Challenge

Setting a challenge for myself seems simple enough. Pick a goal and then work to reach it. But there needs to be more than the goal, and the process. There also needs to be some sacrifice; What will it be necessary for me to give up in order to attempt the challenge? There also needs to be some risk; Risk of physical loss, injury or monetary cost are obvious options, but a good challenge has mental, even spiritual, risk attached. Who will I be after this challenge? What about success itself? I think a good challenge must seem achievable (it mustn’t fly in the face of reality) but must actually be uncertain. It takes a special person to set and truly attempt a challenge that they aren’t certain they can achieve.

I am going to try to convince you to spend the next 4 days watching a YouTube live stream of people running round a 4.1 mile loop in Tennessee, all day and all night.

~ Matt Webb from, Why you should watch Big’s Backyard Ultra, which starts tomorrow (Interconnected)

slip:4uieho3.

I’m not sure what to say about this “backyard ultra”. Fortunately for you, the race will be over by the time this post appears. You don’t risk being sucked into the live stream by reading Webb’s article. While I’m not the least bit attracted to attempting something like this, I read the article slowly. The challenge that lies at the heart of this race is something I understand. I’m not suggesting you go try to run one of these races, but I do hope you have experienced true self-set challenge.

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#7ForSunday #Apogee #Challenges #MattWebb #Running

Quoting Matt Webb

#ai, #ai-assisted-programming, #claude, #claude-code, #coding-agents, #generative-ai, #llms, #matt-webb, #vibe-coding

Beach daydreams

Watching a fire, too, fills the eyes and releases the imagination to drift.

~ Matt Webb from, Beach daydreams, lost at sea

slip:4uieho7.

For a few years now we’ve had a standing date for camping near a beach at the end of summer. This little collection from Webb touches on some of the why.

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#Beach #MattWebb

My mind is an emulation

My mind is [apparently] a poor emulation of every movie ever created.

I mean, can you reliably tell whether you are an actual human in base reality or an upload/simulation?

Or to extend this even further:

Is there any text conversation that somebody could have with you that would convince you that you are actually a machine?

What a weapon that would be. What a cursed SMS that would be to receive.

IF YOU’RE READING THIS, YOU’VE BEEN IN A COMA FOR ALMOST 20 YEARS NOW. WE’RE TRYING A NEW TECHNIQUE. WE DON’T KNOW WHERE THIS MESSAGE WILL END UP IN YOUR DREAM, BUT WE HOPE WE’RE GETTING THROUGH.

~ Matt Webb, from Turing test variations

slip:4uieho4.

First off, there are three different things I wanted to quote and three different directions. Go read the thing. I wish I had written it. Hello? Could the programmers running my brain in the simulation please drop the upgrade soon?! I digress.

As I read the above (the bit I quoted) I had a few thoughts…

One — There’s an idea—I recall it being called a “scissors” or a “shears”—which breaks a mind (human, but the discussion was also about an AI’s mind) once you have the idea. I mean: There’s a discussion of whether or not there can exist such a scissors. I’m sure I’ve read about this; I would have swore I blogged about it. But I can’t even find the discussion on the Internet. What I have found is discussion about the discussion with references to the discussion being deleted and moderator-blocked for a few years. Apparently, because if such a scissors actually exists . . . *bonk* Therefore, my first thought after reading the quoted bit above is that I think that “scissors” once broke my brain, and caused an emulator crash. And the information was mostly erased before I was restarted.

Two — Have you seen the film, The Thirteenth Floor? No spoiler! Go watch.

Three — Making this connection, as I read, made the hair stand up on my arms. Have you see the film, Prince of Darkness? No Spoiler! Go watch.

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#ArtificialIntelligence #Film #MattWebb

#ListeningTo
"Come With Fierce Grace"
by #AlabasterDePlume featuring #FalleNioke #RoziPlain #SarathyKorwar #TomSkinner #KenichiIwasa #JamesHoward #TomHerbert #NataliePela #RosaSlade #EllyCondron #LuisaGerstein #MattWebb #MichaelChestnutt #UrsulaRussell #ConradSingh #HannahMiller #DonnaThompson #MatthewBourne #MomokoGill #RuthGoller
https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/come-with-fierce-grace
Released September 8, #2023
via #InternationalAnthem + #Bandcamp
#ThankYouFolks!

To help get people started, for my first #FeedReaderFriday note, I’m highlighting @genmon‘s (@[email protected]) excellent introduction of feeds and readers. 

https://aboutfeeds.com/

#feed-readers #feedreaderfriday #matt-webb #rss

https://boffosocko.com/2022/11/18/55811726/