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alexpotato 20 hours ago [-]
With regards to how skill is more important than technology in these other form of carrying:
A couple years ago I read Survival of the Bark Canoe by John McPhee [0].
There are several discussions of a crooked knife and how it was the "multitool" of craftsman in the northern forests and was used for everything from making canoes to snowshoes.
One of the most interesting parts about this journey was reading the below quote:
"Skill allows you to do a lot with one tool whereas many tools can be used to replace skill".
e.g. it's hard to learn how to use a crooked knife but once you do learn, it's like having a plane, gouge and carving knife all in one hand.
This article feels very similar in that it probably takes more skill to use a soft bag or basket to carry loads instead of a modern backpack but also gives you a lot more options.
But I don't know if I am imagining it; I'm starting to feel Claude's (AI) writing everywhere. Like this sentence for example:
> The genius of the gaucho’s system isn’t storage. It’s integration.
The x isn't y. Its z.
tom_ 21 hours ago [-]
Yes. I missed that specific bit, but, the more I read on, the less it felt like a nice in-flight magazine-tier diversion and the more it felt like I was reading the result of asking Claude to write an essay about the bearing of loads.
(Which makes me personally a lot less interested in reading it.)
modo_ 21 hours ago [-]
Here's a certified human written post from the one and only Yvon Chouinard about tumplines. Patagonia actually used to sell a tumpline compatible with some of their packs briefly in the 2010s!
Yeah the writing tastes like processed food. There’s no substance just “here’s some stuff people do” but nothing about why it works or where you could learn more.
Yea I also stumbled across that one.
Overall the article was really enjoyable to read, but this one sentence threw me off.
X isnt y it’s Z needs to die
DonHopkins 21 hours ago [-]
Load bearing load carriers.
KPGv2 20 hours ago [-]
I suppose I read enough books that I've seen this from human writers all the time for decades. It's even an English construction that I was specifically taught Japanese and Spanish equivalents in my foreign language classes decades ago, and I use the German equivalent with my family all the time.
jeffrallen 21 hours ago [-]
You're absolutely right! This is a load-bearing article.
naravara 21 hours ago [-]
Yeah as soon as I hit the gaucho section my clanker alarm started going off like crazy.
Xmd5a 19 hours ago [-]
[dead]
buellerbueller 21 hours ago [-]
Assuming it is AI-written, who cares? Would the article have been written if AI hadn't authored it? Did you derive less utility from the article than had it not been written at all?
Bunch of Veruca Salts here. I want ALL the entertainment/information, I want it NOW, I'll pirate it if I have to, and GOD FORBID IT USE AI.
ThrustVectoring 21 hours ago [-]
The intent to communicate particular ideas is actually important to the writing. If you have a lot of well put together words with relatively low intentionality behind it, what you have is something that is very effective at wasting your time. If I want to waste my time I'd rather be playing videogames.
r0han 21 hours ago [-]
> Did you derive less utility from the article than had it not been written at all?
At least in the economic sense of the word, utility is a measure of the subjective value that a person receives in exchange for something.
buellerbueller 21 hours ago [-]
Indeed! And even subjectively, I find it difficult to believe that even if AI-written, the new information learned has negative marginal utility (or less marginal utility than had it been human-written). That is in fact the basis of the point I am making, though it is implied rather than stated.
asciimov 20 hours ago [-]
For me it’s about human connection. I want to know the thoughts of others somewhere else to learn or share in their experiences.
tom_ 21 hours ago [-]
I care. If the article was AI written, I'm massively less interested in writing it, and in fact I'll only do it if absolutely necessary, or if I'm getting paid.
That's just how it is for me. If you disagree: no problem! Some people are inclined to argue with people about their opinions, but I'm not one of them, at least not on this matter.
buellerbueller 21 hours ago [-]
Wild that the messenger is more important than the message. No wonder politics is such a shitshow these days.
rtkwe 20 hours ago [-]
The messenger tells you a lot about the message with AI articles.
It being written by AI instead of a human is an indication the writer didn't care enough about the information being communicated to communicate it themselves and if they didn't care enough to put effort into writing it and making sure it is actually good why should I spend my time reading it?
It's also an early indication that the content won't be that good too so it's a convenient signal that reading it will likely be a waste of time. Just look at the article here. Lots of fluff and some completely vapid praise of some of the carry systems that put a significant load into the necks of the carrier. We know that's not good for you it's just convenient when you have low tech.
grey-area 21 hours ago [-]
If you read the objections you’ll see they are about content (or lack of it) not the producer of the content.
Perhaps you are unable to tell the difference, but for others reading this sort of ersatz thought is like a boot stamping on a human face – for ever.
blanched 21 hours ago [-]
Now who's being a Veruca Salt? Everyone in this thread is clearly literally talking about the message.
21 hours ago [-]
naravara 21 hours ago [-]
A slot machine that rolls sentences based on statistical weights isn’t a “messenger” and it’s output isn’t a “message.”
kakacik 21 hours ago [-]
While I agree that the topic is actually pretty interesting and any decent info > no info, in more general terms we pay with the most important commodity we have - our free time.
So just because something is free doesn't mean people automatically flock in masses for it and have uncritical relationship with it.
buellerbueller 21 hours ago [-]
Yes, but criticism itself takes our free time, and there are better places to allocate that criticism/free time than this particular pile-on.
tom_ 21 hours ago [-]
Be the change you want to see!
buellerbueller 21 hours ago [-]
By whingeing about an allegedly Claude-written blog post on [checks notes] carryology.com???
Literal Gandhi!
tom_ 21 hours ago [-]
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cindyllm 19 hours ago [-]
[dead]
bigstrat2003 11 hours ago [-]
> Assuming it is AI-written, who cares?
I care. I'm interested in what humans have to say, not the slop produced by a clanker.
> Did you derive less utility from the article than had it not been written at all?
Unironically yes. When I read an article and realize it's slop partway through, not only have I wasted my time but I experience the annoyance of having wasted my time. It would be better for me if such articles did not exist at all.
oidar 21 hours ago [-]
Thanks for the essay Claude. It’s good info, just something feels off. It doesn’t feel like a person wrote this article… what are 10 options to fix this?
coldtea 19 hours ago [-]
> For the gauchos, real utility was never about .... It was about ...
> the rastra’s silver coins weren’t merely ornaments: ... they were portable wealth
> ... isn’t just inconvenient; it can also be fatal.
> it was more than a container. It was a collaboration
> ... isn’t about resisting nature, but collaborating with it.
> the next frontier of carry isn’t ..., but rediscovering what we’ve left behind
fredley 20 hours ago [-]
Ctrl-F load-bearing. 1 hit.
vehemenz 21 hours ago [-]
Though it's associated with Africa, head portage was commonly practiced nearly everywhere.
Over the decades, I have gotten many a weird look from family, friends and strangers when I use my head for assisting carrying things - but, it works, and often lets me use either one - or both hands to stabilize the "load", provides unobstructed view and far easier maneuverability (less walking backwards, easier to navigate corners, etc.).
It's a "no-brainer", "use-your-head" simple thing...
jcmontx 20 hours ago [-]
I'd like to add another thing about the gaucho: the recado (the traditional saddle) was also a really important part of his equipment. It was basically his whole camping setup. The different layers could be taken apart at night and used as a mattress, blankets, insulation from the ground, etc. Then in the morning everything went back on the horse.
alexpotato 20 hours ago [-]
> Freshly harvested birch is flexible, allowing it to be woven into complex forms. Once woven and shaped, those fibers create a rigid structure that resists sagging beneath heavy loads while remaining lightweight.
There are stories of Native Americans weaving baskets that were so precisely made that they could carry water.
PaulHoule 20 hours ago [-]
Funny I've been obsessed with carrying systems since last December when I started going out-as-a-fox to do photography which means carrying a lot of photography gear, therian gear, costume changes, gear to hold gear, etc.
I used to be really clumsy but it seems the more gear I wear the less I get tangled up in things, the more deliberately I move, it's like it rewrites my body image.
Anyhow I ought to find that web site, which sells stuff for carrying, interesting, but somehow I don't.
Lots of expensive backpacks, like really expensive backpacks. I already have an expensive backpack. No leg bags. (I found one that's not quite alt-fashion or cosplay and it's the best for a phone, a few credit cards and 100 business cards.) Nothing 1/10 as cool as the third world solutions they point to for inspiration. And I found a messenger bag on Amazon for half of their cheapest bag that might not tick all my boxes but somehow nothing ever seems to fall out of it even when it could.
It took me forever looking at fashion-oriented sources to find an easy way to carry a tablet where I could grab it instantly [1], then I found out you get something for $12 meant for waitresses which is the right size and has tons of pockets. I'm planning now to get a police baton holder for my selfie stick [2] since it is one more way to demonstrate how prepared I am.
[1] to show people photos I just took and a radical innovation for taking group photos because I can know if I got one where nobody had their eyes closed, funny half the people I show it to think it is a miracle, the other half take it for granted
[2] ... now if I could just convince somebody for a moment that it is a lightsaber!
yoggies_bro 21 hours ago [-]
Obvious slop
The problem is not "AI written" it is that is is poorly written and wastes the reader's time
roryirvine 20 hours ago [-]
Not just that, it's a poorly-disguised shilling operation for Bellroy:
When we talk about “we” (or “our” or “us”), we mean Bellroy Pty Ltd and all its wholly owned subsidiaries. We are based in Australia but we review gear from all over the world.
Replying to your comment about lack of content, which itself isn't commenting on the content, with my own comment which also is not a comment about the content. Contentedly.
A couple years ago I read Survival of the Bark Canoe by John McPhee [0].
There are several discussions of a crooked knife and how it was the "multitool" of craftsman in the northern forests and was used for everything from making canoes to snowshoes.
This led to me learning more about crooked knives and even starting https://crookedknives.com.
One of the most interesting parts about this journey was reading the below quote:
"Skill allows you to do a lot with one tool whereas many tools can be used to replace skill".
e.g. it's hard to learn how to use a crooked knife but once you do learn, it's like having a plane, gouge and carving knife all in one hand.
This article feels very similar in that it probably takes more skill to use a soft bag or basket to carry loads instead of a modern backpack but also gives you a lot more options.
0 - https://amzn.to/4cR46FW
But I don't know if I am imagining it; I'm starting to feel Claude's (AI) writing everywhere. Like this sentence for example:
> The genius of the gaucho’s system isn’t storage. It’s integration.
The x isn't y. Its z.
(Which makes me personally a lot less interested in reading it.)
https://www.patagonia.com/stories/culture/design/on-tumpline...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCJh5D0FCZk
X isnt y it’s Z needs to die
Bunch of Veruca Salts here. I want ALL the entertainment/information, I want it NOW, I'll pirate it if I have to, and GOD FORBID IT USE AI.
At least in the economic sense of the word, utility is a measure of the subjective value that a person receives in exchange for something.
That's just how it is for me. If you disagree: no problem! Some people are inclined to argue with people about their opinions, but I'm not one of them, at least not on this matter.
It being written by AI instead of a human is an indication the writer didn't care enough about the information being communicated to communicate it themselves and if they didn't care enough to put effort into writing it and making sure it is actually good why should I spend my time reading it?
It's also an early indication that the content won't be that good too so it's a convenient signal that reading it will likely be a waste of time. Just look at the article here. Lots of fluff and some completely vapid praise of some of the carry systems that put a significant load into the necks of the carrier. We know that's not good for you it's just convenient when you have low tech.
Perhaps you are unable to tell the difference, but for others reading this sort of ersatz thought is like a boot stamping on a human face – for ever.
So just because something is free doesn't mean people automatically flock in masses for it and have uncritical relationship with it.
Literal Gandhi!
I care. I'm interested in what humans have to say, not the slop produced by a clanker.
> Did you derive less utility from the article than had it not been written at all?
Unironically yes. When I read an article and realize it's slop partway through, not only have I wasted my time but I experience the annoyance of having wasted my time. It would be better for me if such articles did not exist at all.
> the rastra’s silver coins weren’t merely ornaments: ... they were portable wealth
> ... isn’t just inconvenient; it can also be fatal.
> it was more than a container. It was a collaboration
> ... isn’t about resisting nature, but collaborating with it.
> the next frontier of carry isn’t ..., but rediscovering what we’ve left behind
https://youtu.be/BRnwg3dpboc?t=731
It's a "no-brainer", "use-your-head" simple thing...
There are stories of Native Americans weaving baskets that were so precisely made that they could carry water.
I used to be really clumsy but it seems the more gear I wear the less I get tangled up in things, the more deliberately I move, it's like it rewrites my body image.
Anyhow I ought to find that web site, which sells stuff for carrying, interesting, but somehow I don't.
Lots of expensive backpacks, like really expensive backpacks. I already have an expensive backpack. No leg bags. (I found one that's not quite alt-fashion or cosplay and it's the best for a phone, a few credit cards and 100 business cards.) Nothing 1/10 as cool as the third world solutions they point to for inspiration. And I found a messenger bag on Amazon for half of their cheapest bag that might not tick all my boxes but somehow nothing ever seems to fall out of it even when it could.
It took me forever looking at fashion-oriented sources to find an easy way to carry a tablet where I could grab it instantly [1], then I found out you get something for $12 meant for waitresses which is the right size and has tons of pockets. I'm planning now to get a police baton holder for my selfie stick [2] since it is one more way to demonstrate how prepared I am.
[1] to show people photos I just took and a radical innovation for taking group photos because I can know if I got one where nobody had their eyes closed, funny half the people I show it to think it is a miracle, the other half take it for granted
[2] ... now if I could just convince somebody for a moment that it is a lightsaber!
The problem is not "AI written" it is that is is poorly written and wastes the reader's time
When we talk about “we” (or “our” or “us”), we mean Bellroy Pty Ltd and all its wholly owned subsidiaries. We are based in Australia but we review gear from all over the world.
Source: https://www.carryology.com/privacy-policy/