If you have anger issues, this one is a great tool (h/t mindyourbusiness)
This week’s book:
Discourses and Selected Writings
Disclaimer: I’m not your Supervisor. These are my opinions after reading through these books a few times.
Epictetus was born a slave around 50 ad. His owner was Epaphroditus, a rich freedman who was once a slave of Nero. Though he was a slave Epictetus was sent to study philosophy under Musonius Rufus.
Epictetus was lame and there are some stories it was caused by his master and others that it was caused by disease.
He was a freedman when all philosophers were banished from Rome in 89 by the Emperor Domitian. He then started his school in Greece, and had many students. He did not leave any writings from his lessons, but one of his students, Flavius Arrian, took notes and wrote the Discourses.
Epictetus did not marry, had no children, and lived to be around 80-85. In retirement, he adopted a child that would have been abandoned and raised him with a woman.
He died sometime around AD 135.
He might be my favorite Stoic teacher. I love his bare bones and very straight forward approach.
Following is a paragraph-by-paragraph discussion of one of his lessons. Epictetus’s text appears in bold, my replies are in normal text.
To those who take up the teachings of the philosophers only to talk about them
The “Master argument”[1] appears to have been propounded on the strength of some such principles as the following. Since there is a general contradiction with one another[2] between these three propositions, to wit: (1) Everything true as an event in the past is necessary, and (2) An impossible does not follow a possible, and (3) What is not true now and never will be, is nevertheless possible. Diodorus, realizing this contradiction, used the plausibility of the first two propositions to establish the principle, Nothing is possible which is neither true now nor ever will be. But one man will maintain, among the possible combinations of two at a time, the following, namely, (3) Something is possible, which is not true now and never will be, and (2) An impossible does not follow a possible; yet he will not grant the third proposition (1), Everything true as an event in the past is necessary, which is what Cleanthes and his group, whom Antipater has stoutly supported, seem to think. But others will maintain the other two propositions, (3) A thing is possible which is not true now and never will be, and (1) Everything true as an event in the past is necessary, and then will assert that, An impossible does follow a possible.[3] But there is no way by which one can maintain all three of these propositions, because of their mutual contradiction.[4]
We do not know the precise wording of the “Master Argument” but it revolves around if what we think happened in the past happened or not and whether any predicted things will happen or not. There were many debates in the time of Epictetus about the merits of the main points.
5If, then, someone asks me, “But which pair of these do you yourself maintain?” I shall answer him that I do not know; but I have received the following account: Diodorus used to maintain one pair, Panthoides and his group, I believe, and Cleanthes another, and Chrysippus and his group the third. “What, then, is your opinion?” I do not know, and I was not made for this purpose—to test my own external impression upon the subject, to compare the statements of others, and to form a judgement of my own.
It is OK to admit that there are things we can’t explain with 100% certainty. Since I am a very amateur student of Stoicism, I do not pretend to have all of the answers. I know the basics well enough to explain them and try to follow them, but can not tell anyone the perfect Stoic answer to all of their problems.
For this reason I am no better than the grammarian. When asked, “Who was the father of Hector?” he replied, “Priam.” “Who were his brothers?” “Alexander and Deïphobus.” “And who was their mother?” “Hecuba. This is the account that I have received.” “From whom?” “From Homer,” he said. “And Hellanicus also, I believe, writes about these same matters, and possibly others like him.” And so it is with me about the “Master Argument”; what further have I to say about it?
Epictetus knows the basic ideas behind the Master Argument, just as a student of classical literature would know the basic facts of the Trojan War. I know many facts about fiction books I have read, but any deeper analysis of the character’s motivations and why they made the choices they made would be based on speculation and not facts.
But if I am a vain person, I can astonish the company, especially at a banquet, by enumerating those who have written on the subject. “Chrysippus also has written admirably on this topic in the first book of his treatise On Things Possible. And Cleanthes has written a special work on the subject, and Archedemus. Antipater also has written, not only in his book On Things Possible, but also a separate monograph in his discussion of The Master Argument. 10Have you not read the treatise?” “I have not read it.” “Then read it.” And what good will it do him? He will be more trifling and tiresome than he is already. You, for example, what have you gained by the reading of it? What judgement have you formed on the subject? Nay, you will tell us of Helen, and Priam, and the island of Calypso[5] which never was and never will be!
If I have read somebody else’s opinions and parrot them as my own, it might look as though I am a very well read and learned person. If impressing people with this kind of thing was my goal, it would be easy for me, because I remember the things I read very well. It is more important to get a true understanding and not just repeat what others have said.
And in the field of literary history, indeed, it is of no great consequence that you master the received account without having formed any judgement of your own. But in questions of conduct we suffer from this fault much more than we do in literary matters. “Tell me about things good and evil.” “Listen:
The wind that blew me from the Trojan shore
Brought me to the Ciconians.[6]
Of things some are good, others bad, and yet others indifferent. Now the virtues and everything that shares in them are good, while vices and everything that shares in vice are evil, and what falls in between these, namely, wealth, health, life, death, pleasures, pain, are indifferent.” “Where do you get that knowledge?” “Hellanicus says so in his History of Egypt.” For what difference does it make whether you say this, or that Diogenes says so in his Treatise on Ethics, or Chrysippus, or Cleanthes?
If all I have are mindless repetition without understanding, then it is as useless as the fact that I remember that Uhtred, son of Uhtred was originally named Osbert until his older brother was killed. Knowing the difference between good, evil, and indifferent is a start, but unless I understand why they are classified that way then it is empty knowledge.
Have you, then, tested any of these statements and have you formed your own judgement upon them? 15Show me how you are in the habit of conducting yourself in a storm on board ship. Do you bear in mind this logical distinction between good and evil when the sail crackles, and you have screamed and some fellow-passenger, untimely humorous, comes up and says, “Tell me, I beseech you by the gods, just what you were saying a little while ago. Is it a vice to suffer shipwreck? Is there any vice in that?” Will you not pick up a piece of wood and cudgel him? “What have we to do with you, fellow? We are perishing and you come and crack jokes!”
Without understanding, it would be easy to slip into the mindset that if something is “bad” that is happening, then it must be evil. With a better understanding, once the initial reaction of fear is handled, it is easy to see that a shipwreck is neither good or evil, it is indifferent. While it is certainly not a preferred outcome, it is something you deal with and can not control, so giving in to fear and anger would not be helpful. I had the opportunity to experience a little of this on a flight from Norfolk to Charlotte a couple weeks ago. It was the bumpiest ride I have ever had on a plane. When we landed we were crooked and had to go back and forth a few times before the pilot straightened it out. Some people were freaked out, and while I was nervous, I made sure I knew here the exits were and tried to be prepared in case we crashed and I was capable of acting. That was not fun, but I was very happy with my internal response to a very helpless situation.
And if Caesar sends for you to answer an accusation, do you bear in mind this distinction? Suppose someone approaches you when you are going in pale and trembling, and says, “Why are you trembling, fellow? What is the affair that concerns you? Does Caesar inside the palace bestow virtue and vice upon those who appear before him?” “Why do you also make mock of me and add to my other ills?” “But yet, philosopher, tell me, why are you trembling? Is not the danger death, or prison, or bodily pain, or exile, or disrepute? Why, what else can it be? Is it a vice at all, or anything that shares in vice? What was it, then, that you used to call these things?” “What have I to do with you, fellow? My own evils are enough for me” And in that you are right. For your own evils art enough for you—your baseness, your cowardice, the bragging that you indulged in when you were sitting in the lecture room. Why did you pride yourself upon things that were not your own? Why did you call yourself a Stoic?
20Observe yourselves thus in your actions and you will find out to what sect of the philosophers you belong. You will find that most of you are Epicureans, some few Peripatetics, but these without any backbone; for wherein do you in fact show that you consider virtue equal to all things else, or even superior? But as for a Stoic, show me one if you can! Where, or how? Nay, but you can show me thousands who recite the petty arguments of the Stoics. Yes, but do these same men recite the petty arguments of the Epicureans any less well? Do they not handle with the same precision the petty arguments of the Peripatetics also? Who, then, is a Stoic? As we call a statue “Pheidian” that has been fashioned according to the art of Pheidias, in that sense show me a man fashioned according to the judgements which he utters. Show me a man who though sick is happy, though in danger is happy, though dying is happy, though condemned to exile is happy, though in disrepute is happy. Show him! By the gods, I would fain see a Stoic![7]
It is easy to talk a good game, but harder to live it out. I do not do as well as I would like, but I do try and I do not claim more than what I have actually done.
25But you cannot show me a man completely so fashioned; then show me at least one who is becoming so fashioned, one who has begun to tend in that direction; do me this favour; do not begrudge an old man the sight of that spectacle which to this very day I have never seen. Do you fancy that you are going to show me the Zeus or the Athena of Pheidias, a creation of ivory and gold? Let one of you show me the soul of a man who wishes to be of one mind with God, and never again to blame either God or man, to fail in nothing that he would achieve, to fall into nothing that he would avoid, to be free from anger, envy and jealousy—but why use circumlocutions?—a man who has set his heart upon changing from a man into a god, and although he is still in this paltry body of death, does none the less have his purpose set upon fellowship with Zeus. Show him to me! But you cannot. Why, then, do you mock your own selves and cheat everybody else? And why do you put on a guise that is not your own and walk about as veritable thieves and robbers who have stolen these designations and properties that in no sense belong to you?
Although perfection is unattainable, the goal is there. Epictetus seems to be seems to be dealing with self important pretenders that know the words, but not the meaning behind them.
And so now I am your teacher, and you are being taught in my school. And my purpose is this—to make of you a perfect work, secure against restraint, compulsion, and hindrance, free, prosperous, happy, looking to God in everything both small and great; and you are here with the purpose of learning and practicing all this.
The purpose of studying Stoicism is not to be able to make flowery speeches and sound important. If you went to Epictetus’s school, he obviously expected more than rote recital of empty knowledge.
30Why, then, do you not complete the work, if it is true that you on your part have the right kind of purpose and I on my part, in addition to the purpose, have the right kind of preparation? What is it that is lacking? When I see a craftsman who has material lying ready at hand, I look for the finished product. Here also, then, is the craftsman, and here is the material; what do we yet lack? Cannot the matter be taught? It can. Is it, then, not under our control? Nay, it is the only thing in the whole world that is under our control.
If I don’t follow this philosophy which I believe is very helpful for me in my daily life, that is a decision that is 100% under my control. I have the access to knowledge and the ability to interpret it and understand it, so if I don’t then that is a choice that I made and all I get out of it is the ability to write these weekly essays.
Wealth is not under our control, nor health, nor fame, nor, in a word, anything else except the right use of external impressions. This alone is by nature secure against restraint and hindrance. Why, then, do you not finish the work? Tell me the reason. For it lies either in me, or in you, or in the nature of the thing. The thing itself is possible and is the only thing that is under our control. Consequently, then, the fault lies either in me, or in you, or, what is nearer the truth, in us both. What then? Would you like to have us at last begin to introduce here a purpose such as I have described?[8] Let us let bygones be bygones. Only let us begin, and, take my word for it, you shall see.
This seems to be more of an attempt to get his students to truly engage with their lessons. He does admit that if they are not learning then the blame is shared by the teacher and the student.
Music this week is from the next Candlemass album, Ancient Dreams.
One of my favorite bands that most people I’ve known do not like.
A Cry From The Crypt -The opening riff in this one is unreal.
Darkness In Paradise-Slow and heavy with the operatic singing of Messiah Marcolin, great tune.
Bearer Of Pain-Tale of a young virgin that takes away a city’s sadness for a year and then is old and insane, so every year they need a replacement.
The Bells Of Acheron– The priests of Acheron defied God and paid the price.
Epistle No. 81 -The most Candlemass song to ever Candlemass. It is one of my favorites from them, but I have found it to be very polarizing. It is a cover of an Epistle from 1790.
I would like to know if anyone has heard them, or clicked on them here for the first time and liked them.
Or if you hate them.
Not gonna get too high or low about being the first poster.
The first green pickle poster.
a pickle poster pasted on postboard?
You are doing this all wrong. Firsting is about the raw power and dominance you establish over others.
Shut up and listen to the pickle.
Truly, the Urth of a new Un.
“Why, then, do you not finish the work? Tell me the reason. ”
This was UnCivilServant’s morning. I had to remain Stoic and mentor in a similar fashion this week.
The thing about stoicism is that it all seems rather simple to learn, and more difficult to put into practice. You repeat the core tenants so that it becomes second nature.
Simple, but not easy.
Like running a marathon, it’s simple, you just run.
After awhile, it’s not easy and definitely something you need to work at before you can actually do.
I wouldn’t say easy by any stretch. Controlling your emotions is not easy and we live in a culture that encourages people to indulge their every whim. I’d think anyone trying to practice it today would find it even more difficult because you are fighting a constant battle with the mainstream culture.
But it seems like most of the stoicism is just the same few ideas repackaged. It could just be my ignorance of the finer points of stoicism here.
It has a lot in common with some other major philosophies.
The Other Kevin is always posting similar ideas from Buddhism that match what I wrote.
The finer points all branch from the main idea that there are things in our control and things outside our control.
Once these are identified, then don’t waste time and energy on the second list.
Not always easy to put into practice.
It seems more Taoist than Buddhist imo.
Wow thank you for noticing. *blushes*
There are a ton of similarities. I wonder if there is a common ancestor to those philosophies, or if they were arrived at more independently. The interesting thing about Buddhism is you can view it like a religion with demons and reincarnation and such, or as a philosophy like Stoicism if you ignore the spiritual parts.
I don’t think it should be second nature. It should, at least to me, be something that you need to constantly think about and see through new eyes and force yourself to reconsider at each and every challenge. A huge part of the problem with liberalism, really any ideology, is when it is subsumed and taken as second nature in life. This is were it gets forgotten, or, worse, taken for granted.
And, really, you, of all people, shouldn’t be pushing for it to be second nature.
I’ll go back to above. A lot of this to me seems like the same ideas repeated in different scenarios or lessons.
You want – or need – to constantly be thinking about it to reinforce those ideas so that when the time comes, you apply them. Maybe that’s not the same as saying it should be second nature.
I am not a stoic. I am a Firster. The two are polar opposites.
The only reason for reading and talking about philosophy is because we’re sick of the bullshit that most of life is. Pity those who aren’t.
Most people go through life fat and stupid never really contemplating morality to any serious degree. Their ideas are shaped by the wider culture and they respond emotionally to various situations.
I don’t think the only reason to consider philosophy is that you are sick of the bullshit of most of life. And a loot of people who seem interested in philosophy that I’ve met don’t seem to actually apply that “knowledge” in any way that matters. They sure as shit don’t seem to have a coherent set of principles by which they operate. It’s just knowledge they can show off.
I have respect for anyone who tries to practice or even develop their own coherent approach to everyday life. Someone who thinks about how they should respond to situations and apply that why consistently.
People substitute morality for a belief in something.
Progressives believe in the almighty state. They are better than others because they want to use the power of government to compel people to do good. They don’t have to do good themselves or worry about morality because they vote the right way.
The religious believe in the power of faith. Not so much coherently responding to situations based on their faith, but just…faith. They believe in this or that god, so they are good and will be saved.
Libertarianism should breed introspection. How should you behave as an individual? The cosmos seem to think it’s live let live if not complete hedonism is fine.
The unexamined life is not worth living is not a tenet of libertarianism, nor is there any particular reason it should be.
I think any libertarian who doesn’t see the personal need to develop their own sense of morality or philosophy is a rather sad creature. Is it a necessary tenet? No. Libertarianism is merely about the role of government. It does not speak to what your morality should be.
And this is why some libertarians mistake it is as a belief in hedonism. They may even be using a belief in libertarianism as an excuse for their own proclivities.
Exactly – libertarian is a narrow slice of life.
This may be why many libertarians try to follow Objectivism.
Just the ones that like rough trade
That does not match my interactions with those who have deeply held religious beliefs.
There are people who have studied their faiths and have a deep sense of morality derived from them.
Then there’s a lot of mouth breathers who believe because they believe in the Baby Jesus that they are saved.
That’s not what you said though, you said the religious.
As a non-religious, I see that many people actually do believe and try to live their lives following the bible.
When the goal is perfection, it is easy to ridicule those who fall short.
I have the utmost respect for anyone who truly and honestly follows the tenants of their religion. Those are the people I like talking religion, theology, ethics, and morality with.
Those who decide they can pick and chose the parts of the faith they want to follow do not get the same respect.
Add the typical disclaimer not all yadaydadas.
We can even apply that disclaimer to the progressives.
Then there’s a lot of mouth breathers who believe because they believe in the Baby Jesus that they are saved.
They can be mouth breathers and still be right about that. One need not go to seminary to be saved. One need not even read the Bible or understand the core tenets of the faith to be saved. That’s one of the wonderful mysteries of Christianity.
However, that religion they believe in isn’t one of a binary light switch of heaven v. hell. There are temporal and eternal consequences to staying spiritually immature.
The beliefs of Mr. Tulip:
Progressives made a 100% transfer of faith from God to government.
The Voice of God is Government
Most people…
Huxley has your answer.
Living by a coherent set of principles is impossible.
https://www.glibertarians.com/2020/07/crackpots-corner-philosophy-is-futile/
There are many other reasons.
To improve your outlook on life?
To improve self-control?
It is interesting to see the philosophies of a different time and see if they are still relevant? Which for me Stoicism is.
That last point is really interesting for me. People were struggling with the same issues and anxieties that long ago, which can be comforting because it means we’re somehow wired that way. It’s not just me. 🙂
ivaporware
Apple CEO Tim Cook said Wednesday that his company is pouring money into artificial intelligence, one of the strongest signals yet that the iPhone maker is embracing the generative AI craze that’s consumed the tech industry.
The company sees “incredible breakthrough potential for generative AI, which is why we’re currently investing significantly in this area,” Cook said at Apple’s annual shareholder meeting, which was held virtually. “We believe it will unlock transformative opportunities for our users when it comes to productivity, problem-solving and more.”
Bring back OS6.
Speaking of vapid hype, Apple apparently pulled the plug on their electric appliance-on-wheels. They should have paid attention to Dyson.
I’d imagine that every tech company has to be talking about AI just to please their shareholders regardless of how much value it actually has to their products.
Yeah, reminds me a bit of the dot com boom, though a lot of the same players are involved and learned some lessons, so I don’t think we’ll go batshit crazy like we did the last time. But the impetus is similar.
Remember this commercial? Basically that.
It is a bandwagon right now. There are eventually going to be some practical applications, such as searching your company emails or a bunch of spreadsheets, but I doubt they will be as sexy as these initial ideas.
But what… if… we put AI on the blockchain, then stored it in the cloud to run an IoT?
Thissssssssssss
It’s also a great way for people without the skills or desire to do their real job to get exposure and leadership opportunities based on memorizing talking points and using buzzwords. Ask me how I know 🙄🙄🙄🙄
It’s being used quite a bit in the call center world. Either for routing contacts to agents or to replace low skill agents (think more operator or entry level tech support than sales).
I’m sad. The helpdesk and production control is a good proving ground for technical folk to see if they have the mindset needed for more advanced roles.
At this point, these are more for the strict script based handling (with a little flexibility) or items that are more generally automated already (password resets/unlocks/etc.). There’s been demos of more complex items (such as someone calling in to adjust a vacation by several days), but I don’t think it’s ready for that level yet.
Facebook is already being polluted by AI generated images. It’s fucking evil.
Why is it evil? It’s a tool as I see it. If someone has a creative vision that they can use AI to implement, I have no problem with that. If people want to use it to produce stupid memes, I’m ok with that, too.
It’s being used as click bait. Images represented a real, when they clearly aren’t.
It’s not artistic. It’s fraud.
Now there is an interesting topic for discussion. I see AI as a tool with incredible promise. It can be misused, like any tool. Blame the tool, or the user?
Remember leftists? The folks who hate guns and want to ban them… They blame the tool, and not the user. I am fairly certain nobody here thinks that is an effective strategy or way to think about an issue.
I say blame the user. I feel I should be consistent and not blame a tool (AI) for the actions of a user.
This.
One of the local pizza places started using AI generated art for their ads. It has entertained me a bit since they lean into it.
“Of course our cook has seven fingers on one hand and three elbows on the other arm!”
Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You burnt my pizza. Prepare to die
Two things strike me about AI. One, that it will, not can but will, eliminate most rote while collar work. Last night, the wife was describing using it in the exact same way that you would use an executive assistant. In her case, she asked for 10 interiew questions about a specific field. She had to do it a couple times, mostly to refine the questions into a usable form, but it was 20 minutes work as opposed to two hours work. The other thing that is going to happen is it will reduce peoples reliance on computers for information. With deep fakes, black Nazi’s and so on, people will no longer take what they find on the internet at anything like face value. Unless you can see and touch and hear something in person, it will be assumed to be fake.
One, that it will, not can but will, eliminate most rote while collar work. Last night, the wife was describing using it in the exact same way that you would use an executive assistant. In her case, she asked for 10 interiew questions about a specific field. She had to do it a couple times, mostly to refine the questions into a usable form, but it was 20 minutes work as opposed to two hours work.
This has been my experience. It doesn’t replace a person, but it can be harnessed to do much of the heavy lifting. There are companies adjacent to my industry that have already made massive layoffs because 5 people using AI can do the same work as 15. And they do damn good work at a very competitive price. So, at least for some industries, not a theoretical pie in the sky idea. It’s already here, being implemented, and proving successful. Still has a lot of work to go in other industries and will never work in other industries.
My daughter had Dahlee generate an image of cow doing karate in a Gi. It looked really good, and we ordered a t-shirt for her for $15. It wasn’t a high-end image, but even outsourcing to a designer in the Philippines would cost a hell of a lot more for the same quality work. The high-end designers are already using it for the heavy lifting anyways.
I’m working on building out a system right now, the goal of which is to use “AI” to essentially do doc review for us. Float the relevant language into a summary document and save us 8 of the 10 hours it takes to evaluate sales.
That sounds like a great use for it.
Also, I’ve been meaning to thank you for the link to Life Done Free. Interesting ideas there on the house build.
You’re welcome! I haven’t seen his stuff pop into my feed as much recently, and I don’t usually catch his live streams, but I’ve mentally bookmarked his modular approach for when we’re ready to start erecting outbuildings.
Stoicism is worth studying since everyone must endure hardship. However, there is more to life than that.
Thales of Miletus is my favorite philosopher. Some people made fun of him for being poor despite being so wise, so Thales decided to teach them a lesson. He predicted a bountiful olive harvest and rented out all the presses far in advance when it was cheap to do so. When the harvest came, and everyone was in a rush to press the oil from the olives, Thales made a huge profit. Later he said that philosophers can be rich if they want to be, but they have other, more important goals.
He then donned a pair of sunglasses, lit up a fat blunt, and made it rain drachmas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fls8VU7XClU
In other news, my interview went well. That makes 4 in the past month. I expect to be teaching math again soon. They were impressed that I passed the qualifying test. Many new math teachers can’t, which is sad.
Good for you buddy. I hope you are teaching again soon. I have some old ties and dress shirts if you need them.
PhilosophyBathtub psychiatry seems overwhelmingly designed to provide justification for what was already believed and intended.Many new math teachers can’t, which is sad.
Math is distilled racism.
https://twitter.com/DschlopesIsBack/status/1655190582883414017
I remember when the vaccines were supposed to be 99% effective at preventing the cough.
And if there’s something evil about AI, it’s that it is being used as a political tool already. Neutral algorithms just don’t produce the politically correct responses.
Nope, it’s obviously already being manipulated for propaganda purposes.
BuT It WaS tRuE!
The science changed!
I hate people.
The science changed, and therefore he didn’t mean what me meant at the time he said what he never said.
Earlier this week I had Gemini tell me it couldn’t do something it had just done minutes ago.
It’s like Rick James:
“I would dig my foot in someone’s couch, I got more sense than that.”
“Yeah, I remember digging my feet into Eddie Murphy’s couch.”
*WOULDN’T*
So, uh, how stoic should I be about the feds carting off journos for reporting on Jan 6th?
One side of me is very much not stoic about it, as it’s clearly unjust and self serving. The other side of me is stoic about it because it’s well outside my sphere of control.
I’m with you on that one.
Never thought America would go banana republic on me.
Also remember the other journalist from this morning’s links who is being fined for failing to reveal a source. I see a light at the end of the tunnel.
Journalists made the mess we live in by helping to elect Biden. I do not believe with the anti-press developments going on (Biden even yells at press pool reporters and tells them what to say), and the mass layoffs of some of the more useless journalists that this trend of press support for commies can continue. As journalism turns away from commies, a fair amount of citizens will too. Sad to say, but there really are a lot of people out there manipulated by the press.
Don’t get mad; get even.
Spite your oppressors.
Don’t get even, get ahead.
The other side of me is stoic about it because it’s well outside my sphere of control.
Exactly. I try to not worry about things which are completely beyond my control. That works better some days than others.
I’m undoubtedly a hick ignoramus, but as far as I can tell, “artificial intelligence” is basically an automated decision tree.
It’s less deterministic than that. Think of a decision tree where there’s a random chance of going one way or the other. Oh, and there’s 5 million of them intertwined with one another. Oh, and the nodes on each tree don’t have any humanly describable decision being made, they’re each a blend of dozens or hundreds or millions of aspects of the input, mixed together in varying proportions.
A visual aid for trashy’s explanation of a neural net: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv6UVOQ0F44
That’s a good illustration of how neural networks work and how genetic algorithm works, but it drives me nuts when I hear AI people talk about how “this is how our brains work” and “this is how biological evolution works”. None of that is true. At very best, it is a child’s model of how those things work if you squint just the right way.
Ever since computers were invented, people have tried to analogize them with the human brain. The biggest problem with that so far is that the acquisition of new memories leads to no detectable change in the brain’s anatomy. If anything, brains get simpler as they age. An adult brain has fewer connections than a child’s brain.
***
The “circuit” metaphor of the brain is as indisputable as it is familiar: Neurons forge direct physical connections to create functional networks, for instance to store memories or produce thoughts. But the metaphor is also incomplete. What drives these circuits and networks to come together? New evidence suggests that at least some of this coordination comes from electric fields.
A new open-access study in Cerebral Cortex shows that as animals played working memory games, the information about what they were remembering was coordinated across two key brain regions by the electric field that emerged from the underlying electrical activity of all participating neurons. The field, in turn, appeared to drive the neural activity, or the fluctuations of voltage apparent across the cells’ membranes.
If the neurons are musicians in an orchestra, the brain regions are their sections, and the memory is the music they produce, the study’s authors say, then the electric field is the conductor.
***
https://news.mit.edu/2023/brain-networks-encoding-memory-come-together-via-electric-fields-0724
Text prediction is a simple AI based on probability. Given enough samples, it is possible for a program to determine the word most likely to follow another. For example, “of the” is a common word pair but “the of” is not.
In order to get a computer to understand a question like “who wrote Moby Dick?”, the program is trained to identify the least common word in the question (there are many tables of words in order of frequency), then search for that word in its database which includes things like Wikipedia. It then returns the sentence containing the words “wrote Moby Dick”.
Generative AI is sort of like a really fancy magic 8 ball. It just inserts different words into phrases it “knows” to be correct.
Given that AI often gets the number of fingers on a human hand wrong, I am not worried about a cybernetic revolt.
https://platedlizard.blogspot.com/2024/01/amusing-error-from-microsoft-bings-ai.html
The AI in the above link got the wrong answer because of all the sentences it saw in its database, most contained the words “Maurice LaMarche” and “The Simpsons”.
My best friend from NSA said I don’t think like a machine, but I understand how machines think. That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said about me.
A famous computer scientist named Dijkstra (there’s an algorithm named after him) said that asking if there will ever be a machine that can think as well as a man is like asking if there will ever be a submarine that can swim as well as a fish.
The idea is that while the result of both actions is the same, the method is very different (side-to-side movement of fins vs rotation of a propeller).
beep beep boop
I watched The Imitation Game for the first time last night. (Really good, btw). That is one thing the Turing character talked about – a person is not a machine so a machine will never “think” like a human.
Yes and no. Computers that can play chess better than people have been around for 30 years. For tasks with rules that can be defined mathematically, machines will continue to surpass humans in performance.
Most human behavior is predictable, and so even though machines will never be able to experience emotions or sensations, they will increasingly be able to imitate humans in their responses.
The Imitation Game is another name for the Turing Test, which Google’s AI passed in 2022. Humans who conversed with it were unable to distinguish its responses from human ones.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turing_test
Future war will be less Terminator and more this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgQAfNP0RNA
they will increasingly be able to imitate humans in their responses.
Language is a sweet spot for this. Regulated enough for machines to capture the patterns, flexible enough that achieving the optimum response isn’t required, and has enough available data to form a nuanced model.
We have submarines capable of annihilating hundreds of cities at once, so that’s not a very comforting analogy.
Ask an AI any question. With the information it has it will give it’s best answer.
Without any new input the AI will answer the same each time it is asked the question. That is my assumption.
The same is not true of human beings. When I see evidence of inner reflection, self correction without additional input, evidence of emotional states influencing decisions etc…aspects of real animal thinking…I might be swayed. As it is now I see them as complex computer calculators very prone to the biases and mistakes programmed into them and not capable of self-correction without being reprogrammed.
If they ever become superior intellectually to us, they have a long way to go.
Let’s test that:
Without any new input the AI will answer the same each time it is asked the question. That is my assumption.
Depends on the AI. Some will, some won’t.
He said it and at the time he said it, it was true. But more contagious variants changed the situation.
I don’t even buy that. There wasn’t enough data to say either way.
Something something absence of proof =/= proof of absence.
The goal was “less likely to die from COVID”. There was never any expectation that you would never get COVID.
In spite of what they asserted? Who can keep up with all of the lies? Who even bothers to listen to them anymore?
It wasn’t true, even at the time. Plenty of people have caught OG covid after clot shotting it.
The manufacturers didn’t claim it stopped transmission. The implied it would, but they said they didn’t test it. And they were happy to let others like Biden lie on their behalf, and say it would stop you from getting COVID, even though they never made that claim themselves.
That unsubstantiated claim was repeated ad nauseum, and used as justification to keep the non-vaxed from participating in society and being denied medical care.
Yes it was. So much so, that I was very doubtful when I saw somebody claiming the manufacturers didn’t make that claim themselves. I didn’t believe it until I verified it myself.
But of course, that bit of misinformation was proper and for a good cause, so none of the usual supposed guardians of truth bothered to report it as such.
And if you make a YouTube video showing them saying that and then showing what they are saying now, it gets taken down for “misinformation”.
And you’ll notice the people currently calling for limits on “disinformation” never hold that up as an example. It should be example #1.
A time to be stoic:
https://www.youtube.com/live/MIJxtylBnuA?si=WpwhjTxF1a6AvVqA
The remarks came after Apple shareholders rejected a proposal that would compel the company to produce a report on AI risks.
The proposal submitted by AFL-CIO Equity Index Funds was read at the meeting by Apple retail employee and union organizer Michael Forsythe and would have pushed the company to disclose ethical guidelines for AI. Apple opposed the effort, claiming such a move could disclose company secrets.
AI is going to put janitors on the street, I guess.
Today, on Fools and Their Money
Patrons of glitzy Dubai bars could be sipping beverages cooled by a cube of ancient Arctic ice carved from a Greenland iceberg and shipped to the emirate — destined no longer to melt into the ocean, but into a very expensive drink.
The startup company, Arctic Ice, shipped its first container of around 22 tons of Greenland ice to Dubai this year for sale to high-end bars and restaurants. Founded in 2022 by two Greenlanders, Arctic Ice has an interesting — and controversial — business model.
——-
To critics, it’s wasteful to ship a product thousands of miles on fossil fuel-powered ships when Dubai already makes its own ice.
Few people likely spend much time considering the provenance of the ice in their coke, coffee or cocktail, but it’s big business.
Ice used to be chipped off natural sources like glaciers, but that changed with the advent of machines able to mass-produce for bars and restaurants, or to manufacture the bags of cubes that lurk in people’s freezers. The market for cubes, blocks and crushed ice was worth more than $5 billion in 2022.
Various attempts have been made over the past few decades to bring back natural ice commercially, but with little success. In 2015, one company tried to sell ice cubes carved from the Svartisen glacier in northern Norway, but its plan faltered amid local opposition.
People have been talking about this forever. They were going to tow icebergs to Saudi Arabia in the ’70s. I guess they figured out it would be cheaper to distill sea water.
Jeebus. Talk about a tempest in a teacup…or a highball, take your pick.
Dont the whiners on either side have something productive to do?
I’d be worried I’m ingesting some long-dormant bacteria that will rot my face off.
But perhaps inevitably for a business model that involves shipping a diminishing natural resource halfway across the world, Arctic Ice has attracted controversy.
“diminishing resource”? No such thing you lying shitbag. All the water that ever was is still here.
That can’t be true. Water is like 85% microplastics and forever chemicals now!
I have things to say but I’m getting my hair did and by the time I’m done it’ll be pm links.
Others, however, have no problem with the concept of commercializing Greenland’s ice.
“There will be a lot of people moaning,” said Jason Box, a glaciology professor at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, “but in my view, the love of the ice, the aesthetic of the shape and story of the ice, far outweigh environmental concern.”
Its fractal geometry will make it look like a tiny iceberg in a glass, he told CNN.
“It’s like fine art. It gets people talking. And of course they will feel a little sorrow for being part of the global warming problem.”
Poetry.
That dude loves the smell of his own farts.
Artificial intelligence will never take over the world
HP launched a subscription service today that rents people a printer, allots them a specific amount of printed pages, and sends them ink for a monthly fee. HP is framing its service as a way to simplify printing for families and small businesses, but the deal also comes with monitoring and a years-long commitment.
Prices range from $6.99 per month for a plan that includes an HP Envy printer (the current model is the 6020e) and 20 printed pages. The priciest plan includes an HP OfficeJet Pro rental and 700 printed pages for $35.99 per month.
It takes a human to come up with an idea like this. Or to agree to it.
Cars, fridges, washing machines, toilets, printers. Is there anything else I need to hold on to until the end of time to avoid either a “own nothing and love it” subscription model or government regulatory destruction of the thing in the name of efficiency?
Biden On Wildfire: ‘I Love Some Of My Neanderthal Friends Who Still Think There’s No Climate Change’
Fuck Joe Biden
SOP for the watermelons. Take a sensational but little known event that has happened repeatedly as long as we have records and hype it as ‘unprecedented!’. “See, this has never happened before! We told you! Global warming!”
They are liars and deceivers on par with gun grabbers so this mendacious tactic is no surprise.
TW: Slate
Democrats Blew Their Big Opportunity to Make New York Winnable in 2024
After over a year in court, millions of dollars on lawyers’ fees, an overhaul of the state’s highest court, and an all-out battle to throw out New York’s congressional districts and replace them with something more favorable for Democrats, the New York Senate, empowered with the ability to flip control of the House single-handedly, voted to confirm new maps, signed by the governor into law. The result: The number of Trump-won districts in the state has officially increased from five to six.
Read that again. Not a typo! The most anticipated Democratic gerrymander of the 2024 election cycle has resulted with Democrats—wielding supermajority control of the Legislature and a newly enshrined liberal majority on the state’s highest court—actually increasing the number of congressional districts in areas won by a Republican in 2020.
Oddly enough the local politicos disagree with that. But they don’t write for Slate.
This is what I expected.
Lulz
Elected officials are supposed to serve their national party! Fuck those tax cattle!
SOP for the watermelons. Take a sensational but little known event that has happened repeatedly as long as we have records and hype it as ‘unprecedented!’. “See, this has never happened before! We told you! Global warming!”
They are liars and deceivers on par with gun grabbers so this mendacious tactic is no surprise.
Thje only reason large grassland fires (or fires anywhere) are rare is because humans put them out, thereby interfering with the natural process of growth and change.