Month: November 2023

ChatGPT: one year

This thing has taken off and is (so far gently) shaking the world. Everyone who writes text for a living is affected, and magazines are already using AI-written articles. Google, Microsoft, Meta (Facebook) are working on competitors, and ChatGPT 4 is continuously being improved.

Imagine a computer that can talk to you. Nothing new, right? Those have been around since the 1960s. But ChatGPT, the application that first bought large language models (LLMs) to a wide audience, felt different. It could compose poetry, seemingly understand the context of your questions and your conversation, and help you solve problems. Within a few months, it became the fastest-growing consumer application of all time. And it created a frenzy in the tech world.

An overview: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/11/chatgpt-was-the-spark-that-lit-the-fire-under-generative-ai-one-year-ago-today/. About 1,700 words. (Also see LaughLearnLinks, Feb. 2023.)

Eric Idle: I Survived Cancer. It’s a Funny Story.

Pancreatic cancer is usually fatal. Eric Idle, of Monty Python fame, was very lucky — his was discovered by accident, very early, during a preventive medicine MRI. On the day of the surgery:

I drive myself to Cedars-Sinai before dawn to check in. It has been decided I will use a pseudonym. To keep away the tabloids. I wonder if the tabloids are at all interested in me, but still, it will be safer, they insist. However, what name to choose? I can’t think. I finally settle on Mr. Cheeky. Of course the name of the character in The Life of Brian who sings, “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.”

It’s fine until I hear someone calling this name at check-in.

Everyone looks up.

“Mr. Cheeky,” they repeat loudly.

“Oh sh-t, that’s me.”

Good thing I didn’t choose Biggus Dickus.

https://time.com/6215318/eric-idle-pancreatic-cancer/. About 2,700 words and funny throughout. Idle has set up a fund to fight pancreatic cancer, Bright Side Fund at Stand Up To Cancer.

Things to not do in a relationship

From the experts: divorce lawyers. (The headline is The 1 Thing Divorce Lawyers (Almost) Never Do In Their Marriages, but that’s misleading: it’s one thing from each of several lawyers.)

  • They don’t check their partner’s phone. “If you want a lasting marriage, you need to have trust.”
  • They don’t make jokes or empty threats about divorce. Yeesh.
  • They don’t blame their partner. In a healthy dynamic, both partners can recognize their mistakes and each take accountability for their part, rather than wasting time pointing fingers at each other.
  • They don’t hide their finances. If someone is being cagey or withholding when it comes to money, it doesn’t bode well for the future of the relationship.
  • They don’t argue over text or email. Digital communication “can easily be misconstrued, especially in tone.”
  • They don’t say things they can’t take back. “Arguments should come from a solution-oriented place.”
  • They don’t stop their partner from pursuing their own hobbies and friendships. “Independence enhances a marriage.”

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/divorce-lawyers-never-do-marriage_l_649c78d0e4b0ea75fd3b35a3.