Post AUFu0tdh38XSNe4iUC by matt@biddul.ph
 (DIR) More posts by matt@biddul.ph
 (DIR) Post #AUFtDoad2CzQWwEnjc by matt@biddul.ph
       2023-04-02T22:07:57Z
       
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       I've been finding ChatGPT very useful as a conversational partner to help strengthen my understanding of the underlying mathematics of neural networks. Here's an example of my side of one conversation. I find this kind of back-and-forth chat quickly helps me identify where I need to dive deeper:
       
 (DIR) Post #AUFtDpPfyPp55G7ZIm by simon@fedi.simonwillison.net
       2023-04-02T22:22:54Z
       
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       @matt something I find interesting here is how utterly incomprehensible questions like this look to non-subject expertsSee also my "Write a zsh script to run on macOS with ffmpeg available..." prompt from https://til.simonwillison.net/googlecloud/video-frame-ocr
       
 (DIR) Post #AUFtON7XVLuWWOfJpY by simon@fedi.simonwillison.net
       2023-04-02T22:24:15Z
       
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       @matt really helps emphasize to me how much these tools can act as a learning accelerant to people who already have a great deal of existing knowledge
       
 (DIR) Post #AUFtdcKfEKua2l4dzE by matt@biddul.ph
       2023-04-02T22:27:53Z
       
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       @simon exactly, I figured it'd be fun to post it that way to highlight that fact. I'm lucky enough to work with many people who could have this conversation with me, but I would not want to waste their time on such low-level stuff. Aside from them, finding the right conversational partner to help me learn would be incredibly difficult. It's such a gift to have it right there in a chat window.
       
 (DIR) Post #AUFu0tdh38XSNe4iUC by matt@biddul.ph
       2023-04-02T22:29:17Z
       
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       @simon that's a useful characterization of something I've been trying to articulate recently: these can be great tools for the "middle period" of learning, when you have enough mental machinery to guide the conversation and identify the weak answers. I worry that they aren't good tools for bootstrapping new knowledge for relative beginners.
       
 (DIR) Post #AUFuEAF0dSo1dPr7lw by simon@fedi.simonwillison.net
       2023-04-02T22:30:47Z
       
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       @matt that's one of the big open questions for me: this stuff feels like a huge boost for experts, does it hurt or help beginners?
       
 (DIR) Post #AUFuEFgUOil4W5kdnc by simon@fedi.simonwillison.net
       2023-04-02T22:32:52Z
       
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       @matt my optimistic side hopes that this stuff is incredibly valuable for beginners too - provided we can help them avoid some of the bigger traps at the startLearning to use LLMs for learning feels like a core skill to develop