I don’t believe people can choose to change their behavior in the way we usually think. But I do believe they can be influenced to change - by new information or experiences.

Take this example: if we suddenly discovered that tomatoes are toxic, I wouldn’t say I’m actively choosing to stop eating them. What’s really happening is that my understanding of the world has changed so much that I automatically no longer want to eat them. It’s not about freedom of choice - it’s more like being compelled by truth. I didn’t decide to change; the change happened to me because of what I learned.

I can forgive mistakes and bad judgment, but if you intentionally do something that makes me lose trust and respect, it’s going to be hard to earn that back. If you lie to me, for example, I don’t see it as a one-time action - it reveals something about the kind of person you are. Saying you won’t do it again doesn’t mean much after you’ve already shown it’s something you’ve been doing up to this point.

I don’t believe in free will, so when I see someone act this way, I don’t even really blame them. I don’t see it as a conscious decision, but more as a behavior they’re helplessly repeating. And people rarely change that kind of behavior unless the motivation comes from within - not from outside pressure.

I’m not sure if this is any longer the case but I’ve heard that Leatherman, despite “only” having a 25 year gurantee will pretty much repair/replace any of their multitools you send them no matter how old.

Not eating works pretty well, though I understand it’s probably harder for someone with a desire to eat.

Well, firstly, “art” and “artist” are human-invented concepts - they don’t exist in the real world, only in our minds - so in the end, we’re essentially debating semantics. That said, if you hire an artist, then yes, they’re the artist, not you. But I don’t think that same logic applies to AI, because it’s not making any decisions on its own. It’s a tool, just like a paintbrush, camera, or drums.

If an elephant paints a picture, is that art? And is the elephant the artist? If a child bangs on drums and is just making noise, is that art? Are they the artist? If I grab a camera, point it somewhere, and press a button, is that art? Am I the artist? Personally, I’d say each of those is easier to do than writing a prompt that actually produces the image you had in mind, yet I doubt you’d come telling me that my photography isn’t art only becuse I didn’t put enough effort into it.

I’m not hugely experienced with AI image generators, but I have played around with one, trying to get it to create a specific kind of picture I had in mind - and I’ve ended up with something like 70 variations, none of which quite hit the mark. I’ve already spent over four hours on this project, and if I somehow manage to figure out the right prompt and finally get the image I’m after, then yes - I’d say that’s art and I’m the artist.

That’s entirely subjective. If I actually stop and look at it instead of just scrolling past, then there’s probably at least something good about it - to me. Someone else might still just scroll by.

If the person using the paintbrush is the artist - not the brush itself - then why doesn’t the same logic apply to AI? It’s just a tool, after all. AI doesn’t generate anything on its own. Sure, you could ask it to spit out a picture with no effort, but you can do the same with a camera. However, if you have a clear vision of how you want the final result to look, it’s a different story. Getting AI to output an image is easy. Getting it to output your image - that’s hard.

If I don’t like a piece of art it’s not because it was made using AI but because it’s bad art. If it’s good it’s good no matter who or what made it.

If it’s liquid it’s good to drink and if it’s chunky you probably shouldn’t though I don’t find that milk products spoil that easily. I’ve seen flakes floating in my coffee and I’ve still drank it and nothing has happened.

I never got what it is with Americans and their credit cards. Why does one need several and what’s up with those credit limits? If you’re buying on credit it by defintion means you can’t afford it and thus shouldn’t buy it. I do have a credit card as well but the only thing I use the credit side for is online purchases for security reasons. Everything else is charged directly from my bank account.

Take the people expressing their violent political fantasies in threads like this and make them live in the worlds they’re advocating for.

I run the AC if it’s really hot but that only cools down the downstairs. Upstairs where I sleep I just basically have a fan running all summer pointed at the bed.

People being confidently wrong in the comments again. It’s the seam between two pre-cast hollow-core slabs. This is how every single apartment building is built at where I live.

Stacked in piles. Clean ones go on the bottom and I wear the one on the top. The ones I have on the hanger I put on the right side after use / wash and the ones on the far left I get rid of due to being unused. I try to have as little clothes as possible and keep the colors such that everything goes with everything else.

Hit me up if you need someone to patch those holes.

I heard a podcast guest refer to herself as a “professional opinion haver,” and even though I’m not a professional, I sure do have opinions.

However, this isn’t the nickname I generally use online - just one I chose for this particular Lemmy account. I post and comment quite a bit, and people tend to start recognizing me after a while, so I keep creating new accounts to maintain anonymity.

As someone who doesn’t believe in free will I’d say no - I don’t think they should be punished for their acts even in this life. Now, I’m not saying that actions shouldn’t have consequences but punishing a person for something they did implies they could have done otherwise and that I disagree with.

Sim racers definitely outperform an average person on a race track even when neither has driven an actual race car before.

I also remember hearing that surgeons who play videogames tend to perform better at their jobs too.

I know that a country with that name exists.

People or beliefs?

I’ve changed my mind many times based on online discussions.

For me it would be that while lies are in many cases morally justifiable.

My current belief on this is that lying is never right unless you’re literally using it as a form of self defence as an alternative to physical violence. However, I also tend to believe that absolute beliefs are virtually always wrong, and these two are conflicting beliefs. I can atleast think of a few extreme scenarios where a white lie seems justifiable even when you’re not in danger. For example: a dying person showing their painting and you complimenting it despite not liking it.

Real stoners always load a full bowl.

I don’t like to dress in a slutty outfit and go out in the public

Exactly. The implication that sex has happened is enough. No need to “show it” when you’re not actually showing it anyway. If I want to watch people having fictional sex I know where to look from.

Well, here’s my laptop. In some other cases, on my camera for example I’ve just used black electrical tape and on my bike duct tape. I have used tape on clothing aswell, though. Many of my work clothes are from my previous employee but since it’s in good condition I’m still using them but just have the company branding covered.

I’d remove the sex scenes. All of them.

I developed a distate for visible branding on my clothes and other items around 7 years ago and ever since I’ve gone out of my way to not buy any clothes with logos on them and I’ve been scratching away / putting tape over the logos on everything else.

I have no idea honestly. I do mountain bike trail riding but I’ve never done it with anyone else so there’s no one to really compare myself to. I do ride on lot of trails that I rarely see other bike tracks on but I don’t know wether it’s because the trail is too technical or because it’s just not fun to ride.

For cars: black. Everything else: olive green

Well I don’t know about the world but I’d still have my cat.

I would refuse my services to them and leave. Losing an individual customer here and there doesn’t affect my business in any way.

He should be someone you look up to and want to be like while he wants you to be even better.

It sounds like English. It’s the Brits and Aussies that I hear having accent - not Americans.

Gee, I wonder why

Unspoken expectations are pre-medidated resentments.

Self-employed contractor.

Not that much really other than the fact that some of my customers want to talk about it.

The thing here is that I have zero desire to screw people over.

The issue with your premise is that it seems to imply that the people defending them also consider them to be assholes which most likely is not the case. So it’s not that they defend assholes - you simply just disagree who the assholes are.

Nowhere probably. I’m not traveling because I can’t afford to but rather because I’m not interested to.

As long as it sounds good, I don’t give a damn even if it’s made by AI.