Tootfinder

This is incredibly important.
Computers (writ large) have historically been tools that help humans solve problems which do not intrinsically demand computers but need complex computation (possibly including text transformation!) which humans cannot do as well or as fast.
The fact that we have grown a subculture of people who only really know computers has led to the situation where “computer-people” disregard other issues & the concerns of everyone else.

Since it was relevant to a discussion I just had on here and is something most people probably haven't thought about much (unless you've taken one of a handful of philosophy classes), I thought I'd try to lay out a key piece of Descartes' Meditations (#philosophy

TOC: Journal of Chinese Buddhist Studies: Volume 39 (July 2026)
https://ift.tt/6HeWuJM
CFP (ONLINE SEMINAR / PUBLICATION OPPORTUNITY): Borders and Sustainability: Human and Natural…
via Input 4 RELCFP

Come to #D3A @ Nyborg on Oct 8 - We are organizing the workshop Data Science of Human-centric Mobility! https://d3aconference.dk/data-science-of-human-centric-mobility/
Sh…

New Hampshire voters head to the polls Tuesday for primaries that will set up a closely watched Senate contest
– a vulnerable open seat Democrats must defend if they are to have any shot at reclaiming the upper chamber.
The race opened when Jeanne Shaheen, 79,
the state’s three‑term incumbent Democratic senator,
announced her retirement.
Congressman Chris Pappas,
who represents New Hampshire’s first district,
is seeking the nomination and enters the…

New Hampshire voters head to polls in race crucial to Democrats’ Senate hopes
Centrist Chris Pappas faces progressive primary challenger Karishma Manzur while Republicans eye chance to flip seat

You can have a ridiculously shaped helmet in a Tour de France time trial, but it seems a padded bra is a push too far.
https://road.cc/news/fake-bra-size-aero-gains-row-prompts-uci-to-carry-out-extra-clo…

Fake bra size aero gains row prompts UCI to carry out extra clothing checks before Tour de France Femmes time trial
The UCI has warned that extra clothing checks will be conducted ahead of Tuesday’s time trial at the Tour de France Femmes, after concerns were raised that some riders were using extra padding in their bras to artificially enhance their chest size and improve their aerodynamics.The issue was first raised on Sunday by Wielerflits, who ... Read more

Just repaired a leaking, fuse-blowing Jura by finding the leak and replacing a broken O-ring. Probably 25 cents compared to approximately $500 if I had sent the machine back for servicing. Tomorrow morning's espresso is going to taste extra good. #coffee #jura #repair

Human translators manage good #translation because they comprehend the original text, know its intricacies and can actually creatively write to preserve its gist. Context is more than the surrounding paragraphs: it includes the cultural and social background, other books, etc. Sometimes it literally involves getting hints from the author. And in the end, it is deeply personal. It can't be "accurate", because no two people are the same, and no two languages map 1:1 (though the interpretation will also differ between different users of the same language); the best you can do is add translator's notes.
LLM translators manage good translation because they've been fed tons of human translation work, and quite often they manage to match an original human translation and plagiarize it. They may even seem better because they seem to manage it without sufficient context, but that's only because they've found a human translation that had that context already.
Or, well, technically they can also regurgitate something that makes sense only in the irrelevant original context.
#NoAI #NoLLM

TOC: Journal of Chinese Buddhist Studies: Volume 39 (July 2026)
https://ift.tt/dPMx4T9
New documentary study: Ioan Petru Culianu as a 1951 Convention refugee — the AAI/CIME Latina file…
via Input 4 RELCFP

The stakes in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary extend far beyond the state.
The winner will face Republican Mike Rogers in one of the country’s marquee general election contests,
and Democrats need to win races like Michigan if they hope to take control of the Senate.
But first, Democratic voters are deciding a different question:
whether the party’s future lies with its establishment, represented by Stevens,
or with an ascendant progressive movement embodie…

“If I prove that you can win statewide, taking on AIPAC, that is catastrophic”
Abdul El-Sayed says Tuesday’s Senate primary in Michigan is a referendum on the future of the Democratic Party.