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It's fun to ask ChatGPT for relatively simple stuff and it just confidently gives you broken crap back. For example, "write me an html file that contains a sim

It's fun to ask ChatGPT for relatively simple stuff and it just confidently gives you broken crap back. For example, "write me an html file that contains a simple Preact app that calculates a tip" will get you back something that looks pretty correct, but it will just have tons of small basic misunderstandings like trying to use jsx syntax, or not actually importing things from the library even though it does include a script tag, etc. It IS good at something like "give me ten rows of fake data that match this interface" though. That is useful.

cal85 4y ago
If you use it right you can absolutely get complete working things like “an HTML file that contains a Preact app that calculates a tip”. You just need to give it more to go on, ideally building it up with a series of questions and answers in one thread. And then you can often ask for the complete thing and it will spit it out perfectly without silly errors like JSX syntax in HTML. I’ve found those kinds of silly errors tend to happen when you give it a very concise request that requires a complex response. Just break it down a bit like you’re dealing with some kind of idiot savant.
- chadlavi 4y ago
  that's interesting. I tried it the other way -- I basically acted like I was trying to teach it by calling out some mistakes and suggesting some links to examples. It kept ALMOST getting it but then forgetting something it corrected three or four tries previous.
  - cal85 4y ago
    Oh true, I’ve definitely encountered it doing that too. It’s strange (and funny) when it just keeps making the same mistake no matter how many chances you give it. It will often say that it now understands the mistake just before making the same mistake again. Or sometimes it fixes it but makes another mistake, forever alternating between the two mistakes. But I’ve also managed several times to get it to print a working program after breaking it down into multiple steps.

cal85 4y ago

If you use it right you can absolutely get complete working things like “an HTML file that contains a Preact app that calculates a tip”. You just need to give it more to go on, ideally building it up with a series of questions and answers in one thread. And then you can often ask for the complete thing and it will spit it out perfectly without silly errors like JSX syntax in HTML. I’ve found those kinds of silly errors tend to happen when you give it a very concise request that requires a complex response. Just break it down a bit like you’re dealing with some kind of idiot savant.

chadlavi 4y ago
that's interesting. I tried it the other way -- I basically acted like I was trying to teach it by calling out some mistakes and suggesting some links to examples. It kept ALMOST getting it but then forgetting something it corrected three or four tries previous.
- cal85 4y ago
  Oh true, I’ve definitely encountered it doing that too. It’s strange (and funny) when it just keeps making the same mistake no matter how many chances you give it. It will often say that it now understands the mistake just before making the same mistake again. Or sometimes it fixes it but makes another mistake, forever alternating between the two mistakes. But I’ve also managed several times to get it to print a working program after breaking it down into multiple steps.