https://github.com/jdevalk/specification.website/blob/main/p...

https://github.com/jdevalk/specification.website/blob/main/m...

The narrator's interjections were a great touch. It's rare to see a post that is this technically deep but also so fun to read. The journey through optimizing the aliasing query felt like a detective story. We, the readers, were right there with you, groaning at the 50GB memory usage and cheering when you got it down to 5GB.

Fantastic work, both on the code and the prose.

It's not just the sweetener itself. It's the whole shift. More processed crap in everything, sweeteners included. Cheaper, easier, engineered to be addictive. That's the real change that lines up with the weight gain.

Focusing just on sweeteners is missing the point. They're just one piece of the bigger processed food takeover. That's the simpler, more likely explanation.

It’s the same old story. New tool comes along, people freak out about what we’re “losing.” But they’re missing the point. It’s never about losing skills, it’s about shifting them. And usually, the shift is upwards.

Take GPS. Yeah, okay, maybe you can’t navigate with a paper map anymore. So what? Navigation isn’t about memorizing street names. It’s about getting from A to B. GPS makes that way easier, for way more people. Suddenly, everyone can explore, find their way around unfamiliar places without stress. Is that “dumber”? No, it’s just… better navigation. We optimized for the outcome, not the parlor trick of knowing all the streets by heart.

Same with the printing press. Before that, memory was king. Stories, knowledge – all in your head. Then books came along, and the hand-wringing started. “We’ll stop memorizing! Our minds will get soft!” Except, that’s not what happened. Books didn’t make us dumber. They democratized knowledge. Freed up our brains from rote memorization to actually think, analyze, create. We shifted from being walking libraries to… well, to being able to use libraries. Again, better.

Now it’s AI and coding. The worry is, AI code assistants will make us worse programmers. Maybe we won’t memorize syntax as well. Maybe we’ll lean on AI to fill in the boilerplate. Fine. So what if we do?

Programming isn’t about remembering every function name in some library. It’s about solving problems with code. And AI? Right now, it’s a tool to solve problems faster, more efficiently. To use it well in its current form, you need to be better at the important parts of programming:

- Problem Definition: You have to be crystal clear about what you want to build. Vague prompts, vague code. AI kind of forces you to think precisely.

- System Design: AI can write code snippets. As of right now, designing a whole system? That’s still on you. And that’s the hard part, the valuable part.

- Testing and Debugging: AI isn’t magic. At least, not yet. You still need to test, validate, and fix its output. Critical thinking, still essential.

So, yeah, maybe some brain scans will show changes. Brains are plastic. Use a muscle less, it changes. Use a new one more, it grows. Expected. But if someone’s scoring lower on some old-school coding test because they rely on AI, ask yourself: are they actually worse at building software? Or are they just working smarter? Faster? More effectively with the tools available today?

This isn’t about “dumbing down.” It’s about cognitive specialization. We’re offloading the stuff machines are good at – rote tasks, memorization, syntax drudgery – so we can focus on what humans are actually good at: abstraction, creativity, problem-solving at a higher level.

Don’t get caught up in nostalgia for obsolete skills. Focus on the outcome. Are we building better things? Are we solving harder problems? Are we moving faster in this current technological landscape? If the answer is yes, then maybe “dumber” isn’t the right word. Maybe it’s just... evolved. And who knows what’s next?

https://tulio.org/blog/dumber-no-different/

However, I draw a firm line at using them to generate complete academic works or nonsensical content, as that undermines the integrity of research and renders it devoid of originality. LLMs should serve as invaluable assistants to free up scholars for higher-order analysis, not as replacements for human ingenuity.

There is also paraxanthine, which is a metabolite of caffeine that has a similar half-life and similar effects.

Paraxanthine can increase lipolysis, which means it breaks down fat and releases fatty acids into the bloodstream. It can also enhance alertness, mood, and cognitive performance.

So, even when the caffeine levels in your blood start to drop, the paraxanthine levels are still high and keep you stimulated. That’s why the effects of coffee can last much longer than you think.

[1] https://medium.com/microbial-instincts/how-gut-microbes-talk...

[2] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-50807-8

The launch is scheduled to 1300 UTC, for us engineering folks.

Edit: A good match would be someone with experience in Golang, GRPC, distributed systems, Terraform, Ansible, and networking.

I may not be an ideal match for the role at Railway. :(

Example of prompt:

Three Minute Therapy is based on the teachings of Albert Ellis who developed Cognitive Behavior Therapy. It is a short-term, low-cost process that is most effective if you are looking for a scientific, in-the-present, active treatment for coping with life’s difficulties. Use the A-B-C-D-E-F flowchart described in Three Minute Therapy Exercise (TME) to address the following concern:

I made a mistake at work and now people are making fun of me.

Example of response:

A: Activating Event: I made a mistake at work.

B: Beliefs about the event: I am embarrassed and embarrassed that I am being made fun of.

C: Consequences: I feel anxious, ashamed, and inadequate.

D: Dispute: My mistake does not define me. Mistakes are normal and part of life. Everyone makes mistakes, and I can learn from this and move on.

E: Effective New Belief: I am capable and this mistake does not define me.

F: New Consequences: I am able to take responsibility and learn from this experience, and not feel embarrassed or ashamed.