I have learned so much about SQL databases and playwright tests and python and all sorts of things that were completely opaque to me (but are quite useful for my day job) before I started using AI tools.
And a lot of these skills I've picked up would be usable even if I didn't have AI for handholding anymore. It definitely feels like I have the dedicated attention of a junior developer helping me learn moreso than someone taking over my work and leaving me out in the metaphorical cold in terms of intellectual growth.
Yeah, I read it all the way through and enjoyed most of it. The rice part got a little preachy and the speculation about dog domestication was kind of annoying, but I learned a ton. It was originally recommended by a friend.
At risk of being accused of self promotion, if you're curious for my in-depth take, I reviewed back in 2021 on my newsletter: https://eleanorkonik.com/book-review-tamed
Back when I was reading Tamed by Alice Roberts, about the history of domestication, I remember being startled that modern ground nuts and rice were the product of irradiation.
Unironically one of my favorite uses of chatgpt is to tell it to rewrite things as a Homeric epic in the style of Tennyson so it's more pleasant to read aloud and I have a better chance of remembering it
Honestly, in these days of the google play store taking its cut from Amazon, using Libby is actually easier than using the kindle app to buy books. Every time I hit that "you can't buy books from inapp" button I remember that I can use Libby instead and go there instead of the browser to buy my book, tbh.
I went to a public honors college / small state school, and arranged my schedule such that I only had 3 days of classes, so I could go home and take care of my sick mom and work a part time weekend job. Even then the schedule was not what I would consider punishing; significantly LESS academic work than I'd needed to do in high school taking APs, even with the reading load.
That school definitely is not in danger of losing its accreditation any time soon. It also didn't have any frats/sororities, and there weren't any bars within a 15 minute drive.
I'm still immensely grateful to all the HN folks who helped me recover from my hug of death a year or so ago by teaching me the Cloudflare tricks. I'm with Ghost Pro now instead of Wordpress, but man, IDK what I would have done without the Cloudflare advice in the meantime!
We definitely need to make this more obvious, but you can import an OPML. I usually just drag it from my downloads folder into the app, but it also works if you use the 'upload file' command.
The language is a little different than folders/tags (and believe me, I stan folders the one and only time I ever hit the front page of HN it was for an article written in defense of using folders for notetaking) but you can get basically the same effect with filtered views. Here's a deep dive our community manager Erin made if you're interested: readwise.io/reader202
> Are you familiar with The Shmoo, Mr. Fisher? Comic strip I liked as a boy. The Shmoo was a loveable creature, really. Laid eggs, gave milk... ...and died of sheer ecstasy when looked at with hunger. The Shmoo loved to be eaten. It could taste like any food you desire. Shmoo hide cut thin made fine leather. Even Shmoo whiskers made excellent toothpicks.
> In essence, The Shmoo supplied all of the world's wants. I only bring up the case of The Shmoo because of its relevance to you and the reason you were brought here.
(via Lucky Number Slevin, which is a vastly underrated movie IMO)
This is the piece I've been struggling to get at. I understand why filesystems exist and how they help with interacting with the physical structures that underlie computers, but I don't understand what benefit a database alternative to directories can offer (and if you tell me a directory is just a specialized database please be prepared to explain using very clear language).
Maybe there is one, but even when I talk to experienced devs with engineering (not just software) backgrounds, I haven't gotten a good explanation. Perhaps because there isn't one?
App sandboxing on iOS is supposed to be a security feature, I think? But it makes it impossible for apps like Obsidian to work with apps like Dropbox, which benefits Apple; they force people to use iCloud.
I got through all of school, including two professional degrees, organizing all of my notes chronologically. It worked really well for me — right up until I tried to write a novel, hah.
I think the "best process" is driven by goals — my husband gets by just using notepad and plaintext files, because he and I have very different goals with our notes. He's a software developer, and I'm a nerdy scifi author.
As long as his code is documented clearly, he mostly doesn't need a system more complicated than some .txt files and browser history search. Me? I've got way too much going on, and I need to be able to follow reference chains so I can figure out what the heck I was thinking six months ago when I wrote the thing I'm trying to publish.
And a lot of these skills I've picked up would be usable even if I didn't have AI for handholding anymore. It definitely feels like I have the dedicated attention of a junior developer helping me learn moreso than someone taking over my work and leaving me out in the metaphorical cold in terms of intellectual growth.