the clock is a piece Chess
2025-03-13 15:39:59

💭 Without a clock, chess is a flawed game. It is a game where you can play perfectly and only hope to draw. And, for a human, without years of (unnecessary) training and good luck, you will play nearly-perfectly and lose, against the machine. ... With a clock, chess is a footrace of the mind. It is reflexes, time-management, and also the goal to play perfectly enough to draw.

In chess, the clock is often considered a crucial piece, even though it is not physically part of the board setup. It regulates the pace of the game, ensuring that players make their moves within a specified time limit. Unlike traditional chess pieces, which are used to attack, defend, and control squares, the clock serves as an external arbiter (仲裁者) of time management. Losing on time is just as decisive as checkmate, making the clock an indirect yet powerful factor in gameplay.

Strategically, the clock influences decision-making just as much as material and position. Players must balance deep calculation with time management, ensuring they do not overthink moves and risk flagging (running out of time). In blitz and bullet chess, where time is extremely limited, flagging the opponent can become a primary strategy, making fast and practical moves more valuable than objectively best ones. This dynamic adds an additional layer of skill beyond pure chess knowledge, favoring those who can handle pressure and think quickly.

Psychologically, the presence of the clock changes the way players approach the game. It introduces stress, particularly in time scrambles, where precision can give way to instinct and speed. Some players excel under this pressure, using the clock as a weapon to force blunders, while others struggle to maintain accuracy when time is low. In this sense, the clock is not merely a passive timekeeper but an active participant in the game, shaping the way it is played and ultimately determining who wins or loses.

At ~1200 ELO on Lichess, for Bullet Chess ⚙️ 1+0 or 2+1 time control, there are noticeable distinctions in both player skill and player speed. When one player is faster than the other, but the other player is more skillful ... there is an interesting dynamic. 💡 while one could try to score both dimensions separately, the product is better for not doing so

tioga (part 1) Cities
2025-03-12 17:22:31

🤖 Tioga, North Dakota, is a small city in the northwest part of the state, located in Williams County. It has a population of roughly 1,200–1,500 people and is known primarily for its role in the Bakken oil boom. Tioga was established in the early 20th century as a railroad town but saw significant growth with the discovery of oil in the 1950s. The city is sometimes referred to as the "Oil Capital of North Dakota" because it was home to the state's first oil well.

----

This morning's tasks 💡 public-register tasks revolve around Atacama updates.

  • Added new channels: weather, gardening, restaurants
  • Added new tag synonyms: acronym, context, resource (all green tags)
  • Set up the React scaffolding. Chess-board rendering now uses React.
  • Set up "display name" for channels - LLM ⚙️ Large Language Model rather than Llm
  • Set up a drop-down on the "stream" page for channels.
more on NAEP results Education
2025-03-12 14:56:08

https://www.educationdaly.us/p/hard-lessons-from-the-new-naep-results

a comment on the interpretations of the NAEP results, that is too good not to share:

In the face of dismal national NAEP results, almost every state claimed victory and did a goofy, unconvincing touchdown dance.

Wyoming’s performance dropped on three of the four NAEP tests and was flat in the other. Its official statement, which makes no mention of this, says Wyoming “continues to stand out nationally.”

It was a popular move. The logic? Because other states did poorly, our state is doing awesome by comparison - even if our students are learning less than before. Shout outs to Illinois and Washington, among others, for going all in.

Florida, which had particularly bad reading results, goosed the ante by having its state chief, Manny Diaz, write a letter saying NAEP’s methodology is wrong and calling for the Department of Education to be abolished.

The only thing more disappointing than the NAEP results themselves has been the state response. Truly a low point for our sector. We are hiding from the truth about what we are providing for our students. Let’s do better, friends.

political parties Usconst
2025-03-12 02:48:10

in the 11th circuit: https://media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/files/202214031.pdf - Polelle v. Turner, etc.

The main claim of the case is that a "closed primary" unfairly violates his rights.

The court disagrees, although it is not entirely in agreement as-to how. Two of the judges reject it on the merits. The third finds the complaint to not have standing.

----

George Washington, famously, was opposed to the concept of political parties. But that did not stop the force of political gravity from creating them.

So, of course the US Constitution is silent on the topic. State Constitutions are generally also silent. 🔥 ChatGPT says that "21 states" refer to political parties, but its examples are all either negative examples (Nebraska having a legislature without political parties) or are trivial (Minnesota allowing elected officials to be delegates to political party conventions). 💡 after repeated badgering, it pointed to Delaware having a clause that Three of the five Justices of the Supreme Court shall be of one major political party, and two of the other major political party.

----

This is, on balance, probably a good thing. Laws designed to enshrine a system of two parties, equal in power, are generally bad. They make assumptions, they encourage complacency and decadence, and they encourage a type of insidious collusion.

AAC device Education
2025-03-07 18:23:01

An AAC ⚙️ Augmentative and Alternative Communication device shows pictures, symbols, or words and speaks out loud when someone selects an option.

💡 I am viewing the AAC device market as a customer-advocate, rather than as a participant.

🤖 An AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) device is a tool that helps individuals with speech or language impairments communicate. These devices range from simple picture boards to advanced speech-generating devices that use text or symbols to produce spoken words. An iPad can be used as an AAC device by running specialized communication apps like Proloquo2Go, TouchChat, or LAMP Words for Life. These apps provide customizable symbol-based or text-to-speech interfaces, allowing users to select words, phrases, or images that the app then vocalizes. The iPad’s touchscreen and accessibility features, such as switch control or eye-tracking compatibility, make it adaptable for users with different physical and cognitive abilities.

oh-oh-oh Ozempic! Misc
2025-03-05 22:27:18

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5178180-novo-nordisk-slashes-wegovy-prices/

Pharmaceutical manufacturer Novo Nordisk on Wednesday announced it will be offering a direct-to-patient program for uninsured and underinsured individuals to be able to pay cash for its weight loss product Wegovy at a significantly reduced cost.

The drugmaker has named its new program NovoCare® Pharmacy, which will sell all dose strengths of Wegovy at $499 per month. According to the company, about 90 percent most patients pay a monthly copay of zero to $25 and this new program is aimed at eligible people who are uninsured or are on insurance plans that don’t cover obesity medicines.

The list price for one month’s supply of Wegovy is $1,349.

The lack of first-party payers in the health-care system is a reason why the pricing model is broken beyond repair. 💡 the nature of desperate patients also distorts the medical pricing market

The list price of Wegovy (aka Ozempic) is "what they want insurance companies to pay a fraction of". It is, generally, as high as they can say with a straight face.

Because of patents, this does not have to have any relation to the cost of production. There are various gray-area compounded semaglutide that are effectively the same, but 10x cheaper.

🔥 in the future, all the patents will have expired.

youthful naivete Orinoco
2025-03-05 20:47:50

I asked Claude to teach a third-grader about mathematical algorithms. Its response was ... predictably bad.

I'd introduce the concept of an algorithm to a third grader by comparing it to following a recipe or the rules of a game. Here's how I'd approach it:

"Algorithms are like special instructions that help us solve problems step by step. Think about when you bake cookies with a grown-up. You follow a recipe that tells you exactly what to do: first mix the butter and sugar, then add eggs, then flour, and so on. If you follow each step carefully, you'll end up with delicious cookies every time!

Math algorithms work the same way. They're like recipes for solving math problems. When we learn long division or adding fractions, we're actually learning special step-by-step instructions that always work.

Let me show you with something simple. Imagine we're making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. ⚙️ additional detail elided

Would you like to try making up our own simple algorithm for something fun?"

This approach uses familiar concepts (recipes, games, sandwich-making) to make algorithms concrete and approachable for a young child, emphasizing the key features of algorithms: step-by-step instructions that produce consistent results.

I don't think it's worth a socratic dialogue here. This is too far from the form-factor I want (something other than a lecture), and it doesn't actually have the explanation. And, of course, the machine has no direct experience here. It is very unlikely that videos of elementary school students learning were in the training data.

the interface Orinoco
2025-03-05 19:11:50

💬 the map is not the territory.

💬 the app is not the interface.

the goal is an adaptive difficulty vocabulary quizzing app.

there are three modes:

  • lecturing. 💡 telling the app user what a word is
  • recalling. 💡 some form of interaction that requires them to know what a word is
  • meta-game. 💡 whatever "points system", mini-games, etc. are necessary to generate motivation

----

for "simple" words, the lecturing can use pictures. there is no other way of defining cat until you have built up a substantial vocabulary of grammar and syntax.

for more advanced words, just giving the definition (and example sentences) is the simplest approach.

----

for "recall", the classic pick which one of these 4 words has this definition is the simplest approach. type out your definition in your own words is somewhat harder; but with LLMs it is feasible.

the simple "spell a word" test is also valuable. the ability for people to cheat by using on-screen speech-to-text ... is not something worth investing too much time preventing. 🔥 you can't kill yourself preventing others from hurting themselves.

----

for "metagame": that requires a theme. i can do the mechanics, but ... a magician never reveals his secrets.

the concept of "algorithm", in education Education
2025-03-05 19:00:04

yesterday I was a substitute tutor for an hour, for a 5th grade student generally at a 3rd grade level. 💡 I hate phrases like "third grade level", but they are convenient. at least until I make new phrases.

we did "fractions". i started with adding fractions (with the blocks); once that went nowhere we switched to "writing fractions" and "comparing fractions", which was more level-appropriate. 💡 I'm not sure the form-factor of an iPad has the necessary tools for her to learn this. 💡 separately, there are "motivation" and "screen-time" issues.

----

as far as reading: she isn't a great reader; but my view is that she is very close to meeting minimal standards. ⚙️ minimal standards are lower than 50th percentile for grade level. expecting all students to reach minimal standards is an achievable goal. expecting all students to reach the moving target of 50th percentile ... is not.

it is one thing to be able to read ⚔️ and, perhaps more difficultly, write; her spelling is ... not great. but it is another thing (also important) to understand texts. 💡 she spelled "threw" as thought and then throwed. a sign of too much whole word learning. 💡 also some letter reversals. letetr and bannna.

but she does know how to use "speech-to-text" on the iPhone. so, perhaps her English is like my Chinese.

----

One project idea is the "proctor" system of iPhone education 💡 the phone is on a stand; it is watching the student use pencil-and-paper to do work. This does not have the same drawbacks as a purely app-based system.

the main drawback here is the predictably vicious opposition such a system will create. 🔥 because of privacy concerns, and/or job-loss, and/or "the lack of the human touch"

----

Another project idea is: a specific focus on teaching math as algorithm. it is something of a pons asinorum of mathematics; the student clearly doesn't have the concept yet. that, there are a few rules you need to memorize, to accomplish a complex task.

Examples:

  • add fractions: make the same denominator, add numerator, reduce fraction
  • long division (with multiplications available): find largest term, subtract, repeat

these are 3-5 steps. can you learn a 3-5 step process? can you follow it? and, can you understand why it is accomplishing the desired task?

----

A simpler idea is write software to have the machine generate print-ready worksheets. 💡 and, then, have it make a few thousand of them.

blizzard weather Weather
2025-03-05 00:22:14

it is blizzard weather.

----

⚙️ frame status uncertain.

a blizzard is not the heaviest snowstorm, nor a term that is defined by the existence of white-out conditions.

a blizzard is a warm storm, that suddenly turns into snow.

in other words: the complete lack of snow on the ground is expected for a late-winter blizzard.

----

do we have 50 words for snow?

Snowstorm – General term for a storm that produces significant snowfall, but without the extreme winds or low visibility of a blizzard.

Winter Storm – A broader category that includes snowstorms, ice storms, and mixed-precipitation storms.

Ground Blizzard – Occurs when strong winds lift loose snow from the ground, creating blizzard conditions without new snowfall.

Nor’easter – A coastal storm (common in the northeastern U.S.) with strong winds from the northeast, often bringing heavy snow, rain, or a mix.

Lake-Effect Snow – Heavy snowfall caused by cold air moving over a warmer lake, picking up moisture that falls as snow.

Ice Storm – A storm where freezing rain accumulates at least 0.25 inches (6.4 mm) of ice, making travel and power outages a major hazard.

Sleet – Ice pellets formed when raindrops freeze before hitting the ground, different from freezing rain which freezes on contact.

Polar Vortex – An outbreak of extremely cold Arctic air that can lead to dangerously low temperatures, often accompanied by wind chills.

Snow Squall – A short but intense burst of heavy snowfall and strong winds, leading to sudden whiteout conditions.

Whiteout – A visibility condition where snow and wind make it nearly impossible to see the horizon, often occurring in blizzards and squalls.

Show Newer Messages Show Older Messages