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Thaumaturgy Restarted: Second time's a charm

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[X] Plan Part of Your Balanced Breakfast
-[X] Your father warned you against going full house dwelling troll and you know that his advice is actually goo. So you turn off your laptop for an hour and just do some exercises, go for a jog, actually cook yourself something healthy and eat it like a normal person, instead wolfing down some unhealthy fast food bullshit. This will not help your research, but it will sure help with your health!
-[X] There is a science conference happening fairly soon in Salem! You know that your father is going there, but he and his coworkers won't be presenting there anything. You know that quite a lot of bigwigs will be there. The surprising thing is that despite knowing the general things a about the conference, you aren't actually sure about any specifics. Well, perhaps it is not surprising, but still quite irritating. You should rectify this as soon as you can.
-[X] On the physics side, there were some cool news too. For one, a few days ago there came out a fairly controversial paper claiming that it can help unify the Standard Model, Modern Thaumaturgy Theory and General Relativity, and, unlike String Theory and other such works, it appears rather falsifiable, although it would probably a decade or two to do it. While most people on the article maintain a fairly neutral position, some have already taken sides on it. Which isn't surprising. People's pet theories are on the line and they are willing to defend them. Since these comments on the article were left by scientists, they are significantly more civil than a good majority of posts on the net, but quite a lot of them come down to the conference that is happening 3 weeks from now.
Other cool news relate to various experiments in the various fundamental fields, such as General Relativity, Modern Thaumaturgy Theory and Quantum Physics. All of them pretty cool, but also complex and hard enough to understand that, for example, a single busy undergrad student couldn't describe them for his own story in a few hundred words. It might take a while to research this all, but knowledge is probably worth it.
-[X] On the physics side, there were some cool news too. For one, a few days ago there came out a fairly controversial paper claiming that it can help unify the Standard Model, Modern Thaumaturgy Theory and General Relativity, and, unlike String Theory and other such works, it appears rather falsifiable, although it would probably a decade or two to do it. While most people on the article maintain a fairly neutral position, some have already taken sides on it. Which isn't surprising. People's pet theories are on the line and they are willing to defend them. Since these comments on the article were left by scientists, they are significantly more civil than a good majority of posts on the net, but quite a lot of them come down to the conference that is happening 3 weeks from now.
Other cool news relate to various experiments in the various fundamental fields, such as General Relativity, Modern Thaumaturgy Theory and Quantum Physics. All of them pretty cool, but also complex and hard enough to understand that, for example, a single busy undergrad student couldn't describe them for his own story in a few hundred words. It might take a while to research this all, but knowledge is probably worth it.
-[X] On the physics side, there were some cool news too. For one, a few days ago there came out a fairly controversial paper claiming that it can help unify the Standard Model, Modern Thaumaturgy Theory and General Relativity, and, unlike String Theory and other such works, it appears rather falsifiable, although it would probably a decade or two to do it. While most people on the article maintain a fairly neutral position, some have already taken sides on it. Which isn't surprising. People's pet theories are on the line and they are willing to defend them. Since these comments on the article were left by scientists, they are significantly more civil than a good majority of posts on the net, but quite a lot of them come down to the conference that is happening 3 weeks from now.
Other cool news relate to various experiments in the various fundamental fields, such as General Relativity, Modern Thaumaturgy Theory and Quantum Physics. All of them pretty cool, but also complex and hard enough to understand that, for example, a single busy undergrad student couldn't describe them for his own story in a few hundred words. It might take a while to research this all, but knowledge is probably worth it.
-[X] On the physics side, there were some cool news too. For one, a few days ago there came out a fairly controversial paper claiming that it can help unify the Standard Model, Modern Thaumaturgy Theory and General Relativity, and, unlike String Theory and other such works, it appears rather falsifiable, although it would probably a decade or two to do it. While most people on the article maintain a fairly neutral position, some have already taken sides on it. Which isn't surprising. People's pet theories are on the line and they are willing to defend them. Since these comments on the article were left by scientists, they are significantly more civil than a good majority of posts on the net, but quite a lot of them come down to the conference that is happening 3 weeks from now.
Other cool news relate to various experiments in the various fundamental fields, such as General Relativity, Modern Thaumaturgy Theory and Quantum Physics. All of them pretty cool, but also complex and hard enough to understand that, for example, a single busy undergrad student couldn't describe them for his own story in a few hundred words. It might take a while to research this all, but knowledge is probably worth it.
-[X] There are some interesting news in the programming area of studies, specifically the whole neural networks business. Surprisingly, these news are more on the math side. Or, well, that would be surprising for anyone who isn't aware of the nature of the field. You are, though, so you do know that neural networks are just statistics applied to problem solving.
The news themselves consist of articles about improvements in AI and AI related fields. Some of them are fairly in-depth and complex, so it might take quite a while for you to grasp even the basics, but you feel like it might be worth it.
 
veekie said:
[X] There is a science conference happening fairly soon in Salem! You know that your father is going there, but he and his coworkers won't be presenting there anything. You know that quite a lot of bigwigs will be there. The surprising thing is that despite knowing the general things a about the conference, you aren't actually sure about any specifics. Well, perhaps it is not surprising, but still quite irritating. You should rectify this as soon as you can.
-[X] Fill in the rest whrn you know the theme and focus of the conference. A good hook helps people get hype!

Sounds like a good way to tie stuff in
Click to expand...
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Like this?
 
[X] There is a science conference happening fairly soon in Salem! You know that your father is going there, but he and his coworkers won't be presenting there anything. You know that quite a lot of bigwigs will be there. The surprising thing is that despite knowing the general things a about the conference, you aren't actually sure about any specifics. Well, perhaps it is not surprising, but still quite irritating. You should rectify this as soon as you can.
-[X] Fill in the rest whrn you know the theme and focus of the conference. A good hook helps people get hype!
 
Alitur said:
[] Your father warned you against going full house dwelling troll and you know that his advice is actually goo.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
'd'. Unless she meant to diss her dad's advice.
Alitur said:
You can choose multiple thing to do today. You have 10 Hours to do stuff. :^)
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
How would this work?

It says 'roll this and that; if successful, you spend 2 hours; if failed, you spend 4'. Varying time requirements that depend on rolls that will be rolled after the vote concludes make time-management somewhat of a problem.

(Also, normally in case of failure time is doubled, and skill gains are halved. However, failing psychology only halves the skill gain, but doesn't affect time requirements. What's up with that?)

Also, it would probably be easier on the eyes if the choices were presented as '[ ] Quantum Physics' and '[ ] Psychology' instead of entire paragraphs of text. Especially when it is already expected for us to pick and choose between suboptions that we have to split from the paragraph ourselves.

[x] Conference in Salem (1 hour)
[x] Modern Thaumaturgy Theory (up to 2 hours)
[x] Biology (up to 4 hours)
[x] Psychology (2 hours)

[x] Take a break (1 hour)

Up to 10 hours total, possibly less, but I can't manage it better than that with the vote relying on variables beyond my control.
 
Last edited:
Sorry for delay! I have been processing @Nevill's criticism and found that he is very correct in that variable time spending is very inconvenient. So I am removing that part! Please, re-do your plans. Again, sorry for inconvenience!
 
Eh, I'll vote for the most popular vote in the interest of moving things along.

[X] There is a science conference happening fairly soon in Salem! You know that your father is going there, but he and his coworkers won't be presenting there anything. You know that quite a lot of bigwigs will be there. The surprising thing is that despite knowing the general things a about the conference, you aren't actually sure about any specifics. Well, perhaps it is not surprising, but still quite irritating. You should rectify this as soon as you can.
-[X] Fill in the rest whrn you know the theme and focus of the conference. A good hook helps people get hype!
 
The voting is closed! You will proceed to check information about the conference before deciding on your actions.
Writing commencing...
 
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Part 3 - Knowledge Is Half a Podcast Prep
  • Threadmarks
    • Once you start thinking about various things to research, you think that, perhaps it would be the best if you tied them all to one unifying theme. And, well, what would be a better unifying theme than the theme of a big science conference happening soon? So you start researching that first, before making any other commitments.

    Research has lead you to some interesting results. First thing first, it appears that that the theme of the conference is various applications of thaumaturgic effects to detection methods in various science fields. Which is a very wide theme and, despite that, some people are gaming the system to fit their works in despite them being at best tangentially related. Which is usually outrageous, but the things that participants are going to bring are just fascinating enough for people to look through it with their fingers.

    The most fascinating is, of course, mister's Stein's Great Unification theory. The reason it was permitted at this particular conference is because he will be talking about various ways it can be falsified with modern state-of-art detection methods that he, apparently, also helped with. Huh. Despite you not ever hearing of this dude, it appears that he was involved in various important works, although never in the leading role. Hmm, perhaps that is also why they allowed him a stage? "Scratch my back and I scratch yours" type of dealio? Sounds like it.

    There will be a famous AI researcher (Neural networks researcher, your inner programmer corrects) making an announcement there. No one quite knows what exactly she will be unveiling, but people suspect that it is something related to data analysis. Which is expected. Data analysis is important part of work, since all of the data in the world is irrelevant if you have no way to analyze it.

    There are some biological/medicinal announcements planned too, but you can't quite make judgments what the will be about yet. Your knowledge of biology tops out at high school. Still, any advancement in medicine are welcome.

    There are some announcements in "purely" thaumaturgical theory. MagiLab are preparing something "big", according to their site. They are famous for their thaumaturgy based experimental technology, so when they are saying that something is "big", it's probably gonna be gigantic. You are actually a bit excited for this too. While you are usually against hype culture that permeates modern society, down in your bones you feel that this people are very serious about what they are bringing.

    Th conference itself will be happening in the city of Salem, a center of thaumaturgical research for a long time. Centuries, though not a whole lot of them. Still, the location of the conference is completely and utterly unsurprising to you. If anything, it would probably surprise if they decided to hold it somewhere else.
    You stretch your arms, legs and spine. You have got quite a lot of information about the conference, but most of it is fairly boring organizational and scheduling stuff that isn't something you can really talk about. So, you probably still need something actually juicy to talk about. And that juicy sh...Eh, stuff will be…

    {You have 9 hours today before the podcast to do stuff. While you can invest all into studying for podcast, it is not recommended to skip on food or some other stuff. Spend your time wisely. }

    []There are some interesting news in the programming area of studies, specifically the whole neural networks business. Surprisingly, these news are more on the math side. Or, well, that would be surprising for anyone who isn't aware of the nature of the field. You are, though, so you do know that neural networks are just statistics applied to problem solving.
    The news themselves consist of articles about improvements in AI and AI related fields. Some of them are fairly in-depth and complex, so it might take quite a while for you to grasp even the basics, but you feel like it might be worth it. Actually... Some of these articles are made by the same researcher who will be making an announcement at the Salem's conference. An additional incentive to check it out, you guess.
    {Roll with Mathematics and Programming against a complex problem. If you succeed, spend 2 hours and gain +10 SP in both skills. Otherwise, spends 2 hours and gain +5 SP in both skills.}
    [] On the physics side, there were some cool news too. For one, a few days ago there came out a fairly controversial paper claiming that it can help unify the Standard Model, Modern Thaumaturgy Theory and General Relativity, and, unlike String Theory and other such works, it appears rather falsifiable, although it would probably a decade or two to do it. While most people on the article maintain a fairly neutral position, some have already taken sides on it. Which isn't surprising. People's pet theories are on the line and they are willing to defend them. Since these comments on the article were left by scientists, they are significantly more civil than a good majority of posts on the net, but quite a lot of them come down to the conference that is happening 3 weeks from now.
    Other cool news relate to various experiments in the various fundamental fields, such as General Relativity, Modern Thaumaturgy Theory and Quantum Physics. All of them pretty cool, but also complex and hard enough to understand that, for example, a single busy undergrad student couldn't describe them for his own story in a few hundred words. It might take a while to research this all, but knowledge is probably worth it.
    {You can take this action several times. For each action taken, roll with General and Special Relativity, Quantum Physics or Thaumaturgic theory against a complex problem. If you succeed, gain spend an hour and gain +10 SP in skill with which you rolled. Otherwise, spend an hour and gain +5 SP in the skill with which you rolled. Specify with which skill you are rolling in the vote}
    [] While you aren't someone with advanced knowledge of biology, you still can give some basic rundown of the news and hope that your friends who study biology pick up. There are some advances in various gene engineering techniques. While none of them are safe or effective enough to be allowed to be used on humans to add permanent changes, even with the help of thaumaturgy, some researchers argue that creating artificial specialized lifeforms can now actually be done in a safe and humane way. You are aware of history of chimeras, filled with tragedies, tragicomedies of errors and outright slasher horror movie plots. Usually best case scenario was that chimera wasn't viable and died in agony. Or it turned out to be brain dead. When it didn't, shit happened. Sometimes that shit happened in a way that was enjoyable in schadenfreude kind of way, but common trait was death. Lot's of death. Quite honestly, only thing that went worse was creation of artificial sentient beings. And quite often not because anything went wrong, but because everything went horrifically right. Intentionally so, in the "crimes against humanity, nature, quite a few eldritch beings and probably all sapient life in the universe" category of intentionally horrific. Like one your professor said, intelligent people would call zombie a monster, but wise people would call a person who raised it one too.
    {Roll with Biology and Thaumaturgic theory against a complex problem. If you succeed, spend 2 hours and gain +10 SP in both skills. Otherwise, spends 2 hours and gain +5 SP in both skills.}
    [] While you don't possess quite the same level of respect for psychology as for physics or mathematics, but it is a still a very valid area of research that you are sorta interested in as a hobby + requirement of getting a teacher permit your uni set for a mysterious and incomprehensible reason. There a few interesting studies i the effect of various work environments on people, a really long term study on the effects on mental health of equally long term "soul starvation", where you constantly spend just enough soul energy that any additional spending are dangerous, but staying on that level is supposedly safe. Results are interesting, if quite hard to completely grasp from short skimming. But it is definitely not something you want to do for any prolonged periods of time.
    {Roll with Psychology and Thaumaturgic theory against a complex problem. If you succeed, spend 2 hours and gain +10 SP in both skills. Otherwise, spend 2 hours gain +5 SP in both skills.}
    [] There is a science conference happening fairly soon in Salem! You know that your father is going there, but he and his coworkers won't be presenting there anything. You know that quite a lot of bigwigs will be there. The surprising thing is that despite knowing the general things a about the conference, you aren't actually sure about any specifics. Well, perhaps it is not surprising, but still quite irritating. You should rectify this as soon as you can.
    {Spend 1 hour and gain knowledge of the science conference happening in three weeks.}     You already did this.
    [] Your father warned you against going full house dwelling troll and you know that his advice is actually goo. So you turn off your laptop for an hour and just do some exercises, go for a jog, actually cook yourself something healthy and eat it like a normal person, instead wolfing down some unhealthy fast food bullshit. This will not help your research, but it will sure help with your health!
    {Spend 1 hour and gain +5 SP to Fitness.}
    _______________________________________
    Sorry it took so long! Unfortunately, I can't promise any schedule for the future or faster update time: exams are coming soon.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Plan Breaking News
    -[X] On the physics side, there were some cool news too. For one, a few days ago there came out a fairly controversial paper claiming that it can help unify the Standard Model, Modern Thaumaturgy Theory and General Relativity, and, unlike String Theory and other such works, it appears rather falsifiable, although it would probably a decade or two to do it. While most people on the article maintain a fairly neutral position, some have already taken sides on it. Which isn't surprising. People's pet theories are on the line and they are willing to defend them. Since these comments on the article were left by scientists, they are significantly more civil than a good majority of posts on the net, but quite a lot of them come down to the conference that is happening 3 weeks from now.
    --[X] 4 hours on Thaumaturgical Theory
    -[X]There are some interesting news in the programming area of studies, specifically the whole neural networks business. Surprisingly, these news are more on the math side. Or, well, that would be surprising for anyone who isn't aware of the nature of the field. You are, though, so you do know that neural networks are just statistics applied to problem solving.
    --[X] 4 hours
    -[X] Your father warned you against going full house dwelling troll and you know that his advice is actually goo. So you turn off your laptop for an hour and just do some exercises, go for a jog, actually cook yourself something healthy and eat it like a normal person, instead wolfing down some unhealthy fast food bullshit. This will not help your research, but it will sure help with your health!
    {Spend 1 hour and gain +5 SP to Fitness.}

    Targeting the magic lab and neural net breakthroughs
     
    Part 4 - Preshow And Start Of The Podcast
  • Threadmarks
    • You have settled one what news you are gonna cover. Advances in thaumaturgic theory are always exciting and everyone knows that throwing some neural nets into anything always improves audience reaction. Probably cause "neural networks" and "deep learning" are significantly cooler names than "statistics" and "linear algebra". So you get down to it.

    {Rolling 1d100+10(Thaumaturgic theory)-30(Complex problem)=1d100-20=19-20=-1.
    You gained +5 SP to Thaumaturgic Theory skill! Thaumaturgic Theory: 305/600.
    Rolling 1d100+10(Thaumaturgic theory)-30(Complex problem)=1d100-20=73-20=53.
    You gained +10 SP to Thaumaturgic Theory skill! Thaumaturgic Theory: 315/600.
    Rolling 1d100+10(Thaumaturgic theory)-30(Complex problem)=1d100-20=91-20=71.
    You gained +10 SP to Thaumaturgic Theory skill! Thaumaturgic Theory: 325/600.
    Rolling 1d100+10(Thaumaturgic theory)-30(Complex problem)=1d100-20=83-20=63.
    You gained +10 SP to Thaumaturgic Theory skill! Thaumaturgic Theory: 335/600.}

    First hour is fairly frustrating. You don't consider yourself is a genius or anything, shit, you haven't even graduated yet, but this text is fucking incomprehensible. Even with help of various text books and internet sources, you barely make any progress in the first hour. But after you make first major understanding, thing start going easier. Essentially, this work soft proves the existence of the Noosphere. While there was always idea about influence of soul fields of people and various creatures impacting the spell creation process. But the whole "collective subconsciousness" and "noosphere" concepts were always on the iphier sides. And, to be fair, the experiments didn't really confirm them necessarily, but they sure did rocket them from a fringe position into something reputable. Interestingly enough, you have also seen one of the Magilab researchers comment under the article in a very "hey, ain't this interesting, wink-wink, nudge-nudge" way. Could it, perhaps, be somehow connected to whatever they are bringing to the conference? In that case, it probably is something really exciting.

    {You gained +5 SP to Fitness ability! Fitness: 105/800.}

    In between two study session, you take some time to exercise a bit and make cook some food. Nothing too complex, you were never someone who appreciates fine cuisine, but it doesn't mean that you are gonna devolve into an average internet dweller who subsists on doritos and soda. Stretches, sit ups and pull ups keep your mind occupied while your food is cooking. When you finish the whole "pretend to be a functional person" bit, you return to your natural habitat.

    {Rolling 1d100+10(Programming)+10 (Mathematics)-30(Complex problem)=1d100-10=63-10=53.
    You gained +10 SP to Programming and Mathematics skills! Programming: 310/500 and Mathematics: 310/100.
    Rolling 1d100+10(Programming)+10(Mathematics)-30(Complex problem)=1d100-10=14-10=4.
    You gained +5 SP to Programming and Mathematics skills! Programming: 315/500 and Mathematics: 315/100.}

    You get down to business on dissecting all of these programming nonsense. It is not a fast process. While some uneducated people might call thaumaturgy magic, but it really is nothing compared to programming. Especially when that programming is tightly weaved with a fairly hard and complex math. But you did manage to get some insights. A lot of them were about the structure of the nets themselves and learning methods, while also talking about general AI things. One of the interesting parts was a prediction that and actual general AI will either be a combination of several networks or some sort of hivemind of eusocial insect like swarm bot AI things. You don't possess enough knowledge to ascertain the truthness of the statement, but it struck you as, at least, not completely crazy, even sensible in a way. While parts of the brain can take on different roles, there is certain level of specialisation there.

    You stretch out your spine and yawn. You did it. You sacrificed a day of your only life in order to read some nerd news on a nerdy, unpopular podcast consisting of undergrads bitching at everything. Truly, a master of wise life decisions you are. But now is time for more intense preparations involving some hardware. You pull out your mic, your headphones and relocate form the bed to a table and chair and turn on your chatting program called "Chaos". Which was a fitting name, all things considering.

    - You are two minutes late for preshow, Vanessa. - ah, your dear friend Fareeha. Always to the point about anything involving dates and plans. Never missed a deadline in her life. And utterly refuses to accepts others doing it.
    - Ehh, it's ok Fary, as long as everyone's mic is good, everything should be fine. - Elena, on the other hand, is always more focused on the connection building aspect of this whole thing. More of a glass half full type of person.
    - Perhaps a few mishaps aren't sufficient to fuck even minor things up, Elena. But inability to be punctual in even something so minor reflects badly on a person. Only by being collected in all of your daily activities can someone reach preparedness required to function well in the modern society. - Fareeha answers her, in a tone reminding you a bit of your dad, actually, when he is in the mood for giving you a "valuable life lesson". Most definitely not the first time it happened. You know that personality traits aren't really inheritable, but you are always tempted to ask your dad whether he visited Asia during his life.
    - I know that drama is always a good way to boost popularity, but, perhaps, we can save that for later? Y'all need to chill for 20 minutes or so. - Robert cuts in before Elena can answer back. He is always a pain in the ass, but you know he means well. Even if that sometimes leads to unintentional self sabotage. Fareeha only dignifies him with annoyed huff in response.
    - Testing, testing, one two three. Is my mic ok? Also, shut up Robert. - you say into the mic. Ahh, the social interaction. The basis of human civilization.
    You need to lower the volume a little bit, but other than that you are good. - responds Elena. You proceed to do just that. Man, it is good to have zero problems
    - Okay, I think I managed to fix my mic. - suddenly, a slightly robotic voice rings out. Must be Akylbek. He always has some tech problems, although he has been getting better at it. An he usually appears to the "preshow" before even Fareeha, so it hasn't been a significant problem.
    - You most definitely didn't. - Fareeha answers in a slightly annoyed tone.
    - Fuck. Okay, give me a minute. - he disconnects for a good minute. It is fairly awkward. You like the guy, but... He is a magnet for awkward shit. Some self inflicted, some - just bad luck.
    - Is it better now? - he returns, now with now with no unintentional voice effects.
    - Sounds good to me. - you answer, while typing in the text chat of the room.It appears that Fareeha and Robert are arguing about whether you are supposed to it fish and chips with fork and knife or just with your bare hands. Robert is on the hands side calling other "a bunch of snobs", while Fareeha is firmly on the fork and knife, calling Robert "an uncultured slob". You, of course, side with...

    []Robert. Really, who eats fish and chips with forks and stuff. Only some kind of elitist would.
    []Fareeha. Really, who eats food without utensils? Only some kind of savage.
    []You make your own side. Chopsticks. Chopsticks are where it's at. All of the advantages, none of the disadvantages.
    []LIke Elena, you decide to leave them at it. Mostly because you don't really have opinion on this.

    {This decision is not important. But I do want to know your opinion.}

    While you are having that bullshit discourse, more people connect to the chat room. The annoying japanese botanist dude Kibou Haru is, unfortunately, one of the first. Ugh. One person who you hoped would be too busy to show up, what with his plant fetish and believe that they are sentient and can give you minor boons in your life as long as you treat them well. Your only salvation is that he finds you equally annoying. What is his deal anyway?

    Another person who joined early is an a very friendly Bri… Scottish girl with passion for cats and fishing by the name of Jeanne Bisset. While you don't mind her per se, sometimes she is very pushy. And aggressive. And she might actually be hitting on you? You aren't sure, but you are quite often the target of her particular brand of aggressive friendliness, so... You don't necessarily dislike her attention, but it is very exhausting and not something you want to persevere through when you are tired and sleepy.

    Then one of your acquaintance with mildly unpronounceable name connects. Aesop Alexiou is someone who you actually like fairly well, but you have to admit that he is a dirty cheater who cheats, constantly and in every way. But he is also someone who respects people who can notice his cheating and catch him off guard, so you have developed an level of mutual respect that only really achievable between an gentleman thief and his police officer rival.

    After him arrives the "official" musician of music provider for the podcast, Robin Jones. You like Robin. He is just… Normal dude in ways very few people actually are. Everyone else in your social group is a bit of a weirdo. Hack, even you are a huge weirdo. While he isn't someone who you necessarily bland, he is quirky in a way that is fairly unobtrusive to communication or anything else, really. Also, his remixes are pretty decent.

    Next quite possibly the most depressing of your acquaintances connects to the room. Not depressed - Camilla, according to your knowledge, isn't depressed. No, she is just very depressing to talk to. It is that she is very, well, pessimistic in a very downer and mildly defeatist fashion that can drive even a normally upbeat person sad. But she is very much not an asshole, unlike some of your other friends. She is quite possibly one of the most empathetic and understanding person in your whole group. Just… Very pessimistic outlook on life. Given what you know of her life, you think you understand why. In a way, you even agree with her. And while you don't interact with each other all that often, when you do you… Get each other, you guess.

    Then Myla joins the room. You like Myla, even if you have started a personal crusade against her extremely terrible taste in movies. And literature. And everything else, really. So far, you have failed. But you are filled with determination to continue regardless. After all, you are her friend. It is the least you can do, to attempt to save her from the life of being someone with bad taste in everything.

    The last person to join in is another your friend whose name is on the weirder side to your English speaking tongue - Bozhidar Balik. You aren't sure where you stand with him. You just… Don't really interact with each other. All you really know about him is that he is studying medicine, is mildly obsessed with it and is from Poland. Which is not a lot for someone with whom you stayed in the same social circle for three or so years.

    - Okay, everyone is here! We still got ten minutes before the podcasts start, so let's do some final tech checks now while we still have the chance. - Elena says. You proceed to check over everything, since doing that is always a good idea.
    - Is everyone ready?, - after the wave of acknowledgements, she turns on the stream:
    - Hello, internet! It is I, your most magnanimous host Elena Novgorodskaya with my constant co-host Fareeha Aamer, the one who makes sure that this train always stays on the rails! How your day has been, Fary?
    - Significantly worse than it probably should have been, which is par for the course. I have actually managed to cram some additional dojo time in my schedule, miraculously. - Fareeha grumbles in a slightly annoyed manner. But it is clear that she isn't being too serious.
    - Cool! Martial arts and sports are glue the forge that creates personal health and security. Now, for other people joining us today, my other, slightly less constant, co-hosts Vanessa Fatum and Robert Thompson, who have an important job of making sure that this show never starts taking itself too seriously. How have you two been? - she turns the question to you and Robert.
    - Eh, like the usual. Nothing to bad, nothing to good. Just chill. Got to go to the zoo today. - Robert answers first, as per tradition.
    - Wait, you went to zoo of all things? Really? - you ask, genuinely curious.
    - Yea, it was cool. Liked the snakes and spiders portion, properly spoopy. How about you, Vanessa? How was your day? - Robert asks you in return.
    - Tired, cause my dad was going to work early today and I am cursed with inability to go to sleep once woken up. Which led to me making a best impression of a useless NEET I could manage. Truly, my life is hell. - you answer, yawning. God, you are tired.
    - Well, don't sleep yet, cause today is a special day. All of our guests from our uni are here today! Say hi everyone! - Elena actually sounds excited, god. You wish you possessed this level of enthusiasm.

    The show proceeds from this point. It appears that no one really had an exciting anecdote of their daily life to wax on about, so you get to the topics people wanted to talk about. Fareeha talks about some military stuff, mostly about some new pieces of hardware that have been showcased recently. You aren't really all that interested, but Alexiou, Elena and, surprisingly, Robert actually are, so you are given some time to collect your thoughts.

    - But doesn't development of various defensive technologies threaten MAD? I mean, I'd prefer if people were just chill with no new need for MAD, but… - Robert appears to be actually surprisingly interested in the topic of WMDs.
    - Sometimes only fear can force people to work together. It is sad that humanity can be so short sighted, but it is an unfortunate nature of our reality. I can understand why government doesn't stop such research, since otherwise their enemies who do research such technologies could strike them first with no repercussions. - Alexiou has always had a fairly cynical outlook on humanity, especially when it came to a more violent expression of it. You can't really judge him about that. You have always felt slight hypocrisy of some people regarding weapons and war. People really should stop beating around the bush and using euphemisms about their desire to kill people for various reasons or pretending it can be just in any way beyond utilitarian one.
    - Ehh, you both are overreacting. This thing isn't really scaleable to the WMD scale. It is more of interpersonal and tactical anti-artillery thingy. - Elena answers. She, on the other hand, is fairly optimistic despite living in the country history of which can be summed up as "and then things got worse".
    - Yeah, and energy costs are fairly prohibitive. It is better than normal shield spells in that it doesn't require Soul, but I doubt that it will be sufficient for it to replace thaumaturgic defensive enchantments. - Fareeha adds. While also being more on the skeptical side of things, she really leaned into the whole "everything in life happens due to direct and rationally deducible consequences of people's actions", rejecting luck as a major thing. You re not sure you agree.
    Soon, your time will come up. What should you focus on?

    []Thaumaturgic theory advances. It sort of leads from the military hardware discussion fairly naturally. You will still talk about programming, but it will be more of a background thing.
    {You will get to interact extensively with Jeanne and Kibou. And a bit less with Akylbek and Camila.}
    []Neural network thing. Combination of AI technologies and military is an old nightmare scenario, so you can probably pull of a decent segue. You will still talk about thaumaturgic theory, but it will be more of a background thing.
    {You will get to interact extensively with Akylbek and Camila. And a bit less with Jeanne and Kibou.}

    __________________________________________
    Holy shit I actually finished this. Originally preshow was supposed to be a bigger scene, but then I realized the hubris of having 12 characters interacting with each other simultaneously.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • I will probably call a vote in a 30 hours or so. Want to get back on track with this.
     
    [X]You make your own side. Chopsticks. Chopsticks are where it's at. All of the advantages, none of the disadvantages.
    [X]Neural network thing. Combination of AI technologies and military is an old nightmare scenario, so you can probably pull of a decent segue. You will still talk about thaumaturgic theory, but it will be more of a background thing.

    Based on our research, the Neural Net seems to be the closest hot topic to press for Noosphere.
     
    I will extend voting period for a day.
     
    I suspect that extending voting time is pointless. So I will give it an hour or so before closing.
     
    [X]You make your own side. Chopsticks. Chopsticks are where it's at. All of the advantages, none of the disadvantages.
    [X]Neural network thing. Combination of AI technologies and military is an old nightmare scenario, so you can probably pull of a decent segue. You will still talk about thaumaturgic theory, but it will be more of a background thing.

    Hadn't been online for a few days
     
    The vote is closed. Update commencing...
     
    Part 5 - At Long Last
  • Threadmarks
    • You chime in the fish and chips debate:
    seethingAnger: hey, ya'll better be prepared to be blown away, cause i am about to blow your minds. have you considered… chopsticks?
    mixedmartialArtist: Acceptable way to do it, but… I have never learned to use chopsticks. Not a big fan of east asian cuisine.
    afroClandestinenist: actually the worst opinion i've heard here and maybe my entire life; chopsticks are bitch to use and are just as pretentious to use on fish and chips as fork and knife;
    vowDeveloper: Not to be that type of person, but… *a bitch.
    afroClandestinenist: fucking grammar stalinists; i cant believe this betrayal; surrounded by the most terrible people, unimaginable treachery;
    You smirk. You like the whole fake comedic outrage thing when it is either done well, or done terribly poorly. Robert could easily pull of both. Probably why you consider him to be a friend of sorts.

    -------------------------------

    - Okay, I'm gonna talk about some nerd news. But non military nerd news, cause I ain't no copycat. So, first thing first, let's talk about the hot think itest new trend in programming - linear algebra aka various machine learning and neural networks stuff. - you like to start your sections with mild... Foreshadowing, you guess? for the segment itself. In this case, the linear algebra bit would signal people that if they don't understand math behind NN even on basic level, they should just tune out.

    - You mean the article by Alice Cercis, right? - Akylbek chimes in, unsurprisingly. Despite his severe bad luck and ineptitude regarding anything hardware and lab work related, he is probably the best in the group when it came to math and programming stuff.

    - Hm. I think I've read her paper, actually. It's the one with a bunch of mostly unfounded claims about AI at the end, right? - Camila follows, voice indicating that she is trying to remember the paper you are talking about.

    - Yep, exactly that. I divided the whole thing into the heavy math parts and speculation stuff, so let's start with the former in order to start roughly of the same footing, and transition towards more sci-popy part of the thing later…

    So you start talking about some of the more technical details. Both Akylbek and Camila do not necessarily drop personas or whatever - they are not the type of people who can consistently pretend to be a different person for any extended period of time (at the very least, this is your assessment of them) - but they are slightly more focused on the topic of discussion over accidentally creating awkward situations or being really gloomy. Which is really good, since this topic is already approaching an impossible to make entertaining for the podcast, so if they weren't at the top of their game, this would be really boring.

    - Okay, now that we all are caught up to the new advancement in linear algebra, cough cough, I mean, Neural Networks and AI technologies in general, we move onto the predictions part. Camila, before the discussion you showed some pessimism regarding Cercis's predictions. Why, may I ask? - ok, now the moderately fun stuff may begin.

    - So, my main problem with Cercis's work isn't necessarily the prediction that GAI will eventually be made: of course it will, there is no reason silicon and magic can't replicate carbon and soul. The problem is that she assumes that the current direction of research is the one that will do it. - Camila started talking. - While I do understand that neural networks are very promising, simultaneously, in a lot of ways they are extremely over specialised. While there have been some impressive progress in creating general game playing systems, all of them require fairly insane computational capabilities and lots and lots of data. Which I am not necessarily sure can be applied to the creation of a more general intelligence, since the data requirements will balloon.

    - So, I think your criticism is fair, but… I am not sure if we necessarily want to make a true general AI? We want to make a problem solving bots to, well, solve problems human can't. As Deep Blue proved, you don't need either sapience or sentience to solve fairly complex tasks. The only reason why we would build a general intelligence would be to make companions, replacements or descendants of humanity, whatever you want to call it. Most of applications we want to solve with AI don't need such an extreme solution. - says Akylbek.

    - True, but that is not necessarily my argument. My problem is that while I do believe that Alice Cercis's inventions are great and useful, but I do not believe that it will lead to a general intelligence. - Camila responded.

    - Well, I mean, I am not sure I agree? - you say, - Like, I doubt it will produce a human like intelligence, but just a general intelligence seems like a thing that is achievable. Although I think it would be fair to argue that making a techno eldritch being is not the goal we want to aspire to…

    - I will disagree with that heavily. IMaybe a bit of a hot take, but creation of techno eldritch being is most definitely worthy goal, cause it, by itself, will tell us a lot about how consciousness, intelligence, sapience and all sorts of stuff works. As long as everyone follows reasonable safety protocols around such projects - and any project can even theoretically spawn a sci-fi themed eldritch being most definitely will be - it will be a great opportunity to improve and refine our knowledge about the mind. - Akylbek is surprisingly optimistic about non-human AI. Probably just him being a huge nerd, like you.

    - Well, I foresee that such endeavor will end only in doom for somebody - whether for creators or the created depends on which company or agency attempts this. Especially if the people to do this are tied to any government. I would like to have your confidence in other people, but i have exactly zero faith in them not fucking it up. - Camila continues to be fairly sceptical, although there are also hints of anger there. From what you know of her life, mostly justified.

    - Well, I know that you have some well deserved anger at the figures of authority, but I don't think that Akylbek is necessarily overly optimistic, although I will agree that he a significantly more positive opinion on security protocols than you do… - you chime in with your opinion.

    The discussion continues from then on for a bit. Other join in after the argument gets loose enough that someone could join and provide a semi-informed opinion without being a good programmer. Or a mathematician. Or a futurologist. Most side with you more neutral opinion on the subject, with Aesop and Fareeha joining Camila's skeptic camp, while Kibou and Jeanne side with Akylbek's more optimistic perspective. You also start to talk about the noosphere's... Well, not necessarily discovery - the study isn't quite that conclusive and, well, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence to back them up - but high possibility of existence, but it appears that this day wants to catch up with you, so you have to exit the podcast due to sleepiness and tiredness. Fortunately, Jeanne also has read the work about the noosphere and so is able to pick up the conversation after you go. You wished you could do some more socializing, but oh well.
    After finishing all of the personal hygiene rituals that are ingrained quite possibly on a genetic level with you (the feeling of unclean teeth disgusts you), you head of to sleep. Sweet, sweet temporary oblivion…


    You wake up from your slumber. You don't remember the dream exactly, but it must have been pretty decent given that you are smiling currently. That smile disappears once you asses that you are still trapped in this stupid tower. Gah. A jester-mage of your power and status, trapped like this… What a shame, truly. At the very least, you have a truly ridiculous amount of books to read in your… Well, not technically a jail. Stupid dragons and their desire to keep young maidens locked in towers. Shouldn't you have been rescued by now? Whatever. You have patience. And spite. Mostly spite.

    You have been reading a particularly fascinating tale of a bard using his songs to, presumably, save the world - you prefer not to spoil yourself on stories, so you are not actually sure if he succeeds, but it doesn't seem like the kind of that would pull a sad ending like that - when someone starts banging on the door of your room. Well. Did someone finally organize a rescue party? Finally. Except, you have a strange feeling about the person who is trying to enter. Like…
    [] Void, beckoning with knowledge of secrets.
    [] Mind, growing ever higher.
    [] Time, seeing all.
    [] Rage, ever changing.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Sorry that it took so long. Had a nasty author's block. Hope that the result is satisfying.
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • Maybe take another read through, you've got a bunch of seemingly missing words and typos.
     
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