D-Machine

9 ms·

1.
by D-Machine 15d ago
You are wrong, as I didn't limit the analogy specifically to desktop computers only, try reading the rest of what I wrote. The original analogy was obviously hedging against simplistic brain-computer analogies (GP could be read as: &qu
2.
by D-Machine 15d ago
"The brain is not a computer" != "Parts / aspects of the brain do computation". "A computer" in the first statement is IMO obviously intended in the common usage sense of the term, i.e. the brain is not a
3.
by D-Machine 20d ago
Wait, I finally found a paper that properly presents the results in a way that lets you decide for yourself! See figure 2 here: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9344377/#f2 , you want to focus on the second
4.
by D-Machine 20d ago
> You simply completely ignored my core statement. Most of it was junk, or included stuff about TMS which has zero relevance to antidepressants. Here's the junk: > The truth is we took someone from being passively suicidal to fun
5.
by D-Machine 21d ago
> SSRIs have an NNT around 7, depending on the study you look at [...] Which sounds terrible if you know nothing about NNT. But when you learn that Tylenol has an NNT of almost 5 and even a powerful drug like Xanax has an NNT of 4, you r
6.
by D-Machine 21d ago
I am telling you to ask a chatbot because you are saying things so hilariously philosophically incompetent and ignorant that even a retarded LLM will improve your thinking. You obviously don't care about thinking coherently though, or
7.
by D-Machine 21d ago
This is why the denialism about differences in visual experience are so indefensible: they basically require an assumption that the whole world is out to lie and deceive. Like, so, people just say things like "I see it in my mind'
8.
by D-Machine 21d ago
> there are obviously no testable hypotheses about subjective descriptions Clearly false if you take just 30 seconds to scroll through this thread. Embarrassing.
9.
by D-Machine 21d ago
Frankly, it is very hard to tell at times.
10.
by D-Machine 21d ago
If you want to get really kooky, read up on Western Esotericism and Chaos Magic or tantric Buddhist practices and etc. They make basically this exact claim that this is how you "do magic" or similar such things, via sustained, &qu
11.
by D-Machine 21d ago
I can almost always tell the projection and reality are different, but in some very rare and extreme cases (psychedelics, sleep deprivation, extremely protracted and deliberate meditative focus / practice, or e.g. in situations where
12.
by D-Machine 21d ago
Very cool
13.
by D-Machine 21d ago
There are plenty of examples multiple times in this thread that show that what is self-reported is demonstrated in non-self-reported phenomena, so those self-reports are clearly not nonsense, basically by definition. The aphantasia theory i
14.
by D-Machine 21d ago
Honestly, every time I look into if the "treatment by severity effect" is clearly established, I feel I come away only able to shrug. It is at least plausible, but hasn't been clearly established or refuted. What does seem cl
15.
by D-Machine 21d ago
I suppose it can be moralizing, and probably is in the parent comment. For me I still feel the surprise because I've followed the evidence carefully for well over a decade, and the methodological problems and lack of evidence for meani
16.
by D-Machine 21d ago
> As you point out, placebo antidepressants are fairly effective. This is a misunderstanding of concepts like regression to the mean, and also the active placebo elements involved. > but the experienced reality is that they help peopl
17.
by D-Machine 21d ago
To be polite, it is called "typical-mind fallacy". To be less polite, it is called "cope".
18.
by D-Machine 21d ago
Yup, sadly the absolute denialists saying "it is just semantic confusion" don't really have a tenable position, as a quick read through this whole thread would instantly reveal.
19.
by D-Machine 21d ago
There are measurable practical differences, besides differences in fMRI responses and pupil dilations as mentioned in the thread, there are also the ones I mention here ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49471908 ) that i
20.
by D-Machine 21d ago
There are plenty of competent meditation approaches that don't really require visualization of any kind. Most Western "mindfulness" meditations don't require visualizations, nor does e.g. shi-ne / opening awareness,
21.
by D-Machine 21d ago
Agreed. The problem is largely that the pluses of antidepressants have been quite significantly overstated, and the minuses have been understated, meaning the cost-benefit equation is unfortunately quite different than what the general publ
22.
by D-Machine 21d ago
The idea that simple serotonin deficiency is the whole entirety of all depressions is 100% discredited and completely incoherent in the face of current evidence, but yes, for sure it remains clear and plausible that some forms or aspects
23.
by D-Machine 21d ago
Agreed. They have to be significantly helping at least some, but we can't say who these people are for certain yet, or how many there really are. And yes, in some cases, no other options are possible, so even if the evidence is pretty
24.
by D-Machine 21d ago
> The truth is antidepressants have a larger effect on mental health than actually gets reported because of how improvements are measured. The truth is actually exactly the opposite, and I provided very high-quality evidence demonstratin
25.
by D-Machine 21d ago
I am not sure, but recommendations to prescribe in mild cases have quietly been reigned in a bit by e.g. NICE https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng222/chapter/Recommendatio... .
26.
by D-Machine 21d ago
For some people the emotional blunting is desirable, especially as you said, if the problem is chronic anxiety. But for many other people, their depression is defined by a lack of positive affect and anhedonia, meaning that emotional blunti
27.
by D-Machine 21d ago
Yup, I would agree. The meta-research / methodological research and awareness here is really quite impressive, even though its conclusions are a bit grim and not well-known.
28.
by D-Machine 21d ago
Best way to manage the withdrawal would be to dramatically reduce them being prescribed in the first place. The linked article says they have "small to moderate effectiveness", but this is being far too generous. The correct way t
29.
by D-Machine 21d ago
Almost certainly there is also a "latent" representation that isn't just based on sensory imagery (i.e. some kinds of logical relations). But it is also not likely that an absence of sensory imagery is without impact, i.e. th
30.
by D-Machine 21d ago
Radical or hard or global social constructionism [1] (or perhaps more accurately radical/hard/global relativism about truth [2]) are discredited because both are manifestly incoherent and prevent any serious thought from bei

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