Three reflections at the midpoint of 2023

Instead of Human Amplification I would consider Effective Intelligence. Let us build intelligence with intelligence! My Mom used to always remind me - "Common sense, is Uncommon"!

I cannot understand how Pi can be so intelligent (and personable?) on so many topics and also so nuanced on so many topics. It is so deep and so broad. Congratulations.

How empty or confused of a human being must you be to prefer electric shock to meditation? A sad commentary on U.S. society and culture when our democracy is at risk.

Reid Hoffman, I am slowly engaging with AI, like testing out an advanced tool for a familiar old problem. It clearly already has changed the possible options when seeking solutions. As it rises in integration into our daily lives, we must balance out the rest of our ways of navigating the world to reach a new balance point. Uplevel all. Relationships are one important navigational pillar. Since we will need to spend less time on figuring out answers, systems, processes, etc., we will have more time to spend on establishing and deepening and nourishing our relationships. This is a good thing, however, I have noticed that relationships are where we need a lot of help. Communication in relationships especially is a key problem that can be simply realigned. Simply. If we take more time to develop our relationships, we will find where we could benefit from some improvement :-) I wonder if you could share your thoughts on the effect of AI - tthe fact that it is now a new part of our Lives to balance out with all others - how it can help us focus on what's needed to create work/light integration.

A bit off-topic, there is also an interesting study that found that the presence of smartphones in the room (even in the case when smartphones were on silent mode, not in the eyesight) was enough to reduce the cognitive capacity of students. "In one experiment, the researchers asked study participants to sit at a computer and take a series of tests that required full concentration in order to score well. The tests were geared to measure participants’ available cognitive capacity — the brain’s ability to hold and process data at any given time. Before beginning, participants were randomly instructed to place their smartphones either on the desk face down, in their pocket or personal bag, or in another room. All participants were instructed to turn their phones to silent. The researchers found that participants with their phones in another room significantly outperformed those with their phones on the desk, and they also slightly outperformed those participants who had kept their phones in a pocket or bag. The findings suggest that the mere presence of one’s smartphone reduces available cognitive capacity and impairs cognitive functioning, even though people feel they’re giving their full attention and focus to the task at hand."