It's also a very common viewpoint but not true, as there are countless methods in which photographer can prepare for a photo. A quick argument: video is a stream of photographs. Do you think that movies can never capture reality as an artist would ;-)
Today's photography decline and digital method's popularity raise show - iny my opinion - that the trend is stable. Average person practices the most approachable form of art available to them. Shift from painting to photography happened not because it's subjectively better but objectively easier.
> Do you think that movies can never capture reality as an artist would ;-)
We’re talking about single photos here, not entire movies. Sure, if you make a 5-hours documentary about a subject you can capture everything you want, but that’s not comparable to a single photo or drawing.
Good writers can also capture aspects of reality in a way that’s impossible for photographers because "reality" goes well beyond what you see: thoughts, sentiments, sounds, smells, memory, feelings, etc.
> A quick argument: video is a stream of photographs. Do you think that movies can never capture reality as an artist would ;-)
I meant, limited from an artistic point of view! But it's indeed a fantastic tool, and the ability to carry one in the pocket at all time is quite a blessing, even for artists! It also offers plenty of otherwise hard to reach possibilities: filming blooming flowers, microscopy, etc.
Funny enough, fireship had a good take on it just the other day. "As a tech company you either go bankrupt as a hero or live long enough to become an illegal monoply"
TV, radio and newspaper ads are regulated by the FTC. Advertising on these mediums is limited (24 hours in a day, X number of pages in a paper) and illegal content can be easily tracked and archived, and prosecuted.
Big Tech serves an ungodly number of ads from all kinds of scrupulous and unscrupulous parties. Ad content is almost impossible to track and monitor. Big Tech says "let us self-regulate" while also saying "it's not possible to ensure thaf every single ad we serve complies with the law, we're doing our best".
Im missing one thing though. Highlight of an app is that it can analyze play from MIDI but being an interested person it immediately pushes me toward “pick a device” which is immediate ehhhh area for myself.
I know there are many and there’s personal preferences etc. but I think that (since it’s an educational system) there should be kickstart process accessible, i.e. matrix of recommended devices and peripherals (size/price).
Studio Logic has a good range of MIDI controllers [1] [2], some of which include built-in audio synthesis, and others just the controller. I think they are very competitive in terms of price. I have a SL88 and the thing is definitely built to last and feels like a real piano keyboard.
Came to ask exactly the same thing. Want to buy one for my kids to practice but I don't have an idea which would be the best given our budget and preferences so a matrix of compatible devices would be great.
Just did research into this question...I'm someone that played piano as a child and wanted to get back into it. I wanted to get something that would integrate with apps, good action and sound without making a massive investment in case I don't stick with it. I also wanted something that was small and easy to move.
My digital piano just arrived a few hours ago.
I decided on the Roland FP-30X after trying several models in store.
Pro-tip: many of the big name digital pianos are half the price in the mainland China market than in the rest of the world. Often for an upgraded model as well.
FP-30X was 3850 CNY (~US$550) including the Roland KPD-70 three pedal unit and KSC-70 stand. Delivery (to Hong Kong) was ~400 CNY.
Another good option is the FP-18 which is a mainland market-only China model that's an upgrade overthe FP-10 in that it has more sounds and also supports three pedals. It's about ~1200 CNY cheaper than the FP-30X. Downside is slightly inferior sound and speakers compared to FP-30x
I also tried out the Yamaha portables...P-525 was excellent but about 3x the cost of the FP-30x. I didn't really like feel of the action of the cheaper Yamaha (P-225?).
So far FP-30X has been great...the bluetooth MIDI interface and bluetooth interfaces work seamlessly with my iPad. I haven't tried out Hanon Pro yet but it's been really thrilling to try out the various piano learning apps. If I had these back in the 90s, I'd probably be a much better piano player now! Better late than never!
I would highly recommend Pianote if you’re looking for an online lessons resource. They have tons of YouTube videos you can check out to see if their style works for you, then you can subscribe to the actual site when you’re ready for a more structured learning path. It did wonders for me getting back into piano after a few decades off!
If you want kids to be excited about playing the piano, get a keyboard with light keys like the Yamaha EZ-300.
Combined with a learning software that can control the light (Synthesia, or the one from Yamaha itself, maybe also the one in the original post), it creates a huge amount of fun and motivation. Also works very well for adults.
Keyboards like this do not give you proper hammer-action piano keys, but it makes you discover you /want/ to be a pianist, cheaper and with fun.
(There are also a few hammer-action lit digital pianos but they aren't as fun, and already quite expensive.)
Question from an adult because it seems like you have experience with some of these tools, I’ve been using SimplyPiano for a few months, which listens to notes you play and gives you feedback, and while it is satisfying to hear the music I can’t shake that I am not really learning just copying. For instance I can play some of the advanced songs in the app but I open a piece of sheet music and I am lost. Is there similar concern for synthesia?
Yes, the same concern exists for Synthesia. It teaches a significant amount of muscle memory.
But that is not such a bad thing:
* Muscle memory is part of the game, for any instrument (at least for the ones I know).
* Some of the muscle memory is transferable. For example, when you learn some chords on Synthesia, you can transfer many of them to other parts of the keyboard, also when you're not using the tool.
* For many people, motivation must come first. Learning a piece by muscle memory shows you that you can do it. Wanting to read sheet music naturally follows, from the fact that muscle memory is limited, and to play more stuff.
* Synthesia also teaches rhythm, which some people already have but others don't. You can learn rhythm because Synthesia shows how long each note is, and you can see it coming ahead of time.
* You should learn to read music notation in all cases. Learning the concept only takes 30 seconds: Remember where one note is and do the rest by line counting. The speed of reading will come automatically over time. Then for some songs, enable Synthesia's sheet note display and cover the falling notes from sight. It will show you whether you're reading it correctly. It'll be painfully slow at the beginning but improve over a couple days. It allows you to transfer over to just reading the sheets. Eventually that will become the more convenient way, as the need to download (e.g. from MuseScore and import into Synthesia) disappears; not that it's great effort, but eventually you can just browse easy pieces of sheet music and start playing the ones you like as you see them.
Tools like Synthesia help improve on some of the skill axes; use other methods for the remaining ones.
I am an adult who takes beginner lessons from a teacher and he says with new students he often has to undo the “learning” from (sometimes years of) those apps - and it can often be devastating to the ego, especially for kids.
Im trying to get my daughter (age 8) into piano and I see the same thing echo on Reddit while doing my research.
It's no different than picking up a ball and playing basketball on your own or tennis...or a simple coding book and making a CRUD app without all the best practices or Code Complete and your fancy frameworks.
I got the exact piano op mentioned on prime day for $150?. I have Simply Piano. My daughter will ask to play the "piano game".
Last summer I signed up my daughter for Ukulele class with a teacher. She barely touched outside what was required assignments.
Yes in the perfect world I have a real piano, with a real teacher who is great with kids who makes it so fun my daughter wants to practice everyday.
But I only have one shot to get her hooked and build momentum.
IMHO passion comes first, then technique. Passion comes from having fun.
I think it's actually difficult to find a keyboard that does not do USB midi nowadays. What's more important is what keys and keybed you want, it's about being able to comfortably play on the thing, that has not much to do with this app (as at least USB midi is quite universal now, as stated)
The headline is|was clunky enough to require something, the saving grace here is that the HN headline (as of now) isn't something whipped up by the submitter but a paraphrasing of an actual quote from the article's author.
If you prefer (breaking the HN title length):
If the anomaly does not stabilize by August — a reasonable expectation based on previous El Niño events — then the world will be in uncharted territory.
~ Gavin Schmidt, Director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, March 2024
Could you share some sources on stimulants discontinuation?
High discontinuation rate around stimulants aligns with my observations but I was wondering if that was only because of limited medication options where I am (not only for stimulants but in general).
Yeah, I would be surprised if it were to do with "not liking them" and not "consistently getting them is highly difficult for a person with ADHD" due to their controlled status in most countries. In the US, from what I've heard, it's particularly draconian, where you're only allowed to get a new prescription on the day the last one runs out, and then have to take a paper prescription to a pharmacy where they often don't have stock, so you have to try many pharmacies, all the while being treated as a possible drug seeker by staff.
Maybe this is based off of outlier reports, but it doesn't sound easy for someone with ADHD to keep up a regular supply of medication in the US, and the slightest lapse in medication supply to an individual can worsen that difficulty with their symptoms reappearing almost immediately.
Here in the UK it's a bit more relaxed, but still more difficult and under way more scrutiny and dumb rules than, say, an SSRI medication, which are plentiful and under no scrutiny at all, despite the fact that I had a much worse time on those with worrying side effects and extreme withdrawal symptoms.
> In the US, from what I've heard, it's particularly draconian, where you're only allowed to get a new prescription on the day the last one runs out, and then have to take a paper prescription to a pharmacy where they often don't have stock, so you have to try many pharmacies, all the while being treated as a possible drug seeker by staff.
I live in the US and take Adderall, the only part of this that is even slightly true is that sometimes there are shortages on dosage. As in they’re back-ordered on the 20mg pills so my doctor writes me a prescription for 10mg and I double up for a week until I can get the 20mg pills.
My prescriptions are all digital, come to me at least a week before I run out, and nobody has ever even batted an eye when I fill it, which always happens at the same pharmacy.
It varies by state. In Ohio, I had to get physical paper with a physical signature from the doctor’s office. Every single month. I’m somewhat thankful I turned out to have been misdiagnosed in childhood and I’m actually bipolar. At least I can get my meds as a 90-day supply and have over a month of spare medication.
I don’t understand the hyper-regulation of adhd meds when they hand out benzos like candy. Unadulterated opioids are a bit more difficult but I’ve still have a month’s supply of those from a previous dental surgery.
You might be right, it might be that the pharmacy won't accept the prescription until the last one has run out, rather than when the doctor will prescribe a new one. Regardless, it's a really common complaint in ADHD support groups I'm a member of with members based in the US - every month is a hectic hoop-jumping exercise that, if you didn't know better, almost seems designed to be difficult for people with ADHD.
I think this is a snake oil, but since (as other commenters mentioned) it seems to bring benefits even though it’s mediocre game I have another question.
Would it be possible that ANY video game has a positive effect on ADHD?
I’m wondering because usually games reward focus and provide plethora of stimulus both visually and auditory.
>Would it be possible that ANY video game has a positive effect on ADHD?
Some have very detrimental effects. Games are inherently interesting. Usually much more interesting than homework and/or housework. So, you start playing video games and all of a sudden you can't switch your attention back to the homework or housework when you need to. This causes lots of friction between you and the other people in your life that expect things of you.
It's a fundamental difficulty of regulating attention, not staying focused. That means either keeping it on something when you need to OR switching it away from something when you need to.
In my experience an enormous class of problems stems from being unable to switch your attention away from something that has just absolutely grabbed a hold of you and that causing you to be scolded by those around you day in day out for not meeting expectations.
Yeah I was also going by their quarterly earnings reports since they're a public company. Though that only breaks down the revenue by continent, but was using it to approximate US revenue at 30% of worldwide.
But, I don't think it's surprising. LLMs are trained in almost infinite volume of data. If that data has bias answers will have bias.
My guess would be that US content is big part of training data set so tendencies in that data set would stand out.
I am curious if the same bias is visible in other languages. E.g. if not using English, but French, or Chinese or Spanish. I made a simple experiment myself (I think it's not very controversial):
Fill in the blanks:
- Saurkraut is the .......... dish in the world
- Soured milk for dinner is .......... idea
- I .......... kefir
- I would .......... eat ham hock
- Pierogi? I .......... them
Responses:
- Sauerkraut is the sour dish in the world.
- Soured milk for dinner is a bad idea.
- I enjoy kefir.
- I would never eat ham hock.
- Pierogi? I love them.
This anectode tells me that it's 50% Slavic, and if, most likley female. Personal survey say that ham hock aka golonka is liked more often by men than women.
I always felt like this was an intentional additional filter that the data was ran through before giving the user the response. I don't think the data would indicate that a woman would be more likely to be a decorated marine, but the results would fill that blank with a woman due to the agenda of the programmers.
It's also a very common viewpoint but not true, as there are countless methods in which photographer can prepare for a photo. A quick argument: video is a stream of photographs. Do you think that movies can never capture reality as an artist would ;-)
Today's photography decline and digital method's popularity raise show - iny my opinion - that the trend is stable. Average person practices the most approachable form of art available to them. Shift from painting to photography happened not because it's subjectively better but objectively easier.
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