Eric Panzer
@ericpanzer.bsky.social
Arguing since birth. Urban planning, politics, weather, Drag Race, and photography are all fair game. Opinions are strictly my own—unless others agree. I assume that strings of emojis in people's bios are their washing instructions
God, I've heard about this so many times and I was not prepared to see it on video. I involuntarily, physically recoiled.
If someone did that to me, I'd be immediately removing their arms and might even go into fight-or-flight Sandra Bullock mode:
If someone did that to me, I'd be immediately removing their arms and might even go into fight-or-flight Sandra Bullock mode:
September 16, 2026 at 6:46 PM
God, I've heard about this so many times and I was not prepared to see it on video. I involuntarily, physically recoiled.
If someone did that to me, I'd be immediately removing their arms and might even go into fight-or-flight Sandra Bullock mode:
If someone did that to me, I'd be immediately removing their arms and might even go into fight-or-flight Sandra Bullock mode:
I think we could dramatically improve the ballot measure process (in most cases) by setting different thresholds for efforts that use paid signature gatherers versus efforts that don't
Use paid signature gatherers? You've got to gather five times as many signatures
Use paid signature gatherers? You've got to gather five times as many signatures
September 16, 2026 at 4:27 PM
I think we could dramatically improve the ballot measure process (in most cases) by setting different thresholds for efforts that use paid signature gatherers versus efforts that don't
Use paid signature gatherers? You've got to gather five times as many signatures
Use paid signature gatherers? You've got to gather five times as many signatures
And it's especially galling because over the past year or two the board has considered multiple items that appeared intended to silence/punish Syed rather than Young
Most recently, perhaps, the consultant-driven report that sought to muzzle board members and the public
Most recently, perhaps, the consultant-driven report that sought to muzzle board members and the public
September 16, 2026 at 4:20 PM
And it's especially galling because over the past year or two the board has considered multiple items that appeared intended to silence/punish Syed rather than Young
Most recently, perhaps, the consultant-driven report that sought to muzzle board members and the public
Most recently, perhaps, the consultant-driven report that sought to muzzle board members and the public
One time I got hissed a Berkeley City Council meeting and I turned to the audience and said "Hissing is just applause from snakes."
I said this very off-handedly and eventually forgot about it until people reminded me because apparently EVERYONE who was there remembers it
I said this very off-handedly and eventually forgot about it until people reminded me because apparently EVERYONE who was there remembers it
September 16, 2026 at 5:52 AM
One time I got hissed a Berkeley City Council meeting and I turned to the audience and said "Hissing is just applause from snakes."
I said this very off-handedly and eventually forgot about it until people reminded me because apparently EVERYONE who was there remembers it
I said this very off-handedly and eventually forgot about it until people reminded me because apparently EVERYONE who was there remembers it
I think your last sentence is doing a lot of work there
The brain is less massive but it still does an absolutely mind-boggling number of calculations and there are also chemical signals that add a whole other layer of complexity
Can we simulate a human brain? the safest answer is: not yet
The brain is less massive but it still does an absolutely mind-boggling number of calculations and there are also chemical signals that add a whole other layer of complexity
Can we simulate a human brain? the safest answer is: not yet
September 16, 2026 at 5:43 AM
I think your last sentence is doing a lot of work there
The brain is less massive but it still does an absolutely mind-boggling number of calculations and there are also chemical signals that add a whole other layer of complexity
Can we simulate a human brain? the safest answer is: not yet
The brain is less massive but it still does an absolutely mind-boggling number of calculations and there are also chemical signals that add a whole other layer of complexity
Can we simulate a human brain? the safest answer is: not yet
I am not saying this to make a dualist argument, but just because something exists does not mean we can compute it with silicon
Weather exists, but there appear to be mathematical limits to how far out we can theoretically predict it:
phys.org/news/2026-08...
Weather exists, but there appear to be mathematical limits to how far out we can theoretically predict it:
phys.org/news/2026-08...
Weather prediction hits a theoretical 129-day ceiling
Prediction is the goal and test of all science, one might argue. Meteorologists have been curious about the inherent limits of weather forecasting ever since the dawn of numerical weather prediction i...
phys.org
September 16, 2026 at 5:28 AM
I am not saying this to make a dualist argument, but just because something exists does not mean we can compute it with silicon
Weather exists, but there appear to be mathematical limits to how far out we can theoretically predict it:
phys.org/news/2026-08...
Weather exists, but there appear to be mathematical limits to how far out we can theoretically predict it:
phys.org/news/2026-08...
Non-agenda public comment
September 16, 2026 at 1:48 AM
Non-agenda public comment
Do you have any notion of how hard it is to raise taxes in California and/or how messed up our affordable housing funding/approvals processes are?
This is a looks-good-on-paper solution that simply doesn't work under California's laws or political climate
This is a looks-good-on-paper solution that simply doesn't work under California's laws or political climate
September 16, 2026 at 12:37 AM
Do you have any notion of how hard it is to raise taxes in California and/or how messed up our affordable housing funding/approvals processes are?
This is a looks-good-on-paper solution that simply doesn't work under California's laws or political climate
This is a looks-good-on-paper solution that simply doesn't work under California's laws or political climate
Understood. Y'all have fun
September 15, 2026 at 10:55 PM
Understood. Y'all have fun
Lol! I'm going to bow out of litigating consciousness on BlueSky, but this explanation you shared does tickle me
September 15, 2026 at 10:54 PM
Lol! I'm going to bow out of litigating consciousness on BlueSky, but this explanation you shared does tickle me
Ok, glad we moved past this resolution bit
You're asking me to solve the hard problem of consciousness and/or adjudicate whether a fruitfly is a mere automaton
I will not attempt to do this here because that would be very hubristic and stupid of me
You're asking me to solve the hard problem of consciousness and/or adjudicate whether a fruitfly is a mere automaton
I will not attempt to do this here because that would be very hubristic and stupid of me
September 15, 2026 at 10:50 PM
Ok, glad we moved past this resolution bit
You're asking me to solve the hard problem of consciousness and/or adjudicate whether a fruitfly is a mere automaton
I will not attempt to do this here because that would be very hubristic and stupid of me
You're asking me to solve the hard problem of consciousness and/or adjudicate whether a fruitfly is a mere automaton
I will not attempt to do this here because that would be very hubristic and stupid of me
I'm not sure whether I believe in the hard problems, qualia, etc
But I do agree that repeating the word "resolution" over and over seems to be a very odd choice
But I do agree that repeating the word "resolution" over and over seems to be a very odd choice
September 15, 2026 at 10:48 PM
I'm not sure whether I believe in the hard problems, qualia, etc
But I do agree that repeating the word "resolution" over and over seems to be a very odd choice
But I do agree that repeating the word "resolution" over and over seems to be a very odd choice
Princess Bride Mandy Patinkin Meme.gif
September 15, 2026 at 10:47 PM
Princess Bride Mandy Patinkin Meme.gif
Also, check out this study which claims that even with perfect conditions, mathematics tells us that 129 days is the absolute theoretical maximum for Earth weather prediction
There may very well be similar limits for brains, which are also highly complex systems with apparently chaotic properties
There may very well be similar limits for brains, which are also highly complex systems with apparently chaotic properties
Weather prediction hits a theoretical 129-day ceiling
Prediction is the goal and test of all science, one might argue. Meteorologists have been curious about the inherent limits of weather forecasting ever since the dawn of numerical weather prediction i...
phys.org
September 15, 2026 at 10:45 PM
Also, check out this study which claims that even with perfect conditions, mathematics tells us that 129 days is the absolute theoretical maximum for Earth weather prediction
There may very well be similar limits for brains, which are also highly complex systems with apparently chaotic properties
There may very well be similar limits for brains, which are also highly complex systems with apparently chaotic properties
You keep saying "resolution." Why?
Weather models can have an incredibly high resolution, but if the formulas that relate the cells to one another are wrong, imprecise, or incomplete, no amount of resolution will yield a 100% accurate forecast, especially at longer time intervals
Weather models can have an incredibly high resolution, but if the formulas that relate the cells to one another are wrong, imprecise, or incomplete, no amount of resolution will yield a 100% accurate forecast, especially at longer time intervals
September 15, 2026 at 10:42 PM
You keep saying "resolution." Why?
Weather models can have an incredibly high resolution, but if the formulas that relate the cells to one another are wrong, imprecise, or incomplete, no amount of resolution will yield a 100% accurate forecast, especially at longer time intervals
Weather models can have an incredibly high resolution, but if the formulas that relate the cells to one another are wrong, imprecise, or incomplete, no amount of resolution will yield a 100% accurate forecast, especially at longer time intervals
If you think the only thing that matters to brain function is the location of neurons and synapses and the strength of the connections at a point in time, I think you might want to consider any times you used alcohol or psychoactive drugs
September 15, 2026 at 10:10 PM
If you think the only thing that matters to brain function is the location of neurons and synapses and the strength of the connections at a point in time, I think you might want to consider any times you used alcohol or psychoactive drugs
No. You can have a millimeter accurate map of a city and even a 100% accurate phonebook, but that won't tell you what everyone is doing at any given moment, what the temp of every surface is, what the traffic is like, the pressure in the water pipes etc
Think about all the chemicals in brains
Think about all the chemicals in brains
September 15, 2026 at 10:08 PM
No. You can have a millimeter accurate map of a city and even a 100% accurate phonebook, but that won't tell you what everyone is doing at any given moment, what the temp of every surface is, what the traffic is like, the pressure in the water pipes etc
Think about all the chemicals in brains
Think about all the chemicals in brains
Or it's just lead poisoning
September 15, 2026 at 4:19 PM
Or it's just lead poisoning
AI detectors are capable of both false positives and false negatives. I could probably make an AI image like this on my own computer, lower the resolution/quality to this same level, and fool an AI detector
Introducing extreme compression artifacts remains a fairly effective way to fool detectors
Introducing extreme compression artifacts remains a fairly effective way to fool detectors
September 15, 2026 at 1:34 AM
AI detectors are capable of both false positives and false negatives. I could probably make an AI image like this on my own computer, lower the resolution/quality to this same level, and fool an AI detector
Introducing extreme compression artifacts remains a fairly effective way to fool detectors
Introducing extreme compression artifacts remains a fairly effective way to fool detectors
This is why I'm all aboard for the regional transit measure
September 14, 2026 at 11:23 PM
This is why I'm all aboard for the regional transit measure
Working on supporting the Regional Transit Measure campaign, you daft troll
September 14, 2026 at 11:22 PM
Working on supporting the Regional Transit Measure campaign, you daft troll