4 ms·

>What's the incipit of 1984? 1984 is a dystopian novel written by George Orwell, published in 1949. The incipit of the novel is: "It was a bright cold day in A

>What's the incipit of 1984? 1984 is a dystopian novel written by George Orwell, published in 1949. The incipit of the novel is: "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen." >what does "striking thirteen" mean? "Striking thirteen" is a metaphor used by Orwell to convey the idea that the world in which the story takes place is not our own, but rather a dystopian society where the totalitarian government has complete control over every aspect of people's lives. In this world, the clocks striking thirteen symbolize the distortion of reality and the manipulation of time to suit the government's purposes. --- And I thought it's just 1 pm.

ghayes 3y ago
The same (follow up) response from ChatGPT-4: > "Striking thirteen" refers to the 24-hour clock system, also known as military time, where 1 PM is 13:00, 2 PM is 14:00, and so on until 12 midnight is 0:00. > In the context of George Orwell's "1984," the phrase "the clocks were striking thirteen" is significant for a few reasons. First, it introduces a sense of unease or strangeness for readers accustomed to the 12-hour clock system, where clocks do not strike thirteen. This foreshadows the unusual and unsettling nature of the world to be described in the book. Second, it symbolizes the extensive control of the totalitarian regime in the book, which extends even to the way time is told. Finally, it sets the stage for the novel's exploration of how power can be used to control not only people's actions, but their perceptions of reality. The Llama response isn't terrible, but the GPT-4 response is better (albeit verbose).
- mdp2021 3y ago
  "The revolutionary militant went to the bathroom to stress the difficulties of the oppressed masses".
- cosmojg 3y ago
  I actually prefer Llama 2's response for its conciseness and the fact that analog clocks, even in places which use 24-hour timekeeping, typically count no higher than 12. The existence and nature of "the 24-hour clock system" is irrelevant to explaining the meaning of "striking thirteen" in this particular context. Put another way, at least in this one-off example, Llama 2 demonstrates more context awareness than GPT-4.
mdp2021 3y ago
Pallas Athena, your name checks :) Marginally amazing to read: > the distortion of reality (in a «dystopian society» - correct). This is a remarkable example on many levels, including the crucial one of "critical thinking" - "Have you thought about it well? Have you proceeded skeptically towards your immature emerged idea? Have you validated it?".

ghayes 3y ago

The same (follow up) response from ChatGPT-4: > "Striking thirteen" refers to the 24-hour clock system, also known as military time, where 1 PM is 13:00, 2 PM is 14:00, and so on until 12 midnight is 0:00. > In the context of George Orwell's "1984," the phrase "the clocks were striking thirteen" is significant for a few reasons. First, it introduces a sense of unease or strangeness for readers accustomed to the 12-hour clock system, where clocks do not strike thirteen. This foreshadows the unusual and unsettling nature of the world to be described in the book. Second, it symbolizes the extensive control of the totalitarian regime in the book, which extends even to the way time is told. Finally, it sets the stage for the novel's exploration of how power can be used to control not only people's actions, but their perceptions of reality. The Llama response isn't terrible, but the GPT-4 response is better (albeit verbose).

mdp2021 3y ago
"The revolutionary militant went to the bathroom to stress the difficulties of the oppressed masses".
cosmojg 3y ago
I actually prefer Llama 2's response for its conciseness and the fact that analog clocks, even in places which use 24-hour timekeeping, typically count no higher than 12. The existence and nature of "the 24-hour clock system" is irrelevant to explaining the meaning of "striking thirteen" in this particular context. Put another way, at least in this one-off example, Llama 2 demonstrates more context awareness than GPT-4.

mdp2021 3y ago

Pallas Athena, your name checks :) Marginally amazing to read: > the distortion of reality (in a «dystopian society» - correct). This is a remarkable example on many levels, including the crucial one of "critical thinking" - "Have you thought about it well? Have you proceeded skeptically towards your immature emerged idea? Have you validated it?".