For example..?

> And while there are works that are better and worse, no matter how lowly the thing is that is being read, that growth still accrues.

What growth and based on what evidence?

> The audio book might be the exact same story as the paperback, but the effect is not equivalent.

Again, what is this 'effect?' You keep repeating some ethereal benefit that has yet to be named. While audiobooks and paperback are not perfectly equivalent, the two are not meaningfully different.

https://news.berkeley.edu/2019/08/19/readingbrainmap/

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/003465432110608...

So is playing, daydreaming, acting/theater, various visual arts, etc..

> To call reading “consumptive” is severely minimizing literature’s impact on communication throughout human history.

The topic is centered around reading for pleasure, not for all facets and purposes that reading serves, e.g., documentation, communication, etc..

> her reading undoubtedly shaped her and helped her understand the world and her experiences within it.

But why does the medium have to be reading to get this benefit? Would listening to a storyteller or an audiobook not confer the same benefits?

I am not trying to say there is little value in reading, but I have always found it odd that some forms of consumption are more coveted than others.

I have an accredited degree in computer science. But what does that truly even signify? For example, even with my 10 years of experience coupled with my degree, I could not create a programming language from scratch without some tutorial, nor could I create an OS, a compiler/interpreter, a basic CPU, RAM, any secondary storage, etc.. Sure, I could tell you about basic digital logic, basic OS principals, basic algorithms in a poorer explanation than a Wikipedia article, etc..

To use your gas engine analogy, if you dropped me on deserted island with all the parts I needed to make a basic, simple computer I would unlikely be able to do so with out some sort of in-depth guide. I am not talking about slotting mass produced parts on a motherboard. Rather, something like this:

https://www.instructables.com/Build-a-Computer-W-Basic-Under...

However, I am not one of those people. I lack(ed) the self-discipline required to learn anything with moderate to long feedback loops, thus it was far wiser for me to outsource all the necessary planning and assessment to a structured program.

Student loan debt is a blight on society, but I'd be lying if I said the looming repayment was not a great motivator to attend classes and do well in school. Some things just hit differently when there is skin in the game.

I had the most Russian of Russian bosses when I was in college. My first day on the job he so eloquently stated, "I am not your mother. Do not come to me with problems. Come to me with solutions. I want to know what you tried and what did not work."

His advice has served me well in many areas of life too. I try my best to treat LLMs no differently for domains I care about (not one-off little questions here and there).

My lie detector is going off.

> The containment features sandbox local agents like Hermes and OpenClaw so they cannot interfere with your core operating system.

Wait, isn't that kind of the point of using local agents like OpenClaw? I thought people wanted the agents accessing all kinds of applications, files, etc.?

> Legacy application compatibility is equally crucial. Microsoft optimized the Prism emulation layer specifically for the new microarchitecture. Prism utilizes the raw power of the silicon and recent AVX and AVX2 instruction set extensions to run older x86 applications smoothly under emulation.

Okay, this is pretty nice. I'll give Microsoft credit for this one. It might save my company a lot of heartache one day in the near future.

All in all, this rig is going to be quite expensive. In a lot of ways, it probably is better than a MacBook Pro. However, as a diehard Apple fanboy, it is not enough for me to consider the jump.

What I meant is that I try to be pragmatic when writing applications. Most languages solve most problems with relatively minor differences between them.

Of course, some languages excel in areas few or others do not. When it comes to C#, I struggle to justify when it is the “right tool for the right job.” If I were building a game in Unity, C# makes sense as it’s the only option. But if I were to build, I do not know, a FizzBuzz Widget, why use C# over any other language?

The only answer I can usually come up with is language familiarity. My employer’s answer to that question would be, “Because C# is a Microsoft product.”

I feel like that is a trait necessary to do what Woz did throughout his life.

While prisons in the USA are often more punitive and dangerous than a forensic psychiatric facility, that does mean forensic psychiatric facilities are not their own form of Hell rife with their own problems. Essentially, autonomy, dignity, and human rights are stripped from individuals in both facilities -- you do not want to go to either.

As the famous Russian saying goes, "Был бы человек, а статья найдется" (Show me the man, and I will show you the crime.)

While I adamantly support the Ukrainian defense against Russia's invasion, I still cannot help but feel empathy for many of the soldiers on both sides. Young men and women that likely would rather be anywhere else in the world.

Warhammer 40k lore was right about one thing, "There is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter, and the laughter of thirsting gods."