Chan John's Shortform
Apr 26, 20251
ZhiZhi Gewu
4
1
7
Is it possible to simulate human behavior related to financial products, such as credit cards? If a simulation environment can be created, it may provide significant value to financial institutions for training their models and policies.
# Echoes of Our Minds: How AI is Learning to Think Like Humans
Lilian Weng's recent article, ["Why We Think"](https://lilianweng.github.io/posts/2025-05-01-thinking), provides an excellent overview of the current state-of-the-art in AI reasoning. Intriguingly, and perhaps unsurprisingly, the methods employed to enable AI to "think" closely mirror human cognitive processes. These parallels are summarized in the table below.
## Table of Similarities
| Method/Concept from Article | Brief Description of the Method | Similarity to Human Thinking... (read more)
My intention was to highlight that "good teachers are scarce resources." I didn't mean to suggest a causal link between a country's development stage and the quantity of its good teachers. My observation was simply that developed countries tend to have more educational institutions. While more institutions might not automatically equate to better ones, a larger pool of teachers could increase the probability of finding more good teachers.
# AI and the Future of Personalized Education: A Paradigm Shift in Learning
Recently, I've been exploring the theory of computation. With the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence—essentially a vast collection of algorithms and computational instructions designed to process inputs and generate outputs—I find myself increasingly curious about the fundamental capabilities and limitations of computation itself. Concepts such as automata, Turing machines, computability, and complexity frequently appear in discussions about AI, yet my understanding of these topics is still developing. I recently encountered fascinating articles by Stephen Wolfram, including [Observer Theory](https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/2023/12/observer-theory/) and [A New Kind of Science: A 15-Year View](https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/2017/05/a-new-kind-of-science-a-15-year-view/). Wolfram presents intriguing ideas, such as the claim that beyond a certain minimal... (read 591 more words →)
# Why They Nod But Don't Act: Decoding the Communication Gap
Have you ever clearly explained your viewpoint, watched the other person nod in apparent agreement, and then discovered—hours or days later—that nothing changed?
I've experienced this many times, and it taught me an important lesson: communication isn't a single-step process. For words to drive action, they must successfully navigate a six-step journey.
**The Six Steps of Communication**
1. **Thought Formation:** A thought forms clearly in the sender’s mind.
2. **Encoding:** The sender translates that thought into a message (words, slides, sketches).
3. **Transmission:** The message travels through a chosen channel (email, meeting, phone call).
4. **Decoding:** The receiver interprets the message, converting symbols into... (read more)
"Where can I find the rest of the articles in the sequence?"
Nice initiative! Looking forward to the next one.