[kindkang2024]

> LLMs dont have a deep enough understanding of theory of mind to see how someone is stuck and help them get unstuck.

Many teachers cannot do that either.

I find ChatGPT and the Gemini model quite good at problems whose solutions are already known. We just need the Wille—the will—to ask it.

[samrus]

> Many teachers cannot do that either.

Of course there are bad teachers out there. The question wasnt "are there human yeachers as bad as an LLM" it was whether an LLM is as good as a good human teacher

> We just need the Wille—the will—to ask it.

Thats the thing. Its is a very good search resource. But thats not what a teacher is. A good teacher will help you get to the right questions, not just get you the right answers. And the student often wont know the right questions until they already know quite a bit. You need a sufficiently advanced, if incomplete, mental model of the sybject to know what you dont know. An LLM cant really model what your thinking, what your stuck on, and what questions you should be asking

[kindkang2024]

> You need a sufficiently advanced, if incomplete, mental model of the sybject to know what you dont know.

I believe that through a few common prompts and careful reflection on the LLM's responses, this challenge can be easily overcome. Also, nobody truly knows what you're stuck on or thinking, unless you figure out the existence of unknown and seek it out. However, I do agree with your point that "a good teacher will help you get to the right questions," since a great teacher is an active agent; they can present the unknown parts first, actively forcing you to think about them.

- when people see some things as beautiful(best), other things become ugly(ordinary)....Being and non-being create each other. — Laozi, Tao Te Ching

Perhaps the emphasis on the greatness of an LLM gives the impression that it undermines the greatness of a great human teacher, which has already led to a few downvotes. I want to clarify that I never intended to undermine that. I have encountered a few great teachers in my life, whether during my school years or those teaching in the form of MOOCs. A great teacher excels at activating the students' wille to seek the unknown and teaching more than just knowledge. Also, the LLM relies heavily on these very people to create the useful materials it trains on.

Metaphorically speaking, the LLM is learning from almost all great teachers to become a great 'teacher' itself. In that sense, I find no problem saying "LLM could be the teacher, one of the best already."