The End of Intuition?? Oh really?

This week's Economist features a book review of Super Crunchers. The book purports to explore how massive data banks automate decision making in such a way that the human element will become less important.

EVERY time a world-class chess player loses to a computer, humans die a little. In this book Ian Ayres, a professor of law and management at Yale University, explains how in many less high-profile endeavours, human intuition and flair are more easily beaten. The sheer quantity of data and the computer power now available make it possible for automated processes to surpass human experts in fields as diverse as rating wines, writing film dialogue and choosing titles for books.

The author originally intended to call his book “The end of intuition”. He changed his mind after a Google AdWords campaign which randomly chose which of two advertisements for the book to display: “Super Crunchers” garnered 63% more clicks than his original choice. He tells of credit card companies that are using similar randomised trials to see which combination of offers and advertising make for the most successful mailshots.

And so begin the wild predictions that doctors will cease to be needed for their diagnoses, teachers for their teaching. The world will go the way of the automaton. We'll all be plugged in and data slaves.

Uh-huh.

Pardon my skepticism here. Technologists have been playing this game for quite some time. But data, no matter how crunched and sliced and diced, is only as good as the use it is put to. One of my Rotary colleagues says "Information without action is wasted" I might modify that in this scenario "Good information without right application is wasted."

Take for instance, the above scenario. The title "Super Crunchers" got 63% more clicks. And it is likely that google was even able to give some demographic data about those clickers: income, interests, etc (all of course anonomized to protect individual identity). That's nice. However, what if it still turns a bunch of people off (frankly, I would have preferred "The End of Intuition" as a more interesting title. Super Crunchers sounds like a new brand of potato chip). What if the people it turns off are really the types of people who the author wants to reach?

More to the point, can we really automate teaching or doctors visits? We may be able to design a general program that works very well for the broad populace, but what about children who are exceptions. Our oldest spent Kindergarden in a Montessori School and now she is in a Classical Christian School -- two opposite models, both of which claim to be tested and superior to all comers. In my experience and observation, I can say that each model works for some kids and not for others. Each model also produces very different end results, and part of the choice lies in what end results parents want from their children's education. I don't think parents want an algorithm deciding for them the ultimate purpose of education.

Neither does this take into account people's adaptability (most models never do). Banner ads were ubiquitous, until people simply started to disregard them. The big wave in advertising now is "product placement" -- every time you see a Pepsi or an Apple computer in a movie, you can bet that some cash was exchanged to make sure that it was a Pepsi, not an RC cola. However, once consumers become aware of it, they become partly innoculated, and it becomes something of a joke.

Maybe I just need to read the book to get it, but I'm so turned off by the title....

From a more positive angle, another quote from the article:

Even the occasional government is accepting that properly analysed data trump ideological conviction. Mr Ayres sings the praises of Mexico's Progresa/ Oportunidades programme, which gave assistance to poor people only if their children attended health clinics and schools. It was tried out on 506 randomly selected villages. The results were so convincing that the programme was expanded 100-fold despite a change of government.

Here we see a good use of data. Rather than breathlessly extolling how data will make human decisionmaking obsolote, here we have data that actually improves human decisionmaking. That's where we will be going. Access to crunched data will not diminish humanity, it will however become a powerful tool in the hands of decision makers.

What they do with that data will make all the difference. And let us remember that decision makers are sinners like the rest of us. Once again, we're back to the orientation of the human heart. Good data in the hands of Stalin is frightening. It all boils back to Sin and Redemption.

And now we're back on the theologians turf...

Soli Deo Gloria
Russell

Tips for improving life

More catching up from a backlog of blogs I follow:

This time from PSFK Trendwatching blog -- a link to the Behance webpage's 100 tips to improve your life.

This is an interesting site. Designed by Creative Professionals for Creative Professionals, the site's goal is summarized in their "philosophy" statement:

Great ideas are conceived and subsequently lost in the hands of creative geniuses, everyday. Frustration, rationalization, and despondence loom as creative people jump from idea, to idea, to idea... and fall short of actually making ideas happen. It is a shame that most creative breakthroughs never materialize.

The Behance team studies exceptionally productive people and teams working in the creative fields. We document the methods and resources that productive creative professionals use to push their ideas forward.

Our inventory of knowledge, products, and services is carefully curated according to our philosophy, "Productive Creativity."

I'd be interested in the community's thoughts on this....

Russell

Allan Trafford on Cultural Amnesia

In tonight's "get through the blogging backlog", I came across Alan Trafford's fine little post about Clive James talking about his book Cultural Amnesia. James used the interview on the Bill Moyers show to defend our need to preserve our cultural heritage, but then he takes pot-shots at the idea that faith in a living God has any part of the heritage that needs to be preserved. Alan writes:

What surprised me about Clive James was the arrogance of his laughter. To be fair, Bill Moyer did not invite him to debate. James was never challenged. It was not put to him that his position is as much an act of faith as is that of the theist. The difference is, of course, that James has faith in his own mental faculties, not in God. He does not see that "the fallenness of humanity," one of the key ingredients of Christian anthropology, has warped him, just as it made a demon out of Adolf Hitler.

James fails to grasp that Western Civilisation requires Augustine, not just Aristotle. Culture, we are told, depends upon a humanist intellectual inheritance, derived from Enlightenment thinkers from Rousseau to Voltaire. In one sense, this is true. The seeds of optimistic modernism have blossomed, but they have become the poisoned plant of postmodernity. Instead of Diderot we are left with Derrida. Yet the culture that gave birth to Erasmus also produced Martin Luther. We cannot lament the loss of cultural icons without recognising the part played by the Christian faith.

That's why James' laughter is dangerous. He, and many like him, already have selective cultural amnesia.

Wow! Alan packs a punch in his posts. Thanks for a real winner.

Soli Deo Gloria
Russell

New Blog Posts from Chaplain Tim Fary in Iraq

Finally catching up on many of the online blogs/journals that I follow. Saw that my friend Tim Fary has put up another post about his service in Iraq. (see my previous post on miltary chaplains for links to his other posts) An excerpt:

One of the soldiers in my unit (we’ll call him Joe) had approached me before we left the states to let me know that he was a Buddhist and would not be needing the services of a Christian Chaplain. I told him since he didn’t need a Chaplain, I suggested that he and I be friends. As I got to know him a little better it became pretty clear to me that his Buddhism had little to do with Buddha, but more with sticking it to his strict fundamentalist parents. He was looking to make his mother mad, and had met with a large amount of success. I had the privilege of meeting her before we left, and she expressed her concern about her son’s choice of religion.

Joe was out on a patrol when a sandstorm hit. It was a pretty rough one, and they only had vehicles for shelter. We had been allowed 3 duffel bags and were told to pack all our gear and anything we might need in those three bags. Joe had decided to use some of his packing space for a Coleman hammock. That night he had strung his hammock up in the back of one of our 5 Ton Trucks. The force of the winds was so strong that the soldiers were sitting between the slats trying to brace the cover of the back of the truck. They were unsuccessful. I was told later that the truck had moved in excess of 15 feet sideways in the sand. During this time, my battalion's only Buddhist got spun up like Frodo Baggins. I guess Buddhism doesn’t give you someone to rescue you when you’re in a bind, because Joe cut a deal with Jesus.

Strange Maps -- an adventure into seeing the world differently

I have some time this afternoon and I'm going through old magazines before taking them to the YMCA (I cut out the address labels and leave my World mazazines in the workout room...a subtle means of evangelism?)

Thus I came across an article I had flagged for blogging, but never did anything with it -- it talks about the weblog www.strangemaps.wordpress.com.

What are some of the maps that are featured on the weblog? How about The Nine Nations of North America, a map that calls into question the whole Red State/Blue State divide. Akin to it is the Ex Unum Pluribus map suggesting the division of the US into about 10 different nations (which very nicely features Cincinnati as the capital of the nation of "West Kendiano")

As a former Florida resident, I certainly enjoyed the United States of Florida map.

There's also the GDP map of the USA, which renames each state with a nation that has a similar sized GDP (Gross Domestic Product -- a measure of economic output) to that of the state. Ohio residents will be glad to know that our economic output is akin to that of Australia, Floridians match that of the Korean Republic. North Carolina is paired with Sweeden. But dear old South Carolina is matched up with Singapore (could be worse -- Alabama is comparable to Iran)

There's also the map from Jesus trip to India -- I guess I missed that part of the Bible. Guess that explains why there's a Jesus Tomb in Kashmir (and one in Japan as well).

There are also military maps, maps of fantastical places, historical maps, editorial cartoon maps. This collection is interesting and pretty fun. Joel Belz in his World review writes "What's more fascinating about strangemaps.com is its call to try a new perspective and a different frame of reference. Jesus did htat in His teaching. 'You have heard...,' he often said -- 'but I say to you...' Strangemaps.com, to be sure, doesn't come with biblical warrant. It may prompt you to remember, though, that a 'God's eye view of things' is usually not the traditional one. In that sense, a fresh perspective can be a very good thing." (from World Magazine, Aug 4, 2007).

Soli Deo Gloria
Russell

Summer Book Report: From the Trenches of Fantasy Literature

Most of my friends know that I'm a fantasy literature fan. It started with C.S. Lewis and grew into a love of the Tolkien works. I'm particularly drawn to the genre of epic fantasy, and have spent countless hours in the works of Terry Brooks (Good, but not as good as I wanted), Christopher Stasheff (great), Robert Jordan (started well and then became abysmally dull), Dennis McKiernan (really entertaining, though preachy at times), and JK Rowling (is any commentary really needed here?)

This summer, I took a break from some of the heady theology, and dipped back into the fantasy genre. Part of my thinking was that the Harry Potter series was ending, and I wanted to find something to take it's place. The nice thing about contemporary fantasy literature is that most of it is a really quick read (try jumping from Calvin or Augustine to this stuff .... you feel like the pages fly by!), so I've been able to enjoy a lot of it this summer. Here then are some mini-reviews for your consideration.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Yes, I waited in line. Yes, I read it within 3 days. Suffice it to say I found the ending to this epic very satisfying. Rowling worked in some very nice Christian imagery and worked out the various conflicts in the plot well. Of course, in terms of imaginative energy, this series has been running on steam that was built up since book 4...very little of the verbal cleverness that characterized books 1-3. But the spirit was there, and that's what counted for me.

His Majesty's Dragon

This was recommended to me as "Master and Commander....with Dragons." Think Napoleonic wars...think British stiff upper lip and "God save the Queen" and all that rot. Then throw in dragons as though they were giant bombers with aviation crews. It's a clever idea. The writing was brisk and the adventure was crackling good. Even so there was something missing. This wasn't really an epic as much as it felt like a historical romance novel without any kissing. Heavy on plot, light on insight into human character. Author Naome Novis gives a fun first read, but I'm not sure this is going to make my "I've got to read the series" list (there are, by the way, two follow up novels thus far).

The Lies of Locke Lamora

I mostly enjoyed reading this caper novel...and that bothers me. Set in a fantasy city modelled on Venice near the cusp of the renaissance, this story focuses on the extraordinarily brilliant con man, Locke Lamora, and his band of thieves. There is magic in the book, but it's very subtle. The imaginative world is rich and detailed and the characters are vibrant in their individuality. But it's all dark. The characters are all theives, cutthroats, charlatans, powerhungry aristocracy, or something worse. Author Scott Lynch is not squeamish about depicting cruelly enacted bloodshed, nor does he flinch at killing off major characters. About the only virtue in the book is that of loyalty to friends. The ethos presented hearkens back to darker pagan days...the ethos of Odysseus the trickster. Quite simply, I felt oily after reading this book. Lynch plans a 7 book series....he's a talented writer, but I think I'll pass.

Slaves of the Shinar


This debut work from Justin Allen (indeed, all of these, except Harry Potter, are debut novels) hasn't received much attention...but it should. This isn't strictly fantasy per se. It's actually an imaginative story set in the distant legendary past (those familiar with the land of Shinar will recognize it as taking place in the antediluvian world...indeed one of the minor characters turns out to be the father of Noah). So we see here Allen's imaginative understanding of who the Nephilim of the Old Testament were....as they prepare to sweep across Shinar (ancient Mesopotamia) and conquer it all. This book shares many things in common with Locke Lamora...unflinching violence, many of the main characters are thieves and cutthroats. However we see glimpses in this text that there is something worth fighting to preserve. There are ordinary citizens of the Mesopotamian towns who are interested in being peacable and not shafting others. Indeed, out of the epic conflict with the Nephilim, many of the theiving and hard bitten characters begin to grope toward something like civilization. It's a good read...not exactly uplifting, but neither is it cynical.

but the winner is....

Mistborn

Imagine the typical epic fantasy story... the young hero from a backwater village is summoned forth. He's told that the prophecies speak of him... and that he is the one to defeat the evil overlord.

And he fails

What does the world look like after a millenia of domination by the evil overlord? What happens when the peasantry begin to see hope again for freedom from domination? That is the scenario of this book. In some ways, it feels like A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (Solshenitzen's tale of living in a Russian gulag), in other ways, it is not unlike the Lies of Locke Lamora -- an incredibly clever thief and his gang work on an outrageous plot to take down the evil emperor. We also have the coming of age element of the young naive hero (or in this case, heroine) who must learn about her amazing powers and discover her place in the rebellion against the emperor.

OK. It's Star Wars in fantasy land. And I mean that comparison in the best sense. I found this book to be rich in both realism about human frailty and optimism that there is indeed something worth fighting for. The story has a strong redemptive theme to it. Here's a series that I look forward to reading more of.

Excelsior

Russell

Union In Christ: "Were on a Mission from God"

Purves and Achtemeier begin their commentary with a brief discussion of the title: Union in Christ. Their thesis is that the concept of Union in Christ is the defning characteristic of Christian life, witness, and unity.

Union in Christ is also a key component of our personal identity: “Those baptized into Christ are united with him in a spiritual relationship that now defines them in their core identity.” (9) This statement isn’t supposed to be a statement about the sacrament of baptism – Purves and Achtemeier are assuming the background of Presbyterian understanding of baptism – that it is not the action that is efficacious, but the faith behind the action. However by speaking in terms of sacrament, they’re demonstrating the inseperable nature of faith and obedience. Faith in Christ leads us to obey the call to repent and be baptized – and in our baptism as a response to faith, we are spiritually strengthened with greater faith. That greater faith confirms for us our core identity as belonging to Christ.

The opening verse of scripture from Colossians 1:17 is very telling regarding their purposes – to take our eyes off ourselves and our agendas and machinations and fix them upon Christ: “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Without Christ, the authors point out, human life slips back into “chaos and nonbeing.”

These are big claims – and they hinge on the question “Who is this Christ then” – is he the wandering dusty prophet of the skeptics? Is he the radical antiestablishmentarian revolutionary of protest warriors? Is he the uber-peace child of 1970’s musicals?

Achtemeier and Purves make it pretty clear which Christ they speak of: “With the witness of Scripture and the church through the ages we declare….” Their purpose is not to re-envision Christ. Quite simply, their assertion is that Christ has made himself known clearly through Scripture and through the testimony of the saints; it behooves us to listen to them.

There have always been radical voices that reject the historic affirmations about Christ; yet they have done so against the testimony of scripture and the saints of the past. At some point they have said “I don’t care what scripture says” or “I don’t care about the whole counsel of God, I only accept this book as scripture” or “The church has gotten it wholly wrong, and we alone are the repository of truth.” These voices are present in history; they may have even been ascendant for a season of history, yet they don’t accurately represent the Christ as revealed in scripture.

But wait, what of the Reformation? Isn’t this exactly the kind of thing that has happened in reformation and renewal movements of the past. Not at all. Reformation and renewal is at its core a call to return to the scriptures and return to the witness of the saints of the past. The proliferation of denominations, sects, and movements is not necessarily a witness against Christian unity, but rather it can be a witness for it. For it demonstrates that there are essentials on which all Christians must be united, and there are other areas that may organizationally divide us (proper administration of baptism, for instance; or structuring of church government) but we may still be united in our witness of Christ as lord and savior.

It is for this reason that I as a Presbyterian can claim Augustineof Hippo, Patrick of Ireland, Bernard of Clarveaux, John Chrysostom, Teresa of Avila, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Dorothy Sayers, JC Ryle, Fanny Crosby, John Wesley, and a legion of other non-Presbyterians as the saints of the past upon whose foundation I build. I can claim them as my own heritage because we all share the same confession of the same Lord – we all understand the same Christ. It is the Christ of the Nicene Creed; the Christ of the whole scriptures – fully human and fully divine. The second person of the Trinity. The prophet, priest, and king of our confession.

This is the Christ that Purves and Achtemeier talk about in their declaration:

Jesus Christ is the gracious mission of God
To the world
And for the world.
He is Emmanuel and Savior,
One with the Father
God incarnate as Mary’s son,
Lord of all,
The truly human one.
His coming transforms everything.
His Lordship casts down every idolatrous claim to authority.
His incarnation discloses the only path to God.
His life shows what it means to be human.
His atoning death reveals the depth of God’s love for sinners.
His bodily resurrection shatters the powers of sin and death.

They begin with the unusual statement “Jesus Christ is the gracious mission of God to the world and for the world” – At the time of their writing, this was a relatively unfamiliar way of naming Jesus. We think of individuals carrying out a mission, or living a mission or having a mission – But Jesus is the mission. He doesn’t just show they way and proclaim the truth and teach about life. He is the way, the truth and the life. He is the word made flesh. He is the human embodiment of the triune God whose self revelation to Moses was “I am that I am” (exod 3:14). He is the fulfillment of all scriptures (Luke 24:27, Matt 5:17).

This wording fits, because Jesus mission is likely much bigger than simply the salvation of sinners. Certainly that is the part of his mission that concerns us and puts our heart at ease, but that’s not the sum total of God’s mission. The declaration talks about Jesus’ true humanity, Jesus’ authority, Jesus’ victory over sin and death, among other things. And there is more to Jesus’ mission than that. The very glory of God is an end goal of Jesus’ mission: “Truly truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.” (John 5:19-20) The whole discourse in John 5 speaks of the intimate relationship of God the Father and God the Son and God the Spirit – ultimately pointing to the end goal of the greater glory of the Triune God.

Rightly said then is the statement that Jesus is God’s mission. We could spend a lifetime contemplating the implications of that truth.

Soli Deo Gloria

Russell

Back From Hiatus: On to more reading -- Union in Christ by Purves and Achtemeier

Yes, I've taken a three week or so hiatus from blogging. We've had a number of activities that have left me with little energy for blogging.

Yet the summer reading goes on, and as we bring our Covenant-First summer book clubs to a close, we're starting into Union In Christ: A Declaration for the Church by Andrew Purves and Mark Achtemeier. Thus, it's time for me to get back to the keyboard and think through this concise and well written document. This text is a different kind of document from the other books we’ve looked at this summer. Andrew Murray’s Absolute Surrender was a devotional book distilled from a number of addresses given to general audiences. Meanwhile Torrance’s Worship, Community, and the Triune God of Grace was distilled from a focused lecture series given to a group of theological students.

Union in Christ is not a series of lectures. It is subtitled “A Declaration for the Church” – the more likely literary parallel is the United States Declaration of Independence. In both, we have a short, pithy statement that is carefully worded and each phrase bears the weight of great reflection. On the other hand, the statement is designed to be intelligible to non-specialists. The language used is deliberately chosen to stir the hearts of readers. Both declarations were authored by small committees to be presented to larger bodies for approval (the continental congress in the case of the US declaration; the Presbyterian coalition in the case of Union in Christ).

However, the Union in Christ text also contains the author’s commentary on the declaration itself – thus we get to see and understand some of the reasoning going into the careful wording, and we’re prompted to greater reflection. In short, with the commentary and questions, a theological document transforms into a devotional piece. Purves and Achtemeier did a great service in continually pointing us to the scriptures that undergird their work. Too often in contemporary theology, scripture reference is an afterthought, lending the impression that the cleverness of the theologian is more important than the foundation upon which he builds. Purves and Achtemeier have no such inclinations. They consistently lead us back to scriptures. They take great pains to show that their teaching is not a new one – it is the foundational teaching of the church rooted in scripture; their aim has been to state the basic truths in fresh ways.

Like all documents, this one is time-bound. However as a declaration, it is designed to address the issues of its day – which continue to be issues within the Presbyterian church and the church at large. The five sections of this declaration deal with: Christology (who is this Jesus), discipleship (what is life in Jesus), authority (who says what’s what), mission (what is the church supposed to be doing), and church unity (what is it that binds us together). Purves and Achtemeier take pains to point out that a declaration, by its nature, is limited in scope. This isn’t a systematic theology. They ask that they evaluate the statement based on what it says about the topics covered, rather than what is left out.

So over the next few days, join me as we explore this document together.

Soli Deo Gloria
Russell