Today marks the 35th anniversary of a mind-searing night flight mission I was on during the onset of Operation Desert Storm.
But today, I'm reading "Odysseus in America" by famous PTSD expert Jonathon Shay. He writes of how therapists, family and friends telling you to "just get over it" after so many years is one of the worst insults you can throw at a combat veteran; as that would be the ultimate betrayal and dishonor if you forget those who fell in battle.
As for the beautiful artwork, God denied me any musical ability whatsoever and my painting skills are limited to Sherwin-Williams products. But I have found that my only creative outlets are writing and photography.
I'm so grateful for Substack's community of creators.
That's quite a story. We infantry guys shudder to think what it must be like flying into a hostile nightspace with stuff flying all over. My high school buddy, Chuck Coltrine, flew A-4s off the Forrestal and had to eject a couple of times--once coming down in a mine field. I was happy to do my fighting on the ground.
Thank you. I don’t know your age, but as an old man who has spent my life as an artist and writer, I fear that so many young people look for a quick result—which of course is a soulless result. A human is unlike any other life form on earth and maybe the universe. What we have been creating throughout the world for thousands of years started with a recognition of beauty, followed by a powerful compulsion to create beauty in many forms. Yes, Cezanne was right, emotion is the starting point, the beginning and the end. There is no emotion in artificial intelligence. No feelings. No understanding. No passion.
Stated another way, a computer has no ability to understand human pain and suffering because it has no central nervous system or pain receptors.
Now imagine billions of people relying upon such systems that have no sense of physical or mental pain. And how emotions are often built upon such trauma.
AI output lacks any such perspective and depth of reflection that humans struggle with throughout their lives.
Dana, we may already have billions of people dependent on AI. I recently read the book, Genesis, by Craig Mundie and Eric Schmidt, with a little bit of Henry Kissinger thrown in.
Kissinger reportedly spent his last months trying to initiate AI limitation talks between the US and China. Apparently an exercise in futility. I believe he wrote: “What some praise as necessary steps toward a pinnacle of human potential, others see as a headlong rush into an abyss...this will create an unpredictable and combustible situation”. He says the competition between potential winners and losers could (will?) “… be accelerated beyond prior human experience; quickly we will be engulfed, and it is not clear whether or how we will survive”. It is also said that the greatest danger is to declare too early or too completely that we understand it.
I see human PTSD as a necessary survival instinct, not something to “get over” even if that were possible. It has to be controlled and directed toward something beyond and above base biological nature—beauty and creativity.
AI has the facts, but it doesn't understand PTSD and why you should have it. I'm not sure a Psychiatrist, Psychologist or Social Worker does either--not really. I was in two PTSD groups in the DC VA hospital. The first was a group of Nam vets who got together once a week to do art. We sat around a big table, drinking coffee, listening to old jazz, doing art, talking... and laughing a lot. We talked about Nam somewhat, but mostly other stuff that old guys can talk about--like a first date, or crazy stuff of growing up. There was honest emotion and shared experiences. It helped us to deal with the insanity of daily life.
As a Desert Storm vet, my PTSD journey started at the VA in San Diego in 1999 with a 30 day inpatient stay. Most other vets were Nam, Korea and even an Iwo Jima survivor. Felt extremely guilty for being a younger vet seeking help. But I met an incredible counselor named Chaplain Bill Mahedy. Incredible man who guided me to Jonathon Shay's "Achilles in Vietnam", and now reading "Odysseus in America." Just read the following passage yesterday:
Odysseus in America quote by Jonathon Shay
Page 80… The families of combat veterans, and sometimes even their therapists, demand in frustration, “Why don’t you put it behind you? Why can’t you just forget?” Odysseus’ vow, “I wont forget a thing.” is the vow of a combat soldier to his dead comrades to keep the faith with them, to keep their memory alive. Bewildered families, hurt and feeling cheated by the amount of energy their veterans pour into dead comrades, apparently do not realize that to forget the dead dishonors the living veteran. In asking the veteran to forget, the family asks him to dishonor himself. For anyone, civilian or veteran, to be told to do something dishonorable usually evokes anger. Imagine for example, that your mother has died within the last year, and your spouse or your employer says to you, “Just forget about her.”
Today marks the 35th anniversary of a mind-searing night flight mission I was on during the onset of Operation Desert Storm.
But today, I'm reading "Odysseus in America" by famous PTSD expert Jonathon Shay. He writes of how therapists, family and friends telling you to "just get over it" after so many years is one of the worst insults you can throw at a combat veteran; as that would be the ultimate betrayal and dishonor if you forget those who fell in battle.
As for the beautiful artwork, God denied me any musical ability whatsoever and my painting skills are limited to Sherwin-Williams products. But I have found that my only creative outlets are writing and photography.
I'm so grateful for Substack's community of creators.
Those interested can read my recent article about that mission noted above here: https://danafharbaugh.substack.com/p/it-was-a-go-no-matter-the-risk
That's quite a story. We infantry guys shudder to think what it must be like flying into a hostile nightspace with stuff flying all over. My high school buddy, Chuck Coltrine, flew A-4s off the Forrestal and had to eject a couple of times--once coming down in a mine field. I was happy to do my fighting on the ground.
Great work as usual. Love these artists!
Thank you. I don’t know your age, but as an old man who has spent my life as an artist and writer, I fear that so many young people look for a quick result—which of course is a soulless result. A human is unlike any other life form on earth and maybe the universe. What we have been creating throughout the world for thousands of years started with a recognition of beauty, followed by a powerful compulsion to create beauty in many forms. Yes, Cezanne was right, emotion is the starting point, the beginning and the end. There is no emotion in artificial intelligence. No feelings. No understanding. No passion.
Stated another way, a computer has no ability to understand human pain and suffering because it has no central nervous system or pain receptors.
Now imagine billions of people relying upon such systems that have no sense of physical or mental pain. And how emotions are often built upon such trauma.
AI output lacks any such perspective and depth of reflection that humans struggle with throughout their lives.
Dana, we may already have billions of people dependent on AI. I recently read the book, Genesis, by Craig Mundie and Eric Schmidt, with a little bit of Henry Kissinger thrown in.
Kissinger reportedly spent his last months trying to initiate AI limitation talks between the US and China. Apparently an exercise in futility. I believe he wrote: “What some praise as necessary steps toward a pinnacle of human potential, others see as a headlong rush into an abyss...this will create an unpredictable and combustible situation”. He says the competition between potential winners and losers could (will?) “… be accelerated beyond prior human experience; quickly we will be engulfed, and it is not clear whether or how we will survive”. It is also said that the greatest danger is to declare too early or too completely that we understand it.
I see human PTSD as a necessary survival instinct, not something to “get over” even if that were possible. It has to be controlled and directed toward something beyond and above base biological nature—beauty and creativity.
I've written a lot about AI, modern life and Veterans... I pray many of my theories do NOT come true... Wrote this last year, and please forgive the sarcastic tone. https://danafharbaugh.substack.com/p/ai-and-ptsd-counseling
AI has the facts, but it doesn't understand PTSD and why you should have it. I'm not sure a Psychiatrist, Psychologist or Social Worker does either--not really. I was in two PTSD groups in the DC VA hospital. The first was a group of Nam vets who got together once a week to do art. We sat around a big table, drinking coffee, listening to old jazz, doing art, talking... and laughing a lot. We talked about Nam somewhat, but mostly other stuff that old guys can talk about--like a first date, or crazy stuff of growing up. There was honest emotion and shared experiences. It helped us to deal with the insanity of daily life.
As a Desert Storm vet, my PTSD journey started at the VA in San Diego in 1999 with a 30 day inpatient stay. Most other vets were Nam, Korea and even an Iwo Jima survivor. Felt extremely guilty for being a younger vet seeking help. But I met an incredible counselor named Chaplain Bill Mahedy. Incredible man who guided me to Jonathon Shay's "Achilles in Vietnam", and now reading "Odysseus in America." Just read the following passage yesterday:
Odysseus in America quote by Jonathon Shay
Page 80… The families of combat veterans, and sometimes even their therapists, demand in frustration, “Why don’t you put it behind you? Why can’t you just forget?” Odysseus’ vow, “I wont forget a thing.” is the vow of a combat soldier to his dead comrades to keep the faith with them, to keep their memory alive. Bewildered families, hurt and feeling cheated by the amount of energy their veterans pour into dead comrades, apparently do not realize that to forget the dead dishonors the living veteran. In asking the veteran to forget, the family asks him to dishonor himself. For anyone, civilian or veteran, to be told to do something dishonorable usually evokes anger. Imagine for example, that your mother has died within the last year, and your spouse or your employer says to you, “Just forget about her.”