updates

content/posts/2024/01/ai-discussion.md

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+title = "Commenting on a Paper from First Monday about Generative AI"
+date = 2024-01-06
+[taxonomies]
+tags= ["ai"]
++++
+
+One of the 400 RSS feeds in my FreshRSS instance is an open-access journal that describes itself as "solely devoted to the internet": First Monday. 
+Reviewing this month's articles had one that was particularly interesting for me: [Why do people use ChatGPT? Exploring user motivations for generative conversational AI"](https://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/13541). 
+I encourage you to read it. 
+
+
+This post will be some comments on the paper (mostly just the points I found interesting).
+
+- There were 197 participants in the study. Okay, this one isn't interesting but it will help contextualize the numbers below.
+- 58% of participants reported using ChatGPT weekly or more, but only 4% used it daily. I initially thought the difference would be because they're using it for work (and thus not on the weekends), but using it for personal use is *more* popular (82% for personal use versus 38% for work). 
+- The most popular theme for ChatGPT use was productivity at 55%. That tracks with my priors. Interest in the technology was second at 51%, then a big drop down to only 20% for fun and amusement. 
+- Some people used it to come up with dinner suggestions (no complaints here!). Others used it to set up diet plans (scary!) or "a place to address mental health issues" (also scary!).
+- 5 of the participants reported "high reliability or trustworthiness of the information it offered". I'm reminded of a question someone asked of where the idea that generative AI was reliable for information came from. Why do people assume it is good at being *correct* and not confidently wrong? That was one of the first things that came to mind when I first heard of it.
+- More people (24) reported using it as a support tool for writing, such as to re-word their own sentences, than as a purely generative tool (10). This feels slightly better to me than if pure generation was more popular.
+    - This difference was narrower in software developement. 17 used it for generation and 14 for debugging/problem-solving. I think I feel less good about this.
+- Two of the summarized uses that the authors list in the discussion - alleviating the burden of decision making and dealing with information overload - feel like they're connected. What is the burden of decision making but an information overload related to a particular choice?
+

content/posts/2024/01/missing-link-for-notes/index.md

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+title = "Missing Link for Notes"
+description = "Why and when do you consult notes instead of other methods?"
+date = 2024-01-10
+# updated = 2024-01-10
+draft = true
+[taxonomies]
+tags = []
++++
+
+One point of confusion I have with learning and note taking in general: 
+how do you *use* the notes you take?
+For most of the subjects I study, there doesn't seem to be much value in consulting the notes after they are written compared to having a highlighted/annotated version of the source. 
+This post is me being critical just as much as I am genuinely searching for an answer.
+
+When I was studying for my CISSP, I was taking notes alongside the study guide for the first half or so of the book.
+However, I later realized that I wasn't finding any reason to consult the notes afterwards. 
+All of the important concepts had been turned into Anki cards anyway, and that was entirely to remove the need to consult a book or notes. 
+
+Perhaps notes were more valuable in the days of analog when answers weren't a quick Google search away. 
+If you had to take a trip to the library to get the information again, it would make sense that you'd want a condensed but portable copy. 
+The same may apply for one-off learning experiences like interviews, or some time in the future when Google's declining quality reaches a point of uselessness.
+
+I tried searching on the Intersphere:tm: for an answer, 
+but the search engine seemed to take "use" and "take" as the same thing so I got unlimited results on how to *take* notes and none on how to *use* them afterwards. 
+
+---
+
+A shift in search query, then?
+"What is the purpose of taking notes?"
+According to [miamioh.edu](https://miamioh.edu/student-life/rinella-learning-center/academic-support/online-resources/note-taking/index.html):
+> The primary purpose of note taking is to encourage active learning and to prepare study materials for exams.
+
+...and [unc.edu](https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/effective-note-taking-in-class/):
+> Actively taking notes during class can help you focus and better understand main concepts.
+> ...
+> After class, good notes are crucial for reviewing and studying class material so that you better understand it and can prepare appropriately for exams.
+
+...and [opentextbc.ca](https://opentextbc.ca/studentsuccess/chapter/note-taking/):
+> People take notes for two main reasons:
+> 1. To keep a record of the information they heard. This is also called the *external storage* function of note-taking.
+> 2. To facilitate learning material they are currently studying.
+> The availability of information on the internet may reduce the importance of the *external storage* function of note-taking. When the information is available online, it may seem logical to stop taking notes.  However, by neglecting to take notes, you lose the benefits of note-taking as a learning tool.
+
+So besides as a tool for exam prep (of which Anki suits my purposes fine), what purpose is there for notes? 
+It's possible that I simply don't encounter the type of information that requires the use of notes, or that my line of work isn't the type that makes notes as useful as something like writing or other research-heavy topics.
+
+---
+I think that a topic would need to satisfy one or more of the following conditions to be "noteworthy" for me:
+- Information that I cannot easily get a second time such as meetings or books that I cannot find easily online
+- Information that cannot be Ankified such as procedures
+
+--- 
+As a quick site meta-update: I've added a script to the site's git repo so I can make new posts more easily.
+It's nothing fancy, but hopefully the reduced friction will mean I post more often.

content/posts/2024/01/testing-fsrs/index.md

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+title = "Trying Out FSRS"
+# description = ""
+date = 2024-01-15
+# updated = 2024-01-15
+draft = true
+[taxonomies]
+tags = ["shortnotes"]
++++
+
+I'm trying out the new FSRS scheduling algorithm for Anki.
+I was hesitant to use it when it was first announced because it seemed to be undergoing a lot of fast changes and required a fair amount of manual setup.
+But now it's in the main Anki code (though not in AnkiDroid, yet) and it seems like a poor idea to *not* use it. 

newpost.sh

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+#!/bin/bash
+
+# Get location of script, posts root
+parent_path=$(cd "$(dirname "$BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" ; pwd -P)
+posts_root="$parent_path/content/posts"
+
+# Get time
+year=$(date +%Y)
+month=$(date +%m)
+day=$(date +%d)
+
+post_name="$year$month$day"
+OPTSTRING=":n:"
+
+# Get options 
+while getopts ${OPTSTRING} opt; do
+	case ${opt} in 
+		n)
+			post_name=${OPTARG}
+			;;
+		:)
+			echo "Option -${OPTARG} requires an argument"
+			exit 1
+			;;
+		?)
+			echo "-n <name> :: post name"
+			exit 1
+			;;
+	esac
+done
+
+
+# Fix post name for filesystem
+post_file_name=$(echo $post_name | sed "s/[ _]/-/g" | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')
+
+# Verify year path
+if ! [ -d $posts_root/$year ]; then
+	# Create new year 
+	mkdir $posts_root/$year
+	cp $posts_root/2023/_index.md $posts_root/$year/_index.md
+fi
+
+# Verify month path
+if ! [ -d $posts_root/$year/$month ]; then
+        # Create new year
+        mkdir $posts_root/$year/$month
+        cp $posts_root/2023/_index.md $posts_root/$year/$month/_index.md
+fi
+
+# Create folder for post (in case of images)
+mkdir -p "$posts_root/$year/$month/$post_file_name"
+
+# Create template file 
+read -r -d '' TEMPLATE << EOF
++++
+title = "$post_name"
+# description = ""
+date = $year-$month-$day
+# updated = $year-$month-$day
+draft = true
+[taxonomies]
+tags = []
++++
+
+EOF
+
+# Skip overwrite if exists
+if ! [ -f $posts_root/$year/$month/$post_file_name/index.md ]; then
+	echo "Creating a new post..."
+	echo "$TEMPLATE" >> $posts_root/$year/$month/$post_file_name/index.md
+fi
+
+echo "Post file is at $posts_root/$year/$month/$post_file_name/index.md"
+
+# Open vim/vi/nano
+if command -v vim &> /dev/null; then
+	vim $posts_root/$year/$month/$post_file_name/index.md 
+elif command -v vi &> /dev/null; then
+	vi $posts_root/$year/$month/$post_file_name/index.md
+else 
+	nano $posts_root/$year/$month/$post_file_name/index.md
+fi