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Showing posts from December, 2025

The year....of.... "cultivated escapism"

If 2024 was the " year of the DGAF" and 2023 " the year of no regrets ", the end of 2022 a time of inner peace , and 2021 , a year where a lot changed ( or did it really?), what about 2025? Its the year where I really felt a year older or maybe even more, no kidding- not that I don't feel time pass by in other years - but this year,  I really felt it.  Maybe its the psychological threshold of crossing 40. Maybe its the acceleration in curing of a whole spectrum of delusions  ( a process no doubt which happens over many years and maybe even decades) and how reality hits you. Does that last part mean I am less escapist than ever? Probably not,  i would still think.  Its one thing to just "know" the realities of life, and another thing to "problem solve" it,  if you get what I mean. This is even assuming the "problem set" remains static , and new problems which you think you need to solve for,  are not added to the list. Which may not ...

The patterns we see(k)

 One of the criticisms of the AI models ( LLMs) of today is the problem of hallucinations. Which apparently really boils down to the models seeing spurious correlations and patterns where they don't exist and "filling in" when they aren't sure or don't have a certain answer.  But is the human mind really different? Are we that immune to hallucinations? Not in the literal or schizophrenic sense of the word. But in seeing patterns where none exists? Unlike the AI hallucinations , the patterns that the human mind sees have some in built biases. We are simply prone to seeing patterns we want to see. The AIs do not , atleast,  as yet have a want function! This is especially true if you are the sort of person who like yours truly at some level,  believes that the world is conspiring to help you ( rational mind: yeah right!), eventually helping make sense of it all and who thinks everything happens for a reason.  After all, seeing or seeking patterns is a good and a ea...

And...damn it.... that's true

I mentioned somewhere in my previous post that I am an "underconfident" person ( and...damn it.. that's true),  while simultaneously introducing a nuance between self assurance and confidence.  I also mentioned that this is probably one of the worst things you could ever admit in public (and damn it.... that's true...) Is it even underconfidence though?   Do I lack faith in my abilities? For most part,  the answer is an unqualified NO, in that I truly do believe in what I am capable of , in most domains of life,  to the point , that I might even be overestimating it. So its not that.  But maybe its the external orientation of confidence vs the internal bit of self assurance that explains it? But does it? Does that mean I feel I am inferior to others? In most domains,  i really don't think so. Nor do i overestimate other's capabilities , which on most domains, I think I can size up quite well in terms of estimating. If its not the abilities,  ...

The past, the present and the Future

How do you perceive the ( your) future? How do you operate ( for lack of a better word) in the present? What has been your experience in the past? These are three fundamental questions you can ask yourself and indeed others in almost any field they operate in or in any field of life really. Related are the concepts of assuredness, confidence,  desire/ambition and optimism/ pessimism. How you perceive the future is often a function of your present,  along with a natural inclination towards the whole spectrum of optimism and pessimism. And to some extent the learnings from your experiences in the past. How do you operate in the present is a function of both how you visualize your future ( which gives rise to the spectrum of ambition and desire) and the experiences of the past ( How do you assess yourself,  How self asssured are you,  How confident are you etc)  To put it another way,  assuredness and confidence is about an assessment of what you are,  de...

People like us

All our lives and in everything we do, big and small,  we keep searching for "people like us". People with whom we share commonalities, something we can relate to.  People with similar interests, similar views. Similar desires.  Similar backgrounds. Similar cultures.  Similar personalities. It's everywhere.  Attend a large part or a/ gathering or a networking event and if you are the quiet introverted one,  you look for the ones who are similar. If you are a teetotaler there, you look for others who are similarly so.  Or if you are at a new workplace, you look for those with a similar educational background. Or common past organizations. Or even common personalities. Or if you are looking for a partner to spend the rest of your life with.  You look for something common,  either culturally, or in terms of thoughts, or in terms of interests or in terms of personalities. So we are looking indeed, everywhere and in everything we do, for people li...