#Curiosity Gaps

[nicholasandriani]

You’re Doing Human Wrong: The Clickbait Conundrum of Turning People into Products

Twitter Patreon GitHub LinkedIn YouTube Ah, the internet, a wondrous labyrinth where the minotaurs are clickbait titles, luring us into their dens with promises of life-altering secrets. Today’s special: “You’re Doing X Wrong.” That’s right, from slicing bread to living your life, you’re apparently doing it all wrong. But worry not, for I am here to guide you through the maze with a torch of…

[tunabesimpin]

WOAH DAMN- IDK WHAT THE HELL YALL FEEDING THEM BUT THEYRE TOO DAMN BIG!!!

height comparison for the 3rd years

[icewindandboringhorror]

There's always a slight yearning in the back of my mind wishing I had been born in the right place, time, family situation, income level, etc. to have just lived in one single house for my entire life. Imagine being born in a place that still suits you, even through all of your personal evolutions and etc. The idea of deep familiarity with an area because you've lived and explored it for 40+ years, being encased in a web of memories and connections. Being able to clean out your old childhood bedroom and find personal artifacts, to dig in the yard and remember. I know those lives can still be plenty imperfect, but there's just something so seemingly solid and stable and Grounding about it that I sometimes wish I could have.. (At least from my outside perspective as someone who's moved around a bit geographically and even within the same area, never lives in the same house/ apartment /etc. for more than a few years usually.) Like... having a place that is printed upon, fully your own, rather than chronically a visitor, every thought of a space always tempered with the notion that one day soon you'll have to pack it all up again, etc. There's something peaceful about the permanence.

[lightyaoigami]

americans only others look away this doesn't apply to you: i shouldn't be surprised that the most braindead political takes really catch flight on the website where white american suburban ex-evangelical shut-ins who use their queerness as a cudgel against other marginalized identities hang out lmao

[mymarifae]

also veritas and i are on a first name basis now partially because his last name is fucking stupid and i hate calling him "ratio" but mostly because after poking at his character a bunch i've decided i like him quite a lot LMFAO

[danothan]

How did you learn to draw so well?

50% developing an artistic eye, 50% practice

i’m being so serious when i say this is the most overlooked step in any creative process:

[oidheadh-con-culainn]

* using "accepted for publication" as the metric because I realise things sometimes take years to actually come out. in this case i mean peer-reviewed academic publications (but postgrad journals etc count, it doesn't have to be a fancy prestigious thing, i just mean as opposed to a 500-word column in your uni's newspaper or something)

i guess if you're in the kind of field where papers have many authors and you get to be in the list because you're a member of that lab, even if you didn't write the paper, that also counts? i don't really know how stem publications work tho. i am in a field where most articles are single author, sometimes two authors but rarely more

honestly this is just curiosity on my part. it's pretty limited data since i won't know what fields people are in (or if you sought publication sooner but it didn't work out) but i just wanna get a sense of what's typical

[thirsty-4-ghouls]

“Hancock is bad with kids” “Hancock is bad with Shaun” no, well, maybe, but where I was getting at was, the objectively funniest dynamic there that I can think of is that Hancock does, indeed, not know what to do around kids BUT Shaun is super curious because of that and will not leave him alone. Hancock will be looking at sole like “I can’t handle this, i don’t know what to do, get your kid” and Shaun is just like “why do you dress like that? Do you still get sunburnt? Do you like lazer rifles? I like lazer rifles.” Like a cat that sees the person ignoring them and goes up to them for attention. And the funniest response from sole is something like “the sunburn question is rude, Shaun” and then they continue doing whatever they were before saying that.

[existential-dread-in-the-am]

Tonight instead of sleeping my brain has decided it is time to try to understand how and why the anti-trans feminists (of all people) think the way they do and how someone would end up thinking along that path of logic. And it (my brain) does not want to stop before reaching some kind of conclusion. Which is not going to happen any time soon, certainly not before morning. Why does my brain pick impossible tasks to do at three AM? Why must the brain demand to comprehend all that seems incomprehensible? At the worst possible times?

[nicholasandriani]

You’re Doing Human Wrong: The Clickbait Conundrum of Turning People into Products

Ah, the internet, a wondrous labyrinth where the minotaurs are clickbait titles, luring us into their dens with promises of life-altering secrets. Today’s special: “You’re Doing X Wrong.” That’s right, from slicing bread to living your life, you’re apparently doing it all wrong. But worry not, for I am here to guide you through the maze with a torch of insight (and a pinch of humor). The…

[daemonhxckergrrl]

still love how my very cis friends' general response to mentioning I'm on hrt was a few questions about how it works/what effects it's having and then "synthia 🤝🏻 the girls ! estrogen party"

like that's allyship done right

[biherbalwitch]

people who watched TharnType, help!

tried to watch it the other day, going in blind (mainly bc I wanna see more of tong<3) but couldn't get past the first 5 mins since that storyline set up & premise is kind of just... 😬 to me sooo is it worth sitting through the discomfort & turns into something that makes sense or should I switch to gap or cutie pie which are also on my list?

[literary-potato]

I don’t think I’ve ever seen people get invested in celebrity drama IRL but my local deli / coffee shop is very clearly playing Jonas Brothers radio on the Alexa.

[hatchetation]

It’s so funny but also at the same so sad. Grandmother and Kirk had know Sam for years and they can’t see that she rather walk into traffic then participate in the life they want for her. And in comparison Mon, is the first thing she truly wants and desires. And in reciprocal Mon who idolizes her for over a decade just wants to know the real her once she figures out she didn’t know Sam. Who is kind, smart and not constantly asking her to perform as Hon. Lady Sam. Who wants the real Sam.

😭wow anons just coming into my inbox making me emotional today! i think for lady grandmother, she's willfully ignorant of sam's wants and needs. like, she lost neung and song and she's trying to hang on to sam. and the best way for her to do that is to steamroll ahead with her own ideas about what sam needs.

as far as kirk goes, there were moments throughout the series where i was like, seriously kirk?? like i'm not even talking about stuff at the end, i'm talking about toward the beginning even before mon and sam feel for each other. i feel like sam gave kirk very little of her time and affection and yet kirk was like, yes, we are definitely on track for marriage...? like, no you're not! she clearly isn't into you! but idk kirk is so caught up in doing his duty and meeting others' expectations that i think he just didn't care or her thought since sam wasn't explicitly denying him that she would come to love him.

i think mon is the first thing that sam allows herself to want!! like she meets mon and her ability to keep her walls up practically disappears. even as a child when she wanted a dog, she knew she couldn't have it and didn't even ask lady grandmother about it. but her connection with mon is just irresistible and magnetic. and i agree that in part it is because mon wants to know the real khun sam. and also because mon is /curious/ about sam. she wants to know what's happening inside sam's head. i'd argue that no one else on the show really wants to know about sam's interiority. they just want to know about her actions--will she fire them or not? will she marry kirk or not? etc. so mon insisting that there's more to sam than what meets the eye is a whole new thing for sam and it allows her to open up.

[selliho6530]

And so, ladies and gentlemens, now you will read how many times I went to the bathroom to wash my hands and face, for no reason:

(i'm going to miss the morning because I was at school)

1 - 12:28

2- 12:50

3- 13:21

4- 13:29

5- 13:42

6- 13:50

7- 14:17

8- 14:19

9- 14:34

10- 16:13

11- 16:36

12- 16:42

13- 16:49

14- 16:59

15- 17:20

16- 17:37

17- 17:53

18- 18:21

19- 18:23

20- 18:45

21- 18:54

22- 19:18

23- 19:20

24- 19:33

25- 19:43

26- 20:12

27- 20:59

[jcmarchi]

How AI Allows Us to Play Ancient Board Games

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/how-ai-allows-us-to-play-ancient-board-games/

How AI Allows Us to Play Ancient Board Games

Imagine delving into the mysteries of ancient civilizations through their board games, such as Senet and Patolli. They offer a glimpse into the past, but their rules have been lost, leaving people wondering how they were played. Artificial intelligence shines in this scenario, and it’s the key to unlocking these ancient secrets.

AI revolutionizes how people understand these old games, using complex algorithms to hypothesize rules from fragments of historical texts and artifacts. This innovative approach allows researchers to step back in time and play these games, just as their ancestors might have centuries ago.

The Mystery of Ancient Board Games

Games have been a cornerstone of human social and cultural life for millennia. The oldest artifacts considered to be game boards date back 6,000 to 10,000 years. This suggests that long before written history, humans were already engaging in strategic gameplay.

These games were beyond pastimes but held significant cultural importance, often reflecting society’s beliefs, values and social hierarchies. As researchers explore these ancient relics, they tap into the collective memory of civilizations. Doing so helps them understand more about how people interact and entertain themselves.

However, uncovering how these games were played poses a unique challenge due to the scant information left behind. Historians stumbled upon ancient games without instructions or rules, their secrets lost to the ages.

This gap in knowledge invites researchers to imagine and reconstruct using fragmented pieces and partial game sets found in archaeological digs. The task is daunting, yet it’s also what makes the discovery process so intriguing and rewarding. As they piece together these ancient puzzles, they contribute to a deeper understanding of their ancestors’ lives and leisures.

AI and the Game of Reconstruction

AI — particularly machine learning — revolutionizes how researchers understand ancient games. It allows computers to learn from data, adapting and improving their knowledge over time without explicit programming. 

One standout initiative in this field is the five-year Digital Ludeme Project — a groundbreaking computational study of the world’s traditional strategy games. This undertaking leverages AI to dissect and reconstruct the rule sets of these games, providing a digital window into the past.

Researchers train AI models to hypothesize game rules by analyzing available components and relevant historical texts. They use a technique known as reinforcement learning, where the AI learns through trial and error, playing countless game scenarios.

This method helps the program deduce which rules make sense and which do not based on outcomes that seem logical or align with historical accounts. As researchers explore this process, they’ll see software playing games and testing hypotheses build bridges across time.

The AI Model: How It Learns and Adapts

The technical process begins with inputting data. This information includes detailed images of ancient game boards, fragments of texts describing gameplay and related cultural artifacts. A model examines this data during training, making connections that might not be immediately obvious.

It then moves into error correction, where it adjusts incorrect assumptions based on feedback from trial game scenarios. This iterative process helps refine the hypotheses about how the games were possibly played.

AI uses sophisticated pattern recognition to propose rules that make logical sense and align with the artifacts’ physical layouts and historical descriptions. This method allows historians to glimpse how these games might have functioned, bridging the gap between past leisure and present curiosity.

Examples of AI at Work

Here are examples of how researchers use AI to resurrect the forgotten rules of ancient board games.

The Royal Game of Ur

Believed to be a precursor to modern backgammon, the Royal Game of Ur has intrigued scholars since its discovery. Played in Ancient Sumer around 4,000 years ago, this game caught the attention of AI researchers who aimed to decipher its rules. Using it, they formulated game rules by aligning with instructions on ancient cuneiform tablets.

This process involved training models to interpret these inscriptions and test various gameplay strategies, proposing rules that made sense and respected the game’s historical and cultural context. This innovative use of technology allows researchers to experience a game ancient civilizations once enjoyed.

Senet

AI has been instrumental in piecing together theories about Senet’s rules and end goals. By processing data from game boards found in tombs and ancient texts, AI generates simulations to test various game progressions.

This helps researchers understand how the game was set up and the strategic thinking it may have required. The insight offers a glimpse into the intellectual culture of ancient Egypt, revealing more about the game that once entertained pharaohs.

Patolli

Patolli — potentially originating from the South Asian game Pachisi — offers a fascinating case study in ancient strategy and risk. Historians can explore how players might have approached this game through AI simulations while it suggests possible gameplay strategies and betting methods.

The simulations analyze the layout and possible movement patterns, enabling researchers to consider various strategies that could have influenced the game’s outcomes. These scenarios also give them a deeper appreciation for the cleverness and complexity of ancient gameplay.

Collaboration Between AI Experts and Historians

Collaboration between AI experts, historians, archaeologists and anthropologists is essential to unraveling the mysteries of ancient board games. AI must work alongside professionals to ensure a holistic approach where technology meets traditional scholarship.

This interdisciplinary teamwork allows academics to integrate diverse insights from different fields. It also ensures the AI’s hypotheses about game rules are technically sound and culturally and historically informed. 

The rich blend of perspectives significantly enhances their understanding of ancient games. It provides a more accurate and nuanced recreation of pastimes that shaped early human societies.

Ethical Considerations in AI Research

Using AI in cultural and historical research brings ethical concerns to attention. In particular, the authenticity and accuracy of AI-generated rules could potentially misrepresent ancient cultures. The type of data these systems are trained on can often carry biases and discrimination, which may lead to unfair or skewed interpretations of historical facts.

To mitigate these issues, researchers are increasingly vigilant about the sources they use for training. They strive to ensure their methods respect historical integrity and cultural significance. This approach helps safeguard against the perpetuation of biases and supports a more accurate and respectful representation of ancient histories in modern scholarship.

Implications and Future Prospects

Integrating AI technology in archaeological and historical research holds immense potential to revolutionize people’s understanding of the past. Facilitating the reconstruction of ancient board games and other cultural artifacts enables scholars to uncover nuances of historical life that might otherwise remain obscured.

Beyond board games, AI could also assist in decoding lost languages, reconstructing broken artifacts through pattern recognition and predicting the locations of yet-to-be-discovered archaeological sites. These applications deepen the understanding of historical contexts and help preserve cultural heritage. They offer a richer, more connected sense of human history.

Unveiling the Past Through AI and Cultural Insights

AI dramatically enhances people’s understanding of their heritage by breathing new life into ancient games, revealing how ancient civilizations once strategized and socialized. This fusion of technology and history enriches society’s knowledge of the past, ensuring future generations preserve and appreciate these invaluable cultural insights.