mangomoth

[mangomoth]

"lolcow" is ultimately a colloquial term describing a phenomena that actually precedes the internet (and well, most of history too) but I can't think of another shorthand with implications that are tacitly understood the same way when gesturing to the spectacle that the world makes around acceptable targets. you go on reddit and someone has crossposted a Courtroom Freakout video like that's some shit anyone should want to derive entertainment from. your mom's cohort watches Dumb Criminal Fail youtube compilations and nod their heads as the perpetrator of a failed robbery bleeds out on floor of a kfc like that's some shit anyone should want to see. your peers are heavily invested in the Worthless E-Drama Industrial Complex, where thousands of people are made collateral of all kinds of violence in the name of forwarding the narrative of the spectacle. and you can't ask any of these people why any of this behavior is normal to them unless you want to be accused of condoning immoral tendencies, compulsion to punish The Other already metastasized in their minds. it sucks how easy it is to kill your own interest in this shit but not anyone else's.

[mangomoth]

(Sound on.) We’re all doomed.

[mangomoth]

Wild how we just experienced the end of globalization n it's like. Another Wednesday

[mangomoth]

Screenshots from Locust City – An Elysium Story (Project X7)

[mangomoth]

[mangomoth]

took a test so bad it got me back on tumblr

[mangomoth]

Something I don't think we talk enough about in discussions surrounding AI is the loss of perseverance.

I have a friend who works in education and he told me about how he was working with a small group of HS students to develop a new school sports chant. This was a very daunting task for the group, in large part because many had learning disabilities related to reading and writing, so coming up with a catchy, hard-hitting, probably rhyming, poetry-esque piece of collaborative writing felt like something outside of their skill range. But it wasn't! I knew that, he knew that, and he worked damn hard to convince the kids of that too. Even if the end result was terrible (by someone else's standards), we knew they had it in them to complete the piece and feel super proud of their creation.

Fast-forward a few days and he reports back that yes they have a chant now... but it's 99% AI. It was made by Chat-GPT. Once the kids realized they could just ask the bot to do the hard thing for them - and do it "better" than they (supposedly) ever could - that's the only route they were willing to take. It was either use Chat-GPT or don't do it at all. And I was just so devastated to hear this because Jesus Christ, struggling is important. Of course most 14-18 year olds aren't going to see the merit of that, let alone understand why that process (attempting something new and challenging) is more valuable than the end result (a "good" chant), but as adults we all have a responsibility to coach them through that messy process. Except that's become damn near impossible with an Instantly Do The Thing app in everyone's pocket. Yes, AI is fucking awful because of plagiarism and misinformation and the environmental impact, but it's also keeping people - particularly young people - from developing perseverance. It's not just important that you learn to write your own stuff because of intellectual agency, but because writing is hard and it's crucial that you learn how to persevere through doing hard things.

Write a shitty poem. Write an essay where half the textual 'evidence' doesn't track. Write an awkward as fuck email with an equally embarrassing typo. Every time you do you're not just developing that particular skill, you're also learning that you did something badly and the world didn't end. You can get through things! You can get through challenging things! Not everything in life has to be perfect but you know what? You'll only improve at the challenging stuff if you do a whole lot of it badly first. The ability to say, "I didn't think I could do that but I did it anyway. It's not great, but I did it," is SO IMPORTANT for developing confidence across the board, not just in these specific tasks.

Idk I'm just really worried about kids having to grow up in a world where (for a variety of reasons beyond just AI) they're not given the chance to struggle through new and challenging things like we used to.

[mangomoth]

[mangomoth]

[mangomoth]

words and concepts don't mean anything anymore

[mangomoth]

college aus are kinda crazy. they would not be doing all that. There's midterms

[mangomoth]

here’s your sign to stop doomscrolling and do literally anything else

[mangomoth]

reblog to give a plushie to the person you reblogged this from

[mangomoth]

another campaign brought to my attention by a palestinian i speak personally with, and i trust its legitamcy. Hamdy has suffered great loss since the start of this genocide, his mother, aunt, siblings, cousins, neices and nephews, and 5 month old sister were martyred. despite making the campaign months ago, Hamdy has only received FIVE donations so far, and hasn't gotten any donations in months.

please share and donate to his campaign, no amount is too little!

€95 / €10,000

tagging for reach

@terroristiraqi @shamemp3 @three-croissants @srdcovka @90-ghost @fairuzfan @mithli @7amaspayrollmanager @opencommunion @anti-democratic-russian-bot @tamamita @feluka @gabajoofs @aristotels @huzni @themeoflauramp3 @witchywitchy @ma3moul @khargooshe @womenintheirwebs @splashporpoise @flouryhedgehog @revindicatedbyhistory @german-milfs @breadmp3 @bassia-bassensis @anneemay @antiquititties @anyab

[mangomoth]

I want to draw attention to @amalashuor's gofundme campaign. Amal reached out to me asking me to help support her campaign to evacuate her, her daughter and her husband from Gaza. Before the war, Amal was completing her master's degree in French and caring for her daughter. Her daughter was 9 months when the war began and is now 1 year and 3 months old. Imagine spending such a formative time in your child’s life when they need they most care and resources in a war zone where you constantly fear for your family’s safety and struggle to survive. As you all know, the conditions in Gaza are horrifically dangerous and deadly, especially for young children. Amal and her family have been displaced multiple times by the genocidal Israeli army, with nowhere to go. There is very little aid going into Gaza right now and like many other families they struggle to find basic necessities. Life in tents is difficult and daily expenses are more than people can afford. On Amal's instagram she posted videos talking about the unbearable conditions her family live in. She urgently needs your support to raise money to evacuate her family.

Please take a second to donate to this campaign if you're able to or share it if you cant. Every donation makes a difference.

this is a legitimate fundraiser and is #175 (Amal Ashour) on the Vetted Gaza Fundraiser List created by @el-shab-hussein and @nabulsi.

as of 7/12/2024 the campaign currently has €11,067 raised of €30,000 goal

[mangomoth]

Sarah, a five-year-old girl, has not yet completed Kg1.😥

She takes great pride in her appearance and enjoys taking care of her clothing. She often refers to herself as the "queen of the house."👸👸

Sarah has a passion for fashion and enjoys playing with dolls and electronic games related to the subject.

She misses her friends and kindergarten and is eager to learn and experience all that life has to offer.💔💔

Sarah deserves the opportunity to learn and grow in a safe and peaceful environment. Her house was bombed and partially destroyed.😥💔💔

She's really scared and can't bear to see pictures of her home like this.😔😥

She's heartbroken about her toys and her beautiful room, which were destroyed in the bombing.💔💔

I want her to live safely and peacefully like other children.🙏

Any support, regardless of its magnitude, would be greatly appreciated.

Even a modest contribution can have a significant impact on my family's circumstances.

[mangomoth]

Are you listening to music right now? (Put the song in the tags)