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The one they forgot.

My step-father was a USCF-rated chess master. One day, we were talking about what makes the elite of the game so much better at the game – grand masters like Bobby Fischer and Anatoly Karpov – than everyone else.

Him: “Well, those guys can see every possible move and every possible counter move for the whole game. So, from the very first move and every move after they can game out all the ways it can go until mate in their heads.”

Me: “Wait, if they can both see the whole game and every possible move how does anyone ever win? Why doesn’t every game end in a draw?”

Him: “Ah, that’s easy. It’s the move they forgot to consider. They are so busy seeing everything they missed something. They can’t escape the fact they’re human”

I think about this conversation often these days.

I’m “every time your favorite music acts from your teen and college years come to town you buy the ticket because they’re all 10-20 years older than you and it very well could be your last chance” years old.

Very excited to see Sting tonight. I’ve seen The Police every time they toured the US and Sting almost every time he’s toured solo. Excited to add one more to the list. We’re all getting older and I don’t know how many more chances I’ll get.

When A.I. Comes for Your Purpose in Life – The New York Times

Steven Strogatz, a professor of mathematics at Cornell University, describes the excitement and grief of watching A.I. take on work that gives people a sense of purpose — and asks what could be lost if machines deliver answers without the human struggle, insight and understanding that make solving problems meaningful.

This was fascinating and, dare I say, beautiful. If you have any interest at all in the current conversation around A.I. this is a must listen.