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venk12

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Philosophers have had these rifts(an similar lines of arguments) forever.

From Plato vs Aristotle (300 to 400 BC) (idea of forms vs nicomachean), In India Adi Shankara (around 700 CE) vs Madhavacharya (1200 CE) (dualism vs non-dualism) - there is a common thread to all of these arguments.

But eventually, for me it comes down to a statement J Krishnamurti made (& it makes the most sense to me): "The self is a problem that thought cannot solve"

We've moved past asking where the energy comes from or how our planet will survive this critical phase.

These days, it's about framing - every country is scrambling to up their game just to stay in power. The companies that are riding this wave are spending millions in marketing, lobbying and billions on consuming energy so that they can make trillions in valuation.

I am also an ardent user of AI - but sometimes I do feel guilty when I use so many tokens - because I know I am burning energy, and feeding part of this mission. If there is a solution, I would like to be a part of it.

Because those with vested interests, such as large corporations and VCs - they naturally avoid acknowledging what the technology cannot yet do, what the technology is bad at. Their role is to promote optimism around the products they back, and this kind of selective narrative is a common form of dishonesty in big tech.

Typical agent calls are like saying /run-report — one-shot, no memory. Genie joins convos, reads threads, and understands ongoing context.

Most agent tools are built for solo use. Genie is built for teams — multiple users can interact with the same agent in one thread, like a group teammate.

Calling agents from Slack ≠ making Slack the workspace for agents — and that’s the shift Genie is enabling.

I believe real value lies in solving customer problems - not just investor problems. This technology has significant upside when applied thoughtfully. That said, without proper validation, prematurely sidelining proven solutions to chase AI initiatives—especially without clear problem definitions - can be risky. It sets the stage for a bubble that may not withstand tougher times.

imho, I would like to think tough times are ahead of us - that in my mind, neutralizes my 'tech optimism'.

similar boat 7 years ago. Luckily, I found a data science job that barely covered by rent and family expenses for 12hrs a day. In addition I had to freelance for a 2 to 3 hours everyday to make ends meet - basically sleep, work, repeat - rough patch - you will get through it. Hold tight, wishing you good luck!

I've encountered this problem with PDFs in general, where the pages are images instead of text. I've learnt to search for the same book/document in epub/mobi format. If I don't find it after searching the web, I will still use the PDF version - either squinting my eyes to read the tiny text or change the orientation to landscape mode (so that the image is a little bit bigger). If none of this works / its too much hassle - I use laptop/phone to read the document

1. Identify target audience - who is buying? This could be through experimentation with different channels, messages etc. One starting point could be people who are reading scanned pdfs on kindle, maybe? (I've struggled with this personally)

2. Find out when/why are the buying your service. (Maybe because they really want to read a book, but digital copy isn't available)

3. Start imagining the purchase cycle as a funnel. For 1 paid customer you would need something like 50 people using your free/trial features (50 is an example, you can talk to founders in similar niche to get a better sense)

4. Define what the qualitative and quantitative outcome after using your service and double down on it - do this to an extent that your customer becomes an ardent advocate of your offering.

5. Get a sales/marketing person to help. You don't have to do it all yourself.

Hope it helps in some way. Best of luck

This is such a fascinating aspect of the brain. It feels as if there is some kind of "latent/subconscious" thinking involved and the 'conscious' thought only rises to the surface when the trigger arises.

I've had a similar feelings of awe about our own brain during dreams at times. I could talk in a different language, come up with tunes I have never heard before, create visual art in my head etc.

The same extends to some of.my psychedelic trips. There could be a possible connection here.

Would love to see more BCI experiments on both fronts.

Even drummers using their four limbs tend to make weird faces or open their jaws wide while playing.

It should have something to do with dexterity, coordination and limb independence I believe. I can still play simple beats without making faces. But I wouldn't be able to play complex polyrhythms without making faces.

Okay so found this from MIT website here:

The problem is that the energy in lightning is contained in a very short period of time, only a few microseconds. Further, to obtain that 1 million joules, one would have to handle a voltage of several million volts.

But even at 1 million joules, the typical lightning strike contains only about ¼ of a kilowatt-hour of power, which is not enough to make much difference on our electric bill.

Whoa. I have been struggling with this issue for a long time. My gut has turned very sensitive and bloated. I could have a hard day even if I have strong coffee. Let alone skip a meal. My medical diagnosis doesn't show any problem with my stomach or gut. I used to smoke and there used to be times when it was stressful at work and I believed it was natural for anyone these days. After 2 years of stoppinh smoking + taking care of my diet + medicines it is still not gone completely. It's uncomfortable to live with this.

I understand that 2d brain to 3d brain connection requires an intersection (criss-cross) I drew that on a piece of paper. But I didn't really get why that has to be the case with 3D brain to 3D brain mapping. I am able to connect them without a need for an intersection. Are there easier examples to understand the intuition behind this hypothesis?

I believe this has to do with how the cities are designed in some sense. For most places in the US, you need to travel so many miles to get basic stuff including your groceries. This means people would have to prefer convenience more than shorter trips. SUV looks like a good option from that standpoint.

I find European cities to be well designed. Especially in the Netherlands where I currently live (not Amsterdam). Every city has a city center where all the commercial activity happens surrounded by residential suburb. Everything in and around the city is reachable by bike.I think this is great for a healthy and eco-friendly life.

Indeed, you are correct! Is there an 'impartial' governing body that has examined these two alternatives and determined the advantages and disadvantages of each? Or is there any relevant literature that focuses on simulating/evaluating these options?

To what degree is personal consumption driving the demand for energy?

And to what degree are industrials, workplaces or collective activities we do as part of the society?

In any case, what are the ways to reduce consumption of energy at an individual level and society as a whole?

Are there any novel ideas that are yet to be explored?