English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

CowperKettle

00:33

> - Do you want to have the same brilliant deductive abilities as me, Watson? I've got an idea - let's transplant..
- No shit, Sherlock

CowperKettle

00:51

tchrist

01:10

@CowperKettle Yes! Notice also how much more evenly distributed their four peak sensitivities are than our three are. Our long and medium cones weren't our original ones; they split relatively "recently" after all mammals had gone through evolutionary winnowing where all mammals scurrying in the dark lost all but two cone sensitivities.

From here.

Dannyu NDos

Now I wish dinosaurs became people. Dang.

tchrist

Note that if you get cataract surgery, they put back in a lens that has a UV filter on it. If they don't, you can see things you can't normally see, down towards 325–340, rather than the ~370–380 cutoff that our lens allows through. So you can see UV scanners as bright violet. But your eye is easily by such high-energy light, so you have to wear very strong UV-blocking sunglasses outside for the rest of your life. They figured this out pretty early on, so don't make that mistake anymore.

But the violet light at 400 nm we can see only about 10% as brightly--normally.

> In the blue-green region (500 nanometers), only about 50 percent of light entering the eye reaches the image point on the retina. At 400 nanometers, this value is reduced to a scant 10 percent, even in a young eye. Light scattering and absorption by elements in the crystalline lens contributes to a further loss of sensitivity in the far blue.

Many, many flowers have strong violet and even ultraviolet components for signalling their avian and arthropod pollinators.

CowperKettle

@tchrist Wow, I never knew that

tchrist

@CowperKettle So we do have the hardware for seeing rather shorter wavelengths, down into the near-ultraviolet. It's just too dangerous to let us.

> With aging, the ratio primary/secondary UV filters in the human lens decreases from approximately 10:1 to 2:1.

Which is another problem.

CowperKettle

01:26

So basically we are like Trolls in Peer Gynt, and our eyes are scratched

tchrist

Yes.

The Human Eye Can See in Ultraviolet When the Lens is Removed.

Guardian article about all this.

> However, aphakic patients report that the process has an unusual side effect: they can see ultraviolet light. It is not normally visible because the lens blocks it. Some artificial lenses are also transparent to UV with the same effect. The receptors in the eye for blue light can actually see ultraviolet better than blue.

Military intelligence is said to have used this talent in the second world war, recruiting aphakic observers to watch the coastline for German U-boats signalling to agents on the shore with UV lamps.

> Professor Bill Stark, of the biology department of Saint Louis University, has carried out extensive research on ultraviolet vision in animals - and can see ultraviolet.

One of his eyes can see UV.

> The eye represents a compromise between clear focus and breadth of spectrum. What does ultraviolet look like? Prof Stark possesses UV vision because he is aphakic in one eye and, with Professor Karel Tan, has published research on the nearest visible equivalent. His conclusion is that it looks whitish blue or, for some wavelengths, a whitish violet.

You can't focus on a blue LED.

Our visual system isn't set up for that.

I'm talking monovalent blue.

> The human retina is sensitive to the ultraviolet (UV) spectrum down to about 300 nanometres, but the lens of the eye filters it out. This adaptation perhaps arose to protect the retina from the more damaging UV. It also avoids the increased blurry effect of having too wide a spectral range, since different wavelengths focus at different distances from the lens.

From here.

> Normal colour vision ranges from wavelengths of around 380 nanometres
(violet) to 750 nanometres (red). Most people can’t easily see light
shorter than 380 nanometres because the lens of the eye absorbs it.
If the lens is missing or removed, often due to cataracts, light
below the violet range isn’t blocked and can be detected down to
around 310 nanometres. Without the lens to focus light, these people
are far-sighted and need corrective lenses to focus at short
distances.

> Results/Conclusions: Andy had done some testing a week or so earlier with some co-workers and the vision cut-out for the 40-50 year olds was around 410-430nm. As shown in the test results, I was able to see quite a bit below that and still saw a bit of purple at 350nm and a tiny bit of brightness down to 340nm. So this seems to conclusively prove that I'm able to see into the Ultraviolet spectrum.

Now that's depressing!

CowperKettle

01:48

> In its array of dreamy colors
What gentle bliss to tired eyes!
Be quick to look: one soon discovers
'Tis but an evanescent prize.
Look - even now its tints are dimming,
A minute's wait, and naught to see.
Thus go all tints one's life is brimming,
By same avoidless decree.

Fyodor Tuytchev, "Rainbow", 5 August 1865 w.wiki/98dT

Fyodor Tyutchev

Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev (Russian: Фёдор Ива́нович Тю́тчев, IPA: [ˈfʲɵdər ɪˈvanəvʲɪt͡ɕ ˈtʲʉt͡ɕːɪf]; December 5 [O.S. November 23] 1803 – July 27 [O.S. July 15] 1873) was a Russian poet and diplomat. == Life == Tyutchev was born into a Russian noble family in the Ovstug family estate near Bryansk (modern-day Zhukovsky District, Bryansk Oblast of Russia). His father Ivan Nikolaevich Tyutchev (1768—1846) was a court councillor who served in the Kremlin Expedition that managed all building and restoration works of Moscow palaces. One of Ivan's sister Yevdokia Meshcherskaya (1774—1837), was a hegumenia...

Dannyu NDos

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetrachromacy

Some say that this "subject cDa29" is blessed. However, she said "everything seems too pink," IIRC.

CowperKettle

> Live in your inner self alone
within your soul a world has grown,
the magic of veiled thoughts that might
be blinded by the outer light,
drowned in the noise of day, unheard...
take in their song and speak no word.
(From Tyutchev's most famous verse, in Nabokov's translation)

Dannyu NDos

zmescience.com/medicine/genetic/tetrachromat-eyes-58479

Robusto

02:38

Rootl game #254

🟩⬛⬛⬛🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

⬛⬛🟩🟩⬛🟩⬛🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Dannyu NDos

Terminology help!

An adjective form of "fold" or "crush" would be perfect.

Robusto

@DannyuNDos If I knew what you wanted I might be able to help.

Dannyu NDos

Uhh... "crushed"?

tchrist

@DannyuNDos Folding, folded, crushing, crushed.

Folded paper, crushed ice.

A crushing loss.

Dannyu NDos

A folded paper is a good depiction. A crushed ice... not so much.

tchrist

02:43

Well, ice is a mass noun.

A crushed paper cup.

Dannyu NDos

Oh, "sealed" feels much better.

CowperKettle

Dannyu NDos

I can "seal" the boundary of a disc to get a sphere. I can "seal" each pair of antipodes of a sphere to get a real projective plane.

Almost, perfect.

Laurel

@DannyuNDos Happy Seollal, btw!

Dannyu NDos

Thanks!

Technically, it's the day after that, though.

And judging by that lunar new year is a culture shared by the CJK, I suggest to call it just lunar new year.

CowperKettle

03:12

> OpenAI CEO Sam Altman seeks as much as $7 trillion for new AI chip project

I can offer about RUB 100, provided that he returns RUB 101

Phrases of the day: tongue-in-chief and commander-in-cheek

Laurel

03:36

@DannyuNDos Not for me, in America lol

CowperKettle

03:55

східзахід - Затишно

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Ukrainian pop-song. They should somehow merge this into the Barbie movie using AI.

That might come out hilarious.

M.A.R.

04:36

Daily Sequence Octordle #748
4️⃣6️⃣
7️⃣8️⃣
9️⃣🔟
🕚🕛
Score: 67

CowperKettle

04:49

Rock band name of the day: Nerfed Nauseation

M.A.R.

Daily Octordle #748
8️⃣3️⃣
7️⃣6️⃣
4️⃣🔟
🕚9️⃣
Score: 58

@CowperKettle bruuuh

alphabet

05:52

TIL: spelunking is a term only used in AmE. The British equivalent is potholing.

alphabet

06:05

Disappointment Pot

Disappointment Pot is one of the entrances to the Gaping Gill cave system, located in a steep grassy shakehole some 120 metres (130 yd) south-east of Gaping Gill Main Shaft. Its mainly narrow stream passage descends a number of small shafts to enter the main system as a major inlet of Hensler's Master Cave. It lies within the designated Ingleborough Site of Special Scientific Interest. == Description == A 10-metre (33 ft) climb at the base of the grassy shakehole drops into a stream passage. Upstream, a climb enters a passage which after 100 metres (330 ft) leads to the stream sink and the Motley...

CowperKettle

Interesting. I only previously knew of pothole in the road irregularity sense

CowperKettle

06:45

-15°С

Sahaj

What place is that?

CowperKettle

@Sahaj Yekaterinburg

Sahaj

I'm guessing that's somewhere in russia

Are you Russian? I've always been fascinated by the country and its history.

alphabet

@CowperKettle Yes, that's the only sense of the word I've heard in the US. Apparently in Britain it's a verb.

CowperKettle

@Sahaj Yes

Sahaj

06:59

Nice. Do you have things such as Google and Twitter?

Or are they banned in Russia?

CowperKettle

07:45

@Sahaj Twitter is blocked, but I'm using VPNs

Google is not yet blocked, and YouTube is not yet too

CowperKettle

08:04

> Isopycnal mixing and diapycnal mixing work together to mix and ventilate the entire ocean.

CowperKettle

08:40

Breaking down fat byproducts could lead to healthier aging − researchers identify a key enzyme that does just that

Classical Opera ♫ Leon Lishner and Friends - Tachanka

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Native English speaker sings a Civil War song (Red song) in Russian

Leon Lishner

Leon Lishner (4 July 1913 – 21 November 1995) was an American operatic bass-baritone. He was particularly associated with the works of Gian Carlo Menotti, having created parts in the world premieres of four of his operas. He performed in many productions with the New York City Opera and the NBC Opera Theatre during the 1950s and early 1960s. == Life and career == Born in New York City, Lishner was the son of Russian Jewish immigrants to the United States. He earned diplomas in music from the City College of New York and the Juilliard School. In 1942–1943 he was committed to Sylvan Levin's...

Leon Lishner sings "Tachanka"

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Born in New York City, Lishner was the son of Russian Jewish immigrants to the United States. He earned diplomas in music from the City College of New York and the Juilliard School.[1] In 1942–1943 he was committed to Sylvan Levin's Philadelphia Opera Company; performing the roles of Arkel in Pelléas et Mélisande, Colline in La bohème, Doctor Blind in Die Fledermaus, and Doctor Bartolo in The Marriage of Figaro.[2]

Dannyu NDos

09:43

It seems that my brother dunno how to use to-infinitives.

CowperKettle

10:24

The word incorrectly is spelled incorrectly in every dictionary

the last two lines are impossible to decipher

CowperKettle

10:46

CowperKettle

11:29

Geography of the day: cold blob

M.A.R.

13:03

@DannyuNDos dunno = "don't know". I dunno it's kinda weird using it instead of "doesn't know".

Vikas

14:20

CowperKettle

HippoSawrUs

14:46

Odd Valentine's Day messages: 'You are sexy and loved.' or 'You are loved and sexy.' Either way, they're weird, right? They're not parallel or something because…why?

Robusto

@CowperKettle That could only be AI-generated. The crunched part of the car should be on the other side.

Wordle 967 5/6

⬛🟨⬛🟩⬛
⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
⬛🟨🟨🟩🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

CowperKettle

@Robusto Yes, they lack an internal representation of the world, thank God.

Not for the lack of trying..

> - Stage one involves composing a coherent reasoning structure intrinsic to the task, leveraging a set of atomic reasoning modules and task examples.
- During decoding, LLMs then follow this self-discovered structure to arrive at the final solution.

It demonstrates remarkable improvements, boasting up to a 32% performance increase compared to traditional methods like Chain of Thought (CoT) - 8 Feb 2024

Robusto

15:08

@CowperKettle What was the prompt for this one? Raccoon feeding off of Ukrainian supplies?

CowperKettle

15:23

@Robusto No, it's from a non-political Reddit sub

I'm avoiding political ones to save my brain from inflammation, as @M.A.R. has advised

> Heavy cannabis use increases risk of developing an anxiety disorder, study suggests. Researchers report that 27% of people who went to an emergency department for cannabis use developed a new anxiety disorder within 3 years, & men & younger people who used cannabis may be at higher risk for anxiety.

Someday during the next week, our Great Leader arrives in our city for a brief visit

60 years ago, 11 Feb 1964

Their first concert in the USA

Looks like some snow around

Blyad if by land, Kurwa if by sea

@Vikas He used to make fun of his name too, especially the form "Will", which also could mean "penis":

> So will I pray that thou mayst have thy “Will,”
If thou turn back and my loud crying still.

alphabet

15:40

Also TIL: The sound the velociraptors used to communicate in Jurassic Park was actually the sound of tortoises mating.

CowperKettle

Sonnet 143, which I love.

It's playful and tender, even despite the double entrendes

alphabet

16:49

@CowperKettle Out of curiosity: do Russian schools teach Shakespeare, or was it just something you encountered later in life?

I think most of us grow less appreciative of his work after being forced to read it so much.

tchrist

17:00

@CowperKettle "Both arms tattooed" which makes sense. But "nolle for as on return of money" doesn't seem to. I wonder if that's referring to a nolo contendere plea in some weird way.

> Thomas Whitney, known to his clients as the Professor, advertised
extensively in Omaha newspapers as a clairvoyant, palmist, and
astrologer. Whitney claimed he had no equal in giving advice on love,
law, deeds, wills, mining, divorce, changes, investments, patents, and all
other business of a financial nature. Readings cost only $1 for gentlemen
and $.50 for ladies. One of his customers proved to be unsatisfied with
the readings and the Professor was arrested for obtaining money under
false pretenses in December 1915. According the description on his mug

The Omaha police released Whitney after he agreed to return the money.

Hard to figure out that first word.

It's not bulb.

They describe his build as "stout". At 5′8½″ and 212# he will have had a BMI of 31.8. Given that 25-30 is overweight, 30-35 is obese, and above 35 is morbidly obese, they seem to be doing him a kindness.

alphabet

@CowperKettle I suspect "nolle pros. on return of money," a legal abbreviation for nolle prosequi. Meaning he won't be prosecuted for one specific crime.

The writer has an odd way of writing lowercase "R," as you can see elsewhere on the page, which is why the "R" in "pros." isn't easily recognizable.

The space in the middle of "pros." doesn't strike me as too unusual; that's the result of writing cursive quickly. There are also spaces before the "o"s in nolle and money.

Oh wait.

From tchrist's description, "nolle prosequi on return of money" means he won't be prosecuted at all, provided he returns the money.

"On" essentially meaning "upon, after."

tchrist

17:19

It's curious that they wrote both Thos and Thas as an abbreviation for Thomas. The one that Whitney signed has O, the one that the sheriff wrote has A. Maybe.

He had light chocolate bald hair?

Obtaining
Money under
False
Pretenses

jlliagre

18:03

Not completely false friends but clairvoyant clearly diverged between French and English. Being clairvoyant (an adjective) is a quality in French, meaning someone is perceptive, insightful while as I understand, it is here more a noun for people pretending to have some supranatural abilities like seeing the future. We would just call them voyants.

CowperKettle

19:47

@alphabet In school, I thought that Dostoyevsky was invented in Hell to torture school pupils. Until later in life I came across his books again

Mitch

@jlliagre 'Pretending'? That's pretty judgmental.

What if he's just not that good at it?

jlliagre

20:09

@Mitch 'Claiming'?

CowperKettle

20:27

CowperKettle

20:42

Long COVID May Be Linked to Serotonin Levels - Bullshit or Not?

CowperKettle

21:05

Geoffrey Hinton | Will digital intelligence replace biological intelligence?

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Robusto

21:23

Daily Octordle #748
🕚7️⃣
4️⃣9️⃣
8️⃣6️⃣
3️⃣5️⃣
Score: 53

Daily Sequence Octordle #748
5️⃣6️⃣
7️⃣8️⃣
9️⃣🕚
🕛🕐
Score: 71

jlliagre

21:54

Wordle 967 4/6

⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜
🟨🟩🟨🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

alphabet

22:04

@CowperKettle We had to read Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich, but my high school was pretty unusual.

Dostoyevsky is one of those authors that you're supposed to read if you want to be cultured, but I won't bother.

One Direction but every line is You're Insecure

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Remind me to cite that if we ever get a question about the cure-north merger

You're and insecure clearly have the same vowel /oː/

jlliagre

Daily Octordle #748
9️⃣🕚
4️⃣🔟
5️⃣6️⃣
7️⃣8️⃣
Score: 60

Robusto

22:23

0

A: Which one is the direct object and indirect object?

I gave the man a cake. According to this sentence, the previous analysis is not correct. We can differentiate between the direct and indirect object by adding or asking "what is the action?" and "whom did the action?". For example, what gave the man? (gave the man a cake). whom gave a cake? (g...

Someone is confused about the usage of who and whom.

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English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…