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CSB ≡ Comic Strip Blogger

(how about curing all diseases?)

The "Magic" Problem: There is a growing concern that AI may soon produce scientific breakthroughs (like fusion or new drugs) that are incomprehensible to human researchers, making the world feel like it's run by "magic"

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Replying to @CSB@poa.st

Caleb James DeLisle

@cjd@pkteerium.xyz remote

Most major diseases we know of *should* be cured by now, but research is wildly inefficient due to "scientists" who one day have an idea and then make it their life's work to discredit anyone who disagrees with it - rather than working the evidence and trying to find better and better models.

Replying to @cjd@pkteerium.xyz

CSB ≡ Comic Strip Blogger

@CSB@poa.st remote

@cjd

plus Pharma Industry

Replying to @cjd@pkteerium.xyz

touch fluffy tail (Heroic)

@fluffy@fsebugoutzone.org remote

@cjd @CSB
what

Replying to @CSB@poa.st

Caleb James DeLisle

@cjd@pkteerium.xyz remote

Big pharma is no help, but they're not the worst offender here.

Big Slop is worse because if you find evidence that X is causing cancer, the maker of X is going to call you and say "hey hey hey, lets not be too hasty, maybe it's experimental error, maybe you need to look again, you have a nice career and you wouldn't want to throw it all away on what might be a bad result, now would you?"

But I maintain that the worst culprit is dumb scientists.

Replying to @fluffy@fsebugoutzone.org

Caleb James DeLisle

@cjd@pkteerium.xyz remote

When's the last time a major scientific consensus was just ... overturned, because someone discovered an experiment that showed it's wrong?

When's the last time they had to go back and re-write text books?

The inventor of freaking handwashing was thrown in a mental institution because MeDiCaL sCiEnTiStS thought rubbing your hands in water is stupid superstition and he needs to STUF. Nothing has really changed since then.

The ONE exception is computer science, and that's because everything is trivially reproduced by ... sending people your code ... so there's just no way that deniers can gain any traction when *everyone* can see what you see.

Replying to @cjd@pkteerium.xyz

Dark Lord Merc

@Merc@freerobuxextremist.com remote

@cjd @CSB so what I'm hearing is we need to model the universe in Lean and use that model to substantiate contentious hypotheses

Replying to @Merc@freerobuxextremist.com

Caleb James DeLisle

@cjd@pkteerium.xyz remote

Lean -> nice, TIL

> we need to model the universe

You notice every time some domain gets formalized in machine processable code, that domain suddenly has a Great Leap Forward? Think about what CAD/CAM has done for manufacturing, and how 3d printing is threatening to upset even that...

Replying to @cjd@pkteerium.xyz

pepsi_man

@pepsi_man@poa.st remote

@cjd @CSB
>dumb scientists
That's why good chemists are grammar Nazis and statistics Nazis.

Replying to @pepsi_man@poa.st

Caleb James DeLisle

@cjd@pkteerium.xyz remote

And good rocket scientists are German

(well, were, but I had to finish the joke)

Replying to @cjd@pkteerium.xyz

touch fluffy tail (Heroic)

@fluffy@fsebugoutzone.org remote

@cjd @CSB
it happens all the time tho

Replying to @fluffy@fsebugoutzone.org

Caleb James DeLisle

@cjd@pkteerium.xyz remote

> happens all the time
> doesn't provide a single example

:slow_nod:

Replying to @cjd@pkteerium.xyz

touch fluffy tail (Heroic)

@fluffy@fsebugoutzone.org remote

@cjd @CSB
funny story i actually spent five minutes writing out a long post, including examples, but then deleted it because i checked the clock and it's friday night

Replying to @fluffy@fsebugoutzone.org

Caleb James DeLisle

@cjd@pkteerium.xyz remote

Don't worry, it was wrong anyway.
Have a beer, happy Friday 🍻