Recently reading The Making of America: The History of the United States from 1492 to the Present, published by National Geographic Children’s Books, I’ve relied heavily on ChatGPT 4o, or I could say ChatGPT is my AI companion throughout this reading. I also tried DeepSeek, which performs well, but I don’t think it’s as strong in American history as OpenAI’s model, which makes perfect sense.
I chose an introductory book to quickly build the structure and connect 400 years of history, rather than an academic work that focuses on the thoughts and reflections of a particular period. The inner decoration and furnishing can come later. However, introductory books inevitably leave out many details, facts, and explanations of the connections between events. So I often find myself confused while reading. Whenever that happens, I turn to ChatGPT for clarification, and it greatly helps with both my understanding and learning efficiency.
When I search for answers on Google, the results are usually in English, with few being originally in Chinese or translated into Chinese. Similarly, when Westerners try to understand topics related to the East, they often see content that is only available in Chinese or Japanese. While Google Translate and other translation tools help, they are often inaccurate, especially with slang or internet jargon, which only large language models can properly interpret. Additionally, searching for information manually is time-consuming; I have to sift through multiple sources to get a complete answer, and even then, I might only find a partial explanation. Spending too much time on small questions disrupts my overall reading and learning pace.
One greatest things of ChatGPT and other language models is their ability to break down language barriers. These models are not confined to a single language—they integrate multilingual data and computation seamlessly. So, regardless of how many languages are involved in the process, ChatGPT can provide me with answers in Chinese, making my learning experience much smoother.
I hated it in high school when some history teachers would respond to students by saying, “Don’t ask questions; think about it yourself.” I understand that looking for direct answers from generative language models can sometimes be a lazy approach, but it’s still much better than having no answer at all and being stuck forever.
I’m not afraid of asking “stupid” questions, though for the sake of record-keeping, I’ve listed all the questions I asked below.
I’m feeling that much of the text in museums shares a similar style, content structure, and difficulty level with children’s nonfiction books. Introducing AI companions in museums could be incredibly valuable. We all know that ChatGPT can make mistakes, but when we are not doing rigorous and novel academic research, and when we do have our own judgment, it is extremely powerful.
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从英国来美国的Separatists (Pilgrims)和1630年来的Puritans有什么异同？
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what is molasses in chinese?
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What are they?
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Although Boston was the location of the most vigorous resistance to the British, it was the bustling port city ofPhiladelphia (above) that was chosen as the meeting place for delegates from each of the Colonies when the time came to figure out how to free America from British control.这是为什么呢
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印花税法是什么
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什么意思？ 印花税适用于日常生活中必需的文件和印刷品，增加了殖民地居民的生活成本。
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为什么用印着税花的纸就是额外多交钱？
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英法战争后的英国债务是什么？为什么英国会有债务
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宾州、弗吉尼亚、和波士顿的早期殖民社会有什么不同？
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早期来到弗吉尼亚的英国人不是反抗国教吗？还是说他们是另外一批人，所以是以英国国教（圣公会）为主？
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Salem女巫小镇和早期麻省和波士顿的宗教严格规范和对女性女巫的迫害有关吗？
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sentence 1 Bostonians tar and feather a tax collector. sentence 2 In Philadelphia, a group called the Committee for Tarring and Feathering 什么是 tar and feather 他们俩为什么一起出现？
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我指的是tar and feather为什么会一起出现
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But after the war, Paine was soon forgotten. In 1787 he returned to England but was thrown out of the country for writing in defense of the French Revolution. Then he nearly lost his life in France when he criticized the violent turn of events that revolution had taken. The most hard-line revolutionaries had begun to chop off the heads of their enemies. 托马斯潘恩在美国独立战争之后经历了什么？
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他继续倡导激进的民主思想，但许多美国建国者（如乔治·华盛顿）倾向于更保守的治理模式。 这有哪些例子
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Many men at the time were suspicious of her influence over her husband. One called Abigail “Her Majesty.” But she refused to back down from political fights. 称她为女王殿下和她拒绝在政治斗争中退缩，为什么用的是But的关联？这有什么转折吗
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什么是“Despotism of the Peticoat.”
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所以是先规定了“九个州批准时就正式成为了联邦政府的框架”所以纽约和弗吉尼亚不批准是为了确保更多的其他州能够发表自己的观点？还是说因为纽约和弗吉尼亚迟迟不能批准，所以规定了有9个州批准就可以正式成为联邦框架？
- 制宪会议制定宪法的人，和之后各个州代表投票通过宪法的人不是同一批人？
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所以切诺基人原本住在密西西比河以东，而后迁往现在俄克拉荷马州所在的地方？
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肖尼族的特库姆塞和切诺基人有什么联系？
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我理解的正确吗？独立战争之前，英国人限制美国人不能超过阿巴拉契亚山，独立战争之后，美国人可以活动在密西西比河以东了？
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独立战争之前，即便英国人不让美国人跨国阿巴拉契亚山以避免和印第安人的冲突，但英国自己仍然有军队在阿巴拉契亚山以西对吗？
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法印战争或者说英法7年战争之前，法国对殖民地的占领和使用是怎么样的？
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所以这是英法战争不是法印战争啊？
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Jefferson and his followers were also enthusiastic supporters of the French Revolution, which began in 1789. The French were experimenting with forms of democracy even more radical than those in America, and ultimately they executed their king. Jefferson believed that the United States should support freedom movements throughout the world, but he did not support French attempts to interfere in our government. Hamilton, on the other hand, was suspicious of democracy even in America. He feared that the French Revolution would unleash anarchy across the globe. George Washington sided with Hamilton, pressuring Jefferson to resign from the administration. During this time many pro-French and pro- Jeffersonian democratic societies were formed. These would grow into the first real political parties in our country’s history Soon the more conservative Federalists were battling it out with the Democratic Republicans, or Republicans, as they came to be known. 这段话把那些人划分进了哪些个党派？对应后来的哪些党派？
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早期杰斐逊支持者支持较小的政府吗 而现在的民主党是倾向于更大的政府？
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is John Adams more Federalists or more Democratic Republicans
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1795年，英国还在和法国打仗吗？
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As President, John Adams was at the center of conflict between his Federalists and Thomas Jefferson’s Democratic Republicans. 这个时候James Madison已经不是联邦党人了吗？
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为什么在John Adams 任期国会是由联邦党人控制的？国会不是有参议院和众议院，由各州的各个党派人员构成吗？
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The resulting Supreme Court decision by ChiefJusticeJohn Marshall effectively gave the Supreme Court, rather than Congress or the President, final authority to declare laws constitutional or unconstitutional. ChiefJusticeJohn Marshall是联邦党人吗
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但Marshall也是John Adams临时增加岗位任命的，他不应该和Marbury一样吗
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Marshall作为联邦党人并且是大法官，那他会通过更倾向于联邦党人的案件不违宪？
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美国历史上同一个党派的人占领总统、国会参议院众议院和大法官是什么时候
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1803年 杰斐逊从法国购买路易斯安那。可是1763年之后法国在美洲的领地不是就只剩下海地了嘛？而密西西比河以西都是西班牙的？
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high seas是公海的意思吗？
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克拉克和刘易斯的远征抵达了太平洋Fort Clatsop.在西班牙人和英国人统治这片区域的时候西班牙人和英国人没有探索到太平洋吗？
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杰斐逊是废除了奴隶买卖吗？那为什么到19世纪棉花在南方种植时仍有大量努力买卖
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1836年Texas从墨西哥独立，为什么1845年要加入美国联邦
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Sierra Nevada是什么意思？为什么不是mountain nevada
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is Illinois senate Stephen A Douglas republican or not republican?
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what historical events happened in Harper's Ferry
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translate to Chinese: furtherance of the ends of justice
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what is ends
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frederick douglass是谁
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‘The only way to make the Fugitive Slave Law a dead letter is to make a half dozen or more dead kidnappers.中文是什么意思
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what is gorilla and guerrillas to Chinese
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林肯的副总统是Andrew Johnson. 林肯竞选总统时，和他一起竞选的有Candidates ran from four different parties. The South held one election, with Vice President John C. Breckinridge, a southern Democrat, running against John Bell of the Constitutional Union Party. Meanwhile in the North, Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, the chief advocate of popular sovereignty, squared off against Republican Abraham Lincoln, who promised to end the extension of slavery in the territories (but not end slavery itself)。所以Andrew Johnson是如何当选副总统的？他来自南方还是北方，支持还是反对奴隶制？
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Candidates ran from four different parties. The South held one election, with Vice President John C. Breckinridge, a southern Democrat, running against John Bell of the Constitutional Union Party. Meanwhile in the North, Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, the chief advocate of popular sovereignty, squared off against Republican Abraham Lincoln, who promised to end the extension of slavery in the territories (but not end slavery itself)这四个人是怎么个回事
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当时的副总统已经是和总统一起竞选了？而不是像美国建国早期由落选总统的人当选？
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林肯从小/年轻的时候就致力于废除奴隶制，还是等到当总统之后，南北战争之后意识到必须废除奴隶制才这样坚定的？
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佛罗里达圣奥古斯汀的堡垒是什么仗的
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sharecropper是什么意思
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林肯是不是对美国原住民非常不好？
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black hill SD 淘金热是什么时候的事？最后引发了在小大角的战争？
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在South Dakota 的 Custer State Park以George Armstrong Custer命名，但这个公园拥有karst喀斯特地貌的山，这是一个巧合？
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this kind of landscape, shown in the picture, are the stone and hills in the Custer State park, not the wind cave or other nearby parks. Are they Karst landscape?
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但是这个和云南石林非常像，而云南石林是典型的喀斯特地貌
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Charles Warner是谁
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Charles Dudley Warner是谁
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爱迪生发明了什么
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1862 Homestead Act是什么
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populist's Omaha platform是什么意思
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the white man's burden写的是什么
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Ernest Howard Crosby是谁
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uncle sam是什么典故
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And equality never occurred: schools, public health facilities, and parks for blacks didn’t receive anywhere near the funding as those for whites. 这句话的意思是在说the funding for schools, public health facilities, and parks for blacks didn’t receive anywhere as those for whites. 但是为什么原句的顺序是那样的呢？有什么好处？
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Jim Crow是什么
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小石城高中事件是发生在这个期间？
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Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire 中文是什么
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Dust Bowl是什么
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settlement-house workers是什么意思
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pass and stow philad A MdCCLIII这是什么在钟上
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1753年这么早就有自由钟了？
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press hard for是in favor of而不是厌恶的意思？
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老罗斯福已经当了8年的总统，为什么还能参与了1912年总统竞选？
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为什么是1951年，通过第二十二修正案，正式限制总统最多只能当两届
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中文什么意思 Halt the HUN! Buy US government bonds, third liberty loan
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一战初期，塞尔维亚人刺杀了奥匈帝国皇位继承人。俄罗斯为什么立刻帮助塞尔维亚？
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JimCrow laws是什么
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Even with this compromise, suffragists were not making much headway anywhere in the country except the West. Before 1914, no state east of Kansas allowed women the right to vote.为什么西部的州比东部更早同意女性投票？
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为什么一战促进了女性投票权的通过？
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凡尔赛条例是什么？美国没有签署这个条例？
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美国加入国际联盟是为了维护世界和平，为什么会认为是损害美国的主权，可能让美国卷入未来的欧洲战争？
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New Deal是什么
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Harlem为什么成为黑人聚集区和黑人文化艺术的中心之一
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Prohibition的中文是什么
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bootlegging中文
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speakeasy中文是什么
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Packard touring car是什么
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Radio appealed to all ages. Kids sent in cereal box tops to become members ofRadio OrphanAnnie's Secret Society.这是什么意思
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Protestant不戴十字架吗？Catholic戴十字架？
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KKK佩戴什么？
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Baptist是Protestant吗
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fundamentalism很多是南方baptists？
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Scopes Trial是什么
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关于美国的女性投票权，田纳西通过之后就实现了2/3州通过，那么当时还有1/3的州没有通过？是哪些？
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I’ve given up ever amounting to anything. ever amounting是什么意思
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scab在大萧条时期指的是什么
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民粹主义是一个贬义词吗？populist指的是民粹主义吗
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珍珠港被击沉的是USS Arizona那么USS West Virginia是什么
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缅甸是二战轴心国？
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泰国是轴心国？
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zoot suits mexican americans是什么
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D-Day是什么意思
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enola gay是什么
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The Cold War started in Berlin in 1948 when the Soviet Union blocked ground access to West Berlin for 421 days. An Allied airlift brought in food and other supplies. 关于冷战如何开始的，这段话是什么意思
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The longtime Soviet political leaderJoseph Stalin ordered the killing of many more people than Adolf Hitler had.但这的结局为什么只是冷战，而英美法没有实际攻击苏联？
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杜鲁门是没有竞选直接当选总统的吗
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Elected in 1952 largely because he was a war hero, Eisenhower hoped to preside over a period of peace. Despite international tensions, “Ike” largely succeeded. Ike 是什么
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尼克松在和肯尼迪的竞选中失败了，但是多年后他还是当选了？
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电视的出现为什么促进了麦卡锡的倒台？
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1863解放宣言是什么
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J Edgar Hoover是谁
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fbi局长的胡佛和美国总统胡佛有什么关系吗
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小罗斯福后期搞社会主义和刺激了麦卡锡兴起有关系吗
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马丁路德金是支持non violence, Malcolm X是non violence还是violence？SNCC是non violence还是violence？
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美国为什么没有在中国国民党和共产党内战1945-1949的时候出兵支援蒋介石，以防止共产党控制中国
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但后来美国参与朝鲜战争和越南战争都是为了驱赶共产势力对这两个国家的控制
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南越现在是什么？
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a sign saying: we've come a long way baby. from Adam's rib to women's lib. 这是什么意思
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美国打的时间最长的仗是什么
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JFK的兄弟也被刺杀了？
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James Irwin也登月了嘛
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有人说阿姆斯特朗登月的照片是假的，但即便那个是假的，之后也有其他美国人登月？
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土星五号是什么？其他登月也是土星五号吗
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土星五号为什么可以多次重复使用？可以回收？多次阿波罗飞船都是用了土星五号，所以是生产了很多台土星五号？
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罗诉韦德案在1973年就通过了，为什么2022年还有什么新的问题？
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美国历史上通过的法案/裁决都是可以在未来被推翻的吗？
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法案和裁决有什么区别
- “bill” “law” and “act”, 区别？
- Few people at the time would have dreamed that in just a few years, the country would enter a period of profound political conservatism, when leaders would seek to preserve rather than change the country’s political and economic structure. The new era’s defining figures would be four Presidents: Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and two Presidents named Bush. 为什么说要陷入保守主义？
- 但小布什之前还有吉米卡特和克林顿
- 老布什为什么只干了4年就被克林顿在大选中胜出了？
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1960年代之后美国的沉默的大多数是什么意思，后来选举了尼克松为总统
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他们对反战抗议者不满？这些人不也反战吗？
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美国的第一个space shuttle是1981年发射的，这和登月的阿波罗计划有什么不同
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航天飞机返回，比载人航天的返回舱可以更精准的降落在指定的位置？航天飞机可能是无人飞行的，还是说都是有人在上面的？由地面指挥中心控制飞行轨道？
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载人航天的返回舱轨迹是由地面指挥中心控制的？
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运载discovery上天的火箭是重复利用的吗？
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即便1969年美国在越战中已经撤军了，但是美国参与越战还是持续到了1973年？
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farm labor circuit 什么意思
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1970年代的Moral Majority是什么意思
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吉米卡特也是Moral majority的一部分？
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The new conservatism in American politics soon made its way to the White House. During his 1976 campaign against Gerald Ford, Democrat Jimmy Carter promised to bring morality back into the political process. Once elected, he turned out to be, in the words of one critic, “a Democrat who often talks and thinks like a Republican.” For example, Carter refused to expand welfare programs, even with thou¬ sands of families being thrown into poverty by the faltering economy.这段话是书里写的
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美国没有干预前三次中东战争？
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第四次中东战争使中东停止对美国石油出口？
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虽然伊朗本身的Shah反共亲西方，但为什么吉米卡特反对1979伊斯兰革命建立Islam共和国？后来里根反而支持了Islam共和国的政府，美国给他们武器？
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里根在这其中发挥了什么作用
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Arch-conservative Newt Gingrich是什么
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从70年代开始美国总统一致偏向保守，但这期间众议院还是民主党占多数？
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Barack Hussein Obama has a distinctive name为什么这么说
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why Obama has such Arab influenced name?
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in 2008 June, 2 women tying the knot in California. Although many states now permit same sex-marriage, California has reversed its decision. 这是什么意思
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小布什来北京参加奥运会为什么被反对？但他后来为什么去了？
I hadn’t really spoken English (had conversations with American people) except for ordering food or drinks for a while, until I went to the open house for UMD’s iSchool PhD program. The cohort is pretty diverse—about 70% domestic students and 30% international students (Chinese, other Asian, and Latin American), while I can also say it was a very liberal environment.
I was a bit surprised when the topic of safety/crime came up, about school safety, off-campus housing, and safety in and around DC. I just don’t know where the boundary of “correctness” lies when talking about safety, so I typically avoid this topic with people I’m not super close to or unless I’m anonymous.
I never call myself a liberal as I admit that I am somewhat conservative in certain situations, though I also don’t understand and criticize many other extreme conservatives. As a foreigner in America, I don’t have to be strongly partisan. But if we aim to be inclusive of all people, shouldn’t we not feeling unsafe in the presence of homeless people? Can a liberal person openly express negative feelings about New York City, such as saying, “I don’t like its smells of urine and marijuana everywhere, and there are unpredictable people on the subway”? If a marginalized group (POC, queer people, mental disorders or physical disabilities, etc) commits theft, harassment, fare evasion, or other small crimes, should we oppose violent law enforcement by the police? If we support sanctuary cities, to what extent are we embracing all the accompanying outcomes?
Can we remain liberal while discussing “safety” and issues related to the living environment? People prefer to live in a clean and well-managed neighborhoods, where law enforcement removes those who misbehave. But hose same people might also criticize the police for being inhumane in how they enforce the rules. It feels like a contradiction.
2025.03.07
For a pretty long time, I was curious about why the subject “bioinformatics” is so closely related to information studies/sciences. Why does biology uniquely combine a natural science discipline with informatics, rather than having fields like physics informatics, or chemistry informatics? As I previously thought informatics would be mainly related to computer science, or using quantitative computing methods, it seemed to me that any discipline could theoretically combine with informatics. But why biology is so special?
Recently reading the paper The Concept of Information by Rafael Capurro and Birger Hjorland. It repeatedly talks about the [interdisciplinary] “conceptions of information, particularly since the late 1970s, are related to specific sciences, particularly physics, biology, and linguistics.” In different contexts, the use of information varies. “The notion of information has been taken to characterize a measure of physical organization (or decrease in entropy), a pattern of communication between source and receiver, a form of control and feedback, the probability of a message being transmitted over a communication channel, the content of a cognitive state, the meaning of a linguistic form, or the reduction of an uncertainty.” Some explain the existence of multiple meanings of information at different levels (deal with the Capurro’s trilemma) from an evolutionary perspective. “In the process of evolution, different kinds of low structures generate higher-level structures, starting with physical systems through biological systems to social systems.”
So, biology does have a special place within information studies. This made me think about the analogy between genetic mutations and the errors occasionally made by large language models. Although both systems have built-in proofreading mechanisms, neither is perfectly error-free. DNA polymerases proofreading or attention mechanisms does not guarantee 100% copy accuracy. In biology, mutations occur despite the proofreading capabilities of DNA polymerase, and external factors such as radiation or chemicals can also cause genetic errors. Similarly, in large language models, attention mechanisms help reduce mistakes, but the models can still generate inaccurate or misleading information, especially when trained on noisy or ambiguous data. Of course, this is just an analogy, and I’m not implying the causal relationship between these biological processes and AI behaviors.