Technologists Notes

“And accept it that soon
You’ll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth savin’
Then you better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin’” – Bob Dylan (1964)

tl;dr In these times, we must speak out everywhere

Some may not know of David Patterson, a pioneer of modern computer processor architecture. Those of us who were privileged to know John Cocke at IBM might emphasize that Cocke invented “RISC” concepts years before Patterson developed and popularized them, but that distinction is irrelevant here.

LinkedIn is a place for primarily professional discussions, vs. the breadth of Facebook. “The mission of LinkedIn is simple: connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful.”
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Narcotics Anonymous has a pamphlet The Triangle of Self-Obsession which says, in part,

“We never seem to outgrow the self centeredness of the child. … We become self-obsessed; our wants and needs become demands. We reach a point where contentment and fulfillment are impossible. People, places, and things cannot possibly fill the emptiness inside of us, and we react to them with resentment, anger, and fear. Resentment, anger, and fear make up the triangle of self-obsession.” (more…)

A Mastodon thread initiated by Erik Uden today unleashed discussion of two seemingly separate controversies: the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian crisis and the massive proliferation of Large Language Models (LLM) aka Machine Learning aka Artificial Intelligence.
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“There never was another man who could
                       inspire more love or hate
  if you were in the park and it was 1968.”

“Daley’s Gone” – Steve Goodman (1977)

tl;dr “A movement animated by rage and fear isn’t ready to embrace life and love.”

I try to keep abreast of readings and videos across the political spectrum, only consciously avoiding those that go beyond protected speech, skimming maybe a thousand headlines/thumbnails daily and reading/watching quite a few. I try to pay particular attention to those who are likely to help me understand perspectives different from my own, particularly those that deviate from the stereotypes associated with their groupings.
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For decades while they were alive, my parents recounted story after story of their friend, mentor and “mission broker” Rev. Mel West, his wife Barbara, and their collaborative efforts to help “the least of these”. See Walking in John Wesley’s Footprints.

Mel is well known, and honored, for so much of his work engaging people to work together to help others. See Mel West’s honorary doctorate recognizes a lifetime of humanitarian service.
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