Just for Fun

  • Dall-E …. Not Wall-E: AI-Generated Art

    Neural networks creating images from text isn't new.  I wrote about it in 2019 when AI self-portraits were going viral. 

     


    Mauro Martino via YouTube

    Just like VR is getting a new lease on life, despite its age, AI-generated art is getting another 15-minutes of fame. 

    This past week, a new model called Dall-E Mini went viral.  It creates images based on the text prompts you give it – and it's surprisingly good.  You even can give Dall-E absurd prompts, and it will do its best to hybridize them (for example, a kangaroo made of cheese). 

    Unfortunately, like our current reality, Dall-E may not be able to produce cheap gas prices.  Nonetheless, it is fun to try.  Click the image to enter the concepts you want Dall-E to attempt to represent.

    My projectvia Dall-E mini

    While the images themselves aren't fantastic, the tool's goal is to understand and translate text into a coherent graphic response.  The capabilities of tools like this are growing exponentially (and reflect a massive improvement since I last talked about AI-generated images).

    Part of the improvement is organic (better hardware, software, algorithmic evolution, etc.), while another part comes from stacking.  For example, Dall-E's use of GPT-3 has vastly increased its ability to process language. 

    However, the algorithms still don't "understand" the meaning of the images the way we do … they are guessing based on what they've "seen" before.  That means it's biased by the data it was fed and can easily get stumped.  The Dall-E website's "Bias and Limitations" section acknowledges that it was trained on unfiltered internet data, which means it has a known, but unintended, bias to be offensive or stereotypical against minority groups. 

    It's not the first time, and it won't be the last, that an internet-trained AI will be offensive. 

    Currently, most AI is essentially a brute force application of math masquerading as intelligence and computer science.  Fortunately, it provides a lot of value even in that regard. 

    The uses continue to get more elegant and complex as time passes … but we're still coding the elegance. 

    An Elegant Use Of Brute Force_GapingVoid

     

    Onwards!

  • A Look At The Best Athletes

    There is a huge difference between good and great.

    Apparently, there is often a huge difference between the great and the greatest.

    In sports, there are many fantastic athletes whose names we will remember.  Then there are the athletes who stand apart from the rest … like Michael Phelps or Usain Bolt. 

    I recently stumbled upon a few charts highlighting the stratification between the top 1% and the #1. 

    Tom Brady

    Screen Shot 2022-06-03 at 4.16.30 PMvia NY Times

    To put that statistic in perspective, no other quarterback has even played in 35 postseason games …  but that is another measure of Tom Brady's greatness. 

    Jerry Rice

    9ykdftkjfe391sdbernard via Reddit

    Some prominent names are missing from this list – like Julio Jones or Megatron – but, clearly, Jerry's performance stands apart from other legends of the game.  For context, Julio Jones only had 61 TDs, which is relatively low on this chart, but averages 92 yards per game … which is so high that he'd be off the chart. 

    Wayne Gretzky

    GoalsAssistsvia NumberHound

    Wayne Gretzky is a sports legend, but this chart really puts it in perspective.  Leader by a large margin in both assists and goals.  He also has one of my favorite quotes –

    “A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.”

    Here's another interesting Wayne Gretzky stat: 

    Together, Wayne and Brent hold the NHL record for most combined points by two brothers – 2,857 for Wayne and 4 for Brent,[2] and are second overall in points scored by any number of brothers (behind the six brothers of the Sutter family who combined for 2,934 NHL points – 73 more than Wayne and Brent, although the Gretzkys' combined totals are greater than any five of the six Sutters.) – Wikipedia on Brent Gretzky

    Serena Williams 

    Chart_shows_just_how_much-82a81387685f09e2c50777f1027c79ebvia Yahoo!Sports

    What about Nature versus Nurture?

    Genetics and upbringing might play a part in greatness.  There are several great sibling combos like the Gretzkys, the Mannings, and the Williams sisters. 

    Both Venus and Serena are dominant athletes, but Serena is in the running for one of the most dominant athletes in any sport. 

    Have you seen any other crazy stats like these?  I'd love to see them. 

  • Are We Alone In The Universe?

    Information Is Beautiful has an interactive data visualization to help you decide if we're alone in the Universe. 

    As usual, for them, it is well done, fun, and informative. 

    For the slightly geeky amongst us, the model lets you adjust the estimate by playing with two equations: the Drake equation and the Seager equation.

    The Drake equation estimates how many detectable extraterrestrial civilizations exist in our galaxy and then in the Universe based on factors like habitable planets, change of life, and then intelligent life, and then the amount of time a civilization sends signals into space. 

    The Seager equation is a modern take on the equation focusing on bio-signatures of life that we can currently detect – for example, the number of observable stars/planets, what % have life, and then % chance of detectable bio-signature gas. 

    6a00e5502e47b28833026bdead6236200c-600wi

    via Information Is Beautiful

    For both equations, Information Is Beautiful lets you look at various default options – but also to play with your own choices to adjust the outcomes. 

    For example, the skeptical default answer for Drake's equation shows 0.0000062 communicating civilizations in our galaxy (which is still 924,000 in the Universe).  The equivalent for Seager's equation shows 0.0009000 planets with detectable life in our "galactic neighborhood" and 135,000,000 planets in our Universe. 

    Even with the "lowest possible" selection chosen, Drake's equation still shows 42 communicating civilizations (Douglas Adams, anyone?) in the Universe.

    6a00e5502e47b288330263e980107a200b-600wi

    via Information Is Beautiful

    One of the most interesting numbers (and potentially significant numbers for me) is the length of time a civilization sends signals into space.  Conservative numbers are 420 years, but optimistic numbers are 10,000+. 

    If any aliens are reading this … don't worry; I won't tell.  But, we will find out if you voted in the last election.

  • Where Are The Aliens?

    This week, there was a U.S. congressional hearing on the existence of UFOs.  While there wasn't any proof of aliens, they did admit to phenomena that they couldn't explain with their current information.

    There are many stories (or theories) about how we have encountered aliens before and just kept them secret.  For example, in 2020, a former senior Israeli military official proclaimed that Aliens from a Galactic Federation have contacted us - and that not only is our government aware of this, but they are working together. 

    In contrast, I have found it more realistic and thought-provoking to consider theories about why we haven't seen aliens until now.

    For example, the Fermi Paradox considers the apparent contradiction between the lack of evidence for extraterrestrial civilizations and the various high probability estimates for their existence. 

    Let's simplify the issues and arguments in the Fermi Paradox.  There are billions of stars in the Milky Way galaxy (which is only one of many galaxies).  Each of these stars is similar to our Sun.  Consequently, there must be some probability of some of them having Earth-like planets.  Further, it isn't hard to conceive that some of those planets should be older than ours, and thus some fraction should be more technologically advanced than us.  Even if you assume they're only looking at evolutions of our current technologies – interstellar travel isn't absurd.  Thus, based on the law of really large numbers (both in terms of the number of planets and the length of time we are talking about) … it makes the silence all the more deafening and curious. 

    If you are interested in the topic "Where are all the aliens?"  Stephen Webb (who is a particle physicist) tackles that in his book and in this TED Talk.   

     

    via TED

    In the TED talk, Stephen Webb covers a couple of key factors necessary for communicative space-faring life. 

    1. Habitability and stability of their planet
    2. Building blocks of life 
    3. Technological advancement
    4. Socialness/Communication technologies

    But he also acknowledges the numerous confounding variables, including things like imperialism, war, bioterrorism, fear, moons' effect on climate, etc. 

    Essentially, his thesis is that there are numerous roadblocks to intelligent life – and it's entirely possible we are the only planet that has gotten past those roadblocks. 

    6a00e5502e47b28833026bdeacdf44200c-550wi

    What do you think?

    Here are some other links I liked on this topic.  There is some interesting stuff you don't have to be a rocket scientist to understand or enjoy. 

    To Infinity and Beyond!

  • Top 10 Most Overhyped Technologies (From 2008)

    Just because something is overhyped, doesn’t mean it’s bad. Gartner's hype cycle is a great example of this. Every technology goes through inflated expectations and a trough of disillusionment, regardless of whether they're a success or failure. Sometimes a fad is more than a fad. 

    Screen Shot 2022-05-15 at 8.45.33 PM

    Humans are pretty bad at exponential thinking. We're not bad at recognizing periods of inflection, but we're very bad at recognizing the winners and losers of these regime changes. 

     

    Screen Shot 2022-05-15 at 2.26.23 PM

     

    There are countless examples. Here's a funny one from Maximum PC Magazine in 2008. It shows that hype isn't always a sign of mistaken excess.  This list purported to show things that were getting too much attention in 2008.  Instead of being a list of has-beens and failures, many of these things rightfully deserved the attention.

     

    Maximumpc

    It's been 14 years since this came out. How did the predictions hold up?

    Facebook has become Meta, and is one of the big five. The iPhone has sold more than 2.2 billion phones, and accounts for more than half of Apple's total revenue. And the list keeps going. Multiple GPU video cards, HD, 64-bit computing, and downloading movies from the internet …

    It's hard to believe how poorly this image aged. 

    The trend is your friend while it continues. Just because something is overhyped – doesn't mean you shouldn't be excited about it. 

    Onwards!

  • Happy Mother’s Day

     To those of you with young children, here's a peek into your future.A37b6a9dd32e9ed1bc3a2d0797fa492b

    After years of hard work and your best efforts (OK, mostly your best efforts) … I predict that your adorable bundles of joy will someday wish they could send you this card.

    So, take a moment to think about your Mom … and remember that she was very young when she did those things to you …

    … and what you make them mean is up to you.

    Here's a funny clip from SNL in honor of Mother's Day.

     

    via SNL

    Hope you celebrated all the important mothers in your life. And, to the mothers, I hope the people around you recognize how much you sacrificed for them. 

    Happy Mother's Day. 

  • Here Are Some Links For Your Weekly Reading – May 1st, 2022

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    Here are some of the posts that caught my eye. Hope you find something interesting.

    Lighter Links:

    Trading Links:

  • How Many Humans Have Lived?

    Despite news of declining birth rates, the world’s population continues to grow because of advances in science, technology, and medicine.

    We're nearing a global population of eight billion people. 

    There have never been as many people alive as there are now.  But have you ever wondered how many humans have lived on this planet, in total, over the long arc of history?

     

    How-many-humans-have-ever-lived-1via visualcapitalist

    The number takes a lot of estimation, but you end up with approximately 109 billion people over the course of human existence. 

    That means almost 7% of all humans who have ever existed are alive today.  It also means that for every person alive, nearly 14 people are dead.  That number seems small to me as I think about how many generations came before us.

    While this might be somewhat interesting, the more important question is what you will do with the time left in your hourglass?  To learn more about what I think about that, here's an article I wrote on the time value of time and here's an article I wrote on the power of purpose and how healthy mindsets extend your life. 

  • Batteries Not Included

    Mercedes-Benz might have a sense of humor.

    They lent Saturday Night Live a C-Class for a parody TV commercial that makes fun of battery-powered cars.

    The 2-minute video, starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, shows a car that runs on AA batteries (which is why the car is called the Mercedes AA Class). 

    Here is the video.

    Screen Shot 2022-04-03 at 5.29.44 PM

    via SNL

    One of the highlighted features, the "Auto-Dump," helps you discharge worn-out batteries … all 9,648 of them.

    The video ends with the disclaimer: "Batteries not included."

    I hope you had a fun April Fool's Day.

  • Cat Poop Coffee … Yum!

    My wife is currently in Indonesia – and inflation is rising.  What a perfect time to revisit the world’s most expensive coffee. 

    Indonesia is famous for coffee.  For example, “Sumatra” is their biggest island – with “Java” coming in close behind (and both are synonymous with coffee).

    They also make one of the most expensive coffees in the world … Luwak Coffee.

    It is a very particular coffee, created using a very peculiar process.

    In traditional coffee production, the cherries are harvested, and the beans are extracted, before being shipped to a roaster, ground into a pulp, and brewed by a barista at your local Starbucks.

    In contrast, with Luwak coffee, something different happens.

    The coffee cherries are harvested by wild animals.

    Specifically, they’re harvested by the Asian Palm Civet, a small, cat-like animal that absolutely loves the taste of coffee cherries.

    But, if the civets eat the cherries, how can they still be used to make coffee?

    Here comes the gross part—the civets eat the coffee cherries, but their digestive tract can’t effectively process the beans, only the flesh surrounding them.

    When the partially digested, partially fermented beans are eventually excreted, coffee producers harvest them.  The beans are then cleaned, roasted, and used to make astonishingly expensive (“with retail prices reaching up to $1300 per kilogram”) coffee.

    Now, is the coffee that mind-blowing?

    No, not really.  In fact, many critics will openly call it bad coffee, or as Tim Carman, food writer for the Washington Post put it, “It tasted just like…Folgers.  Stale.  Lifeless.  Petrified dinosaur droppings steeped in bathtub water.  I couldn’t finish it.”

    To be fair, the Luwak coffee industry is not really about coffee … it is about an experience.  When I toured a plantation near Ubud, Bali, a smiling tour guide greeted and led me on an in-depth exploration of the forested property, where I was allowed to immerse myself in the various spices, roots, beans, and civets used to produce this one-of-a-kind coffee.  

    Here is a video I shot of the process.

     

    If you think about it, I paid a premium to drink exotic cat poop coffee.  Kind of strange!

    I wouldn’t drink coffee made from people’s poop (or even domestic cat poop).

    It’s the story that allows this not-so-awesome coffee to fetch awesome prices.  People are paying for the experience, not the commodity itself.

    The same is true when you buy Starbucks.  The coffee at 7-Eleven is cheaper – and Consumer Reports tell us that McDonald’s coffee is better.

    Nonetheless, I’d still rather drink at Starbucks.

    We live in an Experience Economy.