Sunday Best – April 28, 2024
“Yes we have a soul but it’s made of lots of tiny robots.”
I’ve been reading a lot of the provocative and illuminating work of Dan Dennett lately, and in continuing the comment above, he expanded –
…I thought that’s exactly right. Yes we have a soul, but it’s mechanical. But it’s still a soul, it still does the work that the soul was supposed to do. It is the seat of reason. It is the seat of moral responsibility. It’s why we are appropriate objects of punishment when we do evil things, why we deserve the praise when we do good things. It’s just not a mysterious lump of wonder stuff that will outlive us.
It’s the sign of a great philosopher that their work can push us to refine our own conviction, to be clearer and crisper in our own thinking. For example, I do not agree that my soul is made up of tiny robots, but I DO believe that the soul is the seat of moral responsibility.
Hmmm. This is a different – and better – set of ideas to consider than I had before.
Dear ones, if an idea is worthy of our disagreement, it is worthy of our earnest exploration.
In a world of snarky sound bites and divisive declarations, let’s muster up our inner philosophers, to reflect and converse and refine, together.
** Dan’s last major publication, the memoir I’ve Been Thinking, is a delightful tour of his extraordinary life and work. And one of many Dennett essays that helped to improve my own thinking in recent years is his Atlantic piece The Problem with Counterfeit People.
Sunday Best – April 21, 2024
If there is an act of love, that is to remember.
– Montserrat Roig
I’ve been immersed in discussions of AI-fueled applications lately – all are stunning, many are promising, some are creepy, and most are at least a little unsettling. One of the more captivating ideas involves creation of “synthetic memories” – conjuring up realistic images based on descriptions and archived materials.
It’s easy to see how this capability might be valuable, and healing – and of course there are also lots of big questions to be explored. Beyond the technological wizardry, one motivation noted by its creators rang true – the idea that remembering is an act of love.
When I snuggle up with my niece to look at old family photos, that’s love. When we zoom down into satellite images to see our childhood elementary school and my 11-year-old self gets to connect with hers, that’s love. When we make my grandma’s homemade noodles for chicken pot pie, just the way our own mom taught us, that’s love.
Our memories cross great distances, collapsing time and space, connecting us beyond geography and circumstance and even life itself.
Dear ones, regardless of what our techno-futures might hold, may we cherish and honor our pasts.
May we keep our memories alive, through stories and songs and images and our own actions.
May we live lives that sow seeds of their own remembrance,
in all the ways that matter.
*** Here is some more on the AI project for those who are interested: https://www.syntheticmemories.net
Sunday Best – April 14, 2024
Joy is the mostly invisible, the underground union between us…
– Ross Gay, The Book of Delights
I’ve long been a fan of the idea that we can make our own small joys in life – noticing beautiful moments, finding a pocket of quiet in a noisy space, and occasionally choosing poetry over reality TV. Of course, on some days even small joys are scarce, and all of them stand in contrast and complement to our sorrows… so when we find them, woah, it’s pretty great.
The truth is that all of these joys, in ways big and small, depend on the kindness and efforts of others. This week I cheered the return of Boston’s swan boats in the early morning light, installed by unseen others. I delighted in the sound of a child’s laughter, a child I’ve never even met. I reveled in the crunch of a sugary churro, though I had nothing to do with its creation. I was buoyed by the glow of narcissus in the freezing rain, blooming without any encouragement or acknowledgement from me.
Dear ones, may we be grateful for the trails of joys that others leave for us to discover.
May we offer our own in return.
Sunday Best – April 7, 2024
Nothing in life is as important as you think it is when you are thinking about it. – Daniel Kahneman, Thinking Fast and Slow
You have to love a researcher on thinking who makes a big point of noting that the answer to every question is not just, “think harder.” Sometimes, the answer is “chill out,” or “think of something else.” While focus is terrific, we are also all prone to the condition called focusing illusion, as Kahneman described above.
Reading about the quirks and foibles of human thinking often leaves me feeling all muddled and mushy, hopeless and helpless. The brilliance of Kahneman’s work leaves me feeling clearer. Stronger. Luckier.
Thanks to Dr. Kahneman, when I think of my system1lizard brain, the one that is sometimes described as autopilot, it’s not with disdain or dismissal, but with deep affection, even delight. Look at the lengths my mind will go to in order to keep me safe! Look at all I can accomplish without effortful consideration!
Friends, we might not all be Nobel-worthy researchers. But we all have the choice of how to present our ideas. When we learn something, will we insist on the view that is only cynical, critical? Will we find a way to present even the most amazing attributes as somehow lesser, meaner?
Or might we ask a more generous question?
Might we offer a more wholehearted answer, thoughtful and true?
Might we wonder, and study, and reflect,
and revel in what is revealed?
Sunday Best – March 31, 2024
Dear ones, in this season of rebirth and renewal and regenerative miracles, I share the wisest counsel I’ve recently received.
May we remember our dreams, and not discount them.
What might be possible?
What might we re-member?
What has always been true?
A joyful Easter to all who celebrate!