Technical Foundations and Social Rhythms

Morning routine. SESIG discussion on fabrication and AI training. Google Contacts MCP development. Exercise and documentation work. Philomath Salon response on intelligence and leadership. Minecraft infrastructure. Walk to Suds for pizza. Yin Yoga. Formal Logic lectures on validity and soundness.

Balancing system-building with mind-training and body-work

Events and activities that occurred on Tuesday, January 20, 2026

The SESIG gathering at Imagine Coffee settled into an extended discussion about training artificial intelligence systems. The question emerged: how do you structure learning experiences that build genuine capability rather than surface pattern matching? The group explored parallels between teaching humans and training models—both require scaffolding that develops understanding, not just memorization. The conversation revealed how much of current AI training resembles teaching to tests rather than cultivating intelligence.

The Philomath Salon thread on intelligence and leadership continued to develop through the day, examining how confidence masquerades as competence. Drawing from Machiavelli's observations and the Dunning-Kruger effect, the discussion explored a troubling organizational dynamic: the appearance of certainty in an exhibitor creates certainty in uncritical viewers. This creates self-reinforcing loops where second-rate people hire third-rate people, while first-rate people seek other first-rate talent. The mechanism behind institutional decay becomes visible—not malice, but the mathematics of confidence mistaken for competence.

These threads connected unexpectedly. Training AI systems well requires recognizing when pattern matching diverges from understanding. Identifying competent leadership requires the same discernment—distinguishing genuine capability from confident performance. Both demand critical thinking about what constitutes real intelligence versus its simulation.

Minecraft offered time to work on the shared space with Leland, building the NTS connection between Lelandhome and Port Alegre. The infrastructure work prepares for future collaboration—creating the technical foundation for connection even when schedules don't align for simultaneous play.

Tiny mushroom from yesterday's
walk

The walk to and from Suds provided both transition space and exercise, the audiobook Wisdom accompanying both directions. Aaron was bartending. One beer and pizza, then the return walk home timed to arrive just before yoga preparation. An hour of Yin Yoga with Cathy present, the body settling into longer holds and deeper release.

The evening's Formal Logic lectures explored what makes arguments valid versus sound—a distinction that parallels the day's earlier conversations. Validity concerns structure: does the conclusion follow from the premises? Soundness adds truth: are the premises themselves accurate? The discussion of informal fallacies—circular reasoning, begging the question, equivocation—revealed how easily confident assertion masks logical weakness. An invalid argument delivered with certainty can persuade more effectively than sound reasoning presented with appropriate humility.

The day demonstrated a pattern: genuine understanding requires distinguishing structure from substance, performance from capability, confidence from competence. Whether training AI systems, evaluating leadership, or analyzing arguments, the challenge remains the same—seeing past surface patterns to underlying reality. Technical work and philosophical inquiry aren't separate domains but different expressions of the same fundamental skill: thinking clearly about complex problems.