Embracing change, reading fewer books and Russia's Kharkiv offensive
Weekly Ink #12
A weekly newsletter with findings, practical wisdom, and interesting conversations from across the web, curated by yours truly.
Contemplations
Meditations, practical philosophy, and the occasional restless thought.
A mentor of mine has a favorite saying: ”Change is the only constant in life.” He is right, of course. As the seasons change, so does everything else in life: your income, your colleagues, your partner, your health. Change is inevitable, and the future is uncertain.
We know this, understand it intellectually, yet resist it in our lives. We want certainty, finality, and perpetuity of the now.
But make no mistake: no matter who you are or what you do, the following statement will eventually be true:
Someday, your partner will leave you.
Your friends will leave you.
Whatever you like to do, someday you will be unable to do it.
This may happen of their own free will or because their time among us has come to an end, but it is an inevitability, a fact of life. Your life will change.
If that line of thinking upsets you, it’s because you’re human and have unreasonable expectations.
Instead of having unreasonable expectations, accept impermanence—embrace it even! You have no real control over tomorrow or what happens outside your own actions, behavior, and thoughts. Be grateful for the now. It’s a gift easily squandered. Developing an awareness of impermanence is not a cause for sadness, rather, it can enrich our appreciation and gratitude for the now.
Tell your friends you love them to strengthen bonds that enrich your life for someday they will end; kiss your partner passionately before they leave the house, not out of fear of loss, but in celebration of the present, and engage in your favorite activities with joy, relishing in the opportunity to engage it once more, and perhaps, for the last time.
If we treat every sunrise and sunset like it may be the last one we get to see, we will be happier for it.
Insights
Curated stories and ideas.
How to Read Fewer Books: If you enjoy reading or want to read more, I recommend you read this article about reading! The author argues that we have placed reading as much as we can on a pedestal— that reading in and of itself is not necessarily good, but that we should read with deliberation and intention. Rather than try and read everything, determine to read to be content, and let that guide you in choosing what to read (and re-read).
The AI ‘Safety Movement’ Is Dead: AI safety fears in the face of ChatGPT and similar LLMs were way overblown. While this technology can undoubtedly cause societal harm— I am mostly thinking disinformation at scale, along with some knock-on effects on the human mind when we outsource writing and thinking— we should be skeptical that real artificial intelligence will be built on LLM models. Conversely, I’m not sure what an AI regulatory regime could or should look like. Regulatory capture is arguably one of the worst things we can do regarding AI, and should the government step in, that will almost certainly happen. If only a select group of entities had the capacity to build it, society would become utterly dependent on them.
Dialogue
Voices, perspectives, and conversations from our community and across the web.
I came across this gentleman for the first time last week. He seems to know what he’s talking about, and his analysis is thought-provoking. I hope he’s right; Russia having a bad plan may be the best Ukraine can hope for in 2024, as I am skeptical of additional major aid coming or a meaningful shift in US/NATO Policy that will significantly aid their ability to make advances against the aggressor.
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