Absurdism corner

[Binky]

How wonderful it would be to have some more responsible engineers (and engineering managers) in society.

If the customer isn't sure, then engineering companies should take pride in selling them what they need, not in pulling funfair-grade chicanery on them for a petty increase in share value!

 

[ClockworkCoder]

If the customer isn't sure, then engineering companies should take pride in selling them what they need, not in pulling funfair-grade chicanery on them for a petty increase in share value

We can hardly blame the engineers when it's simple marketing and economics: they are designing for what are common (mis)perceptions of what constitutes "quality". I feel there is a trend now towards quieter and more efficient/lower power products, and ultimately it's us as consumers that drive these trends. However...

We are also manipulated on every turn. Look up 'nudging'.

Incidentally, in Japan, products like hairdryers and vacuums tend to be much quieter, probably to do with density of population.

 

[Klumpen]

We are also manipulated on every turn. Look up 'nudging'.

You can use that to your advantage if you are aware of it. I tend to look specifically for small print, hidden items, etc... and the political parties last in the list of the "Wahl-O-Mat", since the electronic "decision" helper prior to our elections is made by the government, which heavily "nudges" into the direction of the corrupt parties currently in power by putting them in the first places and limiting the number of parties you can compare your stances with to 8. That has been rated unconstitutional just now btw, I'll put that into the politics thread though, which is kinda an absurdism corner as well.
I tend to put unhealthy food out of sight and nuts and fruit in the middle of the table or at the perfect height for maximum visibility from all angles in the room.

Incidentally, in Japan, products like hairdryers and vacuums tend to be much quieter, probably to do with density of population.

I wish... People tend to flock to big cities everywhere, but that doesn't seem to change anything in the USA or Europe when it comes to noise pollution.

 

[Binky]

Noblesse oblige.

The consumer-facing industries have power over the common citizen, and that should come with responsibilities.

If the entire vacuum cleaner industry tacitly manipulates consumers' emotions to sell them inferior products, the result will be an entire nation using unnecessarily bad appliances. Average Joe doesn't understand the acoustics of vacuum cleaners, or how his printer calculates remaining ink, or the airline's ticketing system. Average Joe can't be an expert on everything.

Despite that, Joe's experience of life is influenced in a myriad of subtle ways by just that sort of thing. All of those systems were designed by professionals who either had a deep understanding of the task at hand, or who were well-placed to develop one. They and their employers have the ability to make Joe's life better, or worse, because Joe trusts that society is built on (mostly) honest trade.

Blaming the stupid consumer for making poor decisions (and dancing away with the profit) is a gross abuse of that trust.

Sadly, it is most-likely impossible to build a large-scale culture that doesn't attract deception - but we must try. The alternative is to leave inexperienced and uneducated members of society vulnerable to every sociopath in an expensive suit. That's only one step better than leaving every invalid vulnerable to thugs with brass knuckles. Who wants a nation like that?

 

[Klumpen]

Sadly, it is most-likely impossible to build a large-scale culture that doesn't attract deception - but we must try. The alternative is to leave inexperienced and uneducated members of society vulnerable to every sociopath in an expensive suit. That's only one step better than leaving every invalid vulnerable to thugs with brass knuckles. Who wants a nation like that?

Easy answer: The sociopaths in expensive suits. There are lots of those fighting for a place at the top.

 

[ClockworkCoder]

Blaming the stupid consumer for making poor decisions (and dancing away with the profit) is a gross abuse of that
trust

Most consumers aren't "stupid", but perhaps misinformed.

In psychology, if you're experiencing issues with how people are treating you, it's usually better advice to look internally and work out what behaviour you present to cause others to react in those ways. One should never expect anyone else to change for your benefit as it simply will not happen.

Same with companies and governments. What leads to a continuation of power and or money are always going to be the primary driving forces, otherwise they cannot compete.

As @Klumpen said, the most you can do is to stay informed, and try as best as possible to take advantage of that knowledge. That includes helping inform those close to you.

 

[Bosbeetle]

We're getting into the html error codes in the page numbering of this thread.

 

[Binky]

I entirely agree that any individual would be well advised to seek self-improvement; emotionally, intellectually and financially, but that doesn't relieve them of the duty to act with consideration towards others.

I'd also argue that, since life is not a zero-sum game, rights and duties are not complementary. We have a duty to be charitable, but not a right to being treated charitably.

Just sometimes, people will go out of their way to help others though, and we should try to make such events more common, because they lead to a stronger, happier society.

Edit: So we are! Access to this page is therefore forbidden, and the next page does not exist.

 

[Klumpen]

 

[elw3]

 

[Klumpen]

 

[Klumpen]

twitter.com/The_Doddler/status/1137483351248388096?s=19
twitter.com/The_Doddler/status/1137495814908010496?s=19

I saw that the source code for Elona, a fun japanese roguelike was available online and decided to take a look. It turns out it is a single, 14mb text file with 444000 lines of code, completely devoid of comments, written in 'Hot Soup Processor', a japanese basic like language.

The code that determines what monsters can spawn is 30000 lines of this (7% of the total game code), which checks for every monster, where if it fails it goto's the next monster, for all 1000 monsters in the game.

http://ylvania.org/en/elona

 

[FBnil]

@Klumpen It took me a while to "get" the the tile draw code: https://puu.sh/DDswu/2bcf03f2eb.txt

 

[elw3]

And i thougt my code is bad.

 

[FBnil]

Starts slow, but halfway it gets interesting. Conclusion: yes, more than possible.

 

[levi]

I never thought I'd see the day that the absurdism corner, of all places, got nerdy, but there you go.

 

[FBnil]

And i thought my code is bad.

Don't worry, it still is. /kidding /joke /elw3-please-dont-hit-me-anymore-you-are-just-the-level-one-boss

http://www.commitstrip.com/en/?

 

[Klumpen]

 

[vcoleiro1]

 

[levi]

You got me there! Nicely done!