This is a very useful post, in my opinion! I enjoyed the process of reading it, and the product of that will be me referencing it frequently in conversations and having it inform my thinking.
One reason I really like it is it cites me. With that out of the way, I can say I also really like this pithy semi-alliterated heuristic. Probably because I already use it in my own work and mentoring of trainees. I mean the heuristic, not the catchy alliterated part. I’ll use that now too.
Just yesterday a student was lamenting to me that they spent hours understanding the intricacies of a single variable, recoding it, only to find it mattered for just a handful of cases out of thousands. They were frustrated at the wasted time to get the same outcome. I validated their frustration—we’ve all been there—and then proceeded to explain that the doing of this taught them a great deal that would serve them for years. In other words, the process was valuable even if it didn’t matter for the product.
It was a long-winded explanation. This distinction will help me improve the process of explaining this moving forward so I have a better mentoring product. Thanks!
This is a very useful post, in my opinion! I enjoyed the process of reading it, and the product of that will be me referencing it frequently in conversations and having it inform my thinking.
One reason I really like it is it cites me. With that out of the way, I can say I also really like this pithy semi-alliterated heuristic. Probably because I already use it in my own work and mentoring of trainees. I mean the heuristic, not the catchy alliterated part. I’ll use that now too.
Just yesterday a student was lamenting to me that they spent hours understanding the intricacies of a single variable, recoding it, only to find it mattered for just a handful of cases out of thousands. They were frustrated at the wasted time to get the same outcome. I validated their frustration—we’ve all been there—and then proceeded to explain that the doing of this taught them a great deal that would serve them for years. In other words, the process was valuable even if it didn’t matter for the product.
It was a long-winded explanation. This distinction will help me improve the process of explaining this moving forward so I have a better mentoring product. Thanks!
Wow, so you saw value in the process and the product? Seems impossible.
Great example of the value of the process regardless of the product. There are many such cases!
I am glad this post exists - was refreshing to read such a thoughtful take on llm-use in academic research