Circle Three 85 / Epiphany
Maybe it’s the snow falling outside while I write, maybe it’s realizing how fast the year has gone (Q1 is over?!), or maybe it’s the upcoming birthday. For whatever reason, there are two heavy-hitting psychology notes this week and three favorite pieces. I felt that a favorite philosophical song would also be appropriate.
Hope you’re enjoying your weekend. I always enjoy any dialogue that comes about as a result of C3, so never hesitate to hit that reply button.
Contents:
brain bites: Psychology & Health
Plato’s Lemonade Stand Snippet
The Midlife Unraveling by Brené Brown
brain bites: Business & Investing
YWR: Why it's Not 2008 Again
(Repost) Modern Meditations: Josh Wolfe
brain bites: Technology
God, AI, and the Scalable Class
Lyric: Epiphany by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
brain bites: psychology & health
Plato’s Lemonade Stand Snippet. “Imagine life as a large wagon wheel,” I read in Plato’s Lemonade Stand. “If we emotionally live on the outer rim, then when the wheel turns, we’ll be spun around to extreme highs and lows in rapid and dizzying succession.”
“But if we can learn to move closer in toward the mid point of the hub, we become much more centered. The wheel will still spin, but we won’t be so dramatically thrown about by its motion.”
To me, religion, philosophy, travel, close relationships, and self-discipline keep an individual close to the mid point of the hub, where he/she has a high level of self-awareness and awareness of the ways of the world. While I’m not finished the book, I highly recommend it to anyone experiencing any sort of change.
The Midlife Unraveling by Brené Brown. I’m not the target demographic for Brené’s article, but I like to think of this as a way to peer around the corner of time and see what might be there, and how I can adjust in the present. Here’s a quote that stood out:
And just in case you think you can blow off the universe the way you did when you were in your twenties and she whispered, “Pay attention,” or when you were in your early thirties and she whispered, “Slow down,” I assure you that she’s much more dogged in midlife.
When I tried to ignore her, she made herself very clear: “There are consequences for squandering your gifts. There are penalties for leaving big pieces of your life unlived. You’re halfway to dead. Get a move on.”
How to respond to that call?
Lean in and embrace it
Deny it happened
Numb the reality
The Resistance Response
As a stubborn, determined individual, the resistance response feels like something to prepare for (or avoid).
brain bites: business & investing
YWR: Why it's Not 2008 Again. Maybe it’s my Twitter timeline but it sure seems like we’re in a systemic banking crisis. Inspired by F. Scott Fitzgerald — who said “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.” — I read Erik Renander’s thoughts on how what is happening in the banking sector is healthy, non-systemic, and won’t cause GFC 3 (not to be confused with GPT-3 below).
I suspect half of these ‘bank failures’ (which are actually bank regulator take-overs) would not have happened if the bank regulators had let all their buffers and extra capital ratios work and gave the banks time to address the issues and work through the situation. But they don’t and so banks have to trade at a discount because on any given weekend the regulator can decide you are a risk and shut you down.
Modern Meditations: Josh Wolfe. I’m posting the same article this week because, frankly, Josh is a smart guy! But this week I discussed what the world might look like in 5, 25, or 50 years, and I found myself articulating ideas similar to Josh (if less poetic and endearing). Humanity has the capacity for so much good, and when unified can address and overcome problems.
How will future historians describe our current era? — As better than prior eras that came and worse than those to come. I am a conditional optimist (distinct from a complacent one) and view our species as fallible but motivated by self-interest to find and fix problems.
In pursuit of status or some collective interest, we reliably uncover what sucks about our current existence and devise solutions. …Ultimately, I’m in the Martin Luther King and Steven Pinker camp; I believe the arc of the moral universe is long but bends towards justice.
brain bites: technology
God, AI, and the Scalable Class. After the first couple of paragraphs, I wouldn’t have guessed the conclusion of this article would be “we need more religions,” but read for yourself.
If you haven’t heard of or used ChatGPT, GPT-3, or GPT-4, Dror Poleg gives a thought-provoking and particularly optimistic view into how artificial intelligence might impact the American workforce, entirely change consumption, and introduce a new subset of society to the global economy.
The performance of ChatGPT and the "engine" that runs it is incredible. And even more astonishing is the rate of improvement compared to previous versions from mere months ago. It is starting to change our most basic assumptions about the meaning of "thinking" and "intelligence.”
The end was a bit too reminiscent of Brave New World’s soma…
But I find this situation fascinating from a theoretical perspective. Based on everything we discussed above, advanced economies may actually be able to sustain a large population of people who aren't doing "productive work." Ironically, the more significant challenge for advanced economies might be completely different: How to appease the masses of people who aren't "useful"?
The next decade will be dominated by the humans who can quickly unlearn, relearn, and evolve.
Lyric: Epiphany by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
Epiphany is the most-listened to track on the soundtrack of Disney’s Soul, one of my favorite movies about purpose, existentialism, and ~jazz~… but really music in general. I highly recommend it if (1) you’re thinking about your purpose or (2) are just in the mood to listen to an incredible soundtrack and some witty jokes. It’s got something for everyone.
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross won both a Golden Globe and an Oscar for their The Social Network soundtrack. They are the minds behind the Grammy-winning soundtrack for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and the score of Gone Girl. Their music is tranquil yet anxiety-provoking, what they’ve called “digital dread” and “emotionally resonant atmospherics.” Epiphany encapsulates all of these and more.
Stay Curious,
Dan