.
Online its mainly agreement or an argument.
The ability to listen with full acceptance and to seek understanding gradually atrophies, and instead we habitually jump to conclusions and polarize.
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Anyone recall a dramatic statistic about there being significantly more humans alive today than ever existed in history (something like 70% to 90% of all humans are alive today)?
It made recent population growth seem very explosive and make me feel oddly self-important and FOMO-ish about death.
TIL the "fact" is false.
Starting estimates from 50,000BC there were around 100B humans born and 8B alive today - closer to 8%.
Puts things into perspective. We are just as temporary as ever.
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I see that the wisdom of this old doc is finally coming to fruition.
Nobody listens to logical stuff like this anymore, they only believe whatever some tech-figurehead posts on social media... until its too late
https://semianalysis.com/2023/05/04/google-we-have-no-moat-and-neither/
[#]deepseek #OpenAI #ai
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"Whatever you perceive, feel, and think is you. There is no other โmyself.โ In each moment, things are exactly as they are, and can be no different. The fantasy of becoming, supported by the false notions of time and progress, is an attempt to escape from this moment by replacing it with hopes for an improved future. When that is seen, one is awake."
Been reading to his work for a while. I like that he keeps things direct, real and lucid... refreshingly blunt.
[#]awareness
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While trying to add a new admin to a facebook business page I control, I get stopped by this absolutely ridiculous popup.
I barely use facebook unless I need to, and never keep it logged in on my devices for privacy and security reasons, as well as blocking all tracking.
Now they force me to stay logged in for an unspecified amount of time, and potentially disable all blockers for a while, before I can even make a business-critical change.
Insane.
[#]Enshittification #facebook #security
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We tend to think of "Intelligence" from the point of view of a definable ego that "processes" and outputs symbols that can be understood by another ego which considers itself intelligent.
We typically don't consider a couple of cells that join to form a complex living human form to be "intelligent" - we think this simply happens by itself.
My question is: is my example of ego-intelligence not also just happening by itself? Reflect on what we can demonstrate today using an LLM.
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I love old posts that aged like fine wine.
"Those who make the most of their lives on the screen, come to it in a spirit of self reflection"
That is what she learned from her research interviews about chat and social media usage.
Specifically, to learn about yourself genuinely, and use it to strengthen IRL relationships.
There are platforms that can help in this regard if you use them wisely.
https://www.ted.com/talks/sherry_turkle_connected_but_alone
[#]communication #chat #socialmedia #chat
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[#]Kagi philosophy on AI integration also gives you some perspective.
[#]LLM features should ideally always be optional and serve to enhance not obfuscate nor create dependencies, nor pretend to be a "real" answer with no user control/transparency.
Sources and provenance should be shown where possible.
All of this is possible when an LLM is used within its current limits: to transform/summarize correct answers from a RAG (search results), rather than generate answers.
https://help.kagi.com/kagi/why-kagi/ai-philosophy.html
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Using paid search engine #Kagi for months now. At first it seemed a bit much to pay $10 a month for what I thought was a more private #Google wrapper.
Now I can safely say its worth the money.
The results are way cleaner, and with the power to fine tune results to my needs (e.g. globally block/lower junk sites).
Say what you want about "AI" but the optional LLM-based quick-answer is one of the most simple, useful, ethical, and accurate LLM integrations I have ever seen.
[#]AI #search #LLM
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While I believe in mindfulness and awareness a lot more than simplistic blanket bans (that can just be circumvented), the fact that Australia recently banned most major social networks for under 16s, should highlight just how toxic these apps are even for adults who care about their own wellness.
The ban includes Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, Instagram and X. Notably, Youtube is exempt even though I think its just as bad when accessed directly instead of an alternative client.
[#]wisetech
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There's that (supposedly good) feeling we get when we first acquire some new product or unbox a package we just received.
But fairly soon, most of those acquisitions don't do much for our happiness for the rest of their existence.
The mind seems to look for change, fixating on either some improvement or worsening, and reacts emotionally.
Mindfulness is noticing any old immediate experience which for the most part is just nice. Life in its entirely, not just temporary stories, ups and downs.
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Personal reflection on 2024:
As a new father, I was notably busier in 2024 than previous years. This caused me to neglect my meditation practice and some hobbies like my public writing/videos.
On the other hand I have been forced to get better at turning everyday activity into "meditation in motion" which was always my long term goal anyway.
As well, I have been posting more snippets on Mastodon rather than full blog posts which is OK. I hope it helps others as much as I enjoy sharing ๐
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Thinking, Reason and Science are useful tools. They are quite mechanical processes and continue to become automated by machines.
But they are not a great antidote to "ignorance", as often assumed.
Calm lucid awareness is a better antidote to ignorance, which resonates with anyone.
It's possible to think, reason and partake in science in very greedy and mindless ways, which proliferates negativity and agitation.
When done in calm and aware ways they can be better for true human progress.
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Happy new year friends ๐
My new year #resolution is just to get better at clearly seeing, and mindfully setting, my true #intentions behind actions and speech. Combined with letting go of specific results of actions and speech.
Not so much judging intentions as good or bad or trying hard to "purify" them - rather just improving my ability to calmly and clearly see them and set them strongly with awareness. Allowing natural awareness to do its work.
[#]Mindfulness #HappyNewYear
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Spent a couple hours down the multitool/EDC rabbit-hole looking to replace my old Leatherman I lost. Decided I didn't need pliers and went with a Victorinox as it's lighter for climbing and hiking.
There are a dizzying array of fanciful options these days but what sold me on Victorinox was the balance of high enough quality + cheap enough to lose and not worry about babying it. It's also a simple design which can be easily self-serviced.
Rare and understated "features" in products today.
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Does anyone often find themselves in conversation between people (perhaps including yourself) in "follower" mode - where there is more posting of screenshots, text-walls, memes, and perpetuation of dogma often expounded by some figurehead, than actual free-thinking and discourse based on personal experience?
After leaving big platforms and reducing exposure to sensationalized content, I find my ability to think clearly and independently increased a lot and I am generally happier.
[#]Mindfulness
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[#]FUTO released a Desktop version of the #Grayjay app - a great distraction-free #Youtube client (and more).
Still in alpha but I was able to import everything from the mobile version and it works just fine.
Very polished looking and it has FCast (open Chromecast alternative) capability and supports many more services than just Youtube. But not as much customization as #Freetube so I think I will stick with FT for now but keep an eye on how Grayjay desktop progresses.
https://grayjay.app/desktop/
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Having debloated my devices, it amazes me how much of the computing resources we buy go into telemetry, non-removable functionality we don't need and other bloat. Great effort went into adding that garbage - and it takes even greater effort for users to fix it.
My galaxy S10 is 5 years old and the battery, speed, light weight and slimness is as good or better than the average flagship phone today. It does what I need and stays out of the way thanks to Lineage OS and FOSS alternatives.
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Very grateful for the wholesome guiding influences in my life, many of them right here on my very own curated Mastodon feed.
The true "influencers" with good intent.
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