Kids these days…

But the first example does the same thing for an empty list. I guess the lesson is that if you’re measuring the speed of arbitrary stylistic syntax choices, maybe Python isn’t the best language for you.

Could also compare against:

if not len(mylist)

That way this version isn’t evaluating two functions. The bool evaluation of an integer is false when zero, otherwise true.

https://engineering.princeton.edu/news/2025/03/18/recycled-cements-drive-down-emissions-without-slacking-strength

The article mentioned Danish language children’s programs specifically. In some countries children’s shows are partially funded by the government, which if that’s the case it’s an insult to the monarchy as well.

The weather is always changing. You mean to say the climate is changing. It’s a very important distinction. And I’m not refuting what you said but I’m having a pleasant and normal feeling spring at my location.

There’s probably a lot that could be recovered from my urine. Fun fact when phosphorus was first discovered they had to boil off gallons of urine to get a useful amount, so they collected barrels of urine from mining camps.

As a former 8 year old Cub Scout, bows are incredibly hard to use. I was an excellent marksman with a rifle.

Free will comes from the “heart”, not the brain. It doesn’t fit in the materialistic view of science. Our bodies are quantum electric fields, and those fields interact. In my own experience I would say emotions or intentions don’t translate fully from video, but in person I can feel them.

Maybe if they add a quantum processor to the computer it can gain free will (disguised as random chance). But I think we have more to learn about the nature of consciousness before AGI is anywhere close to having free will.

And why is free will necessary for intelligence? New discoveries require curiosity. Scientific breakthroughs require new connections and discernment of truth. If the computer is doing research, it needs to decide when to stop looking, who to ask questions to, how far to dig, designing further experiments. Without free will you just have a big fancy encyclopedia.

The dangerous side of free will is manipulation, subversion, exploitation, deception, etc. So yeah I hope they don’t figure it out.

Free will is what sets us apart from most other animals. I would assert that many humans rarely exert their own free will. Having an interest and pursuing it is an exercise of free will. Some people are too busy surviving to do this. Curiosity and exploration are exercises of free will. Another would be helping strangers or animals - a choice bringing the individual no advantage.

You argue that wants, preferences, and beliefs are not chosen. Where do they come from? Why does one individual have those interests and not another? It doesn’t come from your parents or genes. It doesn’t come from your environment.

It’s entirely possible to choose your interests and beliefs. People change religions and careers. People abandon hobbies and find new ones. People give away their fortunes to charity.

AGI requires a few key components that no LLM is even close to.

First, it must be able to discern truth based on evidence, rather than guessing it. Can’t just throw more data at it, especially with the garbage being pumped out these days.

Second, it must ask questions in the pursuit of knowledge, especially when truth is ambiguous. Once that knowledge is found, it needs to improve itself, pruning outdated and erroneous information.

Third, it would need free will. And that’s the one it will never get, I hope. Free will is a necessary part of intelligent consciousness. I know there are some who argue it does not exist but they’re wrong.

Not really inhale-exhale, since they don’t have lungs. Kinda like when you sweat and you can feel the breeze cooling you under your arms. But instead of under your arms it would be on your neck, and instead of cooling you’d be respirating. But yes as the water moves past the gills, the blood is receiving oxygen and expelling CO2.

I worked for an “employee owned” corporation. It’s more of a tax shelter than an equitable model. The problem is they gift the executives so much stock that the amount any employee has is laughable.

Shrinking sizes is only part of it. Every ingredient/component is getting cheaper, less durable, less nutritious. Some companies try to offer higher quality but most people can’t afford it.

Yeah my microwave operates on a timer, not a clock

Hey PN Gov. Shapiro, it’s “alleged killer”. It should be a crime to speak of the presumed innocent like that.

This sounds about right to me. I was awake for 7 days without sleep, and it took about 7-9 nights of >9 hours of sleep to feel normal again.

MIT OpenCourseWare might be close enough to what you’re looking for.

https://ocw.mit.edu/

And accompanying lectures on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/user/MIT

I’m right there with you, but I don’t see a compelling reason why either should be banned.

The only person stealing is the one who circumvents the DRM and shares it. It’s not stealing to see or hear something.