Interesting Links for 11-12-2018

[andrewducker]

Google Translate takes a stand against singular "they"

(tags: language translation gender google )

SNP offers to support vote of no confidence if Labour makes one.

(tags: snp labour politics )

Chess, a Drosophila of reasoning

(tags: chess games intelligence ai )

UK House of Commons expert answers questions on the Meaningful Vote procedure.

(tags: politics UK europe )

Nihilist Dad Jokes

(tags: jokes funny humour )

The irish potato famine

(tags: ireland food history inequality )

This is the ridiculous depths the government has sunk to

(tags: UK government OhForFucksSake Europe )

A metaphor that explains Brexit very neatly

(tags: cheese metaphor uk europe politics )

The Technology That Changed Air Travel

(tags: airplanes travel history technology computers xml viaFanf )

The autistic view of the world is not the neurotypical cliché

(tags: autism stereotypes fiction viaFanf )

Increasing numbers of pubs and cafes no longer take cash

(tags: money Technology )

An amazing story of gay love and loss in World War 1

Dammit! Now confessed to be fiction! https://twitter.com/TenshiAngelina/status/1072172791812812800?s=09
(tags: history love wwi )

Kenshi is a game I suspect would appeal to a bunch of my friends. Incredibly open world

(tags: games review )

"Godzilla: King of the Monsters" looks like ridiculous fun

(tags: movies Godzilla trailer )

Psychology research is still fixated on a tiny fraction of humans

(tags: race gender society psychology )

New study finds bias against women and girls when intellectual ability is sought

(tags: intelligence psychology sexism )

In the “Trust Game”, men with more autistic traits were less influenced by their partner’s facial appearance

(tags: autism trust psychology faces )

Comments

[mountainkiss]

If you are really interested in the Irish potato famine, I CAN LEND YOU A BOOK.

[andrewducker]

I appreciate the thought, but I'm getting through about three books a year at the moment, due to lack of concentration/sleep/time.

[mountainkiss]

BUT THIS IS A SPECIAL BOOK.

[andrewducker]

I can't resist the all caps.

How about the four of us meet up for lunch in the New Year and you lend it to me then?

[mountainkiss]

No, don't worry. At the time of the original comment, it was only a couple of days since I'd been posting about it on FB but the moment has now passed. Hope the lunch will take place though!

[andrewducker]

That would be lovely. All we need is a single day in which none of us is sick!

(And we're all in the same city)

[mountainkiss]

Well, I'm there for about a month, so if we try for early then we have time to postpone.

[andrewducker]

I'm definitely up for that. Let me know what dates work for you and I'll book it in!

[dewline]

What are they thinking at Google Translate HQ?

[skington]

It looks, if we're going to try to be charitable, that they can't just say “use singular they” because that's not a solution that works in languages with much more obvious gendering. After all, one of the problems they're facing is that they need to preserve gender (or gender options) when round-tripping translations via multiple languages.

[redbird]

The "ridiculous depths" link leads to a protected Twitter account; is the content visible elsewhere that you know of?

[alithea]

That twitter account was public last time I looked at it...

[andrewducker]

He protects whenever he takes time off of Twitter.

[andrewducker]

"Speaker insists there should be a vote on the government seeking not to have a vote on the meaningful vote voted for by MPs so they could have a vote on what the government did not want them to have a vote on in respect of what was voted for in the referendum vote."

[agoodwinsmith]

Google Translate can fuck off and die.

Once I have read it I will be more articulate, but the sentiment is unlikely to change.

[agoodwinsmith]

Okay, I'll confess to being a bit gun-jumpy. What they've actually offered is a his and her towels for languages where this matters - which: fair enough.

I suppose this means that if I plug in "they are a doctor", the translation will be punk in languages where that can't happen.

I suppose, though, if I can be annoyingly theyish in English, I can do the same in other languages - prolly not.

[calimac]

Can't find anywhere in the linked article where "Google Translate takes a stand against singular 'they'". All it says is "we're already thinking about how to address non-binary gender in translations, though it’s not part of this initial launch," which even if it's dishonest or insincere doesn't "take a stand" against it.

Can't find any "Nihilist Dad Jokes" at that link either. All there are is ordinary Dad jokes, followed by superfluous nihilist remarks.

The Brexit analogy thread is brilliant, the more so as it's followed by objections from a guy who so totally just does not get it.