timelets

Sat, 16 May 2026 04:32:38 GMT

During the first class of the MIT course on History of China the professor says that it's humanly impossible to learn the entire history of China (see below).

By contrast, we could feed all available texts on history of China to an LLM and it would _learn_ much more than humanly possible. Is this a meaningful change when it comes knowing history? Clearly, having an LLM that _learned_ all math or physics makes sense. Does the same apply to history or art?

comments

Wed, 25 Oct 2023 17:46:48 GMT

If a research experiment were well defined, it would be altogether unnecessary to perform it. For the experimental arrangements to be well defined, the outcome must be known in advance; otherwise the procedure cannot be limited and purposeful. The more unknowns there are and the newer a field of research is, the less well defined are the experiments.
...
And if after years we were to look back upon a field we have worked in, we could no longer see or understand the difficulties present in that creative work. The actual course of development becomes rationalized and schematized. We project the results into our intentions; but how could it be any different? We can no longer express the previously incomplete thoughts with these now finished concepts.

Cognition modifies the knower so as to adapt him harmoniously to his acquired knowledge.

-- Ludwik Fleck, Genesis and Development of a scientific fact.

similar to Bezos' "wandering."

comments

Fri, 03 Apr 2020 16:29:27 GMT

“We are discouraged from saying “I don’t know” or “I’m not sure.” We regard those expressions as vague, unhelpful, and even evasive. But getting comfortable with “I’m not sure” is a vital step to being a better decision-maker. We have to make peace with not knowing.
Embracing “I’m not sure” is difficult. We are trained in school that saying “I don’t know” is a bad thing. Not knowing in school is considered a failure of learning. Write “I don’t know” as an answer on a test and your answer will be marked wrong.
Admitting that we don’t know has an undeservedly bad reputation.
...
a great quote from physicist James Clerk Maxwell: “Thoroughly conscious ignorance is the prelude to every real advance in science.”

--- Annie Duke. “Thinking in Bets.”

If you can afford it, in most cases you are better off by not knowing and be completely aware of that. This quote could be a good segue into a discussion on Nietzsche's point about the value of truth. Also relates to a change in perspective.

comments

Quote of the Day

Wed, 01 Feb 2017 06:35:21 GMT

...imagine the instant of suspense before a catapult hits the target, or a pulley system lifts a huge column, or before the water finally rushes through the conduits and an aqueduct is inaugurated after years of work — perhaps hope is the quintessential virtue of an engineer.

SERAFINA CUOMO. A Roman Engineer's Tales. The Journal of Roman Studies. Vol. 101 (2011), pp. 143-165. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41724876

comments