Interesting distinction. What popped up in my mind while reading was: we might be trying to accomplish dragon work with hydra work. That is, using AI to tackle a dragon work. Either by breaking it down or even outsourcing it completely. Just to feel more productive, efficient. And empty. Like writing a substack post totally written by AI.
Yes! That’s a real risk as well. It’s just as dangerous but much more insidious. Josef Pieper wrote something on this: "The inmost significance of the exaggerated value which is set upon hard work appears to be this: man seems to mistrust everything that is effortless; he can only enjoy, with a good conscience, what he has acquired with toil and trouble; he refused to have anything as a gift."
Interesting distinction. What popped up in my mind while reading was: we might be trying to accomplish dragon work with hydra work. That is, using AI to tackle a dragon work. Either by breaking it down or even outsourcing it completely. Just to feel more productive, efficient. And empty. Like writing a substack post totally written by AI.
Yes! That’s a real risk as well. It’s just as dangerous but much more insidious. Josef Pieper wrote something on this: "The inmost significance of the exaggerated value which is set upon hard work appears to be this: man seems to mistrust everything that is effortless; he can only enjoy, with a good conscience, what he has acquired with toil and trouble; he refused to have anything as a gift."
You framed this very well Tom, great piece.
Thank you!
You’re most welcome Tom!.
Brilliant perspective. There’s great treasures that the dragon hordes, and hordes for a reason.
Thank you! Among those scaly hordes is some serious loot jealously hoarded.
Serious loot indeed if you know what you are looking for.
If you don’t slay the dragon, it might slay you!
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSCQEb3R-pw-GgEn-WxeSv1v66e5ez_zFomUrFCNxxqSQ&s=10
Man can slay his dragon but so too must he learn to walk away from its corpse.
🔥🔥🔥
Love the analogies here, made me think of Magic, The Gathering (which has both hydras and dragons)
Thank you! That (among other things) was definitely on my mind as I wrote it
Thank you! I think one of the greatest tricks the devil ever pulled was convincing us that motion meant progress.