Ach, just subscribed for a year, no biggie, I’ve been reading you for the better part of two decades, if you get a book or two out of me so much the better. I’m now really looking forward to your books. I’ll continue to enjoy your (second) thoughts here. Admittedly you do cheer for the Bruins, so nobody’s perfect!
As a Canadian now living in the US the difference in the remembrance of the Great War is striking. When I moved from the west coast to the prairies the war memorials in every small town in Saskatchewan or Manitoba were so striking, the number of lives lost from such small communities. And so central to the towns.
You have put your finger on the blindness of the American public. They have very little to no knowledge or memory of the past, nor do they care. This blindness alows the politicians of the present to easily manipulate public opinion. As the philosopher, George Santayana said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemed to repeat it." When I ask people who will admit to supporting DJT, "Do you know about Father Conklin?" I get only blank looks, and yet the similarities are very strong. I have always found your writings to be thought provoking, and I am willing to wait for your next post. Best wishes on your new venture.
Dan, you're a mensch, that's for certain. It was through your newsletter that I discovered the wonderful place that is Substack, and frankly, your newsletters are the ones I look forward to the most, despite being subscribed (and paying) to several other ones, which mostly cover my professional interests.
Your writing is a breath of fresh air, and the more that this world is getting more insane (it seems like it's getting crazier on daily basis) having a historical glimpse into the past, with a sobering view of what we had gone through, where we came from, what good decisions and mistakes we made, and how we ended up here - all are such important reminders that our reality cannot be reduced into a couple of slogans that happen to rhyme, that nuance and depth and curiosity and genuine pursuit of understanding of our lives, that all these complex endeavors cannot be summarized into a byte-sized TikTok "explainer" - you fill that void for me.
I have shared your work with many of my friends and family, and I can't wait to see what you do next.
Whatever that is, all of us, your humble nano-Medicis will wait here, patiently.
Agreed. I visited Kansas City earlier this year and was a) surprised to find the monument and museum, and b) shocked at what an excellent collection it has and how well it is displayed.
The new book projects sound exciting. I originally found your writing through Superforecasting, which was excellent. As a sidenote, I just saw on LinkedIn that one of my former coworkers was a super forecaster, which, knowing him, doesn’t surprise me at all! I always enjoy reading your thoughtful comments on Substack and will look forward to whenever you have time to post.
Thanks for your candour, Dan. I've been reading and enjoying your stuff for 20-odd years and I don't mind tangibly supporting you to pay some of that back.
One suggestion, if I may. And you may have already done this, I'm not sure if there's a way to tell. You could limit the comments to paid subscribers. That's one tiny little bonus for those who choose to support you.
Too many topics in this column for a general response. However, I am wondering if the bewilderment around AI might be reduced by a new label. I respect that old 'machine learning' moniker. And I may not be the first to suggest "simulated intelligence" or SI. My experiences have been appalling. Poor quality answers that are not corrected even when flaws are pointed out. "Intelligence" would learn from client interaction. The algorithms seem stuck in their original programming and databases -- the way no non-delusional person would act.
Something thought-provoking every month would maintain my sixpences for you.
Interesting anecdote at the end. The bas-relief on the memorial in the photo definitely has a period Art Deco look to it. Agree that technology at its root is simply a tool for humans to solve problems and hence the human need element trumps the actual technology. Do not agree with some of the initial assertions, in particular that 'invention is the mother of necessity', an inversion of the traditional expression. I get what its trying to say, but overall, as an engineer I can say that its usually some human need that drives a creative inventive spirit to solve it, often with technology. Also agree that the history of technology is important and undervalued. So many technology ideas have already been attempted with resulting failure, if policy makers and engineers knew more about what came before, we'd waste less time and money on future already-known-to-be unviable projects.
Ach, just subscribed for a year, no biggie, I’ve been reading you for the better part of two decades, if you get a book or two out of me so much the better. I’m now really looking forward to your books. I’ll continue to enjoy your (second) thoughts here. Admittedly you do cheer for the Bruins, so nobody’s perfect!
Damn. I'll put your name in the book twice.
As a Canadian now living in the US the difference in the remembrance of the Great War is striking. When I moved from the west coast to the prairies the war memorials in every small town in Saskatchewan or Manitoba were so striking, the number of lives lost from such small communities. And so central to the towns.
You have put your finger on the blindness of the American public. They have very little to no knowledge or memory of the past, nor do they care. This blindness alows the politicians of the present to easily manipulate public opinion. As the philosopher, George Santayana said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemed to repeat it." When I ask people who will admit to supporting DJT, "Do you know about Father Conklin?" I get only blank looks, and yet the similarities are very strong. I have always found your writings to be thought provoking, and I am willing to wait for your next post. Best wishes on your new venture.
Dan, you're a mensch, that's for certain. It was through your newsletter that I discovered the wonderful place that is Substack, and frankly, your newsletters are the ones I look forward to the most, despite being subscribed (and paying) to several other ones, which mostly cover my professional interests.
Your writing is a breath of fresh air, and the more that this world is getting more insane (it seems like it's getting crazier on daily basis) having a historical glimpse into the past, with a sobering view of what we had gone through, where we came from, what good decisions and mistakes we made, and how we ended up here - all are such important reminders that our reality cannot be reduced into a couple of slogans that happen to rhyme, that nuance and depth and curiosity and genuine pursuit of understanding of our lives, that all these complex endeavors cannot be summarized into a byte-sized TikTok "explainer" - you fill that void for me.
I have shared your work with many of my friends and family, and I can't wait to see what you do next.
Whatever that is, all of us, your humble nano-Medicis will wait here, patiently.
Best of luck!
The World War I museum in Kansas City MO is amazing. History buffs of any stripe should enjoy it immensely.
Agreed. I visited Kansas City earlier this year and was a) surprised to find the monument and museum, and b) shocked at what an excellent collection it has and how well it is displayed.
The new book projects sound exciting. I originally found your writing through Superforecasting, which was excellent. As a sidenote, I just saw on LinkedIn that one of my former coworkers was a super forecaster, which, knowing him, doesn’t surprise me at all! I always enjoy reading your thoughtful comments on Substack and will look forward to whenever you have time to post.
Thanks for your candour, Dan. I've been reading and enjoying your stuff for 20-odd years and I don't mind tangibly supporting you to pay some of that back.
One suggestion, if I may. And you may have already done this, I'm not sure if there's a way to tell. You could limit the comments to paid subscribers. That's one tiny little bonus for those who choose to support you.
Thanks for all the informative posts, and best of luck with the book!
Too many topics in this column for a general response. However, I am wondering if the bewilderment around AI might be reduced by a new label. I respect that old 'machine learning' moniker. And I may not be the first to suggest "simulated intelligence" or SI. My experiences have been appalling. Poor quality answers that are not corrected even when flaws are pointed out. "Intelligence" would learn from client interaction. The algorithms seem stuck in their original programming and databases -- the way no non-delusional person would act.
Something thought-provoking every month would maintain my sixpences for you.
I get my money’s worth. I’ll stay.
Interesting anecdote at the end. The bas-relief on the memorial in the photo definitely has a period Art Deco look to it. Agree that technology at its root is simply a tool for humans to solve problems and hence the human need element trumps the actual technology. Do not agree with some of the initial assertions, in particular that 'invention is the mother of necessity', an inversion of the traditional expression. I get what its trying to say, but overall, as an engineer I can say that its usually some human need that drives a creative inventive spirit to solve it, often with technology. Also agree that the history of technology is important and undervalued. So many technology ideas have already been attempted with resulting failure, if policy makers and engineers knew more about what came before, we'd waste less time and money on future already-known-to-be unviable projects.