Tommaso Pavese
@tompave.bsky.social
Presses keys, makes computers do things at a company that makes and runs software. Previously at other companies that made software and had computers.
Also on: https://hachyderm.io/@tompave
Also on: https://hachyderm.io/@tompave
In Italy we still use the term “dark ages” to refer to a pre-tomato period before the discovery of America, when pasta and pizza were still good but you could tell that something was missing.
In stead of sending a link to old threads every time someone uses the term "Dark Ages", I decided to put it all in an article.
Why most historians no longer use the biased misnomer “dark ages”.
Read it here:
fakehistoryhunter.net/2025/11/25/w...
or:
fakehistoryhunter.substack.com/p/why-most-h...
Why most historians no longer use the biased misnomer “dark ages”.
Read it here:
fakehistoryhunter.net/2025/11/25/w...
or:
fakehistoryhunter.substack.com/p/why-most-h...
Why most historians no longer use the biased misnomer “dark ages”
This is not YET another article on why calling the early middle ages the dark ages is iffy, it’s a list of sources & references. These days most historians no longer use the term “D…
fakehistoryhunter.net
November 25, 2025 at 7:43 PM
In Italy we still use the term “dark ages” to refer to a pre-tomato period before the discovery of America, when pasta and pizza were still good but you could tell that something was missing.
Reposted by Tommaso Pavese
It’s widely known (and, I think, pretty uncontroversial) that learning requires effort — specifically, if you don’t have to work at getting the knowledge, it won’t stick.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Relying on ChatGPT to teach you about a topic leaves you with shallower knowledge than Googling and reading about it, according to new research that compared what more than 10,000 people knew after using one method or the other.
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
November 21, 2025 at 12:49 PM
It’s widely known (and, I think, pretty uncontroversial) that learning requires effort — specifically, if you don’t have to work at getting the knowledge, it won’t stick.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Mark all their unread inbox and notifications as read. Close all their 2+ week old browser tabs. Reject half of their meetings with 5+ participants.
What are some great gift ideas for someone working in tech? Something that you either got someone and it was a success, you got and loved it, or want to get it this year?
Suggestions welcome!
Suggestions welcome!
November 14, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Mark all their unread inbox and notifications as read. Close all their 2+ week old browser tabs. Reject half of their meetings with 5+ participants.
From Anthropic's writeup of the LLM-driven cyberattack: www.anthropic.com/news/disrupt...
... this is from the plot of Short Circuit 2 (1988). Life imitates art.
... this is from the plot of Short Circuit 2 (1988). Life imitates art.
November 13, 2025 at 9:25 PM
From Anthropic's writeup of the LLM-driven cyberattack: www.anthropic.com/news/disrupt...
... this is from the plot of Short Circuit 2 (1988). Life imitates art.
... this is from the plot of Short Circuit 2 (1988). Life imitates art.
Post a non-religious image you think of as holy.
November 12, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Post a non-religious image you think of as holy.
Matz and the Ruby Core team taking ownership of RubyGems and Bundler might be the best outcome, really. www.ruby-lang.org/en/news/2025...
The Transition of RubyGems Repository Ownership
www.ruby-lang.org
October 17, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Matz and the Ruby Core team taking ownership of RubyGems and Bundler might be the best outcome, really. www.ruby-lang.org/en/news/2025...
Reposted by Tommaso Pavese
When people warn about the privacy and security risks of mandating digital age verification, this is exactly what they mean. It’s not hypothetical www.bbc.com/news/article...
October 9, 2025 at 5:09 PM
When people warn about the privacy and security risks of mandating digital age verification, this is exactly what they mean. It’s not hypothetical www.bbc.com/news/article...
Anthropic on Claude Sonnet 4.5: "(...) substantially improve the model’s behavior, reducing concerning behaviors like sycophancy, deception, power-seeking, and the tendency to encourage delusional thinking."
I'm.... glad these have been... reduced?
www.anthropic.com/news/claude-...
I'm.... glad these have been... reduced?
www.anthropic.com/news/claude-...
Introducing Claude Sonnet 4.5
Claude Sonnet 4.5 is the best coding model in the world, strongest model for building complex agents, and best model at using computers.
www.anthropic.com
September 30, 2025 at 9:49 AM
Anthropic on Claude Sonnet 4.5: "(...) substantially improve the model’s behavior, reducing concerning behaviors like sycophancy, deception, power-seeking, and the tendency to encourage delusional thinking."
I'm.... glad these have been... reduced?
www.anthropic.com/news/claude-...
I'm.... glad these have been... reduced?
www.anthropic.com/news/claude-...
I'm learning #Python. Properly this time. I have been writing code in multiple programming languages for a couple of decades now, but somehow my Python has always remained very rudimentary. Now I need it for some serious big-boy-pants stuff at work, so I'm in for the ride.
September 14, 2025 at 6:19 PM
I'm learning #Python. Properly this time. I have been writing code in multiple programming languages for a couple of decades now, but somehow my Python has always remained very rudimentary. Now I need it for some serious big-boy-pants stuff at work, so I'm in for the ride.
The internet has trained me so well to ignore and quickly dismiss annoying pop-ups, that sometimes my hands move on their own and I absentmindedly dismiss what could be valid pop-ups and modals, especially in contexts where I don't expect them. Anyone else?
September 14, 2025 at 5:28 PM
The internet has trained me so well to ignore and quickly dismiss annoying pop-ups, that sometimes my hands move on their own and I absentmindedly dismiss what could be valid pop-ups and modals, especially in contexts where I don't expect them. Anyone else?
Reposted by Tommaso Pavese
Gonna need a scanning tunnelling electron microscope to play this violin
August 3, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Gonna need a scanning tunnelling electron microscope to play this violin
Everything in this graph is wrong, including the names of the quadrants.
I came with this at 3 am while feverish.
I will not be answering any questions.
I will not be answering any questions.
July 22, 2025 at 7:06 AM
Everything in this graph is wrong, including the names of the quadrants.
The Redis docs used to be awesome: simple, streamlined, and it was easy to find everything. I haven't had to use them in a long time, until now. The UX has completely changed. I typed "pipeline" in the top-level search box, which loaded an AI chatbot which gave me this joke of an answer.
July 11, 2025 at 9:07 PM
The Redis docs used to be awesome: simple, streamlined, and it was easy to find everything. I haven't had to use them in a long time, until now. The UX has completely changed. I typed "pipeline" in the top-level search box, which loaded an AI chatbot which gave me this joke of an answer.
Difference between snails and slugs: snails are slugs that entered the real estate market in the 80’s. Slugs are millennial snails.
July 7, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Difference between snails and slugs: snails are slugs that entered the real estate market in the 80’s. Slugs are millennial snails.
My mother still can’t put her phone on silent. She knows how to do it, and she knows she should, but she won’t. She’s like a character in those games where you can’t climb over objects unless you put a skill point in “climbing”.
July 7, 2025 at 11:42 AM
My mother still can’t put her phone on silent. She knows how to do it, and she knows she should, but she won’t. She’s like a character in those games where you can’t climb over objects unless you put a skill point in “climbing”.
“The dog has learned that if we stumble while carrying food, sometimes food will drop to the floor, and she’ll be able to eat it”
“Not sure if she’s that smart”
“I saw her setting up tripwires”
“Not sure if she’s that smart”
“I saw her setting up tripwires”
June 23, 2025 at 10:48 PM
“The dog has learned that if we stumble while carrying food, sometimes food will drop to the floor, and she’ll be able to eat it”
“Not sure if she’s that smart”
“I saw her setting up tripwires”
“Not sure if she’s that smart”
“I saw her setting up tripwires”
Reposted by Tommaso Pavese
Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.
June 19, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.
Reposted by Tommaso Pavese
"Team building exercise".
Quote this with your most spine-chilling three-word phrase in the English language. I bet you can't beat "replacement bus service" or "family fun day".
June 11, 2025 at 11:18 AM
"Team building exercise".
I wish we could all vote to elect the next pope. I’d vote for Pierbattista Pizzaballa. Of course, his pope name will have to be “Pope Pizza (the first)”. Voting should happen via prayers, from home (only _one_ prayer per person), with a big computer in the Vatican collecting the votes.
May 7, 2025 at 5:57 PM
I wish we could all vote to elect the next pope. I’d vote for Pierbattista Pizzaballa. Of course, his pope name will have to be “Pope Pizza (the first)”. Voting should happen via prayers, from home (only _one_ prayer per person), with a big computer in the Vatican collecting the votes.
Reposted by Tommaso Pavese
Defence Ministry: Shoreline defence force Gentoo’s prepare mortars. Our Navy Seals conduct clandestine training, and teach tactical camouflage and concealment to juveniles. We stand ready. Flippers Up.
April 3, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Defence Ministry: Shoreline defence force Gentoo’s prepare mortars. Our Navy Seals conduct clandestine training, and teach tactical camouflage and concealment to juveniles. We stand ready. Flippers Up.
