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pfgallagher

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pat at gallagher dot dev

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I’ve heard about that! My partner and I have both been learning to draw this year. I’m pretty decent at drawing observationally / from reference, but I haven’t tried much from memory. I imagine she’d be much better at that side of things. I’ve also noticed I’m not great at coming up with initial ideas or visual concepts, but once I have a topic or direction, I can absolutely run with it.

I also think it makes sense why a lot of software engineers (myself included) have aphantasia. Being “rational” is arguably easier when you’re not influenced by the emotional weight of images. Maybe we’re even less predisposed to PTSD, since we can’t visually relive things in the same way. My mind still races at night like anyone else’s, but it’s all non-visual. Just endless inner monologue instead of a reel of images. Couldn't count sheep if I tried!

Your metaphor isn't bad, actually. I just don't visualize anything. It's more like a feeling of abstract relationships. It often feels like most of my brain is in RAM; I can usually recall things almost instantly. And if I can’t, I can do the trick where you think of something else and let your mind crunch in the background until it pops up.

I should clarify that I can still imagine what a room looks like and what’s in it. I just don’t see it. It’s more like I feel the layout or know where things are, almost like navigating a mental map without any visuals. Specific details like colors, patterns, etc. are much harder to recall unless I am intimately familiar with the object or whatever.

I have aphantasia. Like many others, I am able to see images when I dream and very rarely in a hypnagogic state.

My partner is on the opposite side of the spectrum; she can conjure mental images with ease. Our differences in that respect have led to a lot of interesting conversations.

I think aphantasia is quite misunderstood by people able to visualize. I can remember how things look, have no issues identifying faces, have a strong spatial understanding of places I've been, etc. It's hard to describe precisely; we just remember things differently.

I turned down an interview with Rabbit. While I was looking into the company, I watched a product demo of theirs featuring the CEO who didn’t use the scroll wheel on the device (instead used the touch screen) and it seemed as if multiple features shown were not actually in a functional state. Kind of a weird tech stack, too, based on the job description.

Cooler screens 3 years ago

I wasn't involved with the hardware side of things. The SoCs are from Nvidia, iirc. The widely-publicized issues with Walgreens are 'electrical,' but I'm unsure of what that actually boils down to in practice.

Cooler screens 3 years ago

Unlike the starting point, a regular glass door, which effectively always accurately displays its inventory, a screen layer, by nature, introduces the possibility of inaccurate data, an entirely dark door, etc. Hardware maintenance is no doubt important: having a bunch of inoperative doors, especially in a single location, can lead to customers having negative experiences. The advertising premise is more straightforward - show contextual ads to customers seconds before they make a purchase.

Cooler screens 3 years ago

Some friends worked there. The vibe was very corporate for a startup; they definitely took a lot of management cues from Walgreens.

Cooler screens 3 years ago

I was on the Retail Value Add (RVA) team, which primarily handles the backend providing the content to the doors, as well as an interface for clients to update said content.

I got it to list out some keys with example values ("context information" in chatGPT parlance):

{ "Current date": "2023-02-08", "Knowledge cutoff": "2021-09", "Language": "English", "Writing style": "Formal", "Topic": "History", "Intent": "Answer question", "Location": "New York", "Prompt type": "Question answering", "Audience": "Experts", "Emotion": "Neutral", "Tone": "Informative", "Domain": "Science", "Task": "Generate summary" }