This was a delight to read and a beautiful reminder that we can always nurture our childlike curiosity and sense of wonder no matter our age. Thanks for sharing such a thoughtful and engaging piece! :)
Really enjoyed this one. Like Michael, I loved the visualizations. And at the risk of taking the metaphor too far, I wonder about the categories of "stuff" in the 2 petabytes of flash storage and what types of files in the cache we want to re-examine (and sometimes clear). Is it too silly to think about memories as documents, habits as scripts, and our underlying beliefs like programming languages?
As I ease into my mid-40s and look back on the memories from my journals in my 20s and 30s, I'm amazed by how poorly I remember things accurately. As a New Yorker cartoon once put it, "That's strange. I remember it differently, in a way that aligns with my worldview and casts me in a positive light."
Habits, meanwhile, become fixed ... increasingly difficult to add, change, and subtract. Lately, I've been trying to change some daily habits (taking a walk before a second morning cup of coffee, for instance) just to prove to myself that I can still do it.
And my beliefs remain the most mysterious. To abuse the metaphor, even if I can get by in Python or PHP, I have no sense of the underlying binary code that converts electrical signals to create the magic of ChatGPT. Similarly, perhaps my views on gender or policing or drug policy or redistribution have changed over the years ... but why? Because I want to signal something with my beliefs? Or because it somehow benefits me or someone I care about? Did I have a lack of information before? Or have my morals changed? I'm not sure. It's just as mysterious as the collection of scripts in CleanMyMac that regularly deletes gigabytes of what it assures me is "unneeded junk."
Oooh I love the way you took the metaphor further! I mean, in truth, the whole concept of a computer and all it's components being a metaphor for the way the mind works is very natural and digestible. Especially if you think of the way we process information and what permanence each piece holds: habits, memories, beliefs, new ideas, etc etc.. [I need to find that New Yorker cartoon - sounds palatable lol]
Loved the visualizations. Added a great atmosphere to the piece.
Happy to hear that!
This was a delight to read and a beautiful reminder that we can always nurture our childlike curiosity and sense of wonder no matter our age. Thanks for sharing such a thoughtful and engaging piece! :)
very true! thanks so much for reading :)
It's the best I read in a while with new notion on life 💙♾️
Really enjoyed this one. Like Michael, I loved the visualizations. And at the risk of taking the metaphor too far, I wonder about the categories of "stuff" in the 2 petabytes of flash storage and what types of files in the cache we want to re-examine (and sometimes clear). Is it too silly to think about memories as documents, habits as scripts, and our underlying beliefs like programming languages?
As I ease into my mid-40s and look back on the memories from my journals in my 20s and 30s, I'm amazed by how poorly I remember things accurately. As a New Yorker cartoon once put it, "That's strange. I remember it differently, in a way that aligns with my worldview and casts me in a positive light."
Habits, meanwhile, become fixed ... increasingly difficult to add, change, and subtract. Lately, I've been trying to change some daily habits (taking a walk before a second morning cup of coffee, for instance) just to prove to myself that I can still do it.
And my beliefs remain the most mysterious. To abuse the metaphor, even if I can get by in Python or PHP, I have no sense of the underlying binary code that converts electrical signals to create the magic of ChatGPT. Similarly, perhaps my views on gender or policing or drug policy or redistribution have changed over the years ... but why? Because I want to signal something with my beliefs? Or because it somehow benefits me or someone I care about? Did I have a lack of information before? Or have my morals changed? I'm not sure. It's just as mysterious as the collection of scripts in CleanMyMac that regularly deletes gigabytes of what it assures me is "unneeded junk."
Oooh I love the way you took the metaphor further! I mean, in truth, the whole concept of a computer and all it's components being a metaphor for the way the mind works is very natural and digestible. Especially if you think of the way we process information and what permanence each piece holds: habits, memories, beliefs, new ideas, etc etc.. [I need to find that New Yorker cartoon - sounds palatable lol]