Your pet peeve, technical or otherwise.

[TimFox]

“30% more power” is not inherently absurd.
There may be a footnote in breviary font saying “than our previous battery” or similar.
For theater cooling, “20 degrees cooler inside” is obvious to the patrons, since thermometers were ubiquitous then.
(Incidentally, there is a common rule-of-thumb that a difference of 20 F^o lower than the outside temperature is a reasonable limit for air conditioning.)

[Siwastaja]

I'm sure that doesn't preclude the possibility of some marketing genius somewhere claiming "20% cooler". Those idiots always seem to misuse the concept of proportion. "30% more power": more power than what?

Oh, idiots parroting each other would easily mix up degrees and percents. I mean, a few year ago a trendy idiot parroting topic was the "we must stop climate change now to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees". That magic number 1.5 was repeated in many forms and contexts, and politicians trying to collect points from their assumed voters often and easily made that into 1.5 percents, well demonstrating that they had no idea whatsoever what they are talking about, just parroting the words, and getting some wrong.

Now everyone have forgotten this 1.5 degrees/percents/whatever thing completely. I think we missed that goal.

[TimFox]

I'm sure that doesn't preclude the possibility of some marketing genius somewhere claiming "20% cooler". Those idiots always seem to misuse the concept of proportion. "30% more power": more power than what?

Oh, idiots parroting each other would easily mix up degrees and percents. I mean, a few year ago a trendy idiot parroting topic was the "we must stop climate change now to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees". That magic number 1.5 was repeated in many forms and contexts, and politicians trying to collect points from their assumed voters often and easily made that into 1.5 percents, well demonstrating that they had no idea whatsoever what they are talking about, just parroting the words, and getting some wrong.

Now everyone have forgotten this 1.5 degrees/percents/whatever thing completely. I think we missed that goal.

Yesterday, the news reported that the previous year set a new record for average temperature and mentioned the 1.5 degree warming, so it’s not forgotten.
My favorite example of ignorance in reporting is a mention of “2^o C” as a dangerous warming level, which the writer went to the internet for guidance and translated that into “35.6^o F”.  I think we all, despite our political view of science, can agree that an increase in average temperature of 35.6 F^o would be uncomfortable.

[metrologist]

Yesterday, the news reported that the previous year set a new record for average temperature and mentioned the 1.5 degree warming, so it’s not forgotten.
My favorite example of ignorance in reporting is a mention of “2^o C” as a dangerous warming level, which the writer went to the internet for guidance and translated that into “35.6^o F”.  I think we all, despite our political view of science, can agree that an increase in average temperature of 35.6 F^o would be uncomfortable.

Shirly that came from the Onion?

[flipper]

Okay, here’s one:


… the word “quirky”.

I am unable to sufficiently articulate the gravity of my disdain of this done-to-death, cringe-inducing word. It’s a go-to metatag to, apparently, attribute extreme originality to a person or thing.

Yuck. Stop it. Whilst you’re about it, you can erase “vintage” and “retro” from your minds, too. 😩😏

[Analog Kid]

Yepper.

We should come up with a list of words (and phrases) that oughta be lined up against a wall and shot.
Things like, oh, I don't know, "lean into", "optics" (used as a synonym for "appearance"), "pivot" (to describe a change in policy).

The infuriating thing about all these is how mindlessly the chatterati glom onto them and never let go; one media outlet starts using a word or phrase and the next thing you know, bam! they're all locked onto it like phasers on Star Trek.

[flipper]

Yepper.

We should come up with a list of words (and phrases) that oughta be lined up against a wall and shot.
Things like, oh, I don't know, "lean into", "optics" (used as a synonym for "appearance"), "pivot" (to describe a change in policy).

The infuriating thing about all these is how mindlessly the chatterati glom onto them and never let go; one media outlet starts using a word or phrase and the next thing you know, bam! they're all locked onto it like phasers on Star Trek.

Let’s work on “moving forward”, shall we?

🤨😜🤣

[Analog Kid]

Let’s work on “moving forward”, shall we?

Heh. Translation: "Without using a time machine, let's ...".

[flipper]

Let’s work on “moving forward”, shall we?

Heh. Translation: "Without using a time machine, let's ...".

If I ever need to “reach out” to someone, it’ll likely be to throttle them for saying it. 😆

[flipper]

Oh, I have another peeve:

Whoever makes “ChatGPT” AI, I think they need to go back to the drawing board:

I asked it to recommend some documentaries for a subject, it rattled off four titles, so I Googled one of them and it came back with nothing.

I then asked ChatGPT “Are you sure this documentary actually exists?” and it replied “You’re right to question my information, and you’re correct - that documentary doesn’t exist.”

WHAT?! What a lunatic load of utter horse dung 😆😂

[Analog Kid]

Read up on AI "hallucinations"* if you haven't already.

* AKA making shit up.

[Circlotron]

The infuriating thing about all these is how mindlessly the chatterati glom onto them and never let go; one media outlet starts using a word or phrase and the next thing you know, bam! they're all locked onto it like phasers on Star Trek.

Amen to that. When 9/11 was current, so many of the news media outlets couldn't stop using the phrase "ground zero".

[PlainName]

the chatterati glom onto

Glass house alert 

[paulca]

https://www.redbubble.com/shop/20+percent+cooler+t-shirts

[TimFox]

https://www.redbubble.com/shop/20+percent+cooler+t-shirts

Yes, T-shirts are an authoritative reference.

[PlainName]

Those are all fakes. If you look at the creases in the t-shirts they are all the same for the girl, and all the same for the boy. But the text or whatever looks like it follows the creases appropriately, which it wouldn't do if it were photoshopped. So I am hazarding a guess that those are all AI visualisations, and the t-shirts won't really exist until someone buys one.

[Analog Kid]

https://www.redbubble.com/shop/20+percent+cooler+t-shirts

Yes, T-shirts are an authoritative reference.

Well, considering the meaning of those shirts--"cool" here obviously means something other than temperature--I think we can safely say, like that cartoon character, "it's a - a - a - it's a joke, son". So authoritative authorischmative.

[Xena E]

Let’s work on “moving forward”, shall we?

Heh. Translation: "Without using a time machine, let's ...".

If I ever need to “reach out” to someone, it’ll likely be to throttle them for saying it. 😆

Here's a list of corporate jargon that should get the user summarily executed:-

Bleeding edge technology.

Build a better mousetrap.

Being told to drink the Kool Aid.

Game changer.

Line up the ducks.

Project experiencing some headwind.

Paradigm shift.

Run it up the flagpole.

Touch base.

Think outside the box.

X

[flipper]

Read up on AI "hallucinations"* if you haven't already.

* AKA making shit up.

Sounds more like artificial stupidity to me, and we don’t need to make a machine to generate fake information, we have the internet and the media to do that for us 🤣

Yeah, so “hallucinating” is the new word for falsehoods eh? Brilliant. Mind you, ChatGPT has written some pretty good code for me when I wanted to use an Xbox 360 USB controller to change the lights on an RGB matrix on a Pi - to describe what I want to it in plain English and have it spit the code out… well, that’s remarkable!

[PlainName]

Mind you, ChatGPT has written some pretty good code for me when I wanted to use an Xbox 360 USB controller to change the lights on an RGB matrix on a Pi - to describe what I want to it in plain English and have it spit the code out… well, that’s remarkable!

Yes, remarkable. And deeply depressing. Won't be long before writing code will be like they do repairs now: swap PCBs until it works and then it's job done. No-one actually understands what they're doing and don't have a clue how to fault-find to component level. So there will be lots of code that the authors don't understand (if, indeed, they even understand the language it's written it).

Of course, there will be a few exceptions since someone has to do the really low level shoulders that the AIs stand upon. But they won't be making the implementation decisions. Decisions such as, for instance, using some complex protocol over HTTP (because the high level implementer knows how to create websites) rather than an existing one like ftp, tftp, etc (yes, that happened to a project of mine once).

[flipper]

Mind you, ChatGPT has written some pretty good code for me when I wanted to use an Xbox 360 USB controller to change the lights on an RGB matrix on a Pi - to describe what I want to it in plain English and have it spit the code out… well, that’s remarkable!

Yes, remarkable. And deeply depressing. Won't be long before writing code will be like they do repairs now: swap PCBs until it works and then it's job done. No-one actually understands what they're doing and don't have a clue how to fault-find to component level. So there will be lots of code that the authors don't understand (if, indeed, they even understand the language it's written it).

Of course, there will be a few exceptions since someone has to do the really low level shoulders that the AIs stand upon. But they won't be making the implementation decisions. Decisions such as, for instance, using some complex protocol over HTTP (because the high level implementer knows how to create websites) rather than an existing one like ftp, tftp, etc (yes, that happened to a project of mine once).

It’s not ALL remarkable; it takes many, many attempts and me telling it off and asking for it to try again, for working code to come out. Yeah I’d rather learn how the code works, but as a quick solution for a pointless but fun toy experiment, it worked.

Never in history have we been in such a time when human ego has been SO gigantic and full of itself; ChatGPT is an example of this, and the notion that it can “replace” us or is “better” than a human mind, is lunacy in the minds of those who develop it. It’s OKAY, and answers a few questions for me, but since I have seen it make up stories MANY times, it’s more of a farce than a useful tool.

How sad that so many companies revere this garbage SO much. Another Silicon Valley fad and a fanstasy they want to FORCE to come to pass. Lunatics.

[Analog Kid]

^ Yes. Like I always say about self-driving cars, AI is a solution in search of a problem.

We don't need artificial intelligence: what's desperately needed is human intelligence.

Of course, there's one major reason for this inexorable push towards AI, and you know what it is: $$$$$. As always.

Like the internet of the 1990s, it's the new gold rush.
Weird; I typed in 5 "$" but it stripped out all but one. Why?

[PlainName]

Of course, there's one major reason for this inexorable push towards AI, and you know what it is:
$. As always.

Like the internet of the 1990s, it's the new gold rush.

That's just a later version of things that have gone on before, of which the industrial revolution was perhaps the one most people would know about. The reason we have nice things (like cars, computers, the internet, central heating, you name it) is because a way was found to churn out stuff cheaply. Take away the profit motive and progress would be slower and less, er, progressive.

The trick is to manage how money can be chased 'nicely'.

[TimFox]

https://www.redbubble.com/shop/20+percent+cooler+t-shirts

Apparently, there is a popular song of some renown, with which I am not familiar, that is probably the basis for that T-shirt.
https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=5e58293803fa23f7&q=20+percent+cooler+lyrics&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwit0MXxudCJAxWmpIkEHRdMHw0Q1QJ6BAg3EAE&biw=2176&bih=1071&dpr=1.76
Note that "cool" in those lyrics has nothing whatsoever to do with temperature, but with the updated word for "hep".

[Kim Christensen]

Like the internet of the 1990s, it's the new gold rush.

Yup... And the "2000" crash is not far away. So much money has been pumped into AI related stocks, that it's bound to come back down.