Blogpost # M.408 THE METAPHYSICAL PANACEA (Redux)

We have chosen to assume that almost nine decades of life (the maturer years being ubiquitously dedicated to serious contemplation) buttressed by the foregoing relevant citation of recognized wise men, will attenuate the reader’s predictable reaction to the present offering as being reductively hubristic. After having, to date, published slightly short of 1,500 blogs, we will optimistically assume that a relevant, metaphysical statement would be deemed acceptable. Our perpetual theme, and, ultimately, that of the present writing, is Man’s aspiration for a fulfilled life.

For many, the attainment of a “successful” life is founded on the accumulation of conspicuous wealth and a privileged lifestyle; for others, it is recognized accomplishment, viz., the development of a proven cure for a disease or, perhaps, the creation of a utilitarian and highly profitable mathematical formula; for yet others, like ourselves, “fulfillment” is attained by the ultimate acquisition of a mature, rational understanding of the nuanced course of one’s life..

Over the course of modern history, demagogues have suggested dogmatic transmogrifications of existing political-economic systems or the installation of laudable rulers as the sine qua non for the societal attainment of an improved and desirable life. Wiser commentators have maintained that it is not the hapless alteration of the extant polity or ruler, but rather the personal acquisition of citizen wisdom that ultimately leads to self-betterment, and ultimately, to appropriate rule. In the sage words of our oft-quoted savant, Winston Churchill: “The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings. The inherent virtue of socialism is the equal division of misery.”

Wise commentators have eternally articulated the principle that it is not the radical alteration of the polity, nor the installation of a proposed, lauded ruler that provides good rule and societal fulfillment, but rather the societal wisdom and discernment of the citizenry that fundamentally provides successful rule. The aspiration for good governance is implemented by the actions of a wise and discerning society in its selection of a suitable leader. The eternal metaphysical basis of good governance is the beneficial existence of a wise and informed citizenry.’

The adequate development of a natural, utilitarian, and referable self-image appears to be the metaphysical sine qua non of healthy and recognizably fulfilled life and of the useful citizen. It would appear that such accomplishment is developed from the earliest perceived responses and discriminating observations of others, notably, members of one’s young peer group, with whom they daily interact. This dynamic is the principal cause of our relentless opposition to the smartphone as the alternative to natural human interaction; its inadequacies reportedly have significantly increased the mental health problems of a large population of its immature users. Other “mindless” digital facilities have augmented the deleterious illnesses and social isolation of today’s youth.

The media has reported on students’ emotional isolation and the clinical aftermath of the impactful loss of natural, spontaneous interaction. Schoolteachers and administrators suffer unprecedented setbacks in the quality of learning of American students, as well as the stated, unprecedented growth of anxiety and depression in the young. Such impairment has its sequelae in later life and in the stultified dynamics of human society.

The metaphysical panacea for the political ills of society and its disgruntled citizenry is obtained, not by demagoguery or theory, but in empirical practice. It all begins with the citizen’s beneficial desire to understand himself and the consequent development of a referable self-image calling for right action.

Analogous to the instruction of a treating physician, the prescription of appropriate and regular doses of good literature, the fine arts, the conduct of intelligent discourse, and the exercise of an open and unprejudiced mind, constitute the eternal prescription for the efficient route to a rewarding life, a discerning citizen, and, thematically, good governance.

-p.

Blogpost # 407: AN AMERICAN THANKSGIVING

This year’s Thanksgiving Dinner was notably “Blog-worthy.” Unlike the fictionalized Hallmark Card or “pictorial calendar version of the apocryphal, “First Thanksgiving Dinner ( see” M.405, “Turkey, Cranberry and Cognitive Dissonance”), it was singularly meaningful and thus was memorable, as well as a savoury experience. As declared in the cited writing, we have much to be thankful for as Americans.

Seated at the holiday dinner table, in addition to immediate family, were six American diners, of Persian extraction, related to us by the marriage to our son-in-law, a neurologic academic and research scientist to his Persian -American wife and licensed physician, her father, a Persian-American physician, and mother, a retired University lecturer, two recently arrived Pakistani physicians, husband and wife, awaiting American certification, our Step-Son’s wife, a Persian- American physician, in-laws, a Persian-American physician, his wife, a retired University professor; a close family friend, a the latter, a computer-assisted stock investor, as well as the author of a hard-covered Persian cookbook, an American born and educated Doctor of Education and Doctor of Nursing, partly retired from her long standing position as Vice-Dean of the Columbia UIniversity School of Nursing, and we, as American born retirees with 50 years of New York law practice.

The conversation throughout the holiday eating orgy was spontaneous, friendly, and varied, relative to such esoteric subjects as ethnic cuisine, family, and notable personal experiences. The thematic event may fittingly ranging be described as spontaneous, effusive, and warmly intimate, ranging from the prolix logistics of the admission of foreign-born physicians to American practice, nuanced cuisine, personal experiences, and the experience of owning domestic cats. In sum, we found this year’s Thanksgiving Dinner experience, warm and significantly memorable.

We continue to be eternally unable to locate Trump’s caravans of criminals, drug dealers, and prostitutes” invading our Nation as ubiquitously declared by our adjudicated felonious President. We have given up the propagandistic and fallacious search for quite some time.

-p.

Blogpost # M. 406 MILITARY “INTELLIGENCE”

If it were empirically possible to construct a huge spinner wheel on which to painstakingly list, along its wide circumference, the countless facets of miscreance and delusional incapability of Donald Trump, we would propose that the selection du jour indicate Donald Trump’s singular delusional conception of the extent of hisrole as Commander-in-Chief of the Nation’s Armed Forces; unmitigated by his personally selrcted menagerie of incompetent, but sycofantic cabinet; members, notably his alcoholic, macho-, mentality, womanizing Secretary of Defence, Pete Hegseth.

Consistent with his profound ignorance, exacerbated by a systemically hubristic delusion of unlimited power, Trump recently called for the imprisonment and even the “execution of six Democratic legislators for ‘seditious behavior” resulting from a video advising military personnel that they should responsibly refuse “iIlegal Orders.”

It is difficult to restrain our emotional response to such evident ignorance of the Nation’s definitional “Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces,” whose delusion of unlimited power and relevant ignorance exceeds the most pessimistic judgment of his inapt and egocentric performance.

For “starters,” the U.S Uniform Code of Military Justice, Articles “10 ” and “92” direct serving members of the military to refuse orders that seem patently illegal. Analogous to Trump’s ubiquitous denigration of the United States Constitution, he is sight-challenged as to this Statutory grant of ethical franchise.

Empirically sickening and bizarre are the ambient facts surrounding Trump’s uninformed and delusional charges of Sedition. All six of the accused legislators, notably, have distinguished military combat records; for example, Mark Kelly is a recognized military hero, having flown 39 combat missions and, as well, is a distinguished American astronaut. Jason Crow has served the Nation as a multi-decorated combat-experienced Marine.

Remarkably, the orange-dyed, ego-centric Chief Executive who bllithly and ignorantly assailed these war heroes is, in fact, inarguably guilty of sedition in organizing and maintaining a violent and bloody insurrection against the Washington Capitol Building. It is, additionally, a matter of record that Trump wangled a Doctor’s letter alleging that he has “heel spurs,” which enabled him to be a draft dodger.”

It is additionally revealing to recall Trump’s obnoxious televised remarks on Memorial Day, referring to the thousands of marked graves of military dead who sacrificed their young lives for the country, as “suckers” and “losers.” We can unforgettably recall his egocentric question, “What was in it for them?”

It might amount to a personal badge of honor to be charged with a perceived offense by Donald J. Trump.

-p,

Blogpost # M.405 , TURKEY, CRANBERRY SAUCE AND COGNITIVE DISSONANCE

It appears that the traditional holiday of Thanksgiving is upon us; the festive occasion is calendared for the fourth Thursday of each November. The celebratory occasion features family and friends assembling for the traditional celebratory meal of turkey, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, and harvest vegetables.

On this occasion, we perennially find ourselves inclined to disturbingly ruminate on the nationwide acceptance of the holiday’s “Hallmark Card Company”-style,” convenient, comforting, contextual, but cognitively dissonant version of its historical etiology and significance.

One does not afford the American Nation’s convenient concept of a quasi-religious duty of “Manifest Destiny,” to expand to the Pacific, to the Spanish and Portuguese Conquistadors, for their murderous quest for gold and wealth in South America, to the Belgians, for their rubber-rich travesties in the Congo, to other countries like England and France, for their ubiquitous colonization of foreign indigenous peoples. What is the conceivable magic that sanitizes our Nation’s expansion at the cost of the indigenous North American peoples?

Those who care to study history will undoubtedly be aware of the tragic history of the indigenous, “First Americans,” who, under the Presidency of Andrew Jackson, were wrongfully evicted from their traditional tribal homes in fertile Southwest America ( “The Indian Removal Act” of 1830) to “more suitable” “injun” lands in the arid infertile lands of Oklahoma (‘Trail of Tears,”)

There is a clear and disturbing cognitive dissonance between a nation that has practiced a history of repression against its conquered national predecessors and the exaltation of the fictional portrayal of “The First Thanksgiving.” It is undeniable that our great and traditionally moral and empathic Nation has had its shameful moments. These should not be removed from our textbooks or curricula by sophomoric critics, but certainly not celebrated, or indeed, replicated; nor should they be whitewashed in the interest of moral advancement or discomfort; they are teachable. history

Americans have much for which to be recognizably thankful and celebratory on Thanksgiving Day, without coloring its (otherwise commendable) history.

-p.

Blogpost # M. 404 NATURAL RESOURCES

The demagogic “Snake Oil” salesman, presently squatting in the Nation’s Oval Office, has eternally employed the tactical meme, “Make America Great Again.” Far more misleading than its demagogic implication that the American Nation has ever been less than “Great” have been his dystopian and self-centered policies, which in empirical reality make our American Nation less potent and morally influential.

History has shown that a nation’s most impactful resource is not its oil, minerals, terrain, or geographic location, but, empirically, its people. Recent history has confirmed our thematic observation by the instructive example of World War II Germany; the latter, a relatively small or medium-sized country, came frighteningly close to conquering the World. Its strength and military prowess were attributable to its educated, well-organized, and readily mobilizable population.

In contrast to its tactically employed, “snake oil” assertion: “Make America Great Again” (“MAGA”), the Trump Administration has ubiquitously damaged the Nation’s historic standing, reputation, and capabilities, including its military prowess, by, inter alia, attacking the Nation’s institutions of learning and, thereby, weakening its systemic strength and security.

The Trump Administration’s assault on higher education, inclusive of the malign threats of withholdfing federal funding and the assertion of regulatory power to influence socially beneficial institutional policies, especially diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”), academic freedom, as well a perceived campus political life, its cutting off of research grants, and the harebrained act of elimination of the National Education Department, are policies and actions inarguably antithetical to the strength and well-being of the Nation; and, sadly, consistent with its hapless incapability and profound iignorance.

The Trump Administration’s attack on higher education involves a multi-pronged approach using federal funding and asserted regulatory power to politically influence the Nation’s existentially vital University system. Such an inappropriate and unwise attack on the nation’s institutions of higher learning has included the arbitrary, political threat of the withholding of federal funding and other inimical and asserted detrimental regulatory policies. These assaults upon academic freedom and the Nation’s Constitution have been employed by the current Administration to deter salubriously utilitarian and morally appropriate policies of “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” (DEI). Such unfair and unwise extortionate policies have included the suicidal cutting off of funds for medical and scientific research, as well as the ubiquitous elimination of academic. research grants.

The unwise and perverse practice of politically driven governmental influence on the Nation’s academic life and progress is fundamentally inconsistent with Man’s aspirational advancement and inimical to the strength and endurance of the Nation.

-p.

Post # M.403 (poesie) Seasonal Vistas (“Hope”)

An apprehensive woodland waits,
The onslaught of Winter’s war machine
The iron-hard soil, the numbing cold
Gales, chanting pitched manic arias
Snap-crack sounds of arbor amputation-
Dull, snowy thuds of severed limbs.
The cold, perennial taker of life
Points its icy fingers downward-
To the hapless, shivering critters,
Left behind by the Autumn Exodus.

Evergreens, tho’ seem tranquil no doubt,
In meditation on the coming Spring
The blue skies, the billowed clouds
Empathic breezes heal winter’s wounds
Small green buds that manifest eternally,
Making solemn vows of new life and increase

With wisdom taught by evergreens,
We too await the coming Spring,
Woodland’s lover and restorer
-p.
(Winter, 2018, Leonard N. Shapiro

Blogpost # M. 402 ON DEMOCRACY

The dystopic authoritarian morass in which our Democratic Republic is deeply embedded makes conducive a metaphysical examination of the general nature of the relevant relationship between citizen and the polity; i.e., between the governed and the government.

Winston Churchill famously (and wisely) said: “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the rest.” Despite its vulnerabilities, the citizen-run form of governance, despite its systemic shortcomings, is inarguably preferable to other alternative, repressive and authoritarian forms of rule. We are confident that the concept, if not the words of Thomas Jefferson, that a literate and well-informed citizenry is requisite to the success of a democracy. It is obvious that a government “by and for the People” requires a capable and appropriately dedicated elected governance.

The wry reservation expressed by Winston Churchill and the prescient admonition of Thomas Jefferson were sadly confirmed by the “populist” election of Donald J. Trump to the American Presidency. The plethora of egregious results of such an election, as painfully and specifically discussed in our earlier writings, is obvious and empirically irrefutable. The fundamental Churchillian and Jeffersonian comments are indisputably relevant to the nature and quality of the millions of voters who put him in office.

It has long been our (expressed) view that the ignominious spate of governmental problems currently besetting the Republic has two determinate etiologies, one of which is readily curable, the other problematic, but, ultimately citizen possible

To take the second, more difficult problem, viz., the lack of adequate education and an informed state of mind, is fundamentally stereotypical of the populist, Trump supporter. The amelioration of the ubiquitous threat to democracy would require, in addition to willingness, a fundamental alteration in citizen persona and a long-term program of education; factors which, as a practical matter, if feasible, would necessarily take years of dedication.

The other panacea against the future election of an unsuitable President would be relatively easier and more effective. We have consistently urged a process by which, regardless of the state of success in increasing the educational judgment of the relevant voter, would be a shield against the election of another incapable, tyrannical, or otherwise objectionable Head of State.

We have, for years, emphatically recommended the fiduciarily responsible procedure of non-partisan vetting of all potential nominees for the American Presidency. An applicant for any mundane civilian job, such as a shoe or insurance salesperson, would necessarily need to submit to a mandated interview and be hired only if deemed acceptable. It is truly bizarre and tragically ironic that it has not been deemed necessary regarding the vastly more profound American Presidency. Such a vetting would presumably have averted a disastrous Trump Presidency.

On the assumption that the Jeffersonian standard is not fully satisfied, such fiduciary procedural responsibility to the Democratic Republic and its citizenry would avert the possibility of another miscreant interloper to the venerable American Presidency.

-p.

Blogpost # M. 401 OUTSOURCING THINKING]( a pliny editorial)

Regular followers of this (approximately) five-year-old blogspace are undoubtedly aware of our adamant reservations concerning the surrender of humanistic capabilities to the more facile and efficient digital facilities. We have expressed our affirmative support of general advancement, but have expressed our profound concern regarding the irresponsible lack of attention accorded by Silicon Valley to the humanistic impact of their ubiquitous “advancements.” Plainly expressed, we have been concerned that the exaltation of capability is far above that of the empirical, humanistic impact; i.e., the vital concepts of “can,” and “should.”

Regular readers are, predictably, surfeited with our ubiquitous observations of societal and individual damage (especially to the personality-formative young) resulting from the surrender of salubrious, interactive, human conversation to the presumably more facile “smartphone,” resulting in a notably impactful lack of intellectual and communicative capability; the sine qua non of society.

To responsibly audit our expressed views on the subject of Man’s digital substitution of human activities, we performed some cursory, armchair research into various authoritative publications on the subject, and were profoundly shaken by the reported extent of adverse empirical impact ot such digitalized, algorithmic “advances” on society and individual sapient life.

Our previous writings emphasized the societal degradation and personal loss of humanism, specifically brought about by the use of hand-held appliances (“smartphones”); the context of this writing (with the aid of our aforementioned “armchair” readings) is relative to the authoritative findings of mental and intellectual regression implicated in the ubiquitous use of computers, especially A.I., on the human brain.

It has been reportedly determined, with the aid of electro-encephalograms, that the popular use of A.I.K. in the writing of essays and reports, lowers the activity in the brain networks associated with cognitive processing, attention, and creativity. An additional and worrisome finding is a notable lack of recall of what was written.Such external assistance reportedly limits the ability to synthesize information and that of weighing competing views to enable the formulation of an opinion. We are creating dystopic generations that have a limited capability of understanding, of relevant subject matter, nor, indeed, an empirical perception of the world and its place in it.

Professional sources advise that while the human brain likes shortcuts, it needs “”friction to learn. We must, in the interest of the salubrious existence of man and his society, responsibly consider the vital difference between “can” and “should” in the profit-making aspiration for innovation and profit; otherwise, we will harvest a bumper crop of haplessly ineffectual, stupid progeny.

-p.

-p.

Blogpost # M. 400 PORTRAIT OF A DEFILER

Artistic renditions of famous individuals are often capable of being adequately conveyed by a relevantly representative picture, sufficient to furnish a singularly accurate portrayal of the character or unique accomplishment of the recognizable subject. Illustrative examples are: Benjamin Franklin flying a kite in a lightning storm, Abraham Lincoln passionately delivering the Gettysburg Address, George Washington crossing the Delaware River, Jonas Salk peering into a microscope, or, memorably, FDR with his beloved dog, “Fala.”

There are certain depictions of personalities, foreign and domestic, whose cognizable portrayal evokes feelings of anger and repulsion, such as Adolph Hitler, Hirohito, Joseph McCarthy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Fred Bundy. Recent events would appropriately include Jeffrey Epstein, the “Box Store” entrepreneur of childhood prostitution. Included in this category of repugnant personalities is our thematic “poster boy” depiction of hubris, defilement of the Nation’s Constitution, Rule of Law, and moral compass, the orange-dyed-haired, egocentric President, Donald Trump.

The latter, darling of the Nation’s substantial populist horde of citizens, and the enabler of irresponsible industrial polluters, has recealed himself to be a demagogic “snake oil” salesman, justifying his idiosyncratic lust for unlimited power, and pursuing policies, domestic and international, which have internationally degraded the historicly admirable reputation of our Nation, as well as its institutionally, democratic way of life.” His reprehensible policies are legion, as painfully specified in prior writings. In sum, we can empirically state that his hubristic, dictatorially autocratic Presidency has been inarguably inconsistent with the salubrious policies traditionally typifying the American Nation.

Donald Trump’s singular preoccupation with his own perceived interests, to the detriment of other dutiful responsibilities, relative to the Nation’s safety and its economic interests, as well as its tradition of humanistic policies, both domestic and foreign. is metastasized by a notable disrespect for the Nation’s Constitution, Rule of Law, and societally established moral compass; such impediment in authoritarian fashion, demonstrated by his lack of appropriate respect for the metaphysical existence of objective “truth,” existential to the endurance of human society.

In his flagrant disregard of the Constitutional architecture of the “Separation of Powers,” Trump has arrogated to himself, in his hubristic perception of Presidential power, the Constitutionally designated authority of the Nation’s Legislature, toxically infected the U.S. Supreme Court, and ubiquitously overstepped the constitutional pale of authority of the American Presidency. Sadly, a compliant Republican Congress has, disappointingly, ceded its legislative responsibilities and authority to the power-hungry Chief Executive, who improperly egocentrally chooses to legislate by”Executive Orders,” with the egoistic flourish of his thick and neurotically assertive, black felt-tipped ” Sharpie.” The autocratic orange “Hasmat” has also arrogated to himself the legal authority to unilaterally wage war in the high seas, impose tariffs on trading partners, illegally employ the military for perceived domestic needs, suthorized and financed a private, military styled uniformed and dystopic masked military-like force to xenophobically harass, imprison and deport peaceful Hispanic Americans, without a scintilla of legally mandated “due process.”

As more specifically enumerated, a multitude of fetid dum[pster-full loads of unconstitutional, illegal, and inappropriate acts, perversely including the heartless denial of empathic relief to the needy, while in incomparable violation of the Constitution’s ” Emolument Clause” enriching himself and family beyond the golden fortune of Croesus, prosecuting political opponents, interfering with the intellectual freedom of the Nation’s Universities, pardoning serious criminals who politically support him, befriending foreign dictators and publicly articulating, imperialist thteats to sovereign nations like Greenland and Americas’ “first cousin,” Canada.

Of all the plethora of repugnant, egregious, outrageously hubristic acts of the thematic Orange hazmat, we are singularly disturbed by his unpeakable vandalism and egocentricly obscene act of defilement and demolition of the East Wing of The Nation’s (the People’s) venerated White House, for his delusionallky declared purpose of constructing a three hundred-million-dollar ballroom; presumably, to satisfy his grandiose hubrism and neurotic thirst for self-esteem. Such lunacy is notably occurs at a time in our Nation, when working-class Americans are experiencing severe financial difficulties; the latter, an irrefutable consequence of Trump’s incompetence in the sophom imposition of illegal tariff policies. The revered institution is the historic symbolic property of the American People and recorded title of the governmental Parks Department. T

Trump’s defilement and insatiable, hubristic, and historically obscene demolition of the East Wing has rendered it in a Gaza-like rubble. Ironically, such vandalism and devastation are empirically analogous to Trump’s self-interested defilement of the Constitution.

Returning to our earlier declared context, viz., the recognizability of conceived depictions of popularly known personalities, we would thematically contemplate as an appropriate representational and popularly identifiable image of Donald Trump, as follows; artistically rendered as an overweight old man with vsarious smears oif ketchup on his face, dressed in dusty workman’s overalls, the latter, liberally besmirched with marble dust and other demolitional residue, grasping a sledgehammer in his right hand and a McDonald’s hamburger in the left, wearing jeweled Golden Crown on his head through which sdtrands of unruly orange-dyed hair juts out, and with wet, puckered lips and a smug but vacant look.

It is our conception that the suggested depiction of such a temporal, egregious despoiler of our venerable Nation would have commercial acceptability and pragmatic utility as a holiday “penata” or local saloon dart board.

-p.

Blogpost # M. 399 ALGORITHMIC SUICIDE

If permitted an anthropomorphic, but contextually relevant, statement, we would express the sentiment that ” The Natural process of evolutionary development of an upright, sentient being did not portend its irresponsible self-destruction.”

Our declarations in earlier writings that it is imperative to consider the thoughtful balance between the desire for advanced capability and the cogent consideration of the empirical impact of the successful result, i.e., between “can” and “should.” In our view, the contemporary lust for profitable algorithmic developments has evinced great ingenuity, but insufficient concern for its humanistic impact.

Our contextual anxiety was initiated by the facile, albeit humanistically harmful, substitution of the handheld “smartphone” for natural, salubrious interaction (personal, telephonic, or letter correspondence). Its impact initiated Man’s extant journey toward empirical impersonality and personal loneliness. Gone was the salutary assurance of friendly voice recognition, spontaneity, and timeliness of response. One notable consequence was the resultant inability of the maturing individual to interactively develop an interactive, referable self-image, empirically responsible for the reported development of anxiety and depression among the young.

To be clear, we are affirmative supporters of all general salubrious advancement; the development of medically efficient devices, efficacious and utilitarian capabilities, and the advancement of elemental science and human knowledge. However, Silicon Valley’s eternal demonstration of omission to responsibly consider the humanistic downside of many of its achievements has effectively led to our concern regarding the dystopic possibility of the ultimate devastation of human society. (N.B.) We are aware of the possible perception of the latter statement as unduly morbid and fearful, and would offer some empirical elucidation of our concern.

Human society has lately been introduced to robotics such as “Alexa,” vacuum cleaners, automobile operation and navigation, security services, identification devices, and remote control devices. Sadly, it must be observed that, respecting each development, a destructive application has been empirically devised.

The most devastating and frightening are the robotic weapons of war, notably air force drones, capable of efficiently and unemotionally bombing targets, human and civilizational. In this context, we have, in previous writings, offered the fictional nightmare scenario of a planet, devoid of inhabitants by reason of nuclear war, on which robotic warfare and bombing eternally continue, day and night, between contending non-human and robotic national enemies. [It is notably sad to observe that with each new miraculous advance, an insalubrious and harmful use is discovered and employed. In a better context, drones might be beneficially employed in search and rescue operations, land and animal studies, meteorological and geological inquiry, and life-saving assistance in catastrophes.

We, admittedly, are not well-versed in “computer-tech” subjects and only recently became aware of the existence of A.I. “chatboxes.” Our systemic concern with such dystopic phenomena was the catalyst for our (hopefully forgivable) thematic fear of the ultimate demise of modern society, if not, indeed, sentient humanity as we have come to know it. As lifetime” members in good standing” of the “non-nerd” minority of homo sapiens, we were amazed and terrified of this A.I. facility and confess to the perception that it is the ultimate, fatal threat to the subsistence of normal society.

It appears that the employment of algorithmic genius has been successful in the production of the ability of an individual to conduct, what we would call, a “facsimile” of a human interaction by speaking to a non-existent, artificial voice (simulation) that is not only topically responsive to the user, but soon contextually familiar with his persona and relevant life situation. This counterfeit interaction may be desirable and useful, but in reality and essence, one is effectively and antisocially conversing with oneself; a temporarily satisfying phenomenon, but an ultimate dagger in the heart of social interaction; an existential and defined feature of living in human society; it is factually analogous to primitive loneliness and singular solitude. Like prehistoric homo sapiens, one atavistically lives in his own singular company, i.e., such technological “advancement” results in the retardation of anthropological progress by the suppression of human, interactive contact, the existential anthropological phenomenon of interactive society.

It requires no unique talent for circumspection to confidently declare that no conceivable “marvel” is comparable to the vital anthropological progress society.

It is of existential importance to distinguish between the desire for innovative capability (“can”) and the responsible consideration (“should”) of its effect on Mankind.

-p.