Welcome to a [journailed] voice fragment of Mike’s Mind captured in the blink of an eye. This experiment aims to provide you with a stream of consciousness, sharing random yet fascinating thoughts that flit through my brain. If you’ve ever wondered how one’s mind traverses topics from LinkedIn posts to historical figures to intricate economic theories, well, today’s journey is for you since I’ll share how my thoughts wander and intertwine in unexpected ways.
LinkedIn rabbit holes & shower thoughts
It all began with a LinkedIn scroll. One moment, I’m reading a post about the benefits of posting daily, and then I’m drawn to a video of a Dutch comedian discussing the Taliban’s adverse policies against women. Here, my thoughts turned somber as I contemplated the horrifying societal regression—women and girls being denied education and facing potential prosecution if assaulted.
Suddenly, I thought, “What if I had a podcast conversation with someone from the Taliban?” Not in a judgmental way but to understand their rationale. There are always multiple truths, and I believe in exploring them—not to justify, but to comprehend. This contemplation drew a parallel to the dual perception of terrorists and freedom fighters—different sides of the same coin.
While prepping for groceries, a discussion with one of my sons surfaced in my mind. He argued that males make better leaders, citing Hitler as his first example when I asked one. I countered with leaders like Margaret Thatcher and Angela Merkel, marveling at how misguided yet telling his example was. This triggered another track: why even controversial leaders are fascinating. For instance, Trump’s courage right after an assault on his life posed an interesting inquiry—not admiration, but an observation of a singular trait.
From economics to etymology
Next, my mental journey veered towards economic policies. How Hitler, despite his abhorrent actions, implemented interest-free loans leading to an economic boom. This led me to ruminate on the nature of debt and guilt. The Dutch word “schuld” intriguingly means both debt and guilt, illustrating the linguistic intertwining of financial obligation and moral liability.
Structuring musings: GenAI to the rescue
Then, squirrels and acorns snuck into my thoughts. Not just for their cuteness, but the etymology—Dutch “eekhorn” (pronouced exactly like acorn) for squirrel and the notion of acorns they allegedly eat. As my thoughts tumble, a new question arises: Can (generative) AI structure these musings? Indeed, could my beloved Descript turn this script into a coherent blog post, showcasing the erratic brilliance [cough, cough] of my thought process?
I envision a future where personal AIs curate our thoughts and share meaningful insights asynchronously. This realization dawns on me as I listen to an 8-hour podcast featuring Lex Fridman and Elon Musk. Musk’s thoughts on brain-computer interfaces and the potential for non-invasive integration into our lives fascinated me.
Imagine the seamless capture of our thoughts and emotions through devices we already use—AirPods, Apple Watches, and more. The data harnessed could potentially craft enriched narratives of our lives, sans the intrusive surgeries of traditional brain-computer interfaces.
As I conclude these thoughts, my aim is to transform this voice recording into a compelling post via Descript. This app lets you edit voice like text and promises to turn even this rambling discourse into a polished blog.
Thank you for joining this unstructured voyage through my mind. Let’s see what the Underlord (Descript’s editing assistant) crafts from these wandering thoughts. I’m equally keen on hearing how your mind navigates its unique pathways.
Cheers,
Mike [and his AI Underlord as ghostwriter]
What's on your mind?