tech on dBlog

Asking ChatGPT the Difficult Easy Questions

Mon, 17 Mar 2025 22:26:00 +0100

Of course I would like to be able to use the latest and greatest generative AI / machine learning / LLMs and the like¹ to make my life and work easier. To that end, I periodically take to ChatGPT (or an alternative) to test out its powers as an educational tool - either to support learning or aid administration.

I have set a pretty low bar for success, mostly because the results have not been especially impressive, but even so I have usually been disappointed.

Today, we were talking about general knowledge in a class, inspired in part by a pair of old academic studies on the topic.² It was a fun discussion, and as part of the prep for this I had taken to technology once again, asking the question:

What is the easiest question to answer that the fewest people know the answer to?

I chose the option to have a ‘reasoned’ response rather than a regular query - and so it reasoned:

The user’s question seems philosophical and a bit tricky to interpret. I’m thinking it could mean: "What's an easy question that few people actually know the answer to?"

Trying not to feel like a character in a generic 90s BBC sci-fi show, “the user” read on:

It might also be a meta-question, where its simplicity makes the answer elusive. There are a few ways to interpret this!

So far, so good. But today the ghost in the machine impressed me like it had not managed to before; after a little meander it landed on a final answer:

Some might respond with a self-referential twist, saying that the easiest question of that description is simply:

“What is the easiest question to answer that the fewest people know the answer to?”

Genius.

Although the class still managed to best the machine, with the delightfully simple:

What is a woman?

And the beautifully metaphysical:

Are you okay?

Thank you, Chat Gippity. You were close.

I am still hunting for a term I am happy with for this stuff - it’s not intelligence, artificial or otherwise, or at least I am not prepared to make that commitment as things stand. ↩︎
Tauber, S.K., Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K.A. et al., General knowledge norms: Updated and expanded from the Nelson and Narens (1980) norms, Behavior Research Methods 45, pp 1115–1143 (2013). https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-012-0307-9

Nelson, T.O., Narens, L., Norms of 300 general-information questions: Accuracy of recall, latency of recall, and feeling-of-knowing ratings, Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, Volume 19, Issue 3, pp 338-368 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-5371(80)90266-2 ↩︎

Wed, 10 Jan 2024 01:29:39 +0100

Can’t help but be intrigued by what Humane and others are doing in trying to refine personal computing. Of course, Humane might not succeed with their science fiction inspired ai pin, or at all, but I see more companies embracing the ethos of their mission:

We believe in building innovative technology that feels familiar, natural, and human.

But for me, today, a more compelling, evolutionary product in this space is the Rabbit R1. With natural language processing and Playdate-esque whimsy in their hardware design. I just hope it’s as functional as it is cute.

Mon, 05 Jun 2023 21:12:48 +0100

Apple’s iOS 17 Preview:

The new Journal app looks interesting, but from the limited demo it seems entirely local, with no sharing - unless I’ve missed something?

No one but you can access your journal.

With the integration with Shortcuts, and the potential for third party apps to contribute via the Journaling Suggestions API, all it needs is a little love for ActivityPub and it would be a powerful source for (micro-)blogging platforms like micro.blog.

Sun, 08 Jan 2023 20:40:28 +0100

🕹 Casual Birder - Playdate Season 1, Game 1

The first title is a groovy Pokémon-esque throwback for twitchers - gotta snap ’em all! Pokémon games were never my thing, but they might be yours.

But, holy cow, the text is small for my old eyes. Playdate XL, Panic?

iPhone Screen Sizes (iOS 16)

Wed, 04 Jan 2023 17:52:57 +0100

When developing for iPhone today, if you can set a minimum version of iOS 16.2 then you need to be prepared to support the following phones and their respective screen sizes.

That’s ten different screen sizes from an iPhone 8¹ to an iPhone 14 Pro Max.

Device	Logical Dimensions	Scaling Factor	Physical Dimensions
iPhone 14 Pro Max	430 x 932	@3x	1290 x 2796
iPhone 14 Pro	393 x 852	@3x	1179 x 2556
iPhone 14 Plus iPhone 13 Pro Max iPhone 12 Pro Max	428 x 926	@3x	1284 x 2778
iPhone 14 iPhone 13 Pro iPhone 13 iPhone 12 Pro iPhone 12	390 x 844	@3x	1170 x 2532
iPhone 13 mini iPhone 12 mini	375 x 812	@3x (downsampled)	1080 x 2340
iPhone 11 Pro Max iPhone XS Max	414 x 896	@3x	1242 x 2688
iPhone 11 Pro iPhone XS iPhone X	375 x 812	@3x	1125 x 2436
iPhone 11 iPhone XR	414 x 896	@2x	828 x 1792
iPhone 8 Plus	414 x 736	@3x (downsampled)	1080 x 1920
iPhone SE (3nd gen) iPhone SE (2nd gen) iPhone 8	375 x 667	@2x	750 x 1334

Comparing devices for “how much they can show on the screen” you should look at the Logical Dimensions column.

iPhone 8 was released on 22 September 2017 and discontinued on 15 April 2020. ↩︎

Sun, 01 Jan 2023 16:10:17 +0100

🕹 Playdate - initial impressions: perfectly cute, beautifully engineered

Kudos to Panic for bringing artisanal whimsy back to the world of video games.

Tue, 04 Jan 2022 02:07:00 +0100

Found myself writing only the slightest of AppleScript snippets tonight. The language is now over 38 years old, and still supported in macOS 12.1 (Monterey). It doesn’t get a lot of public-facing love. A lost opportunity, or feature overdue for retirement?

Sat, 18 Dec 2021 20:34:00 +0100

My trusty 2014 MBP is still an amazing machine, but the temptation was too great. 👀

✅ M1 Pro
✅ XDR display with Promotion
✅ Touch ID
✅ macOS Monterey
✅ skipping all the models with no ports and keyboard issues

Here’s to the next seven years. 🍻

Mon, 07 Jun 2021 19:50:00 +0100

Not sure why, but it catches me every year. Repeat after me:

WWDC keynotes are not really for developers.
WWDC keynotes are not really for developers.
WWDC keynotes are not really for developers.
WWDC keynotes are not really for developers.
WWDC keynotes are not really for…

Thu, 08 Apr 2021 22:23:09 +0100

I am trying to burn command line Git into my brain, rather than using a graphical tool. The options are fine, but I need to actually get the command correct…

zsh: command not found: got

Fri, 01 Jan 2021 22:41:02 +0100

God of War - Santa Monica Studios
🎮 #microreview

Kinda-open world romp through norse mythology and parenthood from the perspective of a Greek God. Lots of lore and humour courtesy of Mimir. Recommended.

Fri, 21 Aug 2020 14:54:45 +0100

Ghost of Tsushima - Sucker Punch Productions
🎮 #microreview

Beautiful open-world drama set in feudal Japan in the face of a Mongol invasion. Minimal HUD allows the environmental detail to shine. Sublime wind-based navigation system. Highly recommended.

Thu, 30 Jul 2020 22:18:00 +0100

Death Stranding - Kojima Productions
🎮 #microreview

Easy-paced action adventure set in a beautifully crafted post-apocolyptic USA. The novel and captivating storyline is driven by a full movie’s worth of cut scenes. Recommended.

Mon, 13 Apr 2020 20:31:43 +0100

Gary Hustwit’s beautifully made documentary, Rams, about the highly influential designer Dieter Rams is very much worth watching. In Dieter’s own words:

Less, but better.

Rams - currently streaming for free

Tue, 21 Jan 2020 22:49:00 +0100

Great intro to P vs NP-Complete from Jade at Up and Atom:

Is this thing that doesn’t look like this other thing really that thing?

Mac App Store - Guilty Pleasure

Sun, 19 Jan 2020 23:57:38 +0100

I feel bad when I read tales from developers such as this:

As a Mac App Store developer whose apps have been in the store since the beginning, it’s not a great feeling to know that any critical update might be held up because Apple decided to get more uptight about something that was OK for the past 8 years. - Daniel Jalkut on Micro.blog

I feel even worse because it was the same weekend that Daniel emailed me to say he had changed some code which would hopefully remove an image uploading issue I was having with MarsEdit. And I had opted to purchase MarsEdit via the Mac App Store that very same day.

It hadn’t even occurred to me to purchase via his web site, even though he might have made a few extra dollars or cents that way. Like I have done so many times, I checked where it was available and defaulted to my purchase via Apple.

Woe is the Store of Apps for the Mac

I have read many an article telling us why the App Store is broken. And I am on board with those for the most part. I am sure it’s not perfect. Okay, I know it’s not perfect.

From the 30% cut that Apple takes from all sales, reduced to 15% for subscriptions lasting more than 12 months, to the technical restrictions with iCloud, sandboxing, etc. Not to mention¹ the lack of contact developers have with their customers. The list is long.

There have been well publicised cases of high profile companies leaving the Mac App Store, and then equally well publicised stories of some of them returning - no doubt, one has to think, with a little encouragement from Apple. I am sure this to and fro will continue for some time.

But…

Let’s hear it for the Mac App Store

The Mac App Store provides users with security. Of different sorts:

Not every Mac app is the greatest example of app development, and there is an argument that a greater degree of quality checking should be included in the app review process, but at least I can be reasonably assured that anything I install will play nice with my system and other applications. This means I am less likely to be installing a keylogger, virus, etc. I am less likely to putting the data on my Mac at risk to unexpected appropriation. My system and my data is safer.

I can more or less trust Apple with my banking details, at least in so far as I can trust anyone. Financially - compared to the wide range of developers that they represent who have not built up any relationship with customers - I am confident sharing credentials with them.

And as much as developers the world over would love to have a database of thousands of potential customers to leverage for marketing upgrades, their other apps, or other services, I am glad that this is something I have to opt into by signing up to a mailing list or otherwise connecting with the developer.

None of this is to suggest that Mac developers should not be trusted to write software, process payments, or manage a mailing list. Just that there are millions of people out there making software, and I think it’s good to have a proxy in place that can be trusted. I mostly don’t have to consider who the third party developer is.

And for those Mac owners who are new to the platform, or who lack confidence in the complexities of installing computer software, the App Store model offers all of the above alongside a unified search system² and one-click installation.

Thanks to Daniel

I would like to see changes to App Store policies, for both developers and users. But on balance, where possible, I will mostly likely continue to support developers through via the App Store rather than purchasing direct.

While we wait until Apple lowers their fees and is more transparent their app review processes, I am grateful to the developers who jump through the hoops to keep their software available in the Mac App Store. Thanks, Daniel.

Sorry, I know, I mentioned it. ↩︎
Okay, yes, the App Store search tool is not the best, but it’s what we have and for many people it’s all they use when looking for software. ↩︎

AR - Supremacy or Hellscape?

Mon, 06 Jan 2020 23:18:00 +0100

The Coming Supremacy of AR - Allen Pike

Leaving aside whether any company can be entrusted to curate our Augmented Reality experience without it being a “hellscape”, I did think the potential of AR could only be unlocked when John Gruber had his previous question addressed:

Why would people who don’t need glasses want to wear thick glasses all day? And they think it will replace phones in a decade? Do we really want our phone display in front of our eyes all day? I just don’t get it.

However, I share Allen Pike’s optimism that the technology will mature to the point of being useful for consumers:

Apple may be optimistic in thinking that the timeline will be only 10 years long, but it seems clear to me that if physics really do make a good AR headset possible – glasses that can usefully and practically render information interleaved with our natural vision – it will change everything.

And his two dozen potential AR features sure sound compelling.

So, the question is not can we build it, or even will they wear it? Rather, what are the minimum set of features the average user will trade a “hellscape” for?

Sun, 05 Jan 2020 00:54:15 +0100

Creating content?

Answer the questions people have, in the order they have them, using the language they use, and you will help your search engine rankings, usability and those with visual or cognitive impairments.

Accessibility is usability – Public Digital

Sun, 17 Nov 2019 22:12:53 +0100

Having used simulations at uni, when I first worked with a specialised hardware neural net in ‘94 it felt like unleashing a superpower - and yet now our phones have capabilities almost unimaginable to 25 years ago me.

The Beauty of Deep Neural Networks - Art of the Problem

Wed, 13 Nov 2019 23:15:14 +0100

The inverted-T laptop for the rest of us:

It feels a bit silly to be excited about a classic arrow key layout

Daring Fireball: 16-Inch MacBook Pro First Impressions: Great Keyboard, Outstanding Speakers

Fri, 30 Aug 2013 07:43:05 +0100

Off to Edinburgh today, to meet✝ Vint Cerf.

✝ Meet (vb.) to be within acceptable tolerances of the same GPS identifiable location.

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 10:50:41 +0100

Perceptual cliffs and credit card thin iPhones would be a good starter for a critical thinking, next-generation device discussion.

Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow - John Siracusa