7 ms·

In this case, they tried something and were told they were doing it wrong, and they know there's more than one way to do it wrong - wrong model, wrong tool usin

In this case, they tried something and were told they were doing it wrong, and they know there's more than one way to do it wrong - wrong model, wrong tool using the model, wrong prompting, wrong task that you're trying to use it for. And of course you could be doing it right but the people saying it works great could themselves be wrong about how good it is. On top of that it costs both money and time/effort investment to figure out if you're doing it wrong. It's understandable to want some clarity. I think it's pretty different from buying shoes.

AlecSchueler 1y ago
Is it though? People complain about sore feet and hear they wear the wrong kind of shoes so they go to the store where they have to spend money to find out while trying to navigate between dress shoes, minimal shoes, running shoes, hiking shoes etc etc., they have to know their size, ask for assistance in trying them on...
evilduck 1y ago
> I think it's pretty different from buying shoes. Shoe shopping is pretty complex, more so than trialing an AI model in my opinion. Are you a construction worker, a banker, a cashier or a driver? Are you walking 5 miles everyday or mostly sedentary? Do you require steel toed shoes? How long are you expecting them to last and what are you willing to pay? Are you going to wear them on long runs or take them river kayaking? Do they need to be water resistant, waterproof or highly breathable? Do you want glued, welted, or stitch down construction? What about flat feet or arch support? Does shoe weight matter? What clothing are you going to wear them with? Are you going to be dancing with them? Do the shoes need a break in period or are they ready to wear? Does the available style match your preferences? What about availability, are you ok having them made to order or do you require something in stock now? By comparison I can try 10 different AI services without even needing to stand up for a break while I can't buy good dress shoes in the same physical store as a pair of football cleats.
- kelnos 1y ago
  > Shoe shopping is pretty complex, more so than trialing an AI model in my opinion. Oh c'mon, now you're just being disingenuous, trying to make an argument for argument's sake. No, shoe shopping is not more complicated than trialing a LLM. For all of those questions about shoes you are posing, either a) a purchaser won't care and won't need to ask them, or b) they already know they have specific requirements and will know what to ask. With an LLM, a newbie doesn't even know what they're getting into, let alone what to ask or where to start. > By comparison I can try 10 different AI services without even needing to stand up for a break I can't. I have no idea how to do that. It sounds like you've been following the space for a while, and you're letting your knowledge blind you to the idea that many (most?) people don't have your experience.
  - UncleEntity 1y ago
    Just play with the 'free tier' on whatever website does the AI thing and figure it out. Maybe there's a need to try ten different ones but I just stuck with one and can now convince it to do what I want it to do pretty successfully.
  - yelirekim 1y ago
    It sounds like you're generally unfamiliar with using AI to help you at all? Or maybe you're also being disingenuous? It's insanely easy to figure this stuff out, I literally know a dozen people who are not even engineers, have no programming experience, who use these tools. Here's what Claude (the free version at claude.ai) said in response to me saying "i have no idea how to use AI coding assistants, can you succinctly explain to me what i need to do? like, what do i download, run, etc in order to try different models and services, what are the best tools and what do they do?": Here's a quick guide to get you started with AI coding assistants: ## Quick Start Options (Easiest) *1. Web-based (Nothing to Download)* - *Claude.ai* - You're here! I can help with code, debug, explain concepts - *ChatGPT* - Similar capabilities, different model - *GitHub Copilot Chat* - Web interface if you have GitHub account *2. IDE Extensions (Most Popular)* - *Cursor* - Full VS Code replacement with AI built-in. Download from cursor.com, works out of the box - *GitHub Copilot* - Install as VS Code/JetBrains extension ($10/month), autocompletes as you type - *Continue* - Free, open-source VS Code extension, lets you use multiple models *3. Command Line* - *Claude Code* - Anthropic's terminal tool for autonomous coding tasks. Install via `npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code` - *Aider* - Open-source CLI tool that edits files directly ## What They Do - *Autocomplete tools* (Copilot, Cursor) - Suggest code as you type, finish functions - *Chat tools* (Claude, ChatGPT) - Explain, debug, design systems, write full programs - *Autonomous tools* (Claude Code, Aider) - Actually edit your files, make changes across codebases ## My Recommendation to Start 1. Try *Cursor* first - download it, paste in some code, and ask it questions. It's the most beginner-friendly 2. Or just start here in Claude - paste your code and I can help debug, explain, or write new features 3. Once comfortable, try GitHub Copilot for in-line suggestions while coding The key is just picking one and trying it - you don't need to understand everything upfront!

AlecSchueler 1y ago

Is it though? People complain about sore feet and hear they wear the wrong kind of shoes so they go to the store where they have to spend money to find out while trying to navigate between dress shoes, minimal shoes, running shoes, hiking shoes etc etc., they have to know their size, ask for assistance in trying them on...

evilduck 1y ago

> I think it's pretty different from buying shoes. Shoe shopping is pretty complex, more so than trialing an AI model in my opinion. Are you a construction worker, a banker, a cashier or a driver? Are you walking 5 miles everyday or mostly sedentary? Do you require steel toed shoes? How long are you expecting them to last and what are you willing to pay? Are you going to wear them on long runs or take them river kayaking? Do they need to be water resistant, waterproof or highly breathable? Do you want glued, welted, or stitch down construction? What about flat feet or arch support? Does shoe weight matter? What clothing are you going to wear them with? Are you going to be dancing with them? Do the shoes need a break in period or are they ready to wear? Does the available style match your preferences? What about availability, are you ok having them made to order or do you require something in stock now? By comparison I can try 10 different AI services without even needing to stand up for a break while I can't buy good dress shoes in the same physical store as a pair of football cleats.

kelnos 1y ago
> Shoe shopping is pretty complex, more so than trialing an AI model in my opinion. Oh c'mon, now you're just being disingenuous, trying to make an argument for argument's sake. No, shoe shopping is not more complicated than trialing a LLM. For all of those questions about shoes you are posing, either a) a purchaser won't care and won't need to ask them, or b) they already know they have specific requirements and will know what to ask. With an LLM, a newbie doesn't even know what they're getting into, let alone what to ask or where to start. > By comparison I can try 10 different AI services without even needing to stand up for a break I can't. I have no idea how to do that. It sounds like you've been following the space for a while, and you're letting your knowledge blind you to the idea that many (most?) people don't have your experience.
- UncleEntity 1y ago
  Just play with the 'free tier' on whatever website does the AI thing and figure it out. Maybe there's a need to try ten different ones but I just stuck with one and can now convince it to do what I want it to do pretty successfully.
- yelirekim 1y ago
  It sounds like you're generally unfamiliar with using AI to help you at all? Or maybe you're also being disingenuous? It's insanely easy to figure this stuff out, I literally know a dozen people who are not even engineers, have no programming experience, who use these tools. Here's what Claude (the free version at claude.ai) said in response to me saying "i have no idea how to use AI coding assistants, can you succinctly explain to me what i need to do? like, what do i download, run, etc in order to try different models and services, what are the best tools and what do they do?": Here's a quick guide to get you started with AI coding assistants: ## Quick Start Options (Easiest) *1. Web-based (Nothing to Download)* - *Claude.ai* - You're here! I can help with code, debug, explain concepts - *ChatGPT* - Similar capabilities, different model - *GitHub Copilot Chat* - Web interface if you have GitHub account *2. IDE Extensions (Most Popular)* - *Cursor* - Full VS Code replacement with AI built-in. Download from cursor.com, works out of the box - *GitHub Copilot* - Install as VS Code/JetBrains extension ($10/month), autocompletes as you type - *Continue* - Free, open-source VS Code extension, lets you use multiple models *3. Command Line* - *Claude Code* - Anthropic's terminal tool for autonomous coding tasks. Install via `npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code` - *Aider* - Open-source CLI tool that edits files directly ## What They Do - *Autocomplete tools* (Copilot, Cursor) - Suggest code as you type, finish functions - *Chat tools* (Claude, ChatGPT) - Explain, debug, design systems, write full programs - *Autonomous tools* (Claude Code, Aider) - Actually edit your files, make changes across codebases ## My Recommendation to Start 1. Try *Cursor* first - download it, paste in some code, and ask it questions. It's the most beginner-friendly 2. Or just start here in Claude - paste your code and I can help debug, explain, or write new features 3. Once comfortable, try GitHub Copilot for in-line suggestions while coding The key is just picking one and trying it - you don't need to understand everything upfront!