Creative Differences in 2024

As another year of the Gregorian calendar rolls around it is customarily time to look ahead, although this year I can’t say I am looking forward. There seems to be endless strife in the world and people that I know, admire, like and love were deeply affected in 2023 and the pain continues. And here, even in my comfortable little town, there is a real sense of dread about what 2024 might bring in the USA.

By nature, I am not an optimist. It possibly comes from being raised in a rain-sodden country. But the Irish poet Seumas Heaney wrote that “Hope is not optimism, which expects things to turn out well, but something rooted in the conviction that there is good worth working for.”

I am deeply hopeful in that sense. I believe that there is good at the heart of Creation. Even where we see the greatest human evil (to be found in indifference rather than in hate) we can look deeper or look wider and find acts of tremendous love and care. For this, I am deeply hopeful. 

Talking of optimism. There is an old story about optimists seeing the glass half full and pessimists seeing the glass half empty. A Quaker friend - a dedicated hospice nurse - once told me that the glass is, truly, entirely full: it’s half water and half air. One day, especially as your last breath nears, you might find yourself as thankful for the air as for the water.

My Creative Differences logo. You may see a lot more of it this year, with a more intense publishing schedule.

Coming up this year

In my field of work - in data and analytics - the overriding topic of interest in 2023 was of course Artificial Intelligence and in particular generative AI. I wrote thousands of words on this myself. And again, there is a lot of anxiety around the topic, including the use of AI for evil, the inadvertent failures of AI which are sure to come and of course the fear that AI will take over the work of humans.

As usual, what we need to worry about is not AI, but people … and their use of AI. Even when we fear that AI will take out jobs, the real fear is that AI will take our source of income and when it does, our fellow humans will not help us out.

No doubt we will have a lot more to discuss on this topic in 2o24.

In this newsletter, you will see some changes. Not least, you will see more newsletters. As the year progresses, I may split the newsletter into separate subjects so you can subscribe only to topics of interest. There will be more book reviews and a regular look at software companies - mostly smaller companies - which I admire and which I think you should know about.

We’ll also see the podcast finally take off. I have really struggled with the podcast format, because so many of the ones I come across are uninteresting to me: overlong, self-indulgent. But I have been inspired by some great ones over the last year, so here, to close out this first newsletter of 2024,  there is a list below of those I have been learning from when it comes to style, structure and format - and of course great content.

Happy New Year!

Donald

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Recommended podcasts …

Africa Daily

Alan Kasuja is a humane, insightful and to-the-point interviewer picking many absorbing details about the world’s most dynamic continent. The future is in Africa and Africa Daily is where to see that excitement emerging, with all its setbacks, failings, love and energy. ‎Africa Daily on Apple Podcasts

Empire

The historians William Dalrymple and Anita Anand examine the empires of history and the present day. Their astonishing knowledge is worn lightly, but they love their subjects and their enchantment with history is contagious. More importantly, they also reveal the profound roots of the modern world - and many of our geopolitical problems - in the history of empire. ‎Empire on Apple Podcasts

FT Tech Tonic

This is the only technology podcast I subscribe to. I do listen every day to podcasts from vendors and analysts as a way of keeping up with specific companies and trends, but that’s work and I do it as part of my working time and I discover interesting episodes via Twitter or LinkedIn. The Financial Times Tech Tonic is the only techie podcast I follow outside of work. It’s excellent at balancing technical interest with coverage of broader socio-political impacts. FT Tech Tonic on Apple Podcasts

This Jungian Life

I really enjoy this format. Three Jungian analysts, colleagues and friends, explore a topic in depth from the point of view of Jungian studies. I happen to be interested in Jung, so I find it very engaging, but I have also like the format a lot. ‎This Jungian Life Podcast on Apple Podcasts

The Mahabharata with Arti Dand

What a joy! A journey through the breathtaking Indian epic, with a remarkable eye for the inspiring, the ridiculous, the dramatic and the profound all at once. Arti Sand is irrepressible and her knack for summarizing the vastness of the epic with and insight is priceless. I have at least a dozen versions and translations of the Mahabharata in my library but I think I learned more from this podcast than from all of them!  ‎The Mahabharata with Arti Dhand on Apple Podcasts

The Rest is Politics

I have stopped reading news online on a daily basis. I don’t miss it at all. There is rarely anything I need to know about right now, that I can’t learn more about on a slower, longer-form cycle. So I read the Economist each week and listen to a couple of current affairs podcasts. All through 2023 I don’t feel I have missed out on anything at all. This is one of the current affairs programs (along with the New Statesman) which I enjoy. Its format reminds me of Empire - two urbane, erudite expets in the field (in this case politics rather than history, but they know their history too) in conversation. They come from different poles of politics, but they find much to agree on and their perspectives are all the more interesting for being  founded on friendship and commitment rather than on mere opposition  and point-scoring.  ‎The Rest Is Politics on Apple Podcasts

Very Pink Knits

Of course I had to include a knitting podcast. There are several very good ones. This is one I support on Patreon because it is really helpful with technical information but also conversationald and fun. The presenters doesn’t take themselves too seriously, but they are seriously committed to helping out knitters with problems, from the beginner to the expert.  ‎VeryPink Knits - Knitting Q and A on Apple Podcasts