http://www.idkfa.com/v3 idkfa: syndicated http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=2343&msg_id=2427 More just to confirm that I'm not the only person concerned with how computers are portrayed in popular culture. An article, with pictures, about the guy who was involved with the "computer-y" special effects in Tron: Legacy. And I can vouch: I do use some of the things shown in the movie during my day-to-day. kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) Language; Literature; Writing Tue, 05 Apr 2011 03:08:50 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=2343&msg_id=2427 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=2343&msg_id=2363 Other wise go with the "hey does this smell like chloroform to you?" and BAM get that bitch pregnant! Not that I condone date rape but bitches love babies and soon forget all about it. MrFood@idkfa.com (MrFood) Language; Literature; Writing Tue, 29 Mar 2011 21:50:49 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=2343&msg_id=2363 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=2343&msg_id=2362 Eventually, this obsession with projects is going to turn into a plot from The Outer Limits. Hopefully the one with the nanobots. Scrotor@idkfa.com (Scrotor) Language; Literature; Writing Tue, 29 Mar 2011 16:15:48 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=2343&msg_id=2362 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=2343&msg_id=2361 Do you think a majority of your time with friends is wasted time? Not the case at all. It's time I value immensely. But it's also time that, as the trends in the article mention (being increasingly obsessive and single-minded about my projects, etc.), it becomes more and more difficult to make such time. Which may sound bizarre: I get out of the house (sometimes), or have folks over (sometimes), or I go out and do things, with people, no less. What's changed/changing is that it's rare now that I seek such things without external prompting. Given any significant amount of free time I have, I find myself cozily nestled/chained into projects, and even in breaking away from these projects they're often about all I can think about. It's only in things that are highly regimented, strictly scheduled, and arbitrarily controlled that I actively (as opposed to passively) participate in a social setting (see: Ultimate Frisbee, Weekly Movie Night, idkfa, etc.). My apology you quoted above to friends, dates, and barfolk isn't because I feel that I am wasting my time in interacting with them. My apology is for what I described in the article: my inability to understand a series of key concepts with regards to dealing with other people. People trying to interact in regards to these concepts are met with confusion, pessimism, derision, or just plain rudeness. And that's not something that should be excused. And as for omitting other redeeming qualities: In describing this misunderstanding, I may have made myself sound like a robot, but not to the degree that I'm misrepresenting myself (I'm a programmer, after all). And yes, my objective was to describe this trend, and to tell a story, and show people what code looked like, and as so, skipped the parts where I describe my other properties that aren't relevant to my misunderstanding. I was trying to keep it below 5000 words. kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) Language; Literature; Writing Tue, 29 Mar 2011 15:34:56 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=2343&msg_id=2361 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=2343&msg_id=2359 Oh, John, you have such high requirements of us friends. Can't we all just hate the time we spend with one another? ;) Scrotor@idkfa.com (Scrotor) Language; Literature; Writing Tue, 29 Mar 2011 14:42:46 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=2343&msg_id=2359 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=2343&msg_id=2358 Just got done reading the latest article. Interesting stuff. I'm not asking this because I'm offended, but the article does bring about a theme (of which there are many) I'm interested in exploring: Do you think a majority of your time with friends is wasted time? The older I get, and the less beholden I am to social, familial, and professional obligations, I find that I am slowly becoming more like the ‘nerd’ that the author describes. I’m sorry, friends, blind dates, even you, random girl at a bar. Your time may be better spent elsewhere. I just don’t understand. I'll be honest, I'm not buying it. I think in your article you have left out a variety of key points surrounding your personality to enhance the ones that you value the most at the time of writing the article. You don't mention the amount of time spent with friends, the conversations had between them, the several instances of going out of your way due to the feelings of others. My guess is you don't mention them because it would take away from your objective. As I said, interesting stuff. Johnny@idkfa.com (Johnny) Language; Literature; Writing Tue, 29 Mar 2011 14:34:16 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=2343&msg_id=2358 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=2343&msg_id=2357 Well, my main point is you can't say it sucks for you unless you try it. Then again, my arguing assumes you would like some kind of companionship? So maybe we can stop now. Also, I happened on a study from 2005. Says that chatting/emailing before actual dating increase the chance of further dates. But even more than that, gifts seem to work. Oh, women. Scrotor@idkfa.com (Scrotor) Language; Literature; Writing Tue, 29 Mar 2011 00:42:40 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=2343&msg_id=2357 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=2343&msg_id=2356 Hmmm I suppose that was a little presumptuous of me, I'll concede that. But I would certainly say that it is a class of people that are on these websites. Also: is it expensive? I really have no idea how much it costs. Scrotor@idkfa.com (Scrotor) Language; Literature; Writing Tue, 29 Mar 2011 00:04:33 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=2343&msg_id=2356 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=2343&msg_id=2355 I was being a bit facetious on the "sophisticated heuristics" part. And I don't live alone. I have plants. You've met them. Here's more of what I mean. When they're doing comparisons, they're looking for similarities (with the same error-ridden N-dimensional similarity methods I was citing earlier). Upon finding similarities, they look at trending statistics (Human1.propertyX AND Human2.propertyZ imply SUCCESS with N% confidence level). They find these trends based on their previously determined relationship success data, but with anything statistical, it's only to some degree of confidence. But here's where it bugs me a bit. The things they trend for isn't necessarily "SUCCESS." Not only can they rarely define such a thing (What constitutes a successful relationship? Weeks? Months? Marriage? etc.), but it's super hard to say whether people will be giving them accurate data after the fact. Instead, the sites I've (briefly) looked at were trending/matching on "compatibility." Which sounds great in an advertisement, but what basis "compatibility" is determined from is never really revealed. Maybe their process is reviewed by professional psychologists. Maybe by professional relationship counselors. Or somebody who would have any relevant knowledge on the subject. But if you're competing for the repeated business of lonely people, it's not necessarily in your best interest to generate successful relationships. And I bet a doctor's consulting fees are far greater than those of a programmer, or statistician. EDIT: I have also yet to see proof that geographic proximity isn't a better contributing factor than anything the dating cites trend on. kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) Language; Literature; Writing Mon, 28 Mar 2011 20:49:18 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=2343&msg_id=2355 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=2343&msg_id=2354 Confirmation bias. While the money invested might not always be a worthwhile investment (6 months might be a bit premature drop dead date, but not unreasonable), statistically it might be worth trying rather than reluctantly admitting defeat beforehand. Give it a whirl, Josh, I'd do the same if I didn't hoodwink drug convince Kristen to marry me. Green Man@idkfa.com (Green Man) Language; Literature; Writing Mon, 28 Mar 2011 20:20:12 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=2343&msg_id=2354 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=2343&msg_id=2353 Having done a little bit of online dating, I don't think most users consider themselves socially inept, or could even be called socially inept. I think my poor experience in the online dating world is due to the fact that I was matched with only a total of 4 people across 2 different sites in a span of 6 months. A little disheartening, especially since I met with two of them and it obviously didn't go anywhere. Save your money, J-Rho. Don't do online dating. kitacek@idkfa.com (kitacek) Language; Literature; Writing Mon, 28 Mar 2011 20:08:26 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=2343&msg_id=2353 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=2343&msg_id=2352 "I just have zero confidence in said algorithms." So, you're essentially throwing away all evidence to the contrary, then? It seems like you're saying, "I can see that these websites work. But they won't work for me. Because, although I admit that they have very advanced algorithms for matching people that seem to work, I am an outlier totally alien to their systems. They can never match me, I am the most unique of all humans!" One thing you might want to factor into your analysis is that most people that use these dating websites probably describe themselves as socially inept (like yourself - no offense). Otherwise they would go out into the real world to talk to people. Also, in another appeal to your rational side, you are working off of an incredibly small dataset for this entire conversation. I honestly don't know why I'm arguing with you on this. Maybe it's because I hate to see my friends resign to failure with no reason to do so. We might all die alone, but no one should live alone. Scrotor@idkfa.com (Scrotor) Language; Literature; Writing Mon, 28 Mar 2011 20:01:59 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=2343&msg_id=2352 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=2343&msg_id=2351 Yeah, well, you're a silly way to think about the issue. I don't doubt they've got sophisticated heuristics based on millions of data points, well-anchored in practical reality. I just have zero confidence in said algorithms. You also know well enough that I hate having to rate things numerically (How many stars, Josh? Just answer how many goddamn stars?), where this kind of thing should be right up my alley. I'm fairly certain the same applies here. Also, you have to give them money. kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) Language; Literature; Writing Mon, 28 Mar 2011 18:41:15 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=2343&msg_id=2351 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=2343&msg_id=2350 Well said, good sir. I, however, hope that Josh doesn't find a neckbearded ladyfriend. Scrotor@idkfa.com (Scrotor) Language; Literature; Writing Mon, 28 Mar 2011 18:06:52 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=2343&msg_id=2350 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=2343&msg_id=2348 What about those dating services that work on the idea that we find compatibility using physical features. Where two compatible people often have similar features. Maybe there is a neckbearded lady out there waiting for you, which might actually be depressing. Or perhaps a lady with awkward social skills and a utilitarian type of haircut and wears whatever glasses happened to match her budget at the time. If nothing else the the first part of the angels comic may hold truth. Accepting that you don't need to understand attraction or emotional connection to maintain a relationship. And perhaps the willingness to accept attraction may exist towards you, regardless of frequency. MrFood@idkfa.com (MrFood) Language; Literature; Writing Mon, 28 Mar 2011 16:17:29 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=2343&msg_id=2348 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=2343&msg_id=2347 That's a silly way to think about the issue. Of course, the error in every measurement is compounded by errors in any related measurement, but these aren't really measurements we're talking about; they're opinions. There is no error in opinions. It would be crazy to judge someone based solely on one factor of their entire existence. Sure, the more metrics you have, the more complex the matching is going to be; but then again, these people have made their lives out of looking at success rates and making connections (I would imagine not solely based on similarity). Theoretically, you might be right; but theory is oftentimes hard to match to practical reality. Scrotor@idkfa.com (Scrotor) Language; Literature; Writing Mon, 28 Mar 2011 15:41:53 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=2343&msg_id=2347 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=2343&msg_id=2346 Eh, I made the mistake of taking a data mining course in college. They taught us the "problem of dimensionality," such that given an N-dimensional data set, doing comparison between two points on an N-dimensional space is less and less accurate or meaningful the greater number of N dimensions you have. So when I hear "based on hundreds of points of criteria" as a marketing ploy for a dating site, I hear increasing rate of error in determining similarity between two data points. But, you know, I hear they work for other people. kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) Language; Literature; Writing Mon, 28 Mar 2011 13:53:58 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=2343&msg_id=2346 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=2343&msg_id=2344 Well, that is lengthy. And depressing at length, at that. I'm somewhat surprised you haven't turned to online dating. It seems like a system you could appreciate: matching people based on similarity in a set of parameters. Well, maybe not surprised, because I guess that would take longing, which you seem to not have? I'm unsure. I wouldn't lose all hope, though. I mean, I don't really understand women, I just hate them. And that seems to work. Scrotor@idkfa.com (Scrotor) Language; Literature; Writing Mon, 28 Mar 2011 13:17:37 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=2343&msg_id=2344 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=2343&msg_id=2343 New Escape Characters article, "Project Management", Mar 28, 2011. Much... much longer than I was planning. But maybe makes up for the fact that I didn't write anything in February. kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) Language; Literature; Writing Mon, 28 Mar 2011 04:16:27 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=2343&msg_id=2343