Hi “...However, that data are incompatible…”
For pedants like me, it should be “…those data are incompatible…", and for people who consider “data" to be singular it should be “…that data is incompatible…”. Talk about mangling things… Harry > On 25 Jan 2026, at 19:28, Eugene Valkov > <[email protected]> wrote: > > Just pasted your problem into ChatGPT 5.2, Thinking mode. This is the answer > it gave: > > <Screenshot 2026-01-25 at 2.25.45 PM.png> > > > > On Sun, 25 Jan 2026 at 11:16, Ian Tickle > <[email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: > Try this one: A right-angled triangle has base length 10 and height 6 > measured from the hypotenuse to the opposite apex (the base is the > hypotenuse). What's the area of the triangle? > > ChatGPT says: > > For any triangle (right-angled or not), the area is: > > Area = 1/2 base × height > > So the answer is 10 × 6 / 2 = 30. > > Wrong! It's a nasty catch. It goes awry at the very first statement: the > expression given is true for some triangles but not all, and in particular > not this one. In fact it's not even a triangle so the area is undefined: > that's the correct answer. It's impossible for the height to be more than 5 > (draw the circumscribing circle). It fell into the trap of unthinking > application of a standard formula fetched from the web without determining > first whether it applies to the situation (and I imagine most humans will say > 30 too without thinking!). > > This was a question in a job interview at Google. > > -- Ian > > > On Sun, 25 Jan 2026, 15:31 Goldman, Adrian, > <[email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: > I think it really depends on use case. It’s extremely good at removing > english language mistakes, for instance. But at heart it’s a statistical > model, right? What word is likely to follow ‘what’ in a sentence about > ChatGPT, for instance. Like my last. The likelihood of painterly is very > close to zero, but is, word, token have all got high probabilities. So for > things it should be good at - it really is good. > > That doesn’t include facts: the intersection of words with the world. > > chatgpt5 does facts slightly better than chatgpt2. I remember asking it for > sonnets and 2 hadn’t got a concept of sonnet - but 3+ do. You’ll get 14 lines > in one of the classic sonnet rhyme patterns in iambic pentameter. > > But don’t worry it’s going to take over the world. Sam Altman says so. > > > Sam Altman’s make-or-break year: can the OpenAI CEO cash in his bet on the > future? > theguardian.com > > <https://www.theguardian.com/technology/ng-interactive/2026/jan/25/sam-altman-openai>Sam > Altman’s make-or-break year: can the OpenAI CEO cash in his bet on the > future? > <https://www.theguardian.com/technology/ng-interactive/2026/jan/25/sam-altman-openai> > theguardian.com > <https://www.theguardian.com/technology/ng-interactive/2026/jan/25/sam-altman-openai> > > You know the real problem with the enshitification of the internet is legal > liability. If meta, OpenAI, Google, TikTok, x etc had the same legal > liabilities as publishers, they would stop producing and distributing crap > because otherwise they would be sued out of existence. > > Adrian > Sent from my iPhone > >> On 25 Jan 2026, at 16:24, Harry Powell >> <[email protected] >> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >> >> I read this yesterday - >> >> https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jan/24/latest-chatgpt-model-uses-elon-musks-grokipedia-as-source-tests-reveal >> >> <https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jan/24/latest-chatgpt-model-uses-elon-musks-grokipedia-as-source-tests-reveal> >> >> And this (and similar articles) a while back - >> >> https://grokipediawiki.com/analysis/plagiarism-scandal-investigation/ >> <https://grokipediawiki.com/analysis/plagiarism-scandal-investigation/> >> >> These don’t inspire me to use either. >> >> Harry >> >>> On 25 Jan 2026, at 13:17, Hughes, Jon >>> <[email protected] >>> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >>> >>> hi, >>> there has been much talk of using AI to write code for us and of it making >>> the world better. people in this group have their own opinions regarding >>> alphafold, for example, but at a much simpler level, i just asked chatGTP >>> something about electrical power generation: his/her/their answer finally >>> included, ""Interpretation per joule: 4–12 €cents per kWh equals 4–12 × >>> 10⁻⁶ € per joule, since 1 kWh = 3.6 MJ". well, we all make mistakes, right?! >>> cheers, >>> jon >>> >>> >>> ######################################################################## >>> >>> To unsubscribe from the CCP4BB list, click the following link: >>> https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/WA-JISC.exe?SUBED1=CCP4BB&A=1 >>> <https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/WA-JISC.exe?SUBED1=CCP4BB&A=1> >>> >>> This message was issued to members of www.jiscmail.ac.uk/CCP4BB >>> <http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/CCP4BB>, a mailing list hosted by >>> www.jiscmail.ac.uk <http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/>, terms & conditions are >>> available at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/policyandsecurity/ >>> <https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/policyandsecurity/> >> >> >> To unsubscribe from the CCP4BB list, click the following link: >> https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/WA-JISC.exe?SUBED1=CCP4BB&A=1 >> <https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/WA-JISC.exe?SUBED1=CCP4BB&A=1> > To unsubscribe from the CCP4BB list, click the following link: > https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/WA-JISC.exe?SUBED1=CCP4BB&A=1 > <https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/WA-JISC.exe?SUBED1=CCP4BB&A=1> > To unsubscribe from the CCP4BB list, click the following link: > https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/WA-JISC.exe?SUBED1=CCP4BB&A=1 > <https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/WA-JISC.exe?SUBED1=CCP4BB&A=1> > To unsubscribe from the CCP4BB list, click the following link: > https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/WA-JISC.exe?SUBED1=CCP4BB&A=1 > <https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/WA-JISC.exe?SUBED1=CCP4BB&A=1> ######################################################################## To unsubscribe from the CCP4BB list, click the following link: https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/WA-JISC.exe?SUBED1=CCP4BB&A=1 This message was issued to members of www.jiscmail.ac.uk/CCP4BB, a mailing list hosted by www.jiscmail.ac.uk, terms & conditions are available at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/policyandsecurity/
