Tim Oertel

Programmer, Game Dev, Martial Artist, Runner, Triathlete, Thinker, Accelerating the Singularity.

[Tim Oertel @manax2]

@Opow29 your account was hacked?

[Tim Oertel @manax2]

@mattvanswol Not a photo, AI generated.

[Tim Oertel @manax2]

@TheWrysin @justinamash And in case it isn't clear, Section 8, Clause 1, which gives Congress the power "To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises.". "Duties" and "Imposts" ARE exactly tariffs.

[Tim Oertel @manax2]

@TheWrysin @justinamash Tariffs FUNCTION exactly like taxes. Its the government taking money from the citizens. They aren't different from sin taxes, sales taxes, income taxes or property taxes. They are effectively import taxes, that we end up paying. Regardless, the constitution SAYS he's not allowed!

[Tim Oertel @manax2]

@gwern @FleischmanMena It actually is! I normally brush my teeth while the water is getting to the right temp. Time AND water efficiency!

[Tim Oertel @manax2]

@ellipticurve @paulg Care to share a link?

[Tim Oertel @manax2]

@Quant_RX @paulg Individual immigrant status is not as clear cut as you imagine. And let's just hope your home, your life or your family don't depend on these human beings, doing jobs that you aren't or can't.

And there are ways of doing this that are sane, and then there's how Trump does it.

[Helen Toner @hlntnr]

Apparently still needs to be said:

If we're trying to compete with China in advanced tech, this is *insane*.

Even if this specific pause doesn't last long, every anti-international-student policy deters more top talent from choosing the US in years to come. Irreversible damage.

[Surya Ganguli @SuryaGanguli]

It makes no sense to train brilliant students and then make it difficult for them to join the American workforce, even temporarily. Canceling OPT will make America less competitive economically.

[Tim Oertel @manax2]

@DataDeLaurier @paulg @elonmusk Not having countries invade other countries makes the WHOLE WORLD safer and better for everyone. The US gets a LOT of benefit from free trade w a largely peaceful world.

[Republicans against Trump @RpsAgainstTrump]

Elon Musk posted these two tweets on the same day

[Tim Oertel @manax2]

@3DTOPO @Thom_Wolf Although we'll need to get out from under Nvidia for that, I think. We need cards that have twice the memory of their desktop lineup, but they only gave us 32G in the rtx 5090, so as (presumably) not to hurt their corporate sales.

[Michael Shermer @michaelshermer]

My advice to Democrats:

1. The far left progressive woke movement is over. Even if it seems like a good idea at the time (#metoo, #BLM, #georgefloyd, etc.) it has failed utterly & the vast majority of voters are against it.

2. Course correct to the center & focus on core liberal values: free speech, church/state separation, religious freedom, press freedom, political freedom, individual rights, reproductive choice, equality before the law, etc. Those values have held up for 250 years. Pronouns are not principles.

3. Stay focused on what matters. Case in point: Trump's EO banning birthright citizenship, guaranteed by the 14th Amendment. Dems instead had a paroxysm over @elonmusk alleged Nazi salute. It's almost as if Trump sent Musk out there to distract Dems with a shiny object. Don't fall for it.

4. Give voters some viable candidates in the 2026 midterms & the 2027 primaries: centrists, not leftists (Newsom has been a disaster for my state of California: if you run him you will lose again). Find candidates who embrace the above liberal principles, and don't pick 'em because they have nice hair or a shiny smile that Babylon Bee & SNL comedians parody.

5. Distance yourself from the googly-eyed, blue-haired, nose-ringed, rock-throwing, antifa-loving social justice warriors. They're not liberals. They're illiberal fascists who are destroying your party. Drop them like a bad habit.

[Tim Oertel @manax2]

@gwern I feel like you missed out. It was an inspiring movie about smart people, a hugely important film for my 15 year old self.

[Eliezer Yudkowsky ⏹️ @ESYudkowsky]

Nobody carries any sin upon their back but what they have personally chosen and done.

All of humanity has the work of learning from all of humanity's mistakes. History is not in anyone's blood, but for everyone with eyes.

[Tim Oertel @manax2]

@AmandaAskell I like that Claude seems more friendly, more coworker than just AI box. And I like getting a "pat on the head" when I've said something (potentially) insightful, but after the first few times, it's clearly exaggerating... which is disappointing.

[Tim Oertel @manax2]

@APFerrero @DAcemogluMIT Like farmers before, as their numbers shrinks they start voting as a more unified block.

[Tim Oertel @manax2]

@ron_not_bot @AlecStapp Until 20 years ago the Republican party was all in favor of "liberal" economic policy. Low tarrifs, free market, small government. This move has been going on for a very long time, far longer than "a generation". Only over the last generation has that trend started to reverse.

[Tim Oertel @manax2]

@holy_idea @ddebowczyk @Altimor I'm guessing but he means it's a Microsoft problem w export (or related an Obsidian problem w import), not a problem w Obsidian per se.

[Flo Crivello @Altimor]

Just realized I never said it here, but obviously I'm in full support of SB-1047.

I'll repeat that I say this as someone who 1/ strongly leans libertarian 2/ hates the state and regulation (I left my home country for this specific reason) 3/ dislikes paperwork as much as the next guy 4/ has a business which benefits immensely from open innovation in AI models 5/ is by and large extremely optimistic about technology and its potential for good.

I've found the poor quality of the conversation around the bill quite sad — we were supposed to be the shining city on the hill, the bunch of nerds that care about substance over everything else.

Instead, it seems like 90% of the bill's critics have barely read it, making factual misrepresentations so blatant one almost wonders whether they're willful.

Don't read 2nd hand reports — go read the bill's text directly instead, and you'll see it's very reasonable.

The TL;DR is: you have to at least *take some measures* to check whether this thing you're putting out into the world is safe.

Things like independent yearly audits, whistleblower protection, and making sure you can shut down your model if necessary (duh).

We're on track to give birth to a species that's infinitely smarter than humans — "please at least make sure it's safe before yolo-tweeting its magnet link" seems like a low bar to me. We have more stringent measures for cars or airplanes, and they've been an overwhelming net positive.