Today is my birthday. I am 75. I seldom use a blog post to recognize my birthday, but 75 seems different. It is not a nice round number, but I would guess you know what I mean. It seems a milestone or an accomplishment in a way that other birthdays do not. We had a great time with our kids and grandkids yesterday and I was very well treated. So my birthday received plenty of recognition. Yes, I will check who says hi on Facebook.
Until recently, I have not spent a lot of time thinking about getting old. This is probably a good thing. If you focus on other things, getting old will take care of itself. I find plenty in the world to concern me and these issues are enough to keep my natural anxiety occupied. I have been very lucky and have not experienced serious illnesses or accidents. This has not been the case for those close to me and the combination makes me appreciate my situation.
If I have a concern it is probably that of feeling productive. I retired at 65 although many academics do not. As a consequence, Cindy and I have had the opportunity to travel and spend time exploring and doing interesting things without the limitations of jobs. There are only so many opportunities to be employed as a professor and there are many who want very much to have this opportunity. I felt I had my time and we had the resources to allow others the same chance. At its core, a life of learning and sharing is very satisfying and there continue to be ways to have these experiences whether or not it comes with a job and a paycheck.
The time I spend writing means a lot to me. Others value other things. I understand that Cindy and my continuing interest in technology probably violate the assumptions many make about older (experienced) people. Still, I hope the combination of living the history of the more personal role technology now plays in our lives and the opportunity to continue to explore and communicate insights offers some value to others. I have contributed posts to blogs since 2002 which is as long as anyone has made use of this type of outlet. I know I have people who take the time to read my comments on the role of technology and education, my commentary and images from our travels, and the random and sometimes strange comments I make about life in general. I appreciate this attention very much. I am an introvert by nature and writing provides the closest thing I have to interacting with a larger circle of people. Thanks.
P.S. Certain challenges remain. I have read many things about A.I. and can only understand the basics of large language models and machine learning. I do recommend the following books – Fei Fei Li – The worlds I see and Stephen Wolfram – What is ChatGPT Doing? If you get through the entirety of Wolfram’s book, get back to me. I need some help.