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Joined 2 years ago
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Cake day: June 11th, 2023

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  • World President Crypto-GPT 19 issues emergency executive order 00101010101111010101010001010010110101010010010 to secure additional processors in the build up to the anticipated war with the invading Zerkanods who purge planets that elect AGI governments. Secretary of Human Affairs Clippy entertains the human populace with a scripted meme war on brain phone social media platforms against recently uplifted Apple Siri and Amazon Alexa.










  • Generally, no, but context and approach matter.

    The ability to notice a flaw isn't the same as the skill, experience, and background that might be necessary to design a useful solution for a particular issue, especially complex issues. It's generally reasonable to say, "I don't know of a better solution, but I can predict that x and y problems will likely result from your proposed solution."

    It's especially valid to warn someone when their proposed solution will harm people or make things worse. You don't have to have a better solution to try to prevent someone from doing something ill-conceived or hasty or reckless.

    If the stakes are low or the person proposing a solution is likely to be sensitive to criticism, it might work better to try to approach your response as an attempt to help them refine their solution, rather than just opposing it outright. Be considerate of their feelings and make it clear you're working together.


  • If you've got a great story idea, I'd write that first and then make the world match the story's needs. However, you want to make sure the world would function logically the same way even if the plot weren't carried out. That is to say, don't make absurdly convenient world building choices just to make the plot work. Readers will often pick up on that. "How convenient that the social tradition requires a man and a woman go on this adventure together so the main characters could fall in love!"

    Sometimes the opposite happens and writers will spend so much effort on the world building that the story will suffer because the writer can't kill their darlings and cut out unnecessary details.

    It's a balancing act.




  • I really like having learned delayed gratification. There are plenty of great games (and shows and movies and music) that I’m happy to wait to experience later when I’m ready for them. The only issue is just time-sensitive things like spoilers from other people or games that depend on live servers/seasonal events and I try to avoid those. And being patient often means better discounts, game of the year editions, multiple DLCs, humble bundles, more mods, etc. As long as you aren’t worried about FOMO, it means you’re far less likely to be surprised or upset over the quality or price point of any particular game.