tbabb
@tbabb.bsky.social
advanced cat befriender
@tr_babb on twitter
Oakland, CA
@tr_babb on twitter
Oakland, CA
the AI water use discourse is going to be considered passé and cringe by mid 2026
November 27, 2025 at 7:09 AM
the AI water use discourse is going to be considered passé and cringe by mid 2026
finger to the wind, one hour in a nordstrom at age 8 felt like how I'd feel about being trapped in one for six hours as an adult
I completely buy that one child-hour has the moral weight of like six or seven adult hours
November 24, 2025 at 8:10 PM
finger to the wind, one hour in a nordstrom at age 8 felt like how I'd feel about being trapped in one for six hours as an adult
this would imply the possibility of a perceptual or emotional part of the mind that could observe the activities of the rational mind, and find them as opaque and exogenous as our own sensory perceptions, and even be frustrated with them
experientially, this tracks
experientially, this tracks
November 24, 2025 at 5:44 PM
this would imply the possibility of a perceptual or emotional part of the mind that could observe the activities of the rational mind, and find them as opaque and exogenous as our own sensory perceptions, and even be frustrated with them
experientially, this tracks
experientially, this tracks
Wherein a prudent AI query might have saved me five or six thousand dollars
November 24, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Wherein a prudent AI query might have saved me five or six thousand dollars
dreamt that there was a peacock spider in my house the size of my hand; it was unusually curious and looking at me/trying to interact. was wondering what I would do with it— I couldn't just let it roam around— when a brilliant blue octopus showed up, lured the spider into its mouth, and ate it
November 19, 2025 at 5:39 PM
dreamt that there was a peacock spider in my house the size of my hand; it was unusually curious and looking at me/trying to interact. was wondering what I would do with it— I couldn't just let it roam around— when a brilliant blue octopus showed up, lured the spider into its mouth, and ate it
Someone explain to me why Reddit seems to be totally silent about this Epstein dump
November 13, 2025 at 6:04 AM
Someone explain to me why Reddit seems to be totally silent about this Epstein dump
they should invent a Democrat that understands basic game theory
November 10, 2025 at 10:24 PM
they should invent a Democrat that understands basic game theory
Reposted by tbabb
Oops, all disbelief, no butter!
November 10, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Oops, all disbelief, no butter!
adjacent to this is the mistaken belief that investors giving you money is proof that your idea is good or that you know what you are doing
investors know less than you do. (if they knew more, they would be able to start the company themselves)
investors know less than you do. (if they knew more, they would be able to start the company themselves)
a lot of early startups make (what is in my opinion) the mistake of thinking that money raised is more like revenue than debt
if you raise $X million for 20% of your company, that is because your investor expects your company to be worth no less than 5 × $X million in the next round
if you raise $X million for 20% of your company, that is because your investor expects your company to be worth no less than 5 × $X million in the next round
November 8, 2025 at 12:13 AM
adjacent to this is the mistaken belief that investors giving you money is proof that your idea is good or that you know what you are doing
investors know less than you do. (if they knew more, they would be able to start the company themselves)
investors know less than you do. (if they knew more, they would be able to start the company themselves)
a lot of early startups make (what is in my opinion) the mistake of thinking that money raised is more like revenue than debt
if you raise $X million for 20% of your company, that is because your investor expects your company to be worth no less than 5 × $X million in the next round
if you raise $X million for 20% of your company, that is because your investor expects your company to be worth no less than 5 × $X million in the next round
November 7, 2025 at 7:54 PM
a lot of early startups make (what is in my opinion) the mistake of thinking that money raised is more like revenue than debt
if you raise $X million for 20% of your company, that is because your investor expects your company to be worth no less than 5 × $X million in the next round
if you raise $X million for 20% of your company, that is because your investor expects your company to be worth no less than 5 × $X million in the next round
there is danger that the local simcluster will break containment
(this would be fun for about five seconds before the good thing is ruined)
(this would be fun for about five seconds before the good thing is ruined)
November 5, 2025 at 9:19 PM
there is danger that the local simcluster will break containment
(this would be fun for about five seconds before the good thing is ruined)
(this would be fun for about five seconds before the good thing is ruined)
I am founding a new startup. mixed nuts. in space.
nuts are 10x cheaper in space.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtaW...
nuts are 10x cheaper in space.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtaW...
Mixed Nuts in Space
YouTube video by Canadian Space Agency
www.youtube.com
November 3, 2025 at 7:32 PM
I am founding a new startup. mixed nuts. in space.
nuts are 10x cheaper in space.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtaW...
nuts are 10x cheaper in space.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtaW...
I usually drink decaf coffee, and I'm spoiled by the good coffee places near me because their decaf tastes identical to regular (delicious)
but today I went somewhere else and I think instead of decaf it was d̶͓͉̈́͂ĕ̷̟̓c̵͍̤̄̀a̵͈̖̍͐f̶̡̉͠
but today I went somewhere else and I think instead of decaf it was d̶͓͉̈́͂ĕ̷̟̓c̵͍̤̄̀a̵͈̖̍͐f̶̡̉͠
November 3, 2025 at 6:23 PM
I usually drink decaf coffee, and I'm spoiled by the good coffee places near me because their decaf tastes identical to regular (delicious)
but today I went somewhere else and I think instead of decaf it was d̶͓͉̈́͂ĕ̷̟̓c̵͍̤̄̀a̵͈̖̍͐f̶̡̉͠
but today I went somewhere else and I think instead of decaf it was d̶͓͉̈́͂ĕ̷̟̓c̵͍̤̄̀a̵͈̖̍͐f̶̡̉͠
the concept and purpose of personal identity is to delineate which mind-instantiations at different places and times can be considered agents that are goal-aligned game-theoretic cooperators
thus the statement below translates to "if future mind doesn't satisfy X, it is a defector"
thus the statement below translates to "if future mind doesn't satisfy X, it is a defector"
I will always love my wife and my partner.
I don’t believe this as an article of faith, but as an axiom. A version of me that doesn’t love the people I love, will not be me. I decline to identify with that hypothetical person.
I don’t believe this as an article of faith, but as an axiom. A version of me that doesn’t love the people I love, will not be me. I decline to identify with that hypothetical person.
November 1, 2025 at 7:24 AM
the concept and purpose of personal identity is to delineate which mind-instantiations at different places and times can be considered agents that are goal-aligned game-theoretic cooperators
thus the statement below translates to "if future mind doesn't satisfy X, it is a defector"
thus the statement below translates to "if future mind doesn't satisfy X, it is a defector"
[evil vizier voice] You're absolutely right—that's an excellent idea!
November 1, 2025 at 3:51 AM
[evil vizier voice] You're absolutely right—that's an excellent idea!
these are all the same guy
November 1, 2025 at 2:30 AM
these are all the same guy
Reposted by tbabb
chinese roomba
October 29, 2025 at 11:47 PM
chinese roomba
this is true, and also not the only way. you could build a low-capability robot that operates and learns in a limited (and low-stakes) domain, and refine its learning architecture while also building its world knowledge. then progressively assign it to more and more complex physical tasks
My contrarian take on Neo is that "we expand our corpus of tasks the robot can do by having a human contractor do them until we have a system that won't destroy stuff in the process of learning" is a completely reasonable business model to bootstrap the technology.
October 29, 2025 at 10:11 PM
this is true, and also not the only way. you could build a low-capability robot that operates and learns in a limited (and low-stakes) domain, and refine its learning architecture while also building its world knowledge. then progressively assign it to more and more complex physical tasks
this prompt yielded results that were thematically on point but stylistically off, sadly
October 29, 2025 at 8:57 PM
this prompt yielded results that were thematically on point but stylistically off, sadly
if you can do arithmetic like:
(number of people who might buy your product) * (value of your product to each person - cost to provide the product)
you have surpassed many founders who have raised hundreds of millions of dollars
(number of people who might buy your product) * (value of your product to each person - cost to provide the product)
you have surpassed many founders who have raised hundreds of millions of dollars
October 28, 2025 at 12:25 AM
if you can do arithmetic like:
(number of people who might buy your product) * (value of your product to each person - cost to provide the product)
you have surpassed many founders who have raised hundreds of millions of dollars
(number of people who might buy your product) * (value of your product to each person - cost to provide the product)
you have surpassed many founders who have raised hundreds of millions of dollars
Reflect Orbital is one of those things that's so dumb I don't know whether to feel bad for the people who invest in them, or feel schadenfreude
this will never happen or be economically viable. each mirror acts as a pinhole aperture which projects a finite size image of the sun (several km, iirc) which is very dim
you would need several square km in leo all reflecting the sun _at once_ on a single spot to get daylight
you would need several square km in leo all reflecting the sun _at once_ on a single spot to get daylight
October 28, 2025 at 12:01 AM
Reflect Orbital is one of those things that's so dumb I don't know whether to feel bad for the people who invest in them, or feel schadenfreude
