4 ms·

I love these stories to be shared here on HN. There was one also submitted some time ago about a cyclist who wouldn't make it into the olympics (or something li

I love these stories to be shared here on HN. There was one also submitted some time ago about a cyclist who wouldn't make it into the olympics (or something like that) and started to rob banks and used his cyclist skills to escape. If I recalled correctly this was in the 80' or 90' and he used to give away the stolen money. Shame I don't have link.

thirdsun 2y ago
I remember this story being released by Epic Magazine and Chicago Magazine. The Bicycle Thief: https://www.chicagomag.com/chicago-magazine/february-2019/bicycle-bank-robber-tom-justice/ https://www.chicagomag.com/chicago-magazine/february-2019/bi... On a sidenote: Epic Magazine is a treasure trove of these strange, little, Coen-brothers-movie-like stories: https://epicmagazine.com/ https://epicmagazine.com/
orzig 2y ago
One of the best uses of Perplexity.ai! Pasted your text https://www.bicycling.com/news/a26081001/cyclist-turned-bank-robber-tom-justice/ https://www.bicycling.com/news/a26081001/cyclist-turned-bank...
- pimlottc 2y ago
  You can just Google for “cyclist who robbed banks”, AI isn’t really necessary for this.
  - redeux 2y ago
    You can just use Gopher, you don’t need Google for this. I’m being flippant, obviously but my point is that every now and then a new technology comes along that supplants and older one because it offers a meaningful improvement over the last. AI search vs traditional web search is definitely one of those.
    - bongo1000 2y ago
      Which is not the case here -- just simply "googling" would provide the right answer.
    - pessimizer 2y ago
      It's just as easy or easier to google "cyclist who robbed banks."
      - redeux 2y ago
        You’re not thinking through the whole experience. The search itself is just as easy, sure. You can type the same query into both systems. The difference is in the results. Traditional web search will then return a set of links which may or may not answer you query, it’s up you you to parse them and figure out if they have the content you need or if you need to rephrase your query and try again. AI on the other hand will parse the results for you and return the answer to your prompt directly. That’s a meaningful improvement.
        th0ma5 2y ago
        If it is not 100% based in reality then no, it isn't.
        akira2501 2y ago
        > AI on the other hand will parse the results for you and return the answer to your prompt directly. Yep! And that's going to save you _one whole step_ when you're posting meaningless follow ups in forums filled with technical users who would have had no problem getting the information themselves. > That’s a meaningful improvement. It's a marginal improvement to the least meaningful activity that occurs on a daily basis. So, it's totally worth the trillions that have been invested in it. :|
    - thfuran 2y ago
      Even if that's true, the example definitely isn't proof of that given that the old technology seems to handle the problem just fine.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - refulgentis 2y ago
    which is exactly what Perplexity did. I am saying this out loud because it'll be a few years before people wrap their mind around the circus over there. not because its awesome. 1) pay google scraper api (~1000 searches/$1) 2) run the crappiest llm people won't notice is crap 3) vc dollars 4) buy users by any means necessary 5) rope some earnest people into $40/month rinse, lather, repeat
- mrbluecoat 2y ago
  Hilarious career path: social work > Catholic priesthood > underwater welding > robbing banks
- aaronharnly 2y ago
  That story seems to be a brief summary, which points to a fuller article here: https://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/February-2019/Bicycle-Bank-Robber-Tom-Justice/ https://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/February-2019/Bi...
- liendolucas 2y ago
  Found it: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29037860 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29037860 (excellent article).
- npteljes 2y ago
  People might not like the AI plug, but personally this is the one use-case I find AI the most helpful to me. The ability to query general knowledge, with natural language, often not knowing what the hell I'm talking about. And the results don't have advertisements, which I also really appreciate.

thirdsun 2y ago

I remember this story being released by Epic Magazine and Chicago Magazine. The Bicycle Thief: https://www.chicagomag.com/chicago-magazine/february-2019/bicycle-bank-robber-tom-justice/ https://www.chicagomag.com/chicago-magazine/february-2019/bi... On a sidenote: Epic Magazine is a treasure trove of these strange, little, Coen-brothers-movie-like stories: https://epicmagazine.com/ https://epicmagazine.com/

orzig 2y ago

One of the best uses of Perplexity.ai! Pasted your text https://www.bicycling.com/news/a26081001/cyclist-turned-bank-robber-tom-justice/ https://www.bicycling.com/news/a26081001/cyclist-turned-bank...

pimlottc 2y ago
You can just Google for “cyclist who robbed banks”, AI isn’t really necessary for this.
- redeux 2y ago
  You can just use Gopher, you don’t need Google for this. I’m being flippant, obviously but my point is that every now and then a new technology comes along that supplants and older one because it offers a meaningful improvement over the last. AI search vs traditional web search is definitely one of those.
  - bongo1000 2y ago
    Which is not the case here -- just simply "googling" would provide the right answer.
  - pessimizer 2y ago
    It's just as easy or easier to google "cyclist who robbed banks."
    - redeux 2y ago
      You’re not thinking through the whole experience. The search itself is just as easy, sure. You can type the same query into both systems. The difference is in the results. Traditional web search will then return a set of links which may or may not answer you query, it’s up you you to parse them and figure out if they have the content you need or if you need to rephrase your query and try again. AI on the other hand will parse the results for you and return the answer to your prompt directly. That’s a meaningful improvement.
      - th0ma5 2y ago
        If it is not 100% based in reality then no, it isn't.
      - akira2501 2y ago
        > AI on the other hand will parse the results for you and return the answer to your prompt directly. Yep! And that's going to save you _one whole step_ when you're posting meaningless follow ups in forums filled with technical users who would have had no problem getting the information themselves. > That’s a meaningful improvement. It's a marginal improvement to the least meaningful activity that occurs on a daily basis. So, it's totally worth the trillions that have been invested in it. :|
  - thfuran 2y ago
    Even if that's true, the example definitely isn't proof of that given that the old technology seems to handle the problem just fine.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- refulgentis 2y ago
  which is exactly what Perplexity did. I am saying this out loud because it'll be a few years before people wrap their mind around the circus over there. not because its awesome. 1) pay google scraper api (~1000 searches/$1) 2) run the crappiest llm people won't notice is crap 3) vc dollars 4) buy users by any means necessary 5) rope some earnest people into $40/month rinse, lather, repeat
mrbluecoat 2y ago
Hilarious career path: social work > Catholic priesthood > underwater welding > robbing banks
aaronharnly 2y ago
That story seems to be a brief summary, which points to a fuller article here: https://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/February-2019/Bicycle-Bank-Robber-Tom-Justice/ https://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/February-2019/Bi...
liendolucas 2y ago
Found it: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29037860 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29037860 (excellent article).
npteljes 2y ago
People might not like the AI plug, but personally this is the one use-case I find AI the most helpful to me. The ability to query general knowledge, with natural language, often not knowing what the hell I'm talking about. And the results don't have advertisements, which I also really appreciate.