For those interested, I did a quick poll with Ian's trick question. ChatGPT5.2/Thinking - no such triangle. Claude Sonnet 4.5 - happily gave the answer as 30. Gemini 3.0/Thinking - no such triangle (and a very clear and easy to follow explanation). Ollama gpt-oss:20b/Medium (local install on my Mac) - took longer than others, but also said 'no such triangle'.
The thing that rhymes with 'sock', I do not ever use. On Sun, 25 Jan 2026 at 15:09, Eugene Valkov <[email protected]> wrote: > It gave a somewhat passive-aggressive response to your pedantic peeve, > Harry. See below. The line about editors almost made me laugh. > > In standard English usage, *“data” can be either plural or singular*, > depending on the style guide and context. > > - > > *Plural (traditional, academic/scientific, Latin-derived):* “The data > *are* incompatible.” > - > > *Singular (common in general and business English, treating “data” as > a mass noun like “information”):* “The data *is* incompatible.” > > Both are defensible. If you want to be maximally traditional/formal in > scientific prose, use *“are.”* If you want modern general usage, *“is”* > is fine. > > A small nuance: in your specific sentence, many editors would also prefer > *“the > data are incompatible with the constraints”* or *“the given values are > incompatible”* to avoid any debate. > > On Sun, 25 Jan 2026 at 15:03, Harry Powell < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> 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]> 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]> 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. >>>> >>>> [image: 4992.jpg] >>>> >>>> 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> >>>> >>>> <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]> wrote: >>>> >>>> I read this yesterday - >>>> >>>> >>>> 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/ >>>> >>>> These don’t inspire me to use either. >>>> >>>> Harry >>>> >>>> On 25 Jan 2026, at 13:17, Hughes, Jon < >>>> [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 >>>> >>>> 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/ >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> ------------------------------ >>>> >>>> To unsubscribe from the CCP4BB list, click the following link: >>>> 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 >>>> >>> >>> ------------------------------ >>> >>> To unsubscribe from the CCP4BB list, click the following link: >>> 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 >> >> >> >> ------------------------------ >> >> To unsubscribe from the CCP4BB list, click the following link: >> 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/
