• Bobby Turkalino
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    264 hours ago

    Ok but calculators are only allowed in math class and if there’s one thing language models suck at, it’s doing basic math. Forget anything at least as complicated as algebra

    • @[email protected]
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      62 hours ago

      For me they weren’t allowed in Calc I, II, III, Alg I, II and Differential equations. Every other class pretty much required it.

      if there’s one thing language models suck at, it’s doing basic math.

      If you’re using a GPT 3.5 turbo level models, sure. Synthetic data is perfect for teaching LLMs, o1 will be good enough up to Calc III IMO, maybe even better.

      The only thing I don’t like about this is that it uses a TI, yikes.

      • @jacksilver
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        110 minutes ago

        LLMs do suck at math, if you look into it, the o1 models actually escape the LLM output and write a python function to calculate the output, I’ve been able to break their math functions by asking for functions that use math not in the standard Python library.

        I know someone also wrote a wolfram integration to help solve LLMs math problems.

      • @[email protected]
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        32 hours ago

        They let us use them for all my college math classes.

        They really don’t help much at all if you don’t understand the math, and if you do understand, you don’t need the calculator most of the time.

    • @5oap10116
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      33 hours ago

      This kid never took science

  • @[email protected]
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    966 hours ago

    If a kid is smart enough to figure this out and make it work for them, they’re gonna be fine…

    • @[email protected]
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      356 hours ago

      Back when we were doing quadratic equations; I wrote a program on my TI-84 that would ask which parts of the equation you already had, and would fill in the rest for you.

      My teacher liked it so much he bought a transfer cable for those calculators so he could get a copy for himself. Then used to to grade tests.

      • @linearchaos
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        62 hours ago

        I could never remember the formula to calculate compound interest.

        But I had no trouble writing a for loop.

      • @Khanzarate
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        175 hours ago

        I did the same thing. It was allowed in general, with the correct thought, “if you can code it yourself, you know the content”

        I had another “program” that would fail to run but that’s because I wrote notes into it. Doubt that was allowed.

          • @piecat
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            63 hours ago

            Oh I would have been so pissed. I was programming on my calculator 24/7 instead of my classes.

            I wrote a sudoku “editor”

            I put that in quotes because I had a grid that could be navigated, arrows moved, storing the numbers, had number entry down, and then I learned the hard way what p vs np is.

        • @[email protected]
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          24 hours ago

          I did that but made it return success before it got to the notes. You had to scroll to get to the notes, but it looked innocuous before that.

      • @ShunkW
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        15 hours ago

        So you didn’t get the transfer cable with your calculator? Smells fishy

        • @TriflingToad
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          65 hours ago

          you can code directly on the device, it’s just a PAIN to do compared to moving the files over

    • Maestro
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      476 hours ago

      Yes, but the kids buying the modded devices may not be

        • @cm0002
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          95 hours ago

          “C’s get degrees, and here’s the tease: no one’s asking for transcripts, just expertise.”

          • @Broken_Monitor
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            34 hours ago

            I’ve had to provide my transcript for several job applications. Government ones seem to usually ask.

              • @Jesusaurus
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                22 hours ago

                My senior dev was asked for his transcript and he’s been in the field for 25+years. He told them to get in touch with his college that doesn’t exist anymore. Suspect it’s a standard set of forms they need to fill.

    • @[email protected]
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      6 hours ago

      Idk, if there is one thing it does consistently well its standardized tests.

      Not that it can be used in any non mathematical class and if teachers do actually pay attention.

        • @[email protected]
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          116 hours ago

          It’s not a WiFi model, a custom module was hidden inside the calculator to provide the WiFi connection.

          • @[email protected]
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            -15 hours ago

            Ah yup should’ve read the article lol. That’s a whole lot of work and effort into cheating, which probably won’t work? Needs a whole thing to it sounds like plug into the link port? Which would stick out… so like… idk MAYBE they are stupid and don’t notice but like… I wouldn’t bet my life on that.

            • @cm0002
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              45 hours ago

              Because the phrase “Cheaters never prosper” isn’t actually true. There are many executives, politicians and rich people that very very likely “cheated” at some point along the way to get where they are, multiple times probably.

              Hell, I wouldn’t even be surprised if such phrases were spread by the rich/ruling class/whatever as just another thing to keep people divided lol

            • @[email protected]
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              15 hours ago

              There’s a video in the article showing the whole process. The new module was completely hidden inside the calculators case and soldered to the internal connections.

              Until you actually open it up, it doesn’t look abnormal at all.

              • @[email protected]
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                14 hours ago

                Ah, interesting. That’s quite a bit of work more than expected then lol. Link things at the top assumed it’d plug into that. Seems like a whole lot of work where if you’re into fixing shit and soldering and all that you probably don’t hate math much and thus… learning algebra 2 for a damn SAT wouldn’t be that hard?

                I suppose maybe the GRE or whatever? Idk what all that entails and if they allow these.

    • Fubarberry
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      225 hours ago

      They added wifi with a extra circuit board hidden inside the calculator case. It’s connected to the calculators communication port, and pretends to be another calculator. So they can use the calculator’s built in “send” function to send variables/text/etc to the hidden card, which then uses it’s internet connection to look up answers and send the results back.

  • partial_accumen
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    75 hours ago

    Its been quite a while since I’ve taken a proctored exam, but then all the proctors would clear all the memory on your calc before they’d let you use it for test. Is that not the case anymore?

    • @Broken_Monitor
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      4 hours ago

      Depends on the exam. Some don’t even allow programmable calcs because they don’t want to deal with possible shit like this. I have already seen a certification exam where they provide the calculators as well.

    • umami_wasabi
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      5 hours ago

      The article said it can be download “on demand” so that might make the clearing pointless.

    • @bandwidthcrisis
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      25 hours ago

      The launcher program can be downloaded on-demand, avoiding detection if a teacher inspects or clears the calculator’s memory

      If I understood it correctly, the Wi-Fi module appears as a standard calculator-to-calculator interface, so built-in commands can install the cheat apps at any time.

  • TimeSquirrel
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    76 hours ago

    Yeah, nobody in class is going to suspect the kid with the arduino-type science project mess of wires duct taped to their calculator.

    For those too lazy to read, that’s how this works. An external micro controller talks to the calc through the IO port, and does the Wifi stuff, acting as a middleman.

    Edit: I did not see the video.

    • @[email protected]
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      115 hours ago

      I saw the video. It closes up nicely and is invisible. It can even re-download the programs if wiped before by the teacher.

        • @[email protected]
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          156 minutes ago

          You could just have read. It’s also mentioned in the main article how it was nearly hidden.

    • @[email protected]
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      55 hours ago

      For those too lazy to watch the video, the whole thing is eventually concealed within the calculator.

  • CrimeDad
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    -107 hours ago

    Better than plastic explosives and shrapnel.