February 16, 2025
# 1698
Washington the Farmer at Mount Vernon, an 1851 portrait by Junius Brutus Stearns
Junius Brutus Stearns - https://www.loc.gov/resource/pga.02419/
"Washington as Farmer at Mount Vernon", 1851, part of a series on George Washington by Junius Brutus Stearns. Located at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
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Abraham Lincoln and his son Tad looking at an album of photographs. Ostenorf# O-93; Meserve# M-39
Anthony Berger, photographer. Brady National Photographic Art Gallery (Washington, D.C.)
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Cover and Story
George Washington and Abraham Lincoln are two of the most revered figures in American history, each leaving an indelible mark on the nation.
George Washington, known as the "Father of His Country," was the first President of the United States and a key leader during the American Revolutionary War. His leadership helped secure American independence from British rule, and he set many important precedents as president, including the peaceful transfer of power2. Washington's commitment to democracy and national unity is celebrated through his Farewell Address, which offered guidance on maintaining the republic.
Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President, is remembered for his leadership during the Civil War and his dedication to preserving the Union. His Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 was a turning point in the fight against slavery, declaring that all enslaved people in Confederate-held territories were free. Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and his efforts to reunite the nation have cemented his legacy as a champion of freedom and equality.
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Commentary
If you didn’t support Trump, I did not, rejecting everything he is doing and saying is a natural response. But it’s a wrong response. Because it does the country good to review where we are and where we want to go. Some of Trump’s ideas, for example on illegal immigration, are overdue. Let’s wait. Whatever you might think of him, Elon Musk is brilliant and I am hopeful he comes up with a half-dozen brilliant ideas to use in the running of our government.
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Commentary
I’m reading AI & I: An Intellectual History of Artificial Intelligence, by Eugene Charniak and Michael L. Littman. I thought I’d share a thought.
The earliest recorded use of an abacus dates back to around 3000 BCE in the ancient Near East, specifically in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq). The Sumerians, one of the oldest civilizations, are believed to have used a simple counting board with pebbles or beads to perform basic arithmetic calculations.
The abacus continued to evolve and spread to other regions, including Greece, Rome, and eventually China, where it became widely used for trade and commerce.
Seeing how this ancient tool has influenced the development of modern computing devices is fascinating
While the abacus itself isn't directly related to the development of artificial intelligence (AI), its invention marked a significant step in the history of computing and paved the way for later technological advancements. Here's how its role can be seen in a broader historical context:
1. Early Calculation Tool
The abacus, one of the earliest known calculating tools, has been used for thousands of years to perform arithmetic operations. It demonstrates humanity's long-standing desire to create devices to aid in computation.
2. Foundation for Mechanical Calculators
The principles of the abacus influenced the design of later mechanical calculators, such as the Pascaline invented by Blaise Pascal in the 17th century. These mechanical calculators further evolved into more complex machines, eventually leading to the development of electronic computers.
3. Evolution of Computing
The journey from the abacus to modern computers involves a series of innovations in calculating devices. Each innovation built upon the previous one, incorporating new ideas and technologies. The progression from manual tools like the abacus to automated electronic computers created the foundation for AI development.
4. Concept of Algorithmic Thinking
Using the abacus involved algorithmic thinking and step-by-step procedures to solve mathematical problems. This concept of algorithmic processes is fundamental to computer programming and AI, where algorithms are used to solve complex tasks and make decisions.
5. Historical Context
Understanding the evolution of tools like the abacus gives us insight into the broader trajectory of technological advancement. It shows how human ingenuity has consistently sought to enhance computational capabilities, ultimately leading to the sophisticated AI systems we have today.
In summary, while the abacus itself isn't directly linked to AI, its role in the history of computation is a vital part of the larger narrative that eventually led to the development of AI. It's a fascinating journey of innovation and progress!
This summary comes directly from AI.
A. Piccard, E. Henriot, P. Ehrenfest, E. Herzen, Th. De Donder, E. Schrödinger, J.E. Verschaffelt, W. Pauli, W. Heisenberg, R.H. Fowler, L. Brillouin;
P. Debye, M. Knudsen, W.L. Bragg, H.A. Kramers, P.A.M. Dirac, A.H. Compton, L. de Broglie, M. Born, N. Bohr;
I. Langmuir, M. Planck, M. Skłodowska-Curie, H.A. Lorentz, A. Einstein, P. Langevin, Ch. E. Guye, C.T.R. Wilson, O.W. Richardson
Fifth conference participants, 1927. Institut International de Physique Solvay in Leopold Park.
Image
The Solvay Conferences, also known as the Solvay Congress, are prestigious scientific conferences that focus on preeminent unsolved problems in physics and chemistry.
They were first held in 1911 and have continued to be organized periodically since then.
The conferences were initiated by Belgian industrialist Ernest Solvay and have been held in Brussels.
They bring together some of the world's leading scientists to discuss and debate cutting-edge topics in these fields1. The first conference in 1911 was particularly notable for its discussions on quantum theory and included prominent figures like Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, and Niels Bohr.
Over the years, the Solvay Conferences have played a crucial role in the development of modern physics and chemistry, including significant contributions to the understanding of quantum mechanics.
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Kat’s Gen Z Corner
I had a fantastic weekend. On Thursday, Will attended a late night mayoral forum I was staffing, meeting Brad for the first time and sharing a very thoughtful compliment to Brad on his divestment answers.
Will and I got drinks afterward to discuss the event together.
Will also met me in Queens at my late-night forum there for dinner.
So grateful to be surrounded by the best people to support me and re-energize me through this intense work era.
On Friday, I met AOC, my political hero.
And Will and I had a wholesome dinner with the best couple at our apartment. We played a game that our friend created with his hands!
On Saturday, the op-ed I wrote for Brad appeared in the paper.
Dinner with friends!
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Tucker’s Corner
My review this week is for a film from 2014. I went to my local theater a few days ago to check out a film called Companion that’s been well reviewed. Unfortunately I didn’t find much to love about it. I don’t want to expend the energy to trash a movie that isn’t for me so I won’t. Instead my piece this week will be about a film that covers many of the same themes Companion does but in my humble opinion does a much better job of it. This is Ex Machina.
Ex Machina
Real science fiction is rarely seen on movie screens, because the industry is a commercially minded canvas that’s more at ease with sensation and spectacle. What you more often get from “sci-fi” movies is something that could be called “science fiction-flavored product”—a work that has a few of the superficial trappings of the genre, such as futuristic production design and somewhat satirical or sociological observations about humanity, but that eventually abandons its pretense for fear of alienating or boring the audience and gives way to more conventional action or horror trappings, forgetting about whatever made it seem unusual to begin with.
“Ex Machina,” the directorial debut by novelist and screenwriter Alex Garland (“28 Days Later,” “Sunshine”), is a rare and welcome exception to that norm. It starts out as an ominous thriller about a young programmer (Domhnall Gleeson) orbiting a charismatic Dr. Frankenstein-type (Oscar Isaac) and slowly learning that the scientist’s zeal to create artificial intelligence has a troubling, even sickening personal agenda. But even as the revelations pile up and the screws tighten and you start to sense that terror and violence are inevitable, the movie never loses grip on what it’s about; this is a rare commercial film in which every scene, sequence, composition and line deepens the screenplay’s themes—which means that when the bloody ending arrives, it seems less predictable than inevitable and right, as in myths, legends and Bible stories.
The scientist, Isaac’s Nathan, has brought the programmer Caleb (Gleason) to his remote home/laboratory in the forested mountains and assigned Caleb to interact with a prototype of a “female” robot, Ava (Alicia Vikander), to determine if she truly has self-awareness or it’s just an incredible simulation. The story is emotionally and geographically intimate, at times suffocating, unfolding in and around Nathan’s stronghold. This modernist bunker with bachelor trappings is sealed off from the outside world. Many of its rooms are off-limits to Caleb’s restricted key card. The story is circumscribed with the same kind of precision. Caleb’s conversations with Ava are presented as discrete narrative sections, titled like chapters in a book. These sections are interspersed with scenes between Caleb, Nathan, and Nathan’s girlfriend (maybe concubine) Kyoko (Sonoya Mizono), a nearly mute, fragile-seeming woman who hovers near the two men in a ghostly fashion.
Because the film is full of surprises, most of them character-driven and logical in retrospect, I’ll try to describe “Ex Machina” in general terms. Nathan is an almost satirically specific type: a brilliant man who created a revolutionary new programming code at 13 and went on to found a Google-like corporation, then funneled profits into his secret scheme to create a physically and psychologically credible synthetic person, specifically a woman. But despite having made a film in which two of the four main characters are women in subservient roles, and making it clear that Nathan’s realism test will include a sexual component, the movie never seems to be exploiting the characters or their situations. The movie maintains a scientific detachment even as it brings us inside the minds and hearts of its people, starting with Caleb (an audience surrogate with real personality), then embracing Ava, then Nathan (who’s as screwed-up as he is intimidating), then finally Kyoko, who is not the cipher she initially seems to be.
“Ex Machina” is a beautiful extension of Garland’s past concerns as a screenwriter. Starting with Danny Boyle’s “The Beach,” based on his novel, and continuing through two more collaborations with Boyle, “28 Days Later” and “Sunshine” and the remake of “Judge Dredd,” Garland has demonstrated great interest in the organization of society, the tension between the need for rules and the abuse of authority, and the way that gender roles handed down over thousands of years can poison otherwise pure relationships. The final section of “28 Days Later” is set in a makeshift army base where soldiers have taken up arms against hordes of infected citizens. No sooner have they welcomed the heroes into their fold than they reveal themselves as domineering monsters who want to strip the tomboyish women in the group of their autonomy and groom them as concubines and breeders in frilly dresses, in a skewed version of “traditional” society. The soldiers, of course, were the true zombies in that zombie film: the movie was a critique of masculinity, especially the toxic kind.
Likewise, “Ex Machina” is very much about men and women, and how their identities are constructed by male dominated society as much as by biology. Nathan actively rebels against the nerd stereotype, carrying on like a frat house alpha dog, working a heavy bag, drinking to excess, disco dancing with his girl in a robotically choreographed routine, addressing the soft-spoken, sensitive Caleb as “dude” and “bro”, and reacting with barely disguised contempt when Caleb expresses empathy for Ava. It’s bad enough that Nathan wants to play God at all, worse still that he longs to re-create femininity through circuitry and artificial flesh. His vision of women seems shaped by magazines, video games aimed at eternal teenagers, and the most juvenile “adult” science fiction and fantasy.
As Ava becomes increasingly central to the story, the movie acquires an undertone of film noir, with Nathan as the abusive husband or father often found in such movies, Caleb as the clueless drifter smitten with her, and Ava as the damsel who is definitely in distress but not as helpless as she first appears (though we are kept guessing as to how capable she is, and whether she has the potential to be a femme fatale). The film’s most intense moments are the quiet conversations that occur during power blackouts at the facility, when Ava confesses her terror to Caleb and asks his help against Nathan. We don’t know quite how to take her pleas. Despite her limited emotional bandwidth, she seems truly distressed, and yet we are always aware that she is Nathan’s creation. Her scenario might be another level in the simulation, or another projection of Nathan’s twisted machismo. There is also commentary, conveyed entirely through images, which suggests that “traditional” femininity is as artificial and blatantly constructed as any android siren, which makes creatures like Ava seem like horribly logical extensions of a mentality that has always existed.
Throughout, Garland builds tension slowly and carefully without ever letting the pace slacken. And he proves to have a precise but bold eye for composition, emphasizing humans and robots as lovely but troubling figures in a cold, sharp mural of technology. The special effects are some of the best ever done in this genre, so convincing that you soon cease marveling at the way Ava’s metallic “bones” can be seen through the transparent flesh of her forearms, or the way that her “face” is a fixed to a silver skull.
Garland’s screenplay is equally impressive, weaving references to mythology, history, physics, and visual art into casual conversations, in ways that demonstrate that Garland understands what he’s talking about while simultaneously going to the trouble to explain more abstract concepts in plain language, to entice rather than alienate casual filmgoers. The performances are outstanding. Isaac’s in particular has an electrifying star quality, cruelly sneering yet somehow delightful, insinuating and intellectually credible. The ending, when it arrives, is primordially satisfying, spotlighting images whose caveman savagery is emotionally overwhelming yet earned by the story. This is a special film.
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What am I watching?
"Captivating the King" is the title of a limited South Korean TV series that tells the story of Yi In, a prince who becomes the king, and Kang Hee-soo, a woman who disguises herself as a man to become a spy. The title suggests the idea of capturing the king's attention and fascination, both literally and figuratively, as Kang Hee-soo's actions and presence deeply influence Yi In's life and reign.
The series is a period drama filled with romance, political intrigue, and emotional struggles, like a soap opera except it’s not. It’s a historical drama or period drama with a tighter, more focused narrative.
Soap operas typically refer to long-running television series with ongoing, melodramatic storylines that often focus on domestic and romantic issues. They are usually produced with a relatively low budget and aired on a daily or weekly basis.
On the other hand, "Captivating the King" is a high-quality production with a well-defined plot, set in a historical context, and features elaborate costumes and settings. It focuses on both personal and political intrigue, blending romance, suspense, and historical events.
Its production value, historical setting, and tight, focused, complete storyline make it a period drama.
Captivating the King posterhttps://tvn.cjenm.com/ko/sejak/poster/
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Chuckles and Thoughts
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Six Word Stories
Broken mirror; reflection of shattered dreams.
The phrase "Broken mirror; reflection of shattered dreams" carries a powerful and evocative message. The author is likely using the broken mirror as a metaphor to illustrate the fragility of dreams and aspirations. When a mirror shatters, it distorts and fragments the reflection, symbolizing how dreams, once whole and clear, can be broken and scattered by life's challenges and disappointments.
In essence, the author is conveying a sense of loss, disillusionment, and the impact of unfulfilled dreams. The broken mirror reflects not only the physical fragmentation but also the emotional and psychological fragmentation that occurs when hopes and ambitions are dashed.
It's a poignant reminder of the vulnerability of our dreams and the emotional consequences of seeing them shattered.
Whistler-Nocturne in black and goldJames McNeill Whistler - http://www.dia.org/the_collection/overview/viewobject.asp?objectid=64931
Nocturne in Black and Gold – The Falling Rocket is a c. 1875 painting by James McNeill Whistler held in the Detroit Institute of Arts. The painting exemplified the art for art's sake movement – a concept formulated by Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier and Charles Baudelaire.
First shown at the Grosvenor Gallery in London in 1877, it is one of two works (the other being Nocturne in Black and Gold – The Firewheel) inspired by the Cremorne Gardens, a celebrated pleasure resort in London. One of his many works from his series of Nocturnes, it is the last of the London Nocturnes and is now widely acknowledged to be the high point of Whistler's middle period. Whistler's depiction of the industrial city park in The Falling Rocket includes a fireworks display in the foggy night sky. Nocturne in Black and Gold – The Falling Rocket is most famously known as the painting behind the lawsuit brought by Whistler against the art critic John Ruskin.
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PUTTANESCA
INTO A FOOD CHOPPER:
4 T olive oil
5 cloves of garlic, minced
½ t red pepper flakes
6 anchovy fillets
¼ cup of pitted black olives, sliced
2 T capers, drained
½ t freshly ground black pepper
2 T fresh rosemary sprigs
2 T fresh parsley
¾ oz celery
¾ oz bell pepper
1 oz onion
Puree the aromatics and softly fry for 6 min.
ADD TOMATOES and SIMMER:
1 can (400 grams/14 oz) of whole tomatoes, crushed
½ cup dry white wine
Reserve about 1 cup of pasta water before draining. Pour in the crushed tomatoes and bring the sauce to a simmer. Let it cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
BOIL SPAGHETTI to Al Dente
ADD COOKED SPAGHETTI to SKILLET: Add cooked spaghetti to skillet with sauce and toss together. Add some of the reserved pasta water as needed to achieve the desired consistency.
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In the Mail
In response to the article on how athletes contribute to our lives:
James P: What about Tony Conigliaro!! :)
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Last Comment
The winter has been rough but it is speeding past, The days are getting noticeably longer and the sun feels warmer. Hang on Sloopy.
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