Nick Savage

Banality of complex systems from a Canadian perspective, written by Nick Savage

The hottest Substack posts of Nick Savage

And their main takeaways
40 implied HN points β€’ 26 Jan 25
  1. Codescribble is a new shared text editor that lets multiple people work on the same document at once. It's designed to be fast and easy to use, similar to Google Docs.
  2. Using AI to help build software can be frustrating and messy, especially if you don’t fully understand how it works. This can lead to a lot of debugging and wasted time.
  3. It's crucial to keep a broader perspective while coding. Getting too focused on small tasks can lead to mistakes and delays, so step back and see the bigger picture.
56 implied HN points β€’ 02 Jan 25
  1. Using digital tools for note-taking can be helpful, but you can lose some benefits of physical notes, like seeing related ideas together. It's important to find ways to keep those surprising connections.
  2. AI tools can automate parts of knowledge management, but they might not always help you understand the content better. Personal processing and making connections should still be done by humans.
  3. The goal of a good knowledge management system is to enhance your own insights and understanding. Tools should help organize, but the learning and connecting of ideas should still come from you.
8 implied HN points β€’ 05 May 23
  1. Large Language Models like ChatGPT can be helpful in streamlining professional communication.
  2. There is an asymmetry in communication between bosses and subordinates, leading to different levels of formality in email communication.
  3. The use of Large Language Models in business communication raises questions about the value of using elaborate business-speak and the necessity of such technology.
0 implied HN points β€’ 28 Apr 23
  1. LLMs provide significant value to the legal field's unstructured data problem, but come with privacy and quality concerns.
  2. Accounting benefits from LLMs for automating processes, but does not face the data privacy issues of the legal field.
  3. Using LLMs with caution in legal and accounting fields offers valuable insights and operational efficiency.
0 implied HN points β€’ 08 Jan 25
  1. AI coding tools like Cursor can help non-traditional developers build software faster and more easily. They allow users to focus on the interesting parts of a project instead of getting stuck on complicated coding tasks.
  2. Having some coding knowledge is important when using these AI tools. They work best when you understand what you're trying to do and can guide the AI, rather than starting completely from scratch.
  3. The use of AI in development helps bridge the gap between idea and execution. This means that even those who took a different route into tech can now create projects that once felt out of reach.
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0 implied HN points β€’ 21 Nov 24
  1. Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) helps software retrieve information and generate new ideas using special numbers called embeddings. This makes searching for connected notes easier and more powerful.
  2. Chunking and reranking improve the quality of search results. By breaking down text into smaller pieces and reassessing them, users can find more relevant information quickly.
  3. Zettelgarden's graph structure has potential for creating deeper connections between notes. This could lead to more meaningful insights, not just basic search results.
0 implied HN points β€’ 26 Nov 24
  1. An intelligent chat interface can make knowledge management more interactive. Instead of searching manually, you could ask your system questions and get direct answers.
  2. Integrating retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) can help find relevant information in your notes. It uses smart methods to connect ideas and provide useful insights.
  3. Zettelgarden aims to enhance note-taking by linking information in a structured way. This will allow users to build a personal knowledge base that improves over time with more input.
0 implied HN points β€’ 02 Dec 24
  1. Zettelgarden aims to help users discover connections between their notes, not just the recent ones. It wants to make sure older notes are just as visible and important as new ones.
  2. The project started with vector search, which had some challenges when dealing with longer notes. To overcome this, smaller chunks of text were used for better connections.
  3. Now, Zettelgarden is focusing on 'entity processing' to identify important people, places, and events within notes. This helps link related ideas more effectively.