Gil Friend’s Blog
Stop making sense-making • Do protests work? • Where does that leave you?
The Jewish High Holidays always offer me an opportunity for deep and often meaningful reflection, on both my personal path and the journey we're all on together. (Happy New Year to all who observe!) Here's some of what's on my mind these days. WHEN SENSE-MAKING MAKES...
What a summer! • No plans?! • So what is to be done?
What a summer! I remember my astonishment, in the early days of COVID, when people in New Delhi reported that they could see the Himalayas for the first time in more than 30 years. One of the early markers of the new normal, as people liked to call it. But before long...
The Summer’s Big Sustainability News? And Some Resources For You!
BIG SUSTAINABILITY NEWS? The big "sustainability" news this summer—aside from fires, floods, the hottest temperature ever recorded on earth, death threats against weathermen, and Ron DeSantis denouncing Fireman's Fund for actually doing the actuarial math (while...
All talk, no action? Talk _v_ Action?
Well, not exactly…
July 4, 2023 Declarations • Exponential Change • Between Worlds DECLARATIONS It's a tradition at our house to honor the Fourth of July holiday by reading The Declaration of Independence—out loud! Not just for its historical resonance, but as a reminder of the power of...
“Courage is contagious” • What if you had to? • 10X
Life shrinks, or expands, in proportion to one’s courage. -Anaïs Nin WHAT IF YOU HAD TO? Indulge me for a moment. Yes, I know you're an accomplished and pragmatic person (perhaps an executive at a fine company), with a record of getting things done. Even breakthrough...
Well, it happened again today
May 30, 2023 We are called not to live in the world we are given to, but to live in the world that we are in the process of making. - Lee Weissman Dear [First Name ##cap_lower], Well, it happened again today. Bright, eager, undergraduate inventor/entrepreneurs, fired...
What’s wrong with this picture? A cautionary tale.
It started simply enough. I retweeted the chart you see above over on the bird site, with a comment about #decoupling . Then I reposted it here, on LinkedIn, with the expanded observation that: It's called #decoupling. Some still doubt it, but there's no physics-based...
Yeah, AIs “hallucinate.” So do you!
Yeah, AIs "hallucinate." So do you! Not that there's anything wrong with that. I do too. We all do. We're assessment making beings——constantly, inescapably constructing interpretations of events, people, motives, ourselves, etc. We can do no other. (As Peter...
Is it hot in here? • Chatting with GPT • Between Worlds
Just a short note this time; I've got lots to tell you about but also lots keeping me from doing it. So more to come…and hopefully we'll soon return to a weekly rhythm. IS IT HOT IN HERE? - It sure is! The hottest temperatures ever recorded in Laos and Vietnam. 90% of...