Catch up links
A treasure of links, actually, related to previous Technocomplex posts.
Read time: Who knows? It depends on whether you venture into a rabbit hole.
I had a lot of winnowing to do to select the links in this post, and so I think this issue of the “catch up links” is quite good. Happy reading.
Share this one with someone. If you got this from a friend who shared it, how about getting your own copy? A subscription is free, and it’s only another email.
I often run across articles that relate to topics I’ve written about. Readers send me links, too. I think it’s good to share a selection of them, grouped under the titles of posts I’ve written, just so that people can catch up if they enjoyed a post or so that they can catch up on one they missed. Everyone can get an update.
Such grouped resources simplify diving in — even if it’s just into a new rabbit hole. Some of the links may lead to paywalls, the spawn of the devil. You can avoid them sometimes by doing a web search of titles. Often authors or others have posted PDFs of academic articles — legally, too, I believe.
If you run across a resource that you think other Technocomplex readers would enjoy, let me know with an email to technocomplex@substack.com.
The "writer" at your side, helping ... or not
This wasn’t what I expected from the Berggruen Institute. It’s rather spicy fiction and, well, you probably wouldn’t want to read it aloud at work. But as a vision of what AI might do to transform writerly experience, maybe it’s got some insight. Ernest Hemingway figures in, though he’s represented in silicon. Brody, Kate. “The AI In The Writers’ Room.” Noema, June 8, 2023. https://www.noemamag.com/the-ai-in-the-writers-room.
Well, the Berggruen Institute’s “writer’s room” might surprise, but Twitch delivers as usual. I guess this counts as AI-mediated holiness. What does AI Jesus think about, say, quantum physics or fantasy baseball? Ask_jesus - Twitch. Twitch TV. https://www.twitch.tv/ask_jesus.
ChatGPT as author — like really? “Counterpath Press’s series of now thirteen computer-generated books, Using Electricity, offers a refreshing alternative to the fantasia of terror and wonder that we’ve all been subjected to since the public release of ChatGPT. The books in this series present us with wide-ranging explorations into the potential interplay between human language and code.” Thirkield, Jonathan. “Beyond ChatGPT.” The Paris Review, June 23, 2023. https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2023/06/23/beyond-chatgpt/.
A university teacher thinks about ChatGPT in computer science classes. It’s a sensitive and thoughtful take on changes in teaching in the world of AI. Humphrey, David. “CheatGPT.” Bread & Circuits, February 19, 2023. http://blog.humphd.org/cheatgpt/.
“[Palm Springs Post owner/editor Mark] Talkington dubbed this artificial reporter ‘Paul.’ While Paul isn’t perfect and Talkington is not currently publishing stories the model can generate, Talkington’s early experimentation suggests that this tech could soon — very soon — be a viable tool to save reporters time by covering hours-long public meetings.” Culpepper, Sophie. “AI Will Soon Be Able to Cover Public Meetings. But Should It?” Nieman Lab, June 15, 2023. https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/06/ai-will-soon-be-able-to-cover-public-meetings-but-should-it/.
A doctor thinks about writing notes as thinking. “ ‘For me, writing notes is an important time for quiet thinking,’ [Emily] Silverman says. ‘I work in the hospital, where patients are acutely sick and complex with multiple disease processes. I often arrive at my diagnosis and treatment plan in the process of externalizing my thoughts on the page. So I’m not sure how an AI tool would fit into that process.’ ” Merelli, Annalisa, and Michelle Cheng. “AI Has Come to the Doctor’s Office, but the Stakes Are Still Low—for Now.” Quartz, June 28, 2023. https://qz.com/ai-has-come-to-the-doctors-office-but-the-stakes-are-s-1850528858.
Seminar and silence
Auditing a seminar on Hannah Arendt and other topics. “‘ I always loved the comment by Hans-Georg Gadamer: nobody has the last word,’ he told us. “And the conversation will go on and should go on with you.’ He added, ‘If there’s one thing I would like to leave you with, at the end of it, it’s the spirit of philosophy, and what I believe should be the authentic spirit of it, which I think, I hope that you all incorporate in your own lives. Good luck.’ ” Graupera, Jordi. “A Philosophy Professor’s Final Class.” The New Yorker, January 3, 2023. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/annals-of-inquiry/a-philosophy-professors-final-class.
“Try to make it sound like you wrote it that way on purpose”
The Paris Review opened up its paywall for this article after beloved editor Robert Gottlieb died. It’s a wonderful read that spells out the many relationships of editor and writer. Gottlieb was so revered by the illustrious authors he worked with. MacFarquhar, Larissa. “The Art of Editing No. 1.” The Paris Review, Fall 1994. https://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/1760/the-art-of-editing-no-1-robert-gottlieb.
Rosy-fingered dawn
Another one from The Paris Review. Poet Richie Hofmann marks up a draft of a poem. He apparently types his drafts up and then marks them up. I’ve handwritten mine into “clean copies,” as I show in my post, and then have at them. Hofmann, Richie. “Making of a Poem: Richie Hofmann on ‘Armed Cavalier.’” The Paris Review, June 14, 2023. https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2023/06/14/making-of-a-poem-richie-hofmann/.
A really long piece of music
In Dutch, but you can probably figure it out, even if you have to lean on Google Translate. Once a week, a new stone letter is put in place to spell out a poem. Stonemasons and poets pass the baton through time. It could be an epic as enduring as civilization. You can sponsor a letter, too! De Letters van Utrecht. “De Letters van Utrecht | Een oneindig gedicht.” Accessed June 28, 2023. https://www.delettersvanutrecht.nl/
Going underground to get aboveground
In case we forget that Andy Warhol was scandalous. I say that disturbance was part — a big part — of the power of his art. Today’s assessments overlook the dismay and furrowed brows of the 1960s onlookers. Gopnik, Blake. “Have We Smothered Warhol With Our Admiration?” The New York Times, June 1, 2023, sec. Arts. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/01/arts/design/warhol-peter-brant-foundation-art.html.
Book review: Hold Still
’Cuz I like Sally Mann’s work.
Ames, Kevin. “On Photography: Sally Mann, 1951-Present.” Photofocus, February 17, 2019. https://photofocus.com/inspiration/on-photography-sally-mann-1951-present/.
Twombly figured in her memoir. A looming figure and friend. This web page seems to have some trouble with images, but maybe you’ll be lucky. Loos, Ted. “Sally Mann Turns Her Lens on a Longtime Friendship with Cy Twombly.” Cultured, September 21, 2016. https://www.culturedmag.com/article/2016/09/21/sally-mann-cy-twombly.
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