this post was submitted on 28 Sep 2025
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Big brain tech dude got yet another clueless take over at HackerNews etc? Here's the place to vent. Orange site, VC foolishness, all welcome.

This is not debate club. Unless it’s amusing debate.

For actually-good tech, you want our NotAwfulTech community

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Want to wade into the sandy surf of the abyss? Have a sneer percolating in your system but not enough time/energy to make a whole post about it? Go forth and be mid: Welcome to the Stubsack, your first port of call for learning fresh Awful you’ll near-instantly regret.

Any awful.systems sub may be subsneered in this subthread, techtakes or no.

If your sneer seems higher quality than you thought, feel free to cut’n’paste it into its own post — there’s no quota for posting and the bar really isn’t that high.

The post Xitter web has spawned soo many “esoteric” right wing freaks, but there’s no appropriate sneer-space for them. I’m talking redscare-ish, reality challenged “culture critics” who write about everything but understand nothing. I’m talking about reply-guys who make the same 6 tweets about the same 3 subjects. They’re inescapable at this point, yet I don’t see them mocked (as much as they should be)

Like, there was one dude a while back who insisted that women couldn’t be surgeons because they didn’t believe in the moon or in stars? I think each and every one of these guys is uniquely fucked up and if I can’t escape them, I would love to sneer at them.

(Credit and/or blame to David Gerard for starting this.)

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[–] swlabr@awful.systems 13 points 2 days ago (7 children)
[–] bitofhope@awful.systems 4 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago) (1 children)

Is this true for everything else, too? I will be a true AGI if I solve quantum gravity. A half eaten salami will be true AGI if it solves quantum gravity. My grandmother will be a true bicycle if she has wheels.

[–] swlabr@awful.systems 4 points 13 hours ago

If saltman knew what quantum gravity was and why LLMs won’t solve it first, maybe he’d have general intelligence

[–] fullsquare@awful.systems 3 points 17 hours ago (2 children)

wait, how much compute would they need for this, ignore patent absurdity of it all for a minute? would they wrap it up under 1 quadrillion dollars?

[–] bitofhope@awful.systems 4 points 14 hours ago

If we knew that we wouldn't need a GPT-8 to solve quantum gravity, would we now?

[–] swlabr@awful.systems 4 points 14 hours ago

maybe 2, for good measure

[–] blakestacey@awful.systems 17 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

On top of everything else, "the father of quantum computing" is such lazy writing. People were thinking about it before Deutsch, going back at least to Paul Benioff in 1979. Charlie Bennett and Giles Brassard's proposal for quantum key distribution predates Deutsch's quantum Turing machine... No one person should be called "the father of" a subject that had so many crucial contributors in such a short period of time.

Also, chalk up another win for the "billionaires want you to think they are physicists" hypothesis. It's perhaps not as dependable as pedocon theory, but it's putting in a strong showing.

Pigs will be a true method of space exploration if they can fly to Mars in 1 hour.

[–] Architeuthis@awful.systems 10 points 1 day ago

the father of quantum computing agrees

And then you read the article and he is basically just saying big if true.

[–] istewart@awful.systems 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

GPT-8: The Ocho

Now trained with comprehensive coverage of top-fuel lawnmower racing and timbersports

[–] swlabr@awful.systems 7 points 1 day ago

I hear GPT-8 will broadcast a dyson sphere circumnavigation race

[–] Soyweiser@awful.systems 4 points 1 day ago

So as historically new versions are made about every ~2 years. This means we are 6 years out.