Good choices 4

(cont'd)

AI is changing our culture and the way we manage the world of work/jobs.  Humans will adapt to AI-induced changes by focusing on our human distinctives. 

People are different from machines. We think (not just compute), we freely make choices (yesterday's post), and we have the capacity to choose virtue. 

Jay Richards suggests that a focus on these virtues will help us take advantage of our humanity in the age of smart machines:

1. Courage - willing to risk failure
2. Anti-fragility - learn from failure/suffering
3. Altruism - act for the benefit of others
4. Collaboration - learn from and work well with others
5. Creative freedom - master yourself and the skills you need to create value

Stories of people who have done this . . in next week's posts.

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from The Human Advantage

Good choices 3

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Revolutions sweep the earth periodically - speaking of technology, not politics. There was the agricultural revolution thousands of years ago (domesticating plants and animals), the industrial revolution, the information revolution - and Jay Richards says that we're in the midst of another one right now. 

The core of this revolution is artificial intelligence.  It's expanding much faster than any of the other revolutions did and it's changing almost everything. AI will not only take over many labor jobs, but also "white collar" jobs: even writing and medical diagnosis. 

Dr. John Lennox, theoretical mathematician at Oxford University, asks "Should we fear artificial intelligence?"  Starting at 18:25, he explains in plain language what AI is and is not. He also answers, "how can AI make a medical diagnosis?" and "how can AI interview you for a job?"



(cont'd tomorrow)

Good choices 2

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

As a human being with free will built into you by your Creator, you continually make choices. In order to make good choices (both wise and morally good), you will have to overcome bad advice that masquerades as conventional wisdom coming from your culture.

A really bad piece of advice is the "fatalist myth," which says that your dream is completely out of reach, that there's nothing you can do to change things - that you're actually helpless and should not waste your time trying.

Opposite to that is a "growth mindset" which says there is hope. Your environment can improve and you have abilities that you can develop into a better destiny. Surprisingly, even your brain can get better.

Good news - persistent, repeated action actually re-wires the brain. It's called neuroplasticity. 

The fatalist myth is unhealthy. If you pursue the virtues, you will have some measure of success.

from The Human Advantage by Jay Richards

(cont'd tomorrow)

Good choices 1

A good action freely chosen, that's how Jay Richards describes virtue in The Human Advantage. Your "character" is the sum of the virtues and vices you have developed over your life so far. 

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Human virtue, the ability to choose goodness, makes Jay an optimist about the future of human workers in an age of smart machines. There are plenty of pessimists on that subject.

Artificial intelligence and robots make people uneasy about the role AI will play in the future of humanity. Many fear the mass take-over of jobs by robots who can do tasks faster and more accurately - at less cost - than humans. 

It's a valid concern. But Jay says that AI will never be able to do everything humans can do. Humans will have the advantage in the world of work when they develop certain virtues.

(cont'd tomorrow)

GW was Great

Great people sometimes are not recognized as great until their life is over. But George Washington was called the "Father of Our Country" even during his lifetime.

Monday's and Tuesday's posts told one of the legends about our first president, and here are some of the virtues that made him an exceptional person.

Good game 2

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

"Brain-training games are already a billion-dollar industry," says the journalist in yesterday's video. Luminosity is in this business, though it was fined by the FTC for making unverified claims. 

"Your doctor might write you out a prescription to play a video game!" The neuro-scientist in the video, Adam Gazzaley, says that will happen in a couple of years. He's developed games that he says help develop the ability to multi-task and to focus.

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The affect of video games on the brain has been formally studied. In research at University of California San Francisco, study participants improved cognitive performance in the areas of "working memory" and "sustained attention," skills they still had six months later.

Good game

Your brain is amazing, "the most complex thing we have yet discovered in our universe. . . No computer can come close to your brain's awesome ability to download, process, and react to the flood of information coming from your eyes, ears, and other sensory organs."

What if its awesome ability diminished as you age, after you had taken it for granted all your life? That is happening. 

But we're not helpless. We can act to preserve its function, at least to some extent.

GW prophecy

(cont'd)

Mount Vernon's website verifies that Washington's horse was shot out beneath him and that he bore bullet holes in his coat after the battle (yesterday's post). And in a letter to his brother he credited the saving of his life to Providence, that is, God's caring intervention.

There's another interesting twist to this story about George Washington's part in the 1755 battle. An Indian Chief who had observed Washington during the battle shared his memory of it years later along with a prophecy:

"Our rifles were leveled--rifles which, but for him, knew not how to miss. 'Twas all in vain; a power far mightier than we shielded him from harm. He cannot die in battle. The Great Spirit protects that man, and guides his destinies. He will become chief of nations, and a people yet unborn will hail him the founder of a mighty nation."

The Chief's prophecy is said to have been recorded in historian George Bancroft's history of the United States.

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GW legend

We in America used to celebrate the birthdays of two of our most admired presidents, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, on the 22nd and 12th of February every year. There would be some relevant content in school classes, but we didn't take the day off. 

That has turned into "Presidents Day" for which there is no content, nothing to remember or celebrate - except a three-day weekend. IMHO it was better the other way.

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So here is some content, one of the legends surrounding our first president:

In July of 1755, George Washington was with British forces (20 years before the revolution) in a battle near today's Pittsburgh: 

"Two horses were shot out from under him and his clothes were shredded with bullets. He emerged unscathed and gave glory to God, saying, "I was saved by the miraculous care of Providence that saved me beyond human expectation." From that day, his reputation for bravery and leadership spread among both the English and the Native Americans." . .  (more)

(cont'd tomorrow)

Today's dream 2

(cont'd from last Friday's post)

"I am pleased to report that the American dream is alive and well for an overwhelming majority of Americans." So says this author reporting on the results of research by the University of Chicago into Americans' attitudes.

That will surprise some who say that wealth is harder to earn these days. "But Americans, it turns out, have something else in mind when they talk about the American dream. And they believe that they are living it."

"Only 16 percent said that . . it was essential to “become wealthy,” only 45 percent said it was essential “to have a better quality of life than your parents . ."

Most said that “to have freedom of choice in how to live was essential to achieving the American dream. In addition, 83 percent indicated that “a good family life” was essential."

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"No One Dates"

This may be a bit of a downer to you on Valentine's Day, and maybe a surprise as well: there's some evidence that romance is not as popular as it used to be. Author Arthur Brooks says it's because people are more afraid to risk their hearts today than they used to be.

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Most Gen X and baby boomers dated in high school (85%) according to one study. Some say that "virtual interactions [now] substitute for face-to-face human relationships. It is not a shock to see research emerging that links heavy social media use with loneliness and depression.

Dr. Brooks says, "[T]he percentage of high school seniors who went on dates in 2015 had fallen to 56 percent. I asked my son, a junior in college, if this matched his experience. His matter-of-fact reply: “No one dates.”

Unequal

People are just not all the same. You should be free to excel in your strengths, and so should everybody else.

Luxury EV's

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

German car makers Porsche and Audi are sharing a platform for their electric vehicles (EV), a cost savings of about 30%. Beyond the platform their EV programs are separate and different.

Audi will offer two sedans and two SUV's, Porsche will have one sedan, all sharing the platform. They will begin to launch before 2020.



The Volkswagen Group, of which they're a part, plans to launch 50 all-electric vehicles by 2025, and to offer an hybrid or all-electric version of each of their models by 2030. That will include a VW bus in the less expensive category.

"They have recognized Tesla as a huge competitor for future markets and are working around the clock to develop a successor to their gasoline-powered lineup."

Luxury Model 3

Tesla's newest, the Model 3, was supposed to be the mass-market model, moderately priced at $35,000. Now in just its second year of full production, the price ranges from $45k to $65k depending on the options you choose. It's been pricier than expected.

Of all vehicles sold in America last year, only 1.2% of them were electric vehicles (EV). So EV's make up only a small number of all vehicles sold.

Despite all of this, "The Tesla Model 3, an electric sedan with a starting price that just got reduced to $42,900, was the best-selling luxury vehicle of any kind last year."

Over the next couple of years, other brands like Audi and Porsche will introduce their own EV's - more direct competition in the luxury class.

(cont'd tomorrow)

Today's dream 1

Sometimes you hear people mention "The American Dream." What exactly is that? Do Americans still want it?

Tesla to come

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

The year 2019 will be a big year for Tesla according to Elon Musk. 

First, he hopes/expects to deliver about 50% more cars in 2019 than they did in 2018. Every car that comes out of the factory is going to be a sale/customer delivery because those customers are queued up, waiting. Remember the 400,000 people who put $1000 down to get the new Model 3? Most haven't received their cars yet.

Second, there could possibly be two new models to unveil:

• a new Tesla pickup truck
• the new Model Y, a midsize SUV which Elon thinks will have even bigger demand than the Model 3

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from article at Evannex 

Tesla Q4

Fourth quarter of 2018 showed Tesla still making a profit, as expected. That was the good news, two profitable quarters back-to-back. They made $139 million compared to Q3's profit of $311 million, so it could have been better . . but consistent profit is new, desirable, and necessary.

Model 3's "accounted for 80 percent of all EV sales in the US in 2018 according to Musk." 

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"[A]ccording to Tesla's Shareholder Letter, "Model 3 [was] the best-selling passenger car in the US in terms of revenue in both Q3 and Q4. With nearly 140,000 units sold, Model 3 was also the best-selling premium vehicle (including SUVs) in the US for 2018 – the first time in decades an American carmaker has been able to secure the top spot."

(cont'd tomorrow)

U.S. oil

For about 6 years, crude oil production in the U.S. has been climbing. Innovation, new and improved industry methods, has done the heavy lifting here.

Before 2012 Saudi Arabia and Russia were the world leaders and way beyond us, but that was changing. By 2018, according to this article at the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the United States had surpassed them both in barrels per day.

image EIA

You Version

"You Version" is the Bible app I use to read the Bible on my phone, possibly the only thing I have in common with these NFL athletes from the Rams and the Patriots.

You can compare dozens of translations, listen to the Bible being read (in KJV), and use one of their reading plans.

Thirst 5

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Scott Harrison not only started a new charity, but he also chose to break the mold of the usual charity business model. Potential donors may be suspicious of pleas from organizations that seem opaque. They often can't confirm that their donation is doing what they wanted it to do.

Charity:water tries to overcome that with these strategies:

1. Transparency - financial reports are published on the website
2. Tracking - using google and gps, the progress and results of all projects are viewable
3. 100% of public donations go totally to water projects in the field

That last one can only be done because particular donors have committed to funding the organizational costs. All salaries, office costs, etc., are funded by these donors. 

It's compelling for a potential donor who is touched by their mission to know that 100% of what s/he gives to charity:water will be used in the field to provide water to targeted communities.

Meet Scott: