Rosie, I loved this piece and it aligned with so many of the things I have been thinking/writing/reading about lately. You write, "I do not find any of it easy," and I think of the question my husband and I keep coming back to: Is easy the goal? With AI, apps, new products, etc. capitalism is always trying to convince us that life should be easy. I'd rather fight the wind and do the work that's never done than live the easy life that feels like I'm not living at all.
I’m so glad The Algorithm served this to me today. It was exactly what I needed to hear, and beautifully written at that. I’ve never wanted to be a mom or really be around kids much BUT I do love the way kids think, and watching them explore and grow in their use of language. It’s a reminder to all of us of the power of imagination and an inner life brought into the outer world. The power of sheer delight in the newness of everything. A reminder to slow down and really pay attention and THINK about things in ways you haven’t before. What’s it like to be that goose in the park? What if rocks have inner lives? Where DID the sun come from?
Love this piece, Rosie. And the idea of fighting the wind!
Re. Bryan Johnson, I read an interview that he did for Tatler (not my usual magazine of choice, but I was at the hairdresser so anything goes!) where he described being burned out from the start-up culture of tech and how toxic this was. His diet was crap, he wasn't exercising, he just wasn't looking after himself. And in the interview he talked about this idea of always having to be 'on' and the mindset that was necessary for that kind of work and life. After he gave up his old life and decided to invest in himself (trying to live for as long as possible etc...), he realised how meaningless his old had been. What I found weird however, was that Johnson just seems to have replaced his old always 'on' mindset to a new one! I watched about 5 minutes of the Netflix doc and had to give up tbh. I found it all rather depressing.
I just wanted to share one unexpected use of AI that I have found to be quite meaningful: dream interpretation. I often have very vivid and detailed dreams that I struggle to understand, and which almost immediately start to fade away upon waking. Several times now, I have written dream journal entries where I try to capture the wild details, twists and turns of my dream. Plugging this into AI (in my case, the most basic version of Gemini) results in a list of themes and possible interpretations, which each time has led me to a much deeper understanding of myself and the workings of my brain. I recently forwarded one of the dream analysis outputs to my 83-year old mother (who is the biggest book worm I know and says AI is like a new friend because she gets to ask it so many interesting questions) and she responded: "In the old days, people would have paid piles of money to a psychoanalyst for this!"
i don't even have a kid, but it made me appreciate and maybe want one?.. and also this just made me realize that anyone that wants children dead is sick in the mind specially the people that want to kill and starve all the children of Gaza.
I love the phrase "Fight the Wind" - and how you came to embrace it. I have a 28-month old and relate SO HARD to that idea. Being present with him in the little things is the hardest thing I've ever done... so I'm going to try and embrace "Fight the Wind" every day moving forward.
Thank you for reminding me why I'm intentionally choosing NOT to engage with AI and for giving me the grace to continue approaching my creativity from a space of curiosity, wonder, and delight.
I share your son’s fascination of things that come out of the recycling bin! (I work in recycling btw). Its a good sign that he’s keen on the real tangible things and not the glossy plastic trash that dominates toy shops these days...
Rosie, I loved this piece and it aligned with so many of the things I have been thinking/writing/reading about lately. You write, "I do not find any of it easy," and I think of the question my husband and I keep coming back to: Is easy the goal? With AI, apps, new products, etc. capitalism is always trying to convince us that life should be easy. I'd rather fight the wind and do the work that's never done than live the easy life that feels like I'm not living at all.
THIS -> "I’d argue this is something far more miraculous. It’s the slow, incremental, and seemingly infinite process of a human brain taking shape."
While we marvel at what we've created with technology, let's not lose sight of our most beautiful creation: us.
I’m so glad The Algorithm served this to me today. It was exactly what I needed to hear, and beautifully written at that. I’ve never wanted to be a mom or really be around kids much BUT I do love the way kids think, and watching them explore and grow in their use of language. It’s a reminder to all of us of the power of imagination and an inner life brought into the outer world. The power of sheer delight in the newness of everything. A reminder to slow down and really pay attention and THINK about things in ways you haven’t before. What’s it like to be that goose in the park? What if rocks have inner lives? Where DID the sun come from?
Keep fighting the wind, kiddo!
I love this comment! And so glad it resonated with you even though you are child-free. I always aim for that when writing about parenting
Love this piece, Rosie. And the idea of fighting the wind!
Re. Bryan Johnson, I read an interview that he did for Tatler (not my usual magazine of choice, but I was at the hairdresser so anything goes!) where he described being burned out from the start-up culture of tech and how toxic this was. His diet was crap, he wasn't exercising, he just wasn't looking after himself. And in the interview he talked about this idea of always having to be 'on' and the mindset that was necessary for that kind of work and life. After he gave up his old life and decided to invest in himself (trying to live for as long as possible etc...), he realised how meaningless his old had been. What I found weird however, was that Johnson just seems to have replaced his old always 'on' mindset to a new one! I watched about 5 minutes of the Netflix doc and had to give up tbh. I found it all rather depressing.
"I become more and more convinced that being left behind is the most sane course of action." SAME!
I just wanted to share one unexpected use of AI that I have found to be quite meaningful: dream interpretation. I often have very vivid and detailed dreams that I struggle to understand, and which almost immediately start to fade away upon waking. Several times now, I have written dream journal entries where I try to capture the wild details, twists and turns of my dream. Plugging this into AI (in my case, the most basic version of Gemini) results in a list of themes and possible interpretations, which each time has led me to a much deeper understanding of myself and the workings of my brain. I recently forwarded one of the dream analysis outputs to my 83-year old mother (who is the biggest book worm I know and says AI is like a new friend because she gets to ask it so many interesting questions) and she responded: "In the old days, people would have paid piles of money to a psychoanalyst for this!"
Had never considered that use of AI - so interesting!
i don't even have a kid, but it made me appreciate and maybe want one?.. and also this just made me realize that anyone that wants children dead is sick in the mind specially the people that want to kill and starve all the children of Gaza.
Rosie your way with words always has me mesmerized, thank you x
I love the phrase "Fight the Wind" - and how you came to embrace it. I have a 28-month old and relate SO HARD to that idea. Being present with him in the little things is the hardest thing I've ever done... so I'm going to try and embrace "Fight the Wind" every day moving forward.
Thank you for reminding me why I'm intentionally choosing NOT to engage with AI and for giving me the grace to continue approaching my creativity from a space of curiosity, wonder, and delight.
I share your son’s fascination of things that come out of the recycling bin! (I work in recycling btw). Its a good sign that he’s keen on the real tangible things and not the glossy plastic trash that dominates toy shops these days...