Losing the mess

On artificial intelligence, childhood intelligence, the WGA strike, and the possibility of losing human imprecision.

One of the most beautiful emails I got last year (via the what-have-you-lost page) was written by a fourteen year old named Sanat. They wrote to me about two talismans they’d carried around for good luck before losing, the first being a coin they’d received while visiting London:

…an old coin that was minted in the early 20th century, whose year I can't recall. I do recall visiting a statue in the middle of a park which featured four people from four corners of the earth, each from a territory ruled by the British Empire. One of the four was from India, and I recall looking at their face for a long time, studying the rusting green of the bronze. On return to America, I carried that coin with me every day to school, seeking it in my pocket and gently rubbing the copper. Then one day, I was walking back from school and realized it was gone.. I felt sort of a light emptiness, just for a moment, and don't remember how I felt after that.

The message went on to describe another lost talisman…