I'm going to add to this with advice for any teacher running into this situation.

Ask to borrow the kid's computer for a second, and use the AI. Pick a word, then pick a letter that is not in that word. Ask chatGPT how many times that letter appears in said word. (Avoid "how many Ns in Mayonnaise" because that went viral and got trained out.) Hell, give ChatGPT multiple tries. Ask it to demonstrate each time that letter appears in a word.

Let the entire class witness chatGPT fail. Because it cannot count. It cannot spell. It cannot think. Please put your lesson plans aside for a class and use it as a learning opportunity.

To add to your arsenal for educating these kids, please look into the concept of AI hallucination. AI cannot perceive things and has no ability to think critically, which means it cannot tell what's real and what's not. Really drill into these kids that they are better off asking advice from a toddler.

I used the characterAI bot instead of chatGPT in this case, but chatGPT has the same issues, because neither bot is capable of thinking about what it's saying.

Calling these things "artificial intelligence" is a core part of the problem. They are not intelligent in any sense of the word. They are less intelligent than the spell check and grammar check functions in Microsoft Word circa 2010.

Part of the problem is that ChatGPT has been advertised as being able to do all sorts of things, when its core function is not that. ChatGPT mimics human speech and responses.

That’s all it does. Even though it has been fed the entirety of the content available on the internet and public archives, it only uses that in order to mimic speech of certain situations. If you ask it to write you a poem, it’s gonna crunch the numbers and determine the statistically most-likely next word in the series based on its collection of works labeled as ‘poetry’. If it happens to spit out something profound-sounding, that’s entirely human interpretation. Likewise when you ask it a question about facts. The machine has a directive to respond to questions with definitive -SOUNDING answers, and picks out the statistically most common ‘confident’ language based on its database of research papers.

If you ask chatGPT to give you citations for its information, it will use the MLA formula and put in the statistically most-likely piece of information in each spot.

You can ask ChatGPT for a citation of a doctoral dissertation on the soul of a toaster oven by a German Sikh in 300 BC, and you will get it, despite the fact that such a document doesn’t exist.

The program will spit out a German name for the author, a title that references Sikh beliefs, with a journal that publishes dissertations as a publication source, and 300BC as the date.

Because that’s all ChatGPT is. It’s longform autofill. If you’ve ever been irritated by the keyboard on your phone trying to automatically shove in the next word you’re typing, why would you want chatGPT to do anything for you?

retail etiquette

alternatively titled, “how to be a decent human being to people who are suffering enough as it is to help your supposedly entitled ass”

1. get off your cell phone.         - cashiers ( not to mention the people patiently waiting in line ) don’t need to hear about how little Kelsey’s doing on the soccer team, or how your mother-in-law is coming into town for her birthday and you’re just SO INCONVENIENCED by having to purchase paper plates and cheap napkins before her arrival.  just tell them you’ll call them back when you’re done.       - if you can’t be assed to think about other people, at least acknowledge the cashier with a smile or a wave.  if they speak to you or ask you a question, don’t shush them.  tell your BFF Tanisha to hold on for what might be a total of four seconds. 

2.  when an item doesn’t immediately scan, please say anything but “oh, it must be free!”  please, dear god, anything but that.  you’re not being funny.  or clever.  or original.  they hear this at least ten times a day.  

3.  the number of items listed on the express lane is not a suggestion.  if you know that you have more items, don’t go there.  it’s that simple.  the express lanes have to be kept open for people who have small orders, so they’re not stuck behind someone with a cart piled high with what’s maybe a week’s worth of food and clothes you’ll inevitably be returning. 

4.  while unloading your cart, put the big items ( i.e., packages of toilet paper, crates of water bottles ) last.  there’s very little room for the cashiers to work with.  when you’re done unloading your cart, pull it up to the loading space and start putting the bags and other items into your cart instead of standing there and staring off into space or fiddling with your phone. 

5.  when you ask a cashier a store-related question ( i.e., how many coupons are allowed per order, whether or not you’re getting the right BOGO deal, etc. ), and they answer you politely and confidently, don’t challenge them.  they work there.  you don’t.  they know the way the store works.  you don’t.  if they’ve forgotten something or made a mistake, by all means, ask them about it – but do it politely.  we all make mistakes.  

6.  do not – i repeat, do not – put your money down on the counter or conveyor belt, especially if the cashier is visibly ready to take it.  hand it over to them.  if you need to count out some change, tell them so they can wait.  oh, and if they’ve already cashed you out, don’t hand over some random amount of change after the drawer’s open.  

7.  if your card’s declined, it’s not their fault.  don’t ask them why it wasn’t accepted.  they don’t know.  and don’t get angry or impatient with them, or insist you have money because you just deposited a check – they do not care.  they cannot help you with problems that are clearly on your end.  

8.  do not yell at a cashier.  once again, for the people in the back:  do not yell at a cashier, especially someone who’s clearly new to the job.  would you appreciate being yelled at for something beyond your control, or a simple, fixable mistake?  no.  so don’t do it to them.  

9.  if you get an answer you don’t like from a cashier and ask to speak to a manager, guess what?  you’re most likely gonna get the same answer from them.  here’s a news flash: the customer is not always right, the company will not always pander to your temper tantrums, and making a scene in front of a line of people with quickly-diminishing patience will not change their minds. 

10.  overall, please just be polite.  these people are working their asses off to help their customers, most of which don’t appreciate their efforts at all.  they’re constantly ignored, mistreated, questioned and degraded, and over time, it really does a number on their emotional state.  just be kind and courteous.  they’re human beings, not mindless drones.  smiles and nice conversations go a long way.  

if anyone else has anything to add, feel free.  floor associates, back room / production workers – go crazy.  share your woes and pet peeves.  

What’s a fact* you wish you could beam into the mind of every person in the world?

(*Not an opinion or conviction, but a proven or scientific fact)

A study in 2014 found that the brain changes in the amygdala found in pregnant mothers exist in every adult that becomes a primary caregiver, whether male, female, biological or adoptive.

This means that theres no such thing as a ‘default caregiver’ and that’s fantastic news for alternative families(same-sex couples, stay at home dads, single fathers, step-parents, potential adoptive parents, etc).

Found on my Facebook.

Sure would be a shame if Trump had a fatal coronary because everyone got to see him as a sloppy, balding, senile old doofus instead of the power persona he wants to project, so make sure you don't share this.

I legit had to look hard at this, because I didn’t recognize him without the orange.

god I could be so wealthy if I had no ethics. that's so fucking frustrating. I'm living paycheck to paycheck because I'm not grifting vulnerable idiots on TikTok. I feel like I have the ability to very easily scam people. I could make a killing with AI. but god. I have morals and ethics and so I get to be poor as shit. I hate this fucking world

I could have made a killing as a psychic, but noooo I have to feel bad about lying to people ugh

I think abt this all the time because the thing is, evil rich people truly believe that they’re geniuses who have discovered a way to make money that the rest of us dummies haven’t…but the truth is that they are just willing to do evil shit that everyone else would prefer to not to because we have standards

A psychic or a cult leader are my top two "If only I had no ethics" dream jobs. Or to combine the two and become a high-priced life coach to the type of wealthy people who are really into The Secret and companies like Goop.

Pesky pesky ethics.

These posts need a clarification: Are fries and chicken tenders on the menu or not?

If yes, who cares. The restaurant obviously doesn't or they wouldn't put them on the menu. They've probably been tweaked to be thematically appropriate to the menu anyway (fancy, spiced etc).

If no, that's extremely weird behaviour. Do people do that, order things that aren't on the menu? I would definitely question that

Second clarification: do secret menu items count?

healthcare should not have a weight limit.

like it doesn’t matter if a person is so fat they’re immobile & have infections in their skin folds & need assistance with everything from hygiene to cooking to cleaning etc. they should still get good medical care.

the fattest person you possibly imagine still deserves medical care. it also doesn’t matter why they’re fat, even if that person got fat because all they did was eat and eat without ever exercising, they still deserve medical care.

We ask your questions anonymously so you don’t have to! Submissions are open on the 1st and 15th of the month.

We have 30 days until the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) laws are rescinded. This is the 50-year bedrock of American conservation. Normally, these actions take years but the administration has provided 30 days for public comment gutting clean water and clean air. Drop what you’re doing, before you make any more calls or read any more social media posts, please populate the Federal Register with dissent.

A. Go to https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/02/25/2025-03014/removal-of-national-environmental-policy-act-implementing-regulations

B. Click on the green rectangle in the upper right corner ("SUBMIT A PUBLIC COMMENT") .

C. Fill in your comment, and info at the bottom, and SUBMIT COMMENT.

I just did that (2/27/2025), and the message on that website said:

The comment period ends March 27, not March 30!!!

I strongly suggest (in your own words) couching your dissent in Trump's (and followers') own rhetoric. Here's what I said:

Removing these regulations will make America sick again, cause neurological and intellectual impairment in children (due to less regulation of lead), and raise the level of preventable cancers in adults (due to less regulation of known carcinogens),thus reducing American productivity and greatness.

Done! It took me two seconds.

I think it was about a month into dating my betrothed that I first turned to them and said, “You smell hungry, want to get some lunch?”

“I what? I smell hungry?”

“Yeah, like, the empty smell. Aren’t you hungry?”

They were, but it was hard for them to accept smelling a state of being. After a few weeks of me pointing it out right before they realized it themself though they asked, “What does hunger smell like?”

“Bad.”

“That’s not helpful.”

“It’s like… an emptiness that goes past the mouth? Bad breath is more upfront but hunger is like you’re smelling stomach acid, it’s all the way from an empty belly.”

They started smelling my mouth in exaggerated silly fashion but eventually they did start to recognize it.

They’re now very smug when they get to use the skill back at me and inform me that I’m hungry.

What does that mean!!!

Sheets, I mean this in the NICEST way possible:

Your writing style perfectly encapsulates the Tumblr vernacular and style about just posting about a thing where context may or may not reveal itself as you read the post. Your posts do that, and then as you get about the halfway point, it turns ever so slightly left into the uncanny valley, so that by the end, the reader is simultaneously confident that they just read a piece of surrealist fiction, and yet intrigued by it.

I myself finished reading this, and was at the same time going ‘that’s not a thing’ and ‘I wonder if I get really close to my partner, if I could smell his hunger’. And then in classic tumblr fashion, I scroll back up to see OP, and once again, it’s @foldingfittedsheets.

There’s another tumblr user I follow who’s similar, but slightly different, called @seat-safety-switch . The surrealist vibe definitely makes you wonder if these posts crossed over from social media in another universe where things are juuust slightly to the left. In this case, a universe where hunger has a scent.

sorry another bald tshirt post that came to me last night

ive been thinking about this for about a singular minute but i thought about it very hard

The first is Shrek with Puss and Donkey. The second is Donkey with Shrek and Fiona.

DND character who accidentally becomes a paladin at their wedding bc they meant their wedding vows a little too hard and invents the Oath of Love subclass. Is this anything

People reblogging this with "this is just oath of devotion" no. Wrong. Oath of Devotion is an inherently lawful good oath devoted to the ideals of classical chivalry. It is an oath to serve all of the weak and defenseless in need of protection.

This is an idea I came up with after reading abt Oath of the Crown and realizing paladins don't have to be dedicated to ideals and ideals alone. That you can swear fealty to a mortal individual and still receive paladin powers from the strength of your conviction alone. This is about loving someone so much that the universe is forced to bend to the sheer force of your love, the fierceness of your vows as you speak them at a ceremony that you did not expect to gain anything from except the lawful right to remain at your beloved's side.

Some genuine "true love" bs that blurs the line between a paladin oath and a warlock pact. No alignment required you can be as evil or deceitful as you want to everyone else so long as all of your actions are out of pure, faithful, and honest love to your one person and that person only. Wifeguy hours taken to the farthest possible extreme of the new 5e paladin lore rules to result in accidental powers.

Gomez & Morticia Addams

Herb and Scarlet Overkill

Hey everyone, I know it's going to be a busy day for a lot of people, but Google enrolled everyone over 18 into their AI program automatically.

If you have a google account, first go to gemini.google.com/extensions and turn everything off.

Then you need to go to myactivity.google.com/product/gemini and turn off all Gemini activity tracking. You do have to do them in that order to make sure it works.

Honestly, I'm not sure how long this will last, but this should keep Gemini off your projects for a bit.

I saw this over on bluesky and figured it would be good to spread on here. It only takes a few minutes to do.

Also when I worked in retail there was a little old lady with dementia who lived next door to the store and sometimes I would help take her shopping to her. Her husband was nice and so was she. She had a pet budgie named bubba and he used to sit in the window when he was in his cage. A friend of my family actually saved the woman and the budgie from a house fire years ago. Like went in and got the woman out and went back in for the budgie. He was cute blue and white and she loved to talk about him. I used to see him every day when I walked past for work. We drove past today and bubba’s cage wasn’t in the window anymore. This made me sad

Bring them a hot meal. Sounds like they need it.

I Sexually Identify as an Attack Helicopter was one of the best works of sci-fi of our generation and one of the best works of transgender fiction ever written, and there are world renowned authors who still have successful careers after they publicly assassinated the nascent woman who wrote it. I don't think they should ever know peace.

Isabel Fall is the patron saint of works unwritten and art unmade by a culture that cannot tolerate trans women

I think this constantly and then I get angry for thinking it, because trans women should not have to be martyrs or saints to animate our politics and our art. that work should have been her debut, not her epitaph. I should be moved by her career, not her absence. I could spit.

read it again

I literally did not know that this was an actual work of literature. I thought that the sentence was just a dig at trans people. Wow.

so i took out the trash today like the good house husband i am not, leaving behind the rank smell of long forgotten noodles and the regrets of two people with memory issues

i, like any good tumblr citizen, remember the tales of the person who put two cups of vanilla extract in their oven so i did the sensible thing to get out two Caps of extract

just then, inspiration struck. a bolt of lightning straight from the muses themselves, if i could use vanilla extract.... who's to say i couldn't use other extracts?

i scoured the cabinets, i knew my partner had secreted away some illicit non-vanilla type extracts for baking, and i found it.

hidden in the back of the cabinet was a lone bottle of mint extract

i emptied my two caps with abandon into an (oven safe) glass dish and gleefully set the oven for 300 for an hour

all that was left now was to wait for the sins of the mind to be purged by the mighty mint leaf

ten minutes in... starting to smell kinda like a thin mint

fifteen minutes in, i take a nice deep breath of lovely scented air and i am greeted by searing burning minty pain

i launch myself towards the kitchen, every step closer to mint hell, every orifice on my face burning with the freezing righteous flame of menthol

im fumbling for the oven mitt to rid my home of this foul demon, i pry the oven open and am hit with a blast unlike anything else

i feel what that vine kid taking shots of mouthwash feels, i was seared raw, my tits were blown clean off, and it was just me and that devilish beguiling minty fresh taste

quickly dumping the rest into the sink i ran towards the door, begging for the sweet sweet smell of un-minted air

learning nothing from this encounter, i dare to try once more, with the tumblr-approved extract this time

wish me luck

update: the vanilla has finished cooking, it now very much smells like the pillsberry doughboy fucked a thin mint

doesn't hurt tho so.... improvement?

#congrats on commiting chemical warfare against yourself

At least it wasn’t clove oil.

I just got served an ad on a mobile game that linked to a 45-minute video for a "breathing remedy" and the video is *such* a comprehensive collection of CAM manipulation and lies that I'm considering transcribing it to break down how CAM sales tactics work.

Please do. I’m interested.