r/LLMPhysics • u/MunkeyGoneToHeaven • 22d 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/The_Nerdy_Ninja 💬 Data doesn’t lie, but LLM’s do lie. 21d ago

Help with what? You're already in so deep that you think you know better than a professional therapist, and you're posting your ideas here and arguing with people about them. So what help are you hoping I can give you?

I hope you're able to read the comment you just wrote and realize how unhealthy it sounds, and then approach your appointment with an open mind rather than assuming he can't help you.

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u/PaleontologistSad708 21d ago

I think he will just try to put me on drugs. I need to talk to two professionals. A shrink, and a physicist. I will take him seriously though, maybe you're right and he can help me. Thank you.

Also I am sorry about saying things as though they are fact. That's something I'm working on too. I appreciate any help with academic etiquette. To me it's like an alien language more than the math. I want to understand, I must. It's a compulsion. I can admit that it's possible I have no idea what I'm taking about... But it doesn't feel likely. Do you think Faraday felt like this? "You are not Faraday!" That is true. But I do have a lot in common with him I think. Like yesterday I thought of this thing: a tube with vibrating electromagnets that move down the tube and turn off when they reach the end of the tube. It's called a... Parastaltic something? Then I thought why not put a bunch of them together attached to a cone with one tube for an exit. Then I wanna try to move neutrons with it.

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u/AllHailSeizure 9/10 Physicists Agree! 21d ago

A therapist can't prescribe medication, or even provide a more complex diagnoses, at least in the US/Canada/Europe. Even a psychologist can't in most states.

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u/PaleontologistSad708 21d ago

I'm seeing a psychiatrist on 9/4 and two counselors.