As I read about System 1 and System 2 analytical skills and how we communicate — that is, make fun and seek to be understood — in Shafik Quoraishee’s NYT article how large language models are not yet as pliable as humans when it comes to vernacular and wordplay, I remembered when I learned about open syllables and closed syllables 3-4 years ago. (I’d forgotten or never remembered that an open syllable is also called a free syllable and a closed syllable is also known as a checked syllable.) That there are some simple categorizations even when it comes to syntax.
After reading about how servers do not mimic brains, I am still unwrapping what Moravec’s paradox means. I interpret the gist is that: a computer can have incredible intelligence and remedial perception. Quoraishee describes Moravec’s contribution as “systems have struggled with tasks requiring abstract reasoning, planning or strategic thinking.” And the paradox demonstrates the nuance that computing done by a computer is not inherently better than the comprehending done by a human brain. I was tempted to add infinite with the computer and finite with the human, but some reason (or inner editor voice, who I’d name Pause Worthy) cautioned me to not assign such fixed, and inaccurate, designations that servers are greater than neurons. Clearly, such oversimplification is inaccurate as Quoraishee writes, “our three-pound brain can still compete with a million-pound data center.”
I still hold that there’s a vastness to our human capacities that is not inherently lesser than an internet search. I can ask a friend about baking, my godfather about and oil change or a dinner recipe, and a colleague about a book and the tangents that they’ll make may reveal unfathomable connections. Some time, what I’m asking about or asking for is catered to the person I’m speaking with. There are some questions that I’ll ask just about anyone, but for specific insights or guidance, I pivot according to what I comprehend of their a priori knowledge.
Even before the enshittification of the WWW and saturation of slop content, I was more inclined to ask someone I know or another human being a question before I’d pose that question into a browser search bar. I’ve always found that hundreds or tens of thousands of links to be immaterial. More than a decade ago, I used to consistently click on the first link generated but for the last decade, I avoid the ad that appears at the top of the search list. I’m not seeking a commercial transaction, nor to be sold data, I’m seeking wisdom or information and the medium or website and increasingly the app that presents that content matters. It always has.
System 1 thinking seems to be quick assessment and obvious answers whereas System 2 is wordplay, and I’d add jargon or new variations as we adapt language to suit our constantly changing lives and the world that surrounds us.
washing dishes: a father’s glimpses 