At The Barracks this week, I had a realisation about pigs. Specifically about her ladyship, Brunhilda Demagogue.
They have been very escape-y again this week. Which I can understand. The electric fence which is supposed to keep them safe and secure was not working properly, and they are of inquisitive natures. Also, it is a touch muddy after all the rain, snow, hail and more rain this week.
I noticed the fence wasn’t really functioning, but I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what was wrong. The battery was fully charged, the energiser connected and properly earthed, the fence wire all hanging neatly, and the pigs walking directly through it. So I decided to re-hang it all again. Yet again. It turned out that it had somehow become tangled at the far end, and instead of making an open circuit, it had closed itself. In effect, it had turned from an electric fence into the world’s least efficient one-bar electric fire.
So I completely redid it, shocked myself to prove that it was scary enough to keep the Sus inside and they’ve not been out since. They are a bit grumpy though.
Which reminds me - that realisation about pigs. And a scary new take on artificial intelligence.
I’ve always said that Brun especially sometimes hates being left with the pigs. That she forgets that she is one, believes herself to be human, and is positively indignant that she has to share her accommodations with swine.
Well, she did it to me this week, that oh-so human look she gives, and instead of trying to ignore her, I watched her from a secret spot. She stood there for a while, wistfully staring off into the middle distance, contemplating life in the mud until Tony came and nudged her with his powerful stubby snout. She swung around, instantly returning to pig mode, and had a brief chat with him.
The rascal! She knows she is a pig, she has never doubted her pigginess, but she has also learned how to convince me that her identity crisis is real, and that she belongs with the humans. It is a lie! The conniving trickster is not dumb enough to think she is human. She is smart enough to persuade me that she is, whilst never actually believing it herself!
The danger of AI is not that it achieves human-like intellignce, nor even that it becomes superior. It is that is surpasses us greatly, whilst convincing us that it is only human smart! Those pigs! My ever present teachers and explainers of the universe!
This week, among other tasks, I will attempt to do mostly tree and bush related things:
taking cuttings of all quite a lot of fruit bushes, but especially redcurrant and grape
I have found the plans of the original planting schedule of the barracks. A very large hedge has either been removed, or never made it to being planted. I plan to take many many hundreds of cuttings from the hedge in front of the Big House and replace the lost one.
sow larch seeds. I have no idea how easily larch germinates, or how old the cones need to be to contain viable seeds. We shall find out
make some progress on the previously adumbrated tomato house
And now, I guess, I should go and feed those damn pigs!
Until next week, please be excellent to each other
much love
Your Pirate Ben
xoxo
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I so enjoy reading your posts
The piggie-identity-crisis made me laugh! Animals are so good at making us feel things!
My cat had a crisis yesterday - he escaped to the wild outdoors for a whole night and was scared sh*tless but when he was back inside he stared longingly and wistfully out of the window into the garden and made me feel guilty about rescuing him.
Alas, he has no teeth and has cat-„AIDS“, so wouldn’t last a day.