Findings #5

Hello again. Another edition of findings. I hope you're enjoying these. If you are, consider subscribing to get them straight to your inbox.

From the Web

First, is an article that has been on my to-read list for a while. The recent string of long weekends gave me time to finish it. This article from NOEMA takes a poetic look at the planet as a single organism and how AI and other forms of synthetic intelligence need to come together for our future.

Planetary Sapience | NOEMA

Planetary-scale computation — an emergent intelligence that is both machine and human — gave us the perspective to see Earth as an interconnected whole. With it, we must now conceive an intentional and worthwhile planetary-scale terraforming.

NOEMABenjamin Bratton

Second, on similar lines in this piece from the BBC. It looks at the sci-fi subcategory coined "hopepunk" as a blueprint for a better future. As a big reader of sci-fi I love seeing fiction drift into reality. With a number of looming existential threats likely to become key points in our lifetime, a blueprint for hope is something we surely need.

The sci-fi genre offering radical hope for living better

In these times of cynicism and despair, is ‘hopepunk’ the perfect antidote? David Robson explores radical optimism, and why it matters.

BBC CultureDavid Robson

From Me

Tom and I recorded another podcast episode this week. We talked about the acquisition of Twitter and what an open-source algorithm could possibly mean and the science of problem-solving. Check it out below.

WASSAP Ep 04 - The Science of Problem Solving plus Elon open sourcing “The Algorithm”

Episode 4 of We Absolutely Should Start A PodcastTom and Elliot discuss the absurdity of open-sourcing Twitter’s timeline algorithm and what we know about th...

YouTube

Final Thoughts

An idea I have been mulling on is whether making your passion your career is a good choice.

There is a lot of conflicting advice on making a career from your passion. On the one hand, it could mean you have days full of joy. On the other, it might spoil what was once an escape by adding in the monotonous. An aspect of this idea that I think is overlooked is the reality of training and game day. For every grand final match there are hours of days spent in training. If you think every day is going to be grand final day, you're in for disapointment. On the other hand, if you recognise that training and game day are different, nessecary things, you minimise the chance of feeling like your passion has become monotonous.