turn back time

If I could turn back time, I would write down more of what I experienced so that I'd remember it better today.

Imagine going too far back. For example, an era before electricity was widely available. I don't think I could adjust. No reason to go back further than the introduction of the common kitchen microwave oven.

don't go back to OZ in the winter

Those great moment-in-time pictures offer an easy way to go back in time.

Do you use your blog to go back in time?

I do.

I have used youtube to store a few memories too. 

Back in 2008, I went to the Red Bull (I don't drink the stuff) Flugtag in Chicago. Lots of fun. Remembering this, I wondered if the Flugtag events continued. Yes they did but not as often. Nashville TN. hosted one in 2017. All these digital memories will change retirement in the future (assuming the files don't get lost or formats stop playing).

I took some pictures and a little bit of video. Then I mixed them together with a real corny old song I found.





Here's the song that gave me the post title.




Give it a shot. Finish this sentence, "If I could turn back time...".

Moving into the universe

We all are moving. I'm certain we are already in the universe already. We must be moving in the universe by definition. Yeah ok, I'll promise to stop being pedantic for the rest of the post.

original hoodie

Since I’m still above the grass I’ve been thinking because I can. If somehow, someway, thinking still occurs after you breathe no more, it must be a very different type of thinking. How could your memories possibly remain with your spirit? If my neuron based memories are left behind how do I know who I am? Maybe memories are not neuron based? I'm no neuroscientist but I've read that is the current thinking based on functional MRIs.

There's much I don't know but I don’t imagine my spirit will be able to read my blog in the future.

Is the sentient source of your conscious your spirit?

Do you have the spirit to keep reading this post?

my conscious is more fractal than circular

Now I just looked up the word epistemology (BTW it’s the study of the nature of knowledge) but I do recall reading this word before so I must have been reading something related to it.

So this branch of philosophy deals with truth and belief. Afterlife spirits and belief are inseparable in my opinion. Actually, I consider opinion a big part of philosophy.

This post doesn’t suggest any answers. You should consult a Ouija board for these types of answers.

Browsing this subject around in wikipedia landed me on the philosophy of mind page. I don’t recall reading about so many “isms” on one web page before. One intriguing ism was Mysterianism which happens to named after the rock band, Question Mark and the Mysterians.

The main tenet for Mysterianism is that humans do not have the intellectual ability to comprehend consciousness. Meh, whatever, why bother?

Now I'm left wondering if I could score some grant money for my idea of blogism.

And she was drifting through the backyard
And she was taking off her dress
And she was moving very slowly
Rising up above the earth
Moving into the universe

future thinking

I bet the original blacksmiths of the double edged sword had no idea of how that term would be used centuries later as an imperfect metaphor.

Hopefully you will agree that steel swords can be considered technology for that time. Of course they were designed for war purposes. Eventually, they became a symbolic part of some ceremonies.

do they practice sword fighting?

Many of today's technologies probably have unknown future consequences. Maybe good consequences but since they are unknown how do we make a the right guess? I'm not opposed to exploring new technologies (but I don't want a new mouse trap when they are no mice bothering me). I believe we should be careful and debate potential consequences of technology changes.

a futuristic day

Did you happen to watch the two-part Frontline documentary, "The Facebook Dilemma"? Facebook created a powerful tool that has been misused by groups that want to disrupt societies. In the case of Myanmar, social media Facebook in particular, was a significant factor inciting violence. The platform allowed hate speech and calls for violence against the Rohingya to spread across Myanmar. Facebook had admitted it had been slow to respond to concerns.

I'm an active FB user. I'm not suggesting shutting FB down. In fact other less moderated social sites have been started. One was linked to the recent shooting in Pittsburgh.

Extreme groups can go to the "dark web" and still organize. I don't think they can grow as quickly as they can on popular social sites. Are you old enough to remember when Congress banned cigarette ads on TV and radio? Banning hate/violence type of content would not as simple as ads but an attempt should be tried.

how would Alexa respond?

Do we possess the intelligence to develop and control artificial intelligence, AI?

AI is the basis for voice and face recognition. Automated driving will use it. AI is both useful and dangerous. Some companies are more responsible than others. The pressure to beat the competition to the market is strong. Thinking about unwanted consequences takes time and the will to stop a product release.

I have learned AI grows on data. Google, FB, Twitter and others are huge collectors of data. It's time to start exploring consequences of this data collection and use.

(an older post about a "new mouse trap" that users didn't need or want)