Using GPT-3 to pathfind in random graphs

I wondered how GPT-3 might do on the following problem: given a partially-connected graph, find a path between two nodes, or determine that no path exists. I wrote some code to automate generating graphs, feeding them to GPT-3, and parsing + grading its results. I generated 1000 random graphs and fed them to the model. …

It would take just one glorious Haskell PR

[Epistemic status: Fiction, satire] “Tell me about FooCorp,” says Brian. “I’ve heard it’s one of the greatest software companies in the world, and I’m interested in working for you guys, but I’ve also heard the rumors and I was hoping you could explain.” Brian and Amy are having coffee. Brian doesn’t actually like coffee but …

6 Months of Working at a Hypergrowth Startup

I joined Scale AI late last summer. It’s been a crazy experience -- Scale is growing incredibly fast right now, hitting a valuation of over $7 billion last year and recently signing a $250 million contract with the DoD. Personally, I've made over 100 PRs and conducted about 40 interviews already! It's also by far …

Is Nerdle Harder Than Wordle?

Nerdle is like Wordle, but for numbers. The words are short arithmetic sentences like "1+2+7=10" (always 8 characters long). You get 6 tries to solve a word, just like Wordle. A certain group chat got very, very excited about Nerdle this week and since some of them were freakishly good at it, not including yours …

Those Computers In Your Head

You think this post is going to be about coding, but it's really about chess and realizing that you can build wonderful special-purpose machines in your head over time. When I was first learning to code, my main frustration was that the code didn't compile. I would type out an example from the textbook exactly …

Speculative Autobiographies

It is very difficult to predict how one’s life will go; not only your life situation, but the very objects of your desire, are subject to change. This accounts for the terrible mess that people sometimes make of their selection of college major. Since life is a delicate, dynamical system, it may in fact be …

The Touching Responses to “On Learning Chess”

On Sunday night I jotted down a short reflection on my journey learning chess over the last two years. I made a couple graphs to fill it out and submitted it to HackerNews. The response has been overwhelming - tens of thousands of readers, and hundreds of helpful, funny, and encouraging comments, through HackerNews, Reddit, …

On Learning Chess as an Adult – From 650 to 1750 in Two Years

I caught the chess bug as a college student, twenty-one years old, and it's become my favorite way to unwind since then, as I'm now working at VisioStack and starting a master's in CS at Clemson University. Like all hobbies, chess is more fun when you're making progress. And progress as an adult is certainly …

Massive Bulk Update

First, a life update: I graduated from college, I'm working at VisioStack doing some interesting greenfield work, and I'm taking my first class from Harvard Extension School,  hopefully en route to a degree in data science. Signs & Seasons My friend Elliot Lovegrove and I got back together for an ambitious project: A 4' x 4' painting on plexiglass …

Microthought 0

Many hotels ask you to provide your last name and room number to use the WiFi. In the US, three percent of people are named Smith, Williams, Brown, Johnson, or Jones. Therefore, in a hotel with 50 rooms, there is a 78% change that one could sign in by just trying these names on each room. In …