What society thinks of as reality is the hypnosis of social conditioning, an induced fiction in which we are all collectively participating. –Deepak Chopra
Update April 26, 2023: still waiting for results of yesterday’s MRI.
In so many ways, better than a bicycle.
Reasons you might want to talk to a computer: fantasy, dominance, privacy, confession, and the appeal of pushing the boundaries of consciousness. Simple fact is that there’s no greater pleasure than a good chat.
Sweet Nothings, The New Yorker, March 16, 2026
Perhaps the promise of A.I. machine-companionship is not the illusion of another person at the end of the exchange, but the assurance that there is actually no one there at all.
While out bicycle riding today (in record heat, by the way) this vehicle stood out as an exceptional example of detailed design.
The wheel was discovered around 5000 years ago.
During the age of wagons & chariots, it may have never occurred to anyone that putting two wheels in line with each other would be a practical thing.
But finally in 1817 the bicycle was invented, and that idea led to the motorcycle, and doing backflips:
Focus on situations with change potential:
This approach requires serious commitment. Development requires time. The secret is to invest a few moments every day to maximize learning.
Development First by David Peterson & Mary Dee Hicks
I think that the BBC’s attitude toward the show while it was in production was very similar to that which Macbeth had toward murdering people:
and still no end in sight.
Douglas Adams about the creation of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Absurdism is profoundly human. Camus says it urges us to revolt against meaninglessness by creating our own values. Choosing presence in a harsh universe affirms that optimistic defiance. The cosmos may be indifferent, yet our capacity for wonder makes staying worthwhile.
–Grok