Hacker News: Sporktacular

New comment by Sporktacular in "Sarvam 105B, the first competitive Indian open source LLM"

Sporktacular — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 15:00:38 +0000

I'd guess making this a national pride thing will just make it less diverse. Answer would be training models on broader sources, not more nationalistic models.

New comment by Sporktacular in "Homeland Security Spying on Reddit Users"

Sporktacular — Sun, 08 Feb 2026 04:58:52 +0000

This was an inevitable step for a surveillance state. Technology will consolidate the position of the leaders while making organised resistance impossible.

Bummer.

New comment by Sporktacular in "The Going Dark initiative or ProtectEU is a Chat Control 3.0 attempt"

Sporktacular — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 15:36:07 +0000

What's to explain? Seeing gay porn doesn't increase the number of gay people but can let gay people feel less abnormal. If cause equaled normalisation they would be synonymous.

New comment by Sporktacular in "Trump says Venezuela’s Maduro captured after strikes"

Sporktacular — Sun, 04 Jan 2026 12:04:09 +0000

Only because no one is presenting both options to the public as a choice - cheap gas but you'll screw up dozens of countries and create insecurity for your kids. They would be less likely to want that if they understood the tradeoff. Let's be clear, this choice was made by rich people who'll make a lot more money from it, and they won't be the ones bearing the costs. So this isn't on Americans' greed, just their ignorance.

New comment by Sporktacular in "Trump says Venezuela’s Maduro captured after strikes"

Sporktacular — Sun, 04 Jan 2026 11:50:56 +0000

24 hours and no zionists complaining about how this is not tech news/flagging the post.

Thank you, I guess, for allowing the rest of us to talk about whatever we want.

New comment by Sporktacular in "Trump says Venezuela’s Maduro captured after strikes"

Sporktacular — Sun, 04 Jan 2026 11:42:28 +0000

So true. I think everyone should remember exactly that anytime a MAGA tribesman uses the language of reason and compassion to gain an air of respectability. They have no concern for truth or ethics and don't deserve the legitimacy of respectful discourse. Identify it early, call them out on it, smash their hollow arguments and show everyone how little respect it earns. Reason's due for a comeback.

New comment by Sporktacular in "Trump says Venezuela’s Maduro captured after strikes"

Sporktacular — Sat, 03 Jan 2026 16:44:33 +0000

Not when you're claming the moral high ground and all you have is guesswork.

New comment by Sporktacular in "Trump says Venezuela’s Maduro captured after strikes"

Sporktacular — Sat, 03 Jan 2026 16:23:32 +0000

It's not about what should be the case. It IS the case. If we should decide to change that it won't work if one government unilaterally decides who stays or who goes for obvious reasons. Last month we saw Trump prostrate himself before MBS, who is apparently totally legitimate.

New comment by Sporktacular in "Trump says Venezuela’s Maduro captured after strikes"

Sporktacular — Sat, 03 Jan 2026 16:14:40 +0000

"US will be ‘strongly involved’ in Venezuela oil industry, Trump says after Caracas attacked and Maduro captured"

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/jan/03/caracas-e...

Yes, US foreign policy is connected to oil. It's not just about control but price.

New comment by Sporktacular in "Trump says Venezuela’s Maduro captured after strikes"

Sporktacular — Sat, 03 Jan 2026 16:07:52 +0000

No Interpol or ICC warrant, no answer to sovereignty or jurisdictional issues, no justified claim of extraterritoriality.

Can't we call a kidnapping what it is?

New comment by Sporktacular in "Trump says Venezuela’s Maduro captured after strikes"

Sporktacular — Sat, 03 Jan 2026 15:41:27 +0000

"That interference has overwhelmingly turned out well."

What an absurd thing to say. The US doesn't only overthrow dictatorships - it supports them too, as it suits its self-interest. Why not include the US interference when it SUPPORTED Hussein and later changed its mind - still think "interference turns out well" after backing a genocidal monster, supporting his invasion of a neighbour, invading twice and related deaths of 400 000 people?

Countries stabilise over time, that's what their people make happen. You ignore Indonesia, Iran, El Salvador, Nicaragua and dozens of disaster of US imperialism but give credit to the US when their populations rebuild them.

The US has done some positive things but they're the convenient accidents you've cherry picked to make your point.

New comment by Sporktacular in "On privacy and control"

Sporktacular — Thu, 01 Jan 2026 05:45:14 +0000

"I don't need to care about privacy because I have nothing to hide."

One counter is "since I've done nothing wrong, you have not need to care about what I hide". Both make assumptions, the difference is about who is trusted. Why should it be the authorities.

New comment by Sporktacular in "Resistance training load does not determine hypertrophy"

Sporktacular — Thu, 01 Jan 2026 01:00:21 +0000

So resistance is futile?

New comment by Sporktacular in "The Going Dark initiative or ProtectEU is a Chat Control 3.0 attempt"

Sporktacular — Fri, 26 Dec 2025 13:37:37 +0000

Ah yes, the gateway drug straw man. Poster didn't say it causes that consequence, just that it normalises it. Just like video games normalise violence, gay porn normalises being gay etc. Doesn't mean it should be banned, but it does shift the winds about what is acceptable. And that is a worthy discussion when it comes to images of child exploitation.

New comment by Sporktacular in "Pebble Index 01 – External memory for your brain"

Sporktacular — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 16:01:26 +0000

Some harsh comments here. The idea is interesting and the miniaturisation impressive. Successful or not, it's good to see these ideas realised.

New comment by Sporktacular in "US 'Homeland Security' Twitter account seemingly run from Israel"

Sporktacular — Mon, 24 Nov 2025 14:46:27 +0000

Why is this flagged now? It's been 15 minutes. Is this a Hasbara thing again?

New comment by Sporktacular in "A new book about the origins of Effective Altruism"

Sporktacular — Sun, 23 Nov 2025 01:59:19 +0000

So donate to unsexy causes instead. What's that got to do with EA?

New comment by Sporktacular in "A new book about the origins of Effective Altruism"

Sporktacular — Sun, 23 Nov 2025 01:57:07 +0000

It just doesn't. It's about how to make the most from altruism. It's got nothing to do with predictions. If you make enough to pay some people to work in a soup kitchen, don't quit your job to make soup. It's nothing more.

New comment by Sporktacular in "A new book about the origins of Effective Altruism"

Sporktacular — Sun, 23 Nov 2025 01:50:24 +0000

What reasons do you have to assume EA = SBF?

New comment by Sporktacular in "A new book about the origins of Effective Altruism"

Sporktacular — Sun, 23 Nov 2025 01:48:45 +0000

If you can afford to hire 10 people to do it then they'll probably be able to do more good than just you. That sounds like a more efficient allocation of effort and resources.