Monthly Archives: April 2023

The Post-Game Show

Posted on April 29, 2023 by Dave Pollard

This is #17 in a series of month-end reflections on the state of the world, and other things that come to mind, as I walk and hike in my local community.  both images in this post are by Midjourney; my own prompts … Continue reading →

Posted in Creative Works, Illusion of the Separate Self and Free Will, Month-End Reflections, Our Culture / Ourselves | 1 Comment

The Simple Reality of Collapse

Posted on April 26, 2023 by Dave Pollard

It seems to be basic human nature to assume the future will be like the present, “only more so” — We expect current trajectories (and even “hockey stick” accelerations) to continue. Unless there are constraints — limits — that is … Continue reading →

Posted in Collapse Watch, How the World Really Works, Our Culture / Ourselves | 4 Comments

The New Left’s Search for Religion

Posted on April 21, 2023 by Dave Pollard

image from Midjourney, my own prompt With the world hurtling into full-on economic and ecological collapse, it is hard to find something — anything — to believe in, to trust, or to accept ‘on faith’. Those on the left, most … Continue reading →

Posted in Collapse Watch, How the World Really Works, Our Culture / Ourselves | 4 Comments

The Ancient Game

Posted on April 18, 2023 by Dave Pollard

image by Midjourney; my own prompt So we circle around each other,  a bit more subtly than our distant ancestors, but still — Making our first impressions. It’s usually mostly chemistry to start, but not necessarily: Somebody always has to … Continue reading →

Posted in Creative Works, Our Culture / Ourselves | Comments Off on The Ancient Game

Links of the Month: April 2023

Posted on April 16, 2023 by Dave Pollard

Midjourney imagines TS Eliot walking along the beach. “Do I dare to eat a peach?”. My own prompt. As usual, I’m reading a lot about collapse these days, and the tone of the writing seems to be growing darker, more … Continue reading →

Posted in Collapse Watch, How the World Really Works, Our Culture / Ourselves | 1 Comment

How AI Conditioning and Human Conditioning Differ

Posted on April 14, 2023 by Dave Pollard

Midjourney’s take on human ‘conditioning’ John Whiting sent me a note asking whether I thought the way that AI chatbots are conditioned is different from the way humans are conditioned. It hadn’t even occurred to me that the processes might … Continue reading →

Posted in How the World Really Works, Illusion of the Separate Self and Free Will, Our Culture / Ourselves | 5 Comments

The Moloch Tragedy

Posted on April 13, 2023 by Dave Pollard

image from Midjourney So you’re at a concert, everyone politely seated enjoying the performance. But some people are very tall, some are huddled together, and some are wearing hats, so you can’t see the stage quite as well as you’d … Continue reading →

Posted in How the World Really Works, Our Culture / Ourselves | 6 Comments

What If We’d Never Imagined Our Selves?

Posted on April 12, 2023 by Dave Pollard

Midjourney’s representation of an infant bonobo “Many were increasingly of the opinion that they’d all made a big mistake in coming down from the trees in the first place. And some said that even the trees had been a bad … Continue reading →

Posted in How the World Really Works, Illusion of the Separate Self and Free Will, Our Culture / Ourselves | 5 Comments

More Than Human: An Abductive Thinking Experiment

Posted on April 11, 2023 by Dave Pollard

Midjourney’s imagining of what an origami crow might look like I’ve spent many hours watching the crows outside my window from my “terrace in the sky”. I have speculated before about what it might be like to be a crow. … Continue reading →

Posted in How the World Really Works, Our Culture / Ourselves | 4 Comments

Ten Things We Should Simply Get Rid Of

Posted on April 8, 2023 by Dave Pollard

Just a fun rant. I’m sure I missed some obvious candidates. Daylight Saving Time Map — from wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 TimeZonesBoy own work Trying to reform existing, collapsing, globalized systems is, I think, mostly fruitless. But sometimes the idealist … Continue reading →

Posted in How the World Really Works, Our Culture / Ourselves | 7 Comments