Reflections Blog

Welcome to Reflections in a Cracked Glass.  This blog gives updates on what I’ve added recently and it’s a place for photos and for thoughts on subjects small and large.

 

A human considers AI

drJ : February 15, 2024 5:24 pm : Thought

Haven’t blogged for ages, but thought I’d get back on the horse. Thinking a lot about AI lately, so here’s a quick thought:

Is AI is simply the next progression in computing, which everyone, everyone, knew was coming It is certainly fair to say that it is a “game changer”, a “quantum leap”, etc. sure, but is it truly a paradigm shift? Depends on what happens next.

Isn’t it essentially the same paradigm?: We can create things that can “out-think” humans, solve problems that we can’t figure out with our own brains. We could go back to the abacus for a prime example of this: The human moves the levers and the abacus provides the solution. A simple pocket calculator proves in an instant that computers can crush human cognitive powers.

So, albeit a rather large increment, the change brought by AI is incremental. Significant, but not a revolutionary change in our understanding of how things work and what is possible to accomplish through electronics, coding, and vast server farms.

And so with AI as with the internet, DNA research, and nuclear physics: the real question is not what we discover, but what we do with what we discover. Ah, there’s the rub.

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Joe Norris’ exhibition “Elemental Abstractions”

drJ : June 6, 2023 3:43 pm : Reflections

Joe Norris’ vibrant show exploring the edge between representation and abstraction at Next Stage in Putney, Vermont.

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Bill Dixon’s Portraits at the Crowell Gallery

drJ : June 6, 2023 3:22 pm : Reflections

Bill Dixon’s marvelous exhibit of his portrait photography at the Crowell Gallery in Newfane, Vermont

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The art of Nancy Storrow

drJ : December 2, 2022 8:48 pm : Creativity, Reflections

I had a wonderful opportunity to collaborate with Nancy Storrow on this project.  It was a fascinating experience.  We were also lucky enough to receive permission from the talented pianist Misuzu Tanaka to include an excerpt from Leoš Janáček’s “On an overgrown path” as the audio for the video.

 

 

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Illustrated Ulysses: Bloomsday 2022 at the Brattleboro Public Library

drJ : August 9, 2022 1:09 pm : Reflections

A totally absorbing, fascinating project completed! Two and half years its starting point, the video combines a live talk in the library with video excerpts from Ulysses and images drawn by talented current graphic artists whose work captures the humor and the human drama of James Joyce’s Ulysses.

The idea of the project was to share the fun I’ve been able to have in reading Ulysses over many years and to make Joyce’s kaleidoscopic novel more approachable.

Here’s the result:

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Terrible days, these…

drJ : June 24, 2022 12:23 pm : Reflections

Today, Friday, June 24, when Roe v. Wade died an untimely and grotesque death.  The Supreme Court, the “law of the land,” what a mockery.  My god, has it come to this? Yes, it has. It is.

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What is wrong with our species?

drJ : March 12, 2022 10:43 am : Reflections, Thought

How can we so amazingly destroy ourselves ?  What is wrong with us? Our curiosity drives us to unravel the inside of an atom and our madness uses the knowledge to destroy the planet, mad enough to bring it all to a horrifying end?

I think of Dylan’s Masters of War.

 

 

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In these scary times…

drJ : March 5, 2022 7:57 pm : Creativity, Event, Reflections, Thought, Update Announcement

My god how rapidly our world approaches the brink.

I’ve written a play that deals with the insanity of so-called civilized society.  We’re done an initial readthrough and are planning a full full production for early this fall.

Also planning a talk on James Joyce’s Ulysses along with actors reading excerpts from the work in celebrating of the Joyce’s incredible work.  It will air on Bloomsday June 16 at 7PM.

So we keep on doing what keeps the heart going during these incredibly stressful times.

 

 

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Ricia Gordon’s Retrospective at the Crowell Gallery, Newfane, VT

drJ : December 8, 2021 12:06 pm : Reflections

Ricia was a wonderful friend. It was a pleasure to work with her husband Bill to create this video of her show at Newfane’s Moore Library this November.

 

 

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sapiens emeritus?

drJ : August 9, 2021 12:45 pm : Reflections, Thought

I take a small dose of reality by reading the paper for a few minutes in the morning with my coffee and muffin.

Today’s news was the UN’s report on climate change.

Oh, and, if that weren’t enough there was the article on how the US thinks Russia may be attacking CIA agents and diplomats (there’s a difference?) in Havana, with illness somehow done via microwaves.

I definitely felt I’d overdosed on reality and I attempted, unsuccessfully,  to escape to a jigsaw puzzle.

Is our species hell-bent on its own destruction?

Who the hell left us humans in charge of the planet?

 

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Essays on creativity, community, social change, and the search for meaning