LESSWRONG
LW

All of EvolutionByDesign's Comments + Replies

Advice on Communicating Concisely
EvolutionByDesign10

Thank you for your response!
 

There were 3 situations today where the second case arose:

  1. I asked whether GTP was less stable than ATP in AP Bio (I wanted to understand how it was possible that GTP + ADP -> GDP + ATP,  and if this was the case, why ATP was used at all).  My teacher thought I was asking about it from an evolutionary standpoint, and started explaining the evolution of the system.
  2. I have a tendency to speak in short bursts of content in which I think I often underestimate inferential distances. (My internal monologue normally co
... (read more)
Reply
1CstineSublime
I'm so sorry but I haven't been able to think of any specific books, although the first case it seems like your problem could be a matter of the Availability Heuristic - your teacher answered a different question to the one you asked because quite simply it was easier for them to recall the knowledge about the evolution of the system than the relative stability of GTP to ATP. I'm not sure if there is anything in Kahneman's Thinking Fast, Slow which might offer your practical techniques for priming listeners the right way. If anything you might be better served by the books of Robert Cialdini or even literature on sales - my thinking here is sales people often think about the structure (or in Aristotelian terms the Kairos) that they present different options which in effect 'primes' the customer to different Semantic and Mental frameworks. Sorry that I can't point to any specific books. I could guess on some specific techniques that I think might aid your communication but I've been wracking my brain and can't think of any books that I know hit the mark.
Advice on Communicating Concisely
EvolutionByDesign20

Actually, both.

  1. I started a AI club at my high school last year, and I've been (slowly) trying to teach other students the basics of deep learning. They generally come out of my 15-to-20 minute-long explanations confused, rather than understanding.
  2. This too (I don't have a specific example in mind - I'll see if any pop up during school tomorrow)

I normally think what I'm saying is clear, but the result is that others don't understand what I mean when I finish saying it - which causes me to tack on hasty clarifications of my intentions / ideas.

Reply
2CstineSublime
Thank you for the reply. What kind of questions, analogies, or models are your fellow students responding to your explanations with? Are there any patterns in the specific feedback you've noticed? Are there any particular aspects of Deep Learning or the metaphors or terminology you're using that seem to be the biggest bottlenecks? My hunch is that maybe you instead look at beginner's introductions to Deep Learning and Neural Networks and see how they go about conveying these concepts. If someone else has done the hard work of figuring out an expedient way to convey the subject matter, why not borrow from them (giving credit, of course)? Please do get back if you can think of specific examples of the second case and I'll think any books or resources I know of which might be suitable.  
Advice on Communicating Concisely
EvolutionByDesign10

Thank you! The books you recommended look like what I was hoping to find. 

Reply