My five-word movie review of The Endless:
Don't be controlled. Just leave.
edit (2025-12-03): I'm tagging this as a favorite because I think about this often. I think it's good advice for anyone who finds themselves in a bad situation. So often, cults and controlling people want to control how you leave the bad environment they've created. Fuck them. Just leave.
Even a broken clock is right twice a day. I love that phrase.
Here's a new one. Many working clocks are wrong infinitely many times per day. How can that be? There are infinitely many decimal numbers between any two integers, say 1 and 2, and unless a clock has a sweeping second hand that is set perfectly, it can't correctly represent any of them.
Really, even a perfect sweeping second hand can't possibly represent every decimal number, because decimal numbers can be infinitely precise, but fundamental particles and therefore movement can only be so small.
I think that's all correct, anyway.
Here's a simpler version: All clocks are wrong.
The Beatles never set OKRs.
I asked GPT-4, with the BrowserOp plugin enabled, to read my blog and write three new posts in my style. Its initial response leads me to believe it only considered about the last two months of posts when emulating me, but that's good enough.
The first post summarizes my views on technology very well, albeit imperfectly. I'm struck by how gentle it is, and I wonder if I should strive to write more like this:
The Paradox of Progress: As we advance into an era of unprecedented technological growth, I find myself pondering the paradox of progress. On one hand, technology has undeniably made our lives more convenient. We can communicate instantly, access vast amounts of information, and even use AI to mimic human creativity. Yet, with every leap forward, there seems to be an unintended consequence. The same platforms that connect us also divide us, feeding us tailored content that reinforces our existing beliefs and isolates us from diverse perspectives. The tools that promise efficiency often lead to increased distractions and decreased human interactions. It's a reminder that progress isn't linear, and with every innovation, we must pause, reflect, and ask ourselves: Is this truly betterment, or just change? As the great thinker Aldous Huxley once said, “Technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means for going backward.”
The second post is interesting. It makes the case for minimalism, which is important to me, but it also loses focus and veers off at the end:
The Ephemeral Nature of Digital Memories: In an age where every moment is captured, shared, and stored in the vast expanse of the digital realm, I've been contemplating the true essence of memories. Physical photographs once held a tangible weight, each one a frozen slice of time, carefully chosen and cherished. Now, with the ease of digital photography, we capture hundreds of moments, only to let them get buried in the depths of our devices. But does this abundance dilute the significance of these memories? Or does it simply offer a richer tapestry of our lives? As I sift through old digital photos, I'm reminded of the words of the poet Maya Angelou: “We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.” Perhaps, in this digital age, our shared experiences and memories serve as a bridge, connecting us in ways we've yet to fully understand.
The third is my favorite. I hadn't considered this, exactly, but I agree almost completely:
The Quiet Power of Solitude: In our hyper-connected world, moments of true solitude have become increasingly rare. The constant pings, notifications, and digital chatter often drown out the quiet introspections that once defined our quieter moments. Yet, it's in these moments of solitude that creativity often sparks, and self-reflection deepens. Virginia Woolf once wrote about the need for “a room of one's own” for deep thought and creation. Today, perhaps we need not just physical, but digital solitude—a space free from the relentless influx of information, where our minds can wander, explore, and simply be. As we navigate this digital age, it might be worth seeking out these pockets of quiet, for it's often in the silence that we truly hear ourselves.
Soon, I won't be needed at all. AI John will trade words with AI Zuckerberg without either of us lifting a finger. (I'm not worth the real Zuckerberg's time, but AI Zuck might have some cycles to spare.) On the other hand, maybe my digital mind will debate someone who's not so oblivious, who actually appreciates the dangers posed by today's weapons of mass distraction. Now there's a zinger GPT couldn't come up with!
For most people, most of the time, there is almost no line between wanting to believe and actually believing. I'm guilty of this, too, in ways I don't even notice. The fact is illuminating, though. It explains so much.
For the time being, at least, when using ChatGPT and other AIs, we need to remember a simple rule: trust, but verify.
I dislike the political baggage associated with the phrase, but there's not much I can do about that. It's good advice.
As a curious person, ChatGPT is an incredible resource. When I want to debug a computer programming problem or get into the weeds of a philosophical issue, I often start by engaging with the chatbot. I've learned important things this way, but I've also noticed ChatGPT making major mistakes. In one particularly bad “hallucination,” as they're called, ChatGPT invented a horrific quote and attributed it to someone who said no such thing.
These things happen, and technologists don't currently have a solution. For that reason, I strongly recommend double-checking any important claim made by one of these mechanical minds. Trust, but verify.
My phone is perpetually in Do Not Disturb mode, with few exceptions. It only just occurred to me how strange that name is. If the unobtrusive mode is called Do Not Disturb, what is the ordinary mode called?
If it’s important, do it first.
For years, I’ve tried to remind myself of this. Work expands to fill the time allotted, and with so many distractions vying for our attention every minute of every day, it’s easy to see how the things we care most about sometimes go undone.
If it’s important, do it first.
“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.”
According to Quote Investigator, this was not spoken by Carl Sagan, as some claim, but rather written by reporter Sharon Begle.
In any case, I'd like to offer a corollary:
Somewhere, a song you'll love is waiting for you to hear it.
Multitasking almost never works. I want to show respect to the people around me. I want to fully engage with them. That means not looking at screens that they aren’t also looking at. It's easier said than done.