4 ms·

This is controversial and perhaps rude but I've started to copy-paste these articles into ChatGPT to summarize into a single paragraph to help me decide if it i

by hu3 2y ago

This is controversial and perhaps rude but I've started to copy-paste these articles into ChatGPT to summarize into a single paragraph to help me decide if it is worth reading or not, for me. Again, I mean no offense but humans only have 2,207,520,000 seconds on average. You can be goddamn right I'll take all the help I can allocating this precious resource called time. Example output from this article: > The author reflects on their early experiences in Silicon Valley, feeling at home among peers in the tech world but later realizing that many influential figures, including gatekeepers and executives, lacked a deep understanding of software. This disconnect was disheartening, as key decision-makers often misunderstood the potential and intricacies of the technology they were overseeing. Despite this, the author celebrates the web for its ability to connect people globally with shared interests and expertise, yearning for a return to a time when the internet was a space for meaningful connections and innovation. They also express enthusiasm for their current blogging on platforms like WordPress and Mastodon, envisioning future improvements and business potential. (it's worth reading for me so I'll read)

ajkjk 2y ago
Not so much rude as.. silly. What's your goal here? Optimal resource consumption? Can't relate. It's not like absorbing more information faster makes me smarter or more capable. Or happier. If anything it's the opposite.
- hu3 2y ago
  No. It's about determining if the structure and conclusion of the article is pertinent to my interests. Just like Abstract section in scientific articles. I wouldn't call those silly.
LVB 2y ago
Learn skimming? I say this as a old person who actually had "skimming" and "scanning" (different things!) as part of my elementary reading curriculum. We even had to practice skimming the whole (printed) NYT in 5 minutes. This piece is seven short paragraphs. I can get the gist and tone in a few seconds. Quicker, in fact, than reading the chatgpt snoozefest. I'll happily dump an 80 page patent or court ruling into chatgpt for a summary. But if an actual human wrote a few hundred word personal blog post, I'd rather read it.
- hu3 2y ago
  Fair enough that's what I did previously. But I'd rather delegate mundane cognitive effort and prioritize spending it on more important uses. Come to think of it, I'll write a bookmark or Tampermonkey script to summarize pages according to my prompt. edit: Here we go! A bookmark to open a new tab asking ChatGPT to summarize current tab URL: javascript:window.open('https://chatgpt.com/?q=summarize this page in 2 paragraphs%3A %27+encodeURIComponent(window.location.href),%27_blank%27);
  - rangedbarbarian 2y ago
    If you think that human mind works like this, then you'll find out that those precious ideas and things you want to think about come once in a blue moon if ever. ChatGPT is going to make you even dumber than you already sound like.
- croisillon 2y ago
  wow i never knew that was a skill, and that it could be taught in school! TIL
Sn0wCoder 2y ago
Hate to admit this but reading the comments will give a person way more knowledge than any given submission and if the comments are good the article is required reading before adding your own comment. Not sure ChatGPT is worth the effort here. By the time you cut and paste then read the gibberish one could have already read the top few comments (you can use the minus to minimize them and read the next thread). Like the time spent leaving this comment would be better used any where else, but yet here it is (all 300 seconds or if you like 300,000 ms)
- 0xEF 2y ago
  The original reply was looking for a summary of the article which ChatGPT can supply, not more info, which is typically more where one might go to the comments and join the discussion. Two different streets on my map. Just be aware that comments on HN are subject to all sorts of opinions skewed by bias and sycophantism, the same way Reddit or Mastodon silos tend to be. I think a lot of users think HN has some sort of immunity to that, so the tribalism tends to be strong and stubborn.
  - Sn0wCoder 2y ago
    Agree 100% with everything you said and the comment I left was very low quality. It would be interesting to see a ChatGPT summary for each submission to HN and the comments to give you an overview of the content that was auto generated. The main point was the time it takes to cut, and paste is not zero. Personally, spending that time reading the top comments seems more useful (to me) than reading a ChatGPT summary of the article, but like you say two different streets.

by hu3 2y ago

ajkjk 2y ago

Not so much rude as.. silly. What's your goal here? Optimal resource consumption? Can't relate. It's not like absorbing more information faster makes me smarter or more capable. Or happier. If anything it's the opposite.

hu3 2y ago
No. It's about determining if the structure and conclusion of the article is pertinent to my interests. Just like Abstract section in scientific articles. I wouldn't call those silly.

LVB 2y ago

Learn skimming? I say this as a old person who actually had "skimming" and "scanning" (different things!) as part of my elementary reading curriculum. We even had to practice skimming the whole (printed) NYT in 5 minutes. This piece is seven short paragraphs. I can get the gist and tone in a few seconds. Quicker, in fact, than reading the chatgpt snoozefest. I'll happily dump an 80 page patent or court ruling into chatgpt for a summary. But if an actual human wrote a few hundred word personal blog post, I'd rather read it.

hu3 2y ago
Fair enough that's what I did previously. But I'd rather delegate mundane cognitive effort and prioritize spending it on more important uses. Come to think of it, I'll write a bookmark or Tampermonkey script to summarize pages according to my prompt. edit: Here we go! A bookmark to open a new tab asking ChatGPT to summarize current tab URL: javascript:window.open('https://chatgpt.com/?q=summarize this page in 2 paragraphs%3A %27+encodeURIComponent(window.location.href),%27_blank%27);
- rangedbarbarian 2y ago
  If you think that human mind works like this, then you'll find out that those precious ideas and things you want to think about come once in a blue moon if ever. ChatGPT is going to make you even dumber than you already sound like.
croisillon 2y ago
wow i never knew that was a skill, and that it could be taught in school! TIL

Sn0wCoder 2y ago

Hate to admit this but reading the comments will give a person way more knowledge than any given submission and if the comments are good the article is required reading before adding your own comment. Not sure ChatGPT is worth the effort here. By the time you cut and paste then read the gibberish one could have already read the top few comments (you can use the minus to minimize them and read the next thread). Like the time spent leaving this comment would be better used any where else, but yet here it is (all 300 seconds or if you like 300,000 ms)

0xEF 2y ago
The original reply was looking for a summary of the article which ChatGPT can supply, not more info, which is typically more where one might go to the comments and join the discussion. Two different streets on my map. Just be aware that comments on HN are subject to all sorts of opinions skewed by bias and sycophantism, the same way Reddit or Mastodon silos tend to be. I think a lot of users think HN has some sort of immunity to that, so the tribalism tends to be strong and stubborn.
- Sn0wCoder 2y ago
  Agree 100% with everything you said and the comment I left was very low quality. It would be interesting to see a ChatGPT summary for each submission to HN and the comments to give you an overview of the content that was auto generated. The main point was the time it takes to cut, and paste is not zero. Personally, spending that time reading the top comments seems more useful (to me) than reading a ChatGPT summary of the article, but like you say two different streets.