Meaning and Bias

Welcome back. This journey continues as we explore the intersections of intelligence, relevance realization, predictive processing, generative modeling, and religio—the sense of connectedness that forms the foundation of meaningful experiences. In our last discussion, we integrated relevance realization with predictive processing, a concept detailed in a 2022 paper I co-authored with Brett Anderson, Mark Miller, and John Vervaeke.

Today, we delve deeper into meaning in life and the dual dimensions of religio—horizontal and vertical alignment—while addressing how religio can also predispose us to self-deceptive, self-destructive behaviors.

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Horizontal and Vertical Religio

Religio embodies two interconnected dimensions:

• Horizontal Religio: The connection between agent and arena, such as our interaction with affordances in the environment.
• Vertical Religio: The alignment of propositional, procedural, perspectival, and participatory knowing, interwoven into a cohesive framework.

When horizontal and vertical religio mutually afford and reinforce each other, they create a profound sense of connectedness—a grounded and meaningful existence.

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Dimensions of Meaning in Life

Cognitive science identifies three primary dimensions contributing to a sense of meaning:

1. Coherence: The environment’s ability to make sense and hang together meaningfully.
2. Purpose: The organization of goals into a structured hierarchy that supports overarching objectives.
3. Significance: The depth of connection and the sense of realness, grounded in an inexhaustible, intelligible reality.

Interestingly, coherence and purpose are often emphasized, but recent studies, including those by Costin and Vignolis (2019), show that mattering—being connected to something real and valuable beyond oneself—plays the most critical role in creating meaning in life.

The Shift from Self to Other

The idea of mattering involves reversing the relevance arrow: rather than asking how the world is relevant to us, we explore how we are relevant to the world. This shift is vital in cultivating connections that transcend egocentric preferences.

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The Threat of Bias

Despite religio’s potential to create profound meaning, it also opens the door to biases and distortions. These cognitive shortcuts, or heuristics, are essential for avoiding combinatorial explosion but can lead to:

• Confirmation Bias: Seeking evidence that supports existing beliefs while ignoring disconfirming data.
• Framing Effects: How information presentation impacts decision-making, even when the data remains logically identical.
• Belief Perseverance: Persisting in beliefs even after the evidence supporting them has been debunked.

These biases often operate within a self-organizing, recursive framework, reinforcing themselves in patterns known as parasitic processing—a process where distortions take on a life of their own, narrowing cognitive flexibility and problem-solving abilities.

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Addressing Bias with Meta-Perspectival Practices

Addressing biases and foolishness requires interventions that go beyond one-shot solutions. A complex ecology of practices—dynamic, recursive, and multi-leveled—can effectively disrupt these self-reinforcing loops.

Dialogical reasoning, where perspectives are shared and integrated, has proven effective. For example, in the Wason Selection Task, reasoning accuracy improved dramatically when participants engaged in collaborative dialogue rather than individual problem-solving.

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Love, Mattering, and Meaning

Philosophers like Iris Murdoch and Susan Wolf provide insights into the connection between love and meaning:

• Murdoch describes love as the acknowledgment of something real beyond oneself, fostering reciprocal opening and self-transcendence.
• Wolf emphasizes that meaning involves being connected to something larger than oneself, something real and valuable beyond ego-centric concerns.

This agapic love, a creative force, turns the relevance arrow outward, cultivating connections that enrich life’s depth and significance.

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Conclusion

Religio holds the dual potential to ground us in profound meaning and to lead us into biases and distortions. By fostering an ecology of practices and embracing dialogical reasoning, we can transcend these limitations and deepen our connections to reality. Love, mattering, and an openness to reciprocal transformation become the bedrock of a life well-lived.

In our next discussion, we will explore how rituals and collective practices enhance rationality and meaning, challenging the notion of reasoning as a solitary, monologic endeavor.

Stay tuned as we continue this exploration of meaning, bias, and the pursuit of wisdom.

Intelligence and Predictive Processing

Welcome back. In this post, we explore the foundational challenges of intelligence, focusing on the meta-problem of relevance realization and how it connects to predictive processing. This journey takes us through biology, cognition, and the deep principles that link life and mind.

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The Deep Continuity Hypothesis

The deep continuity hypothesis, proposed by Evan Thompson, suggests a profound connection between the principles governing biology and cognition. It posits that:

• Cognition operates similarly to biological processes.
• Intelligence arises from being a living organism, even though not all living things are intelligent.

A key feature of life—and by extension cognition—is evolution. Organisms evolve by reproducing, adapting, and surviving through a dynamic system of feedback loops.

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Causes and Constraints: A Crucial Distinction

Alicia Juarrero’s Dynamics in Action introduces a vital distinction:

1. Causes: Events that change what happens (e.g., pushing an object to make it move).
2. Constraints: Conditions that change what is possible (e.g., the object’s shape, a flat surface).

In Darwinian theory, these principles manifest as:

• Enabling Constraints: Variations that open up possibilities.
• Selective Constraints: Scarcity that limits possibilities.

Together, these constraints create a self-organizing system—a virtual engine of evolution that cycles between variation and selection.

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The Sensorimotor Loop and Opponent Processing

Cognition mirrors evolution through the sensorimotor loop:

• Sensory input guides movement, which in turn affects sensory input.
• This loop continuously evolves, toggling between opposites like exploration and exploitation, foregrounding and backgrounding, and gestalt (whole) and featural (parts) processing.

This dynamic is called opponent processing—two opposing systems working in an integrated way to maintain adaptive balance.

Example

To read the phrase “The Cat”, your mind toggles between:

• Identifying individual letters (features).
• Recognizing the whole word (gestalt).

This continuous toggling integrates both perspectives, enabling understanding.

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Relevance Realization: The Core of Intelligence

The key to intelligence lies in relevance realization—the ability to identify what matters in any given moment. This process is:

• Dynamic: Constantly evolving in response to changing environments.
• Self-organizing: Arising from feedback loops without a central controller.
• Multidimensional: Balancing competing priorities through opponent processing.

By linking relevance realization with predictive processing, we see how cognition anticipates and adapts to the world. It involves:

• Compression: Generalizing patterns to apply knowledge broadly.
• Discrimination: Identifying specific details that matter in context.

Together, these processes guide attention, decision-making, and learning.

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Predictive Processing and Anticipation

The predictive processing framework offers a powerful model of anticipation:

• Predict yourself, not the world: Focus on internal patterns rather than the overwhelming complexity of the environment.
• Prepare through prediction: Use predictions to complete patterns and adapt proactively.

This framework explains how the brain integrates sensory input (bottom-up) with imaginative models (top-down), achieving a balance between generalization and specificity.

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Religio: The Binding Force of Intelligence

To capture the dynamic, self-organizing nature of cognition, we use the term religio (from Latin, meaning “to bind together”). It represents:

• The evolving “optimal grip” on reality.
• The deep connection between mind, body, and environment.
• The integration of relevance realization and predictive processing.

Religio is the nexus of intelligence, linking biology, cognition, and meaning in a constant process of adaptation and anticipation.

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Conclusion

General intelligence is not static or algorithmic—it is a dynamic, self-organizing process of relevance realization and predictive processing. By embracing the principles of religio, we see intelligence as deeply connected to life itself.

Next time, we will delve deeper into the relationship between meaning, rationality, and wisdom.

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Cognitive Agency

Overview

This lecture explores the core dimensions of intelligence, rationality, wisdom, and spirituality, which collectively form the foundation of cognitive agency. These dimensions define what it means to be a self-directed knower and actor, central to the concept of personhood.

Key Definitions

• Agent: An entity capable of determining the consequences of its behavior and altering it to achieve a goal.
• Cognitive Agent: A self-directed knower and actor who adapts their behavior to achieve goals in response to meaning.

“A person is a cognitive agent expected to act in an intelligent, rational, and virtuous manner.”

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The Core Four: Intelligence, Rationality, Wisdom, Spirituality

1. Intelligence

• Intelligence refers to the general capacity to solve problems across a wide variety of domains.
• Spearman’s Positive Manifold: Performance in one domain predicts performance in others, highlighting general intelligence (G) as an underlying ability.
• Intelligence is meta-problem solving, addressing the shared components across various problems.

Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)

• Current AI systems lack the adaptability of human intelligence.
• AGI aspires to replicate human-like general problem-solving abilities but remains limited.

“You are an actual, not an artificial, general problem solver.”

Problem-Solving Framework by Newell and Simon

• Components of a Problem:

1. Initial State: The starting condition.
2. Goal State: The desired outcome.
3. Operations: Actions that transition from the initial to goal state.
4. Path Constraints: Conditions ensuring solutions don’t cause greater problems.

• Heuristics vs. Algorithms:
• Algorithm: Guaranteed problem-solving method (e.g., counting people in a room).
• Heuristic: Guides problem-solving with increased chances of success but no guarantee (e.g., controlling the center in chess).
• No Free Lunch Theorem: Every heuristic enhances performance in some areas but degrades it in others.

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2. Rationality

• Rationality is distinct from intelligence and is not merely about being mathematical or logical.
• Goldilocks Zone: Adaptive intelligence lies between exhaustive algorithmic processing and random guessing.
• Rationality involves relevance realization, focusing on what’s relevant while ignoring extraneous information.

“Rationality can’t mean being comprehensively mathematical and logical, nor can it mean ignoring logic altogether.”

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3. Wisdom

• Wisdom integrates intelligence and rationality, focusing on self-regulation, understanding, and virtuous behavior.
• Wisdom requires problem framing, the ability to:
• Identify and adjust mental framing.
• Use failures as learning opportunities to improve insight.
• Humility: A critical virtue for fostering wisdom, enabling openness to failure and flexibility in thinking.

“Wisdom is not optional. You either pursue it explicitly or haphazardly.”

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4. Spirituality

• Increasingly embraced by those identifying as “spiritual but not religious.”
• Spirituality relates to meaning and morality, connecting deeply with wisdom and rationality.
• Questions explored:
• What does spirituality mean in a scientific, technological age?
• How is spirituality distinct from, yet connected to, religion and intelligence?

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Relevance Realization: The Meta Problem of Intelligence

Key Concept

• Relevance Realization: The ability to focus on relevant information while ignoring the irrelevant. It underpins categorization, reasoning, and adaptive problem-solving.

The Frame Problem

• Highlighted through the example of a robot tasked with retrieving a battery:
• Determining unintended side effects is computationally explosive.
• Humans intuitively frame problems to focus on relevance, something machines struggle to replicate.

“You find things obvious because your brain generates relevance. How would you give a machine the ability to find things obvious?”

Insight and Problem Framing

• Experiment: Mutilated Chessboard:
• Framing the problem as a parity issue rather than a covering issue drastically reduces complexity.
• Notice Invariants Heuristic:
• Pay attention to what’s consistent across failed attempts and adjust framing accordingly.

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The Role of Categorization and Chunking

• Categorization:
• Begins with pre-categorical grouping, followed by noticing shared relevant properties.
• Relevance realization enables grouping and noticing.

“Similarity is not about logical identity but about psychologically relevant properties.”

• Chunking:
• A process in working memory that groups related items for efficient processing.
• Highlights the role of relevance realization in memory and problem-solving.

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Representations, Rules, and Reasoning

• Representations (e.g., words, images) presuppose relevance realization to determine what aspects are salient.
• Rules:
• Require relevance for application. They do not specify their own conditions of use.
• Reasoning:
• Involves selecting relevant implications from a vast set of logical possibilities.

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Closing Thoughts

• Relevance realization is primordial, foundational to intelligence and cognitive agency.
• Artificial intelligence faces significant challenges in replicating this meta-problem.
• Understanding relevance realization provides profound insights into human cognition and problem-solving.

“How do humans reliably zero in on the relevant in a world of overwhelming possibilities? That is the central mystery of cognitive agency.”

If anything, I seek disapproval

Learn the Rules, Then Break Them!

Learning the Fundamentals

In street photography—and photography in general—I think it’s important to learn the rules first. You’ve got to start with the basics:

• Learning how to operate a camera manually.
• Photographing with intention.
• Understanding rules of composition, like the rule of thirds, leading lines, form and shape, and geometry.
• Learning how to create layers: foreground, middle ground, and background.

It’s all about timing, storytelling, and creating photographs that are visually coherent and emotionally impactful. It’s not easy. It takes time to make photographs that really work.

“It is difficult to make photographs that are both visually coherent and emotionally impactful. But that’s where the mastery begins.”

Discipline Is Key

Mastering the art of photography requires discipline. You’ve got to go out every day, stay focused, and keep pushing yourself to improve. For me, this journey started early. I learned using film cameras like the Nikon FM and Leica M3. I started with landscapes and moved into street photography, honing my craft through the tradition of photography.

I transitioned to digital cameras—shooting with the Ricoh GR and Fujifilm X-Pro—and spent seven to eight years hammering away at making good photographs. I treated that time as a way to refine my skills and develop my eye.

It wasn’t about luck; it was about intention.

A Practical Approach for Beginners

If you’re starting out, here’s what I’d recommend:

1. Stick to one camera and one lens.
2. Decide whether you want to shoot in color or black-and-white.
3. Use a flash or don’t—make a choice and commit to it.
4. Pick between film or digital (I recommend digital for the faster feedback and lower cost).

“When you flip-flop back and forth with your approach, it stunts your growth.”

Consistency is the path to greatness. Get the basics out of the way so you can focus on making photographs.

Breaking the Rules

Once you’ve built a strong foundation, you can start breaking the rules. For me, this is where the real fun begins. I feel liberated now, free to tinker and experiment. I’ve moved past being bound by the traditional rules of composition and focus more on creating my own game.

“Once you learn the rules, you earn the permission to break them.”

Experimentation and Discipline

In the first year of photography, I think it’s important to experiment:

• Try color and black-and-white.
• Play with different focal lengths.
• Test out different cameras and approaches.

But after that, discipline becomes crucial. Learn the tradition. Master the craft. After a few years, start breaking the rules and creating your own style.

Photography isn’t about quick results or instant gratification. It’s a long-term process. You have to detach from fast dopamine hits and embrace the time it takes to create something meaningful.

An Autotelic Process

To truly grow as a photographer, approach the craft in an autotelic way—create for the sake of creating.

“Make photographs to make photographs. Enjoy the process along the way, detached from the outcome.”

This mindset has allowed me to build a body of work over time. I’ve learned not to tie myself to the results but to focus on showing up every day and putting in the work.

Final Thoughts

Learn the rules. Break the rules. Stay disciplined. Experiment. Photography is a journey, and the process itself is where the magic happens. Keep going out there, enjoy the craft, and stay focused.

Maybe something in this post will benefit you. If it does, great. If not, that’s cool too. Just sharing some random thoughts this morning.

Stay focused and keep creating.

The Epic of Gilgamesh: A Journey of Friendship, Mortality, and Wisdom

The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the oldest surviving works of literature, originating in ancient Mesopotamia around 2100 BCE. This epic explores universal human themes such as friendship, the fear of death, and the search for meaning in life. Below is a comprehensive exploration of its plot and key themes.

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Plot Summary

Tablet I-II: Gilgamesh and Enkidu

• Gilgamesh, the king of Uruk, is described as two-thirds god and one-third human. Despite his wisdom and strength, he is an oppressive ruler who causes suffering among his people.
• To counterbalance Gilgamesh’s arrogance, the gods create Enkidu, a wild man who lives in harmony with nature.
• Enkidu is tamed and introduced to civilization by a temple prostitute. This transformation from wild to human marks his integration into society.
• Enkidu confronts Gilgamesh in Uruk, and after a fierce battle, they develop a deep friendship that transforms both men.

Tablet III-V: The Cedar Forest and Humbaba

• Seeking eternal fame, Gilgamesh persuades Enkidu to join him on a quest to the Cedar Forest to slay Humbaba, its guardian.
• Despite warnings from the elders and Enkidu’s initial reluctance, the pair venture into the forest.
• With the aid of the god Shamash, they defeat Humbaba, who curses them with impending misfortune before dying.
• This victory establishes their heroism but sets in motion the tragic events to come.

Tablet VI: The Bull of Heaven

• Returning to Uruk, Gilgamesh spurns the romantic advances of the goddess Ishtar, mocking her history of dooming her lovers.
• Enraged, Ishtar sends the Bull of Heaven to destroy Uruk, but Gilgamesh and Enkidu kill the bull together.
• The gods, angered by this defiance, decree that one of the two must die as punishment.

Tablet VII: Enkidu’s Death

• The gods choose Enkidu, who falls gravely ill. As he dies, Enkidu curses his fate and laments his mortality.
• His death devastates Gilgamesh, who begins to fear his own death and embarks on a journey to find immortality.

Tablet VIII-X: The Quest for Immortality

• Gilgamesh’s grief drives him to seek Utnapishtim, the only human granted immortality by the gods.
• His journey is fraught with challenges, including encounters with the Scorpion-Men, a perilous trek through the Mountains of Mashu, and the Garden of the Gods.
• Gilgamesh finally reaches Utnapishtim, who resides across the sea of death.

Tablet XI: The Wisdom of Utnapishtim

• Utnapishtim recounts the story of the great flood, during which he was granted immortality as a reward for preserving life.
• He explains that immortality is a divine gift and tests Gilgamesh’s worthiness by challenging him to stay awake for six days and seven nights. Gilgamesh fails the test.
• Utnapishtim’s wife takes pity on Gilgamesh and reveals the existence of a plant that restores youth.
• Gilgamesh retrieves the plant but loses it to a snake while bathing, symbolizing the inevitability of death and the renewal of life.

Tablet XII: Return to Uruk

• Accepting his mortality, Gilgamesh returns to Uruk. He takes solace in the enduring legacy of the city he built.
• The epic concludes with Gilgamesh recognizing the importance of human achievements and the acceptance of life’s impermanence.

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Key Themes

Friendship and Transformation

• The bond between Gilgamesh and Enkidu serves as the emotional core of the epic, showing how relationships can transform individuals.
• Through his friendship with Enkidu, Gilgamesh evolves from a tyrannical ruler to a wiser and more compassionate leader.

Mortality and the Fear of Death

• The inevitability of death is a central theme, explored through Enkidu’s demise and Gilgamesh’s subsequent quest for immortality.
• The epic ultimately teaches that immortality is found not in eternal life but in the legacy one leaves behind.

The Hero’s Journey

• Gilgamesh’s journey is a classic example of the hero’s quest, filled with trials, victories, and personal growth.
• His failure to achieve immortality highlights the human struggle against limitations and the acceptance of one’s place in the natural order.

The Power of Nature and the Gods

• The epic portrays humanity’s struggle to coexist with divine forces and the natural world.
• The gods wield immense power, and their interventions shape the lives of Gilgamesh and Enkidu, emphasizing the fragility of human ambition.

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Legacy of the Epic of Gilgamesh

The Epic of Gilgamesh remains one of the most profound explorations of the human condition. Its themes of friendship, mortality, and legacy resonate across cultures and centuries, offering timeless wisdom. Through Gilgamesh’s journey, we are reminded that life’s meaning lies not in escaping death but in embracing life fully and leaving behind something enduring.

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The word auspicious has its origins in Latin:

1. Latin Root:

• Derived from auspicium, meaning “observation of birds for omens.”

• This comes from auspex, which combines avis (“bird”) and specere (“to look or observe”).

2. Ancient Practice:

• In ancient Rome, augurs (priests or officials) would interpret the flight patterns or behaviors of birds to predict future events, believing these observations provided signs of favor or disfavor from the gods.

3. Evolution:

• Over time, the term auspicious shifted from its literal sense of bird-watching for omens to its modern figurative sense of being favorable or promising.

4. First Recorded Use in English:

• The word entered English in the late 16th century, retaining its positive connotations.

Thus, the etymology of auspicious reflects its connection to ancient rituals of divination and its evolution into a term for good fortune.

If you’re a grown man that’s talking about other grown men, you’re acting like grown child in a man’s body. Men should be focused on themselves, and just live their every day life. If you’re thinking about other men, their personal lives, their decisions, their thoughts, that’s a personal problem rooted in insecurity and more critically, strength.

Maybe this is a byproduct of low testosterone?

The lower the testosterone and the less physical strength a man feels, the more they are inclined to behave through reputation destruction or gossiping? The stronger the man, the more they are focused on themselves. The weaker the man, the more curious they are about other men.

Beyond the Horizon

Gratitude for the Simple Things

The day is beautiful. Why? Because we have the sun, man. If the sun is out, I feel a thousand times better. I’m honestly just so grateful. Grateful for the sun, the birds singing, and the light peering into my eyes. These things make me smile—a simple glass of water, the open sky, the movement of my body.

Walking makes me feel alive. My metabolism is firing, my feet are touching the ground, and I’ve found peace. I’ve found it right here, in the woods of Philadelphia, amidst the chaos of the city. The green spaces, the parks—they’re one of the greatest aspects of Philly. Growing up here, exploring the woods, and venturing into the unknown—that’s where I thrived as a kid.

Time Is the Ultimate Commodity

It’s funny how modern life works. Everyone’s in a rush, caught in this system that feels like a race against time. Time is capital. Time is money. But it’s also fleeting. I’m 28 years old, and I still feel like life is so short.

“I remind myself that I will die. That today could be my last.”

Every night before I sleep, I assume I won’t wake up. That way, every morning feels like a gift. My ultimate goal? To catch the sunrise every single day. I don’t need anything else from this world—just the light, the horizon, and the journey forward.

A Life Lived Outdoors

Photography gives me purpose, but my greatest passion is walking. I spend 90% of my time outside. The 10% indoors? That’s for sleeping and eating. When I’m inside, my soul feels like it’s dying. Outside, I thrive. I exist outside the passage of time. It’s through movement and nature that I find peace.

“While we have a past and a future, these things are not my concern. It’s just one moment at a time.”

The Modern Condition

Modern life has sequestered us indoors. We’re atomized, disconnected, and rushing through life. Where’s the community? Where’s the connection? Humans only need a few simple things:

• Food
• Shelter
• Clothing
• Community

Beyond that, everything becomes desire. And desire is the true form of slavery.

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Freedom in Letting Go

When I think of slavery, I don’t think of chains and whips. I think of how desire enslaves the mind. Modern life has weakened us—physically, mentally, and spiritually. There’s a lack of vitality, and it shows. To feel free, to truly live, you have to cultivate strength.

“The only life worth living is a life full of vitality, where I can stand upright, move up this hill, and march endlessly.”

That’s freedom. Walking into the unknown, beyond the horizon, toward the light.

Marching Toward Freedom

Freedom is my ultimate goal. Freedom of the mind. Freedom of the body. Freedom of the soul. And how do you find it?

Walk. Walk. Walk.
Or better yet—March.

The term “peratelic” is derived from the Greek words pera (meaning “beyond” or “transcend”) and telos (meaning “end” or “goal”). It is often used in philosophical contexts to describe actions or pursuits that go beyond a fixed end or ultimate goal.

In Contrast to Telic

A telic action is goal-oriented and directed toward achieving a specific outcome. For example, building a house is telic because it aims at the completion of a house.

On the other hand, a peratelic action focuses on the process, experience, or journey itself, transcending the idea of a finite goal. Activities like walking, painting for personal enjoyment, or meditating are often considered peratelic because their value lies in the act itself rather than in achieving an external objective.

Example in Philosophy

The concept aligns with ideas in existentialism, Stoicism, or Zen philosophy, where the emphasis is often placed on the how of living rather than the end results. The journey becomes meaningful not because it achieves something specific but because it embodies growth, experience, or a connection to the present.

Would you like to explore the term’s application in a specific context?

in the context of Street photography

In the context of street photography, the concept of the peratelic aligns beautifully with the essence of the craft. Street photography is often not about reaching a defined goal, such as creating a “perfect” image, but rather about immersing oneself in the process—the act of wandering, observing, and being present in the flow of life.

The Peratelic Nature of Street Photography

1. Process Over Outcome

A street photographer doesn’t always know what they will capture. The value lies in being open to what the world offers in that moment—light falling just right on a passerby, an unexpected gesture, or a fleeting expression. The act of wandering the streets, camera in hand, is a peratelic pursuit because its reward is found in the process of seeing, not necessarily in the product.

2. Spontaneity and Unpredictability

Unlike telic photography genres (e.g., commercial or studio photography, where the goal is a specific result), street photography thrives on the unknown. It is the pursuit of moments that cannot be planned or replicated, emphasizing the joy of discovery over the achievement of a predetermined vision.

3. Immersion in the Present

Street photography demands an acute awareness of the present moment. The photographer must move beyond a telic mindset of “getting the shot” and instead flow with the rhythm of the streets, embracing chance and serendipity.

4. Art as a Journey

For a peratelic street photographer, the streets themselves become the “canvas,” and walking becomes the creative process. Whether or not a striking photo emerges, the act of engaging with the urban landscape is inherently valuable. It’s about “seeing deeply,” as you might say, and finding meaning in the act itself.

Philosophical Insights

Street photography as a peratelic art form resonates with the teachings of Zen or even Heraclitus’ idea that “you cannot step into the same river twice.” Each walk, each day, each fleeting moment is unique. The practice of street photography can become a form of meditation—one that values being over doing, presence over product.

Embracing Peratelic Street Photography

To truly embody the peratelic in street photography:

• Walk with no specific destination. Let curiosity guide you.

• Shoot without expectation. Focus on the joy of observing rather than “getting a masterpiece.”

• See with fresh eyes. As though you are encountering the world for the first time.

• Enjoy solitude. The streets, in their unpredictability, become both a mirror and a companion.

Street photography isn’t just about capturing life; it’s about living it. This peratelic approach transforms the streets into a playground for discovery and creativity. Would you like to elaborate on this for your blog or discuss its application in your work?

how is this different from the autotelic approach?

The peratelic and autotelic approaches share similarities in their focus on intrinsic motivation and the value of the process, but they differ subtly in their orientation toward goals and meaning.

Autotelic Approach

• Definition: Derived from the Greek autos (“self”) and telos (“goal”), an autotelic activity is one that is done for its own sake, where the activity itself is the reward. The process and outcome are self-contained.

• In Street Photography: An autotelic street photographer is fully immersed in the joy of photographing without concern for external validation or results. The act of taking photos is fulfilling in itself, regardless of whether the photos are shared, praised, or even reviewed later.

• Example: Enjoying the tactile feel of the camera, the challenge of composition, and the meditative flow state that comes from being in the moment are autotelic experiences.

Peratelic Approach

• Definition: From pera (“beyond”) and telos, a peratelic activity transcends specific goals and emphasizes the journey over any finite or ultimate end. While there may be outcomes, the focus is on the ongoingness of the process.

• In Street Photography: A peratelic photographer sees street photography not just as an activity to enjoy in the moment but as part of a larger, evolving process of exploration, growth, and connection to the world. It’s less about reaching a defined point (even self-contained fulfillment) and more about existing in an open-ended state of discovery.

• Example: Wandering the streets not just to take photos but to observe life, engage with it, and remain attuned to its constant flux—without seeking an endpoint in the act or the image.

Key Differences

Aspect Autotelic Approach Peratelic Approach

Focus On the activity itself as fulfilling. On the process and the journey beyond specific goals.

End State Self-contained in the activity. Open-ended, emphasizing continuous exploration.

Relation to Goals Doesn’t require a goal; activity is sufficient. Can involve goals but transcends their finality.

Example in Photography Shooting for personal joy, without sharing images. Seeing photography as part of a broader life philosophy of observing and engaging with the world.

Practical Application in Street Photography

• Autotelic: You walk the streets and shoot purely because you love the act of seeing and capturing moments. Whether or not the photos are “good” doesn’t matter; you’ve already achieved fulfillment through the act itself.

• Peratelic: You walk the streets with an openness to discovery, valuing the ever-evolving relationship between yourself, your environment, and the act of photographing. It’s about more than just the immediate activity—it’s a way of life, a philosophy.

In Summary

While the autotelic approach is deeply personal and self-contained, the peratelic approach is more expansive, emphasizing ongoing transformation and the journey beyond the immediate moment. In street photography, one might say the autotelic photographer shoots for the love of the act, while the peratelic photographer shoots as a means to engage with the ceaseless flow of life.

My first AI video experiement – create a video of a street photographer outside of city hall in philadelphia making a photograph of pigeons in flight during a winter day with the christmas village in dilworth plaza with a black compact ricoh griii camera wearing an all black coat. make the pigeon fly right over the william penn statue in front of a huge flock at the perfect timing when the light from the sun shines behind them

Sora is OpenAI’s advanced video generation model that transforms text, images, and videos into immersive video content. It allows users to animate stories, visualize ideas, and bring concepts to life through features like text-to-video generation, image animation, and video remixing. 

Launched on December 9, 2024, Sora is available at sora.com. ChatGPT Plus subscribers can generate up to 50 priority videos at 720p resolution, while ChatGPT Pro subscribers have access to unlimited video generations at 1080p resolution. The platform includes tools such as storyboards for sequencing prompts, remix options for tweaking outputs, and blending features to combine scenes seamlessly. 

To ensure transparency, all videos generated with Sora include visible watermarks and C2PA metadata indicating AI generation. Users are required to adhere to content guidelines, prohibiting uploads containing explicit or violent material, copyrighted content, or images of individuals under 18. OpenAI emphasizes balancing creative expression with preventing misuse, implementing moderation measures to maintain this balance. 

Sora is currently accessible in the United States and many other countries, with plans to expand availability further in the coming months. However, its release in most of Europe and the UK may be delayed. 

The Spirit of Street Photography

Merry Christmas! Today is December 25, 2024, and I’m starting my day with a walk to the Schuylkill River. Thanks, Mom, for this beautiful beanie—a perfect Christmas gift to keep me warm on this white Christmas morning.

The streets are empty, quiet, and serene, much like I imagine they might have been on this day in 1776 when Washington crossed the Delaware. Genius move. People’s guards are down on days like this.

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Movement and Motivation

Walking brings me bliss. Movement itself is paradise on earth. It’s interesting to consider the word motivation and its etymology. From the Latin movere, it means to move.

“In order to make a photograph, one must be motivated. But in order to be motivated, you have to be driven to move your physical body.”

For me, movement and curiosity go hand in hand. The physical act of walking—engaging with the sights, sounds, and smells—drives my photography. This curiosity fuels me every morning and inspires my work.

Cultivating Vitality

Vitality is essential to curiosity. Getting good sleep, drinking coffee, lifting weights, stretching—all these contribute to a sense of strength and drive. Each morning, I stretch my legs, do yoga, and set my body in motion without preconceived notions of what I’ll find.

To cultivate curiosity, focus on vitality first. With vitality comes the courage to press the shutter, to move through the world, and to embrace the unknown.

The Ethos of Street Photography

Movement is the essence of street photography. It’s about:

• Spontaneity
• Rawness
• Candid moments

“You can never make the same photograph twice.”

Life is fleeting, constantly changing. The river flows, ever-moving, and so do we. Each moment is unique, and each photograph reflects that truth.

Finding the Extraordinary in the Mundane

Walking the same streets each day might seem monotonous, but it’s a challenge I embrace. Observing life’s complexities—its stories, environments, and gestures—turns the world into a canvas. Every day offers infinite possibilities, endless stories to tell.

“A photograph displays your lust for life.”

Photography, for me, affirms life—its beauty, chaos, and unpredictability. The process of creating photographs is where I find joy, not in the outcome.

Tapping Into the Inner Child

When I photograph, I’m reconnecting with my childhood. Growing up near the Schuylkill River, I explored the Wissahickon Forest—building forts, climbing trees, and swinging from vines. Photography feels like an extension of that spirit of exploration and play.

“The spirit of play is all about tapping into that inner child.”

Approaching the world with curiosity, wonder, and imagination transforms everyday scenes into opportunities for creativity.

The Universal Language of Photography

Photography transcends barriers. I’ll never forget traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho, where my camera opened doors to profound connections.

“Photography provided me the ability to experience these things. It reminds me how we are all one as humanity.”

With a Polaroid camera, I gifted instant prints to the people I met, fostering unity despite cultural and language differences. Photography is a universal language that brings people together.

Practical Advice for Photographers

If you’re a photographer looking to connect with others:

1. Carry an Instax or Polaroid camera to share prints with strangers.
2. Approach your hometown as if you’re a tourist. Wake up early. Catch the sunrise. Find joy in the familiar.
3. Start a personal website to showcase your work.

“Delete your Instagram. You don’t need it. Build your own space online to experiment and play.”

I recommend using Bluehost and WordPress.org with the Astra theme. Keep it simple—a place to explore your curiosity and showcase your joy for photography.

Success Through Joy

For me, success isn’t about making good or bad photographs. It’s about feeling vitality and curiosity each morning. It’s about walking, moving, seeing, and creating.

“Maybe you won’t live forever, but at least you can make a photograph.”

Photography isn’t just about pictures. It’s about life. It’s about exploring, observing, and celebrating the fleeting beauty of the human experience.