wdutch

This is a problem that other languages have already dealt with. Spelling doesn't have to represent the exact pronunciation of every word; it can represent phonemes, leaving some variation in pronunciation to dialect.

For example Vietnamese has considerable regional variation, some of which is reflected in the spelling system. The letter d represents /z/ in standard Northern Vietnamese but /j/ in standard Southern Vietnamese.

English already does something similar, as you've pointed out. In dialects that distinguish wh from w, the former can represent /hw/, whereas in most of England the distinction has disappeared and both are pronounced /w/. We don't need to respell whale because it already accommodates either pronunciation (although let's please get rid of "magic e" and spell it `wheil` to at least match the vowel).

Any linguist knows that a perfectly phonetic spelling system is not desirable. As well as what I've already discussed, pronunciation changes over time too. But I don't think that rules out spelling reform because currently English has many ways of spelling the same phoneme.

Agreed, I find the cognitive load of checking the suggestion much higher than just writing my own message.

A good tutor builds an understanding of the learners current mental model then tries to broaden it with targeted materials (text, diagrams, videos), selected exercises, the Socratic method ... All LLMs can do is produce text that statistically looks like tutoring. AI has a lot of uses but tutoring is not a great fit. I think a well written textbook even would be better than AI because the author can have a general understanding of where the target audience is usually at and where they're expected to end up.

It’s easy to get caught up in the worldview of academia, where the value of mathematics can seem tied to producing new interesting proofs... I’m a mathematics teacher, and I’d remind you that wider society really values people who are good at mathematics, even if they never prove anything groundbreaking. The ability to reason mathematically is useful far beyond the bubble of mathematical research. There will always be a place for mathematics grads so don't be discouraged by the AI news.

One way I use AI to help me write that I've not seen anyone else talk about is this: I'll say "give me multiple versions of saying xyz". I'll almost never use any of what it outputs verbatim, but seeing it said in different ways helps me clarify how I'd prefer to approach writing it.

Thanks for taking the time to reply. That's really interesting to me and I'm going to check it out!

I would tentatively suggest OP does. I hace aphantasia but meet a lot of people for work and have a very good memory for names once I see a face.

One aspect of the story that is glossed over here is that there were very few Vietnamese people in Dak Lak prior to 1975. The OP is a story of forced displacement against the Ede and Mnong people.

Sounds like they were the opposite of shit if they noticed someone setting up specialist equipment. I don't think any national monument in the world would be keen on people doing that without advanced permission.

I think they exist already... Crosswords, sudokus and puzzles have long been popular. Has the world also forgotten the brain training craze of the naughties?

I was in The Ho Chi Minh City History Museum this weekend and they have some very cool shipwreck exhibits, worth checking out.

Thanks for sharing, I am absolutely fascinated with the differences in people's internal experiences.

For me, I have the bad "factual" memory and good "conceptual" memory but unlike you, I also have aphantasia: a completely "dark" mind with no visuals.

I've always used the metaphor that my brain has really good "compression". Once I learn something it gets compressed into my worldview. I don't know how or why I know it but I can apply it. If academic achievement is any benchmark, I can apply it with above average aptitude.

I also have an aversion to this. But I'm not sure how you conclude that it's lazy?

As a math teacher myself I want to say... A parent taking an interest and spending some quality time with their child over a subject can have a huge impact on their motivation to learn. Props to your mom.

I've never seen so many emdashes in one piece!