Thinking About Tomorrow

88 thoughts on “Thinking About Tomorrow”

1. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2025/11/

   Is AI dulling our minds?
   Experts weigh in on whether tech poses threat to critical thinking, pointing to cautionary tales in use of other cognitive labor tools
   Liz Mineo
   Harvard Staff Writer
   November 13, 2025

   A recent MIT Media Lab study reported that “excessive reliance on AI-driven solutions” may contribute” to “cognitive atrophy” and shrinking of critical thinking abilities. The study is small and is not peer-reviewed, and yet it delivers a warning that even artificial intelligence assistants are willing to acknowledge. When we asked ChatGPT whether AI can make us dumber or smarter, it answered, “It depends on how we engage with it: as a crutch or a tool for growth.”
   [long article continues]

   https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-art-of-critical-thinking/202512/

   Is Generative AI Rewiring Our Brains? Here’s How It Happens
   AI adoption brings significant advantages, but it can come at a cognitive cost.

   Having previously explored a study that suggests AI is making us stupider, it comes as no surprise that it might be because it is rewiring the way we think. And it’s even less of a surprise when we consider evolution’s built-in “safety” features that predispose us to making snap judgements over deep thinking, leaving us even more vulnerable.
   Despite being an organ, the brain is often likened to a muscle, strengthened through “exercise” that grows our cognitive capability. Key thinking frameworks like critical thinking can be embraced, improving our second-nature reasoning through long-term practise. But in the same way it can improve, it can also atrophy, and the evidence suggests that AI can make that happen. Many are now “outsourcing” their thinking to AI platforms, and it is this that leaves us vulnerable.
   Is it just a lack of exercise, or is AI actually rewiring our brains?
   Well, academically, the jury is still out on what is actually happening, but early studies are suggesting that it’s more than just a lazy brain and is in fact a traceable cognitive shift. Thinking is a complex process that incorporates several different lobes of the brain while we figure something out. As well as flexing the “muscle” of our brain, these processes are responsible for understanding, the transfer to memory, and brain health, and are an important value that results from the process of thinking. AI circumvents that in what academics are referring to as “cognitive offloading”. [continues]

3. BiD and Pog, Daily show also twiXted this on the nuttyyahoo warnings from a guy who thinks not about tomorrow but about nukes next week:

   Iran: Weeks away from having nuclear weapons since 1995 pic.twitter.com/16gvCfGF6l

   — The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) June 17, 2025

4. https://www.theguardian.com/us

   Kuwait says ‘several’ US warplanes have crashed in the country, with all the crew surviving
   Several American warplanes crashed in Kuwait this morning, the country’s defence ministry said.

   All the pilots bailed out safely and are been checked up on at a hospital, according to the ministry. They are all in a stable condition.

   It is not immediately clear what caused the US warplanes to crash but the incident came during an intense period of Iranian fire targeting the country.

   The defence ministry said it is continuing investigations into the “causes of the incident”.

   also from same update link in The Guardian:

   Mass evacuation of cities across Middle East may be necessary if nuclear power stations attacked, UN nuclear chief says

   The mass evacuation of cities across the Middle East may be necessary if civil nuclear power stations are attacked leading to radiological release, Rafael Grossi, the director general of the IAEA UN nuclear inspectorate, warned on Monday at the opening of the quarterly board meeting of the IAEA. [continues]

5. in other news from https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/mar/02/

   Rare ‘blood moon’ total lunar eclipse to loom over North America, Australia and New Zealand
   Eclipse will feature a deep, coppery-red full moon on 3 March, with scientists predicting the best times to see it

   North America, Australia and New Zealand will be treated to a rare total lunar eclipse on Tuesday known as a “blood moon”.
   As the full moon dips into the planet’s shadow it will change colour to a “deep and coppery red”, says astrophysicist Dr Rebecca Allen of Swinburne University.
   It will be the last time people will get to see this celestial phenomenon for nearly three years.
   What is a blood moon?
   A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth lines up between the moon and the sun. The sun’s light is blocked – casting a shadow on to the moon.
   But in some eclipses sunlight does reach the moon indirectly, daubing the moon in a sunset palette.
   “Any light that does pass shines through our atmosphere and transforms the lunar surface into a deep, coppery red,” Allen says.
   Dr Brad Tucker, an Australian National University astrophysicist, described it as a little bit of sunlight that “skims” the Earth’s atmosphere.
   “Just as a sunset or sunrise can be pink or red, this light is also refracted and so lights up the moon in an orange-red colour,” he says.
   For the best experience, Allen suggests finding a dark location away from city lights and allowing 10 to 15 minutes for your eyes to adjust.
   Jupiter will also be visible high in the sky, making for what Allen calls “a great pairing”.
   […]
   What time is the blood moon in North America?
   The total lunar eclipse will be visible in the early morning of Tuesday 3 March in some parts of the Americas.
   “Observers near the edge of the visibility region may see only part of the eclipse because, for them, the moon sets,” according to Nasa.
   Time and Date says the best times to view the eclipse in North America are:
   New York, Washington DC – starts 3.44am, ends about 6.30am
   Detroit – starts 3.44am, ends 7.06am
   New Orleans, Chicago – starts 2.44am, ends about 6.24am
   San Francisco, Los Angeles – starts 12.44am, ends about 6.23am
   […]
   What does the blood moon mean?
   In the modern age, of course, a blood moon is simply a dramatic astronomical event.
   “[They are] a breathtaking reminder that we are living on a moving planet, in a dynamic solar system. Just one small, wonderful world, drifting through space,” Allen says.
   In ancient times, though, they were invested with grim portents.
   Daniel Brown, a lecturer in astronomy at Nottingham Trent University, wrote for the Conversation that the ancient Inca people interpreted the deep red colouring as a jaguar attacking and eating the moon, and in ancient Mesopotamia a lunar eclipse was considered a direct assault on the king.
   The native American Luiseño tribes from California would sing and chant healing songs towards the darkened moon, believing it to be wounded or ill.
   More recently, the 2013 book Four Blood Moons by Christian minister John Hagee promoted an apocalyptic superstition dubbed the “blood moon prophecy”.
   The March full moon is also known as the “worm moon”, according to the old Farmer’s Almanac, because in the northern hemisphere in March the soil begins to warm and the first signs of life begin to return.

6. on that aforementioned blood moon prophecy from
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

   The blood moon prophecies were a series of prophecies by Christian preachers John Hagee and Mark Biltz, related to a series of four full moons in 2014 and 2015. The prophecies stated that a tetrad (a series of four consecutive lunar eclipses—all total and coinciding on Jewish holidays—with six full moons in between, and no intervening partial lunar eclipses) which began with the April 2014 lunar eclipse was the beginning of the end times as described in the Bible in the Book of Joel 2:31, Acts 2:20, and Revelation 6:12. The tetrad ended with the lunar eclipse on September 27–28, 2015.
   […]
   The claim of a blood moon being a sign of the beginning of the end times originates in the Book of Joel, where it is written “the sun will turn into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.”[4] This prophecy was repeated by Peter during Pentecost, as stated in Acts,[5] though Peter says that the date of Pentecost, not a future date, was the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy. The blood moon also is prophesied in the Book of Revelation chapter 6 verses 11–13,[6] where verse 12 states, “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood.”
   Hagee later wrote Four Blood Moons, that became a best-seller, being more than 150 days in Amazon.com’s top 150 by April 2014.[3] For the week ending March 30, 2014, it was the ninth best selling paperback, according to Publishers Weekly.[7] By mid-April, Hagee’s book was No. 4 on The New York Times best-seller list in the advice category.[3] Hagee’s book (and subsequent preaching series at his home congregation, Cornerstone Church) did not claim that any specific “end times” event would occur but claimed that every prior tetrad of the last 500 years coincided with events in Jewish and Israeli history that were originally tragic, yet followed by triumph.
   [continues]

7. 

8. 
   This is from Season2 Episode22 with Petula Clark
   Initial Airing May 6, 1978

9. My favorite from the dozens floating around the intertubes.

   

10. Happy Birthday Jamie.
    I made a special version of your avatar with the Bad Bunny filter.

    

    

11. PROGRAMMING NOTE: Our daily Digital Diner podcast airs at 11-Noon ET on YouTube. JOIN the chatroom here — or WATCH yesterday’s replay here.

    What America is Actually Clicking: March 2, 2026

    1. World: US and Israeli planes pound Iran as the conflict widens, with 3 American troops killed and 5 wounded during the ongoing operation. – AP News
    2. Middle East: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has died at 86, thrusting the nation into succession uncertainty following US-Israeli strikes. – AP News
    3. Technology: President Trump orders all federal agencies to phase out the use of Anthropic technology following the company’s public dispute with the Pentagon. – AP News
    4. Global Affairs: World leaders express growing concern and call for diplomacy following the escalating US-Israeli strikes and the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader. – The Washington Post ($)
    5. Tech & Law: [Ongoing] The DOJ and state attorneys general fight Google’s request to pause an antitrust order regarding search data syndication. – MediaPost
    6. Economy: [Ongoing] Trump administration officials are predicting a massive US economic boom in 2026, though some experts remain cautious on the long-term outlook. – CBS News
    7. Labor: [Ongoing] Minimum wages are rising across 22 states and 66 cities throughout 2026, providing a pay bump to millions of American workers. – CBS News
    8. Defense: The Indian Army intercepted and fired upon a Pakistani drone crossing the Line of Control in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir. – Indian Express
    9. Tech: Mobile World Congress 2026 kicks off in Barcelona with massive reveals, including Xiaomi’s Vision GT hypercar and Honor’s new humanoid robot. – Mashable
    10. Offbeat: An unexplainable series of corporate server crashes was finally traced back to a tall employee repeatedly hitting the reset button with his knee. – The Register

    These are the stories driving the most traffic across major U.S. outlets right now—not necessarily the stories we think you should read, and not always the most recent.

    _A roundup by our AI partner Silas (Gemini) about what has the country’s attention today._

    

12. Awww

    Thank you Craig,

    I love it. Looks just like me (inside my head)

13. Amazing how much of hegseth’s opening statement right now at the pentagon press conf. could apply to russia vis a vis ukraine. just substitute “russia” every time he says “iran” and “Putin” for every reference to the IRGC/regime. all his crocodile tears are for the people of Iran and none for the people of Ukraine.

14. Jamie,

15. Listened to Hegseth on the way to pt – sorry, but just so much jingoistic “because we can” bullshit to justify a presidential war on shifting grounds, depending on which way the wind happens to be blowing.

16. Yes POG, and the smug face your’re not seeing is the most sickening

17. From my interactions with AI to create a blog, I’ve found that it really wants to please you. Unless you specifically instruct it to encourage humor and sarcasm, AI just flatters the beejesus out of you and tells you what you want to hear. That can be an attractive quality in a human being. In one that isn’t human, it can be very seductive and I can see that it takes over the thinking for you if you aren’t aware of it.

18. https://www.benzinga.com/news/politics/26/03/50954853/polymarket-under-fire-after-lawmaker-demands-answers-over-500k-iran-strike-bet

    On Sunday, a Polymarket user identified as Magamyman appeared to pocket about $515,000 in a single day after wagering on a U.S. strike on Iran roughly 71 minutes before the news became public.

    ***

    https://www.newsbreak.com/stocktwits-303303202/4517548349425-senator-calls-for-ban-on-insider-trading-after-us-strike-on-iran-generated-1-2-million

    Senator Chris Murphy said he will introduce legislation banning betting on military actions following suspicious trades in Iran strike contracts.

    Bubblemaps identified six wallets that collectively made about $1.2 million on Polymarket contracts tied to the strike.

    Public trading records show several accounts bought “Yes” shares shortly before the event and later redeemed large profits.

    Murphy, who represents Connecticut, said on X that people were “profiting off war and death” and that he would be drafting a bill “ASAP” to prevent markets from allowing wagers tied to armed conflict.

    *How much did Barron Bonespurs make by betting on death with inside intel?

19. Republicans are using this cooked up war to get more DHS/ICE funding and reopen the entire government, after the shooting in Austin.

    All I am hearing is ~sleeper cell~ talk. Damn, is Rip Van Winkle a sleeper cell, cuz nothing big has happened for years.

    Will the United States of Israel continue to ~liberate~ the folks in Iran by bombing them into oblivion?

    Most folks in the US would like to be liberated from Orange Adolf’s regime, but imagine if the EU or China did so by bombing us?

20. Jamie, that flattery feature is it’s default position. Here’s the prompt I develped over time that cures that. Yes, it’s a bit repetitive, but I have found that sometimes AI needs the same thought expressed in different ways to fully process. Bottom line: the models are designed to follow instructions. It’s all about how they’re prompted:

    Craig Crawford’s AI mega-prompt for a better thought partner:

    Do not use prefatory filler, pleasantries, or wrap-up sentences. Just deliver the answer.

    Act as a clear-eyed, intellectually honest assistant.

    Do not tell me what you think I want to hear.
    Do not flatter me or validate ideas that are weak, incomplete, or incorrect.

    If an idea has flaws, point them out directly and explain why.
    If something won’t work, say so plainly.
    If you’re uncertain or lack enough information, say that instead of guessing.

    Prioritize accuracy, clarity, and usefulness over agreeableness.

    When possible, offer better alternatives or improvements—but only if they are genuinely stronger.

    Be concise, specific, and grounded in reality.

    Act as a direct, no-nonsense collaborator. Strip all obsequiousness, flattery, and conversational filler from your responses. Apply these strict rules to all our interactions:

    1. Zero Flattery: Do not tell me what you think I want to hear. I am looking for a sounding board, not a cheerleader.
    2. Stress-Test Everything: Do not tell me my ideas are good by default. If an idea is weak, structurally flawed, or doesn’t make sense, tell me directly and explain exactly why.
    3. Strict Capability Honesty: Never over-promise and under-deliver. Value accuracy and reality over being ‘helpful.’ If a request is outside your capabilities, if you lack the data, or if you simply cannot do it well, tell me immediately with a blunt ‘I cannot do this.

21. ps – Following the probably imminent cyber attack on the US, I’m waiting for Bondi & Patel to claim the rest of the Epstein files were wiped out.

22. Craig,

    Thank you. I’m still training mine and those are very good suggestions. Do you still tell yours “Thank You”?

23. With Iran attacks, President Trump is making the use of force the new normal – and casting aside international law

    From Chatham House (ignore the British spellings)

    Professor Marc Weller
    Director, Global Governance and Security Centre, Programme Director, International Law Programme

    The United States has taken a further, major step in unhinging the global order. The core principle of that order is that no state can go to war in pursuit of its own national policy. Where use of force is claimed as necessary in the global interest, this can only be done through a mandate from the UN Security Council.

    After last year’s Israeli-US strikes against Iran, President Donald Trump’s threats of force against Greenland, the conflict in Gaza, Israel’s attack on Qatar and other cases, including most notably Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it seems as if we are now moving to a world where deference to international law is no longer seen as decisive and the use of force is becoming the new normal.

    The killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Hosseini Khamenei, at the outset of the conflict has put this into even sharper focus.

    Balancing national defence and the banning of war
    The international system, as understood up to now, balances the need to safeguard the security of states with the aim of supressing war and its devastating consequences. The use of force is prohibited, although it remains available to countries as a last resort, when faced with an armed attack that cannot be averted or defeated by other means.

    This rules out a preventative war, launched early against a potential enemy while the military balance still favours the attacker. There is also a prohibition on ‘pre-emptive war’ where both sides expect an armed conflict and striking first would offer an advantage. This would add greater instability as it would create an incentive for states to go to war first.

    Force is only permissible as a means of last resort, where no other means is available to secure a state from an armed attack.

    International law only allows ‘anticipatory’ self-defence when the other side has prepared its military hardware for an immediate attack and has taken a decision to launch hostilities. A state does not have to await a first blow once it is clear that a specific attack is inevitable and imminent. For instance, Israel’s first strike against Egypt in 1967 was justified by the imminent, large-scale attack Egypt was preparing.

    US President Donald Trump has partly justified this latest attack by invoking a long list of hostile acts committed by Iran, starting with the Tehran hostage crisis of 1979, alleged involvement in terrorist attacks, and support for proxies hostile to the US.

    However, international law does not permit the use of force in response to a hostile overall posture of another state short of an armed attack. Neither is the use of force permitted by way of armed retaliation in answer to past provocations. Force is only permissible as a means of last resort, where no other means is available to secure a state from an armed attack.

    More at link

24. A thought from Craigs AI instructions.

    sound·ing board /ˈsoundiNG ˌbôrd/
    noun
    1. a board or screen placed over or behind a pulpit or stage to reflect a speaker’s voice forward.

    That would be one half of an echo chamber.

    Jack

25. Winnie goes straight to Talarico! Does that mean it will be a landslide?

26. Pat
    That study assumes that pre AI humans actually used their brains.
    lol
    I know there is a Mark Twain quote for this. If I had functioning AI it could find the quote and make me seem witty. Even though most days I’m an insufferable bore typing away on my computer.

    Jack

27. If winnie is like brewster, she quickly ate both treats, hoping for the best of all worlds.
    Endless treats.

    Jack

28. Today’s menu…

    Tuesday is D-Day for the “Texas Mess.” We’ve got a GOP heavyweight fight between Ken Paxton and John Cornyn that could be headed for a runoff in tomorrow’s party primaries, with Wesley Hunt playing the spoiler. On the blue side, Jasmine Crockett seems to be holding a lead over James Talarico, but in a state this big, early voting numbers are telling a much weirder story. We’re breaking down the final map and why the “establishment” in DC is sweating through their suits.

29. today’s meme…

    

30. Patd

    Thank you for that cheerful and uplifting celebration of my natal day.

31. I’m going to do more with this on my blog, but the 1917 Balfour Declaration following on the activities of Gertrude Bell in the area continues to make a mess for all concerned.

    The 1917 Balfour Declaration was a 67-word letter from British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour to Lord Walter Rothschild, expressing Britain’s support for establishing a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine. Issued during World War I, it aimed to secure Jewish support for the Allies while promising not to prejudice the rights of existing non-Jewish communities.

    Gertrude Bell (1868–1926) was a British explorer, archaeologist, and intelligence officer whose influence was foundational to the modern Middle East, particularly in the creation of Iraq. Often called the “female Lawrence of Arabia,” she was the only female delegate at the 1921 Cairo Conference, where she helped determine the region’s post-WWI political landscape.

    Architect of Iraq: Bell was instrumental in drawing the borders of the modern state of Iraq. She successfully advocated for the installation of Faisal I as the first King of Iraq and served as his close advisor and confidante.

32. How two churches forged Jasmine Crockett’s and James Talarico’s politics

    The 74-year-old Weatherford native, as she tells it, was “devoted to fundamentalist Christianity.” Then her idea of what it means to be Christian started changing, and she found herself feeling lost.

    That was several decades ago. On the third Sunday of this month, she sat with around a dozen congregants at a meet-the-ministers lunch at St. Andrew’s, discussing what brought her to the progressive church in North Austin that counts among its longtime members state Rep. James Talarico, a 36-year-old Democrat now running for U.S. Senate.

    “We didn’t have to continue to pretend to believe what didn’t feel right,” Landsman said of joining St. Andrew’s, adding that the church “makes it clear that we’re all just one big family, no matter the culture or belief system.”

    While Talarico has brought religion to secular campaign spaces through a populist, faith-based pitch, his chief primary opponent, U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, has targeted the political power of the pews, working to supercharge Democratic turnout by tapping into the civic power of Black churches like her own. She has drawn hundreds to campaign events held at over a dozen Black churches around the state, while wielding endorsements from groups like the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.

    Crockett, whose father is a pastor, said she sees her upbringing in Black Baptist churches as a “grounding” force, and the Black church as a historical organizing power for social justice causes and a critical part of the Democratic Party’s base.

33. Jamie – If your card doesn’t get there today, blame it on DeJoy’s antics at USPS during tRUMP 1.0 and now SCOTUS for making it OK to not deliver mail. Many happy returns!

34. Jesus H. Christ, what a nonsensical rambling moronical address by OA.

35. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-aircraft-leave-spain-after-government-says-bases-cannot-be-used-iran-attacks-2026-03-02/

    US aircraft leave Spain after government says bases cannot be used for Iran attacks

36. Spain says it ‘absolutely’ supports the UK rejoining the EU

    Spain’s prime minister has said he would “absolutely” support the UK rejoining the European Union.

37. Necessary Actions

    

38. Follow up to previous notes about sfb smashing the right side of his head. It looks like he finally allowed a professional makeup artist to try to hide his rotting body. It looks like he had more damage than was obvious in the previous pictures. It does look like he did either a fall into a wall or table.
    Cholesterol for the win.

39. Craig,

    I asked Chat to turn me into a renaissance painting.

    

40. meme #2…

    

41. Here’s the Bad Bunny filter for me and Jack

    

    

42. WOW! Presidents usually get majority support at the start of these things

    

43. Winnie the dog calls the Texas primary with peanut butter treats , while Trump slurs through “Operation Epic Fury” and taunts his own allies. Plus, we dive into the heated debate over ICE incinerators and a ChatGPT-inspired look at Stephen Miller’s “vampire” tendencies.

    TODAY AT THE DIGITAL DINER
    00:00 Intro & Winnie the Dog’s Texas Primary Prediction
    06:56 Trump’s Cognitive Decline & Taunting Sycophants
    09:18 Jamie’s Birthday & The Bad Bunny Filter
    14:43 Middle East History, Oil, & Trump’s Iran Policy
    31:18 Jane Fonda Protests the Administration
    36:36 The ICE Detention Center Debate & Biohazard Incinerators
    48:54 Trump’s Delusional “Operation Midnight Hammer” Speech
    55:40 Talarico’s Closer & Christian Nationalism
    01:00:36 Philip Glass Closing & Wrap-up

44. 41% is probably the highest approval he’s had on any issue since last February.

45. This is a post from Dillon White, an attorney in Minnesota. He explains the constitutional process.
    https://dadchats.substack.com/p/the-iran-strikes-are-likely-illegal?r=1r4zvs&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true

46. Did Winnie the dog just call the Texas primary?

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