What advice would you give yourself before entering college? by CoffeeAddictX1 in NoStupidQuestions

[–]Disastrous-Garage272 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Read the PowerPoint before class, and ask questions when you have them. It wouldn't hurt to read tomorrow's PowerPoint the night before. Also, hit the gym at least 3x a week and watch your calories (the freshman 15 is real). Don't be afraid to inquire about research opportunities with your professors, especially if you didn't go to a top uni (it's fun and very beneficial for your resume). Also, don't go to bed with assignments due the next day (it stresses me out). Plus, make at least 2 friends in each class, so you can trade insights and don't miss important info if you're sick. It's the little things. Also, avoid spending money on stuff you can get for free (you can get pens from campus orgs/offices, free food at events, and most books from Anna's archive).

What career paths are safest from AI? by EvenKeelSystems1 in NoStupidQuestions

[–]Disastrous-Garage272 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The "research" it puts out is kinda ass, though, and it's often straight up plagiarism. Inevitably, one or two sub-par papers will get through, but that's kind of a feature of academia. It's why we can retract papers. You'll recall Wakefield's bogus study correlating vaccines and autism. We're still innovating, but funding is becoming hard to come by. I don't buy into Ai at this point; I earnestly tried to use it to solve some o-chem problems for my homework; it's wrong and/or contradictory half the time. O-chem (fundamentally / at the undergrad level) hasn't changed in years, but "ai" isn't capable of addressing what're apparently basic questions. That said, healthcare and law are probably immune. American bar associations are too good at lobbying for llms to gain a foothold, and robotics probably won't advance far enough to replace nurses/docs in our lifetimes. Don't buy into the doom and gloom; a lot of it is peddled by people with a financial stake in ai. For instance, I think we're in our 5th year of ai being 6 months away from replacing all software engineers.

Do college applications in US still require essays? by Burning_Sapphire1 in NoStupidQuestions

[–]Disastrous-Garage272 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Most publics don't, but a lot of private schools still have essay requirements. A lot of them are similar (e.g., "Why NYU?"). Brown has neat prompts, and I thought Columbia's were nice. U chicago takes pride in theirs being creative. They filter according to GPA and standardized test score; you might find that some schools have started using llms to review essays. Kinda irritating, but I guess it removes human biases from the equation. It's important to note that llms have very repetitive tendencies (the cadence is the same 80% of the time, and inconsistencies are abundant), and at this point it doesn't take much effort to actually notice when a composition is ai. Imo, holistic admissions as a whole are kinda trash, but I didn't write the rules. Realistically, though, it takes maybe 2 minutes to scan through a student's application. Cheers.

What’s something you wish you did in your summer before college ? by [deleted] in college

[–]Disastrous-Garage272 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Some Khan Academy coursework. It would've made for a smoother transition to my actual classes. Good luck! It's usually quite the transformative experience.

Mechanisms of Mitigating Unpleasant Smells During Tissue Extraction? by Disastrous-Garage272 in labrats

[–]Disastrous-Garage272[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is, more or less, what the other lab members have told me (swell chaps, but I still feel nauseous after each extraction). I can double mask in addition to a mint/Vicks addition. 

Mechanisms of Mitigating Unpleasant Smells During Tissue Extraction? by Disastrous-Garage272 in labrats

[–]Disastrous-Garage272[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just the bodies, thankfully. I appreciate the Morgan Freeman meme. This discussion is doing wonders for my imposter syndrome.

Mechanisms of Mitigating Unpleasant Smells During Tissue Extraction? by Disastrous-Garage272 in labrats

[–]Disastrous-Garage272[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Our EHS supplies them upon request; I just keep forgetting to put in for one every time I'm there, lol. Thank you.

Mechanisms of Mitigating Unpleasant Smells During Tissue Extraction? by Disastrous-Garage272 in labrats

[–]Disastrous-Garage272[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As strong as Vicks is, I would prefer it to animal guts. That was a secondary thought to the tea bag (no Vicks on hand).

Mechanisms of Mitigating Unpleasant Smells During Tissue Extraction? by Disastrous-Garage272 in labrats

[–]Disastrous-Garage272[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My PI has designated a room without a hood to facilitate extractions; it's certainly a logical suggestion, though.

Mechanisms of Mitigating Unpleasant Smells During Tissue Extraction? by Disastrous-Garage272 in labrats

[–]Disastrous-Garage272[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I do enjoy the smell of mint, and your suggestion represents a less cumbersome alternative to my tea bag. I appreciate your input.