Notes for 05/13/25
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AI - I have found AI to be a wonderful tool that is very efficient in doing research and other tasks. The question going forward is whether humans are controlling the AI or is AI controlling humans? I have been fooled by AI a few times but it was my fault for blindly depending on it. As long as the human being makes conscious and intentional use of it, it can be a great asset in our thinking, studying, and working.
The simple uses of spell check and grammar correction are great, but does this mean that people don't need to learn how to spell the proper use of grammar any more because we have AI to do it for us? What about when we use GPS and it sends us in the wrong direction? What about when the algorithm is supplying prompts that confirm our biases and we don't get new information outside our preferred box? Can AI do effective psychotherapy and human therapists will be replaced by robots? (David G. Markham post to Clinicians’ Exchange on 05/13/15)
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Political scientists Charles Taber, Damon Cann, and Simona Kucsova, for example, presented subjects with conflicting evidence on issues ranging from the legalization of marijuana to the Electoral College. They found that those who started with strong beliefs about these issues became only more entrenched during the study—irrespective of what their starting beliefs were or what evidence they were given.59 The proposed explanation is that the subjects paid attention only to evidence supporting the view they already held.
O'Connor, Cailin; Weatherall, James Owen. The Misinformation Age: How False Beliefs Spread (pp. 75-76). Yale University Press. Kindle Edition.
Bert Faerstein, MSW told in 1969 at Rochester State Hospital, “Dave, it’s hard to argue with a man making sense.” I guffawed so hard that I wet my pants.
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Perhaps the skeptics of health promotion’s ability to lower healthcare costs support the philosopher Woody Allen’s contention: Death is the best way to cut down on expenses.
Haber, David, PhD. Health Promotion and Aging: Practical Applications for Health Professionals (p. 6). Springer Publishing Company. Kindle Edition.
This week the Spring semester at SUNY Brockport ends where I audited a course in the Health Science department entitled Gerontology and Health Promotion and Aging. The main text was Haber’s book. MAID (Medical Assistance In Dying) is now legal in Canada and 11 of the US states with a bill pending in the New York State legislature. Some people feel and other people might think that rather than burdening others, people should die and it is increasingly becoming a legal choice.
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Book - Motherhood - You should read Motherhood by Sheila Heti if you've ever grappled with the societal expectations and personal desires surrounding motherhood, or any major life decision without a clear right answer. Through a candid and often humorous narrative, Heti explores the narrator's years-long internal debate about whether or not to have children, delving into questions of womanhood, vocation, relationships, and the very meaning of a fulfilling life. The novel uniquely blends philosophical inquiry with personal reflection, utilizing unconventional methods like coin flips to navigate the complexities of this deeply personal choice. It's a thought-provoking and original work that sparks important conversations about the pressures women face and the validity of choosing paths outside traditional expectations.
Socrates said that an unexamined life is not worth living. Heti certainly lives an examined life, maybe even over thinks it. (David G. Markham on davidgmarkham.substack.com on 05/13/25)