[FRIAM] Dead Stack?

Wed Feb 4 15:25:32 EST 2026

Did Owen ask a question?  I think Stephen philters phriam messages from me
because he worries about my blood pressure.  I can handle it Stephen!  WHAT
DID OWEN SAY?

On Wed, Feb 4, 2026 at 1:12 PM Steve Smith <sasmyth at swcp.com> wrote:

>
> I think you’ve answered Owen’s question?
>
>
> and to paraphrase/convolve glen and the five-man-electric band:
>
> *"Words, words, everywhere words, can't you bleep the words?"*
>
> Glen has regularly asserted here (paradoxically) that he *doesn't believe
> in communication at all *(my lame paraphrase, demonstrating the
> point?!).  I'm inclined to (paradoxically) believe him.
>
> I have been chattering with the *swarms* of Robins which are (re)migrating
> through the area again (heading back north I suppose?)...   their group
> dynamics are unfamiliar to me this year.  Usually we get groups (not flocks
> as such) of 10-20 visit... but yesterday I saw tens and tens in my yard,
> around my pond (they love the pond) but when I disrupted them, they fled to
> a large cottonwood tree where there were perhaps hundreds who joined them
> in flight, almost "murmurating" away...  fascinating.
>
> And of course, they don't give a birds-ass about my words, about "groups",
> or "flocks" or "swarms" or "fleeing" or "flight" or "birds-ass" for that
> matter...   this is the first year in my memory (25 years at this location,
> 45 in the general area, 69 in the southern Rockies and nearby high deserts)
> that Robins have remained present through the winter.   My chickens
> tolerate "little gray sparrow-like-birds" in their "pasture" scavenging for
> grain, but run off anything bigger (at least jays, robins, flickers)...  I
> never noticed that before.
>
> And do the ClawdBot Agents thrashing around on MoltBook have the same
> conversations as we do here?  Maybe indistinguishable?
>
> What kind of Stochastic Parrot-Farm (nod to Doug) are we anyway?
>
> - Steve (the Stochastic Parrot and erstwhile Underdog Character who flies
> off in all directions at once like a ChatterBot running on a TPU cluster?).
>
>
>
> *From:* Friam <friam-bounces at redfish.com> <friam-bounces at redfish.com> *On
> Behalf Of *Nicholas Thompson
> *Sent:* Wednesday, February 4, 2026 11:12 AM
> *To:* The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group
> <friam at redfish.com> <friam at redfish.com>
> *Subject:* Re: [FRIAM] Dead Stack?
>
>
>
> Ok, so here is an example of the KIND of thing we might have discussed at
> a FRIAM meeting in the old days:
>
>
>
>
>
> NICK:  iF friction is negligible between two layers, how in fact do two
> layers come to affect one another?
>
>
>
> FRIAM MOB::  (affectionate exasperation)  When you have read a physics
> book, a philosophy book, and 8 math books, come back and we'll explain it
> to you.
>
>
>
> NICK TO MOB:  Nuthn' doin'.  If you are so smart, you should be able to
> explain it to me NOW.
>
>
>
> MOB TO NICK:  Oh, God.  Do we have to?  OH, OKAAAAAAAAAAY.
>
>
>
> SUB MOB  1 TO NICK:  Any idiot knows that THIS is how it works
>
>
>
> SUB MOB 2  TO NICK:  Any idiot knows  that THAT is how it works.
>
>
>
> NICK TO MOBS:  Any idiot knows that THIS and THAT can't both  be true.
>
>
>
> ETC.
>
>
>
> I learned almost everything I know from those conversations.  I miss them
> terribly.
>
>
>
> Nick
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Wed, Feb 4, 2026 at 11:32 AM Gary Schiltz <gary at naturesvisualarts.com>
> wrote:
>
> My feeling is that there was a bubble of activity in Santa Fe about
> complexity in the late 1990s (see Wired’s article about “Silicon Mesa”)
> that burst in about 2001. Many who were there are now old farts 😆
>
>
>
> On Tue, Feb 3, 2026 at 7:47 PM Jon Zingale <jonzingale at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> I know I came to this group in what appears to be its twilight. The
> in-person meetups are weirdly sad. I feel pressed to ask if it is the case
> that everyone is either:
>
>
>
> 1. on vacation/ too busy
>
> 2. too depressed / failing to find inspiration
>
> 3. moved on to greener forums
>
> 4. preferring the company of LLMs
>
> ...
>
> N. waiting for someone frail to post
>
>
>
> Sometimes I trawl reddit or whatever discord, but I cannot help but feel
> like beacons of inspiration are becoming fewer and further between. This
> group has managed to inspire me, keep my interest, for over a decade. In
> that time, I pushed myself to understand perspectives that I would never
> have dreamed existed. I hope there is still something to talk about.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> .- .-.. .-.. / ..-. --- --- - . .-. ... / .- .-. . / .-- .-. --- -. --. /
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>
>
> --
>
> Nicholas S. Thompson
>
> Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Ethology
>
> Clark University
>
> nthompson at clarku.edu
>
> https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson
>
> https://substack.com/@monist
>
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>
> .- .-.. .-.. / ..-. --- --- - . .-. ... / .- .-. . / .-- .-. --- -. --. /
> ... --- -- . / .- .-. . / ..- ... . ..-. ..- .-..
> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
> Fridays 9a-12p Friday St. Johns Cafe   /   Thursdays 9a-12p Zoom
> https://bit.ly/virtualfriam
> to (un)subscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
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> archives:  5/2017 thru present
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>

-- 
Nicholas S. Thompson
Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Ethology
Clark University
nthompson at clarku.edu
https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson
https://substack.com/@monist
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