As a counterpoint, I was once a physics grad student. I didn't finish the PhD because at some point I discovered that I was not going to be the next Richard Feynman and this was too much for my ego at the time. But I think that if LLMs were available, I might have finished.

Part of my problem was that at some point the math transitioned from stuff I understood to symbols and notation that I knew how to manipulate but didn't really understand. LLMs could have helped bridge that gap.

On the other hand, it's hard to imagine I wouldn't have used it for Jackson, etc. but we got Jackson solutions from previous students and the internet anyway. Using LLMs probably would have been more effective, used correctly.

It's not that what's happening in the US with respect to science funding is not legal, it's just dumb. And, no, it doesn't have to be this way or that way because the constitution says so.

There are probably millions of spending decisions happening daily that are delegated, by elected or appointed officials, to non-elected or non-appointed people. In the scientific realm, spending decisions have been largely delegated to scientists since the end of WW2, and it's been very effective.

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48331511

Points: 314

# Comments: 618

"update tool was bricked"? What?

https://halupedia.com/jgldfjgjdflgjdflkgjldjglkdjlg

https://halupedia.com/aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...

https://halupedia.com/drop-table-users

https://halupedia.com/test-test

https://halupedia.com/test-test-test-test-test-test-test-tes...

i follow AI adoption pretty closely, and i have never seen such a yawning inside/outside gap.

people in SF are putting multi-agent claudeswarms in charge of their lives, consulting chatbots before every decision, wireheading to a degree only sci-fi writers dared to imagine.

people elsewhere are still trying to get approval to use Copilot in Teams, if they're using AI at all.

it's possible the early adopter bubble i'm in has always been this intense, but there seems to be a cultural takeoff happening in addition to the technical one. not ideal!

https://www.nytimes.com/by/kevin-roose https://x.com/kevinroose/status/2015464558115295369

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46765775

Points: 1

# Comments: 3

Remember this thread when you hear for the first time that ICE agents are tasked with doing something that has nothing to do with immigration enforcement. Coming soon.

Are they just going to go home and go back to their old jobs? Or do you think the Administration is going to find something else for them to do.

I agree; this phrase was just a stand in for doing something -- anything -- about the state of affairs I don't like. Other than things I can do from my couch like commenting on HN.

This guy's book convinced me otherwise: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/01/political-...

"Political hobbyism" is things like commenting on the internet, as distinct from going out and convincing people to vote differently or running for offfice.

There are a lot of reasons for that, of course, but the bottom line is that when things get bad enough -- much worse than they are today -- then more people will take to the street, along with whatever sacrifice that entails. We're just not there yet, because for many, there is far too much to lose.

Recent events have brought this into sharp focus.

This is really the glue that holds it all together -- that we and our allies haven't even had to think about these things for our entire lives up until now.

I hate to be hyperbolic, but I fear that fear of these things will soon become a looming presence in our lives. For the rest of our lives. And kids' lives. And grandkids' lives.

But I'm sure the Administration will accompany this release with various programs to boost access for the bottom 50% to fresh produce, meat, etc. right?