Freefall

^_^ I was going to quip about Mohammed and mountains.

Side note, I was reading the comments section (one of the ones worth reading) for an article on AI research and unintended results, and there's an amusing digression into how humanity can fall under the same problem of optimizing the reward function rather than solving the problem, and it reminded me of Freefall's situation with Chimpanzees and the reward they get for following orders.

Note that this solution vs reward problem isn't exclusive to AIs. It brings to mind how schools in the US (supposedly, from what I've heard) tend to focus more on training the students to pass the standardized tests than teaching the material as best as possible, because it's what gets them funding.

It shouldn't be taken as a universal truth, but in my experience, yes, some teachers (and some entire schools) do tend towards teaching towards a test, particularly in cases where funding depends on it. The problem ultimately stems from the fact that education is frequently, on the state level, treated as a one-size-fits-all solution when it's frequently shown that many people have different methods of learning information and that different techniques work best for different students.

Going back, I'm a bit puzzled by the fact that the nuclear field has its own schedule list for drugs. That strikes me as odd (although I suppose it is an attempt to address the Unintentional Period Piece issue I've mentioned a few times). Do they also list alcohol on its schedules?

Roy keeps seeming more and more like a cameo◊. But as it is, mission accomplished.

This good news is that the safeguards recognize intent and that Florence, as an intelligent being, may better understand when it's right to bypass them◊. The bad news is that, because she's unsure, it still gives her some negative feedback to remind her to not do this too often.

Hemoponics.◊

Good call on the timing.

That's just... wow.

That's basically just factory farming. A bit more technologically advanced, I suppose, but still. A lot of people consider it animal cruelty. Unless Florence is suggesting something like a brainless lump of meat directly fed by nutrient drip, but I'm not sure "hemoponics" would be the best word in that case.

Lets just say "rivers of blood" would not be a metaphore in this case.

IOW, I assumed shes thinking about a way a carnivore could obtain their nutrients via, er, specially treated plants.

edited 30th Apr '18 5:35:28 PM by DeMarquis

“Hemoponics” makes me think of a small garden of flesh bushes which produce meat fruits and take their nourishment from IV tubes.

Now you remind me of Gaia, where one sequence had a sausage tree and a steak watermelon...

Plant calls◊.

Ecosystems make for odd bedfellows.

Realizing which family members are prone to escaping◊. This is truth, particularly as relatives get older. Knowing that Grandma Joan shouldn't be allowed to leave the house because she'll head down to her old neighborhood to sell product on the corner, or that Uncle George shouldn't be allowed anywhere near the household pets...

Also younger. Little kids tend to get lost from underfoot, sometimes on purpose.

Further adventures of Florence and Beekay.◊

You all talk so funny.

I imagine quite a few domestic dogs, regardless of whether or not they were frozen embryos, have a similar issue from Florence's perspective.

If you take any animal away from its parent too soon, it fails to develop the necessary social skills to interact with members of its species, and can be very "odd" as a result. You often find this with problematic domestic dogs and cats: they weren't socialized properly and thus don't know how to interact appropriately.

Absolutely. A dog that has never been given the opportunity to play with other dogs simply doesn't know how to deal with them.

Thats why your supposed to leave them in their litter for 8 weeks.

Tricksy dog◊...

Quick—install him on the spaceship!

Tag!◊

Heh. Cats also understand "tag".

When my cat & my parents' cat were first learning to get along, I did a lot of research on how you tell the difference between cats playing and cats fighting. One clue was "they take turns chasing each other."