Saturday and Sundry Robot-related Reflections

A weekend chuckle courtesy of Ian Lang at Quora who has, very kindly, given me blanket permission to use his Quora answers on this blog.

QUESTION
Can we build a robot that has a brain of a human being?

ANSWER by:Ian Lang, Qualified Electronic Engineer BTEC National 3.

Now look, I have, in the past, met human beings who:

had to ask how to turn on a laptop computer

failed to cook a pie, because they couldnt work out how to light the gas on an electric oven

put a 13A fused plug onto a 30A cooker and then complained that it was tripping the breakers.

seriously believed that leaving Europe meant we’d move the country into the middle of the Atlantic

asked what I was listening to on my MP3 player and when came the answer “Beethoven” replied “what, that film with the dog?”

have to wear a digital watch because an analogue one is too confusing

tried to use a computer mouse upside down and complained it’s not working

have not plugged a printer into the mains “because it’s supposed to be wireless”

have bitten into a bar of fancy soap in the belief that it was white chocolate

and have phoned their mothers to ask how to make a jam sandwich.

Really? You want robots to be like that?

" Sure, thery're handy little things to have around, but you can't deny they're potentially dangerous."

Unless mankind redesigns itself by changing our DNA through altering our genetic makeup, computer-generated robots will take over our world.
Stephen Hawking

Wouldn't it be a strange twist of fate if we discovered that we were the original A.I.
Anthony T. Hincks.

Did you know that today is......

National Absurdity Day?

An absurdity is something that is illogical, senseless, and unreasonable. The word comes from the Latin word "absurdum," which means irrational or out of tune. On National Absurdity Day, people accept the absurdities of life and engage in a few as well.


The day should be celebrated by accepting the world's absurdities and working to bring even more absurdity into it. Spend the day being absurd in your dress, speech, and actions. Have you had some pretty crazy ideas of pranks to pull to really confuse people? Today is the day to do them. You could also read some works by absurdist authors and playwrights, such as Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett, or Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland has some elements of the absurd, and may also be fitting to read. You could also watch an absurdist film such as El Topo, an acid western by Alejandro Jodorowsky.

I'm not going to be reading or watching any of those suggested delights, instead I've sorted out a few absurd cartoons to honour the day.

And, because, in 2018 it wouldn't be right, when speaking of absurdities, to omit mention of....well, you know:

Saturday and Sundry Smiles

A few cartoons today. The first two are home-grown. First is a photograph from husband's collection of vintage photographs, it would make a good cartoon; husband added the caption. The second was drawn by husband (anyjazz). The rest are "borrowed", with thanks to the copyright owners (clearly marked), in the hope they will not chase me for use of their work on this personal blog. Third and fourth cartoons take a wipe at astrology - doesn't everyone from time to time? Fifth cartoon seemed rather apt for 2017/8 if given a new title. The rest are editorial or political cartoons.

Editorial and political cartoons, are different from ordinary cartoons. Editorial/political cartoons have a deadly serious point to make, in stressful circumstances, these cartoonists have to look for a funny side to depict to lighten the atmosphere somewhat for the viewer, as well as making a serious point.

I was doing political cartoons and getting angry to the point where I felt I was going to have to start making and throwing bombs. I thought I was probably a better cartoonist than a bomb maker.
Terry Gilliam

"Oh Fudge!"

"My bad!

 

New caption: President Trump's visit to the barber.

In Lighter Vein

Gahan Wilson (born February 18, 1930) is an American author, cartoonist and illustrator known for his cartoons depicting horror-fantasy situations. Many people feel that we in the USA are about to come face to face with the horror-fantasy to top all horror-fantasies - a Donald Trump presidency. I feel they're being a tad hyperbolic, better to simply watch and wait - calmly - but that's just from my perspective as a comparative newcomer: stranger in a (very) strange land.

Gahan Wilson is now coming up to 87 years old, and likely no longer cartooning regularly. A look through some of his excellent work via Google Image threw up a few pieces which could easily be adapted to cover current levels of weird. How about these? My own captions are added, in red.

 President Trump's first appointment with the White House barber.

 The Learning Curve

President Trump studies the book "Presidency for Dummies"

After a period of  humbling, President Trump re-names his Tower

Cartoon Appreciation

I like the cartoons by John Atkinson at a blog called Wrong Hands - they have a flavour and style I enjoy, but don't find too often. Three examples, from previous years follow - but do, please, go spend a few minutes trawling through current and older offerings - lots of good stuff there.

WEEKEND WINKS

I look on it as a daily necessity to check "People of Walmart" to make sure nobody has presented a shot of me or himself or both of us (chuckles!) It could happen. We must remember, from now on, never to go shopping in our jammies, and his dinky lion's head slippers.

I saw these two photographs earlier in the week (29 September) and thought:

"Could that barcode on the guy's head be his astrological data - scan it and a beautiful natal chart appears in hologram?" It might be a thing of the distant future - a prediction waiting to happen.


"And is the tall guy in the other photograph an astrologer?" With a tie like that he ought to be, either that or he should be arrested by the fashion police. To be honest, I do quite like that tie, he's brave to wear it, and I'm brave to admit to liking it. Wonder if he has Sun in Aquarius?






After discovering "The Funny Times" the other day I decided to subscribe. A monthly dose of cartoon humour could be a useful antidote to newspapers, on-line and off, which tend to raise blood pressure. We impatiently await our first issue, but in the meantime I hope the paper's publishers and the author of this cartoon strip, Eric Per1in will allow my inclusion of this example. It's from from sometime in 2008, I think. Threre's a point embedded in it, one which could vary depending on one's own point of view....:


BASELESS BELIEFS by Eric Per1in





PS~~~~ My desktop computer crashed on Friday morning, I'm using the laptop until techs at our local computer shop can diagnose what went wrong, and whether or not I've lost everything on the hard drive. Typographical errors and other nonsensities might emerge more often than usual now, so - apologies in advance!