Wolfram alpha is much better for the purpose you describe than a generative LLM. The “show steps” button costs $5/mth.

I’ve experimented with it for math (was stuck on a Project Euler problem, it did give me the algorithm but absolutely flounced it’s sample calculation), and it can get some stuff right, but provide an incorrect explanation. Or fuck up a numerical calculation entirely.

Depending on what you are pursuing a degree in, another thing to keep in mind is that math conceptually builds on itself. If you are just trying to survive a math credit it’s like Cliff’s Noting a book for a paper - nothing will stick for you long term using AI.

What class is it? PatrickJMT is good if you’ve gone to calculus.

Being able to research is not busy work. Being able to write an argument is not busy work. Being able to write a paper is an important skill that will not be made obsolete. Your inability to recognize the importance of these skills means your understanding of the world does not match reality, and your opinion on education is about as worthless as a $3 bill.

As an educator, you do your field and your students a considerable disservice by failing to acknowledge either the pointlessness or the presence of busywork in the curriculum. Stress for the sake of learning is, indeed, important. Stress for the sake of stress is abuse. It is paramount for you to understand the difference, and it would be galling if you were to insinuate it doesn’t exist.

You have not taken any form of class on pedagogy. You do not know what you are talking about.

You are not an educator. You have not spent any time in education. You do not have the theory or the practice to know how students learn or what they need.

I have always taught my students how to use Wikipedia. I teach them to never cite Wikipedia, but I have an entire back pocket lesson on proper Wikipedia use that I have taught hundreds of times.

It used to be that the students who refused to put effort in would just copy the first line from the first Google result without reading. This was easy to reject when grading. LLM slop can have the appearance of legitimate work at first, which can be frustrating when you are trying to quickly grade a stack of papers.

Kids using AI to generate the kind of meaningless busywork

You’re projecting your own hang ups with school to be universal. Assignments are a part of learning, because practice is a part of learning. It is not “meaningless busywork” for a violinist to practice the same song for hours a day, any more than it is to have a child practice reading and responding to literature or drilling math problems.

This anti intellectual streak is showing up everywhere. “Flat earthers” are invading physics Facebook groups and anti vaxxers are being put in charge of health organizations. There’s are symptoms of a world where the desire to learn is absent.

Think about the immediate context of this conversation even - you are not an educator (abundantly clear from the assignment you proposed), and I am. I have taken multiple classes on child development and how to educate them, and have been in the classroom in several different environments across eight years.

Sometimes, it is important that we be confused for a minute in the learning process. Sometimes, it is important that we struggle a little bit. There is a peak level of “stress” for learning. There needs to be a supportive environment that goes with that challenge, but without a combination of practice and a little bit of challenge things don’t really stick.

AI is fundamentally antithetical to learning. Type in the question, get an answer. The answer could be true or not, nothing you did in imputing the question can really have an impact on that. No where to grow, nothing to improve or learn.

Reseed Linux distros as penance?

I don’t just see it for essays, but short answer response. Single sentence stuff and math problems. Kids to adults.

I had to fire a client over it. College student, refused to read an assigned book and expected a list of things to feed to AI.

Because I’m thirsty and would like a drink?

Good portion of people don’t give a shit.

I’ve spend the past three years trying to get people to investigate the sexual and physical abuse of children in Oklahoma, including some child trafficking. No one cares or wants to do anything about it. More people than we want to admit are okay with children being raped and abused as long as they are a certain type of child (foster kids usually.)

I was half asleep grabbing snacks after a twelve hour shift.

I don’t see why the “100%” is there, other than to try to trick you into thinking it’s “100% juice.” Like yeah, they aren’t literally lying, but they are trying to deceive.

My problem is mostly that HFCS tastes like ass. I was expecting it to be a blend of apple juice, pear juice, and a hint of passion fruit.

The health aspect is more about always keeping an easy to access non-beer thing in my fridge.

My ex was a nepo baby. He had so many speeding tickets. Didn’t give a shit about playing video games on his phone while driving. Fines don’t work when you could spend that same amount on a weeknight dinner without blinking.

I haven’t owned a microwave in three years, so not really lol. Much longer in the oven means much better.

Double time, half power.

Have you watched the Sagan Cosmos? I like it better than the NDT one, although I usually recommend NDT because it’s an easier sell. I love Sagan so much though. He’s just so gentle and kind, almost the same kind of vibe as Mr Rogers.

I dislike the way they present Giodano Bruno in the NDT Cosmos. The church was more miffed at his pantheism than any of his astronomical ideas. Less of a scientist and more of a philosopher.

One method of philosophical reasoning is to start with the extremes and then narrow down to the center/ more likely scenarios that are shades of the extreme…

My state is about to follow Kansas and revoke the “M” on my drivers license, which I’ve had for 10 years. This will put me in physical danger and harm my ability to find employment. No one needs you to play devils advocate here.

How do they prevent their bodies from producing sexual hormones they don’t want?

Spiro for trans women, not really a problem for trans men. There’s estrogen floating around in my body right now, but the testosterone overwhelms it.

Removal of the testes/ ovaries? Sometimes. Hysterectomy for trans men and orchi for trans women are common in adulthood.

Sexual reassignment surgery and top surgery are types of treatment. Another type is puberty blockers, which I asked about and you responded with talking points instead of information.

Surgery is irrelevant when talking about the treatment of 99.999% of transgender teens. Making the conversation about surgery is falling for right wing talking points.

The “end game” is presumably that one goes on HRT to experience the correct puberty. Most trans men just take testosterone, trans women often take an anti-androgen (spiro) with their estrogen.

As far as removing breast buds, I’m not sure if that would be needed or not. Regardless, removing breast buds would be possible with perioareolar top surgery, which is much less invasive than full double mastectomy (I wasn’t lucky enough to go on blockers, but I was small enough to get a peri - it was an outpatient procedure which took me like 3 days to sleep off. Double mastectomies are usually much more involved.)

But really (since this is a controversial thread) I just don’t want my child taking a knife to, and hindering the functionality of, any part of their body that was already working just fine.

But that isn’t happening. You have to recognize that there is a huge fucking propaganda campaign being held to convince you that children are walking to clinics and getting their dicks and breasts chopped off. Surgery doesn’t even make sense until all the parts are fully developed anyway.

Care is mostly affirming pronouns and names, sometimes puberty blockers.

This study on several cis girls suggests that there’s nothing unusual about puberty post blockers.

Girls treated in childhood with GnRHa have normal BMI, BMD, body composition, and ovarian function in early adulthood. FH is not increased in girls with ICPP in whom GnRHa was initiated at about 8 yr. There is no evidence that GnRHa treatment predisposes to polycystic ovary syndrome or menstrual irregularities.

I also want to say here that I have known two kids to be on blockers. Both had to drive several hours out of state to access their treatment. One of them almost was removed from their home by the state solely because they were trans and receiving blockers - a family friend who has received death threats and harassment and has had to go to court several times because she recognizes her son for who he is. The right wing propaganda sphere likes to pretend blockers are being handed out like candy, but that is not the case.