K‮ly‬e @khird@qoto.org

@mandlebro In the context of the specific problem (mixture of two Gaussian distributions) he's discussing, the likelihood is nonzero. He's set only μ̂₁=yₓ, σ̂₁=0, but μ̂₂ and σ̂₂ can be anything; so he's effectively mixing a finite Gaussian with a Dirac delta function as an edge case. If you say Δₓ=0 and all other Δ=1, you're using the Dirac delta to explain yₓ and the finite Gaussian to explain all other y. The Dirac delta doesn't have to explain the other points, so the fact that it'd be zero at those values of y doesn't force the likelihood to zero.

That said, I don't see how he concludes this gives *infinite* likelihood (or even necessarily the maximum). It seems to me it just collapses to the likelihood of the finite Gaussian - one point goes to certainty (i.e. 1) and the others go to their likelihood under the finite Gaussian, which is between zero and one. But this isn't the sort of math I do much of, and intuition isn't always reliable when terms are going to infinity.

Hopefully my reasoning makes sense as to why the likelihood isn't zero in general. If it becomes clear to you why it goes to infinity and/or represents a maximum, please share your insights - you've got me curious! Alternatively, if you disagree with my reasoning, and you still think it should be zero, I'm happy to reconsider my position on it.

@realcaseyrollins They don't usually call it converting unless it involves a baptism, so Christians of other denominations are simply "received" into the church, but yeah it happens. And the rules for baptism are pretty permissive, so most Christian denominations (with a few exceptions, notably the Mormons) are considered validly baptised.

Source: went to Catholic school as a non-Christian, they make sure you know how you could join up if you want

It would make sense, then, for replies to appear as comments, so let's test that hypothesis.

@freemo I blame mystery novels. The clever detective finds some clues, and announces he's got a theory but he needs more evidence to confirm it. This has led to the public using the word "theory" for what scientists would call a "hypothesis" and thereby devaluing the term.

@fikran

[Here](https://git.sr.ht/~vpzom/lotide/tree/master/item/openapi/openapi.json#L281)'s what they have - I don't see any human-readable documentation, and all the paths are marked "unstable", but it seems to be what there is for now.

@freemo @realcaseyrollins

@freemo

Yes* - I just thought it would be a nice addition to the comparison for completeness's sake as a fourth example (which is why I numbered it as 4).

* actually, ß is from ſʒ, not ſs, but functionally that makes little difference

@freemo

4. Eszett ligature? I know it was originally used for "sz", but today it's "ss"

@calligraphy

@freemo

I think you are conflating it with quadnary - when you take a double negative and double it again ;)

@realcaseyrollins

@Pat wait, what? If you catch COVID and don't recover, doesn't that mean you stay sick until you die? Hard to see how you have any chance to catch it again after that.

@realcaseyrollins Per the [CBC](cbc.ca/1.6268331), one parent says her kid had heard threats:

> Robin Redding said her son, Treshan Bryant, is a 12th grader at the school but stayed home on Tuesday. She said he had heard threats of a shooting at the school.
...
> Bryant said he texted several younger cousins in the morning and they said they didn't want to go to school, and he got a bad feeling.

@Pat This also happens every so often with Sydney, Nova Scotia. Europeans search for flights to Sydney and find one that's cheaper than the rest, not realising that's because it's going to YQY instead of SYD.

@freemo

@SpudsRudeEye There's actually a holiday Wednesday evening into Thursday this week; if you're casually interested and just want to spectate before making any commitment, the observance for that wouldn't be a bad place to start.

@freemo safe travels!

@freemo from what I've read that's not generally the case.

https://theinternetoffendsme.wordpress.com/2013/04/09/the-real-story-behind-facebook-moderation-and-your-petty-reports/

@freemo Wouldn't that be a bandpass filter, the reverse of a notch filter? Setting your notch filter too narrow results in you ignoring too little, not too much.

@freemo right, I was thinking more from a perspective of "How do we limit the utility of this object for the perpetration of a mass casualty event, while still making it otherwise practical for its intended purpose?" That's ultimately the reasoning behind many gun laws, like bans on automatic weapons or large magazines. Regardless how easy it would be to circumvent, I just don't think the same reasoning could justify a tank limit. What mass casualty event saw the guy burn more than five gallons of gas, such that it could've been prevented had he been forced to stop and refuel?

@freemo maybe a more workable parallel for magazine capacity limits would be a kinetic energy cap? So you can have a 300kg motorcycle that goes 250km/h or a 3000kg SUV restricted to 80km/h. Incentivise people to choose the right vehicle rather than burning the gas to haul a couple extra tonnes of steel to the office and back every day. The protection against ramming attacks is just gravy.

@freemo I feel like there's a lot of overlap between people supportive of gun control and people who would like to see SUVs replaced by lighter and more fuel-efficient conventional sedans.

@freemo Looks good! I favoured the heat-from-below hypothesis at first, but I prefer your answer to mine right now. This is the sort of thing I was comparing it to.