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.

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.

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.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-025-01512-0

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.

Yeah, I’m here for a reason. It takes a lot of blocking/filtering too. But the reason I am here is my desire for “algorithmic complacency”. I like to spend some time mentally wandering.

I’m so glad this was algorithmically recommended. Thanks lemmings!

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.

Once you put something out into the world, it’s no longer yours really.

-Bandit Heeler

I have a better idea. Define piracy as profiting off of the creative work of another without compensation. Piracy for personal use is theft only in the amount it was offered for sale. For torrenting it could be argued you have stolen 1 copy plus your seed ratio. However, lots of content isn’t even available for legal purchase, only subscription for viewing. Owning a copy of this content is not piracy because it did not interfere with the sale of the item (since it’s not offered for sale). Therefore, an act of media preservation is theft by this definition, but the amount or value of that theft is $0, because it’s not currently offered for sale.

I did not. Foolishly I got rid of my balance board after some years of no use.

If you can find an old working Wii Fit Balance Board you can use it as a very accurate Bluetooth scale.

I have two TP-Link EAP610, one EAP245, and one EAP615-Wall. The Omada controller runs on my home server in an LXC. Three of the units are powered by PoE, and the garage one is meshed in. I needed three in my house because the walls have chicken wire in them which blocks and reflects WiFi. It took some trail and error to get the WAPs in suitable locations. The main one in the basement is under a wall, such that it has line of sight into 5 rooms of the house. I used iPerf to test performance at the edges of each room, until I could get at least 300 Mbit reliably. That was the only way I could ensure that I was getting a direct signal and not a reflection off a wall.

My approach also plants the seed of reason in the jurors who have already been selected. They may ignore jury nullification, but an open discussion of whether or not just laws need to be enforced never hurts.

Yeah but I also didn’t really want to be on the jury that much. And I didn’t get called up anyway.