<p>Hi everyone,</p>
<p>It's been sometime since I, or anyone, has mentioned anything here. I think it should be stated how much this place means to me. A friend of mine created this place, and I often reflect on how important this place has been especially within my very chaotic year.</p>
<p>I was diagnosed with anxiety nearly a year and some handful of months ago. Anxiety takes shape differently in men then it does in women; which is completely fine. However, often men are taught to suppress emotions so anxiety often takes shape in the form of depersonalization and derealization. These two symptoms are my main ones and were some of the worst things I've ever felt. I've been working on it though. If you are unsure about what those are, I recommend researching what they are if you aren't certain.</p>
<p>But I've been able to enjoy some of the greatest moments of my life despite it all. I think that is extremely important as milestones to my pains.  I think sometimes the pain in life is worth fighting those hard battles. Even against yourself, when they are inside of your head. </p>
<p>Anyways, I hope this finds you all well and you keep on fighting those hard battles. I think it's tough out there and you have to just keep going. I hope all of you are doing well and keep growing like I have. I am thankful forever of this place and places where I can speak openly. Connection to those who want to be there for you is extremely important, never forget theat.</p>

A Yearly Update

<h1 id="10-misunderstandings-of-meditation">10 Misunderstandings of Meditation</h1>
<p>Along my self-improvement journey, I have picked up a lot of things from different sources that have helped shape how I practice healthcare for myself - the medicine in this case being routines, habits, and practices and avoiding unnecessary substances (I can’t seem to get over coffee though). One of these helpful practices that I have learned to really enjoy is meditation. When bringing this up in conversation, I notice that mediation has almost a social taboo around it - similar to talking about religion or politics. I am disappointed by this because there are a lot of misunderstandings that have been propagated in our generations on what meditation is. I want to spread the word about the benefits and help people understand that it is merely a tool that everyone has access to in their mental workshop.</p>
<p class="preface-note"><em style="opacity: .9;">
(Note: If you would like to skip this and go directly to the scientific evidence on the benefits of meditation, go to the last misconception at the <a href="#10-meditation-has-no-proven-benefits">end of this article</a>)
</em>
</p>
<p>There seem to be a lot of people that associate meditation with a certain social group. You know the stereotype: the hippy, granola-eating, van lyfe, harem pants, etc… Nothing against people who do that - I have been tempted to take a break from the usual life and experience a living-in-a-van <sub><sup><sub><sup> down by the river </sup></sub></sup></sub> journey for a year. Regardless of this perception of meditation, it might surprise you how many people meditate now and the trend of its growth. It is hard to gather data on who in the world has meditated in a given time frame, but they say approximately <a href="https://www.nccih.nih.gov/research/statistics/nhis/2017">14% of U.S. adults practiced meditation in 2017 compared to 4% in 2012</a>.</p>
<p>Also more concerning, I have noticed that for people trying it for the first time, there are a lot of misconceptions people have. Unfortunately, when people expect things to happen and they don’t, then they will give up - and it is completely valid and logical to think that. When people are not able to see the positive results in other people that a practice has provided, it is harder to justify taking time out to practice anything. Similar to exercising, if we don’t see the benefits, why would we do it? It is up to us to remove misinformation that the unknown inherently creates. The most productive way is to help inform others that the experience is intended to be a unique and individual journey. This is so we can remove the generalizations on what the practice is or is not to others. Here are the misconceptions about meditations that I have noticed:</p>
<h2 id="1-meditation-is-only-a-spiritual-practice">1. Meditation is Only a Spiritual Practice</h2>
<p>Although the first written mention of meditation itself <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4895748/">was mentioned in the Vedas</a>, the earliest religious texts of Hinduism, the practice has been incorporated as a practice across most religions and as an agnostic ritual. Sufism, Taoism, Budhism, Christianity, Judaism and many others have practiced it for their spiritual benefit. The Greeks were an early example of a Western culture that incorporated meditation into their practices of introspection known as “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melete">Melete</a>". These, along with the studies on the benefit of meditation, have helped shape the modern practice we know today in the West.</p>
<p>I have often heard from people that they don’t meditate because they are not very spiritual. On the flip side, I have also heard from people that they don’t meditate because they practice a certain religion and they feel that it would be against their religious practice to do so. We know that meditation has been used in this spiritual manner, but it doesn’t mean you have to incorporate this. The experience of meditation is only defined for you based on who you are. This sounds obvious, but it is important to distinguish that meditation is merely a tool rather than a result.</p>
<h2 id="2-there-is-only-one-way-to-meditate">2. There is only one way to meditate</h2>
<p>One thing I have learned from talking to others who meditate as a regular part of their practice is that the experience is almost unique to every individual. Some people like to focus on their breath, some people like to give themselves affirmations. Some people even want to practice more spiritual expeditions where they attempt to tap into their previous lives - for those that believe in reincarnation.</p>
<p>There are many different ways people <em>choose</em> to meditate, and they are all valid. I have noticed this in different guided meditations. I have learned that every person who guides you through meditation has a different idea of what meditation is to them. None of it is the same. In fact, you could almost compare it to a thumbprint of how our minds process information and as proof that we are all unique people. So no, there is not just one way to meditate, but an infinite amount of ways to meditate.</p>
<p>If you meditate already, and you disagree with anything in this article, you are absolutely correct.</p>
<h2 id="3-you-have-to-meditate-in-a-particular-position">3. You have to meditate in a particular position</h2>
<p>Everyone pictures meditation as having to be cross-legged, hovering off the floor, and palms up with our thumb and pointer finger together. I have tried it this way (lacking the levitation because I haven’t figured it out yet) and it is so uncomfortable for me, so I just sit on my beanbag. You can meditate anywhere and everywhere you want. You can even have your eyes open, be doing a task, or do whatever you want.</p>
<h2 id="4-“meditation-just-doesn’t-work-for-me”-or-“i-am-just-not-good-at-meditation”">4. “Meditation just doesn’t work for me” or “I am just not good at meditation”</h2>
<p>I don’t mean to be accusatory in bringing up this misconception of sorts, but I want to share my opinion - from my own experience - on why some don’t think it is right for them. Often, when people start to meditate, either first timers or after a long time not meditating, meditation is often a <em>very</em> frustrating experience. We find it hard to sit still with our thoughts. This is a good signal though. I compare it to the experience of physical pain. In order to learn that fire is hot, we first might have to experience the pain of heat to really <em>get it</em>. Similar to meditation, we need to acknowledge and validate our thoughts in order to truly acknowledge our present self. I compare it to shedding off the old skin of the world’s BS that truly doesn’t benefit me or anyone by thinking about it. I have learned, for me, it is not healthy to ignore and distract myself from my own thoughts.</p>
<p>Sometimes, meditation can absolutely suck. Sometimes, it can be so frustrating that we think we are bad at meditation because we are somehow “bad” with our own brains and how we manage our thoughts. We might have this feeling that we should somehow “be better”. Sometimes, we think that meditation is not for us because we don’t notice any immediate effects. A lot of times, other things give us way more stimulating, happy effects compared to meditation, so our brain tries to steer us away from it. I am here to tell you that it is impossible to be bad (or good) at meditation. You can’t be bad at practicing something, because it’s just not related to skill. Just know, that you are valid and are not any less for thinking this way because everyone experiences this.</p>
<h2 id="5-meditation-is-only-a-way-to-relax-by-means-of-escapism-or-distraction">5. Meditation is only a way to relax by means of escapism or distraction.</h2>
<p>I am guessing this is a very common thought. “Am I just doing this to avoid something in my life?” I often wonder about it still. Taking from the previous point, I mentioned that a big part of meditation is acknowledging our own thoughts. When I actually try to meditate with a result in mind, I am realizing that I am trying to just escape from the thoughts that I have. When I expect this to happen, more and more thoughts overtake my mind very quickly. It is similar to when someone says “<a href="https://youtu.be/ffOJC8s5Uuw">Don’t think of an elephant!</a>”</p>
<p>Imagine then trying super hard to escape from that thought of this hypothetical elephant. The more effort you put into not thinking about the elephant, the more elephants will pop up and dance around in your mind. Maybe even they will start to talk to each other and you might even imagine an elephant town bustling with elephants in their gigantic elephant cars and getting <a href="https://youtu.be/CA2sF22isCw">elephant road rage</a>.</p>
<p>In order to not think about something, we must first face it head-on. In order to get over fears, we must face them and accept their validity. Anything that occupies space in our&nbsp;big ol’ brains we have to experience in order to leave it behind. Meditation can be a means to accomplish this. With it, I feel like I have the tools to choose what thoughts I want to associate with in my present state and what thoughts I merely want to observe. In this way, we are facing ourselves in our truest selves, and I would consider it the opposite of escapism.</p>
<h2 id="6-meditation-should-only-be-done-alone">6. Meditation should only be done alone</h2>
<p>I recently just learned about this, but there are a lot of in-person meditation groups out there. I have only meditated a couple of times with others, and I feel like it can help give you this feeling of support and validation. Also, some people don’t like guided meditations in general, but I think they are sometimes pretty cool. It’s a different feel from your usual practice, and like my previous point, maybe you can pick up something you enjoy that you will incorporate into your practice. Some guided meditations I honestly find annoying, but it’s all a process of figuring out what benefits your mind the most.</p>
<h2 id="7-meditation-will-give-you-psychic-or-superhuman-powers">7. Meditation will give you psychic or superhuman powers</h2>
<p>I don’t think this is possible, unfortunately. Maybe if you meditate while being simultaneously involved in a nuclear futuristic scientific accident, you could become a superhero like Charles Xavier or Doctor Strange or something…</p>
<h2 id="8-meditation-is-easy-or-hard">8. Meditation is easy or hard</h2>
<p>I feel like meditation cannot be assigned a difficulty level because the perceived difficulty is so variable each time you do it. I find that every time I meditate, it is almost a different experience each time. Sometimes, it is extremely challenging and I am just swept up off the ground by the hurricane of my own ideas and thoughts. Sometimes, it is super easy and euphoric and I don’t have to apply much focus to experience total stillness.</p>
<p>This is probably my favorite benefit of meditation though: It forces you to pay attention to yourself. If you have a bad time meditating, you might be in a stressed-out state, be having a terrible day, or you just might not be in a good headspace. By going thru meditation though, you are allowing your brain to figure out <em>why</em> you feel that way.</p>
<h2 id="9-meditation-takes-a-long-time">9. Meditation takes a long time</h2>
<p>You can spend a few seconds practicing meditation or you can spend multiple days. Up to you on that one. Don’t pay attention to anyone that says you should do it a specific way. The only times I do a long meditation is because I legitimately want to and I am not pressuring myself to “do better”. In any capacity you choose, people often recommend you practice every day to make it part of your overall wellness routine.</p>
<h2 id="10-meditation-has-no-proven-benefits">10. Meditation has no proven benefits</h2>
<p>According to studies, meditation has been proven to exhibit these benefits:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/9/5292">Enhances the ability to focus and concentrate</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886916301416">Improves self-esteem and reduces anxiety and depression</a></li>
<li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jts.21936">Reduces PTSD symptoms</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/wk/jglau/2018/00000027/00000012/art00011">Reduces biological stress and cortisol</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3580050/">Improves pain tolerance</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0376871616001174">Improves addiction treatment outcomes</a></li>
<li><a href="https://sleepscience.org.br/details/3295/en-US/enhanced-dehydroepiandrosterone-levels-are-positively-correlated-with-n3-sleep-stage-in-long-term-mindfulness-meditation-practitioners">Improves sleep quality and length</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2212958820301567">Combats insomnia</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2012.00296/full">Heightens self-awareness and emotional regulation</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/610862">Improves problem-solving</a></li>
<li><a href="https://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/123456789/31423">Reduces chronic pain</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4694553/">Lengthens attention span</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7967907/">May reduce memory loss</a></li>
<li><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25938614/">Increases compassion and kindness</a></li>
<li><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31464026/">Reduces cancer and cancer treatment symptoms</a></li>
<li><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29076610/">Aids in weight control</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4940234/">Benefits the immune system</a></li>
</ul>
<p>This <a href="https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/meditation-and-mindfulness-what-you-need-to-know">summarized resource page</a> is also an amazing resource for summarizing and linking studies that study meditation and its benefits.</p>
<p>Hopefully, this provided you with some good insight into meditation and helps get the word out on it more. Instead of defining what meditation is, I hope that these points will reduce the definition to a more simplistic view and provide a bit of benefit to some. I hope you feel persuaded to meditate more but also feel like you can do whatever you want.</p>
<hr />
<blockquote>
  <p>“If you seek tranquillity, do less. Or (more accurately) do what’s essential — what the logos of a social being requires, and in the requisite way. Which brings a double satisfaction: to do less, better. Because most of what we say and do is not essential. If you can eliminate it, you’ll have more time, and more tranquillity. Ask yourself at every moment, “Is this necessary?” But we need to eliminate unnecessary assumptions as well. To eliminate the unnecessary actions that follow.”</p>
  <p>- Marcus Aurelius</p>
</blockquote>

10 Misunderstandings of Meditation

<p>First and foremost, I apologize for my absence in posting. I have focused myself on completing some of the last classes for school as I approach the end of my time achieving my degree.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, my skills in utilizing the customization for Showdown is lacking, therefore this post will likely lack the same beautification that my dear friend Gabe has been able to achieve.</p>
<p>In response to the post that Gabe made discussing the <a href="https://www.mutualthreads.club/posts/machinelearned-art">AI Generated Art</a> or Machine Learned Art as he described, unfortunately offers bold claims with little substance. The irony being he describes the term perfectly, this is not AI generated, but instead it is machine learning. The difference? AI implies there is self awareness of a new lifeform that has been created artificially. Artificial Intelligence like in Science Fiction with characters like Data from Star Trek:TNG. Sad to say, we are still a very long ways off from reaching the level of intelligence presented here. But keeping with the pop culture reference, here is Data <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Pq1D6EcHeI&ab_channel=Word2Herb">actually painting</a>. When we do reach the level of far off Science Fiction, we will have achieved true AI generated art.</p>
<p>What is happening with systems like Dall-E, the same program used to create the image in <a href="https://www.mutualthreads.club/posts/machinelearned-art">this post,</a> is complete and utter plagiarism. Daniel Cooper in an article describes the process of how these systems work by pulling images from the internet made by real people to train the machine to create new images (2022). The issue being that while the outcome of the 'art' is new, it works on the backs of humans (Cooper 2022). Taking the original product and turning it into something new might not be a new concept, in fact it has been happening since the dawn of time. So why is a computer program that does this same function so different? The difference stems from how the machine uses no skill, no passion, and no originality. The program simply views the database of the internet and pulls from unknown artists to fuel the next produced image.</p>
<p>There is real harm here. Plagiarism, after all, is quite literally stealing the ideas of someone else. Once the machine starts pumping out more and more images it will run artists out of real jobs. It will make humanity lazy and forgo the effort put into creating art. The problem arises here because less artists will be putting out their work either because of the ease of machine learning or because of the plagiarism that occurs with it. In either case the outcome remains the same, less art for the machine to steal from. When the machine has less to learn from it becomes stagnant in how it operates. Regardless of how it produces 'new' images, they are still based on the human element which when there is a lack of fuel, it has a lack of ideas to steal from. Therefore, the machine cannot create something truly original because the new images it produces are still based on the old art.</p>
<p>Sadly, all art is under attack. Writing software like ChatGPT or Bard are also on the rise. These use the exact same tactics of pulling information from the internet to produce a new outcome. What is even more scary about these software's is how biased they have become. It can filter out certain ideas or push an agenda based on the mass information that is available (Marchandot et al 1). It also directly leads to a decrease in the ability to think critically and creatively (Marchandot et al 1). Again we see the same issue. Authors, researchers, and even coders, might relay too heavily on machine learning which causes people to be unable to create something actually new. Now there is real danger here. When using software to write a research paper how can there be any sort of critical thinking from a specialist in a field when it is all based on biased or wrong information. Or not all of the information is considered as the machine takes a small sample size of the much larger idea. It will create stagnation.</p>
<p>Is machine learning actually art if there is nothing behind it besides typing a line of text? Or is the issue actually that humanity has again become overzealous in its consumerism? After all, we can make the machine pump out any number of works of images or text, but more often then not these are thrown away in the trash bin after the initial enjoyment has been seized from the cheap copy. When it comes to art the purpose "is to serve a political function by resisting instrumental rationalizations and elevating the imagination or the passions above all else. Art exists in an autonomous space that is separate from the rest of the social world and is disinterested." (Marchessault 8). Does machine learning actually elevate the imagination or passion? The argument would remain, no. It steals from those who do elevate imagination or passion and attempts to pass it off as an original new creation. Meanwhile the original artist has nothing to show for it, and worse has no idea their artwork that is public on the internet is being stolen. Not only does it offer no passion it is the exact opposite of disinterested in the social world. It quite literally takes from the social world, whereas real art would not care whether you liked it or not, it simply exists. Although you do not need to be skilled to create art, you do need to put in some effort to make it meaningful. </p>
<p>In the end, humanity is waiting at one end of the machine excited for what it will produce while there are those unknowingly jumping in the other side of the machine. Consumerism based on the prey that is our artwork. Andy Warhol not only held the same belief that art is anything you can get away with, a common thinking in postmodernist art. But he also is quoted as,</p>
<p>In the future, we will all be famous for 15 minutes.</p>
<p>Warhol not only correctly predicted this, but here in the future, we might not even get 15 minutes.</p>
<p>Works Cited</p>
<p>Cooper, Daniel. “Is Dall-E's Art Borrowed or Stolen?” Engadget, 27 July 2022, <a href="https://www.engadget.com/dall-e-generative-ai-tracking-data-privacy-160034656.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAHEhltvC9AhDoKZGzuru8i_J2CwPQhmS_xMIlrjp1LqJhjLsbp9iSzDxFvU2Ws1Ibju4OFkBjPS8oHZ6AG4ZUPhzDf83ZWA6TF2pf_pZ18b9tJj4n6OOhT7OvKBzbpEu1jUw9ui_fodkLVenjEeHVem1PPuYew8KBjjndUo_jmgb">https://www.engadget.com/dall-e-generative-ai-tracking-data-privacy-160034656.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAHEhltvC9AhDoKZGzuru8i_J2CwPQhmS_xMIlrjp1LqJhjLsbp9iSzDxFvU2Ws1Ibju4OFkBjPS8oHZ6AG4ZUPhzDf83ZWA6TF2pf_pZ18b9tJj4n6OOhT7OvKBzbpEu1jUw9ui_fodkLVenjEeHVem1PPuYew8KBjjndUo_jmgb</a>. </p>
<p>Marchandot, Benjamin, et al. “Chatgpt: The Next Frontier in Academic Writing for Cardiologists or a Pandora’s Box of Ethical Dilemmas.” European Heart Journal Open, vol. 3, no. 2, 2023, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/ehjopen/oead007">https://doi.org/10.1093/ehjopen/oead007</a>. </p>
<p>Marchessault, Janine. Marshall McLuhan: Cosmic Media. SAGE, 2005. </p>

In Response to Machine-Learned Art

<p>As a preface, I am primarily going to talk about ol' <code>rem</code> and <code>em</code> here but I'm sure one would be able to draw similar conclusions with other relative font and viewport units to the same ideas mentioned in this post.</p>
<hr />
<p>This post goes out to all the people that say: "You have to use relative units instead of <code>px</code> for everything in CSS or else you are a bad developer 😡”. I am sure some of you know my feelings on how the internet is just a huge mess right now and that I am disappointed with how people (definitely including myself) tend to gather information anymore. I think it is this continuance of the entertain-net that has brought us to this point of having an even greater stack-overflow-esq-copy-and-paste habit. We just want to do the right thing with the least amount of effort possible. I understand completely because I am guilty of it.</p>
<p>Anyways… this week has been interesting as you can tell. I am just tired of people getting overly excited over something so relatively small 😉. But fear not, because I am about to share with you really the <em>only</em> thing you have to do with relative units.</p>
<h2 id="use-font-size-relative-units-for-styling-font-size">Use font-size relative units for styling font size.</h2>
<p>Boom! You are done with the necessities of <code>rem</code>, <code>em</code>, etc… units. This is my biggest point and you can stop reading this now if you want. Everything else is basically optional given your site meets the WCAG conformance rules with variance in zoom levels and root font size values. As someone who has studied accessibility as their main focus in front-end development and has been a part of accessibility remediation projects for 2 years now, I can say from the heart that we need to just solve the <em>biggest</em> problems first. It is like arguing about car paint when your timing belt is broken.</p>
<h2 id="read-wcag-before-you-start-saying-what-is-and-isnt-accessible">Read WCAG before you start saying what is and isn't accessible</h2>
<p>Your biggest bet to understanding this whole thing is to just read the WCAG specs to get a sense of the definitive rules first, but here are the ones that are probably the most important for zooming and dynamic font size:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG22/Understanding/resize-text.html">Resize Text</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG22/Understanding/text-spacing.html">Text Spacing</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG22/Understanding/reflow.html">Reflow</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG22/Understanding/consistent-help.html">Consistent Help</a> (maybe)</li>
</ul>
<p>I feel we as a front-end community get ahead of ourselves with this relative unit discussion, and the focus is lost on the main goal of ensuring that our site stays functional, legible, and informative on most different zoom sizes and browser-set font sizes. I just want to make sure that we know that “use relative units at all times!” is definitely not a rule in WCAG or anywhere for that matter.</p>
<h2 id="test-for-all-cases">Test for all cases</h2>
<p>Let's just do a super quick test. Adjust your default user agent (UA) font size by following <a href="https://www.makeuseof.com/how-to-increase-font-size-in-browser/">this guide</a> to increase it to "very large" or something similar. Now, going back to this blog, everything is indeed bigger now, which is what we wanted. Set that same default font size setting back to normal, and then go back to the site. Use the normal browser zoom this time by pressing Ctrl/Cmd + and Ctrl/Cmd -. Similar effect yes? </p>
<p>Essentially, we want these two tests, both conducted on a variance of screen sizes, to play nicely with the site and make sure <em>nothing gets broken</em>. If we set our zoom to 200%, size our default text to large, and look at the result from an iPhone SE screen size; this blog post will look broken. This brings me to my next point.</p>
<h2 id="relative-units-in-layout-styles">Relative units in layout styles</h2>
<p>Now, this is the interesting part: can we use relative units anywhere else? Of course, they are merely calculated values. Even the "absolute" CSS units are technically also relative values and are <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2021/07/css-absolute-units/">dynamic across different devices</a>. However, what we call relative units in CSS are very powerful, and with great power comes sometimes great headaches in refactoring. A lot of the decisions to use relative units in padding and margin are merely design choices. For instance, I will show some comparisons of different zoom/font size levels for the Recent Posts component on Mutual Threads.</p>
<h3 id="chrome-desktop---normal-ua-font-size---200-zoom">Chrome Desktop - Normal UA Font Size - 200% zoom</h3>
<p>Current Absolute State (<code>px</code> for padding, margin, gap, etc…)</p>
<p><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/icorb7eomqj7u9i/200zoom__abs.jpg?raw=1" alt="Screenshot of zoomed-in Recent Posts component with absolute units for padding, margin, gap, etc…" /></p>
<p>Relative State (<code>rem</code> for padding, margin, gap, etc…)</p>
<p><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/sb23tk8y0sx8jw9/200zoom__rel.jpg?raw=1" alt="Screenshot of zoomed-in Recent Posts component with relative units for padding, margin, gap, etc…" /></p>
<h3 id="chrome-desktop---very-large-ua-font-size---150-zoom">Chrome Desktop - Very Large UA Font Size - 150% zoom</h3>
<p>Current Absolute State (<code>px</code> for padding, margin, gap, etc…)</p>
<p><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/v3z53x8zweoym4z/xlfont__abs.jpg?raw=1" alt="Screenshot of zoomed-in and increased font size Recent Posts component with absolute units for padding, margin, gap, etc…" /></p>
<p>Relative State (<code>rem</code> for padding, margin, gap, etc…)</p>
<p><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/m75cg6a2k0tjrs5/xlfont__rel.jpg?raw=1" alt="Screenshot of zoomed-in and increased font size Recent Posts component with relative units for padding, margin, gap, etc…" /></p>
<h2 id="final-thoughts">Final Thoughts</h2>
<p>Based on the images above, we can see that either of these views of the site is accessible and everything is fine. It's really only a design choice (in this case), and so far I think the consistency with the absolute values looks better, but honestly, I could be fine with either. Basically what I am trying to say is…</p>
<p><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/zi3z8h3dc1cbbcu/notthatdeep2.jpg?raw=1" alt="A meme showing a man in the water up to his neck and the caption says &quot;look fam - it's not that deep&quot;" /></p>
<p>Some people use <code>em</code> for media queries. Some people use relative units for padding/margin on the block axis and then use absolute units for padding/margin on the inline axis. Some people avoid relative units for layout styles altogether since they have the potential to cause problems on smaller screens for components with big padding and margin values. I personally, barely use relative units in layout styles unless it makes sense to. Some people need to use relative units for a lot of styles since they need the print version to look nice. Whatever you decide to do or use, make sure to just always test the WCAG stuff like mentioned earlier in this post, and that will benefit all of us 😊. Thanks for reading!</p>
<h2 id="tldr">TL;DR</h2>
<ol>
<li>The only place you really need to add relative units for sure is the font-size property</li>
<li>Use the WCAG specs as a baseline for all your rules</li>
<li>Add zooming and default font size changes to your Front End testing flow</li>
<li>Do you and be yourself yo</li>
</ol>

Think Before You Use CSS Relative Units

<p>As I write this, I am accompanied by this music: <a href="https://youtu.be/iBKt3-3ENEQ">Sines of Exquisite Pleasure - Modular Systems (1982 Cassette)</a>. There is nothing like ambient synths to get you in the mood for discussing machine learning. Anyways, there have been a lot of discussions this year surrounding media generation through artificial intelligence, and I am definitely late to the trend. Still, recently I was thinking about one question for this movement: is AI-generated media art? I want to know why we choose our answers to this question and examine the preconditions of how we think about machine-generated art.</p>
<p>Before we get into that though, let us first examine humans and their relationship to art, and more broadly, the relationship between nature and art. Are we familiar with what is art in the first place? Conceivably, art is difficult to define as objective truth. In circles made up of fans of art, it seems like the definition of art is undefinable - naturally lawless and turbulent. This is made exemplary by the famous Marshall McLuhan quote:</p>
<blockquote>
  <p>Art is anything you can get away with.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>On the other side, some circles define art as only a part of a more orthodox, strict approach to creative expression. The argument is that true art will always be able to inspire awe from the general public due to sheer complexity and/or high standards. For example, a band whose individuals follow sheet music exactly to put on a perfect performance underlying the original author’s grandiose vision. This idea has been fairly common up to recent generations in the western world. During the Renaissance, and various other shifts in our collective consciousness, more freedom was given to artists to create what they wanted. However, only the most popular techniques during these time frames prevailed as being labeled as art.</p>
<p>That begs the question from both sides: what can be labeled as art in our world today?</p>
<p>We can first look at what we all agree to be art, and drawing from another post from James created <a href="https://www.mutualthreads.club/posts/a-psa-from-someone-who-paid-too-much-to-learn-this">here</a>, he mentions that writing is a work of art. Certainly, it has the capacity to be, and both perfectionists and free thinkers would agree. Writing is an expression of the way we feel and is a form of communication for other humans. You can’t be skilled at writing necessarily, but you can be skilled at a process that defines a set of rules for writing in its particular biome. An example of this is grammar. Grammar is not writing, but a set of rules applied to writing that defines a common structure for maximizing communicability. Writing falls between the spectrum of a painting and a piece of code, and we can control the balance between a grand story and a technical work. Writing is programmed art; a creation based on variable definitions of creativity and structure.</p>
<p>Applying this generally to all works, it is interesting to see what people can think is art. In my opinion, art is an expression of an idea or feeling. From the example before, most would commonly accept the idea of a painting as art and dismiss the possibility that a research paper on how <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ivan-Milovanovic/publication/281060852_Algae_in_food_and_feed/links/55d2dfc108ae7fb244f54d4e/Algae-in-food-and-feed.pdf">algae can be an alternative food source</a> is not art. Though, I kind of disagree with this sentiment. From what I see, you can still express your feelings and ideas through many different outlets, and their complexity seems to distinguish the audience, similar to the idea of targeted writing. If a complex idea or work is in your scope of reality or interest, and you see it as having no emotion attached to it, is it really art?</p>
<p>I would argue that a good example of art is the first bowl to be made by humans. I think this is a good example because it highlights the feeling of a need for something, in this case, a simple container to carry things, but very relatively technical nonetheless. This is why artifacts are some of the most valuable pieces of art as they communicate so much to our current generation implicitly. The artist (or creator) doesn’t need to try to influence others to give any feelings for the people that the creation interacts with - that connection is completely random. Does art need an agreeing audience, or rather more generally observers, to exist? Would you consider a natural occurrence to be an art piece? These are questions that must be contemplated to determine if AI has the potential to create art.</p>
<p>Artificial Intelligence does not have the ability to reason about its surroundings in a free-thinking way, but only relies on the input of the machine to produce an output. It is a tool that our generation has become increasingly familiar with - recommending content to consume, helping us drive cars, assisting in robotics applications, simplifying individualistic tasks in business, and much more.</p>
<p>To me, AI art is a good metaphor for our ever-increasing <a href="https://www.metamodernism.com/2015/01/12/metamodernism-a-brief-introduction/">metamodernistic</a> way of thinking. From the perspective of machine learning, everything is structured only in terms of reason within the bounds of mathematical computation. However, the human side of the equation is the one interested in the output and the one responsible for the input to this machine. Considering a person who wants to create art with a computer program, I see it as an allegory of the ironic progression of our collective culture and society. We take all the data on the complexities of the human condition and mix them into the rigid, scientific structure of the computer to produce a creation that no one has seen before.</p>
<p>This makes me believe that AI-generated media is art. I can see how you would disagree though. That being said, I know very little about art and its history, but I couldn’t help but contemplate this. I will leave you with an image I created with Dall-E:<br />
<img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/n8tphm3bjx39eax/DALL%C2%B7E%202023-02-12%2019.00.52%20-%20A%20person%20handcarving%20a%20bowl%20next%20to%20a%20fire%20under%20a%20starry%20sky%20in%20a%20postmodern%20style.png?raw=1" alt="DALL-E creation of a person standing next to the fire with a wooden bowl of food under a starry sky as a surrealist art piece" /></p>

Machine-Learned Art

<p>The title says it all. Perhaps it would make for a more interesting story if I did not immediately give it away however, I feel there is more worth telling.</p>
<p>Today I rode a horse. I don't think my job would appreciate it if I began representing them in a public space without going through the proper channels and seeking the approval needed to actually publicly begin representing them. In this case, I will simply say I work in the field of conservation. So at my job the opportunity to ride a horse arose and I clearly took it up.</p>
<p>I have never rode a horse before. It was quite generous of those folk who work in that department to give me the opportunity. They didn't really have to train me, or calm me down. I was not anxious about it in the slightest. If I knew one thing, it was that anxiety translates into the horse being anxious about you getting on its back. So I remained calm, hopped up on its back, and learned the basics of horse riding. There was not much to it.</p>
<p>That was it. Why do I bring any of this up? I think this loops into a much larger philosophy. I have tried a lot of new things as of recently just to gain some perspective on a hobby, field, or even sometimes a food. It didn't always mean that it became my new favorite thing, but it did always force me to learn something new. Although, sometimes I did discover a new passion in my life. Hockey and painting are just some examples of what I learned I had a passion for purely because I decided to give something new a try.</p>
<p>I was very stubborn as a child. I never cared for trying new things, I only ever wanted more of the same. Honestly, that was just sitting at home and playing video games. Sports were boring, art was boring, I did not even find pleasure in reading. How could anyone enjoy those mundane hobbies? I am almost certain that if I could travel back in time my past self would never believe the things I like today. I have spent a lot of time thinking about what changed. I don't know if I could even give a clear answer on such. Here is my best attempt.</p>
<p>Trying something new is a skill even if you don't like it. I think this last part is extremely important to the overall argument. As a person you could never enjoy everything the world has to offer. It is simply impossible. However, that does not mean you can't at least respect everything in the world. I also think that the former part is important as well. Anxiety about the unknown is inevitable. It is scary to try a new thing!</p>
<p>However, I think the scarier thought is that people are too fearful of the unknown and would much rather ignore such a thing. It is why I truly believe trying something new is a skill you gain over time. After a while you won’t fear it anymore.</p>