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Wandering Adventure Party

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  3. Notes for Americans:

Notes for Americans:

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  • Charlie StrossC Charlie Stross

    RE: https://nomenloony.com/@nomenloony/116019280517956996

    Notes for Americans:

    1. Until 1992 you had to wire your own plugs onto new electrical appliances in the UK (they were sold without pre-molded plugs).

    2. Mains voltage is 230VAC, not 110VAC. It'll kill ya.

    3. If you follow ChatGPT's advice *YOU WILL DIE*.

    Greg Burrell :pei_flag:🦞🚴🥔I This user is from outside of this forum
    Greg Burrell :pei_flag:🦞🚴🥔I This user is from outside of this forum
    Greg Burrell :pei_flag:🦞🚴🥔
    wrote last edited by
    #213

    @cstross #3 often applies all on its own, independent of the first two.

    1 Reply Last reply
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    • Charlie StrossC Charlie Stross

      RE: https://nomenloony.com/@nomenloony/116019280517956996

      Notes for Americans:

      1. Until 1992 you had to wire your own plugs onto new electrical appliances in the UK (they were sold without pre-molded plugs).

      2. Mains voltage is 230VAC, not 110VAC. It'll kill ya.

      3. If you follow ChatGPT's advice *YOU WILL DIE*.

      Richard   WebbF This user is from outside of this forum
      Richard   WebbF This user is from outside of this forum
      Richard Webb
      wrote last edited by
      #214

      @cstross

      Imagine the bomb disposal trope. Countdown running out. Hero has to decide which wire to cut, asks a LLM
      💥 BIG💥

      Wiring a plug was part of the Standard Grade Science course in Scotland (going back a few years). Towards the end of its lifetime we were forbidden from teaching it on grounds that you are no longer able to do it. It did not come up in the exam.

      1 Reply Last reply
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      • Neo EhproqueE Neo Ehproque

        @cstross

        OpenComputeDesignO This user is from outside of this forum
        OpenComputeDesignO This user is from outside of this forum
        OpenComputeDesign
        wrote last edited by
        #215

        @ehproque @cstross

        Ow my soul

        1 Reply Last reply
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        • SchroedingerS Schroedinger

          @cstross And the reason that pre-fitted plugs were made mandatory was because so many people didn't know how to correctly wire one.

          Which I find intensely depressing, as I have known how to wire one from very young.

          Roger LipscombeR This user is from outside of this forum
          Roger LipscombeR This user is from outside of this forum
          Roger Lipscombe
          wrote last edited by
          #216

          @SteveClough @cstross

          We were expected to learn how to wire a plug at school (late 80's, probably). My dad had already taught me, so I got full marks for doing it properly -- short live length, some slack in earth, and so on.

          I then demonstrated to the teacher that I could do it again (properly, still) with a butter knife and my teeth...

          SchroedingerS 1 Reply Last reply
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          • Charlie StrossC Charlie Stross

            There are WORSE AI-generated images of how to wire a UK mains plug. Here's one I saved last year.

            Ed EverettE This user is from outside of this forum
            Ed EverettE This user is from outside of this forum
            Ed Everett
            wrote last edited by
            #217

            @cstross unlike the first image this one isn’t plausible enough to follow

            The first image will mislead people 😬

            1 Reply Last reply
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            • Charlie StrossC Charlie Stross

              There are WORSE AI-generated images of how to wire a UK mains plug. Here's one I saved last year.

              XCondEX This user is from outside of this forum
              XCondEX This user is from outside of this forum
              XCondE
              wrote last edited by
              #218

              @cstross gotta watch out for that BLIVE pin.

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              • Erik JonkerE Erik Jonker

                @sotolf @cstross AlphaFold 3 (2024) explicitly uses a generative diffusion model

                pstP This user is from outside of this forum
                pstP This user is from outside of this forum
                pst
                wrote last edited by
                #219

                @ErikJonker
                But that is still quite different from the large language model-approach which is used for the 'foundational models ' like Claude and ChatGPT. The LLM approach has structural weaknesses and is the cause of the enthusiastically pushed falsehoods. As it does no know anything and has no real world feedback, every output is always based
                on probabilities deduced from its corpus of inputs and training.
                In specific cases, within specific/limited areas of competemce AI has proven very useful. But, that is very far removed from AGI. So far the LLM approach is mostly misused for internet slop, useless reports and articles and avoidance of responsibility by governments, like Israel's or ICE target selection...
                @sotolf @cstross

                Erik JonkerE 1 Reply Last reply
                0
                • pstP pst

                  @ErikJonker
                  But that is still quite different from the large language model-approach which is used for the 'foundational models ' like Claude and ChatGPT. The LLM approach has structural weaknesses and is the cause of the enthusiastically pushed falsehoods. As it does no know anything and has no real world feedback, every output is always based
                  on probabilities deduced from its corpus of inputs and training.
                  In specific cases, within specific/limited areas of competemce AI has proven very useful. But, that is very far removed from AGI. So far the LLM approach is mostly misused for internet slop, useless reports and articles and avoidance of responsibility by governments, like Israel's or ICE target selection...
                  @sotolf @cstross

                  Erik JonkerE This user is from outside of this forum
                  Erik JonkerE This user is from outside of this forum
                  Erik Jonker
                  wrote last edited by
                  #220

                  @pst @sotolf @cstross NotebookLM has proven it's value, at least for me. AGI is a different discussion which I don't find very interesting. Just "strong AI" will change our world.

                  pstP 1 Reply Last reply
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                  • Roger LipscombeR Roger Lipscombe

                    @SteveClough @cstross

                    We were expected to learn how to wire a plug at school (late 80's, probably). My dad had already taught me, so I got full marks for doing it properly -- short live length, some slack in earth, and so on.

                    I then demonstrated to the teacher that I could do it again (properly, still) with a butter knife and my teeth...

                    SchroedingerS This user is from outside of this forum
                    SchroedingerS This user is from outside of this forum
                    Schroedinger
                    wrote last edited by
                    #221

                    @rogerlipscombe @cstross My dad always used to strip wires with a match (burn the insulation off).

                    Not sure it is the method that would be taught in schools.

                    1 Reply Last reply
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                    • Charlie StrossC Charlie Stross

                      There are WORSE AI-generated images of how to wire a UK mains plug. Here's one I saved last year.

                      Cadbury MooseC This user is from outside of this forum
                      Cadbury MooseC This user is from outside of this forum
                      Cadbury Moose
                      wrote last edited by
                      #222

                      @cstross Who needs AI when the first track on your album is titled "Death Trap" and the cover art is a deliberately mis-wired 13 amp plug? (It caused enough of a stir that later releases had it covered with a "non-removable sticker", and I'm sure my CD has the correct wiring colours...)

                      Link Preview ImageLink Preview Image
                      1 Reply Last reply
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                      • Charlie StrossC Charlie Stross

                        There are WORSE AI-generated images of how to wire a UK mains plug. Here's one I saved last year.

                        overflo 🐿️O This user is from outside of this forum
                        overflo 🐿️O This user is from outside of this forum
                        overflo 🐿️
                        wrote last edited by
                        #223

                        @cstross
                        I know true art when i see it.

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                        • NfoonfN Nfoonf

                          @cstross i told it how useless and dangerous the slopmachine is and in the end i shamed it into giving me parameters of its python sandbox

                          M SchommerM This user is from outside of this forum
                          M SchommerM This user is from outside of this forum
                          M Schommer
                          wrote last edited by
                          #224

                          @cstross @Nfoonf
                          #Slopmachine. TIL. Nice 🙂

                          1 Reply Last reply
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                          • Erik JonkerE Erik Jonker

                            @pst @sotolf @cstross NotebookLM has proven it's value, at least for me. AGI is a different discussion which I don't find very interesting. Just "strong AI" will change our world.

                            pstP This user is from outside of this forum
                            pstP This user is from outside of this forum
                            pst
                            wrote last edited by
                            #225

                            @ErikJonker
                            Well it is definitely changing the world and people's lives. But where it changes them the most, it is not for the better. See the pictures of Gaza or Minneapolis. That is the direct consequence of AI and people promoting it. These consequences should be taken into account when advocating it. As are the environmental costs and economic Frankenstein that is being built.
                            @sotolf @cstross

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                            • Cadbury MooseC Cadbury Moose

                              @th @cstross

                              No, just no. It's a good quality socket (MK are one of the best, and used to be the automatic choice for the building trade), but you have no idea what's behind that faceplate and if it's been correctly wired. Sticking _anything_ conductive into an electrical outlet is a very bad idea. (And a metal door key is probably one of the worst things you could use.) 3:O(((>

                              O’BriatT This user is from outside of this forum
                              O’BriatT This user is from outside of this forum
                              O’Briat
                              wrote last edited by
                              #226

                              @Cadbury_Moose @th @cstross If you don’t trust what’s behind, don’t plug anything in any outlet that you didn’t personally test, no?

                              Cadbury MooseC 1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • Charlie StrossC Charlie Stross

                                There are WORSE AI-generated images of how to wire a UK mains plug. Here's one I saved last year.

                                HansH This user is from outside of this forum
                                HansH This user is from outside of this forum
                                Hans
                                wrote last edited by
                                #227

                                @cstross is this a thing people on the UK do regularly: rewire their plug? I never once had to research how a German plug looks on the inside. What causes this?

                                Charlie StrossC 1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • HansH Hans

                                  @cstross is this a thing people on the UK do regularly: rewire their plug? I never once had to research how a German plug looks on the inside. What causes this?

                                  Charlie StrossC This user is from outside of this forum
                                  Charlie StrossC This user is from outside of this forum
                                  Charlie Stross
                                  wrote last edited by
                                  #228

                                  @Hans It's not been a routine thing for 30-ish years, but the UK only standardized on its current mains plug wiring in 1948 and rewiring the entire country took many decades.

                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • DarrenD Darren

                                    @winkleink @cstross Always keen to jump on a bandwagon, I just asked Gemini to draw me a diagram of how to wire a UK plug. And, well, I'm not asking Sundar Pichai for any DIY help any time soon.

                                    pixelbanditoP This user is from outside of this forum
                                    pixelbanditoP This user is from outside of this forum
                                    pixelbandito
                                    wrote last edited by
                                    #229

                                    @DJDarren @winkleink @cstross Imagining a world where we don't have a plug... And in the USA.

                                    Link Preview Image
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                                    • O’BriatT O’Briat

                                      @Cadbury_Moose @th @cstross If you don’t trust what’s behind, don’t plug anything in any outlet that you didn’t personally test, no?

                                      Cadbury MooseC This user is from outside of this forum
                                      Cadbury MooseC This user is from outside of this forum
                                      Cadbury Moose
                                      wrote last edited by
                                      #230

                                      @Teenage @th @cstross

                                      Indeed. All electric cables and outlets are "live" until personally proven otherwise.

                                      (Someday I'll lift the floorboards at Chez Moose and test/remove the old RLIC[1] power cables and all the VIR[2] lighting circuits. (Previous owner(s) installed laminate on top of the floorboards, which is a bit of a bugger.))

                                      3:O(>

                                      [1] Rubber Insulated Lead Covered. You do not want to know.
                                      [2] Vulcanized India Rubber (same 1930s era), you do not want to know about this either.

                                      1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • Charlie StrossC Charlie Stross

                                        RE: https://nomenloony.com/@nomenloony/116019280517956996

                                        Notes for Americans:

                                        1. Until 1992 you had to wire your own plugs onto new electrical appliances in the UK (they were sold without pre-molded plugs).

                                        2. Mains voltage is 230VAC, not 110VAC. It'll kill ya.

                                        3. If you follow ChatGPT's advice *YOU WILL DIE*.

                                        ˈdälfən™🐬 💥 🌊D This user is from outside of this forum
                                        ˈdälfən™🐬 💥 🌊D This user is from outside of this forum
                                        ˈdälfən™🐬 💥 🌊
                                        wrote last edited by
                                        #231

                                        @cstross This thread is great 😂

                                        1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • DarrenD Darren

                                          @winkleink @cstross Always keen to jump on a bandwagon, I just asked Gemini to draw me a diagram of how to wire a UK plug. And, well, I'm not asking Sundar Pichai for any DIY help any time soon.

                                          Morning SongM This user is from outside of this forum
                                          Morning SongM This user is from outside of this forum
                                          Morning Song
                                          wrote last edited by
                                          #232

                                          @DJDarren @cstross Big Clive is rolling in his grave.

                                          1 Reply Last reply
                                          0

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