I know this is the summer slump, and the usual patrons have either given up drinking here, or have moved on to another venue, perhaps one that offers chicken wings, or televised cricket from Pakistan, or topless waitstaff. So, in an effort to stimulate something, anything, I’m offering up a few things. Feel free to, er, whatever! And where art thou, EEE? Mick? Etc. Etc.
It’s not surprising that the always chivalrous, teetotalling Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s recent reposting of a controversial video hasn’t been mentioned here. Perhaps you were otherwise occupied, or you simply couldn’t keep up with the tsunami of sewage flowing from the Trump administration, or for self-preservation’s sake, you’ve limited yourself to the sports section. Briefly, stalwart defender of American womanhood that he is, Pete reposted a video of Pastor Douglas Wilson and his fellow church elders, all white guys of course, and all united in biblically-justified views that women should not vote, same-sex marriage should end, sodomy laws should return, and the country and the world should be Christian. I take retweets, reposts, and “likes” as endorsements of the opinions expressed therein. So, how would the 230,000 active duty women in the US military feel about their boss endorsing the repeal of the 19thamendment?
Recursive Self-Improvement: A concept you should be aware of. In AI, it refers to a system’s ability to improve its own capabilities and intelligence through iterative learning and autonomous adaption, leading to a potentially exponential increase in its performance. Essentially, it’s an AI that can improve itself. This process can lead to an intelligence explosion, where the AI quickly surpasses human-level intelligence and potentially reaches a level of super intelligence. This is obviously not occurring in GOP circles.
Rubicon on Amazon Prime: I just stumbled upon this one season, 13 episode series from 2010. If you enjoyed 3 Days of the Condor, you may well like this. It has that same suspenseful, paranoid distrust of the government tension. Great character actors too!
The Human Brain: I don’t think enough focus is devoted to the ellipsoid-shaped thing that sits upon our bodies. Granted, it’s what we look at in the mirror, and in public. It’s what we picture when we imagine our friends, and families, and president. But I don’t think nearly enough thought is given to its formation, and to its physical and mental health, from the time it forms in utero to the day we die. Positive, life-affirming ingredients hopefully enter it through love, nurturing, nutrition, academic and moral instruction, etc, and then there’s the garbage that it should avoid: elevated stress hormones due to the mother’s stress while pregnant, poor nutrition, lack of stimulation, environmental toxins, trauma, poverty, etc. etc. Everything is processed in our brain: sensory data and other environmental stimuli, and things we surely are not aware of. The world needs to know that heads are precious (my mom used to say that), and that was before CTE, the UCF, the prosperity gospel, and 4chan.
I came across two brain/mind quotes that I want to share. And yes, I differentiate between the brain and mind, but that’s a lengthy conversation for another day. I’m slowly making my way through David Deutsch’s The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations that transform the world. It’s a slow read, due to my inherent brain limitations, but I’m grasping some of the gems.
“ The brain is the only kind of object capable of understanding that the cosmos is even there, or why there are infinitely many prime numbers, or that apples fall because of the curvature of space-time, or that obeying its own inborn instincts can be morally wrong, or that it itself exists. “
The other quote is far, far shorter, and you’ll see that it offers a much less positive view of our mind. This is from Peter Attia
“There’s no prison like the one between our ears.”
There you go, two vastly different views, equally valid at times, and food for thought, should you, yes, use your brain!
Google AI Overview: I have yet to explore ChatGPT but I am immensely enjoying my Google AI chatbot. It’s borderline magical, and I’ve learned that the quality of the question that I pose truly affects the quality of the response that I receive. I’m making efforts to really refine my queries; it’s actually enjoyable and stimulating.
I have a new song to share, but I'll save it for the next thread, assuming I can remember how to do so. At this point, Dan is certainly muttering to himself, god, that Peter T. he's struggling yet again with inserting a bloody Youtube video here? And he's allowed to actually teach children?
Peter T.
