Wit & Wisdom Social Club
In July 2024, together with my co-founder and friend, Vasu, as well as the participation and support of many others, I launched a social club we call “Wit & Wisdom” in Richmond Hill, Ontario. We meet regularly on the last Saturday morning of each month at the Langstaff Community Centre there, as well as irregularly —via our ‘special interest groups’ and other related events — at varying times and venues. For those who would like to learn more, here is a link to our club website. Most of us met each other and formed bonds when we were members of Toastmasters International a number of years ago. (—How the pandemic played havoc with that institution!) But we didn’t want to let our network of friendships wither away — it’s all too easy nowadays to stay at home alone, wrapped in our own tech bubbles. No, we need to get outside of that trap and see each other in person. Isolation and depression are the sad and all-too-common alternatives.
In addition to the materials that I myself have presented at club meetings, I will also link to some presentations made by my colleagues in the club. We call ourselves “Wit & Wisdom” for a reason, as I hope those with the curiosity to explore further will discover.
Presentation: Using Artificial Intelligence Originally delivered in April, 2025, this talk explores the rapid scale-up of “Effective Compute” and how AI is transitioning from a “Smart High Schooler” (GPT-4) toward becoming a fully autonomous researcher. I also share my personal experience using these tools to move from basic student essay analysis to overcoming writer’s block on my upcoming series, starting with The Golden Dewdrop.
Presentation: The Other Pandemic It’s not been so long since Covid-19 turned the world upside down. We were obsessed by the pandemic worldwide, and tragically, many people died from the disease. But there’s another pandemic that has been stalking Western society for decades, and it’s been the cause of many more premature deaths than Covid ever was. The pandemic is rarely labeled as such, but that’s exactly what it is. And just like Covid, it is human-caused; the product of corporatism and greed.