Simon TathamIt's very annoying the way I have to get half way through writing a long detailed explanation of why someone is wrong before I figure out why they're right.
[ˈkʰy.bi]
Jonathan Yu@simontatham Very relatable
Uglyhack@simontatham
It's annoying, but it's good that you have a way that you figure out that you're wrong, and if I understand correctly it's even before you get into the public debate.
It's annoying, but it's good that you have a way that you figure out that you're wrong, and if I understand correctly it's even before you get into the public debate.
Lars Wirzenius
Alan Bellingham@simontatham I didn't quite do that yesterday, but I did reply to a post to assert that, unlike France, Germany only has one time zone. I then had to go off and check
Yes, Germany does have only the one, and France does have ... 12!
Tim Ward ⭐🇪🇺🔶 #FBPE@bellinghman @simontatham Some people are puzzled when you point out that France grows commercial crops of things like tea, coffee, bananas.
j_bertolotti@TimWardCam A French friend of mine likes to sayvthat France biggest border is with Brazil. @bellinghman @simontatham
@simontatham It can go something like this:
(1) You work out what the right answer to something is.
(2) You remember the right answer, but forget the detailed reasoning. From now on you just know what the answer is but would be pushed to justify it.
(3) A few years pass.
(4) Someone claims that your right answer is wrong. You can't instantly see what's wrong with their argument, but you know that you know the right answer, from way back.
There are two possible scenarios.
(a) Yes, you're still right, and the "someone" has come to the wrong conclusion by repeating, yet again, the age-old mistakes whose details you've forgotten.
(b) The world has changed. The "someone" is, now, right, even though they wouldn't have been a while ago. You'd better try to recreate your age-old reasoning and spot the assumption you made that was true then but is not true now.
Tzimisce Flesh@TimWardCam @simontatham
(c) You were actually wrong the whole time, but didn't take the time and effort to scrutinise the reasoning.
Especially true if you changed a fundamental part of your worldview without re-examining everything you believed.
(c) You were actually wrong the whole time, but didn't take the time and effort to scrutinise the reasoning.
Especially true if you changed a fundamental part of your worldview without re-examining everything you believed.
@flesh @simontatham Hasn't happened to me. I've always managed to find a way to claim the "world has changed" explanation 🤣
soup2nuts
Rastal@simontatham It is better seen as personal growth than something "annoying"...
@Rastal they aren't mutually exclusive!
Mark Dominus@simontatham I think you should treasure that.
Pete / Syllopsium@simontatham Happens a fair bit in support. 'customer are clearly wrong, but let's just check'. 'uh, wait, that doesn't look right. Neither does that. sigh'.
Dec [{(
)}]@syllopsium @simontatham
Oh yes.
"User must be using it wrong. There couldn't possibly be anything wrong with the server or the network. If there was, monitoring would have alerted the NOC."
Umm, tail some log files just to be sure.
Something *is* wrong with the server or the network. And monitoring missed it.
* Fix fault.
* Fix monitoring.
* Thank user for getting in touch.
Twotired@simontatham Hey, it’s better than figuring it out immediately after communicating your detailed explanation. Not that this has ever happened to me. Repeatedly.
lkngrrr 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️🏴☠️@simontatham But dude, that counterfactual is so useful. Not only did you convince yourself that they’re right, but now you know how to walk others through it!
Jargoggles@simontatham
I always find that writing out a point helps me better understand why I think and feel a certain way about something. The process is just as much about communicating my thoughts at it is about processing and refining them. Sometimes, part of it is realizing that there are things I believe that I hadn't really examined very well.
This is one of the massive dangers of using LLMs to do this (and any other kind of) writing. It robs people of that critical examination of their own thoughts.
Jyrgen N@simontatham Hah, I have had that myself. Or working for hours on a comment, because I don't find the right words, and then I realise that is because actually I don't have anything relevant to say.