Michael Mortenson > Recent Status Updates

I am so far behind, but I am enjoying it as I go

Glad to have Segundas back.

“Liar!” Made me think about sycophantism in LLMs and the way, remarkably, Asimov tapped into the potential psychological pitfalls of interacting with machines on a human level. Most interestingly was the way the first 1st Law of Robotics played into the problem. Fascinating.

“Catching the Rabbit” felt like the weakest of the story so far. It also had the weakest writing, with lots of corny back-and-forth Maid & Butler dialogue.

The outcome of the story “Reason” makes sense, but also bothers me: the solution to AI hallucination is simply to let it happen so long as it doesn’t interfere with intended results.

I enjoyed how in the story “Runaround”, we got a glimpse of how equilibria form in dynamical systems, and also a relevant plot use of basins of attraction.

I’ve heard people complain about Asimov‘s writing, but I feel like it’s actually pretty good. Sometimes a bit info-dumpy, but generally efficient and entertaining.

I started to read this book in Lithuanian a while ago, but I’ve decided to give it a listen in English first before returning to the paper book. It feels remarkably relevant despite the obvious 1950s influence.

Love the delving into the dream world part of this story. Also, this plot culmination feels tighter and more intricate than the last two books, which I am enjoying.

The setup for the last 15% has great promise

Moraine is hard core.

*incinerates bad guys*
“What did you just do?”
“Something basically forbidden, awesome, and arcane. We should probably go now.”

Everyone seems to be getting female sidekicks in this story.

Mat and his luck might be my favorite plot line so far. Loved in Mistborn when Vin called her magic luck.

Twisty

This book is definitely military fiction with a sci-fi veneer rather than a sci-fi book with military characters.

A sci-fi haiku in the wild! Fantastic.

Done with part 1.

10/10 for high-concept start

Witches witch hunting witches. Which witch is which?

This book is a frame story for hanging essays on famous pieces of art. I hope the physical copy has color reproductions, because the audiobook spends a lot of time describing the art, like really nice alt text.

Going to the museum instead of going to the doctor is SO French. 😂 And I’m here for it.

Matt!

I feel another quest coming on

Yay Perrin