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I want to wash my car. The car wash is 50 meters away. Should I walk or drive?

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Re: I want to wash my car. The car wash is 50 meters away. Should I walk or drive?

#191

Post by [deleted] »

dahcryn wrote: post #90
prasoonds wrote: post #46

I've used LLMs enough that I have a good sense of their _edges_ of intelligence. I had assumed that reasoning models should easily be able to answer this correctly. And indeed, Sonnet and Opus 4.5 (medium reasoning) say the following: Sonnet: Drive - you need to bring your car to the car wash to get it washed! Opus: You'll need to drive — you have to bring the car to the car wash to get it washed! Gemini 3 Pro (mediu…

Gemini on fast also tells me to walk... On Thinking it tells me I should drive if I want to wash it, or walk if it's because I work there or if I want to buy something at the car wash shop. On Pro it's like a sarcastic teenager: Cars are notoriously difficult to wash by dragging a bucket back and forth. Technically correct, but did catch me offguard lol.

[deleted]

Re: I want to wash my car. The car wash is 50 meters away. Should I walk or drive?

#192

Post by silisili »

raincole wrote: post #172
silisili wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Am I the only one who thinks these people are monkey patching embarrassments as they go? I remember the r in strawberry thing they suddenly were able to solve, while then failing on raspberry.

Yes, you're the only one.

Works better on Reddit, really.

Re: I want to wash my car. The car wash is 50 meters away. Should I walk or drive?

#193

Post by mcintyre1994 »

sgt wrote: post #136

I just asked ChatGPT 5.2 (flagship model): "[...] Walking is the most logical choice. Because: • Minimal extra effort • Better for the car mechanically • No meaningful time loss • Simpler overall The only time driving makes more sense Drive if: • You physically cannot push the car later, or • The washing process requires the engine running, or • You must immediately drive away afterward

When you get to “You physically cannot push the car later” and realise it’s comparing pushing a car to driving it, those pros become very funny.

Re: I want to wash my car. The car wash is 50 meters away. Should I walk or drive?

#194

Post by ffsm8 »

prasoonds wrote: post #46

I've used LLMs enough that I have a good sense of their _edges_ of intelligence. I had assumed that reasoning models should easily be able to answer this correctly. And indeed, Sonnet and Opus 4.5 (medium reasoning) say the following: Sonnet: Drive - you need to bring your car to the car wash to get it washed! Opus: You'll need to drive — you have to bring the car to the car wash to get it washed! Gemini 3 Pro (mediu…

Just tried with cloude sonnet and opus as well. Can't replicate your success, it's telling me to walk...

Re: I want to wash my car. The car wash is 50 meters away. Should I walk or drive?

#196

Post by arcfour »

ffsm8 wrote: post #194
prasoonds wrote: post #46

I've used LLMs enough that I have a good sense of their _edges_ of intelligence. I had assumed that reasoning models should easily be able to answer this correctly. And indeed, Sonnet and Opus 4.5 (medium reasoning) say the following: Sonnet: Drive - you need to bring your car to the car wash to get it washed! Opus: You'll need to drive — you have to bring the car to the car wash to get it washed! Gemini 3 Pro (mediu…

Just tried with cloude sonnet and opus as well. Can't replicate your success, it's telling me to walk...

I have gotten both responses with Sonnet and Opus in incognito chats. It's kind of amusing.

Re: I want to wash my car. The car wash is 50 meters away. Should I walk or drive?

#198

Post by magicalhippo »

vlovich123 wrote: post #120

Gemini fast > That is a classic "efficiency vs. logic" dilemma. Honestly, unless you’ve invented a way to teleport or you're planning on washing the car with a very long garden hose from your driveway, you’re going to have to drive. > While 50 meters is a great distance for a morning stroll, it’s a bit difficult to get the car through the automated brushes (or under the pressure washer) if you aren't behind the wheel…

Gemini fast for me:

Unless your car is a toy or you're planning on carrying it, drive.

Walking 50 meters to a car wash is a great stroll for a human, but it leaves the car exactly where it started. Since the objective is to wash the car, the car needs to actually be at the car wash.

However, if we look at this from a technical or efficiency perspective, there are two scenarios where "walking" (or at least not driving the car you intend to wash) might make sense:

- Scoping it out: If you want to check the queue length or see if the equipment is out of order before committing, walking the 50 meters is faster than maneuvering a vehicle out of a driveway/parking spot.

- Mobile Detailers: If this "car wash" is actually a bay where you hire someone, and you're asking if you should walk there to book an appointment—sure, walk.

Critical Check

I am assuming the "car wash" is a physical facility (automated or self-service) and not a mobile service that comes to you. If it is a mobile service, you shouldn't do either; stay home and let them come to the 50-meter mark.

I've got a bit in the model instructions about stating assumptions it makes, hence it often adds those sections at the end.

Re: I want to wash my car. The car wash is 50 meters away. Should I walk or drive?

#199

Post by ssl-3 »

jstummbillig wrote: post #147
prasoonds wrote: post #46

I've used LLMs enough that I have a good sense of their _edges_ of intelligence. I had assumed that reasoning models should easily be able to answer this correctly. And indeed, Sonnet and Opus 4.5 (medium reasoning) say the following: Sonnet: Drive - you need to bring your car to the car wash to get it washed! Opus: You'll need to drive — you have to bring the car to the car wash to get it washed! Gemini 3 Pro (mediu…

> so you need to tell them the specifics That is the entire point, right? Us having to specify things that we would never specify when talking to a human. You would not start with "The car is functional. The tank is filled with gas. I have my keys." As soon as we are required to do that for the model to any extend that is a problem and not a detail (regardless that those of us, who are familiar with the matter, do bu…

The question is so outlandish that it is something that nobody would ever ask another human. But if someone did, then they'd reasonably expect to get a response consisting 100% of snark.

But the specificity required for a machine to deliver an apt and snark-free answer is -- somehow -- even more outlandish?

I'm not sure that I see it quite that way.

Re: I want to wash my car. The car wash is 50 meters away. Should I walk or drive?

#200

Post by j_maffe »

Jacques2Marais wrote: post #171
jstummbillig wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> so you need to tell them the specifics That is the entire point, right? Us having to specify things that we would never specify when talking to a human. You would not start with "The car is functional. The tank is filled with gas. I have my keys." As soon as we are required to do that for the model to any extend that is a problem and not a detail (regardless that those of us, who are familiar with the matter, do bu…

You would be surprised, however, at how much detail humans also need to understand each other. We often want AI to just "understand" us in ways many people may not initially have understood us without extra communication.

Right. But, unlike AI, we are usually aware when we're lacking context and inquire before giving an answer.
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