Northeastern Blot
@northeasternblot.bsky.social
I can only really think of time pressure being relevant in a very small proportion of fields. Air traffic control, maybe pathology or radiology? Not relevant in most of medicine. Accommodations should be addressed with more care in those contexts. Otherwise, the time limit is meaningless.
December 3, 2025 at 3:48 PM
I can only really think of time pressure being relevant in a very small proportion of fields. Air traffic control, maybe pathology or radiology? Not relevant in most of medicine. Accommodations should be addressed with more care in those contexts. Otherwise, the time limit is meaningless.
Which is interesting because most good medical schools will intentionally develop exams without time pressure, and to the extent there's time pressure on medical licensing exams it's *mostly* so you can get the test done in a single working day.
December 3, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Which is interesting because most good medical schools will intentionally develop exams without time pressure, and to the extent there's time pressure on medical licensing exams it's *mostly* so you can get the test done in a single working day.
Generally, if time is a significant factor on an exam, it's poorly designed! Maybe this isn't true for some standardized tests, but I would be surprised if the purpose wasn't almost always convenience of proctoring. (Maybe some exceptions are high acuity fields or language proficiency tests)
December 3, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Generally, if time is a significant factor on an exam, it's poorly designed! Maybe this isn't true for some standardized tests, but I would be surprised if the purpose wasn't almost always convenience of proctoring. (Maybe some exceptions are high acuity fields or language proficiency tests)
The general membership seems more “ultraliberal” as it were than any of the major caucuses.
November 28, 2025 at 6:15 PM
The general membership seems more “ultraliberal” as it were than any of the major caucuses.
That being said, the actual practice of the often poorly politically educated broad DSA membership often doesn’t really reflect the preferences of any of the caucuses, which are typically formed of people with more political education.
November 28, 2025 at 6:15 PM
That being said, the actual practice of the often poorly politically educated broad DSA membership often doesn’t really reflect the preferences of any of the caucuses, which are typically formed of people with more political education.
What Is to Be Done and its concept that the working class can only achieve trade union consciousness without an organized and ideologically disciplined party is the foundation of the DSA left. DSA itself is an uneasy synthesis of these tendencies much like the prewar SDP or RSDLP.
November 28, 2025 at 6:12 PM
What Is to Be Done and its concept that the working class can only achieve trade union consciousness without an organized and ideologically disciplined party is the foundation of the DSA left. DSA itself is an uneasy synthesis of these tendencies much like the prewar SDP or RSDLP.
I think this is an inaccurate characterization of the political tradition of the left caucuses. They’re (mostly) rooted in a Leninist and/or early Kautskyite interpretation of party and class organizations which is neither the “shop floor” politics of the DSA right or ultraliberal progressivism.
November 28, 2025 at 6:10 PM
I think this is an inaccurate characterization of the political tradition of the left caucuses. They’re (mostly) rooted in a Leninist and/or early Kautskyite interpretation of party and class organizations which is neither the “shop floor” politics of the DSA right or ultraliberal progressivism.
There are parallels to Hindenburg's camarilla here.
November 28, 2025 at 8:19 AM
There are parallels to Hindenburg's camarilla here.
And doctors routinely validate notes already. Standard practice in many settings is for a resident to write a note the attending signs off on. This would still save time.
November 26, 2025 at 9:29 PM
And doctors routinely validate notes already. Standard practice in many settings is for a resident to write a note the attending signs off on. This would still save time.
It is perfectly plausible that an LLM could summarize a conversation well enough within our risk tolerance, especially if it lets doctors see twice as many patients. We’re not there yet!
Diagnosis is another question entirely.
Diagnosis is another question entirely.
November 26, 2025 at 9:28 PM
It is perfectly plausible that an LLM could summarize a conversation well enough within our risk tolerance, especially if it lets doctors see twice as many patients. We’re not there yet!
Diagnosis is another question entirely.
Diagnosis is another question entirely.
This is not that demanding a task for an LLM, but getting it consistently right enough to be part of the medical record is a challenge.
November 26, 2025 at 9:22 PM
This is not that demanding a task for an LLM, but getting it consistently right enough to be part of the medical record is a challenge.
Medical notes are not written in a dictation format (except sometimes in surgery). You actually do need an LLM to translate a conversation into a SOAP note.
November 26, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Medical notes are not written in a dictation format (except sometimes in surgery). You actually do need an LLM to translate a conversation into a SOAP note.
That stuff I wouldn’t consider “AI” as such.
November 26, 2025 at 9:18 PM
That stuff I wouldn’t consider “AI” as such.
The main benefit, which will genuinely be significant, is reducing charting burdens by turning appointment recordings into notes.
The unanswered question is if insurance companies will then have an arms race for more documentation and set us back to square one.
The unanswered question is if insurance companies will then have an arms race for more documentation and set us back to square one.
November 26, 2025 at 6:22 PM
The main benefit, which will genuinely be significant, is reducing charting burdens by turning appointment recordings into notes.
The unanswered question is if insurance companies will then have an arms race for more documentation and set us back to square one.
The unanswered question is if insurance companies will then have an arms race for more documentation and set us back to square one.
(to be clear, I'm firmly of the opinion that respecting the democratic decision of the chapter and national organization is important, but when discussing future action I'm more likely to prioritize campaigns that agitate especially as we grow our electoral capacity and experience)
November 25, 2025 at 6:04 PM
(to be clear, I'm firmly of the opinion that respecting the democratic decision of the chapter and national organization is important, but when discussing future action I'm more likely to prioritize campaigns that agitate especially as we grow our electoral capacity and experience)
I'm well on DSA's left so, while I do electoral work with them, I don't think city council seats are the long-term path forward. I do think they're an important opportunity to get our message out there, but I'm less concerned about policy wins.
November 25, 2025 at 6:00 PM
I'm well on DSA's left so, while I do electoral work with them, I don't think city council seats are the long-term path forward. I do think they're an important opportunity to get our message out there, but I'm less concerned about policy wins.
The single biggest thing DSA offers electorally is doors knocked, but that only works in races where you have a high enough member-to-door ratio.
November 25, 2025 at 5:55 PM
The single biggest thing DSA offers electorally is doors knocked, but that only works in races where you have a high enough member-to-door ratio.
Unfortunately DSA really isn't capable of statewide organizing...anywhere, except maybe like Rhode Island. Even states with pretty well-established chapters are only slowly building their statewide networks. To some extent this reflects an honest understanding of where power lies.
November 25, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Unfortunately DSA really isn't capable of statewide organizing...anywhere, except maybe like Rhode Island. Even states with pretty well-established chapters are only slowly building their statewide networks. To some extent this reflects an honest understanding of where power lies.
DSA is always very geographically structured since most organizing is local, that’s normal.
November 25, 2025 at 5:48 PM
DSA is always very geographically structured since most organizing is local, that’s normal.
Important context for this is that DSA is...broke. What it gives to campaigns is volunteers and doors knocked, and there's been an effort to rein in endorsements only to candidates who can be helped with knocked doors who will then join Socialists-in-Office groups, especially long-time DSA cadres.
November 23, 2025 at 6:20 AM
Important context for this is that DSA is...broke. What it gives to campaigns is volunteers and doors knocked, and there's been an effort to rein in endorsements only to candidates who can be helped with knocked doors who will then join Socialists-in-Office groups, especially long-time DSA cadres.
DSA chapters only endorse candidates they're willing to knock a ton of doors for. Especially in a city with a big pipeline of cadre candidates like NYC, endorsing a non-cadre for a large-scale race like Congress is already a heavy lift.
November 23, 2025 at 6:18 AM
DSA chapters only endorse candidates they're willing to knock a ton of doors for. Especially in a city with a big pipeline of cadre candidates like NYC, endorsing a non-cadre for a large-scale race like Congress is already a heavy lift.
It is honestly pretty amusing how even going back to Marx and Engels you can see that the same kind of personalities are attracted to leftism.
November 23, 2025 at 4:41 AM
It is honestly pretty amusing how even going back to Marx and Engels you can see that the same kind of personalities are attracted to leftism.
Lenin would have done video essays. "The Proletarian Revolution and the Renegade Kautsky" and "Left-Wing Communism: An Infantile Disorder" are already great titles for one.
November 23, 2025 at 4:40 AM
Lenin would have done video essays. "The Proletarian Revolution and the Renegade Kautsky" and "Left-Wing Communism: An Infantile Disorder" are already great titles for one.