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js8today at 11:35 AM5 repliesview on HN

I feel like if they were skills under a reasonable definition, you should be able to name an expert in these skills, and how do we know they are an expert.

But I think you can't. It seems to me, instead, one is better at googling/prompting the better they are in a particular domain, but it only applies in that domain. Like knowing a jargon is not a skill, knowing the domain is.


Replies

jfyitoday at 12:27 PM

Jason Wei's chain-of-thought prompting techniques literally revolutionized llms themselves.

https://arxiv.org/abs/2201.11903

dspilletttoday at 12:27 PM

> you should be able to name an expert in these skills

There are certainly local “finding information online” experts in many families and social groups.

> and how do we know they are an expert

They are the ones who get mentioned a lot in conversations in the manner “I'll have to ask [name]” with the implication that [name] will look up the information or know it from previous occasions people (possibly this specific person and [name] is getting sick of them asking and not remembering simple answers!) have asked.

andsoitistoday at 12:03 PM

Soft skills include: handling change under ambiguity, critical thinking under pressure, self-awareness, prioritizing, motivating and guiding others without relying on authority, navigating disagreement constructively.

Forgeties79today at 2:00 PM

And of course if you point any of this out people go “Well many people are good at it, people getting bad results are just bad at it.” The constant refrain of “you’re just using it wrong” has become very tiresome.

If you can always say “just use it right” every time a critique comes up, then we aren’t having an honest conversation about the limitations of these tools.