291–300 of 442 posts
Also ever since we invented the written word it has been eating our brains by killing our memory
Not really . You have to memorise much more in today’s world to be able to do any kind of work.
Aboriginal storytelling is claimed to pass on events from 7k+ years ago.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00049182.2015.10...
Also ever since we invented the written word it has been eating our brains by killing our memory
Quite the opposite, it was shown that reading improves memory and cognitive abilities for children [1] and older adults [2]. [1] https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/reading-for-pleasure-ear... [2] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8482376
I remember hearing that the entire epics of the Iliad and the Odyssey we're all done via memorization and only spoken... How do you think those poets memories compared to a child who reads it Bob the builder books?
Socrates: "And now, since you are the father of writing, your affection for it has made you describe its effects as the opposite of what they really are. In fact, it will introduce forgetfulness into the soul of those who learn it: they will not practice using their memory because they will put their trust in writing, which is external and depends on signs that belong to others, instead of trying to remember from the…
It's clear to me that language models are a net accelerant. But if they make the average person more "loquacious" (first word that came to mind, but also lol) then the signal for raw intellect will change over time.
Nobody wants to be in a relationship with a language model. But language models may be able to help people who aren't otherwise equipped to handle major life changes and setbacks! So it's a tool - if you know how to use it.
Let's use a real-life example: relationship advice. Over time I would imagine that "ChatGPT-guided relationships" will fall into two categories: "copy-and-pasters", who are just adding a layer of complexity to communication that was subpar to begin with ("I just copied what ChatGPT said"), and "accelerators" who use ChatGPT to analyze their own and their partners motivations to find better solutions to common problems.
It still requires a brain and empathy to make the correct decisions about the latter. The former will always end in heartbreak. I have faith that people will figure this out.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Cycling, in my experience, is usually way more intense than walking or even running/jogging. It just lets you cover larger distance and gives you more control over how your energy is used. With the example of LLMs, sure, you could cycle the initial destination you were meant to walk to - write an article with its help, save a few hours and call it a day. Or you could cycle further and use the saved time to work on so…
If we're nitpicking, are we talking about cycling as a sport or cycling as a means for getting from point A to point B? I'm sure cultures where they cycle to everywhere all the time take it easier than cultures where going out for a bike ride is an event.
As the proliferation of the smart phone eroded our ability to locate and orient ourselves and remember routes to places. It's no surprise that a tool like this, used for the purpose of outsourcing a task that our own brains would otherwise do, would result in a decline in the skills that would be trained if we were performing that task ourselves.
As the proliferation of the smart phone eroded our ability to locate and orient ourselves and remember routes to places. It's no surprise that a tool like this, used for the purpose of outsourcing a task that our own brains would otherwise do, would result in a decline in the skills that would be trained if we were performing that task ourselves.
Can you point to a study to back this up? Otherwise, it's anecdata.
Also ever since we invented the written word it has been eating our brains by killing our memory
Simiarly (IIRC) Socrates thought the written word wasn't great for communicating, because it lacks the nuance of face-to-face communication.
I wonder if they ever realised that it could also be a giant knowledge amplifier.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Quite the opposite, it was shown that reading improves memory and cognitive abilities for children [1] and older adults [2]. [1] https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/reading-for-pleasure-ear... [2] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8482376
How does that compare to the population of people who memorize the Old testament or the Quran? I remember hearing that the entire epics of the Iliad and the Odyssey we're all done via memorization and only spoken... How do you think those poets memories compared to a child who reads it Bob the builder books?
Also ever since we invented the written word it has been eating our brains by killing our memory