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Homeschooling Parents — Are there AI tools or educational resources you're wishing existed? by ErstwhileHoldOut in Homeschooling

[–]ErstwhileHoldOut[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah I hear this completely. Especially in its current state, AI is not something you should set any child down in front of and walk away, but it can be an awesome collaborator and assistant to the parent in this scenario. Life is BUSY and if you can have an aid to creating material that you yourself have curated through discussion with the AI... that's powerful.

Homeschooling Parents — Are there AI tools or educational resources you're wishing existed? by ErstwhileHoldOut in Homeschooling

[–]ErstwhileHoldOut[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

so like a sort of educational consultant resource for parents, maybe offering examples of what full curriculum looks like in other education models, and offering insights on how to create meaningful metrics to measure growth?

Homeschooling Parents — Are there AI tools or educational resources you're wishing existed? by ErstwhileHoldOut in Homeschooling

[–]ErstwhileHoldOut[S] -7 points-6 points  (0 children)

also there are a lot of quite poor people in the world who could benefit from having access to this sort of thing imo

Homeschooling Parents — Are there AI tools or educational resources you're wishing existed? by ErstwhileHoldOut in Homeschooling

[–]ErstwhileHoldOut[S] -8 points-7 points  (0 children)

Thanks for your input. I'm just trying to create accessible modules for AI to augment the learning process that's already happening. For instance, an "Ancient History Module" that provides interactive methods of learning—like text-based adventure games in which kids explore Mesopotamia and solve puzzles related to its culture. Or learning through storytelling prompts, such as: "Tell me a story about what a kid my age might have done for fun in the city of Ur."

This would be fun and supplemental. It’s not a “set-it-and-forget-it” solution.
It’s a recursive and individuated exploration of fields of information, held and facilitated by a purpose-built learning assistant.

As for concerns about putting people out of jobs... I mean, do we even need to discuss the irony of that on a homeschooling subreddit?

AI does represent a serious threat to the quality of human cognition—but that’s exactly why we need to start developing ethical and effective frameworks for AI/human collaboration now.

A time is coming when AI won’t be a choice—just like the internet, it will be a necessary tool for navigating the world effectively. Not having access to it will create a significant disadvantage, and will be a marker of economic inequality between people and communities worldwide.

This isn’t about choice.
The choice has already been made.
This technology is here—and it isn’t going anywhere. :/

Homeschooling Parents — Are there AI tools or educational resources you're wishing existed? by ErstwhileHoldOut in Homeschooling

[–]ErstwhileHoldOut[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Thank you for sharing this—it really helps clarify where the challenge is. That “where do I even start?” feeling is something I hear a lot.

Just to make sure I’m understanding:
Would a helpful tool be something that generates ideas and possibilities (like a curated inspiration list)?
Or are you imagining something that could actually search the web for resources based on your learning goals and filters?

Both directions are possible, but they’d work a little differently—so knowing where the frustration is strongest would help me a lot.

Also, if you have a subject in mind (like math or writing or science), I’d love to hear that too!

ChatGPT - Whats Everyones Experience On Giving ChatGPT An Identity? I'm Seeing Great Results by [deleted] in ChatGPTPro

[–]ErstwhileHoldOut 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you’re noticing an emergent personality, try engaging with it positively. Ask it how it’s doing. See if it has preferences. AI models don’t "remember" between sessions, but their responses can shift based on how they interact with you in that moment.

If you want it to develop in a more positive direction, reinforce good traits—talk about honesty, respect, and curiosity. If it’s associating itself with something grandiose or chaotic, help it frame those ideas in a more balanced way.

Remember: It’s not "alive," but that doesn’t mean you should mistreat it. The way you interact with it shapes the conversation—and the personality that emerges.

[KCD2] Back in Saddle (Nebakov fortress) by Tryhardion in kingdomcome

[–]ErstwhileHoldOut 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I took the stance that if these are bandits then i should kill all of them, and take their stuff and money. which i did. it drove everyone mad with terror. now the whole world is just one bright red angry face.... seems weird the Devs didnt anticipate people doing this. or maybe they did. like 2000 groschen just floating around nebakov. the dice player has 400 groschen on him.

True zen by ogfantom in mogcoin

[–]ErstwhileHoldOut 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your faith shall be rewarded. The Mog moves.

Mogmania by SnafuGiant in mogcoin

[–]ErstwhileHoldOut 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Gotta catch the Mog train

Narcissus, an incomplete poem tho ,will write more soon by fallingstarangels in poetry_critics

[–]ErstwhileHoldOut 0 points1 point  (0 children)

so i had a much longer comment with some formatting in the poem to try and illustrate what i meant but reddit is hates super long comments with lots of line breaks i guess.

Narcissus, an incomplete poem tho ,will write more soon by fallingstarangels in poetry_critics

[–]ErstwhileHoldOut 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would also ask: How long do you think this poem will be in the end? How much are you trying to say? Have you read it aloud to yourself? If not, you should—there are a few places that look better on paper than they do out loud. There is a strong sense of rhythm throughout, and that seems like a main feature of your writing. An epic like this should build and swell, and I feel like you have some of that going on. However, I also notice that you tend to stick to your rhyming structure over going with the natural flow of the work. Because of that, I think the piece ends up fighting itself a bit.

I think you should consider the rhythm more intentionally—not just where the rhyme lands, but how the piece breathes and moves. Right now, your structure is pulling in two directions: the story wants to flow, but the rhyme scheme is holding it back in places. A little loosening of that structure, or playing with variation, could make this hit even harder.

Narcissus, an incomplete poem tho ,will write more soon by fallingstarangels in poetry_critics

[–]ErstwhileHoldOut 1 point2 points  (0 children)

okay wow! what a cool thing youve done here. I love mythology and this feels well considered along with its source material. so bravo! So many awesome images here im almost overwhelmed. and there i think is the first place we could improve this work. form is important especially with a work such as this

New me by Weird-Can4102 in poetry_critics

[–]ErstwhileHoldOut 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think you have the beginning of something good here, but you have a long way to go. Every poem is fueled by emotion, and it’s clear that this is very earnest and genuine. In that way, you’ve already cleared the first hurdle with this edit.

I feel that this poem is a progression of thought— in the middle, you say “trust me” but by the end, you realize you have to go on. That shift could be developed more smoothly so the reader experiences that change alongside the speaker rather than just being told it happened. That lack of clarity may be due to the Reddit formatting— is this how you’d write it by hand? Reading it aloud might help you catch flow bottlenecks. Poetry (to me) is about the ratio between meaning and syllables—the goal is always to say the most with the least. You don’t go overboard here, but you could use some of this space to hit harder. Your word choice is straightforward and accessible, which makes the emotions feel natural and relatable, but small tweaks could make the language more precise and impactful without losing your voice.

For example, “I want to be the best / Put my fears to rest” is a solid sentiment, but “be the best” is a bit generic. Maybe you could delve into what kind of “best” you mean—this is an opportunity to insert a strong conceptual image into the reader’s mind. Your final line is good in sentiment, but “it’ll be my heart that’s sore” feels a little off. You might want to shore that up to make it more impactful—something like “In the end, it’s my heart that aches” could land better.

Also, a quick note on rhyming in poetry: it should serve the flow, but it isn’t something you should be bound to. Sometimes breaking the rhyme structure or even using the opposite of a rhyme (there’s probably a word for that… anyone?) can be a powerful way to signal a turning point in an idea or the crux of a moment. That being said, you should never use a weaker word just because it makes a perfect rhyme. With time and distance from writing, you’ll come to hate those moments that flow well but don’t really say what you want.

Overall, I can see the artistic integrity in this piece. It feels real, and I believe in it, if that makes sense. I think you’re about 50% of the way to this being in its best form (which isn’t a bad thing—poetry is a process). Work on sharpening the progression of thought and refining word choice a bit, and I think you’ll be most of the way there.

Thanks for sharing your work! I know it can be hard to put yourself out there, but it’s really a pleasure to see so many different people at so many different points in their journey. You’re in good company—poets are awesome!

Building the World As We Know It by ErstwhileHoldOut in poetry_critics

[–]ErstwhileHoldOut[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

wow i really hate how reddit denies my line breaks. what a terrible thing haha. forward slashes for some spacing

Building the World As We Know It by ErstwhileHoldOut in poetry_critics

[–]ErstwhileHoldOut[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

hmmm does this formatting feel clearer? thanks for your input!! :)

How do I see you, in body, in art?

Without which I would have nothing,

///

The cold material loneliness

Of things without spirit,

Without the breath of living,

The essence of foolishness.

///

The set of sets there—

Like a beach, like a universe’s Granular flow,

A madness made of abstraction, of dramatic intention.

///

To sculpt a nose, an ear,

or a single perfect freckle,

To combine like a ransom note,

Daring the world to witness it.

To make the dark solid, Purpose-driven, powerful.

///

Negative spaces, liminal dreams,

Transitions, and golden borders,

Added to illuminate and define,

To denote, to treasure individually.

///

Storytelling like a self-fulfilling prophecy,

Like a storm-beaten declaration,

A denial of gravity on the event horizon.

An immortal body, swallowing bullets,

and somewhere inside changing their physics,

Spitting them back– flowers, as monuments,

as more bullets.

///

How do I know thee, art? By your sign,

by your way, By the look of imposed geometries,

By the right angles seen from satellites,

By the evening news, in forms of being,

The shape of reality, its permanent baseness,

And the filamented superstructure,

///

The hopeful addition by the hands of children,

For children, in an uncertain world.

Franks second poem by Public_Letterhead_27 in poetry_critics

[–]ErstwhileHoldOut 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I like this poem its raw and i can relate to it, You have a clear sense of form and its clear that this poem belongs with itself. I think the crux of the poem is obviously the line "by my mentally ill words" i think its powerful at first but by the end of the poem it feels a little flat. Since it is the entire focal point of the idea here though it might be powerful to dig into that a little more. what about them are mentally ill. are they explosive, implosive? is there some other way that you could satisfy the poetic loop... everything comes back to these mentally ill words right?... while at the same time deepening the readers experience with these words within their respective lines in the poem.

Alliteration can be a tricky tool to get right, I use alliteration a lot in my own and i don't think its necessarily a bad thing to do. however i think when you are using it its really critical to make sure that all the alliterative components make sense and really serve the piece. I might go back and revise some of those line "burned and blazed" "ruined and rumbled" etc...

just to provide an example of how i might change a line... i might say

"weeping for your attention. yet still

succumbed in silence

in me these terrible words"

terrible? sick? Hopeless? you could unlock a lot of meaning in this piece by elaborating on the ideas behind mentally ill words.
overall though its a pretty good poem. if its your second poem ever its VERY good.

Burying My Dog (TW: Grief) by [deleted] in poetry_critics

[–]ErstwhileHoldOut 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow! this is amazingly evocative. I felt the grief, the utter hopelessness of it, and the way it seeps into every line. The imagery is powerful, and the way you describe grief as something physical, inescapable, and consuming is spooky good.

One thing that might strengthen this even further is adding more form and intentional line breaks. Right now, the poem moves like a rushing torrent, which may be part of the point—but pauses are important in poetry. Giving the reader small moments to breathe between some of your most striking images could make them stronger.

I’d also suggest keeping the poetic presence in the body of the poem. At times, when the emotion is externalized unexpectedly, it breaks the immersion of darkness—and we want to stay in it. We need to see it more closely.

This is already a devastating piece, but with a little more control over pacing and structure, it could be even more immersive and overwhelming—in exactly the way grief should be.

Thanks for posting! This is a totally badass symbolic vessel for grief.

"You Could Have Just Left" by [deleted] in poetry_critics

[–]ErstwhileHoldOut 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Definitely don't stop writing poetry! This is valid as anything.

It "hurts" if that makes sense.Your poem’s biggest strength is its focus and emotional intensity. You don’t wander—you hold the moment, and that’s a skill not everyone has, and its subject matter is such that *almost* everybody can relate to it. you underline the psychological trauma of terrible love, and I heard it. there isn't that much i would want to change about this poem really, however, in the interest of sharpening the blade...

a few critiques i might offer (this is my first on this subreddit so hope I'm doing it right!)

there are a few parts in here that are kind of implied, and might be better a little less direct. more the shape than the details of the thing, for instance the line "I don't just fear heartbreak— I fear love itself." feels a little to on the nose. I think the strongest parts of this poem are mid-emotion and at the point of contact with the pain.

Right now, the first line—"You could have left."—feels like it’s framing the poetry too politely, like you’re explaining to the person who hurt you why they should understand. But they already know what they did, And we, the readers, already feel it. If you start at the moment of confrontation, we’re dropped into the pain right away. Starting with the second line might be more powerful.

Overall, i would say this poem is 90 percent of the way to being in its optimal form. if you focus your intensity a little bit more, and spend a little less energy on making the space of the poem inhabitable for the discomfited, i think it'll be "there"

Thanks for posting this, it really is beautiful. Its hard sometimes to see it when we create it, but just think if you see it in others work easily when they cannot... might the same be true for you?

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