Parts of the site under reconstruction
7
Finito
The Statue of Liberty to do a 360?
With the unprecedented developments in recent weeks that ended for the first time with the indictment of a former President, you might have missed this article relegated to the backpages of The New York Times.
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If you bothered to read through the whole story—and while it is true that Ms. Liberty does indeed stand in New Jersey’s waters ("Say it ain't so, Joe")— this clearly is an exercise in...
I wrote that "360 story"and posted it in the APRIL, 2006 MUSELETTER. As I'm sure most of you will remember. I jest of course. And I had no inclination to update it. So as for the statue rotating by July 4, 2008, my best guess is that we're now looking at somewhere in the Spring of 2025. If I may conclude this flight of whimsy.
4/1 is one of those little quirky days on the calendar on the order of Groundhog's Day, in terms of its profundity. Which is to say, on a low level of Tom Foolery. It began somewhere, by someone, and has been around for...? No one is sure. Why don't I ask AI (and a lot more on it, in a bit).
So tempting to do so, isn't it? Like going to the nerd in the class and asking to borrow his homework. (Nerds were invariably guys). And that is something that the world of academia is greatly concerned about. Homework copying, test cheating, plagiarizing and flat out turning in compositions created solely by AI.
But back to the subject at hand, April Fool's Day. This is the edited exchange (any underlining is mine), between ChatGPT and myself.
Me: What is the history of April Fool's day?
Chat:The exact history of April Fool's Day is uncertain... One theory suggests that it started in France in the 16th century, when the calendar was changed and New Year's Day was moved from April 1 to January 1. Those who continued to celebrate the old New Year's Day on April 1 became the butt of jokes and pranks, and were called "April fools."
Another suggests that April Fool's Day may have originated from ancient festivals, such as Hilaria in ancient Rome, which were held at the end of March and involved masquerades and pranks.
Me: Has April Fool's Day in the U.S. diminished in presence? It seems that you don't see or hear of as many pranks as you used to.
Chat: There is no definitive data to suggest that April Fool's Day has significantly diminished in popularity in the United States. However, it is possible that cultural changes and social media platforms have influenced the way people celebrate the holiday.
It then it goes on to make an interesting socio-political observation without any prompting on my part.
In recent years, there has been a growing concern about the impact of "fake news" and misinformation, which has made some people more cautious about sharing or spreading potentially misleading or false information, even in jest. Additionally, with the rise of social media, people may be more inclined to share pranks and jokes online rather than in person.
I concluded our little exchange with...
Me: What has been one of the classic well known pranks of all time, in good humor?
Chat: ... one of the most famous and widely-known pranks was the "spaghetti tree" hoax that aired on BBC television on April 1, 1957.
...a news segment showed a family in Switzerland harvesting spaghetti from trees. The report explained that mild winter weather and the elimination of the spaghetti weevil had led to a bumper spaghetti crop that year. Many viewers were fooled by the segment and called the BBC, asking how they could grow their own spaghetti trees.
Me: On the flip side, a classic case of one in ill humor, gone wrong?
One such example... the "Balloon Boy" hoax that took place on April Fool's Day in 2009.
...a family in Colorado claimed that their six-year-old son had floated away in a homemade helium balloon. The story received extensive media coverage, with authorities launching a search for the missing boy. The incident was later revealed to be a hoax, as the family admitted that they had fabricated the story to gain publicity.
The prank caused widespread outrage.... The family was eventually charged with multiple crimes, including conspiracy and making false reports to authorities.
Chat's responses to my questions were cross-checked with other sources, as it has been known to provide some information in error. Infallible, it's not. But this exchange seemed in keeping with other online search engines on this topic.
Nothing of any great import here. Other than our need at times, to indulge in frivolity and a sense of humor. Assuming you find the "Balloon Boy" story a riot. We do have the ability to exhibit an A-hole intelligence (AHI) that AI will never be able to match. And I say that with pride. Happy April Fool's Day.
Word of the Month
rapscallion rap·scal·lion
noun
1. one who is playfully mischievous
2. a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel
Etymology
Was originally rascallion, a fancier version of rascal, which comes
from the Old French rascaille, "rabble or mob."
First known use
1648, in the meaning defined above
Used in a sentence
The rapscallion of the April Fool joke in the MuseLetter was someone named Francis Lawrence.
Yeah, but Can It Write a Sonnet?
It seems that not a day goes by where ChatGPT isn’t in the news. And why not. As the new tech kid on the block, it has taken the country by storm since introduced at the end of last November. Estimates are at 100 million users already.
For those not yet aware of it, ChatGPT (heretofore Chat) is “a natural language processing tool" driven by AI technology that allows you to have human-like conversations in having questions answered. And in so doing, providing more than you will ever want to know on everything, while assisting you with various tasks and creative endeavors. Note a role it played in the April Fool piece above. Yet, as with everything in life, artificial or otherwise, there is a downside. Which I addressed last month on
some of its potentially dystopian ramifications, using a startling piece that appeared in The New York Times as a springboard. (March MuseLetter, Keeping HAL at Bay). And just five days after posting it, 60 Minutes correspondent Leslie Stahl, in her interview with Microsoft president Brad Smith, mirrored much of what I wrote in that piece. No need to rehash any of that here.
This month on a more upbeat note, I wanted to consider where this system now stands “creatively.” Although that is a misnomer. Chat doesn’t really create. It doesn’t conceptualize or think. No AI system does. At least, not yet. But rather... it gathers. Oh, how it gathers.
The scope of human knowledge and experience that has been documented and recorded by prominent sources, can be accessed and referenced by AI instantly. From which it formulates a response to what has been asked of it. And as a test as to how that might be put to work in a creative context, I’ve asked it to write a poem. Specifically, a sonnet.
Poetry is arguably one of the most difficult forms of writing as it relies on condensed language to create more of an emotional experience, rather than a literal one. Of course there are exceptions to this, as in a narrative poem, which tends to be driven by a storyline.
Someone once described poetry, as trying to put into words, that which can’t be put into words. Therefore in using words, a poet does so not just for their meaning(s), but equally if not more so, for the images they can create. In so doing, it can make connections where at first glance none would seem to exist.
A sonnet is a form of poetry which does all of that, and in formal verse. A Shakespearean-style one is composed of 14 lines written in iambic pentameter, set within a rhyming scheme of abab cdcd efef gg.
By coincidence, I just happened to have one on hand that I wrote a while ago, which I used as an anchor for this exercise. Entitled Lighthouse, it was inspired by a couple of lines of a Theodore Roethke poem, which I used as an epigraph in my sonnet.
You might not be a fan of poetry, but you’re probably a fan of Man vs. Machine. And seeing man get his ass whooped. Though it’s all highly subjective and there really will be no winners or losers here. This is hardly Gary Kasparov vs. Big Blue. The goal was to get a sense of where Chatbot is creatively with the written word.
After a few clarifications on form and layout, here’s the sonnet Chat “wrote.” Shown here exactly as it instantly appeared on my screen. It even “signed” its name to its work, which I thought was cute.
“The Beacon in the Bottle”
Inside my empty bottle I was constructing a lighthouse
While all others were making ships.
—Theodore Roethke
Oh, how my empty bottle did inspire
A beacon of light amidst the stormy seas
While others built their vessels to acquire
The wealth and fame that fortune might decree.
Within my heart, a lighthouse did arise
A structure tall and steadfast, strong and true
To guide lost souls to safety ‘neath the skies
And shine its light on all who passed anew.
While others sought to sail a briny deep
And chart a course to distant lands unknown
I found a purpose in this beacon steep
And in its light, my soul has ever grown.
So let them sail their ships across the foam,
For in my lighthouse, I have found my home.
-
ChatGPT
Pretty impressive. Though there were some cliched phrases that I don't think served it well: “stormy seas,”
“‘neath the skies,” “briny deep.” (Though I’ve got one of these myself, in “moonless nights.” Ouch.)
Also, I found... "So let them sail their ships across the foam" ...an awkward bit of phraseology in search of a needed rhyme. But loved its closing... "For in my lighthouse, I have found my home."
As for my own sonnet, it is not for me to say. It would be left to a reader to decide on its merits. And again, this was not to be viewed as a competition. (Of course)
I went a step further, in asking it to comment on these sonnets. Ever the politician (i.e. artificial...) Chat would not say which it preferred. Interestingly, it didn’t seem to recognize that it had written one of them. A few of its observations...
While both sonnets explore the idea of charting one's own path in life and celebrating individuality, they approach the topic from slightly different angles...
"The Beacon in the Bottle" celebrates the speaker's decision to... follow its own path, rather than conforming to societal expectations and building a ship to acquire wealth and fame."
"... uses vivid imagery to describe the speaker's lighthouse as a "beacon bright amidst the stormy sea"...and shines its light on all who pass by. The overall message is one of individuality and personal fulfillment."
"On the other hand...simply titled "Lighthouse," contrasts those who build ships, representing those who follow societal norms and expectations, with those who construct lighthouses... to chart their own course and create their own path in life.
"...employs several nautical metaphors and imagery to convey its message, including the dangers of navigating one's own path in life, as well as the potential rewards of doing so."
I wonder what it might have to say about one of Shakespeare's sonnets. Then again, to what purpose?
Quote of the Month
A Zeitgeist Cartoon
The New Yorker will refer to them as their “Drawings.” But don’t be fooled. They are cartoons. And they offer a type of humor that is hard to find elsewhere.
I once heard it said that humor “… derives from the 'theory of incongruity.'” To which I've added, especially when it captures the zeitgeist of a time or place. A great example of that being The New Yorker cartoon of a few years back, in which a forlorn Humphrey Bogart, with drink in hand, is asking Alexa to play "As Time Goes By."A 1942 classic movie scene, meets the current state of artificial intelligence. Brilliant! (December 2019 MuseLetter, Anatomy of a New Yorker Cartoon).
Appearing in the current April 3rd issue, comes another gem which stopped me in "mid-scan." You first scan through an issue of The New Yorker before actually making a commitment to reading it. And it is a commitment. Longer than some relationships I've been in.
Given my love of New York—with all the joys and pitfalls of living here—coupled with a particular board game that has always captured my imagination, you get ...
Its creator is Ali Solomon, who is also a writer, and has been a regular contributor to The New Yorker since 2018. Her latest book I Love(ish) NYC Tales of City Life, a collection of essays, cartoons and illustrations, was published last fall.
* * *
I guess a spirit of whimsy has permeated the whole issue. Which was not the intent at the start. Blame it on April Fool's Day. But only the Statue of Liberty story is untrue.
Lighthouse
Inside my empty bottle I was constructing a lighthouse
While all others were making ships.
— Theodore Roethke
In days gone by who has not built a ship
Cut from the wood of a backyard tree
Absent direction but bent on a trip
Through white-capped waters of identity?
The ship itself is all that is ingrained,
Lack of direction ends in errant sights.
Intoxication at the siren's refrain,
Blinds us to jetties on moonless nights.
The depths of the sea are littered with grief
Ersatz pirates who set sail in dead prose,
Nearsighted ones who never saw the reef.
But not of prophets and poets and those
Who would dare to think inside the bottle
And avoid the rocks while going full throttle.
Featuring...
muse-letter \’myüz-‘le-tər noun
1: a personal message, inspired by a muse of one's own creation, addressed to a person or organization, in the course of which, the sender becomes absorbed in thought, especially turning something over in the mind meditatively and often inconclusively.
2: a letter from a poet, or one who envisions oneself as such, in which he or she “muses” on that which is perceived to be news, or newsworthy, usually in some ironic or absurd way.
pre November 2018
muse-letter \’myüz-‘le-tər noun
1: a personal message, inspired by a muse of one's own creation, addressed to a person or organization, in the course of which, the sender becomes absorbed in thought, especially turning something over in the mind meditatively and often inconclusively.
2: a letter from a poet, or one who envisions oneself as such, in which he or she “muses” on that which is perceived to be news, or newsworthy, usually in some ironic or absurd way.
pre November 2018
Parts of the site under reconstruction
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