#What exactly is data science course?

[datasciencetip]

What to Expect from an Online Data Science Course in 2025: A Complete Guide for Beginners

In today’s data-driven world, learning data science has become more valuable than ever. Whether you're a student, a working professional looking to upskill, or someone making a career switch, an online data science course can open the door to high-paying and in-demand job roles. But with so many courses available online, it’s essential to understand what a modern data science curriculum typically includes, how it’s taught, and how it prepares you for real-world work.

This guide breaks down the key components of a quality online data science course, providing a clear picture of what to expect and how to choose the right program. We’ll also share practical tips, examples, and answers to common questions to help you make the most of your learning journey.

Understanding What a Data Science Course Covers

A well-structured online data science course combines theory with hands-on practice. The curriculum is designed to help learners gain the technical knowledge and analytical mindset needed to work with data. It starts with the basics and gradually moves into more advanced topics.

One of the foundational elements is mathematics and statistics. These subjects form the backbone of data analysis and machine learning. You’ll typically study topics such as probability, linear algebra, calculus, and hypothesis testing. Understanding these concepts will help you make sense of data patterns, relationships, and predictive models.

In addition to math, programming is a must-have skill for any aspiring data scientist. Python is the most popular language in this field due to its simplicity and powerful libraries. Some courses may also include R, especially if the focus is more statistical. You’ll learn how to write scripts to automate tasks, clean and transform datasets, and build machine learning models.

Mastering Data Handling and Analysis

One of the most critical skills in data science is knowing how to work with raw, messy data. Good online courses teach you the art of data cleaning and manipulation using tools like Pandas in Python. This includes handling missing values, removing duplicates, converting data types, and normalizing datasets.

Once the data is cleaned, the next step is exploratory data analysis EDA. This phase involves summarizing data, detecting trends, and using visual tools like histograms or scatter plots to uncover patterns. EDA helps you understand what questions to ask and what insights to pursue.

Another essential area is feature engineering, where you create new variables from raw data to improve model performance. For example, transforming a timestamp into separate day, month, or hour columns can make a huge difference in forecasting tasks.

Learning Machine Learning in a Practical Way

Machine learning is at the heart of data science. A strong course introduces you to supervised learning techniques such as regression and classification, and unsupervised learning methods like clustering and dimensionality reduction. You’ll also explore how to train, test, and validate models to avoid overfitting or underfitting.

Instead of just theory, effective courses include plenty of real-life examples. For instance, you might predict house prices using regression models or classify spam emails using decision trees. These hands-on projects help cement your understanding and boost your confidence.

After three months of consistent learning, you should be able to:

Build and evaluate machine learning models using Python

Choose the right algorithm for a specific problem

Interpret model performance using metrics like accuracy, precision, and recall

Deploy simple models using cloud services or web apps

Visualizing Data for Clearer Insights

Data visualization is one of the most powerful tools for communicating your findings. A great online course will teach you how to use libraries like Matplotlib, Seaborn, or Plotly to create charts, graphs, and dashboards. These visuals help you tell compelling stories with your data, whether you’re presenting to stakeholders or writing a report.

Good data scientists don't just analyze—they explain. For example, if your model shows that customer churn is highest among users with low app engagement, a well-designed bar chart can instantly make that insight clear to business teams.

Visualization also plays a big role in interactive dashboards. Many advanced courses now introduce tools like Tableau or Power BI to create dynamic visuals for real-time data monitoring and reporting.

Getting Familiar with Big Data Tools and Technologies

As your data skills grow, you'll encounter projects that involve massive datasets. That’s where big data technologies come in. Some online courses include an introduction to tools like Apache Hadoop and Apache Spark, which are used to store and process data at scale.

You may also learn about NoSQL databases like MongoDB or Cassandra, especially if the course leans toward data engineering. These tools allow you to handle unstructured data, which is common in industries like e-commerce, healthcare, and social media.

The Value of Domain Knowledge

One thing many beginners overlook is the importance of domain knowledge. While technical skills are essential, understanding the business context makes your analysis more meaningful. That’s why some online data science courses offer case studies in fields like finance, marketing, healthcare, or retail.

For instance, analyzing patient data requires not only technical tools but also an understanding of medical terminology and health regulations. Similarly, working in finance means being familiar with concepts like risk, credit scoring, and investment returns.

Courses that incorporate domain-specific projects make you job-ready for niche roles, helping you stand out from the crowd.

Hands-On Projects and Career Preparation

The best online data science courses emphasize project-based learning. These projects simulate real-life challenges and let you build a portfolio that showcases your skills. Whether it’s predicting customer behavior or building a recommendation system, each project gives you something tangible to discuss in job interviews.

Some platforms, like Coursera or Udacity, offer capstone projects and career support, including resume reviews and mock interviews. These extras can significantly boost your confidence when applying for roles like data analyst, data scientist, or machine learning engineer.

Conclusion

A well-rounded online data science course offers more than just video lectures—it gives you the skills, confidence, and experience needed to succeed in a competitive job market. From math fundamentals and programming to machine learning and domain-specific applications, each part of the curriculum builds your expertise step by step.

When choosing a course, look for one that includes hands-on projects, mentorship, and support services. The field of data science is growing rapidly, and with the right training, you’ll be well-prepared to step into this exciting and impactful career.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is coding experience required before starting a data science course? Not necessarily. Many beginner-level courses teach Python or R from scratch, though having some coding knowledge helps.

How long does it take to complete a data science course online? It depends on the course format. Intensive bootcamps may take 3–6 months, while flexible self-paced courses might take 6–12 months.

Can I get a job after completing an online course? Yes, especially if the course includes projects, certifications, and job assistance. Focus on building a strong portfolio and practicing interview questions.

[spr1ngpvrinbwunnie]

Do you think that Harley Sawyer is the type to initiate things when he's (romantically) interested in somebody? Like, is he capable of falling first or would the one interested in him need to do all of that stuff first?

If he actually did start things how do you think that would go?

Oh, this is a fascinating question because Harley Sawyer is not the type to approach romance like a normal person.

Would He Fall First?

It’s possible, but he wouldn’t recognize it—or at least, not immediately.

Harley is a man of logic, control, and precision. Emotions? Messy. Love? Even messier. If he does develop feelings, his first instinct isn’t to acknowledge them—it’s to analyze them, compartmentalize them, maybe even outright reject them.

“This is nothing but an anomalous reaction to repeated exposure.”

“It’s a distraction. Unnecessary.”

“This will not affect my work.” (Lies.)

But despite himself, he’d still find himself doing things that don’t make sense for a man who doesn’t care.

Noticing small things—the way you hold a pen, how you tap your fingers when you're thinking, the slight cadence of your voice when you're tired.

Paying attention to details—what kind of coffee you like, what habits you have, how you react to different things. (Not because he cares, of course. Just… data gathering.)

Adjusting his behavior—without realizing it. Standing a fraction closer when he normally wouldn’t. Pausing in conversation just a little longer than necessary. Choosing to listen rather than dismiss something outright.

So yes, he could fall first. But he would fight it every step of the way and probably wouldn’t realize what was happening until it was way too late.

Would He Initiate?

This depends. If Harley did recognize that he wanted something more, his version of “initiation” would be incredibly awkward, entirely clinical, and vaguely ominous.

He wouldn’t do anything traditionally romantic. No flowers, no obvious flirting. Instead, it’d be weirdly methodical—offering small but significant gestures under the guise of practicality.

“You’re inefficient when you’re sleep-deprived. Take this.” (Hands you a coffee exactly how you like it.)

“Your lab coat is insufficient. Wear this instead.” (It’s his.)

“Your methodology was flawed. I’ve corrected it.” (Totally not an excuse to be in your space longer than necessary.)

He might even try to test the waters in the most Harley way possible—by deliberately provoking a reaction just to see how you respond.

Standing a little too close and watching.

Saying something laced with meaning just to see if you catch it.

Acting as if nothing has changed—even when it clearly has.

And if you don’t react the way he expects? If you return that interest? That’s when he starts to unravel.

How Would It Go If He Actually Started Things?

Probably like a science experiment gone wrong—full of denial, internal conflict, and a gradual but undeniable loss of control.

Stage 1 – Denial: “This is nothing.”

He rationalizes every single action. He’s not interested, he’s just observing.

Avoids acknowledging his own behavior, even when it’s obvious.

Stage 2 – Frustration: “Why is this still happening?”

He starts to resent the way his thoughts drift toward you.

Gets irrationally annoyed when you distract him (even though you’re not doing anything).

Snaps more often, only to immediately regret it.

Stage 3 – Testing: “If I push, will they pull?”

This is when he prods, provokes, and watches.

He’s still trying to control the situation, to control himself, but it’s slipping.

Stage 4 – Breaking Point: “…Oh.”

The moment he realizes it—when he finally stops rationalizing and accepts it.

And from there? One of two things happens:

He runs from it, burying it down and pretending it never existed.

He leans into it—not gently, not gracefully, but intentionally.

If he does initiate, it won’t be in a way that’s grand or obvious. It’ll be subtle, deliberate, and laced with underlying intensity. Not because he’s trying to be romantic, but because he doesn’t know how to be.

And that? That’s what makes it all the more fascinating.

[is-the-post-reliable]

I wanted to practice media literacy, but something that keeps coming up is reaffirming to trust what a majority of scientists and doctors believe rather than the fringe ones who may be trying to sell you something. And I agree with that, but I keep getting this bad feeling in the back of my mind because, well, I remember learning about how a lot of different scientific fields are based in ableism, racism, misogyny, etc. Like, for example, a majority of doctors in the US are in favour of invasive and traumatizing surgeries on intersex infants to "fix" them, while intersex adults advocate against these surgeries.

Will this come up in the later courses and discussions on media literacy? Stuff like, trusting the scientific method even if the general consensus is scewed due to being a part of an oppressive system? Thank you ☆

hi! so first of all, I want to start by saying this is probably outside of the scope of this blog to definitively answer - this kind of issue could be debated forever. Also, I want to clarify that I’m not trying to give a ‘course’ here, I’m not a teacher in any way, I’m just some guy who likes fact checking

So with that in mind, I think we should definitely acknowledge that scientific communites are made up of people, who all have their own biases. Social beliefs absolutely have, and will continue, to affect our scientific understanding. That being said, I don’t think that bias is inherent to the scientific method - in actuality, it’s the opposite. When biases affect the research, that’s bad science, which is exactly what media literacy and scientific literacy helps us distinguish. Essentially, I don’t think that these biases are a reason to not practice media literacy. Media literacy is what helps us to think critically about these things.

To use your own example, surgical intervention on intersex infants was based on little data, and became the normalised ‘treatment’ before any rigorous studies were done. It’s the introduction of proper scientific method in medical care that has helped to change our understanding of surgical intervention, and is now pushing to limit surgeries on intersex infants.

From the American Journal of Bioethics: ‘However, the main empirical premises behind this approach, namely, that significant psychosocial benefits would in fact accrue to the child because of early surgery and that these benefits would, moreover, reliably outweigh the associated risks of physical and mental harm, were never subjected to rigorous testing (Creighton and Liao Citation2004; Liao et al. Citation2019). Rather, standard practice in this area became entrenched and institutionalized long before the advent of modern evidence-based medicine (Diamond and Beh Citation2008; Garland and Travis Citation2020a; Dalke, Baratz, and Greenberg Citation2020) as well as key developments in bioethics and children’s rights (Brennan Citation2003; Reis Citation2019; Alderson Citation2023; Gheaus Citation2024).‘

[staravyz]

︖﹖ㅤㅤ Counting Stars and Stats

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ❕️ㅤclick 4rules—4masterlist

ㅤㅤ🔭ㅤㅤ—ㅤ(dr. stone) ishigami senkuu x reader

ㅤ﹑tags ... x reader/comfort/slice of life/fluff/short one shot/modern au

ㅤ౨ৎㅤ—ㅤa/n﹕cross posted tis on ao3 lmk if i suould write a part 2 😼

ㅤOn the day the guy from your AP art class that you'd been eyeing for several weeks finally asked you out to the dance, you sprinted to Senku's house to tell him.

ㅤKnowing each other for years now, it was just natural that he was the first person you'd alert.

ㅤNot even your nice friends that complain about schoolwork and convince you to go out with them once a week instead of studying, or your classmates that you only speak to in class when there's nothing to do who ask you for answers and notes during breaks, but Senku.

ㅤThe guy who's most likely to either solve climate change or become a dictator and involve you in his madness either way.

ㅤYou don't know when exactly it hit you that you wanted to start doing less advanced schoolwork and more socializing, but you did know that Senku wasn't interested in it. He was always trying to drag you away from your friends to pull you back in the lab, putting you through Olympic sports level studying over college courses you weren't even planning to take, and running statistics on socialization to prove to you how useless it is compared to science.

ㅤSure, it was probably sweet in Senku's weird way of showing his care, but this time, you got asked out.

ㅤTo a school dance.

ㅤThis is revolutionary for you.

ㅤ"Hate to break it to you, but you're gonna have to cancel your little dance date thing," Senku interrupted, right when you were describing how the guy smoothly asked you after class.

ㅤ"What?" You blinked. "Why?"

ㅤ"I need your help setting up the telescope so we can compare Saturn's moons' orbits over the course of the night. Visibilty rate is the best on the night of the dance before the weather decides to start coating everything in snow," he said casually. Senku hadn't spared so much so a glance since you started talking.

ㅤWith him in his chair, scribbling down notes—probably memorizing each of Saturn's moons—you sat on his bed, fidgeting with a rubix cube in your lap.

ㅤ"Who's we? I'm going to the dance, Senku. You can collect your data by yourself because I'm not skipping out on this just for you." You rolled your eyes. "Ask Taiju, maybe."

ㅤ"Taiju's going with Yuzuriha, and I'd rather disturb your night over theirs because they have a more solid relationship than you and your little art buddy do."

ㅤYou huffed. Arguing over whose date should be prioritized more was useless.

ㅤ"Then you're on your own, Senku. I want to go. I got asked," You stated.

ㅤSenku sighed and put down his pencil. "You're gonna regret it, ten billion percent." He turned to face you, but didn't exactly meet your eyes. "Gen told me that guy is an entrepreneur in asking girls out over bets for money."

ㅤYou frowned. "Are you saying I'm more likely to be a bet than a real date?" Your hands fell slack in your lap.

ㅤ"I'm saying that you need to think more logically about the people around you." He gestured towards the space around you with his hand then stood up and flicked your forehead. "Use that supposed brain of yours to make better decisions, idiot."

ㅤYou rubbed your forehead, it didn't hurt at all. "Yeah, yeah, whatever, you're not a licensed therapist and I don't feel comfortable taking life advice from someone who watches petri dishes for entertainment."

ㅤSenku turned back around, a smirk peeking at the corner of lips. He scoffed. "Alright, see through the consequences of your actions. Not my problem."

—

ㅤOh how you loathe how right Senku is every time.

ㅤSitting in one of those cheap, black chairs the dance committee laid out at a table only you were at, your date was over an hour late and it was just now starting to sink in.

ㅤYou got stood up.

ㅤThis is unbelievable.

ㅤWith a sigh, you stopped your relentless tapping on the table and placed your chin in your hand as you watched everyone with sonder.

ㅤYour friends were occupied with their own dates. Taking pictures, dancing, sneaking off to make out in a bathroom stall, things you've never really pictured yourself doing but sometimes wished you could. More or less because you craved the real experience and making memories and not because you wanted a pair of lips trailing bacteria and saliva down your neck.

ㅤYeah, maybe you could cross that one off as unnecessary.

ㅤYou checked the time on your phone. 10:38 PM. Might as well go for a walk and rethink everything about your life, then come back with a new identity.

ㅤOne step outside and you had already made another regret: not bringing a thicker jacket.

ㅤHumiliation was stronger than your need for warmth, so you walked down the steps and strode into the night.

ㅤNo particular destination, just listening to the sound of the cool breeze, clacking of your accessories, and your shoes hitting the pavement with each step. A car or two would drive by and you'd wonder if they thought you were a loner, or maybe a runaway.

ㅤPassing a lampost, you grazed your fingers over the pole and observed the light and shadows sharply reacting to your bone structure. Your gaze softened at such a simple sight. Maybe if things had gone well, that hand would be warmer, held by the art guy who apparently profited over your emotional expense.

ㅤ"I can't help but respect the hustle. I would've done it for the yen, too," you softly whispered to yourself. You took a few more steps then collapsed on the bench next to the post, shivering at the cold.

ㅤYou sighed as you tilted your head up towards the moon, your breath coming out as white wisps. For a moment, you only counted the stars you could see.

ㅤThen warm tears began to trace your cheeks.

ㅤIf you weren't freezing cold, you would have lifted a hand or two to wipe them away. But it's okay. There's nobody around. You walked far enough to guarantee that. It's pretty stupid to be crying over something so trivial. You've shed a few tears over exams, failed experiments, teacher comments, normal things that you deemed worthy crying over because they were failures—important things that slipped past your logical thinking.

ㅤThis wasn't like that. This wasn't a test below 80% or a shattered beaker, this was your emotions. A consequence you couldn't have foreseen like you could with a grammatical error. All you did was say yes. All you wanted was a date.

ㅤYou closed your eyes, taking shaky breaths.

ㅤ"Moon, why does nothing ever go right for me?" You asked quietly, as if a round rock in earth's orbit could offer you comfort.

ㅤYou tilted your head back down and wiped the tears onto your sleeves.

ㅤ"... What the hell are you doing here?"

ㅤ"WHAT the FUCK, Senku—" you flinched and snapped your head towards the voice, recognizing him immediately. "—where did you—?"

ㅤ"Answer my question first," he deadpanned. Senku was wearing a much better coat than you were. Regular pajama pants, too, and bedhead hair.

ㅤYou turned your head away, still attempting to fix your whole crying situation. "I'm on a walk. Th—the school gym was crowded."

ㅤ"Uh huh." Reluctancy to tell the truth detected. Senku settled on analyzing you and piecing together what actually happened instead—not like it'd be hard, he saw this coming a week ago.

ㅤHe gave a dramatic sigh. "Move over."

ㅤHesitantly, you made room for him on the bench. He sat a little too close. No, that's probably you.

ㅤ"Art freak ditched you?"

ㅤSilence.

ㅤ"I'll take that as a yes. All your critical thinking deficient friends too busy to accompany you?"

ㅤSilence.

ㅤ"Damn, rough night."

ㅤ"Don't say it," you muttered, lowering your head a bit more.

ㅤHe smirked. "Say what?" He teased, leaning closer to you for more effect. "I told you—"

ㅤ"Senku," you stopped him, voice coming out with less confidence and stability than you intended. You sniffled.

ㅤSenku leaned back on the bench and stared straight ahead for a moment of silence. Uncomfortable silence, significantly on his part.

ㅤWere you crying? He could've deducted that from the sight of you moping on the bench earlier when he started walking here, but he sincerely hoped you weren't because he wouldn't know how to deal with that—how to make you feel better.

ㅤHe'd seen you cry before... from afar... with someone else handling it. After all these years, he still didn't wouldn't know what to do exactly.

ㅤOne time, you cried over a failed math test because your friends wanted to take you somewhere fun the night before. They said you worked too hard and that it was important for you to relax every now and then. Senku disagreed with their beliefs, always encouraged you to study more. When you started crying, he thought only about how he was right. When your friends started frantically apologizing, comforting you until you started smiling and laughing again, he wondered if he was wrong.

ㅤLogically, no, not at all.

ㅤEmotionally?

ㅤSenku never bothered with your questionable taste in the people you surround yourself with until then. He realized he forgot to factor in your emotional need for connection, experience, and comfort, and that's why you stuck around those gossipy idiots, half of whom are failing in at least two subjects.

ㅤSenku clicked his tongue and spoke up. "Look, you got stood up by some kid who'll probably be a deadbeat when he grows up, who cares? You'll live. You should be more above this, genius."

ㅤYou shifted slightly. "That's not helpful."

ㅤHe shrugged. "Tch, this isn't my sort of thing to do so have some empathy."

ㅤHe glanced at you and heard a soft chuckle. He smiled. Laughter, good. Clear sign of positive improvement in emotional recovery.

ㅤ"Then why are you trying?" You snickered, leaning back on the bench and tilting your head towards him. The thought of Senku Ishigami, comforting you, was impossible in the way that it was hilarious.

ㅤSenku looked away, trying not to catch your contagious laugh. "Because you were crying."

ㅤSilence.

ㅤHe leaned back and crossed his arms. You only watched, absorbing that singular sentence. Such a simple reason, yet it meant way too much than it should have coming from Senku.

ㅤHe stared at the street, you stared at him.

ㅤ"Shouldn't you be watching Saturn's moons right now?" You blurted.

ㅤSenku looked at you. Was that it? It was that easy to make you feel better? Noted.

ㅤ"Didn't feel like graphing things myself all night." He shrugged, stretching his legs out. "Went on a walk instead and saw your lonely ass moping on a bench."

ㅤ"Besides," he continued, looking up at the night sky. "this is nice, too. Y'know I'm not only into astronomy because of the scientific details and data, right? I mean, c'mon, any person would be curious of this too." Senku gestured at the sky.

ㅤYou followed his gaze. A small smile spread on your lips, the moon offered you comfort after all.

ㅤSenku went on to list 88 more facts about space with words that had too many syllables to count. You were half listening, half wondering why scientific terms always ended in '-tion'.

ㅤIn the middle of his rant, you pulled out your phone.

ㅤ"12:00 AM, happy New Year, Senku," you joked, smiling at him. "The dance is wrapping up by now. I'll just tell my friends I went home early or something." You sighed as you slid lower down the bench, shivering.

ㅤ"Alright, might as well wrap this disaster up too," Senku huffed, standing up with his hands in his pockets. You followed and began walking down the path to your place, Senku walked next to you.

ㅤSilence. Comfortable silence. Just listening to the sound of the cool breeze, clacking of your accessories, and you and Senku's shoes hitting the pavement with each step.

ㅤYou passed by a 24/7 convenience store, glancing up momentarily at the bright light. Senku followed your gaze and stopped walking.

ㅤ"Want something?" He nodded towards the store. You shook your head. He sighed. "Alright, one second."

ㅤSenku took your arm and dragged you into the convenience store.

ㅤYou yelped. "Wh—!?"

ㅤSenku let go of you at the cashier desk, disappearing into one of the aisles. You blinked and made awkward eye contact with the worker.

ㅤYou peeked your head into the shelves. "Senku?" You called out. Senku magically reappeared next to you.

ㅤ"Get yourself a snack or whatever. I'm just looking for something."

ㅤYou shivered. "God, you're like a ghost," you murmured.

ㅤPhone in hand, packet of pastillas in the other. You waited for Senku at the front. He returned with what looked like one of those ice packet things the elementary school office used to hand out to those injury prone kids for bruises and stuff. You decided not to question it. Senku snatched the pastillas from your hand and handed it to the cashier. Before you could pull out your wallet, he had already paid.

ㅤYou narrowed your eyes at him and slowly put your wallet back.

ㅤOn your way out, he pressed something on the ice packet then handed it to you. It was warm.

ㅤ"Ohh, it's a heat pad," you said. Senku nodded.

ㅤ"You looked like you were about to get a secret fourth degree level of frostbite back there."

ㅤYou glared at him but laughed anyway and thanked him, feeling significantly rejuvenated by the warmth. Senku opened your snack.

ㅤ"What are these?" he held one piece up as you two walked side by side. You took one for yourself and popped it in your mouth.

ㅤ"Pastillas," you said, chewing. "They're good, try one."

ㅤSenku ate one and made a face.

ㅤYou snickered at his reaction. "What? Don't like it?"

ㅤHe held the packet up and squinted at the ingredients. "Does this thing have, like, 15 pounds of sugar per serving? Holy." You laughed. "You're going to get one cavity per bite. Never letting you pick snacks again."

ㅤ"I'm sorry, I didn't know you wanted to share in the first place. And if you hate it so much, why are you eating more?" You glared, taking the packet back before Senku could toss another piece in his mouth.

ㅤ"I was stating facts, not my true opinion," he countered. "Your taste in convenience store snacks are nutritiously inefficient, but admittedly, not bad." Senku made a hand gesture as he spoke.

ㅤThe rest of the walk to your house was—for one, warmer, and a lot nicer than what you expected with that AP art classmate.

ㅤIn retrospect, you didn't know why you said yes in the first place. It wasn't like you two were super close. It was clearly a one-sided crush. Senku called him a distraction. You knew that. And yet, caught up in the moment of when he asked you after class, you said yes.

ㅤYou made impulsive decisions sometimes. It's a good thing Senku knows how to knock sense into you. Never is it polite nor gentle, but he does it without being prompted, and is always conveniently there for you when it ends in disaster—painfully accurate according to his prediction.

ㅤYou snuck a glance at him while you walked in that same, slow pace, as if you were mutually savouring the moment.

ㅤSenku, the guy who would either solve climate change or become a dictor and involve you in his madness either way, cheered you up, bought you a heat pad and a snack, and then walked you home.

ㅤAre you just now realizing this?

ㅤRealizing him?

ㅤYou faced forward once again, ignoring the heat rising to your cheeks.

ㅤFuck. This is going to be your worst distraction yet.

ㅤ"We're here." Senku's voice snapped you out of the clouds. Your eyes darted from his to your home. You muttered a small "Oh" and started walking towards your door.

ㅤYour hand lingered on the door knob. You could already hear Senku's footsteps fading into the quiet of the night.

ㅤThat's a bit unfair of you, isn't it?

ㅤ"Senku," you called out.

ㅤHe turned around with that unfathomable look, like walking you home was just another task on his to-do list that he was satisfied to check off and not an overly romantic gesture you didn't know he was even capable of.

ㅤ"Thank you." You smiled.

ㅤYou caught a glimpse of his smirk before he turned away.

ㅤ"Don't go accepting any more dates with ridiculous guys without consulting me first," he retorted.

ㅤWith a sigh, you entered your house, kicked your shoes off your aching feet (you walked a farther distance than you thought), and collapsed on your bed, fully content with sleeping in your current attire.

ㅤYou threw the empty packet of pastillas in your trash and left the heat pad on your desk.

ㅤYour phone buzzed in your jacket. You hummed, contemplating whether or not you should fall asleep now or answer that.

ㅤOpening your phone, you squinted at the brightness, scrambling to turn it down. You opened the notification. A text from your friend group.

[name]whre are u??????

did thwy get kidnepaped holy shit guys

vroo i told u their date was sketchy asf like

ㅤYou chuckled at their texts and typed out a reply.

i'm fine lol

i went for a walk and ran into senku.

SO U DID GET KIDNEPAPD😥

no, hs walked me home

wair werent you supposed to be with that guy feom yiur art class?

he stood me up, not a big deal.

senku filled in.

ㅤToo tired to elaborate, you dropped your phone on the bed next to you and began to count stars until you fell asleep.

©️ staravyzㅤ(¬_¬") do not steal, translate, or repost.

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

New Fear

I have been on tumblr a long time. A looooong time. Far longer than I should have been, really.

And I've been arguing with schmucks about birds being dinosaurs... pretty much that whole time. Folks tend to get angry when a dinosaur blog posts birds, after all. It happens.

And while the game of whack a mole is ancient, it's not unpredictable. Usually, it ends in one of two ways:

the person admits they were wrong, and they back down

the person stops arguing with me and blocks me

I'm okay with either one, really. the former is ideal, the latter at least brings me peace.

Never before this past weekend has someone insisted they were right no matter what I say

And this isn't a coincidence.

Over the past few decades, anti-science sentiment has risen worldwide. I mean you just have to look at the COVID19 pandemic, or general reactions to the problems of climate change.

While of course people who think their opinion matters more than evidence have always existed, they have never been quite this bold before.

The idea that the colloquial definition of dinosaur matters, at all, is a completely new idea and one that has no basis in reality.

And yet, multiple people this past weekend argued exactly that.

And it sounds exceptionally similar to the idea that people could pick and choose things about COVID19 to believe, or the general republican position on science (only things that back up their bigotry are true).

It really seems to reflect a general increase in anti science sentiment and public anti-intellectualism.

Reality isn't actually up for debate. Reality isn't actually subjective. And science is the measure of reality

This isn't the same as the biases of society impacting science and making it worse. Saying "what people think is more important than science" is not the same as saying "science forgot a very important variable / factor / to consider data gained by different cultures / to have a wide variety of perspectives/ etc."

And allowing people to continue to perpetuate and believe in delusions leads directly to the spread of misinformation, leading to more people not understanding reality, and so on

This matters because reality matters. Because the reality of our world is not something we can change or escape. And, in fact, us ignoring the reality of the world - like thinking we can have infinite growth on a finite planet - is directly leading to the destruction of that world (climate change).

I am terrified of the rise of anti-science sentiment. I am terrified of the rise of cherry picking, deciding reality is what you want it to be, ignoring evidence. We see this from purely scientific topics all the way to social justice (how much of racism is ignoring the evidence of a) race being a social construct and b) how much racism impacts people's lives? Almost all of it).

This is bigger than birds being dinosaurs or evolution or climate change. This is about our society going on a deeply disturbing and self-destructive path.

And I really don't know what to do about it.

[yarmiko-art]

PARAsocial relationship

Miss Anna became the sensation of the Gamble Galaxy almost overnight. Young idol quickly climbed the career ladder, sparing neither herself nor others. Nevertheless, in public she manages to maintain a squeaky clean reputation, hiding her full name - SusANNA Patria Haltmann 2.0 More info under the cut

▲ After his daughter died during a test of the Star Dream interdimensional protocol, Mr. Haltmann was getting closer and closer to the edge. For years, he had been making the same wish on a clockwork star again and again: to bring his girl back to life. But the mechanism remained stationary. Max saw the glass eyes on that damn cat-like metal face open in response to his request, but beyond that, nothing happened. This worthless machine couldn't even fix the tragedy it caused. Instead of bringing mother back into their family, it took away the last thing he had. Mr. Haltmann's condition was already far from stable, when he made a decision: "If magic doesn't help me, then science will" in one of his last attempts to cling to elusive memories

▲ HWC had patents for the cloning technology for some time, although it needed improvement, it was quite capable of recreating the a little girl`s body. However, Mr. Haltmann was gone to far to understand that the clone will be *LIKE* his daughter, but will not *BE* her. He was going to put all the memories of the original into it, of course it had to be her!

▲ The clone turned out to be an immediate disappointment - the hair had the wrong color, the mannerisms are slightly different from those that he is used to. Despite the fact that the girl was just organically developing on the basis of those given memories. But she wasn't good enough for Mr. Haltmann, even when he had almost completely forgotten his daughter due to prolonged exposure to the Mother's Computer. Susanna 2.0 was shelved as a failed project. Max didn't even flinch when it turned out that she had cut off all her ties with HWC and disappeared

▲ Anna has exactly the same data as Susie: starting from vocals and ending with some sadistic tendencies. Which, in the process of her growing up, only worsened due to an acquired inferiority complex, expressed in her absolute hatred of Susie. She identifies all her problems with Susie, projecting very, very hard

▲ When Mr. Haltmann was alive, Anna blamed him for everything (which is deserved), but when she learned that Max Profit Haltmann had died somewhere on the outskirts of the galaxy, and his miraculously-turned-out-to-be-alive daughter took the CEO place... Anna will make sure, this isn't for long.

▲ She felt strange. This man didn't care about her at all. So why then are her eyes burning and she wants to burst into tears?

▲ "Do you know what it's like to remember something and know that these memories aren`t yours? To look in the mirror and see someone you hate?"

[mysticstronomy]

ARE WE ALONE IN THE UNIVERSE??

Blog#436

Saturday, September 14th, 2024.

Welcome back,

Are humans unique and alone in the vast universe? This question--summed up in the famous Drake equation--has for a half-century been one of the most intractable and uncertain in science.

But a new paper shows that the recent discoveries of exoplanets combined with a broader approach to the question makes it possible to assign a new empirically valid probability to whether any other advanced technological civilizations have ever existed.

And it shows that unless the odds of advanced life evolving on a habitable planet are astonishingly low, then human kind is not the universe’s first technological, or advanced, civilization.

The paper, published in Astrobiology, also shows for the first time just what “pessimism” or “optimism” mean when it comes to estimating the likelihood of advanced extraterrestrial life.

“The question of whether advanced civilizations exist elsewhere in the universe has always been vexed with three large uncertainties in the Drake equation,” said Adam Frank, professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Rochester and co-author of the paper.

“We’ve known for a long time approximately how many stars exist. We didn’t know how many of those stars had planets that could potentially harbor life, how often life might evolve and lead to intelligent beings, and how long any civilizations might last before becoming extinct.”

“Of course, we have no idea how likely it is that an intelligent technological species will evolve on a given habitable planet,” says Frank. But using our method we can tell exactly how low that probability would have to be for us to be the ONLY civilization the Universe has produced. We call that the pessimism line. If the actual probability is greater than the pessimism line, then a technological species and civilization has likely happened before.”

Using this approach, Frank and Sullivan calculate how unlikely advanced life must be if there has never been another example among the universe’s ten billion trillion stars, or even among our own Milky Way galaxy’s hundred billion.

The result? By applying the new exoplanet data to the universe’s 2 x 10 to the 22nd power stars, Frank and Sullivan find that human civilization is likely to be unique in the cosmos only if the odds of a civilization developing on a habitable planet are less than about one in 10 billion trillion, or one part in 10 to the 22nd power.

“One in 10 billion trillion is incredibly small,” says Frank. “To me, this implies that other intelligent, technology producing species very likely have evolved before us. Think of it this way. Before our result you’d be considered a pessimist if you imagined the probability of evolving a civilization on a habitable planet were, say, one in a trillion. But even that guess, one chance in a trillion, implies that what has happened here on Earth with humanity has in fact happened about a 10 billion other times over cosmic history!”

For smaller volumes the numbers are less extreme. For example, another technological species likely has evolved on a habitable planet in our own Milky Way galaxy if the odds against it evolving on any one habitable planet are better than one chance in 60 billion.

But if those numbers seem to give ammunition to the “optimists” about the existence of alien civilizations, Sullivan points out that the full Drake equation—which calculates the odds that other civilizations are around today—may give solace to the pessimists.

“Thanks to NASA's Kepler satellite and other searches, we now know that roughly one-fifth of stars have planets in “habitable zones,” where temperatures could support life as we know it. So one of the three big uncertainties has now been constrained.”

Frank said that the third big question--how long civilizations might survive--is still completely unknown. “The fact that humans have had rudimentary technology for roughly ten thousand years doesn’t really tell us if other societies would last that long or perhaps much longer,” he explained.

But Frank and his coauthor, Woodruff Sullivan of the astronomy department and astrobiology program at the University of Washington, found they could eliminate that term altogether by simply expanding the question.

“Rather than asking how many civilizations may exist now, we ask ‘Are we the only technological species that has ever arisen?" said Sullivan. “This shifted focus eliminates the uncertainty of the civilization lifetime question and allows us to address what we call the ‘cosmic archaeological question’—how often in the history of the universe has life evolved to an advanced state?”

That still leaves huge uncertainties in calculating the probability for advanced life to evolve on habitable planets. It's here that Frank and Sullivan flip the question around. Rather than guessing at the odds of advanced life developing, they calculate the odds against it occurring in order for humanity to be the only advanced civilization in the entire history of the observable universe. With that, Frank and Sullivan then calculated the line between a Universe where humanity has been the sole experiment in civilization and one where others have come before us.

Originally published on https://science.nasa.gov

COMING UP!!

(Wednesday, September 18th, 2024)

"IS IT POSSIBLE TO STOP TIME??"

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from National Geographic:

As keen navigators of the wild, penguins often wander the far limits of their territories.

Normally, these ice-cold explorations are pretty short-lived. But in an astonishing feat, one emperor penguin, alone and malnourished, recently made landfall on a beach in Australia, more than 2,000 miles away from its native Antarctica. 

For a human, that distance is equivalent to doing more than 44,000 laps in a Olympic-size pool.

On November 1, the adult male was spotted waddling up Ocean Beach in Denmark, a town in Western Australia, where he was later brought to safety by local wildlife experts. The arrival of the emperor penguin, now nicknamed Gus, marks the first time the species has ever reached the continent.

In the bird world, rare displacements such as these are referred to as vagrancies, says Casey Youngflesh, an associate professor at Clemson University who utilizes data science to study ecology and understand drivers of biodiversity.

Gus was found alive and moving but severely underweight, enough so that its backbone was visible at an angle, according to a wildlife rehabilitator with the country’s Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. Gus will likely need weeks of rehab before he’s completely healthy again and can be potentially released back into familiar waters.

Determining what exactly caused the penguin to end up where he did is another matter, as some experts suggest that he could have been blown off course by a storm and gotten disoriented or had some of its other navigational senses disrupted in some way.

[saythatuwill]

hello my dear ( @lyricallymelodic ) !!! so sorry that the second chunk took me a bit to get back to, i didn't forget!!

but luckily for you, i promise that this analysis will be worth the wait, for a reason i'm obviously going to get into! (STRAP IN, ANDROID!NOAH FELLAS)

this won't be as extremely long as the android!vessel one, but don't take that as laziness! the information we're about to learn... >:3

so... shall we?

ANDROID!NOAH — TELOMERES // SLEEP TOKEN

as you may recall, this song was already used for an android!noah fic title (but didn't make the cut for the selected song for the fic). the actual significance of this song? well, it's lore related, of course!

You guide me in

To safety and silence, oh

As you breathe me out

I drink you in, oh

post-sentience, noah has found himself genuinely happier than ever. not only is he free to feel emotion like any human could, he's, well... free to feel love like a human, too. take into consideration that as a companion android, they feel a programmed artificial love. that's not real, that's not pure and genuine.

but this? this is. he doesn't have to be anyone but himself, and neither do you.

it's safe, he's safe, you're safe. and we know how much of a little asshole he is, but he adores you. really, he does.

And we go beyond the farthest reaches

Where the light bends and wraps beneath us

And I know as you collapse into me

This is the start of something

but this isn't all just about the way noah feels. no, this is vaguely recounting something. a new threshold in your relationship with him. this isn't about noah finding love and the "start" being the start of the relationship. there's something else that's a start.

"the farthest reaches" refer to parts of you that you haven't let him see. but you're ready to show him, but you're going to go along with him to unveil this part of you. collapsing, you're afraid. you are afraid of his reaction to the truth. you are showing him something no one else knows about.

this song isn't about HIS lore; it's about yours. not a backstory of noah, more like an important plot point. a plot point that he is witnessing for the first time.

Rivers and oceans

We could beckon, no

Your eyes and your limbs

Are instruments to pick apart

The distance within

well, that's an odd thing to say about you, isn't it? "your eyes and your limbs are instruments to pick apart the distance within"...

i want to show you something, and it DIRECTLY relates to the main inspiration behind the android au. that being, detroit: become human. (do not ask me the science behind what i'm about to explain because not even the devs of this game have an explanation for it ok just hear me out)

all androids are obviously designed from M.I.N.D to look humanlike and unique, but they're customizable. underneath though, they all generally look the same. i like to think it's kind of like... their "skeleton".

underneath, it's like a milky white metal. some androids are able to use this to emulate a "human touch" (for instance, jolly would be able to do something like that because his original purpose was detective related. if he needed to go through certain spots that had a security door, he'd be able to get in by doing exactly this) while others only show this skin when significantly stressed (or on the verge of self destruction).

this can also be used for an android to transfer memories or data to another android, each of them shedding their skin to directly transfer things.

sentient androids will often use this with their partners, either android or human. it's meant to show a sign of trust, it's an intimate thing. literally opening themselves up to another person.

between two androids, it's a silent but extremely special way to communicate love and feelings. they can share memories, senses, and the knowledge that they can be this open to each other.

this is an example with two androids.

but what does this have to do with you and noah, or this plot point?

"your eyes and your limbs are instruments to pick apart the distance within". limbs, picking apart the distance within.

noah is holding you one night, and it's comfortable. he adores you, it's late in the night, and it's the first time he sheds his skin to display that trust in you.

what he doesn't expect is you also shedding yours.

he's not the only android in the relationship, he never was. you have been an android this entire time. the whole reason you were apprehensive about getting a companion android is that YOU were a companion android also. you'd gone sentient years ago after mistreatment, you fled and spent so long blending in with humanity.

that's why he was never able to pick up on the fact you weren't human. companion androids can make themselves hot or cold, they can get "sick", they can get tired, because they're meant to emulate humanity. and suddenly, it all clicks.

you always had a phone with you for texts and phone calls from him, but every time he's caught a glance at it, it always looks like it's turned off. because you don't need to use it. you're an older model of companion android, but you have the SAME EXACT software as him.

for the first time, you're showing the truth, you're revealing a secret you've hidden so well. you're so terrified of him hating you or loving you less because you've been lying. you're being vulnerable for once. he's able to see your memories, your feelings, everything you've kept hidden away, it's all there now. he can feel it, see it, all of it.

Let the tides carry you back to me

The past, the future

Through death

My arms are open

naturally, he's stunned, in total shock of this new truth. of this reality, and maybe he always saw the signs but never thought anything of them. but you take his shock as rejection, untangle yourself from him, and leave the room.

but he doesn't care. he doesn't care what you are or what you're not, because it's still you. this revelation changes nothing, he wouldn't go back and change a thing. he would still stay by your side anyway, he wants to stay by your side forever, even in death when internal systems start failing. (androids vaguely have a religion going on with them, as we know from the android!vessel storyline, i might get into this at a later date.)

so noah goes after you. he chases you throughout the house (you're stubborn and so is he) until he corners you. nothing has changed, his feelings haven't changed. he'd rather die than let you go. and you probably have an argument back and forth with him, where you try to insist that he shouldn't want you around because you've been living a lie, while he essentially tells you that you're fucking crazy.

then...

We go beyond the farthest reaches

Where the light bends and wraps beneath us

And I know as you collapse into me

This is the start of something new

when it goes quiet, noah extends his hand to you. he's not saying a word, he's just waiting. longing. just for you to shed your skin for him again. for a minute, there's nothing.

then you do. you grab his hand, and both of you watch as you shed your skin for each other, and the memories and feelings flash through your minds. the memories of you two together from both perspectives, little flashbacks, words that neither of you could really figure out how to say out loud. it's all there.

the light, more like the electricity being transferred between the both of you, wraps around you both, surges back and forth. there's a newfound trust between noah and you now, and if he didn't know before than he knows now that he could never want anything other than this.

start of something new? it's a new beginning, a new chapter in your lives together!

surprise fellas!!! you're an ANDROID!!!

obligatory delta tag :3 : @astronoids

[chalkstardust]

Day 3: Tattoos for @lastdaysofwar

"Please excuse him. He's a kaiju groupie, he loves them."

Newt bristles. "Shut up, Hermann. I don't love them, okay? I study them."

But of course, the conversation goes downhill from there, like it always does.

Nobody understands how Newt feels about the kaiju, or why he would get these tattoos.

Worse than that, nobody ever asks. They jump to conclusions, judging him and assuming he's either a groupie or an insensitive jerk. (Okay fine, he can be a bit of a jerk sometimes, but that's beside the point.)

Like this Becket guy, who's clearly already made up his mind about him. And Hermann, who... well, that one stings, honestly. Even with all the shit that's gone down between them, Hermann should know how seriously Newt really takes this. The tattoos are his way of showing that. He's permanently etched these creatures onto his skin—how much more serious can he get?

At least he's trying to do something, unlike those inlanders who like to pretend nothing's wrong, or the rich assholes who can afford to pack up and move away from the coast. Newt may not be one of the guys in the giant robots, but he's contributing too. His work is fucking crucial, thank you very much.

Science is what will save them. 

Curiosity. Understanding. And, yeah, maybe there is some love there, too. Even if it's not what people think it is. How could you not love something so fascinating, even a little? The kaiju are proof of alien life! Humans aren't all alone in this big scary universe. Granted, in this case, it's not exactly a good thing, but still. It's huge, and so is the implication that there could be others somewhere out there, too (hopefully friendlier).

He wants to learn everything he can about them, how they work, where they come from, how they're made. Because that's what his data is telling him—the kaiju are grown. By whom, though, and why? There has to be a reason, a plan, a purpose, more than just attacking one coastal city at a time. There's a bigger picture, one they can't see yet.

Newt's got his own plan to change that.

As soon as he presents his Drift idea, Pentecost will be sure to approve it, and everyone will see that Newt's been right all along. They'll have to take him seriously after that. And if it's not approved—though come on, why wouldn't it be—then he'll just have to get creative. Because this is how they'll win.

Nobody understands, but that's okay. They don't have to.

Newt knows what he's doing.

[fixaidea]

So here's the thing: I don't usually engage with or care about top/bottom discourse EXCEPT when I think it's funny, sooo...

Let's do some Science and examine Pingxie in a Very Serious Manner.

To do this, first let's take a look at some data gathered from all the danmei novels and shows I know (relevant for calibration you know, since they have actual canon top/bottom dynamics.)

SVSSS

Shen Qingqiu - Since his cause of death wasn't starvation we can assume - well, at least hope - that he can make instant noodles, if nothing else, but he will absolutely avoid having to cook if he can help it.

Luo Binghe - As the Protagonist he of course has to be The Bestest at everything (...except sex, apparently) and it's mentioned that both Bingge and Bingmei use their culinary skills to woo the people they want to sleep with. He's also the top, even though everyone involved would be better off if he wasn't.

MDZS

Lan Wangji - Becomes a pretty decent cook, as per the extras. Prefers to top.

Wei Wuxian - It's not like he's incompetent, he doesn't burn or undercook the food, it's just that his taste is so extreme that his dishes are basically inedible to anyone else.

TGCF

Hua Cheng - No special talent for cooking, but at least he's not actively dangerous. There's no on-page sex scene in the novel, but it's made obvious that he tops.

Xie Lian - Biohazard. Weapons-grade culinary anti-talent. Gastronomy's answer to Vogon poetry.

Golden Stage

Ulike in most of the other novels on the list, food doesn't really have much symbolic meaning and not much is said about either Fu Shen's or Yan Xiaohan's cooking skills, exept for a brief mention of Fu Shen pickling eggs to pass the time. This is a rare couple that canonically switches.

Guardian

Zhao Yunlan - This man considers instant noodles cooked with coffee an okay way to surprise a boyfriend. He really wouldn't mind topping, which he keeps lamenting throughout the book, but he's paired with Shen Wei who might just have the strongest set preference out of everyone on this list.

Shen Wei - Likes to dote on Zhao Yunlan by cooking for him and is genuinely very good at it.

Word of Honor (mind, I have only watched the show here)

Zhou Zishou - Can keep himself alive, but left to his own devices would probably make due with charred-and-yet-undercooked fish or something.

Wen Kexing - A competent cook. While obviously not detailed in the drama I looked it up (or asked someone, I can't remember) and he's the top here.

Erha

Chu Wanning - Perfected exactly one (1) dish, is rather... unfortunate otherwise. You could not pay this man to top.

Mo Ran - Excellent cook. Actually worked in a kitchen at one point in his life, giving and receiving food is basically his main love-language.

Now that we have examined these canon couples and have drawn all the relevant conclusions, let's apply what we learned to our non-danmei, might-as-well-be-canon-but-isn't ship.

Wu Xie - Can cook just fine both in the novel and the drama-verse even if it doesn't come up too often. In the first season he cooks up a pretty decent feast for his friends and in the Yucun books he helps come up with the dishes they would serve in their restaurant.

Zhang Qiling - The entire Thing of this poor sod as a character is that he knows how to survive but not how to live. Taking the time to prepare nice meals or cook anything beyond basic sustenance just... doesn't fit that picture.

So.

I rest my case.

[lisbeth-kk]

May Prompts (23) Apology

The Luckiest Girl in the World (chapter23)

Summary: Rosie shares a surprise with her parents and uncle. All of them have different thoughts about this unexpected development, and silent negotiations are carried out.

Twenty-Three Years Old

I knew that Papa not fully understood my reason for studying international politics and data, but to his credit he didn’t for one second try to convince me to give it another thought and opt for something science related instead. Dad was just relieved that I’d finally had found a path to walk, after several failed attempts. Uncle Myc, well he tried to hide how utterly pleased he was with my choice, but by now I knew him well enough to read the signs. Truth be told, said signs weren’t that subtle.

“Bien choisi ma chérie,” he beamed at me, while Papa scowled at him.

“Merci oncle,” I retorted. “I can’t wait to start this and go to Paris.”

The three-year BA degree was taught by The University of London Institute in Paris. We would be taught in English, but if we had an A level in French, we could also take French courses. I’d learned French in school for years, and uncle Myc and I often conversed in French when uncle Greg wasn’t around.

I think it’s needless to say that my security and comfort in France was well taken care of. Papa and uncle Myc had a conversation using their eyes only when I spilled the beans. Dad knew exactly what was going on and went to make tea while negotiations were carried out. Once the brothers were satisfied, uncle Myc took out his phone and sent several texts or emails. By now, I knew it’ll be futile to pester any of them of what was going on. I was just relieved that no one had tried to talk me out of it, making me feel uncertain or guilty for leaving the country; actually, moving out of my childhood home.

My reasons for choosing this subject were multifaceted. I’d always enjoyed learning facts, obscure and otherwise, about different countries and cultures. Having had a relatively unorthodox upbringing, containing all sorts of people, played a big part too. The cherry on top was that the school was abroad. Nana’s tales of her experiences overseas and how educating it is to have lived some time in another country and society, had always seemed enticing to me.

***

The university was situated close to the Invalides and the Seine, while my lodgings were in the Charonne area in the 11th arrondissement on a cosy cobble street, with a nearby metro station. My landlady, Marguerite Vachon was one of uncle Myc’s acquaintances, from where, I still have no idea. 

Marguerite preferred that I used her given name instead of the formal, Madame Vachon.

“Je ne suis pas ancient,” was her favourite line and reminded me quite a lot of Nana.

“I am not ancient, dear,” was a statement Nana had used every so often.

Marguerite was a petite and elegant woman. Her hair was cut in a bob, coloured black with a few red stripes. I never saw her without lipstick or makeup. She always wore bespoke dresses and high heeled shoes. I deduced that she was far more than a landlady. When I left for school in the morning, I could hear her sing or talk on the phone, and when I returned, she always opened her door and inquired about my day.

“She’s clearly spying for Mycroft,” Papa’s voice told me.

And there was something about her, which I couldn’t put my finger on. Something mysterious, secret, perhaps even dangerous. 

***

It seemed like Marguerite had my schedule memorised. Not that I’d given her the information, but when she slipped, I got my suspicions confirmed. To be fair, it wasn’t slipping per se. She couldn’t have known that class was dismissed early that day.

Luckily, I spotted her and was able to hide behind a wall before she saw me. I’d almost missed her, because she wasn’t wearing her normal dress and high heels, but red trousers, a white and blue-striped jumper, and white trainers. Instead of one of her posh handbags, she had a dark blue canvas bag diagonally draped over her chest.

Papa had taught me a few tricks when it came to the fine art of following people without being discovered. I’ve never had much use of them obviously, but now I saw an opportunity. How I would explain this and apologise if I was caught, never crossed my mind.

I was sceptical when Marguerite walked to the metro station, but I was able to get into the same carriage as her, and it seemed that she had no idea she was being followed. She got off three stops later and walked in the direction of the big Père-Lachaise cemetery.

A fitting location for obscure and shady affairs.

Marguerite knew where she was going, walking briskly but not hurried. I had walked the premises several times before and knew where she was headed when I saw the grand tomb of Sir Richard Wallace, the British baronet who contributed millions to the Parisian poor during the Siege of Paris in the early 1870s.

This reeked of another posh Brit I knew.

When Marguerite had placed a folder by the tomb and another woman picked it up five minutes later, I had a hard time keeping myself composed. The woman picking up the folder was the French equivalent of Anthea.

I sent uncle Myc a text when both women were out of sight.

Thanks for keeping track on me, but this thing is like being part of a French noir film. You can tell Papa I think you’re both growing sentimental, and I demand an apology!

Also available on AO3

@calaisreno @totallysilvergirl @keirgreeneyes @raina-at @helloliriels

More tags in the replies

[dr-futbol-blog]

Allies, Pt. 11

The Lanteans are on a conference call with the wraith queen who seems to be unsatisfied by the delivery system McKay had to cobble up in record time to distribute the virus -- a project with which he had been involved not at all previously. McKay, that is, had been asked to weaponize the virus that Beckett had originally intended for "curing" the wraith from what he had called "an unnatural state." The wraith queen is making demands on them and they in turn are all quite literally turning to McKay for a solution to the problem, are looking for McKay to come up with something that would keep their wraith "allies" from disclosing their location to all the other wraith. McKay sounds justifiably irked as he promises to come up with something, feeling like he has so many times before that saving them is falling on his shoulders and his shoulders alone.

McKay: OK, OK. I will figure something out. But no more holding back. I want to know everything there is to know about hive ships: schematics, power distribution, life support configurations, everything you've got. Wraith Queen: Then you shall have it. McKay: For real?

As mentioned, not holding back is something that McKay seems to be doing himself in this situation, not bottling up his emotions but letting them show, letting his frustration show instead of trying to hide it from Sheppard like he has for most of the season. But at the same time, McKay wishes that Sheppard would likewise not hold back from him but let him in on the things that are eating him up inside. If McKay had been bottling up the resentment he felt toward Sheppard's actions, Sheppard had been hiding the concern and worry he felt for McKay, had tried to keep McKay from seeing how hard he was working on keeping McKay safe. It seems like "no more holding back" was good advise for the both of them, and in this episode we do see both of them incrementally learn to let go of control, of trusting one another.

McKay demands to know everything while not actually expecting the wraith to share their secrets, and we may note that again when he is having to argue for his science, for his theories, for his place in the world, McKay comes across as competent and in control. He seems more surprised than anyone that the wraith actually agree to give him access to the data, and for a moment he looks like a lost child, not knowing where to go from here because he had been ready to argue his case for much longer.

Note also that we see the wraith queen give the command to one of her crewmembers by nodding her head, not saying anything in words. While it is of course possible for the other wraith to simply read her expression, we may recall that the wraith have a psychic network and seem to communicate with each other mentally, and the queen giving this command non-verbally is the same as McKay understanding what Sheppard had just been telling him without using his words. We may also note that we had started the episode with McKay whining that Sheppard wanted everything and now he is asking for everything himself, so it seems that at the end of the day they both do "like everything." It was never that he resented Sheppard wanting everything from him, providing Sheppard gives him life. It is just that complaining is a way of getting attention from Sheppard, which he also craves.

Chuck: Receiving transmission. Weir: Make sure it's secure. McKay: Yeah-yeah-yeah, we're completely firewalled. Let me see that. Oh! She actually did it! I mean, this is the motherlode Weir: What is, exactly?

The wraith queen sends in the data and we see McKay quickly move to the terminal to skim over what had been sent. Notable here is that McKay has to turn away from Sheppard instead of turning toward him, like we usually see them turn, because they are standing so close that having swivelled toward Sheppard would have put him right up against Sheppard's body. They are standing that close. There is more space between McKay and Weir for him to turn.

Weir advises caution like she had previously when the wraith had sent them data, and in his excitement to get his hands on the data McKay brushes past her concerns. The wraith manage to send in a virus with the data -- and we should recall that we had started the season with the wraith virus seeking to reveal their location to the wraith in The Intruder (S02E02). This had been the first time that we saw McKay and Hermiod working together and like in this scene, we had seen McKay tell an "Airperson" to get out of his way so that he could take a look at it. They had the following discussion about it then:

McKay: In all likelihood it was transmitted in a compressed format -- it took a while to unfold, to spread to the point where it could adversely affect our systems. I think it probably happened during your return flight to Earth. Since then, it's been dormant, waiting for some kind of a trigger. Sheppard: Like what? McKay: Possibly the fact that we're once again in proximity to wraith territory? I think it was ultimately designed to take control of the navigational system -- fly the ship right to them. Weir: If they get their hands on the Daedalus, they'll not only have access to the intergalactic hyperdrive technology but they'll have all the navigation data that'll lead them straight to Earth. McKay: That's what they wanted all along. A new feeding ground.

This brings the episode into conversation with the start of the season, creating a ring composition to the narrative. It is likely that they downloaded the virus to the Lantean systems here in a compressed format, and it took a while for it to unfold and affect their systems, and what the wraith had been looking for all along was access to intergalactic hyperdrive technology and navigation data to lead them straight to Earth.

However, even though the virus was downloaded here, it does not mean that it was here that the virus was released into their system or that it was McKay's fault, his over-excitement over the prospects, that ultimately doomed them. He says that they are firewalled here, and it is possible that the wraith would have been unable to make use of the virus if they had kept it on this terminal. But later on, they have the entire science corps working on the data, they have distributed it across several terminals and we even see Zelenka transfer data from one computer to another, so the virus infecting their systems is not McKay's fault -- at least not entirely (albeit, as the leader of the science corps, ultimately). But it is true that he seems excited here and that he is throwing caution to the wind because he is keen to start working with it, his fingers itching to go through all the data. But there is definitely an element of contrapasso here, of McKay winding up paying for his own mistakes by the end of the episode.

McKay pushes the Canadian gate technician out of his way and this action too has a comedic beat to it. It is McKay being McKay. And it is true that when he is under a time element that he is often impatient in getting people out of his way because there are times when all of their lives depend on him being able to execute some action in the nick of time -- as seen prominently e.g., at the end of Critical Mass (S02E13). As we had seen in the previous episode where Zelenka had put up the shield immediately upon getting the command from McKay, the people of Atlantis have learned to do as he says, to get out of his way when he nudges them, are not expecting him to be polite. Later on in McKay and Mrs Miller (S03E08) Sheppard describes Rod as someone who says "please" and "thank you," implying that he is the opposite of McKay in this. McKay does not say please and thank you. And it is entirely possible that it is witnessing scenes such as this that makes Sheppard feel like it is true when in truth we frequently hear McKay say both "please" and "thank you." He seems to use them reflexively like the Canadian that he is -- much more frequently, in fact, than Sheppard himself.

McKay just seems to feel like there is a time and a place for being courteous and trying to save everyone's life is not that time. Often he also says the words "please" and "thank you" in a tone that may make the recipient feel like he does not actually mean what he says, which may also contribute to Sheppard feeling this way. The important thing here is that even though Sheppard has definitely made note of this, even though he is well aware that McKay is not perfect, this is not and never has been a deal-breaker to him. And, as noted previously, it is Sheppard himself who we hear say both words much more infrequently, and he has a known tendency to project his own faults on other people. Regardless, McKay sending the Canadian technician rolling away on his swivel chair is amusing and serves to distract the viewer from this being the moment that the wraith get one over them.

McKay's use of the term "motherlode" in reference to the data is somewhat curious, especially when we had just been told that the wraith had sent them "everything." A prospecting term, the motherlode refers to a large vein or principal supply of something but not to the totality of something or the sum of everything, which is what McKay is actually meaning. Given that McKay is not a prospector, it is possible that he uses the term with little regard to the connotations but it is a curious choice from the writers because, apart from being the name of a famous gay night club in San Francisco, Motherlode was also a Canadian rock band whose hit single When I Die seems appropriate to where Sheppard and McKay are in their relationship right now:

When I die I hope to be A better man than you thought I'd be It's been hard to make you see What kind of man I'm trying to be All I ask for you to try To understand what it means to me It's not hard to understand why you Get discouraged all the time I keep trying not to worry, but I Can't help feeling lost in you But I love you Love you And I need you Time goes by and you'll find That we'll achieve a love sublime

Connecting his mention of the motherlode to the lyrics might seem like a stretch if not for the fact that both McKay and Sheppard seem to quote songlyrics to each other later on. Regardless, it is fitting for the occasion. But then they hit us with a much more obvious reference:

McKay: Only everything you've ever wanted to know about wraith technology but were afraid to ask! Weir: Why are you doing this? Wraith Queen: We have suffered extensive damage. Weir: We could render assistance. Wraith Queen: You would do this?

McKay's response to Weir's question here is interesting, and this one is a clear and obvious reference. McKay is making an intentional reference but why he does it in character and what the writers are trying to communicate with the reference can be different things. The explicit reference is to the 1972 film Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask), one of Woody Allen's best-known features, and while there are questionable things connected to both him and the film, it belongs to the canon of North American popular culture. While McKay may have seen the film, and surely has heard the title that has been lampooned hundreds of times in different contexts, it is possible that he is not thinking about the film at all here. He is just feeling elated and hence came up with a funny way of answering Weir's question, probably intending nothing by it.

Of course he may have seen the film, and he may even have read the book of the same name it is based on (1969, by David Reuben) because even though it came out when he was still a baby, it was a popular sex manual and perused by people for a long time. The book is... problematic, and yet its popularity was a part of the sexual revolution of the 1960s, of liberating attitudes regarding sex. There are things written about homosexual people and gay sex in the book that are unfortunate but at the same time, it was the first contact many regular people had with homosexuality, where ordinary folks were made to think of gay people as people instead of as predators and reprobates.

It is by far not a progressive book by today's standards and the author himself even updated some of his views later, but it is a book that contains information on homosexuality, gay sex, gay culture and even gay slang and lingo at a time when this information was difficult to come by, when there was no internet a young boy could hop on to figure things out and even libraries did not hold volumes that would have answered their questions. It was many people's first contact to the concept of homosexuality, and while it is certainly not an endorsement of homosexuality, for many curious gay youth it would have been the first place where they got to read about gay sex, how it happened, what kinds of things you could do with another man, where you could meet other people who were like you, what the gay underground was like, what kind of language they used.

It is not accidental that they make the reference to this book because, as discussed in connection with Michael (S02E18), the writers of the show have flirted with the concept of conversion therapy in several episodes and have connected it with Sheppard in particular, weaving it into his tragic backstory. Given when Sheppard was born and the social class his family belonged to, it is entirely possible that he might have been forced to undertake conversion therapy in the early 1980s, during the Reagan administration and the height of the AIDS epidemic -- many young men were. Reuben wrote about conversion therapy:

Couldn’t homosexuals just be born that way? A lot of homosexuals would like to think so. They prefer to consider their problem the equivalent of a club foot or birthmark; just something to struggle through life with. This explanation is a little tragic. It implies that all homosexuals are condemned without appeal to a life some of them say they enjoy so much. Actually for those who want to change there is a chance. How? If a homosexual who wants to renounce homosexuality finds a psychiatrist who knows how to cure homosexuality, he has every chance of becoming a happy, well-adjusted, heterosexual.

This was a commonly held view when Sheppard and McKay were growing up, and it took a lot of time and effort to educate people to see gay people as people. As discussed previously, the therapy even seemed to have worked on Sheppard, at least for a time. He had tried "not being wraith," he had married a woman and joined the most homophobic branch of the US military, he had made every effort to live life on the straight and narrow. In Outcast (S04E15), Sheppard tells his ex-wife: "Well, in his mind, marrying you was probably the best thing I ever did," and if wealthy industrialist Patrick Sheppard had used a lot of his money, power and influence to make sure that his son was "cured," it is easy to see why he would have thought that Sheppard marrying a woman voluntarily had been the best thing he had ever done. But Sheppard was not happy. His ex-wife mentions him taking on the kinds of missions married men are not sent to during their marriage, which tells us that he was deeply unhappy.

It is interesting that the way McKay makes the reference is by replacing the word "sex" with "wraith technology" here, especially because in the very next scene we get an exchange between Sheppard and Zelenka where they talk about reading about sex as a kid in connection with the wraith data. Sheppard volunteers the information that when he had been a kid and got his first encyclopedia, he had started with the letter S, which Zelenka interprets as meaning Sex. Even more curious is that Zelenka actually uses the word "sexuality" instead of sex, as though it had been sexuality that Sheppard had been reading about when he was a kid and got his first book with information on sex. Sex is a taboo subject and so of enduring interest to boys and girls that are reaching maturity. They understandably want to know more about it, and the sex ed of boarding schools in the 1970s likely left a lot to be desired.

And it is especially if and when a boy had questions about sex and sexuality that could not be answered by traditional sources of information, that he could not ask his father about, that it would make sense for Sheppard to have wanted to read about it. Sex is a topic that interests Sheppard, he seems to think about it a lot. He may have thought about it a lot when he was growing up and because he would not have had many role models, would not have had neutral sources of information, it is easy to see how it would be confusing for a boy trying to figure out what sexuality means for him. Teenage years are confusing to everyone but adding to it the lack of information on non-normative sexual orientations and growing up in a social environment where it was condemned, figuring out who he was and what he liked must have been very difficult.* There would have been things about sex he had wanted to know and literally had been afraid to ask.

And for better or worse, Reuben's book was a source of information where many people, both straight and not straight, had their first contact with the topic. It is possible that McKay had read it. It is likely that Sheppard had read it, and it might even be something his conversion therapist would have made him read. And what we are reminded of here is not only that sex is a thing both Sheppard and McKay partake in, but that both of them may have strange ideas and hang-ups related to sex and same-sex relationships that would result from them being misinformed in their adolescence. For a variety of reasons, the two of them have to work much harder to make their relationship work than heterosexual couples, and there are bound to be misunderstandings. The wraith queen admits that they have suffered "extensive damage" here, and that is also true of Sheppard and McKay. They too have suffered extensive damage in their own ways, and this is why the importance of allies, of having people around them who know about their relationship and support them, is so important.

The film that McKay references is a comedy and there is once more a comedic beat to his line here, the happy look on his face disguising the darker implications of the reference.

Weir: We're supposed to have an alliance, aren't we? Sending information on wraith technology was a remarkable act of good faith on your part. Wraith Queen: Your assistance would be... acceptable. Weir: Alright, then. We have a deal.

McKay occupies himself skimming through the data they had been sent while Weir and Sheppard continue their chat with the wraith queen, albeit Sheppard is not saying anything, having said nothing at all after seeming to accidentally snap at the queen and then place himself between her and McKay. As Weir continues negotiating with her, we may note that Sheppard has not moved to stand one inch closer to Weir but instead occupies a space where he blocks the queen's view of the room behind him, of where McKay is bent over a laptop.

We see that Sheppard seems to be making some effort to keep himself calm by how he closes his eyes, how he lifts his chin and takes a deep breath, and it is possible he needs to do this because he seems to realize -- correctly -- that it will be McKay who is asked to make these repairs to the hive, on the hive, as their foremost expert on wraith technology. Three weeks ago Sheppard would not have even considered allowing McKay to go on an occupied hive, especially not without him, but it seems very much like the Lanteans and the wraith are not the only ones with an alliance, that Sheppard and McKay have formed an alliance of their own where they are making every effort of being supportive of each other. They too have made some kind of a deal that has required good faith to be acted on both of their parts. Sheppard may not be happy about it, but he is happy to see McKay happy. It had been a while since he had seen McKay happy like this.

Continued in Pt. 12

-*

"When I was 13, I secretly read my parents’ old copy of Dr. David Reuben’s Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex, first published in 1969. Standing nervously at the bookshelf, I was poised to replace the volume quickly if I heard footsteps. The chapter on homosexuality explained, “The homosexual must constantly search for the one man, the one penis, the one experience, that will satisfy him. He is the sexual Diogenes, always looking for the penis that pleases. That is the reason he must change partners endlessly. [In gay marriages] the principals never stop cruising. They may set up housekeeping together, but the parade of penises usually continue [sic] unabated… Mercifully for both of them, the life expectancy of their relationship together is brief.” My face went hot with embarrassment.

I know now that the book was blithe and stupid, but I think many people, gay and straight, assume gay men are worse at maintaining relationships than straight people are." [x]

[seannessy]

⚠️POLITICS⚠️ - so, what the hell just happened

yep your favorite catboy political scientist is back. regarding that last political science post about all the reasons why i thought Kamala would win im not going to beat around the bush here, i was not just wrong, but i was mega wrong. a lot of us were. so? what happened?

the long and short of it is that we are currently in the Death of Liberalism as an ideology. i have data to back this up, but i think we can all sort of feel it in the vibes too, right? the Trump campaign won because they were Populists, and the Kamala campaign lost because they couldn't get rid of the weight around their neck that was their association with the Liberalism status quo in the eyes of the voters.

look across the board, states that went strong red also had massive turnout for very progressive policies. Florida had a 57% support for a state constitutional amendment to make Abortion a civil right (of course, it still lost, because in Florida in order to win with civil rights issues like this you actually need 60% of the vote, because the same people who made the Florida election system also went to Florida schools). and keep in mind, this was when left leaning voters were largely staying home, its the republican voters who are supporting these kinds of things, because they're populist.

if you want even more proof, look at the demographics that trump gained massive support bases in this election cycle. largely, they are exactly the same ones that were energized by the Bernie campaign.

the biggest takeaway from this, and the only one i can really remember after for 2 hours trying to get this post finished through 2 factory resets of firefox to get it to actually do something, is that Populism Sells, and Institutionalism just doesn't anymore.

we're in a new world, politically, there really arent any historical parallels that i can point to to compare. if you want some advice for what to do now, then just make sure you're prepared in the case of an emergency, make sure you're keeping in touch with all of your friends, and build relationships in your community and neighbors. at this point, building up our local and interpersonal infrastructure is all we can do right now.

[sleeplesssmol]

Matilda's Crash Course on Divination and Gnosis.

Summary: Arcanum knowledge, intertwined with human science, birthed modern pharmacy and chemistry from ancient alchemical experiments. While scientists focused on empirical data, arcanists delved into Gnosis, including divination. Unlike scientific experiments yielding consistent results, divination offers subjective interpretations, rendering varied conclusions even among experts. Thus, divination lacks verifiability and cannot unveil unknown knowledge. Therefore, it's almost impossible to divine the cause of the Storm.

Original quotes by Matilda in the special chapter below:

In fact, the system of arcanum knowledge is not completely separated from that of human science. For example, the modern pharmacy and chemistry actually originated from the experiments of potions and alchemy in the ancient times. They developed into two different systems because arcanists focused more on the knowledge ignored by scientists, which is Gnosis, The "knowledge" we learn from divination is exactly under this category.

If two human researchers test Snell's Law at two different places at the same time without making any mistakes, they will always reach the same conclusion. Or, if two potionists use the same ingredients and follow the same formula to make the Cough Cough Stop Stop Potion separately, their products will also have similar effects. However, if two diviners respectively perform divination on the same thing, they will probably see totally different visions. Because what the divination shows is merely "omens." The interpretation of these omens is in fact a kind of subjective deduction based on the reality, and there is no such thing as a standard answer. Even if the two diviners draw the same conclusion, it is more of a coincidence than a result that implies divination, they can't have other diviners verify it, because a hundred different diviners will give out a hundred different conclusions.

In other words, even if someone finds out a reason for the "Storm" through divination, they can't have other diviners verify it, because a hundred different diviners will give out a hundred different conclusions. That being said, the more possible result we get from the divination is nothing! Divination cannot bring knowledge which the diviners have never learned. The divination of such world-class knowledge as complicated as the reason for the Storm" can only be performed by world-class diviners. We may find one or two diviners like that if time continues to be reversed, like Nostradamus, but he lived in the 16th century. Besides,even Nostradamus is not always right.

[kanguin]

Hi, idk who's going to see this post or whatnot, but I had a lot of thoughts on a post I reblogged about AI that started to veer off the specific topic of the post, so I wanted to make my own.

Some background on me: I studied Psychology and Computer Science in college several years ago, with an interdisciplinary minor called Cognitive Science that joined the two with philosophy, linguistics, and multiple other fields. The core concept was to study human thinking and learning and its similarities to computer logic, and thus the courses I took touched frequently on learning algorithms, or "AI". This was of course before it became the successor to bitcoin as the next energy hungry grift, to be clear. Since then I've kept up on the topic, and coincidentally, my partner has gone into freelance data model training and correction. So while I'm not an expert, I have a LOT of thoughts on the current issue of AI.

I'll start off by saying that AI isn't a brand new technology, it, more properly known as learning algorithms, has been around in the linguistics, stats, biotech, and computer science worlds for over a decade or two. However, pre-ChatGPT learning algorithms were ground-up designed tools specialized for individual purposes, trained on a very specific data set, to make it as accurate to one thing as possible. Some time ago, data scientists found out that if you have a large enough data set on one specific kind of information, you can get a learning algorithm to become REALLY good at that one thing by giving it lots of feedback on right vs wrong answers. Right and wrong answers are nearly binary, which is exactly how computers are coded, so by implementing the psychological method of operant conditioning, reward and punishment, you can teach a program how to identify and replicate things with incredible accuracy. That's what makes it a good tool.

And a good tool it was and still is. Reverse image search? Learning algorithm based. Complex relationship analysis between words used in the study of language? Often uses learning algorithms to model relationships. Simulations of extinct animal movements and behaviors? Learning algorithms trained on anatomy and physics. So many features of modern technology and science either implement learning algorithms directly into the function or utilize information obtained with the help of complex computer algorithms.

But a tool in the hand of a craftsman can be a weapon in the hand of a murderer. Facial recognition software, drone targeting systems, multiple features of advanced surveillance tech in the world are learning algorithm trained. And even outside of authoritarian violence, learning algorithms in the hands of get-rich-quick minded Silicon Valley tech bro business majors can be used extremely unethically. All AI art programs that exist right now are trained from illegally sourced art scraped from the web, and ChatGPT (and similar derived models) is trained on millions of unconsenting authors' works, be they professional, academic, or personal writing. To people in countries targeted by the US War Machine and artists the world over, these unethical uses of this technology are a major threat.

Further, it's well known now that AI art and especially ChatGPT are MAJOR power-hogs. This, however, is not inherent to learning algorithms / AI, but is rather a product of the size, runtime, and inefficiency of these models. While I don't know much about the efficiency issues of AI "art" programs, as I haven't used any since the days of "imaginary horses" trended and the software was contained to a university server room with a limited training set, I do know that ChatGPT is internally bloated to all hell. Remember what I said about specialization earlier? ChatGPT throws that out the window. Because they want to market ChatGPT as being able to do anything, the people running the model just cram it with as much as they can get their hands on, and yes, much of that is just scraped from the web without the knowledge or consent of those who have published it. So rather than being really good at one thing, the owners of ChatGPT want it to be infinitely good, infinitely knowledgeable, and infinitely running. So the algorithm is never shut off, it's constantly taking inputs and processing outputs with a neural network of unnecessary size.

Now this part is probably going to be controversial, but I genuinely do not care if you use ChatGPT, in specific use cases. I'll get to why in a moment, but first let me clarify what use cases. It is never ethical to use ChatGPT to write papers or published fiction (be it for profit or not); this is why I also fullstop oppose the use of publicly available gen AI in making "art". I say publicly available because, going back to my statement on specific models made for single project use, lighting, shading, and special effects in many 3D animated productions use specially trained learning algorithms to achieve the complex results seen in the finished production. Famously, the Spider-verse films use a specially trained in-house AI to replicate the exact look of comic book shading, using ethically sources examples to build a training set from the ground up, the unfortunately-now-old-fashioned way. The issue with gen AI in written and visual art is that the publicly available, always online algorithms are unethically designed and unethically run, because the decision makers behind them are not restricted enough by laws in place.

So that actually leads into why I don't give a shit if you use ChatGPT if you're not using it as a plagiarism machine. Fact of the matter is, there is no way ChatGPT is going to crumble until legislation comes into effect that illegalizes and cracks down on its practices. The public, free userbase worldwide is such a drop in the bucket of its serverload compared to the real way ChatGPT stays afloat: licensing its models to businesses with monthly subscriptions. I mean this sincerely, based on what little I can find about ChatGPT's corporate subscription model, THAT is the actual lifeline keeping it running the way it is. Individual visitor traffic worldwide could suddenly stop overnight and wouldn't affect ChatGPT's bottom line. So I don't care if you, I, or anyone else uses the website because until the US or EU governments act to explicitly ban ChatGPT and other gen AI business' shady practices, they are all only going to continue to stick around profit from big business contracts. So long as you do not give them money or sing their praises, you aren't doing any actual harm.

If you do insist on using ChatGPT after everything I've said, here's some advice I've gathered from testing the algorithm to avoid misinformation:

If you feel you must use it as a sounding board for figuring out personal mental or physical health problems like I've seen some people doing when they can't afford actual help, do not approach it conversationally in the first person. Speak in the third person as if you are talking about someone else entirely, and exclusively note factual information on observations, symptoms, and diagnoses. This is because where ChatGPT draws its information from depends on the style of writing provided. If you try to be as dry and clinical as possible, and request links to studies, you should get dry and clinical information in return. This approach also serves to divorce yourself mentally from the information discussed, making it less likely you'll latch onto anything. Speaking casually will likely target unprofessional sources.

Do not ask for citations, ask for links to relevant articles. ChatGPT is capable of generating links to actual websites in its database, but if asked to provide citations, it will replicate the structure of academic citations, and will very likely hallucinate at least one piece of information. It also does not help that these citations also will often be for papers not publicly available and will not include links.

ChatGPT is at its core a language association and logical analysis software, so naturally its best purposes are for analyzing written works for tone, summarizing information, and providing examples of programming. It's partially coded in python, so examples of Python and Java code I've tested come out 100% accurate. Complex Google Sheets formulas however are often finicky, as it often struggles with proper nesting orders of formulas.

Expanding off of that, if you think of the software as an input-output machine, you will get best results. Problems that do not have clear input information or clear solutions, such as open ended questions, will often net inconsistent and errant results.

Commands are better than questions when it comes to asking it to do something. If you think of it like programming, then it will respond like programming most of the time.

Most of all, do not engage it as a person. It's not a person, it's just an algorithm that is trained to mimic speech and is coded to respond in courteous, subservient responses. The less you try and get social interaction out of ChatGPT, the less likely it will be to just make shit up because it sounds right.

Anyway, TL;DR:

AI is just a tool and nothing more at its core. It is not synonymous with its worse uses, and is not going to disappear. Its worst offenders will not fold or change until legislation cracks down on it, and we, the majority users of the internet, are not its primary consumer. Use of AI to substitute art (written and visual) with blended up art of others is abhorrent, but use of a freely available algorithm for personal analyticsl use is relatively harmless so long as you aren't paying them.

We need to urge legislators the world over to crack down on the methods these companies are using to obtain their training data, but at the same time people need to understand that this technology IS useful and both can and has been used for good. I urge people to understand that learning algorithms are not one and the same with theft just because the biggest ones available to the public have widely used theft to cut corners. So long as computers continue to exist, algorithmic problem-solving and generative algorithms are going to continue to exist as they are the logical conclusion of increasingly complex computer systems. Let's just make sure the future of the technology is not defined by the way things are now.