adamgordonbell (u/adamgordonbell)

adamgordonbell commented on You Can Build Better AI Agents in Java Than Python medium.com/@springrod/you... · Posted by u/raju

adamgordonbell · 11 days ago

What makes prompts like 'you are a book researcher' an agent?

Isn't this just some loops and joining with some changes in prompts?

Can't you write this in a for loop calling the open AI API directly?

adamgordonbell commented on Ted Chiang: The Secret Third Thing linch.substack.com/p/ted-... · Posted by u/pseudolus

LinchZhang · 13 days ago

OMG I'm so glad this review might have an impact! Please do check out Story of Your Life and then read the other stories!

Without giving too many spoilers away, the short story's plot is simultaneously extremely similar to and extremely different from the movie. YMMV on which one you prefer, fans are divided.

In my experience people who read the short story first prefer the story, and people who watch the movie first prefer the movie. But you might be different! Just read it first and report back what you feel!

adamgordonbell · 12 days ago

> simultaneously extremely similar to and extremely different

yeah, I don't understand the change tbh.

It's said Eric Heisserer spent years and years on the screenplay so I'm assuming he couldn't sell the original version. But it's a bit like making fight club and removing the big reveal. It ends up feeling the same, but not having the same impact and meaning almost the opposite.

adamgordonbell commented on Review of Anti-Aging Drugs scienceblog.com/joshmitte... · Posted by u/XzetaU8

cj · 14 days ago

From the conclusion paragraph:

> Your primary life extension program is diet and exercise. Choose a diet that works for you. Stay slim.

Considering heart disease is the #1 killer, doing whatever you can to not die from heart disease is the best place for most people to start.

Even in 2025, diet and exercise are still king.

adamgordonbell · 14 days ago

Also this:

> The best reason to take multiple life extension supplements is to hedge our bets, because we really don’t know which of them are effective in humans.

And earlier:

> Personally, I take large doses of rapamycin 2 days a week, 8 weeks per year. For personalized recommendations, you can consult your favorite life extension doc.

adamgordonbell commented on With waters at 32C, Mediterranean tropicalization shifts into high gear phys.org/news/2025-08-32c... · Posted by u/pseudolus

A_D_E_P_T · 16 days ago

That form of migration is happening all over the world right now.

Virginia opossums, traditionally associated with the deep south, are now routinely spotted around Toronto, and are moving even further north. Armadillos, though still shy of the Canadian border, have crossed the Ohio River. American alligators, long stopped around Cape Hatteras, are now spotted in the tidal creeks of Virginia’s Eastern Shore. [1] Lobsters are moving north to the Canadian Maritimes from New England, and the blue crabs of Chesapeake Bay are filling the niches they're leaving behind.

It's much the same way in Europe. The European praying mantis used to be a hot-climate central Italian and Balkan insect. Now it's routinely spotted in Germany, has been found as far north as Latvia, and I found one in the usually-chilly Slovenian mountains just the other day!

Wherever you are on the map, look at the climate and ecosystem a few hundred miles south. That's likely where things are heading for you; it's a safe bet that the species that thrive there are the ones that are going to be best adapted to where you live in the second half of the 21st century.

[1] - https://defenders.org/blog/2023/12/why-we-almost-said-see-yo...

adamgordonbell · 16 days ago

Not doubting all this, but the possum thing is interesting.

They were in southern ontario in my youth in essex county ( late 80s ). And google says they were reports as far back as the 60s of scattered sightings.

adamgordonbell commented on What medieval people got right about learning (2019) scotthyoung.com/blog/2019... · Posted by u/ripe

wrp · 18 days ago

TFA misses a key difference between apprenticeship and classroom learning. Apprentice training tends to be one-on-one. When classroom instruction is done one-on-one, learning dramatically improves. This is called the "two sigma problem" in the educational literature. Ignoring this aspect gives the other factors discussed in TFA exaggerated significance.

adamgordonbell · 17 days ago

You seem to be suggesting he's writing from a place of not knowing about the benefits of one-on-one learning and the "two sigma problem" when this is something he frequently writes about.

adamgordonbell commented on 500 days of math gmays.com/500-days-of-mat... · Posted by u/gmays

mna_ · 17 days ago

You can do all of that without paying a monthly fee. You just need a library card (or know of a person called Anna and her archive ;) ) and a list of books. These are the ones I used:

Precalculus by Axler

Calculus (Ninth Edition) by Thomas

Linear Algebra by Lay

How To Prove It by Velleman

Understanding Analysis by Abbott <--- I'm currently here

Much, much, much cheaper than paying $50/month. What I've spent most on so far has been printer paper and fountain pen ink because I do exercises by hand instead of using a tablet/iPad but in total this expense has been waaaaay under $50.

adamgordonbell · 17 days ago

My understanding is Math Academy is like combining anki with direct instruction.

It's a business premised on teaching people things faster by understanding research around learning.

If the math it teaches is the math you need or want to learn, its likely an efficient way to learn it.

So, you are paying for efficiency. Like using Pimsleur rather than spending a year in France.

adamgordonbell commented on How Kentucky bourbon went from boom to bust bbc.com/news/articles/ckg... · Posted by u/bookofjoe

snapplebobapple · 19 days ago

I think it is worth it if it stops the bad policy of supply management that harms everyone except a small group of farmers. Quebec and to a lesser extent Ontario being full of wankers is why we have supply management when it is obviously stupid, not who will be hurt by tariffs (although they will hurt from the tariffs and they have earned it, unlike the rest of us who are hurt by the same tariffs)

adamgordonbell · 18 days ago

I can agree about the odd supply management rules.

adamgordonbell commented on How Kentucky bourbon went from boom to bust bbc.com/news/articles/ckg... · Posted by u/bookofjoe

snapplebobapple · 20 days ago

Meh, I'm up in Canada and I'm actually a fan of the tariffs. If Trump can dislodge the utter stupidity of supply management from my country, it would be of great benefit to us. Our politicians never will because of political factors (Quebec and to some extent Ontario are full of wankers basically).

adamgordonbell · 19 days ago

You think the tariffs will hurt people you don't like in your country ( those from Ontario and Quebec) more than yourself so you are in favor of them?

Patriotic of you.

adamgordonbell commented on Lithium compound can reverse Alzheimer’s in mice: study hms.harvard.edu/news/coul... · Posted by u/highfrequency

modeless · 24 days ago

Lithium orotate is available over the counter. People could try it today.

> Since lithium has not yet been shown to be safe or effective in protecting against neurodegeneration in humans, Yankner emphasizes that people should not take lithium compounds on their own

I reject this kind of blind safetyism. A cursory search suggests that lithium orotate has been used for decades, and the article suggests that "profound effects" were seen at an "exquisitely low dose" which should be safe. They're going to need a much better explanation of why people shouldn't try it.

adamgordonbell · 24 days ago

People use it in much smaller dosages then it's usually prescribed to apparently beneficial effect.

I believe its also in the water supply in certain places, so if it works for dementia there are natural experiments already running on this.

https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/low-dose-lithium-a-new...

adamgordonbell commented on The Whispering Earring croissanthology.com/earri... · Posted by u/ZeljkoS

adamgordonbell · 24 days ago

Wow, small world, I just made a podcast episode about the dangers of turning your brain off when using Agentic coding solution and referenced the whispering earring as my metaphor.

I feel like if you use the agentic tools to become more ambitious the you'll probably be fine. But if you just work at a feature factory where you crank out things as fast as you can AI coding is going to eat your brain.

Link: https://corecursive.com/red-queen-coding/#the-whispering-ear...