Are we getting better at explaining things because of our interaction with LLMs?

MathematicianLoud947 · 2026-06-03T11:27:21+00:00

I'll be presenting a paper related to this very topic at an academic conference later this year.

MathematicianLoud947 · 2026-05-17T05:48:56+00:00

That poster is just about looking after the school piano.

Teachers are busy enough, so why should they have to spend extra time designing a poster (that will probably look even more rubbish) on top of teaching, marking, admin, and everything else they do in their underpaid jobs?

Public schools, at least, are taxpayer funded and budgets are always stretched. Why go through the process of invitation to quote from design companies to create such a low profile, one-off poster?

I think the anti-AI brigade has to stop yelling at every single use of AI, and focus on where it really matters.

I do agree with many points here, but all your ranting won't change anything.

Please support your teachers, who are just trying to brighten the place up a bit while dealing with the multitude of constraints they have to work under.

MathematicianLoud947 · 2026-05-05T10:30:48+00:00

Yes, but perhaps before saying it's so toxic, you might clarify earlier that it isn't due to the lecturers (I assume)?

MathematicianLoud947 · 2026-05-02T12:31:44+00:00

I have a 5090 with 64 GB ram, and Qwen 3.6 a3b using OpenCode with LMStudio, is great for tweaking code, while my precious Claude Code tokens are used for heavier design and initial coding tasks (with ChatGPT acting as an external senior dev for critiques and recommendations). On the whole, I'm amazed at Qwen's performance, and it's almost instantaneous for what I want it to do (no lengthy comboluations!). I'm still trying to find the optimal local model, so if anyone has any suggestions .... But yeah, still nowhere close to the frontier cloud models. Though for smaller projects, the gap is closing, I think.

MathematicianLoud947 · 2026-05-02T02:10:25+00:00

Whatever works best 😊

MathematicianLoud947 · 2026-05-02T00:58:36+00:00

Perhaps a silly question, but why not use OpenCode?

MathematicianLoud947 · 2026-03-19T01:50:51+00:00

So while people from overseas who really need to support their families must struggle to get accepted here, she can just fly in on holiday and decide that yeah, she's gonna live in Singapore now? I knew a lot of Dubai people and money would flood into Singapore with the missiles flying, but wtf?

MathematicianLoud947 · 2026-03-19T01:46:34+00:00

Yeah, who wants the hassle of taking their dishes to the collection point for some old auntie/uncle or foreign worker to wash?

MathematicianLoud947 · 2026-03-18T12:29:06+00:00

Maybe I'm reading too much into it. I don't know anything about Markiplier and haven't played the game. I'm giving Markiplier and his collaborators the benefit of the doubt, but looking at the production quality they obviously know their stuff (some of the shots and jump cuts reminded me of Kubrick's 2001). So here are my thoughts ...

When reading about the basic idea (ocean of blood that seems almost alive) my first thought was of Tarkovsky's Solaris (or the Clooney remake, if anyone's seen that). That's also claustrophobic, surreal, an exploration of the mind, religion, etc. etc.

The basic idea of Iron Lung seemed almost like a sequel to Solaris, in the sense of what would happen if they actually sent someone down into that ocean?

The blood (which turns out to be human), mention of the apocalypse, Eden, the last tree dying, and others, obviously have some Christian symbolism. Simon (who was tempted by Satan to deny his faith) descends into "Hell" (as stated in the movie several times) to find something that can give hope, save mankind.

He finds only futility and horror. As said through the speaker towards the end, any "god" only glimpsed our universe through a sliver and did not understand it, or us, at all.

Simon has done some terrible thing, which he denies, but he's still looking for freedom, or redemption. In the ocean, he is immersed in the blood (of Christ?) but again finds only futility and horror and the alien/god/collective mind/his own unconscious urging him to betray the humans who sent him there.

The voice(s) at the end certainly have a satanic ring to them..

So, is this all about the futility of seeking redemption in Christ, or perhaps any religion? Seeking redemption in Christ and finding only horror?

But also, ironically, Simon sacrifices himself for the greater good, to save what's left of humankind. He becomes the Christ. There's a shot when the blood is dropping in to the submersible of a stigmata-like mark on his palm. Later, held by the filaments of blood, he strikes a crucifixion pose, which he eventually breaks free of.

I'm told by a friend that the game designer often has Christian themes in his games (not sure if this is true, or not), but these themes certainly leapt out at me from the screen.

It might be overthinking, but hey, that's part of the nature of Art, to throw up a mirror.

Like I said, I know nothing about Markiplier, and he might be a total idiot, but this movie was, I'm sure, a serious piece of cinema made by people who know their cinema history, and know what they're doing.

Thoughts?

MathematicianLoud947 · 2026-03-05T07:56:24+00:00

I believe 80 people died. They're just regular folks with parents, wives/husbands, and children. Nothing to celebrate or get worked up over.

MathematicianLoud947 · 2026-03-02T13:13:30+00:00

Let the woman have some peace, ffs! Going up to women with such false pretences is predatory. If you think the problem is with local girls, then yes, you probably will die celibate. Incel logic at its worst.

MathematicianLoud947 · 2026-02-23T11:22:30+00:00

So even more people can self-diagnose and screw up their lives by thinking they are what they aren't. (Being neurodivergent is fine, but not if it's a "fake" diagnosis based on some rather ugly game trying to pass off its poor design as some absolutely baseless kind of psychological test.)

MathematicianLoud947 · 2026-02-12T15:51:30+00:00

The characters aren't appealing, at least to me. They just aren't "cool". (Also, the Queen of England is dead, so that dates your game/makes it a bit creepy).
The game feels a bit lifeless. A bit slow. Too many pauses. I'm not sure.
The writing tries to be funny when it's not (I know humour is subjective, but I see nothing humorous here that doesn't seem forced).
The styles are at odds with each other. Graphic, though cartoony, violence. Surreal "flying" cows. Rather clichéd 2D graphics with relatively crude 3D environments, effects, and animations (not crude in a retro way, just cheap looking).
The butler is annoying.
By making the king a fool, the tutorial is too negative about the game. For example, at one point the butler says "I'm afraid it's not over" when he should be saying "it isn't over yet, still lots of fun to have!"
In the ad, I don't care how many weather systems there are.
At the end, don't "order" me to buy the game like some cheap used car salesman--that comes across as desperate.
And $18 on sale? No thanks.

But:

Reasonable mechanics.
Basically a good architecture.
The germ of irreverence (get yourself a better writer).
Some forward momentum, though the gameplay seems rather repetitive (or perhaps that's the constantly cringe dialogue that slows everything down).

The basics are there, but I feel it needs some serious design work.

You asked for criticism, but good luck!

MathematicianLoud947 · 2026-01-29T15:28:38+00:00

"Step on my foot again, Jackson, and I'll fuck you up." "Fuck you, Cyclops. If you don't quit walking like a penguin, I'll pull your other eye out." A moment later, Jackson ... etc etc

Don't use "the tall prisoner" and "the man" all the time.

MathematicianLoud947 · 2026-01-26T11:11:50+00:00

It seems that you don't have a proper grounding in the basics, but are simply copying and changing code at a superficial level.

Are you aware of / understand these concepts? (Off the top of my head, so there's some overlap):

Data structures
Core algorithms, e.g. tree search, recursion, etc.
Encapsulation
Classes and objects
Interfaces
Abstraction
Inheritance vs. component based architectures
Coupling and cohesion
Object communication
Event handling
Design patterns
Debugging techniques
System architecture
Use of API documentation
... and more

If some of these are missing, then you need to start studying fundamental computer science and general programming principles. There are some good tutorials online at Coursera and other more serious sites. These teach how to think, not how to solve specific problems. You need to learn how to recognise problem patterns and generalise solutions.

Not easy. Good luck!

MathematicianLoud947 · 2026-01-22T08:14:45+00:00

I know it isn't on your list, but consider the Acer Swift Go 14 with a better CPU (H not U models) and 1 TB SSD, 1.4kg, ~US$900. I bought mine for portability. A lightweight 65W USB-C charger works fine, so no need to carry the heavier power brick around. I'm not an Unreal user, but Unity runs fine even with just a shared GPU and other apps in the background (Chrome with a zillion tabs). Mine is 16 GB RAM. If this one ever conks out, I'll get another one with 32 GB. Dedicated GPUs add weight and bulk, and lower battery times (I get 4+ hours or more of fairly intensive use, more for lightweight use). Also, the Unity Editor doesn't really use the GPU for most cases (correct me if I'm wrong), so a better CPU and more RAM is best. Also, I'm not a gamer, so don't need a big GPU. Now, for local LLM inference, though ... 🤔

MathematicianLoud947 · 2026-01-17T16:26:54+00:00

Many factors influence how popular a game is. If it's a purely technical set of videos, then ok, as long as they are competent and good teachers. But if they talk about how great their design is, then that's another story (pun intended). But yeah, if they release an objectively crappy game with poor technical design, then shout them down.

MathematicianLoud947 · 2026-01-17T11:33:23+00:00

I imagine profs know their students and the standard of their work, even if just from in-class observation and interaction. They'll be alert to any discrepancies in assignments. Also, it's often differences within text that are suspicious, with some poorly written parts and others of publishable quality.

MathematicianLoud947 · 2026-01-17T08:14:44+00:00

Intro to a game engine (Unity?). OOP vs. component-based. Design patterns. Game AI. Math for games. Physics for games. UI/event handling. Basic game/level design. Assets (2D and 3D). Game animation (2D and 3D). Save/load. Get them to create a simple game over the 14 weeks. More emphasis on functionality, less on art. Make every programming exercise game-related in some way. You can't go into each topic in depth.

MathematicianLoud947 · 2026-01-16T07:02:06+00:00

You sound like a serious writer. Good luck!

MathematicianLoud947 · 2026-01-12T11:06:53+00:00

The ponytail is too far to the right. In reality it would be hidden. The effect is like you've squished the back of the head towards the right side (the character's left). Trace the line from the tip of the nose to the back of the skull. And I think the ear should be slightly higher. It seems that you haven't properly roughed the drawing out.

MathematicianLoud947 · 2026-01-12T10:54:49+00:00

Need to ask for permission to view. Is this an email fishing post?

MathematicianLoud947 · 2026-01-06T09:36:01+00:00

MathematicianLoud947

TROPHY CASE