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I vibed a proof of Conway's conjecture

271 points · 297 comments · m-hodges

  1. Feathercrown · · focus · HN ↗
    I find the way the author communicates with the LLM fascinating. For example:

    > However, I didn’t just want any result; I wanted something that pulls me.

    > Initially, I asked Claude:

    > Me: which unsolved problems in the Surreal Numbers research program pull you the most and why?

    Note the switch from "pulls me" to "pull[s] you". What is the author's perception of the relationship/boundary between them and the LLM here?

    1. Are they using it to find things it flags as interesting in hopes they might also find it interesting?

    2. Do they consider "interesting" to be a universal (observer-independent) trait and are using the LLM to find things that are interesting?

    3. Have they delegated their desire to find something interesting to the LLM so that it can instead find something that it flags as interesting, regardless of how the author feels?

    4. Do they see it as a part of their thought process, and so do not distinguish "you" from "me"?

    5. Do they see it as part of them, and are referring to the combined entity in the second person?

    I would love clarification on this.

    1. scotty79 · · focus · HN ↗
      I use you, me, us interchangably because I don't think it really matters for anything and I don't need to reaffirm my individuality with such words.
      1. incr_me · · focus · HN ↗
        > I don't need to reaffirm my individuality with such words.

        Record scratch

        1. scotty79 · · focus · HN ↗
          It's for your benefit not mine. You can guess if I meant sinfular or plural you and decide if it matters.
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