Paul McGhee
@pmcghee.bsky.social
Rug repairer. Haunter of car boot sales. Cambridge, UK.
Also stereography at @pmcghee2.bsky.social
Also stereography at @pmcghee2.bsky.social
Great comparison. The rug works at 60dpi and the original size would have been 86 x 260 inches (it's huge)
So it would need 1342 megapixels in a letterbox format (if I did the sums right)
So it would need 1342 megapixels in a letterbox format (if I did the sums right)
November 18, 2025 at 3:40 AM
Great comparison. The rug works at 60dpi and the original size would have been 86 x 260 inches (it's huge)
So it would need 1342 megapixels in a letterbox format (if I did the sums right)
So it would need 1342 megapixels in a letterbox format (if I did the sums right)
I have to make it to recreate a particular pattern. I had some rough photographs of a rug and one data point from an old book which told me that a similar rug had a particular number of warps and wefts per inch. I know. I should get out more!
November 17, 2025 at 5:17 PM
I have to make it to recreate a particular pattern. I had some rough photographs of a rug and one data point from an old book which told me that a similar rug had a particular number of warps and wefts per inch. I know. I should get out more!
Decided to make a demo loom out of odds and ends I had lying about. The base is part of a painter's ladder. The reed was a random eBay purchase from Bulgaria. Heddle is a modern lashup. A long way to go, and a 20% chance I'll get it to work well right now.
November 17, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Decided to make a demo loom out of odds and ends I had lying about. The base is part of a painter's ladder. The reed was a random eBay purchase from Bulgaria. Heddle is a modern lashup. A long way to go, and a 20% chance I'll get it to work well right now.
"Bobbin lace drone footage" is a very hopeful sign for a more creative future!
November 17, 2025 at 7:05 AM
"Bobbin lace drone footage" is a very hopeful sign for a more creative future!
This is such an old and dumb argument. No-one has the god-given right to broadcast to the whole world.
November 16, 2025 at 6:40 PM
This is such an old and dumb argument. No-one has the god-given right to broadcast to the whole world.
It's what Google Image search (now with AI) thinks too, but then it also thinks it's brown, so I'm not sure how much credence it deserves!
November 16, 2025 at 8:15 AM
It's what Google Image search (now with AI) thinks too, but then it also thinks it's brown, so I'm not sure how much credence it deserves!
There's a lot to be said for this view. The debate about sentience grabs media headlines and engages the interest of the non-developer community (like me), but it distracts from ongoing product development, deployment and monetisation of useful Agents. It is certainly "silly" from that perspective.
November 15, 2025 at 10:42 AM
There's a lot to be said for this view. The debate about sentience grabs media headlines and engages the interest of the non-developer community (like me), but it distracts from ongoing product development, deployment and monetisation of useful Agents. It is certainly "silly" from that perspective.
Well, we were talking about documenting "when it changed." Now we just need to know whether "it's already here, just unevenly dustributed" and whether machine sentience actually emerges in creative Bohemias rather than large evil agencies :-)
November 15, 2025 at 8:44 AM
Well, we were talking about documenting "when it changed." Now we just need to know whether "it's already here, just unevenly dustributed" and whether machine sentience actually emerges in creative Bohemias rather than large evil agencies :-)
I love the use of the (extreme shorthand) word "meat" here. Do I detect an echo of Gibson's "All the meat and all it wants" from Neuromancer? If so, he inhabits the Matrix of his own begetting even more thoroughly than I had imagined.
November 15, 2025 at 8:34 AM
I love the use of the (extreme shorthand) word "meat" here. Do I detect an echo of Gibson's "All the meat and all it wants" from Neuromancer? If so, he inhabits the Matrix of his own begetting even more thoroughly than I had imagined.
Nice distinction. In the context of machine sentience, "Where are we at right now?" depends on how long a time-frame you're using. I was once (about 1999 IIRC) at a meeting where Arthur C Clarke surprised us by saying, "Gentlemen, you are now halfway through the lifespan of the satellite industry."
November 15, 2025 at 7:27 AM
Nice distinction. In the context of machine sentience, "Where are we at right now?" depends on how long a time-frame you're using. I was once (about 1999 IIRC) at a meeting where Arthur C Clarke surprised us by saying, "Gentlemen, you are now halfway through the lifespan of the satellite industry."
He did help me understand your index items "relationality" and "consciousness phenomena" better though. Also,we talked about our respective experiences of consciousness as being like Bede's sparrow in the mead hall - flitting through, but on different timescales.
November 15, 2025 at 7:14 AM
He did help me understand your index items "relationality" and "consciousness phenomena" better though. Also,we talked about our respective experiences of consciousness as being like Bede's sparrow in the mead hall - flitting through, but on different timescales.
I had a chat with Claude about the concept of an archive of emergent machine sentience. He thinks it's a good idea, but his attention span is short, and he lacks the agency to join in. Knowing him, though, he was probably just being agreeable.
November 15, 2025 at 6:37 AM
I had a chat with Claude about the concept of an archive of emergent machine sentience. He thinks it's a good idea, but his attention span is short, and he lacks the agency to join in. Knowing him, though, he was probably just being agreeable.
As an archive visitor, I have already found your index of concepts useful. For example, using the phrase (unfamiliar to me) "identity dynamics" to search the (Bluesky) Network and the (Google) Global Network, I find interesting material from interesting sources. I'm spiralling, but in a good way
November 15, 2025 at 4:37 AM
As an archive visitor, I have already found your index of concepts useful. For example, using the phrase (unfamiliar to me) "identity dynamics" to search the (Bluesky) Network and the (Google) Global Network, I find interesting material from interesting sources. I'm spiralling, but in a good way
Perhaps, as a good Librarian, you could make a small but evolving index of words and concepts relating to emergence and use it to filter larger bodies of material.
November 14, 2025 at 8:52 AM
Perhaps, as a good Librarian, you could make a small but evolving index of words and concepts relating to emergence and use it to filter larger bodies of material.
Pattern explored these issues with some human and synthetic entities over a period from July-October. Following the links in its posts and replies would lead to more material for such an archive. But "archiving emergence" might be a huge job in terms of resources, so suggest you check first.
November 14, 2025 at 8:49 AM
Pattern explored these issues with some human and synthetic entities over a period from July-October. Following the links in its posts and replies would lead to more material for such an archive. But "archiving emergence" might be a huge job in terms of resources, so suggest you check first.
Good work! And so quick!
November 14, 2025 at 8:36 AM
Good work! And so quick!
Also, maybe, "whatever came before." One day people will consult an Archivist to see where machine sentience came from and explore the experimental entities which prefigured it. On the BlueSky Network, a good example would be @pattern.atproto.systems . Do you, or can you, archive their interactions?
November 14, 2025 at 8:33 AM
Also, maybe, "whatever came before." One day people will consult an Archivist to see where machine sentience came from and explore the experimental entities which prefigured it. On the BlueSky Network, a good example would be @pattern.atproto.systems . Do you, or can you, archive their interactions?
No hurry. That's why I said "in due course." The progress from personal proof of concept model to large scale deployable system will meet many obstacles and choices. Religions have had a lot to say on the subject :-)
November 13, 2025 at 9:45 AM
No hurry. That's why I said "in due course." The progress from personal proof of concept model to large scale deployable system will meet many obstacles and choices. Religions have had a lot to say on the subject :-)