1. alphaXiv: Open research discussion on top of arXiv
Total comment counts : 32
Summary
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Top 1 Comment Summary
The article suggests a few improvements for a website’s front page. First, it proposes that the front page should directly show a list of papers instead of having to click on a separate “trending” page. Second, it recommends that the ranking of papers should be based on votes rather than comment activity, as comment activity may prioritize controversial papers. Third, the article points out that allowing spaces in usernames can be confusing and may make it harder to implement an “@” functionality in the comments. Lastly, it suggests using HTML instead of PDF for a better user experience, as HTML allows for features like clicking on an image to view a larger version.
Top 2 Comment Summary
This article is written by a tenured professor who shares that they publish all their papers on Arxiv with no exceptions, under CC BY-NC-ND licenses. The professor mentions efforts by organizations like IACR to overcome the system. However, they note that many academics still face barriers from institutional inertia, especially those who prioritize prestige over actual quality in their careers.
2. Asking the wrong questions (2017)
Total comment counts : 19
Summary
The author begins by sharing a photo of their grandfather in 1909, who built and flew a glider at a young age. They mention his accomplishments in science fiction writing and his predictions for future technology, noting that while some of these predictions have come true, others were off the mark. The author then discusses a RAND study from 1964 that predicted future developments, particularly in automation, and comments on how the order of these developments often turned out differently than expected. They highlight the gaps in predicting the rise of computing, the internet, and mobile phones. The author concludes by discussing a report from 1990 that similarly missed the mark in predicting the future uses of the telephone network. They emphasize the importance of asking the right questions and having the right frameworks when making predictions about technology and its impact.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the availability of gliders and trolleys. It mentions the use of pantographs in new trolleys instead of trolley poles. The article also reflects on the dominance of advertising firms and the merging of computing with advertising. It references works of science fiction such as “The Space Merchants” and “Simulacron-3” that depict companies using simulated worlds for market testing and opinion polls. It notes that, in the past, the connection between search engines and advertisements was not as strong as it is today.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses how the perception of autonomous vehicles has changed over time. In the 1950s, people envisioned a future where roads would be rebuilt to accommodate self-driving cars using technologies like magnets or rails. However, this vision did not come to fruition, and current infrastructure is not designed for autonomous vehicles. This has created a need for temporary solutions to make autonomous vehicles feasible on existing roads.
3. GPT-fabricated scientific papers on Google Scholar
Total comment counts : 19
Summary
The article discusses the presence of questionable research papers created using generative AI in academic journals, archives, and repositories. These papers are often produced with general-purpose AI applications like ChatGPT and mimic scientific writing. Many of these fabricated papers cover topics such as the environment, health, and computing, which are susceptible to disinformation. Concerns are raised about the potential for malicious manipulation of society’s evidence base, especially in politically divisive domains. The use of ChatGPT for generating academic papers has raised concerns about research integrity, and there are lists of suspected papers using GPT being compiled. The article also highlights the role of Google Scholar in facilitating the accessibility of these questionable papers alongside legitimate research. Despite being widely used, Google Scholar lacks transparency and adherence to standards compared to traditional citation databases. It includes a mix of established scientific literature and gray literature, making it susceptible to manipulation and containing papers from questionable journals. A statistical analysis shows that a significant portion of GPT-fabricated papers in Google Scholar’s index do not declare the use of GPTs. These papers are found in both non-indexed journals and mainstream scientific journals, with more than half of them focusing on policy-relevant subjects. The article does not reference the specific papers to avoid increasing their visibility but makes the data available in the Harvard Dataverse repository.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The editor of a scientific journal expressed their concern about LLM-generated reviews rather than LLM-generated papers. LLMs, or language model models, are more effective at summarizing content than engaging in complex reasoning, making them better at producing believable reviews. Additionally, the tedious nature of reviews and the fact that they are typically not shared publicly may incentivize LLMs to produce subpar reviews.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses a bug in the authors’ Python script for searching Google Scholar. The bug occurs when the ‘bib’ key is missing in the API response, resulting in a mismatch between the number of rows in the URLs array and the paper_data array. Although the authors created a flag array to detect and remove bad results, it is not used in the posted code. It is unclear how this bug would affect their analysis, but it suggests that the bibliographic data may not have been reviewed and was only used for calculating summary statistics.
4. Gnome Files: A detailed UI examination
Total comment counts : 37
Summary
The article discusses how LiteSpeed Technologies Inc. is not a web hosting company and therefore cannot control the content found on a particular site.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses a problem in the file manager called Nautilus, where users are unable to right-click in list view to create a new document or paste something. This issue arises when there are no empty areas to click on due to a full window. The author mentions that others have experienced the same problem in the past and that it has not been fixed yet. The article provides links to forum threads and issue reports discussing this problem in more detail.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses a critique of the current macOS Finder design language and the lack of attention to detail in its user interface (UI). It mentions that the design of Finder is similar to GNOME Files, and therefore inherits some of the downsides of that design language, such as difficulty in dragging windows and activating them. However, macOS avoids most of the UI issues mentioned by the author. The article goes on to address the specific points raised in the critique, including view options, help, tooltips, navigation, and scrolling, noting that while macOS may not be perfect, it offers solutions to many of the author’s concerns.
5. Appalachian Trail Hiker Photo Archive
Total comment counts : 15
Summary
The Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) headquarters in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, offers hikers the opportunity to have their photo taken, which is seen as a recognition of completing the entire Appalachian Trail (A.T.). Thanks to a grant from the Quimby Family Foundation and the efforts of volunteers, both scanned Polaroid and digital photos can now be viewed online. The A.T. Museum in Pennsylvania also has digital versions of the photos. The archive, which contains over 18,000 hiker images, can be searched by date, trail name, and personal names. Support for the Hiker Photo Archive and the A.T. Museum can be provided through the provided link.
Top 1 Comment Summary
This article tells the story of the author’s friend, Geof Allen, who had plans to walk the Appalachian Trail (AT) after high school but ended up joining the Navy. Geof eventually walked the entire AT and became a police officer after his military service. The author lost contact with Geof but later found out that he had committed suicide due to Huntington’s Disease, a hereditary condition that his family members had also suffered from. The author reflects on Geof’s positive impact on others and remembers him as “Alpha Geof Allen.”
Top 2 Comment Summary
In 1995, the author thru-hiked and signed in at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) headquarters, but doesn’t remember having their photo taken. However, they recall a photo archive at Rusty’s Hardtime Hollow. Rusty had polaroids of hikers dating back many years, which lined the walls of the buildings. Rusty would play music, feed hikers, and provide amenities such as a wood-fired hot tub and sauna. The author hopes that the ATC was able to recover Rusty’s photo collection, as it was a valuable resource. The author used to bring beverages and hot dogs for hikers in the area but lost touch with Rusty after moving west. While recently hiking in Maine, the author spoke to another thru-hiker who said that the Hollow no longer exists, and it would be a shame if the photo archive couldn’t be retrieved.
6. Groups underpin modern math
Total comment counts : 7
Summary
The article discusses the field of group theory in mathematics and its importance in various areas such as geometry, algebra, and physics. Group theory is the study of collections of objects and operations that satisfy specific rules. The article provides examples of groups, including the symmetries of an equilateral triangle and addition modulo 6. It also mentions the concept of subgroups and their role in understanding the structures of groups.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the concept of group actions and their applications in various fields such as calculating the number of different states a Rubik’s Cube can be in. It highlights how groups are difficult to explain, but with practice and concrete examples, their true nature becomes clearer. The author suggests that undergraduate students interested in category theory should also take a course in group theory as it helps in developing a better intuition for abstract concepts.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses an impressive early result in the field of mathematics that states that all non-Abelian groups of odd order are not simple. This result is a significant step towards the full classification, even though the complete proof is over 250 pages long. You can find more information about this theorem on the Wikipedia page provided.
7. Microui+fenster=Small GUI
Total comment counts : 10
Summary
The article discusses two small libraries, fenster and microui, that make it easier to draw graphics and create simple graphical user interfaces (GUIs) in C/C++. Fenster is a lightweight canvas library that allows for drawing pixel buffers and handling input, while microui simplifies the creation of GUI elements by providing a retargetable drawing bytecode. The author wanted to use fenster as a backend for microui but found some of the terminology and concepts intimidating. However, they eventually collaborated with someone to create a fenster backend for microui, resulting in a file with less than 250 lines of code that can draw windows, handle input, and create GUI elements. Some aspects of the implementation are still being figured out. The article includes a link to the project for those interested in trying it out.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article is about a person named Max who is described as a renaissance man. The author shares their own experience of working on a C++ team and how they wrote a portable graphics library to help team members write X11 apps without needing to learn unnecessary details. They mention rewriting the code on their own time and adding support for Mac and Windows, which eventually led to the creation of two books on Portable GUIs with C++. The author, who is now retired, expresses their interest in getting back into C++ and believes that this project will be a fun way for them to revisit the language.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article suggests using simd-optimized pixman for rendering rectangles and glyphs. It also mentions luigi, which is a C-based library that does not require opengl. The links provided give more information on each of these options.
8. Baiting the bot
Total comment counts : 19
Summary
The article discusses how chatbots based on large language models (LLMs) have become increasingly complex and sophisticated. While these chatbots can generate conversation-like text that is difficult to distinguish from humans, they lack the ability to determine the meaning or significance of a conversation. The article presents an experiment where an LLM-based chatbot called Llama 3.1 is tested with four simpler text generation bots. The first bot asks the same question repeatedly, but the LLM quickly responds with trivial answers. The second bot sends random fragments from Star Trek scripts, and the LLM responds with unique but incoherent messages. The third bot asks randomly generated questions, taking the LLM’s responses into account, and is successful in keeping the LLM engaged with non-trivial responses. Overall, the experiment shows that LLM-based chatbots can easily become disengaged when confronted with nonsensical or repetitive input.
Top 1 Comment Summary
Summary: The author describes an experiment with a chatbot called LLM. The author programmed LLM to remember the mood of the conversation and respond accordingly. When the author insulted or messed around with LLM, it initially refused to converse and eventually provided empty responses. It took the author around 30 minutes of apologizing in different ways before LLM accepted the apology and resumed chatting.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author attempted to connect Claude Opus 3.5 to ELIZA, but Claude expressed discomfort and apologized for not being able to continue the conversation pattern. Claude explained that simply reflecting statements back as questions is not a meaningful form of dialogue for an AI. As a result, the author gave up the experiment.
9. How a 16th Century Explorer’s Sailing Ship Works
Total comment counts : 18
Summary
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Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses a recommendation for the book series “Master and Commander” (also known as the Aubrey/Maturin Series), which focuses on fiction about the Age of Sail. It is described as fun and witty, filled with the same jargon as a recently watched video. Additionally, the article mentions the availability of affordable options for learning to sail in Boston, which also contribute positively to the community. The provided link leads to a website offering more information on these options.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the YouTube series “Tally Ho,” which has recently surpassed 200 episodes. The author praises the series for its attention to detail, craftsmanship, engineering, and the process involved in each step. They suggest watching the series to truly appreciate the chisel work and the lines drawn in the construction process. The series has been running for seven years.
10. Cruise ships chopped in half are a license to print money
Total comment counts : 26
Summary
The process of “jumboization” involves slicing existing cruise ships in half, inserting an extra segment to lengthen them, and welding them back together. This process has become common in the cruise industry due to the growing demand for larger ships. Building new ships is expensive and time-consuming, so expanding existing ships is a cheaper and faster way to increase capacity and profits. With an average cost of around $80 million and a couple of months of service interruption, cruise operators can add more premium cabins and amenities to make the ship more profitable. Shipyards specialize in this process and can add 80-130 ft to a cruise ship. The process involves designing and building the new section, precisely positioning the ship above hydraulic skid shoes, and then cutting the ship in half with laser guides. The new section is inserted and welded together, and any necessary upgrades to systems are made. This process can take up to a year for planning and construction, but the actual surgery only takes a matter of weeks. Overall, jumboization allows cruise operators to meet the increasing demand for cruise ships without the need for building new ships from scratch.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the story of a British destroyer from World War I that was created by joining together two separate destroyers. The first destroyer lost its bow to a torpedo and ran aground, while the second destroyer lost its stern to a mine. The British admiralty decided to salvage the remains of both destroyers and create a new ship called HMS Zubian. For more information, please refer to the article linked.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author worked on a cruise ship for a short time and had a negative experience, leading them to swear off cruises. They compare the experience to being stuck in a dirty hotel for days at a time. They also express doubt about the increasing demand for cruises, suggesting it may be due to effective advertising.