the roamer

"Learn how to do it yourself. Use the mechanical aids, but learn what you’re doing. A general problem with these large language models is that they will give you confident answers that are total nonsense, and if you don’t understand what you’re doing well enough, you will not recognize what the nonsense is."

The undefeatable Brian Kernighan on the joys of teaching and the sadness of genAI.

Thanks to @aka_pugs
for the link.

https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2025/04/princeton-features-profiles-professor-brian-kernighan-bell-labs

#BrianKernighan #teaching #HigherEducation #AcademicChatter #noAI #ComputerScience

Teaching keeps you young, or so says Professor Brian Kernighan

Computer science professor Brian Kernighan GS ’69 left a career in emerging computer science research to pursue his passion for teaching. He shared his perspectives on the evolution of the field of computer science, his interdisciplinary approach to this work, and his advice to aspiring programmers.

The Princetonian
May 5, 2025 at 12:03amWeb
Show threadTerryBMay 5, 2025
@[email protected] @[email protected] The same applies with the simple pocket calculator of course.
Show threadthe roamerMay 5, 2025

@terryb @aka_pugs

Yes and no. Yes: those using a calculator should understand the operations performed by the machine, and to gain such understanding it helps to develop proficiency in performing these operations manually. But when I use a calculator, I know that its output will be correct, and I know how it was produced. When I use genAI, I know that its output will be incorrect, and I don't know how it was produced.