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I Am the Ghost Here

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Re: I Am the Ghost Here

#31

Post by noduerme »

mbfg wrote: post #14
Waterluvian wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also a boon. I asked it for a 50 question multiple choice test on Canadian history and it assembled a remarkably good test.

It makes one wonder, do students need to learn how to write? The question has been asked before in a 'simpler' context. Do students need to learn long division? Seems like if not now, soon, the answer is no.

Except in the narrowest sense of "writing" meaning to put words on a page in grammatical order, it can't really be compared to learning to perform a mechanical chore like long division. It's more comparable to learning numeracy. To learn to write is to learn how to structure thoughts in human language, just as to learn math is to learn to structure thoughts in a universal framework built on logic.

One could make the question more explicit: If machines can think, is there a need for students to learn how to think? If not, is there a need to teach anything at all?

Just my personal view: The presence of reasoning machines makes it all the more urgent for our species to learn reasoning skills. The passing on of knowledge has perhaps been our key evolutionary advantage. Without the ability to write (and to structure thoughts), future humans would be defenseless against whoever or whatever could do so.

Re: I Am the Ghost Here

#32

Post by zelon88 »

To me this seems to be a story of addiction. The "three" people that are "Jeff" include 1) the actual Jeff, a shy introvert with way too much on his plate, 2) an intoxicated Jeff that is outgoing and highly functional, 3) a Jeff that is unrecognizably intoxicated (Michelle).

The part where I have a hard time reconciling the story is towards the end;

> I tell her it’s likely not that and then call Michelle. It isn’t difficult to track her down — she has a robust web presence. She says that she is no longer working with Jeff and has no idea where he is.

I'm thinking that the author calls "Michelle" (aka: super intoxicated Jeff) who is hitting "jackpots" all over the news who basically tells the author off completely, indicating that he is never coming back / losing his battle with addiction. Or perhaps "Michelle" has moved on because "Jeff" has moved on to harder substances in harsher circumstances.

Re: I Am the Ghost Here

#33

Post by nickpeterson »

Waterluvian wrote: post #22
mbfg wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It makes one wonder, do students need to learn how to write? The question has been asked before in a 'simpler' context. Do students need to learn long division? Seems like if not now, soon, the answer is no.

My mother-in-law has ranted many times about how they don’t teach cursive anymore. She doesn’t know how to use a computer. I think you raise a very interesting (and likely very controversial) thought to explore. My quick opinion is that we can only teach so much. And the list of things that could be taught is forever growing. We need to be pragmatic about priority.

I just hate we optimize putting info into computer (typing vs cursive), but now computers can just read writing, so why are we so focused on typing? Just make computers adapt to humans, not train humans to accommodate machines.

Re: I Am the Ghost Here

#34

Post by twobitshifter »

dreadlordbone wrote: post #7
pmarreck wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

could you slightly break it down for those of us with sleep deprivation from mini-me's in the home?

Here's ChatGPT answering what the word "puppeteer" means in this article: The metaphor of the "puppeteer" in the story could be interpreted in a variety of ways. The author doesn't explicitly state what the puppeteer represents, but given the context of the story and the themes it explores, there are a few possibilities. One interpretation is that the puppeteer represents societal and cultural expectations that dicta…

I find chatgpt throws out multiple options for almost every response and they become formulaic, as in this example of 3 options. Sometimes the options are even numbered.

Re: I Am the Ghost Here

#35

Post by phibz »

zelon88 wrote: post #32

To me this seems to be a story of addiction. The "three" people that are "Jeff" include 1) the actual Jeff, a shy introvert with way too much on his plate, 2) an intoxicated Jeff that is outgoing and highly functional, 3) a Jeff that is unrecognizably intoxicated (Michelle). The part where I have a hard time reconciling the story is towards the end; > I tell her it’s likely not that and then call Michelle. It isn’t d…

I agree. This is definitely about addiction and its bedfellow codependence.

I read the writing style as bizzaro, perhaps to soften difficult topics and to add intrigue. So to that end Michelle isn't actually puppeting Jeff. She's just a controlling girlfriend.

Re: I Am the Ghost Here

#36

Post by moloch-hai »

pjbeam wrote: post #27

Honest question--is Michelle a real person the author is recounting events about or is this some kind of literary device? Maybe my brain isn't working today but I gave up halfway through this without getting it.

The reasonable interpretation at first is that Michelle is trans Jeff, post-transition.

But then it goes off the rails. We quickly learn Michelle is somebody entirely other, whom we learn practically nothing about despite that she authored an extremely likeable Jeff. We learn that the other, peevish, Jeff is just Jeff from before college, before he was scripted up. We also learn practically nothing about him. The only character we learn anything about is fake Jeff, and then only a variety of impressions of him.

It has elements of a good story, but omits the good parts.

Re: I Am the Ghost Here

#37

Post by hluska »

This is one of those great moments where I read an article and find an author. Kim Samek has another article here:

https://catapult.co/stories/egg-mother-kim-samek-short-story

It takes some work, but there’s something about this author’s voice. I’m a big fan.

If anyone is familiar with this author, I would truly appreciate more links/information/etc.

Re: I Am the Ghost Here

#38

Post by layer8 »

pjbeam wrote: post #27

Honest question--is Michelle a real person the author is recounting events about or is this some kind of literary device? Maybe my brain isn't working today but I gave up halfway through this without getting it.

It reminds me of Greg Egan’s sci-fi short stories. I read it as such, i.e. what could happen if there were really puppeteers as described. No hidden metaphor.

Re: I Am the Ghost Here

#39

Post by dragonwriter »

pjbeam wrote: post #27

Honest question--is Michelle a real person the author is recounting events about or is this some kind of literary device? Maybe my brain isn't working today but I gave up halfway through this without getting it.

> Honest question–is Michelle a real person the author is recounting events about or is this some kind of literary device? Maybe my brain isn’t working today but I gave up halfway through this without getting it.

Its explicitly fiction, so “real” is…perhaps not the right word. I think the story is intended to be read literally as fiction; its a fictional world where “puppeteers” that can somehow temporarily exist within you and direct your actions, and also pop out of you and leave you on your own are a real kind of personal service you can hire, and where also VR headset that let you relive past experiences are real things you can get (by the end of the story, at least.)

On the other hand, I think the puppeteer element intentionally can serve as allegory for one or more things in the real world; both gender transition and mental health care via professionals and drugs seem like they could fit, more or less. I don’t know if one thing in particular was intended, though.

Re: I Am the Ghost Here

#40

Post by cassonmars »

dragonwriter wrote: post #39
pjbeam wrote: post #27

Honest question--is Michelle a real person the author is recounting events about or is this some kind of literary device? Maybe my brain isn't working today but I gave up halfway through this without getting it.

> Honest question–is Michelle a real person the author is recounting events about or is this some kind of literary device? Maybe my brain isn’t working today but I gave up halfway through this without getting it. Its explicitly fiction, so “real” is…perhaps not the right word. I think the story is intended to be read literally as fiction; its a fictional world where “puppeteers” that can somehow temporarily exist wit…

If it were a gender transition story, it reads more like a previous generation where therapists were more inclined to tell people to try to bury themselves in living the life of a person they’re not. And it plays out predictably in that case, in that the person not becoming who they truly are appear to be better than before, until it all comes falling apart.

But I don’t think that’s the intent of the story — I think the author did intend for this to be taken literally as a fictional tale, and it’s quite good.

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