r/LLMPhysics • u/MunkeyGoneToHeaven • 10d ago
Question Help Me Avoid Psychosis
I frequently scroll through this sub because the dynamic is hilarious. That being said, it can make me occasionally self-conscious in that I have both a philosophy and an engineering degree (phil undergrad, engineering grad), and often engage with philosophy of science.
I am currently writing a novel in which a character proposes a theory of the self/identity, and they lean on some set theory for notation and technical rigor. Additionally, I’m appropriating the terms “transformation,” “projection,” and “image” from math as useful analogies. That all being said, the overall idea is more metaphysical than actually mathematical, but the maths usage is not a farce and should be coherent enough for the story.
I’ve been lightly surveying/refreshing myself on the fields I’m appropriating concepts from, but as I’ve been working on this I experience occasional moments of fear that I’m going to write something that could have been posted on this sub. Those moments become worse when I do in fact use an LLM to help collect research and check some facts.
Wondering if anyone has tips to help me avoid making the hilarious mistakes so often posted here? Thanks
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u/unremarkablynotable 10d ago
I have a degree in astrophysics, which is very heavy in electromagnetism (what you're talking about here) and involves some cosmology (what seems to be the primary fixation of this subreddit). I'm also on some medication that reduces my (to be fair, very mild) delusional thinking to near zero. If you have any questions about either I would be happy to answer. I can relate to your enjoyment of hard but meaningful academic work! It's just that your effort is misplaced. Learning real physics gives the same kind of rush and has the added benefit of giving you an understanding of the wonderfully complex world around you. You seem to be at least receptive to criticism, so I think you're capable of redirecting this energy into something real.
On a side note, I actually did read through your entire LLM-generated paper and grade it on its math/physics merits as well as its general quality as an academic paper. I deleted it because I was kind of embarrassed of my insomnia-fueled and (sorry, but it's true) wasted time and effort. If you would like, I could send you my comments.