The Deal Desk (blog)

January 13, 2025: In Buddhist teachings, the term “monkey mind” is used to describe the restless and chaotic nature of our thoughts, particularly the incessant mental commentary that often leads to stress and anxiety. Our minds can become overwhelmed with distractions, like monkeys jumping from branch to branch. The erratic and playful nature of monkeys…

January 1, 2025: The Latin phrase “Otium cum dignitate,” which translates to “leisure with dignity,” is often attributed to Cicero. In his discussion of a balanced life, “otium” (leisure) is best pursued with a sense of dignity and purpose, rather than idleness or mere pleasure-seeking. Otium cum dignitate refers to leisure activities that are meaningful…

December 25, 2024: “I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” – Ebenezer Scrooge  This is Water is a remarkable essay and a commencement speech given to a  graduating college class by David Foster Wallace on the real value of education. It has almost nothing to do with knowledge…

December 14, 2024: A New Jersey map reveals an interesting detail from the early colonial history of America. The state has three natural water boundaries: the Hudson River and Atlantic Ocean to the east, the Delaware Bay to the south, and the Delaware River to the west. Then there is the northern border with New…

December 4,2024: I asked my AI thought partner is there a connection between the Oxford Dictionary 2024 word of the year “brain rot” and the Merriam-Webster’s word of the year “authentic”.   The answer (paraphrased): there is a growing interest on mental engagement and the quality of information consumed.  “Brain rot” highlights concerns about the decline…

November 27, 2024: We spend a lot of time wondering what other people are thinking. Our brains evolved to understand the thoughts and feelings of others, essential for social relationships. We have become so skilled at thinking that we worry what other people are thinking. In essence, we put ourselves in someone else’s mind and…

November 19, 2024: The Dunning-Kruger effect is a cognitive bias in which a person lacking knowledge or ability in a particular area tends to overestimate their understanding or competence. In essence, people affected by the Dunning-Kruger effect have an inflated perception of their knowledge or expertise in a subject or domain. They are unable to…

November 8, 2024: A Large Language Model (LLMs) is a type of AI system that predicts and generates human-like text based on the input it receives. It processes and analyzes patterns in language to provide coherent responses, such as answering questions and can even engage in complex conversations. So far, there hasn’t been much profit…

October 30,2024: The science behind Artificial Intelligence has been compared to Victor Frankenstein’s desire to transcend human limitations and achieve greatness. The doctor’s brilliance as a scientist led him on a quest to conquer death by constructing and reanimating a “creature” from human remains. He did not anticipate the unintended consequences. Thus, “Frankenstein” might be…

October 23, 2024: It’s generally believed that language emerged around 50,000 to 100,000 years ago. As soon as we started talking, creating metaphors became part of the conversation. Our prehistoric ancestors would have created metaphors from their interactions with their world: a raging river described as a swift, dangerous lion, the security of the clan…