Mar 18An Encounter with an Extra Terrestrial- Millions of Times Smarter- than you. Part 2 In 1977, under the direction of Carl Sagan, the Viking Voyager was launched. Its mission was to explore the possibility of the existence of life forms on Mars. Almost as an afterthought, the Viking Voyager carried onboard a Golden Record (a…Nick Bostrom20 min readNick Bostrom20 min read
Mar 7An Encounter with an Extra Terrestrial- Millions of Times Smarter- than you. No philosopher had a greater impact on 20th century philosophy than Wittgenstein. Challenged by an intrepid skeptic- “what would you say if a being of a higher intelligence told you you were wrong?” “First, I would say, ‘tell me what you mean by…Carl Sagan9 min readCarl Sagan9 min read
Feb 14The Making of Norman MailerNo one is better at writing profiles than The New Yorker’s David Denby. His latest The Making of Norman Mailer, is a small masterpiece. Reading Denby is like watching a great craftsman plying his trade. He writes beautifully. There are no wasted words. As a Mailer-watcher, someone who, like it…Norman Mailer18 min readNorman Mailer18 min read
Jan 31The Making of Norman MailerThe young man went to war and became a novelist. But did he ever really come back? By David Denby - Gerald Alper David Denby is my favorite New Yorker writer. Whenever I get my new copy of the magazine he is the first writer I look for. From the…Norman Mailer8 min readNorman Mailer8 min read
Jan 8ELIZAPart 2 Woke As a beginning psychotherapist, in awe of the complexities of the human mind, it was hate at first sight when I encountered ELIZA. The brazen attempt to commodify the patient-therapist relationship by reducing it to the status of a simple computer program was little short of obscene…Eliza7 min readEliza7 min read
Dec 31, 2022ELIZAThe first computer therapist Between 1962 and 1964, in the MIT computer laboratory of Dr. Jerome Weizenbaum, the first computer program-ELIZA-was written. Compared to today’s models it was simplicity itself. The idea was to mirror back the cognitive contents of whatever the prospective patient seemed to be saying but in…5 min read5 min read
Dec 17, 2022JOE BIDENJOE BIDEN Half Way Home Two years ago, shortly after Biden was elected President, I wrote an article entitled It’s Good to be The King, in which I gave my analysis and prognosis for what a Biden Presidency was going to look like. …9 min read9 min read
Dec 3, 2022I Don’t Believe in GhostsSo Why Do They Keep Visiting Me? — - Gerald Alper It’s been 20 years since the youngest but first of my three aunts died. …7 min read7 min read
Nov 11, 2022What Does it All Mean?- Gerald Alper Thomas Nagel, one of the greatest of Contemporary Philosophers, wonders: “Perhaps you have had the thought that nothing really matters because in two hundred years we will all be dead.” This is a peculiar thought… “it is not clear why the fact that we will all be…Gerald Alper4 min readGerald Alper4 min read
Oct 22, 2022DeathDeath -Gerald Alper “Everybody dies but not everyone agrees on what death is,” so says NYU Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, Thomas Nagel. In his ’87 gem of a book, What Does It All Mean?; after stating the problem succinctly, “Some people believe they will survive after the death of their…6 min read6 min read
