>Transformers are a machine-learning model at the foundation of many state-of-the-art systems in modern AI, originally proposed in [arXiv:1706.03762]. In this post, we are going to build a generalization of Transformer models that can operate on (almost) arbitrary structures such as functions, graphs, probability distributions, not just matrices and vectors.
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>This work is part of a series of similar ideas exploring machine learning through abstract diagrammatical means.
https://cybercat.institute/2025/02/12/transformers-applicati...
pawel ... ?
But then ai realized I would always forget the names for all the mathy c' words - commutativity commutativity, qssociativity... and for the first time I could actually remember commutativity and what it means, just because he tied it into a graphical representation (which actually made me laugh out loud because, initially, I thought it was a joke). So the concept of "x + y = y + x" always made sense to me but never really stuck like the graphical representation, which also made me remember its name for the first time.
I am sold.
[0] https://web.archive.org/web/20140402025221/http://m.nautil.u...
Very impressive how some people can create visual representations that enhance understanding.
Aka one of my favorite axioms: https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/03/19/green-blackboa...
From the perspective of the lambda calculus for example, the duplication of the addition node in "When Adding met Copying" [2] mirrors exactly the iterative duplication of lambda terms - ie. something like (λx.x x) M!
[1]: https://ezb.io/thoughts/interaction_nets/lambda_calculus/202...
[2]: https://graphicallinearalgebra.net/2015/05/12/when-adding-me...
If the reader was feeling a bit dumb and/or embarrassed that they didn't yet get the concept being explained then this will only make them feel worse and give up.
Language like that is often used to make things feel approachable and worry-free, but can have the opposite effect.
And never ever, ever write "obvious" in a doc explaining something, because if obviousness was at play they wouldn't be reading your doc.
I think about wording like that, like the extraneously explicit meta-content that dumbs down so many story plots. A character explicitly says "That makes me angry". When a better written story would make the anger implicitly obvious.
Stories should show not tell.
Make a point, make it clear make it concise, and it will be simple for most readers. Don't talk about making a point, or say a point is clear.
That is projecting attributes or experiences onto readers. But even a very well written point may not appear simple for some readers. Assume (optimistically!) that there will always be some unusually under-prepared but motivated reader. Hooray if you get them! They can handle a challenge every so often.
"Simple" communication is a high priority target, but rarely completely achievable for the total self-selected, beyond intended, audience.
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interaction_nets#Interaction_c...
lorenzo_medici•7mo ago
rurban•7mo ago