Paul Cowan

4.3K posts

Paul Cowan

Paul Cowan

@funkwit

Melbourne⇒Sydney, HoE @ Big Picture Medical, ex-Google/Airtasker (though not speaking officially for ANY of them, duh, what is wrong with you?). He/him.

Sydney, Australia Katılım Ocak 2008
424 Takip Edilen790 Takipçiler
Paul Cowan
Paul Cowan@funkwit·
I don't post much here, I know, and I never shill for people. But Claire Stapleton is one of the most delightful people to have ever passed through Google employment, and commands the English language like no one else. This is going to be a TREAT, I'm certain of it.
claire stapleton@clairewaves

hello x--just dropping into the famously calm, nourishing discourse here to say my book is out this summer. drama, death, executives, and mass revolt--with light romp energy--inside google. info + preorders below. love and light to all :)

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Has the umpire made A Bad decision?
Hodge correct If you touch the ball to prevent it going out for a lasoo FK, you must make a clear active attempt to keep it in Just taking possession and letting momentum carry you over isn't doing that Hate the rule if you want but Umps instructed to pay this #AFLCrowsBlues
7AFL@7AFL

"The new rule is if you actually attempt to touch it, you've gotta try and keep the ball in." 🗣️ Luke Hodge following Nick Haynes' insufficient intent call

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Paul Cowan
Paul Cowan@funkwit·
@Jeffersek6g @DomCometti So to be clear - if your daughter or sister or mum was (let's say) sexually assaulted in the coal mines, you'd believe that 'comradeship' should take precedence and no-one should say anything. Fascinating character you are.
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Dom Cometti 🇦🇺
Dom Cometti 🇦🇺@DomCometti·
For the, “Albo is a traitor for arresting Ben Roberts Smith” crowd purely because he is a veteran. What do you say to the 20 fellow soldiers who testified AGAINST him? Are they traitors also?!
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Jeffers
Jeffers@Jeffersek6g·
@DomCometti Yep. Even working in underground coal the rule was what happens underground stays underground. If you cant stick up for your mate next to you in the army then we are screwed as a nation. If the government goes after its own veterans then why would anyone want to fight for it?
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Hokonui Honky.
Hokonui Honky.@EsdaileTon53863·
@TheHarrisSultan @DrewPavlou There in lies another possible problem of DEI personal in the military The 4 SAS members who gave evidence against BRS should be dishonourabley discharged Media personal are also a huge problem in particular the ABC for altering live footage Note to SAS troops leave cameras behin
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Drew Pavlou 🇦🇺🇺🇸🇺🇦🇹🇼
Ben Roberts-Smith was just arrested on alleged war crimes charges. Miscarriage of justice. He served his country. If we were ever invaded we would need men like him to fight to save Australia. How can we be so ungrateful? Free Ben Roberts-Smith.
Drew Pavlou 🇦🇺🇺🇸🇺🇦🇹🇼 tweet media
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Paul Cowan
Paul Cowan@funkwit·
@JdubAndrew @Math_files The difficulty of proof isn't in proving that it will tend to TREND downwards. The difficulty is showing that there can never ever be a loop. One counterexample of a loop (A-B-C-...-A) would disprove, and your observation (though astute) does nothing to show that.
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Andrew the Millwright
Andrew the Millwright@JdubAndrew·
@Math_files Here is the proof: every odd number multiplied by 3 and adding 1 will be an even number, however only half of even numbers divided by 2 will be odd numbers. Therefore the limit will always go to 1 since there will be more even numbers produced than odd.
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Math Files
Math Files@Math_files·
People often say mathematicians are not afraid of anything—except one thing: the Collatz Conjecture. It is one of the most famous unsolved mysteries in mathematics. Here’s how it works: Pick any positive number. If the number is odd, multiply it by 3 and add 1. If the number is even, divide it by 2. Now repeat this process again and again. For example, start with 7: 7 is odd → 3×7 + 1 = 22 22 is even → 22 ÷ 2 = 11 11 is odd → 3×11 + 1 = 34 …and so on we get: 7 → 22 → 11 → 34 → 17 → 52 → 26 → 13 → 40 → 20 → 10 → 5 → 16 → 8 → 4 → 2 → 1 The surprising claim is this: no matter which number you start with, you will always eventually reach 1. It sounds simple, but no one has been able to prove that it is true for all numbers. That’s why it remains a mystery.
Math Files tweet media
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Paul Cowan
Paul Cowan@funkwit·
@aakashgupta "Google Assistant [was] trained on General American and Received Pronunciation English." This is simply untrue. Assistant was absolutely trained on Australian English specifically. I know because I was part of the training data and spent many hours providing samples.
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Aakash Gupta
Aakash Gupta@aakashgupta·
This trick works because Australian English runs a systematic vowel shift that breaks every voice AI on the planet. “Bean” for “been.” “Todie” for “today.” “Feesh” for “fish.” Linguists call it the Australian Vowel Shift. Front vowels raise, back vowels front, diphthongs compress. The pattern is so consistent you can reverse-engineer Australian pronunciation from written English using three rules. Google Cloud’s speech-to-text hit a 35% word error rate on accented speakers in 2025. One in three words wrong. Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant were all trained on General American and Received Pronunciation English. The 80%+ of English speakers whose vowels don’t match the training data just have to repeat themselves. A human decodes “have you bean to spice lightly” in seconds. The $200B voice AI industry still can’t.
jenny lewis@jennylewis

i’ll teach you how to do an australian accent. say this out loud exactly as it’s written have you bean to spice lightly

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Paul Cowan
Paul Cowan@funkwit·
@HestonChurchill @SSharkansky @Math_files I just regret my chosen example, because the reverse (increasingly long sequences of 0s, separated by single 1s, is the much more elegant 0.101001000100001 which is the infinite sum of 1/(10^1) + 1/(10^3) + 1/(10^6) + 1/(10^10) + ... which I think we can ask agree is much nicer!
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Math Files
Math Files@Math_files·
The Feynman point is a famous pattern in the digits of π. It refers to the sequence 999999, which appears starting at the 762nd decimal place of π. The name comes from the physicist Richard Feynman. He jokingly said that if this sequence occurred earlier in π, he would memorize π up to that point and end the recitation with “…nine, nine, nine, nine, nine, nine, and so on.” This amusing coincidence became known as the Feynman point and is a fun example of surprising patterns appearing in the digits of π.
Math Files tweet media
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Paul Cowan
Paul Cowan@funkwit·
@HestonChurchill @SSharkansky @Math_files Extremely silly but clear counterexample: 0.01011011101111011111... (that is, a number whose decimal representation is a sequence of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5... ones each separated by a single zero) is an irrational number but won't contain any sequence of two zeroes!
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Paul Cowan
Paul Cowan@funkwit·
@timrud1 @matcoch I think YOU need to look up how sports tickets work, and how sporting attendances are reported, before being a smart-arse to someone when you're wrong.
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Tim
Tim@timrud1·
@matcoch You just said it was the average price, then said you can’t multiply it by the attendance. I think you need to look up how averages work.
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Mat Coch
Mat Coch@matcoch·
Some rough maths on the Australian GP. Total attendance across four days was 484,000. Average ticket price is around AUD $700. It's not as simple as multiplying them together, as there were single and multi-day passes. #F1 1/3
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Paul Cowan
Paul Cowan@funkwit·
@und675 @dollllfears @MrMediocrePass It literally says "use a registered psychologist, social worker or occupational therapist" in your screenshot. You're giving someone advice about psychology and therapy, when they are referring to psychiatry. They're different things, which even your own screenshot makes clear.
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𐕣 Vee 𐕣
𐕣 Vee 𐕣@dollllfears·
Why people in Australia don't get mental health care:( this was for 1 appointment with a psychiatrist
𐕣 Vee 𐕣 tweet media
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Paul Cowan
Paul Cowan@funkwit·
@realRick_AUS @gaymilkisgay Under Keating as treasurer? They peaked at about 17.5%. In that same time window, New Zealand's peaked at about 20.5%, and the UK's at over 16%. Amazing, Keating's influence, to have caused such high interest rates across all those countries. Unbelievable.
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BroBro🇦🇺🏇🏻
BroBro🇦🇺🏇🏻@realRick_AUS·
Good afternoon Australia, There were 0 interest rate rises under the LNP government from 2013 until 2022. We have seen 13 interest rises under the Anthony Albanese’s led labor government since 2022. Enjoy.
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Paul Cowan
Paul Cowan@funkwit·
Denmark should simply delegate the power to Greenland to sign a mutual defence treaty with Afghanistan. We already know the US can't beat them. Problem solved.
Orla Joelsen@OJoelsen

Premier of Greenland 🇬🇱 statement this morning; This morning, I am both saddened and grateful 🇬🇱 Saddened, because during a press conference last night, the President of the United States once again expressed a desire to take over Greenland. With such statements, our country is reduced to a question of security and power. That is not how we see ourselves, and it is not how Greenland can or should be spoken about. We are a people with a long history, a strong culture, and a vibrant democracy. We are a country with responsibility for our own territory and for our own future. Our territorial integrity and our right to self-determination are firmly anchored in international law and cannot simply be ignored. That is also why I am grateful. Thank you to everyone here at home for the clear support and unity that has been shown. The calmness and dignity with which you have met this situation send a strong signal of a people who stand firm in their values and in their responsibility. I would also like to thank heads of government and partners around the world who have clearly and unequivocally expressed their respect for Greenland, for our democratic institutions, and for the fundamental principles of international law. That support confirms that we here at home do not stand alone. Once again: Greenland is our country. Decisions are made here. And I will at all times fight for our freedom and our right to decide for ourselves and to shape our own future. For now, I hope that the peace of Christmas can settle over us all. Merry Christmas 🇬🇱💙🇬🇱

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Paul Cowan
Paul Cowan@funkwit·
@McClarey2 @MFWitches It was almost exactly ten minutes from first shot fired to both perpetrators being dead or arrested. You're making shit up. You're right though, we should model our police response on the US, and aim for a clean crisp 77-minute takedown like Uvalde.
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McClarey
McClarey@McClarey2·
@MFWitches Imagine how many wouldn't have died if some of the victims had possessed firearms and if your cops for twenty minutes weren't notable in their absence, except for cowering in place.
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MFWitches
MFWitches@MFWitches·
To the Americans now jeering at Australians because our gun laws didn’t protect those who died at #Bondi yesterday. Have a look at footage of the younger shooter on the bridge and watch how he’s using a bolt-action instead of automatic rifle, then imagine how many more people would’ve died if he’d had a much faster automatic or semi-automatic? Because those automatic guns are illegal and closely controlled in Australia, and this alone probably saved dozens of lives. Then shut the fuck up.
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Paul Cowan
Paul Cowan@funkwit·
@flintaeroinc @MFWitches Oh yes, the inaction that resulted in one gunman dead and the other arrested in almost exactly ten minutes. As opposed to the crack response we see from US police forces, like where the Uvalde shooting was quickly and decisively ended in *checks notes* seventy-seven minutes.
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Dennis Hamblin🇺🇸🏴‍☠️🌲🐍#MAGA
@MFWitches I'd be more concerned by the actions, specifically the inactions, of your police officers. Their response was pathetic. We value our God-given right to arm ourselves for protection from others who would do us harm, which includes our government, than some illusion of safety.
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Paul Cowan
Paul Cowan@funkwit·
@Poka741997 @BarackObama You don't think that maybe, just maybe, the former President of the USA has access to better and more accurate sources of information than you, J. Random Dickhead?
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Poka
Poka@Poka741997·
@BarackObama This reads with grace, but accuracy matters. Rob Reiner is alive, and misstating a death undermines the sentiment. Public tributes carry weight, so facts should anchor even heartfelt reflections.
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Barack Obama
Barack Obama@BarackObama·
Michelle and I are heartbroken by the tragic passing of Rob Reiner and his beloved wife, Michele. Rob’s achievements in film and television gave us some of our most cherished stories on screen. But beneath all of the stories he produced was a deep belief in the goodness of people—and a lifelong commitment to putting that belief into action. Together, he and his wife lived lives defined by purpose. They will be remembered for the values they championed and the countless people they inspired. We send our deepest condolences to all who loved them.
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Paul Cowan
Paul Cowan@funkwit·
@Goosey30111568 If MY sister was either a liar or a fucking idiot, I would simply admit neither on public social media. But that's just me.
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Goosey
Goosey@Goosey30111568·
My sister lives in Australia. She has done for 20 years. She's an Australian citizen now. She tell me the Gov't there is the most authoritarian she's ever known. She calls it full-blown Communism. The UK is following the same path.
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Paul Cowan
Paul Cowan@funkwit·
@CrimsonCrews @grok @aaronchaotic @AdameMedia Grok "losing credibility as a verifiable source" is like a sea lion "losing credibility as a possible principal dancer for the Bolshoi Ballet" or a handful of cold gravel "losing credibility as a source of protein". It's ludicrous that you think it ever had any.
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Adam
Adam@AdameMedia·
You can’t watch this video and not hate Israel. Israeli soldiers EXECUTE two young Palestinian men at point-blank range AFTER they surrendered near in the northern occupied West Bank. This apartheid must end. Boycott and shun everything to do with it.
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Paul Cowan
Paul Cowan@funkwit·
"I'll not allow German children into my house!" Tom said, unkindly.
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Paul Cowan
Paul Cowan@funkwit·
@vydamo_ Point of order, we don't hate NFTs. We hate people who are into NFTs.
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Vydamo
Vydamo@vydamo_·
Still doing the rounds If there is one thing normies fucking HATE it's nfts
Vydamo tweet media
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