Transcript: Day three of our little prompting game and decided to try out voice note as a medium for it instead of writing because I wanted to be outside. So today's question is, what would I study if I went back to school? I think it's a nice question. I don't really have any plans to go back to school at the moment, but it's nice to put on the imagination cap for a bit and think about what might be. So I originally went to school to study science, and I got not very far into it, just general ed stuff sorted. I was about to start getting into the fun stuff when I dropped out, but up until then, I couldn't say that the experience was amazing. It was a community college, there were some teachers that cared, there were some teachers that didn't. So it was fine. I think I knew more than enough to not really pay attention to any of the classes at this point. Besides networking, networking was fucking hard because nothing made sense with networking. It was also a four-hour evening class, which probably didn't help. But anyway, I left, and I did a bunch of software stuff, and I realized things that I was learning there weren't really applicable to building web apps for people. Anyway, I think it would be cool to have had a bit more algorithms, data structures, distributed stuff under my hat, but it is what it is. So I went on this not-school adventure, and it wasn't until I met one of my coworkers at the first startup, who said she had graduated UC Berkeley with a cognitive science degree. And I'm like, what now? And explained what it was, and it was basically an interdisciplinary pseudo-degree that sat between philosophy, linear algebra, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, computer science, and maybe one other thing. And I'm like, holy shit, that exists? And instantly I'm like, well shit, maybe I do want to go back to school. I think if I wanted to go back, and I can go to a place where I wasn't paying 20k a month or a semester or whatever in tuition, I didn't have to work two jobs to find that place, nor was I in some school that... Like, if I can go back to a school in New York or Berkeley or something with all the expense things covered, and I didn't... My future ability to provide food for myself wasn't tied to how well I did learning the content, but rather I could be there simply learning for learning's sake. I still think cognitive science would be something I'd be stoked to go back for. I think it just touches... It's right at the intersection of so many interesting things that I know... I think we know so little about how the brain works, how AI works, and it really seems like interesting shit for the next 50 years will be somehow connected to this field of study. Understanding ourselves and understanding the way that we understand things. So, it just seems like a very future-oriented thing to learn. For other people that might be how things work now. And for other people it's how things worked in the past, but I think cognitive science is just getting started because we know so little. And it's less abstract to me than theoretical physics or quantum mechanics. I think with a sufficient understanding, cognitive science... Those things can help me think about how I design systems and design my own life and interface with AI. So, that's why that calls my name.
The speaker describes their experience of partially understanding a podcast, particularly a term "Socratic search space," while on a walk and expresses a desire to delve deeper into its meaning. They prefer an interactive approach where they can ask a device to provide references and contextual explanations, as opposed to receiving a summary generated by an AI model like GPT, which might lack the most recent uses of the term. They are skeptical about the capability of language models to provide a comprehensive understanding, given that they might not recognize terms with minimal occurrences in training data. The speaker envisions a system that could compile and present relevant information in a coherent way, enhancing their grasp of the podcast's content and making the learning process more meaningful.
A shared 'brain' is being discussed as a platform for asynchronous voice note conversations where metadata could enhance understanding and visualization of conversational threads. The speaker suggests a focus on DEMO rather than DEC as a fork in the road, believing it better suits the work they've been doing with building prototypes. A group experiment is proposed with four members to delve into how these voice notes can overlap and interconnect, with the idea of marking chapters within responses to clarify dialogue. The concept also touches on the nuances of information retrieval, preferring vector databases over direct text searches, hinting at a similarity to the speaker's initial voice note exchanges with Savannah after meeting on a dating app. Voice communication offers significant advantages as a medium, and there's an idea presented here that its power should extend beyond just live conversations. Current messaging apps are filled with voice notes that are often difficult to search, filter, or respond to, though iMessage now has transcripts, which are generally reliable and useful once you've listened to the original voice note. The ability to refer back to transcribed voice notes can aid in crafting thoughtful responses and engaging in more meaningful discussions. The sender of the message suggests that by embracing this approach to communication, we could enhance our conversations and is curious to see how it will develop.
After a hike, I encountered Steph, leading to ongoing communication about hosting events. We discussed her co-organized salon on the AI alignment problem in March and my interest in hosting a website-building event during startup week, potentially in April or May. We also contemplated a tool for managing our projects and events, like a specialized project management software. Further, we talked about the connection between online communities and the physical gatherings they can inspire, emphasizing the cyclical relationship between the two.
The author is reflecting on the challenges of effectively showcasing their work on the internet, particularly in relation to portfolios and resumes. They express frustration with the limitations of resumes in capturing the depth of their experience and contributions. Additionally, they discuss the ongoing financial and practical challenges of maintaining online projects and the importance of preserving past work for the benefit of future creators. The author considers using archive.org as a potential solution but expresses reservations about outsourcing this responsibility to a non-profit organization. They ultimately prioritize the use of such resources for preserving knowledge that benefits the broader community rather than their own personal or professional work. The speaker is exploring the idea of preserving their work and experiences in a meaningful and sustainable way. They express concerns about relying on external platforms like archive.org and consider alternatives such as hosting their own content and encoding it into a lower fidelity medium. They also discuss the concept of creating their own encapsulation and representation of their work, which they hope will be more long-term sustainable. The text discusses the idea of creating a collaborative storytelling and writing platform that acts as a memory time capsule by archiving and snapshotting links. It addresses the challenge of link rot and suggests that decentralized hosting and a network of machines could potentially help in the future. The text discusses the concept of a scoped IPFS that functions similar to RAID, where each file is known only once but stored multiple times based on its significance. It also touches on the importance of data permanence on the internet, addressing concerns about archiving family photos and trusting companies like iCloud to maintain data indefinitely. The author questions if they should trust these companies and expresses uncertainty about the longevity of their data stored on such platforms.
82.88% similar
I embarked on an exploration of diagram websites and found a vast amount of content – about 200 unique sites with diverse styles and topics. Ellie's effective categorization into tags and categories helps navigate through them, but the sheer volume presents a risk of overwhelming users. I've discovered personal connections within these sites, including a project I co-signed and work by Weiwei and Spencer. To engage others and prevent information overload on Friday, I'm considering creating a broad scavenger hunt to make the exploration process more interactive and thought-provoking.
82.35% similar
The speaker is discussing the principles of social design in the context of creating engaging digital spaces, drawing on the collaborative work with Kristen. They emphasize the importance of social participation, challenges, and focused attention in driving user engagement within a product. Kristen's expertise in designing environments for coherence, sense-making, and collaboration is highlighted, particularly in the transition to digital spaces. The speaker believes that fundamental design elements, like those in a burrito, are critical for crafting unique and compelling user experiences in social design.
81.38% similar
The author contemplates the process of converting an audio note into a transcript, then summarizing it on their "burrito" page. They express a desire to adjust the summarization voice to better represent themselves on the page. Recognizing that this feature may not have widespread appeal, the author nonetheless sees value in providing users with controls to personalize their "burrito." The concept of allowing users to fine-tune their experience is seen as an intriguing possibility.
81.30% similar
The speaker is reflecting on their experience with making audio burrito posts, noting that it often requires multiple attempts to get into the correct mindset—similar to drafting written posts. They're grappling with the challenge of monologuing without a clear understanding of the audience, as they are aware that at least John and CJ will hear it, but uncertainty about the wider audience affects their ability to communicate effectively. This creates a 'contextual membrane shakiness' as the speaker finds the lack of audience boundaries difficult to navigate, which they recognize may vary among different people. The speaker concludes by deciding to end the current note and start a new one.
80.24% similar
I've always been drawn to the peculiar and unexplored, which makes me wonder if I can pepper my writing with a bit of the offbeat—things that don't quite fit the mold. Question is, can I make it work? Ditching the third-person narrative and opting for a chat with you in the first person could make my stories feel more intimate, more like we're in this together. And hey, isn't that what storytelling's all about? Let's find out.