Daniel Dvorkin @medigoth@qoto.org

Spot on. Right-wingers are like little kids desperately trying to get adult attention by saying dirty words they don't understand. If they get punished, they feel like they've accomplished something. If all they get is amusement, they'll cry and scream even less coherently.

The problem is, these third-graders are armed, which means we do have to take them somewhat more seriously. As little as possible is still a good idea, though.

@DreadShips Perfection.

@Marquestor I think it's just an abbreviation, specifically an initialism. The broadening of "acronym" annoys me.

For once, an #AI issue where I *can* speak with a certain amount of authority.

I've been hearing "expert systems outperform human #diagnostics, so pretty soon human #physicians will be obsolete" for a few years now. It's closely akin to "#airliners fly themselves these days, so what do we need #pilots for?" In both cases, people are paying attention to the best-case scenario with no understanding of the *enormous* number of how many and various the worse cases really are.

This is complicated by the fact that in most of #medicine (although not necessarily #emergency medicine, the author's specialty) and in nearly all of air travel, the best case is also the normal case. Most of the time, whatever is wrong with you can be diagnosed and treated. Almost all the time, when you get on a plane, you'll walk off at the other end of the trip as healthy as when you boarded. It's reasonable to expect those outcomes.

Not-best and not-normal cases add up really fast.

Without any false modesty whatsoever: as a #medic, I learned a truly impressive degree of clinical judgement. From the first moment I saw a patient, I had a pretty good idea of #diagnosis, #treatment, and #prognosis. (Sadly, if my initial call was "this one's not going to make it," I was almost always right. The exceptions kept me going.) I learned from the best—one of my mentors had learned *his* trade in rural Guatemala, where resources were terribly sparse and human judgement was the only line between life and death. He held back death for decades, and it came for him far too early. Gene Gibbs, RIP.

I can't code that. Neither can anyone else, and if they tell you they can, they're lying.

As a #researcher, I've done a fair amount of work in #clinical #decision #support (#CDS). The idea is simple, and valid: no human, or team of humans, can remember everything they need to know. There's simply too much knowledge for the brain to hold and recall on demand. Subtle relationships exist between disparate types of data that *nobody* knows, until we tease out the numbers. We're doing this, right now. It is saving lives and relieving suffering, right now.

The key word there is "support." Humans still absolutely, positively, 100% need to be in the loop.

Maybe that will change, someday. I'm not saying it's impossible, for two reasons. First, any time anyone says "computers will never be able to ___" they're usually proven wrong. Second, I don't want to limit my and my colleagues' imaginations. We need to stay focused, but it is a *good thing* for our reach to slightly exceed our grasp. That's how #science happens!

Just not this day, and not for many days to come. Right now, we need to keep muddling along. There's not much more human than that.

https://www.fastcompany.com/90863983/chatgpt-medical-diagnosis-emergency-room

@AndySocial [throws sign of horns]

I'm always happy to correct misconceptions.

https://www.quora.com/What-songs-do-atheists-sing-to-their-master-Satan/answer/Daniel-Dvorkin-3

Original: https://www.quora.com/Why-is-history-still-relevant-if-so-much-has-been-politically-edited/answer/Matt-Riggsby

Absolutely brilliant line from a #Quora post: "This whole '#history is written by the victors' thing is the 'we only use 10% of our brains' of the social sciences: it’s the one thing people outside of the field know about it, and it’s wrong."

By which I mean, very specifically: expend a militarily useful but potentially troublesome force in a bloody but strategically pointless battle which may cripple enemy morale. Three birds, one stone, if you pull it off. Like the #VietCong, #Wagner is becoming more trouble than it's worth.

I think Putin is drastically underestimating *all* his opponents at this point, but I could be wrong.

#Bakhmut is #Putin's #Tet Offensive.

Only works if you win the war, though.

I'm terribly afraid this may already be in production.

https://www.quora.com/How-would-a-film-about-the-Malvinas-Falklands-War-made-by-Hollywood-be-like/answer/Patrick-2410

Oh, this is adorable:

https://www.quora.com/How-can-you-tell-if-someone-is-lying-about-being-an-atheist-who-has-read-the-entire-Bible-cover-to-cover-multiple-times-and-not-just-parts/answer/Daniel-Dvorkin-3

"#Norwegians are #Cylons. It all makes sense now." #nocontextforyou

Another day, another "cancel culture is ruining America" argument.

"It used to be that people would listen to one another, and refute ideas point by point. The other person would listen, and make counter arguments or, possibly, see the point the person was making."

"Yes, I remember that golden age too: it was called high school debate class. Then I graduated and found out how the real world works."

@AndySocial agreed, for sure.

Fast times at 1600 Pennsylvania.

@AndySocial I honestly don't know. But it wouldn't surprise me.

That being said, a lot of Quora questions do seem to come from people who have honest intentions but are just stunningly, profoundly ignorant. It's also very international, with a lot of users who "learned" English in school and really don't have the skills to ask the questions they think they're asking. So I try to answer sincerely ... most of the time.

Some answers just write themselves.

https://www.quora.com/What-name-do-you-put-on-an-Army-s-uniform/answer/Daniel-Dvorkin-3