Feeling the weight
Hit and Miss #457
Hi there!
Whew. Really struggling through a period where work is demanding a lot of me, just as life ramps up its own busy-ness. I’ve had a few drained evenings (tears, a few times, even!), and weekends have passed in a blur. It’s led to missing a few recurring events that I look forward to, like Jane’s Walks and Doors Open—I just couldn’t sort myself out to attend either this year. Really grateful for T for both her patience and support as I go through this time. Trying to remind myself that it’ll get better, but definitely a bumpy patch.
I returned to Deep Work by Cal Newport the other day, many years since I first read it. Revisiting it has been a comforting reminder that I was once able to build some better habits, and can do so again now. (But also, trying to give myself grace and remember that the particular phase I’m in isn’t just one to be solved by better productivity habits!)
One thing I’ve been more conscious of and attentive to is where I keep my phone. Whenever it’s nearby, whether in my pocket or within sight, I can feel its pull, just willing me to be distracted. Trying to literally put it in its place isn’t easy, but I’m glad for the tiny wins when I can.
<half-baked-thoughts>
There’s a pattern for dunking on AI where the writer will call it “so-called AI”.
And, look, I’m not a hardcore anti-LLM person—I use them for stuff, find value in them, but also don’t feel my life dramatically changing as a result. They’re tools. So take whatever I say next with the salt you’d like to apply.
But, hear me out, I actually think “artificial intelligence” is the aptest term for it!
Pay less attention to the “intelligence” part of the term. More to the “artificial”.
Seen that way, it feels right, doesn’t it? Take artificial sweeteners. You’d be hard pressed to find someone who can confidently and genuinely claim that artificial sweeteners are just as good as the real thing. Ditto for AI!
Anyway, people far more thoughtful than I are thinking about this. The well-linked piece of the week is Ted Chiang on how LLMs are not conscious, which is worth a read if you’d like to get philosophical about it. (via Sean)
Meanwhile, if you’re curious to understand some of the foundational math of how an LLM outputs text (since it is truly just math!), Chris Wiggins has made an interactive explainer of the 1945 Claude Shannon model. (via Shawn Graham)
</half-baked-thoughts>
- Mandy Brown reflects on Virginia Woolf’s lessons of “poverty, chastity, derision, and freedom from unreal loyalties”, offering other names for them: “frugality, integrity, humility, and solidarity”.
- Honey Dacanay has refreshed her site and is posting some great essays. From recent days: “The Absent Sponsor” and “The Unwritten Map”. The latter comes at just the right time for me, as I wrestle with some big change questions at work, and navigating increasing responsibilities. Maybe one of these will be similarly timely for you.
- The state of volunteer firefighting in Canada, which is the vast majority of our firefighting, is real not good. Choked up a few times reading this.
Total mix:
- “The big rig” (excellent investigative journalism piece from The Globe)
- “25 years of The Session” and “Picture at an exhibition” are two real feel-good stories confirming that the web can be great, actually
- “100 Objects #2: 60-Degree Screw” (um, a whole 99pi episode about American hegemony via standards-setting? yes please)
- “Quarterly progress reports on the Centre Block project”
All the best for the week ahead!
Lucas