Rufus Hickok
@rufus-hickok.bsky.social
Occasional writer for Mashable, Bust, Ordinary Times, and others; author of "The Paris Bureau" 2020 DIO Press Inc, pathological reader, returned expat from Canada, New Yorker at the moment.
It's also *really* interesting to hear you can derail these language bots with poetry.
November 25, 2025 at 6:20 PM
It's also *really* interesting to hear you can derail these language bots with poetry.
It's tricky and I'm not explaining well, but it's interesting to see people trying to create a logical language model finding out that that's not how human languages work- the words only cover a fraction of the sense.
November 25, 2025 at 6:19 PM
It's tricky and I'm not explaining well, but it's interesting to see people trying to create a logical language model finding out that that's not how human languages work- the words only cover a fraction of the sense.
Oops- I meant human thinking is independent of language. We can't create a logical world in language because so much of our sense of the world lies outside of language. He compares it to the rules of a game not constituting the playing of the game.
November 25, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Oops- I meant human thinking is independent of language. We can't create a logical world in language because so much of our sense of the world lies outside of language. He compares it to the rules of a game not constituting the playing of the game.
I read this one because someone in the Real World ™️recommended it to me, and it's fine- I, too, love Orwell and agree with his conclusions about Trumpism and indecency. It's just... I think we need to move away from this somewhat decontextualized style of writing.
Andrew Sullivan firing on all pistons: "Donald Trump is the most indecent man, by far, to ever hold the presidency. He has openly mocked the disabled and the sick; he has reveled in stories of torture and murder; he has spent decades grabbing women “by the pussy” and bragged about it;
The Question Of Decency
Orwell, Trump, and the dangers of a profoundly indecent man in the presidency.
open.substack.com
November 25, 2025 at 6:12 PM
I read this one because someone in the Real World ™️recommended it to me, and it's fine- I, too, love Orwell and agree with his conclusions about Trumpism and indecency. It's just... I think we need to move away from this somewhat decontextualized style of writing.
Yeah, Wittgenstein is not the most straightforward writer. Also, he wrote one book (on language and reason) and then disowned it. But it strikes me that he did so because he decided "human thinking is largely independent of human thinking." Or "The sense of the world must lie outside the world."
November 25, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Yeah, Wittgenstein is not the most straightforward writer. Also, he wrote one book (on language and reason) and then disowned it. But it strikes me that he did so because he decided "human thinking is largely independent of human thinking." Or "The sense of the world must lie outside the world."
Also, Max von Sydow was really good in this, as I recall.
November 25, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Also, Max von Sydow was really good in this, as I recall.
He's really good in everything, even though I always remember the Warriors first, like everyone, and forget he was great in Twin Peaks too.
November 25, 2025 at 5:51 PM
He's really good in everything, even though I always remember the Warriors first, like everyone, and forget he was great in Twin Peaks too.
At the time, we were all just trying to figure out if the filmmakers knew about A Nightmare on Elm Street.
November 25, 2025 at 5:44 PM
At the time, we were all just trying to figure out if the filmmakers knew about A Nightmare on Elm Street.
I saw this movie as a kid, when it came out, and loved it. But it's kind of hilarious to me now that the poster was so intent on convincing the audience it's just like Indiana Jones (it's really not).
Dreamscape - 1984 one sheet movie poster original 27x41 | eBay
Size: 27x41. Year: 1984.
www.ebay.com
November 25, 2025 at 5:42 PM
I saw this movie as a kid, when it came out, and loved it. But it's kind of hilarious to me now that the poster was so intent on convincing the audience it's just like Indiana Jones (it's really not).
According to current neuroscience and old ass Wittgenstein.
AI quest is based on a flawed model. “The problem is that according to current neuroscience, human thinking is largely independent of human language —and we have little reason to believe ever more sophisticated modeling of language will create a form of intelligence that meets or surpasses our own.”
Is language the same as intelligence? The AI industry desperately needs it to be
The AI boom is based on a fundamental mistake.
www.theverge.com
November 25, 2025 at 5:39 PM
According to current neuroscience and old ass Wittgenstein.
I kinda preferred Nick Cave on the *other* opiate of the masses.
November 25, 2025 at 5:34 PM
I kinda preferred Nick Cave on the *other* opiate of the masses.
"Okay, sure he was a fascist. But, at least, he made sure the planes didn't run on time."
November 25, 2025 at 5:31 PM
"Okay, sure he was a fascist. But, at least, he made sure the planes didn't run on time."
"Little did we know when we set out on that whaling expedition that one whale in particular would become a metaphor for the vast, unknowable and terrifying nature of human existence."
November 25, 2025 at 5:29 PM
"Little did we know when we set out on that whaling expedition that one whale in particular would become a metaphor for the vast, unknowable and terrifying nature of human existence."
I can't stress, from a writing standpoint, how funny it is to try to use a metaphor in a piece of writing, and just signpost it with "that bamboo was a metaphor for our relationship." It's like telling a joke with "And now, here comes the punchline..."
November 25, 2025 at 5:25 PM
I can't stress, from a writing standpoint, how funny it is to try to use a metaphor in a piece of writing, and just signpost it with "that bamboo was a metaphor for our relationship." It's like telling a joke with "And now, here comes the punchline..."
I mean, I'm *guessing* that's what he said. No way I'm listening to that.
November 25, 2025 at 5:18 PM
I mean, I'm *guessing* that's what he said. No way I'm listening to that.
"We're immanentizing the eschaton, baby! Tell the Pope to take a seat and shut up! (Inhales an enormous line of cocaine.)"
In leaked audio recordings, Peter Thiel reveals he told JD Vance to ignore Pope Leo XIV on moral issues, including the development of ethical AI. He also suggested the American pope was a tool of the Antichrist.
NEW: JD Vance’s Top Donor Suggests Pope Leo XIV is Antichrist
In a leaked lecture, Peter Thiel says he’s urged Vance to ignore the pope on moral questions — and simply pray for him.
www.thelettersfromleo.com
November 25, 2025 at 5:16 PM
"We're immanentizing the eschaton, baby! Tell the Pope to take a seat and shut up! (Inhales an enormous line of cocaine.)"
My father made about 40k a year at the electric company, but also they had excellent insurance, and our small farm was a lower mortgage payment than rent anywhere, and also we grew a lot of our own food.
November 25, 2025 at 5:08 PM
My father made about 40k a year at the electric company, but also they had excellent insurance, and our small farm was a lower mortgage payment than rent anywhere, and also we grew a lot of our own food.
Yeah, I saw someone with a small account post it with a note saying it must be why they'd felt like they were falling behind their whole life, and wanted to link to them, but alas, once it refreshes I can never find anything.
November 25, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Yeah, I saw someone with a small account post it with a note saying it must be why they'd felt like they were falling behind their whole life, and wanted to link to them, but alas, once it refreshes I can never find anything.
I mean, it’s gotta drive him NUTS that every Black guy with a little money dresses better than every white person you’ve ever met, and meanwhile MAGA is made up of car dealers dressed like they’re trolling a Kid Rock show for underage girls.
November 25, 2025 at 4:42 PM
I mean, it’s gotta drive him NUTS that every Black guy with a little money dresses better than every white person you’ve ever met, and meanwhile MAGA is made up of car dealers dressed like they’re trolling a Kid Rock show for underage girls.
Interesting synchronicity: this is almost the same number as his math in that article, which was that $140k for a couple should be the lowest baseline poverty threshold.
To rent a studio apartment in this area (not an overly high COL area) with rent of about $1,500, you need to make $72k a year as one person. That should be the poverty threshold- what income is needed to secure a zero or 1 bedroom unit.
November 25, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Interesting synchronicity: this is almost the same number as his math in that article, which was that $140k for a couple should be the lowest baseline poverty threshold.
Your Studio for Horror Movies with Ugly Crying would not be my first choice for lifestyle accessories, no.
November 25, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Your Studio for Horror Movies with Ugly Crying would not be my first choice for lifestyle accessories, no.
Something I’ve never understood with the perennial conservative fixation on dressing up is they must know dressing up is mostly emulation, so why not urge all the MAGA followers to dress up and see what happens in the culture?
Trump's Transportation Secretary on how to improve air travel:
"People dress up like they're going to bed when they fly... We want to push people as we come into a really busy travel season, help people out, be in a good mood, dress up"
"People dress up like they're going to bed when they fly... We want to push people as we come into a really busy travel season, help people out, be in a good mood, dress up"
November 25, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Something I’ve never understood with the perennial conservative fixation on dressing up is they must know dressing up is mostly emulation, so why not urge all the MAGA followers to dress up and see what happens in the culture?
I think it’s kind of funny that, as rich right-wingers take over news outlets, all they can produce is the equivalent of an all-Andy-Rooney 60 Minutes.
At this point, the Washpost edit page is just trolling its readers.
This is today's actual house editorial.
This is today's actual house editorial.
November 25, 2025 at 4:23 PM
I think it’s kind of funny that, as rich right-wingers take over news outlets, all they can produce is the equivalent of an all-Andy-Rooney 60 Minutes.
Not to mention the liberal belief that, if we just win enough arguments with “NIMBYs” on the internet, the housing crisis will be solved! Yay! 🥂
November 25, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Not to mention the liberal belief that, if we just win enough arguments with “NIMBYs” on the internet, the housing crisis will be solved! Yay! 🥂
It’s also why all the talk about a “vibescession” last year now seems like an incredible political miscalculation.
November 25, 2025 at 3:56 PM
It’s also why all the talk about a “vibescession” last year now seems like an incredible political miscalculation.