March 16, 2025 — Existential Autotrip

March 16, 2025
# 1702

A Saint Patrick's Day greeting card from 1907
Ellen H. Clapsaddle - Missouri History Museum URL: http://images.mohistory.org/image/81E91440-5B04-CC19-811C-9B7008D6D88B/original.jpg Gallery: http://collections.mohistory.org/resource/152455
Title: "The Wearing of the Green."

I asked AI why is wearing of the green an Irish tradition?

The color green is closely associated with Ireland and Irish identity due to several historical and cultural reasons:

The Emerald Isle: Ireland's lush, green landscapes have earned it the nickname "The Emerald Isle." The rolling green hills and meadows are a defining feature of the country's natural beauty.
The Shamrock: St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, used the shamrock (a green, three-leafed plant) to explain the concept of the Holy Trinity in Christianity. The shamrock became a national symbol, and its green color further connected Ireland to green.
Irish Rebellion: During the 18th century, green became a symbol of Irish nationalism, particularly during the Irish Rebellion of 1798, when Irish soldiers wore green uniforms as a statement of rebellion against British rule.
St. Patrick's Day: The holiday celebrating St. Patrick is strongly associated with green due to the shamrock and its connection to Irish heritage. People wear green as a sign of pride and solidarity with Ireland.
Folklore: In Irish mythology, leprechauns and other mythical beings are often depicted wearing green, tying the color to Irish legends and storytelling.

Today, green symbolizes Ireland's rich history, culture, and natural beauty, making it an iconic color for the Irish and those celebrating Irish heritage.

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Commentary
AI: What is it?

We are beginning to understand the power of Artificial Intelligence.
Do we understand the dangers?
In this book, Cathy O’Neil clearly explains the continuing dangers AI presents to us whether applying for a job or a school or facing arrest.

I’ll break my commentary into two parts: next week we’ll lay out the dangers. But this week, let’s lay out a basic understanding of it. Note, as always, that my notes are heavily reliant on Wiki, AI, and Cathy O’Neil.

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Let’s start with the basics: the foundational building blocks—algorithms.
An algorithm is a step-by-step set of instructions or rules designed to perform a specific task or solve a particular problem.

Algorithms are the building blocks of computer programs and are used in a wide range of applications, from simple calculations to complex data processing and artificial intelligence.

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The first published computer algorithm

Luigi Federico Menabrea (September 4, 1809 – May 24, 1896), 9th Prime Minister of Italy
Unknown author - http://www.150anni.it/webi/index.php?cerca=fotografie

Mathematician

Clear Steps: Every step in an algorithm is explained clearly, so there's no confusion about what to do.

Takes Input: Algorithms can use information or data given to them to start working.
Gives Output: After working on the input, algorithms give back a result or answer.
Has a Beginning and End: Algorithms always have a clear starting point and will stop after finishing their task.
Works Well: Every step is easy to follow and doesn't take too much time or effort to get the job done.

Think of an algorithm like a recipe. It tells you exactly what to do, uses ingredients (input), makes a dish (output), and has clear steps that you follow one by one until you're done.

Having read this, I asked AI to explain the differences among algorithms, metrics, and models, as they pertain to computing, data science, and AI gave us this:

1. Algorithms

Definition: A step-by-step set of instructions or procedures designed to solve a problem or perform a task.
Purpose: They serve as the foundation for computations or operations, including sorting data, training models, or optimizing solutions.
Example: The gradient descent algorithm is used in machine learning to minimize the error of a model during training.

2. Metrics

Definition: Quantitative measures used to evaluate the performance, effectiveness, or accuracy of a process, system, or model.
Purpose: Metrics guide decision-making by assessing how well an algorithm or model is performing.
Example: Common metrics in machine learning include accuracy for classification models and mean squared error (MSE) for regression tasks.

3. Models

Definition: A trained representation or abstraction created from data using an algorithm. Models are the outputs that make predictions or decisions based on learned patterns.
Purpose: They apply insights gained from data to solve real-world problems, such as image recognition or forecasting.
Example: A neural network trained to recognize cats in images is a type of model.

How They Work Together

The Algorithm trains or processes data.
The Model is the result of applying the algorithm to the data.
The Metrics are used to measure how well the model is performing and guide improvements.

These concepts are interconnected but serve distinct roles in fields like AI, machine learning, and data analysis.

Next week I will present some of the dangers of AI that Ms O’Neil presents in her easy-to-understand book, “The Weapons of Math Destruction.”

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Kat’s Gen Z Corner

To cap off a great dinner @ Tamarind in NYC, we had a platter of twelve desserts each. Wonderful.

Dear friend Angela joined us for brunch on Sunday and sipped her first taste of a Bloody Mary.

Dad, boyfriend Will, and me, Kat on the far right

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Tucker’s Corner

At the request of a friend I started writing about this year’s Oscar cerremony. I got a little over my head while writing and decided to split that piece in two because my thoughts had split into two different ideas. So if anyone has any interest at all please find my two pieces below:

What Anora winning Best Picture means for the future

Thoughts on the 2025 Oscars Ceremony

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Chuckles and Thoughts

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Six Word Stories
Falling stars, dreams revealed, wishes granted."

His story, evokes a sense of wonder and magic. It suggests that falling stars (or meteors) symbolize moments of revelation, where hidden dreams are unveiled and wishes are fulfilled. The imagery connects the natural phenomenon of falling stars with the mystical idea that they have the power to make dreams come true.

The author is likely conveying a message of hope and the potential for the extraordinary to happen, even in the simplest moments.

Van Gogh - Starry Night - Google Art Project
Vincent van Gogh - bgEuwDxel93-Pg — Google Arts & Culture

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CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE
This is an amended version of the one we published last week.
I greatly changed it by treating the broth a bit differently.

Ingredients:
3-4 pounds corned beef brisket
1 ½ lbs small red potatoes
1 onion, sliced
1 ½ lbs carrots, washed and cut into chunks
1 head of cabbage, chopped into small wedges
8 cups of water
1 bottle of dark beer (optional)
1 tablespoon of mustard
1 tablespoon of coriander
1 tablespoon of black peppercorns
4-6 bay leaves
1TB cloves
1TB juniper berries

Instructions:
Rinse the corned beef brisket and place it in a large pot. Add water, beer (if using), mustard seeds, coriander seeds, black peppercorns, and bay leaves.
Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover the pot and let the corned beef cook for about 3-4 hours or until it is tender.

Add the potatoes, onion, and carrots to the pot and let them cook for about 30 minutes.
Finally, add the chopped cabbage to the pot and let it cook for another 15-20 minutes or until the cabbage is tender.

Remove the corned beef and vegetables from the pot and place them on a platter. Slice the corned beef against the grain and serve it with the vegetables.

Suggestions:
Horseradish/Tobasco/Japanese pickles/Mustard/Cherry Sauce

New England boiled dinner with cabbage, potato, white turnip, rutabaga, carrot, onion, and parsnip
Dumarest
New England boiled dinner is a variation of Corned Beef and cabbage.

In the Mail
This from dear friend, Sally C:
Dear Dom,

Do you ever meet Yan in your walks around town? I realized the other day that I miss your notes about her.

Looking forward to spring, no doubt. I was pleased to read last week that you have continued to walk several miles around the city every day this winter. I haven’t been able to do so here in Wakefield, because the town and residents haven’t been as diligent about cleaning up snow and ice from the sidewalks and along the streets. Phillip and I have taken to walking in one of the various malls nearby, just to get the large-muscle movement exercise, but it’s not the same. (Some malls are downright boring, and a few are most oddly constructed, with half of the stores being accessible only from outside – weird!). And I miss meeting my dog friends. But all will soon be out and about regularly again.

I’m playing catch-up here in the home office. All of our electronics needed replacing, starting the week of Thanksgiving, and what with buying new hardware, some software, setting up programs, renewing subscriptions, and such, I have fallen far behind in my usual activities. I’m still fighting with one vendor that can’t grasp the concept that I’m not in charge of license management of their products. They’ve been giving me the holy run-around for over a week, and I’ve a good mind to send them a bill for my time (over 10 hours so far) spent dealing with them, that would have been better spent on billable work for my clients. It’s highly unlikely that they’d honor my invoice, but I would hope that it will give them a clear message not treat customers that way. I’m sure they’re dismayed that I won’t go away until the problem is resolved – evidently, they aren’t bright enough to figure out that the sooner they do their job, the sooner I’ll go away. Frustrating!

Mostly good news on this front, however. The Trooper Black Foundation, a 501.c.3 for which I am secretary, assessed the beneficiaries we have helped in 2023 and 2024 (our first years in action) and found that we distributed over $168,000 – not bad for a baby organization! (We help first-responder families in crisis – death, disabling injury, serious illness, etc.) I’m proud to be part of a human race that shows so much compassion and generosity to help others in need. It fills my soul!

Work continues apace (slowly, but apace!) on my historical novel about Nicodemus. I am having great fun on every aspect of this story. Coming down now to the end of the second draft – then I’ll head to the beginning again and continue to build the story, the details, the concepts. It’s all good!

Time for breakfast! Go well, my friend!

Sally

Editor: I haven’t seen Yan since COVID. I can only conjecture about what became of her.

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Last Comment
Am having a great time in NYC w my daughter, Kat, and sweetheart Will. Am on my way to visit my niece Lisa and her husband David..
I’m closing additional contributions to this week’s zine to fully enjoy my 7-day vacation.

Love.

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Mar 12 March 16, 2025