Talking to LLMs has improved my thinking • Hacker News Board

Re: Talking to LLMs has improved my thinking

#151

Post by NeutralCrane » Sun, Jan 25, 2026, 4:51 PM UTC

113 wrote: post #102

rand846633 wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But you also do not need paper to think, but surely much of modern physics would not have happened without paper or blackboards…

There is nothing to suggest LLMs will be as revolutionary as paper. The PalmPilot didn't lead to new field of science just because people had a new way to write things down.

The internet is as arguably as revolutionary as paper. And while LLMs haven’t proven to be an internet-level revolutionary technology (yet), they are closer to that than the PalmPilot.

Re: Talking to LLMs has improved my thinking

#152

Post by Nevermark » Sun, Jan 25, 2026, 10:48 PM UTC

gloomyday wrote: post #130

Nevermark wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is not a good idea at all. Government should not be in a position to directly and pervasively shape people’s understanding of the world. That would be the infinite regress opposite of a free (in a completely different sense) press. A non-profit providing an open data and training regime for an open WikiBrain would be nice. With standard pricing for scaled up use.

I've heard once that Americans distrust their government and trust their corporations, while Europeans distrust their corporations and trust their government. I honestly think that governments already has a huge role in shaping people's understanding of the world, and that's GREAT on good democratic countries. What I find really weird is that I am stopping believing in the whole idea of free press, considering how th…

I can’t say I have no trust for any institutions.

But my trust depends on each institutions choices. Just as my trust in people varies based on their records.

Mostly, I trust everyone to be who they show themselves to be. Which can lean one way or the other, or be very mixed across different dimensions.

But, yes, governments and corporations which are steadily centralizing power are inherently untrustworthy. As they at best, are making us all vulnerable and less powerful as individuals. Meaning they are decreasing our freedom, not increasing it.

Re: Talking to LLMs has improved my thinking

#153

Post by ReedorReed » Mon, Jan 26, 2026, 9:23 AM UTC

pmarreck wrote: post #14

snek_case wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the early 2000s Wikipedia used to fill that role. Now it's like you have an encyclopedia that you can talk to. What I'm slightly worried about is that eventually they are going to want to monetize LLMs more and more, and it's not going to be good, because they have the ability to steer the conversation towards trying to get you to buy stuff.

> they are going to want to monetize LLMs more and more Not only can you run reasonably intelligent models on recent relatively powerful PC's "for free", but advances are undoubtedly coming that will increase the efficient use of memory and CPU in these things- this is all still early-days Also, some of those models are "uncensored"

Which free models do you recommend?

Re: Talking to LLMs has improved my thinking

#154

Post by johnfn » Mon, Jan 26, 2026, 10:08 PM UTC

hju22_-3 wrote: post #140

ares623 wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think there’s a subset of people who don’t have an inner voice. I assume thinking step by step in their head doesn’t work like most people. I’m glad LLMs help these people. But I’m not gonna trade society because a subset of people can’t write things down.

Wat. Maybe read up on what having an "inner voice" or not actually does first? Before making, frankly, weird and unfounded takes on the subject.

What GP said is actually pretty well known (https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/fpaaud/people_wh...).

Why are you asking other people to read up on something you clearly haven't read up on yourself?