Posts

"I am a human being" vs. "I exist as a Human Becoming"

Image
"I am a human being" --- A simple enough statement,  but the more you look at it, the more you start wondering what it means, ...and whether the statement is true. "I" The anchor of the entire statement, yet the hardest to define. What is the "I"? Is it the collection of firing neurons in your brain, a continuous stream of memories, or simply the silent observer behind your eyes? It implies a distinct, isolated boundary between you and the rest of the universe — a declaration of subjective experience that no one else can truly access. "am" The verb of pure existence . It doesn't say "I think," "I do," or "I possess." It just declares being. It is the bridge between the subjective internal self and objective reality. To say "am" is to claim a spot in the timeline of the universe. "a" A tiny, easily overlooked article that carries a massive existential weight. By saying "a," you are i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Horror Vacui vs. Beauty of Empty Spaces

Image
Robert Therrien Untitled (Cloud) 1992 Whitney Museum of American Art --- 추사 김정희 (秋史 金正喜) 세한도 (歲寒圖) 1844 National Museum of Korea Two pieces of art;     one from the 20C, the other from the 19C,    one from the West, the other from the East,    both sparse, with plenty of empty space. Yet, the way the two artists approach empty sapce is a universe apart. In  Robert Therrien's piece, the empty space is loud, intrusive...almost violent. In 김정희's piece, the empty space is quiet, accepting...almost the main point of the painting. But why? I've asked that question many, many times. --- Group 1. A Baroque interior design (Palazzo Chigi Zondadari in Siena, Italy), exterior facade of the Dome of the Rock (Qubbat al-Sakhra), Book of Hours from the late Gothic or early Renaissance period, moderb Maximalist interior design, The Story of the Vivian Girls by the iconic American outsider artist Henry Darger (1892–1973), Mark Rothko’s Unt...
Post a Comment
Read more

Algorithmic Bias and Both-Side-ism

Image
Web 2.0 and Algorithmic Bias Have you ever noticed that the news — and your YouTube homepage — are becoming more skewed toward the edges? The volume has gone up, but the substance has gone down. Well: a. You're not crazy b. Many people agree with you c. The data supports this phenomenon The immediate question then is: why is this happening? If your answer is “algorithms,” you're not alone. Algorithms are blamed for everything bad about the internet — and often the world. But why are algorithms bad? Is math fundamentally evil? Or are the people designing and tuning algorithms evil? To answer that, we need two things: high-school algebra and basic neuroscience. 1. High School Algebra Let’s say I own a website or an app that makes money from advertising. My obvious goal is to maximize ad revenue. That is my goal Y. To maximize Y, I need to make sure ads are: viewed (CPM) clicked (CPC) and that users spend time on the platform That is my derived goal y. To maximize Y, I must maximi...
Post a Comment
Read more