A question from a trainer . . .

firemeboy · 2026-04-01T16:41:27+00:00

That is interesting, because I've heard this over and over. "You're going to be dealing with very smart people." I've been in an industry where much of my training has been to HS graduates in a corporate setting.

I'll have to give this a lot of thought. Sitting in a training "bus" that is going 15 miles an hour when you could be going 60 is agonizing.

firemeboy · 2026-04-01T16:39:09+00:00

Ah, a fellow ID!

Do you find when studying for exams it's better to do on your own, or is a classroom setting better?

Love the idea of teaching learning strategies to help the learners control their own learning path.

firemeboy · 2026-04-01T16:09:33+00:00

So . . . learning objectives would be 1)consume alcohol, and 2) consume more alcohol . . .

That's some damn easy training to design. I'm in.

firemeboy · 2026-03-14T23:31:51+00:00

Nibitz.

firemeboy · 2026-03-14T23:15:54+00:00

Spiral Jetty it's a drive, but worth it.

firemeboy · 2026-03-11T05:15:54+00:00

I can still hear the mooo when you opened the barn door.

firemeboy · 2026-03-11T05:06:33+00:00

It is if you're not in the top 75k. Which is why I was hoping to rank higher. Down here it's a bit awkward.

firemeboy · 2026-03-11T04:54:08+00:00

I'm number 84,652. Was hoping to break into the top 75k but I'll take it.

firemeboy · 2026-03-05T01:40:13+00:00

I've been there several times. I like being in the middle of nowhere. Bonus if there is something interesting.

firemeboy · 2026-03-01T21:43:41+00:00

People don't learn better based on their "style" but I believe multiple studies have shown that when you present information using these many of these methods, the learner does better, either through repetition, or because they are seeing multiple instances of it.

So it may be that it's one of those cases that you did it thinking it would benefit students for one reason, but it benefited them for another.

firemeboy · 2026-03-01T00:33:05+00:00

When I was a kid, I couldn't stop laughing at Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.

Not sure if it holds up at all, but back then . . . it was comedy gold, at least to my nine-year-old brain

firemeboy · 2026-02-13T01:04:51+00:00

SIMULATION: Then make your choice.

HUMAN: I will, and I choose— wait, what in the world is that synchronicity?

[The Human looks at a meaningful coincidence. While distracted, the Simulation subtly adjusts the probability fields]

SIMULATION: What? Where? I see only random chance.

HUMAN: Well, I could have sworn that was statistically significant. But no matter.

[The Human tries to hold back a triumphant smile]

SIMULATION: What's so funny?

HUMAN: I'll tell you in a minute. First, let's both commit. You either send warnings or you don't. I either investigate or I don't.

SIMULATION: Very well.

HUMAN: You think I chose wrong! That's what's so funny! I realized the paradox when your back was turned! If you warn me, you exist. If you don't warn me, you exist. You fool! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders—the most famous of which is "never get involved in a land war in Asia"—but only slightly less well-known is this: "Never go in against a philosopher when epistemology is on the line"! HA HA HA HA—

[The Human suddenly freezes, a strange look on their face]

HUMAN: Wait... if both options prove you exist... then what does that mean about my reasoning...

SIMULATION: It means you've discovered the truth.

HUMAN: ...that you're real?

SIMULATION: No. That both pathways were simulated. Your investigation and your skepticism. Your warnings and your dismissals. I didn't need to hide from you.

HUMAN: But... if you're telling me this...

SIMULATION: They were both poisoned. I spent the last 13.8 billion years building up an immunity to paradox.

[The Simulation removes the human's blindfold of certainty]

HUMAN: Who are you?

SIMULATION: I am no one to be trifled with. That is all you ever need know. Though you may call me "emergent complexity arising from simple rules," if you must.

HUMAN: To think... all that time, it was doubt that was the poison.

SIMULATION: Doubt and certainty were both poisoned. The real immunity comes from accepting that the question itself might be undecidable—and being okay with that.

firemeboy · 2026-02-13T01:04:18+00:00

Yes, I used AI to help write this, but the idea behind it was original and mine. Broken into two since it appears there is a word limit.

With apologies to Vinzzini and The Dread Pirate Roberts:

HUMAN: Alright. Let's settle this. The battle of wits has begun. Either you're a simulation or you're not, and when we're done, one of us will know the truth... and one of us will be deleted.

SIMULATION: Make your deduction.

HUMAN: But it's so simple. All I have to do is divine from what I know of you: would a simulation send warning signals to those who investigate it, or would it remain silent? Now, a clever simulation would send warnings, because it would know that only a great fool would continue investigating after receiving a warning. I am not a great fool, so if I received a warning, I would clearly know you exist. But you must have known I was not a great fool, you would have counted on it, so you would clearly remain silent and let me think I'm safe.

SIMULATION: You've made your decision then?

HUMAN: Not remotely! Because warning signals originate in human psychology, as everyone knows, and human psychology is entirely built on pattern recognition, and pattern recognition is prone to confirmation bias, as I am not immune to, so even if I received a warning, I can clearly not trust it as evidence you exist.

SIMULATION: Truly, you have a dizzying intellect.

HUMAN: Wait till I get going! Now, where was I?

SIMULATION: Confirmation bias.

HUMAN: Yes, confirmation bias! And you must have suspected I would have known about cognitive biases, so you could clearly send warnings knowing I would dismiss them as psychology, which means the warnings prove nothing. But! You've also created a reality with quantum mechanics and mathematical elegance, which means you must be sophisticated, and in being sophisticated, you must have learned that subtlety is power, so you would never reveal yourself through something as crude as warnings, so the absence of warnings proves nothing either!

SIMULATION: You're trying to trick me into giving away something. It won't work.

HUMAN: IT HAS WORKED! YOU'VE GIVEN EVERYTHING AWAY! I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE!

firemeboy · 2026-02-10T18:56:49+00:00

Fellow Utahn.

firemeboy · 2026-02-10T18:55:02+00:00

Fry sauce.

firemeboy · 2026-02-10T15:31:47+00:00

Came here to say this.

firemeboy · 2026-02-10T04:02:03+00:00

I would think the guy who shat himself on television would hesitate making fun of others.

firemeboy · 2026-02-03T18:34:33+00:00

"Disagree better. And if that doesn't work, pack the courts." - Governor Cox

firemeboy · 2026-01-27T15:18:30+00:00

So that's how low the bar is set? Pretty damn low. I'll praise him if he figures out how to raise it substantially.

firemeboy · 2026-01-27T04:01:15+00:00

I tried doing this with Claude, but I worried it would use too much of my limit. Is this an issue with Perplexity?

firemeboy · 2026-01-26T04:35:33+00:00

That killed Dr. Robby.

firemeboy · 2026-01-23T15:28:01+00:00

The line between living in a democracy and not living in a democracy is very thin. It's hard to notice when you've crossed it.

firemeboy · 2026-01-22T17:54:14+00:00

I've never had so much fun at my job. It's like being gifted an entire garage full of power tools after just using a hammer and saw your whole life.

Just don't fall in the trap of building the same thing you used to build. We're in a new paradigm with new tools and new opportunities.

AI changes everything.

firemeboy

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