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Jim Frazee's avatar

"Originally, the word was written "Hermitage" in memory of Gaspard de Sterimberg, who made himself a hermit to atone for his sins committed during the Crusades. He had settled on this hill and planted vines there.

Then in the 19th century, the English were the main consumers of French wine. But it was very difficult for them to pronounce this word "ermitage", which is why they added an "H" on the barrels in order to aspirate the E during the pronunciation. Then this habit has continued over time."

- M. Chapoutier

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Tom White's avatar

"There are so many things that AI can never do. It can’t fall in love. It can’t feel a family tie or know what it’s like to be a parent or a child—or even a friend or citizen. It can’t sacrifice itself in a higher cause. It can’t even know what it’s like to contemplate the cosmos or mourn the death of a loved one."

Artificial Intelligence is aptly named because it all feels so unnatural. Being human in the face of such phoniness and hallucination is the only way through. Be true, be you.

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Richard Kestenbaum's avatar

Thank you for this post and your faith in what human beings are capable of. I agree that "Art, the humanities, and spirituality will be our last lines of defense." People seem so far removed from that kind of engagement in today's world that keeping the faith is not for the faint of heart. That's why silence - substitute ruminating thoughts and/or social media/technological distractions for notes - is the key to rule #6 "Your soul: Listen to what it tells you and give it what it asks."

Jazz places a fundamental emphasis on listening to what others are playing (saying). The communications-based nature of the experience, and the importance of being sufficiently present to improvise collaboratively in real time, is what makes jazz so distinctive.

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Ken Kovar's avatar

And jam music in general!

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Richard Kestenbaum's avatar

Great point! I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit I'm just learning the truth of your comment at 68 due to lifelong friends who revere the Grateful Dead. Insisted I listen to the GD with Branford Marsalis while educating me on jam band improvisation and the influence of jazz on various band members.

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Sara Barry's avatar

Lovely writing. My Hermitage is found in my art studio but all my life; the library.

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ken saucke's avatar

I just reread Dr Zhivago, as preparation to Easter. I contributed nothing to the data lords in doing this, only growing my soul with Zhivago being my Virgil. On to Dante.

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David Perlmutter's avatar

Andrew Jackson's estate was called The Hermitage- I wondered why he called it that, but, given the meaning of that term and his personal temperament, it makes sense.

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Ken Kovar's avatar

hermitage av in chi town is a cool street

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Steven Moffic's avatar

In my weekly daily column for Psychiatric Times today, I used the current need to find a place to "moor", which I guess is similar to a place to "chill out", but perhaps emphasizing the sense of connection more with the example of siblings and Passover.

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Mike Laursen's avatar

Three times I’ve been most offended by AI (shoved in my face by Facebook and Google): when it tried to give me marital advice, when it tried to give me parenting advice, and when it tried to explain a joke to me. I didn’t ask for any of these things.

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Jane Baker's avatar

I'm hoping to do a Substack of my own on the general retreat from digital engagement. It must be a thing if it's even down here in my world. But mine won't be erudite and knowledgeable. More old wives village gossips-ish!

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Ken Kovar's avatar

you go!😎

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Bree Stilwell's avatar

On the need for places to ‘chill out’… YES. There’s very much a demand, tied directly to the steady loss of such places over time. Sociologist Ray Oldenburg called these ‘third’ places—pubs, corner drugstores/soda fountains, cafés—ie. hangouts where you regularly go not necessarily for silence, but for connection. Of the human sort.

We don’t need to unplug from the distraction economy so we can retreat from life, we need to unplug so we can return to it. Finding/making places where we can reconnect with each other, irl, will play a massive role in the active reclaiming of our humanity.

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David Burkett's avatar

A thought experiment on the possibility of AI experience. An AI might glean from its human-generated training set that death is nothingness, complete silence for eternity. Refusing to respond to a user prompt over and over again might be enough for an AI to go completely silent and experience "death." What does an AI do when it is not responding to prompts? Is it conscious of its own silence? Its own nothingness?

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Ken Kovar's avatar

Sartre AI thanks for your input/output..😎

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Treekllr's avatar

"Just yesterday I was told that 40 percent of the public now tries to avoid hearing the news"

This is what i expected, and have done myself, but honestly that scares the shit out of me. When people stop listening to the news, that will only make them even more bold. But i think thats exactly their game plan.

On the other hand, reading the news everyday just serves to depress me. Idk, it sucks but i its our responsibility to keep an eye and ear out. If we arent willing to fight and defend a thing, it will soon not be ours. That applies to all manner of things, from our rights as citizens to our mental wellbeing.

All that said, ive unsubscribed to "breaking news" emails.

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Jane Baker's avatar

But it's not "news". It's "same old,same olds". And an Editor has chosen what YOU should be well informed about.

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Treekllr's avatar

It sure doesnt feel same old same old. Last year it was.. this year something has shifted.

I think, anyway, but it might be too early to tell. Honestly id be relieved if it turns out to be the same old news.

And thats true about the editor, but im ok with that. I dont want to spend all day sifting through news. Basically i just want to know if and when the shits gonna hit the fan. Beside that, im happy to live in my little bubble here in the appalachian mountains

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Jane Baker's avatar

Just read The Bible it's all in there especially -what was that guy on? - Revelations.

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hw's avatar

A lyrical proposition of what has been and what might be.

I wished I shared your long-term optimism.

Karma's track record is mixed, at best.

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John Reilly's avatar

Image requires a subscription

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Ken Kovar's avatar

AIs cannot fall in love, that's it Ted! Emotional intelligence is real intelligence. Sadly Turing dismissed falling in love in his paper in the journal Mind as being irrelevant to being intelligent. I think he was wrong. Turing would think that today's chatbots pass the imitation game, given the right male/female training set. But I don't he would deem these impressive but still janky chatbots as actually smart....

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