Great Awakening

TL;DR -- Great Awakening. There have been several from one of which we got Princeton University. But, we can analyze the emergence of GenAI/LLM similarly with respect to the "animal"spirits related to its potential as boon or bane. There is the other side of the coin: great disappointment. 

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The topic? It will be familiar to some. And, there seems to be a U.S. nature to this phenomenon, however we can look at these affairs from a more general framework and learn a thing or two. 

In this case, we are talking about GenAI / LLM which is known as "AI" now. Was that an awakening, of any kind? That is something to discuss which we will be doing while the fad rages on for a while and after the expected burst we can expect to participate in the analysis. 

Here is Wikipedia's take on the matter: Great Awakening. Apropos to the event's characteristics, there is a related phenomenon: Great Disappointment. The main theme relates to spirituality and religion, but there have been comments with respect to the psychological aspects: True-believer syndrome; Cognitive dissonance; and a lot more. 

Our interest is that Princeton University was founded in 1741 after the first of the Great Awakenings due to a conflict within the Presbyerian church. Tying this to the 250th which is coming up, John Witherspoon, president of the college from 1768-94, was a "signer of the Declaration of Independence".  Princeton is the fourth-oldest of the Colonial Colleges. The first three were Harvard (see our series on the Presidents), William and Mary (Virginia), and Yale. 

Colonial Colleges

Given what we have learned so far, our plate of topics is more full. For this post, let's switch the attention to the 'tAI'n't of recent years. Depending upon one's views, the 2022 entry onto awareness of OpenAI's ChatGPT was the greatest thing ever or the worst affliction cast upon humankind. We have seen plenty dicussion on both sides to the situation over the past three and 1/2 years. 

No doubt, those discussions will continue due to the lack of an theoretic basis with which to frame an analysis and to the shaky reports that have been provided during that same time. Each of the LLMs (which we will use for the class of systems) underwent changes over the years. Lots of that activity was undertaken in order to overcome some deficiency that was noted or to bring in missing pieces. 

Cutting this short, today I read the believers' accounts of the "agentic" approach that happened of late. Briefly, this is a model-based appraoch that takes output from several LLMs and determines some potential bit of action (truthfully established - questionably?) and then performs that action (which can be sensor/actuator based - or API-centric with respect to something somewhere and somehow accessed). You see, "agents" in the model are types with names and characteristics and functional ability. 

Nothing new, folks. That type of processing goes back to the early days of simulation many decades ago. Back to the beginning and even before the bunch of mathematicians met at Dartmouth in order to start "artificial intelligence" as an academic study. We can go into that at depth, as John was involved early with that thrust and continued to have involvement over his career in engineering support. 

From our viewpoint, there was work in the 70s, 80s and 90s that never got studied since this was done in the commercial/industrial environment that has goals and motivations that are not academically attuned, though many doing this work have advanced degrees. "engineering support" consists of the activities of scientists and mathematicians to support engineers in their problem solving. One aspect of this deals with tradeoff analysis which is the basis of modern approaches. 

Too, the computer has been applied in this arena from the getgo. There is much to discuss. The theme though: was the LLM emergence a boon (great awakening) or a bane (great disappointment). Per usual, we will most likely find some balanced view. Perhaps, the main lession will be just that: how to handle the complications related to modern problem solving in a manner that does not cause harm but provides support for our American Dream: life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness (for all citizens - not the brainy or rich or whatever other attribute of the priviledged state is applied. 

Remarks: Modified: 06/08/2026

06/08/2026 --

250th, 400th

TL;DR -- 250th? It's comiong up. We have looked for this for over a decade. Usually, a commemoration is an ending. The day comes; then the morrow bring reality back to mind. However, be aware that we have been doing post for the last year (having started ealier); the 250th will be the start of deeper dives into the history and events, with respect to people and families. That is, the door opens for a period that runs until 2083. 

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A year ago, we started to have more posts on the 250th as we mentioned the U.S.Army. Before that, we wrote of the Battle of Lexington and Concord in 2024. 

In 2021, we had a list of celebrations, from 400th and then the 300th down to the 100th. For us, the 250th in July starts long years of review and recall as we contemplate the contributions of Patriots (say as defined by D.A.R and S.A.R. 

Earlier, we had a map that showed the changes over those long years of the Revolution which we have brought into this post. Since the web/cloud technology is a superb platform for information, we will cover a slew of topics with respect to families and their contributions to the founding of the U.S.

We have to end the day with a nod to the Marines: 250th, U.S. Marines. There are many themes to cover, and we will be back on a regular basis.  

Remarks: Modified: 05/31/2026

05/31/2026 --

AI and AIn't or 'tAIn't

TL;DR -- So, we have seen three years of wannabe attempts, one after another, wasting, essentially, precious resources. When will it end? It will not for reasons that were known prior to this unnecessary excursion. Oh? That is a topic that will go longer than the eight years of war started 250 years ago. Yet, we will pause to honor the 250th (have for years now, look at the posts here of that theme). 

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The title is not being silly as I have claimed with silly-con-valley. The TGS, Inc.. takes truth, knowledge, code, and such seriously for reasons that we have already discussed but will keep doing so. 

The goal? Bring the current AIn't and 'tAIn't toward something that is rationally sound. Many people are working in this area with valid viewpoints, yet there has been no success in any type of cohesion. That is, we can differentiate all that we want; it's the integration that provides the power. And, such has been the case almost from the start of computing.  

Okay, in 2001, I wrote a white paper with respect to what is known as truth maintenance (link later). As such, I had spent over a decade using the facilities of (KBE) knowledge based engineering to handle the complicated software dealing with nose to tail algorithms related to a large system, from its original thought all the way to being used (hint: 777 was the initial project). Along that line, being in engineering support (where physicists and mathematicians and such hang out), I touched upon a lot of the systems and worked to manage lots of the dynamics. 

For one, systems that are of the differential type (many modes) require serious management of the pre and post conditions. As an aside, we will address modal logics from a view of driving all of the activity via an axiomatic modeler (details to be brought out). As such, the efforts of KBE allowed the compan's superb mathematical and engineering libraries to weigh in to support (essentially immature) COTS stuff and did so with remarkable results. 

Also, there are almost innumerable other data and system activities all of which need to be tied together. Again, there are more mature notions now (we're talking four decades -- but, guess what?, I see issues -- humans have to be in the loop to notice, discover, ponder, and help tame the beasts of computing (recently, clear evidence of immaturity has spread itself around the world - ah, don't get me started here; I have blogged on this for 20 years now. 

In any case, this post throws out 3 pages. This will be discussed. The main note now? Some are venturing down what we can call the "agentic" ways as if it's new. Well not. KBE prototyped and pioneered that stuff in the '80s and '90s even to the point of having production systems running. Too, we even had our own internet with local, regional, national and international servers and systems tied to support the needs of the systems. TCP, that gift of the Uncle Sugar? 

Of course, it came along. Our stuff converted easily. Want to know something? I have complained since that time to how immaturity to hold. Oh, doubt me? You think that the "wild west" events where healthy which are still extant but drowned out by the noise of recent mischief. Again, this post has one purpose. All of that other stuff will be covered ever by bringing to attention prior work or pointing to recent activities. 

Needless to say, TGS picked up technology as a focus specificially since I saw this coming (even decades ago) and kept aware of changes, their ramifications, and important factors. At the same time? I kept my feet out of the slop - while partaking in crapology which is study of the slop (all aspects). 

The pages. There will be PDFs later. This is merely to get a browsable copy in place for discussion. 

There were many more activities during that time that need attention, as well. In fact, a few years ago, I found it hard to find any reference to KBE. Then, there started to be nibbles as people became aware. Now, I will state that KBE splintered into a millions pieces which then evolved into something that is of use now and doing well. 

Guess what? Everyone has heard tales of Xerox Park (need to check the  name) where things like the mouse and improved interfaces, and graphics of sorts, and more were developed. And, then these were used almost universally. Well, consider Jobs' gift of the little device that thinks that it's a phone. 

Well, KBE is even more of an example, as the algorithms have the qualities that we need for serious work. Not knocking gaming nor entertainment. But, when you fly, you expect a lot. That comes from good engineering. Right now, the computer is more of a baddie than a goodie. Okay? 

Remarks: Modified: 05/30/2026

05/30/2026 -- Let's focus on the issue of the "agentic" style which is all a rage right now with respect to the current basis for this approach which is a "slop" generator. What will come of that with respect to furthering the technology. Oh yes, which we pioneered and prototyped four decades ago. 

Natural progression led from the object-oriented methodology as it was exemplified by the Lisp Machine to "agents" almost without any second thought. We had the notions of web/connections and behavior and all of those type of things, minus one of importance. Which was? We had no motive to bring in the modern SciFI-addled pre-occupation with critters in the box and the anthropomorphic associations that arise from such thoughts. 
 

Interest and attention

TL;DR -- Interest is as old as the hills; the LLM brought attention to attention of late. So,we will pay attention. We allow our indeces for posts which are an iconic representation for the post to play the role of carrying meaning.  

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Of late, or since 2023, we have heard a lot about attention which was brought into the public discourse by Google in the context of machine learning that became known via  ChatGPT, Gemini, and the like. And interest has been a concern for a while. 

In Apr, we had two post related to the subject. The last one (30 Apr 2026) looked at images related to the report on popularity that is on the "right" column of each post in this blog. In the image reporting the images, we compared two dates, namely the 3rd and 30th of Apr of this year. 

Contimuing this type of lookback for a while, we split out the three types of comparison: all time; recent; and last week. The following images are from those types. In the "all time", there was no change. That's understandable as those earlier post had a larger count. But, things do come along and shuffle their way into the top crowd. For instance, in the 3rd and the 30th, the posts were the same. But the order of general genealogy (royal types) versus the theme of "all things Gardner" switch. Generalities won out. How as this? Mainly through the efforts of David Todd Gardner (DTG) who has been working with a LLM on the documenation of the long history of Gardner and variants. 

Now, going with the next group (Recently popular), there was a lot of change. The attention on the Gardner Family Trust by DTG carried a few posts, such as Attainder grudge. Posts related to Memorial Day got more notice. Since are now back on WikiTree, the attention related to the "marriage news" came back into vogue. We will be doing more updates of the related material. 

Finally, at the weekly look, it might be considered as to be expected. The newer information would generate more interest. But some of these posts are older, such as Semper paratus which is about the 235th anniversary of the Coast Guard in 2025. Of interest to us was the role that Marblehead played which is in Essex County of Massachusetts. But an older post got attention, namely the "marriage news" which is from 2014. We also featured a hand edited, bespoke, site that transcribes local data so that it is availalbe on the internet. Remember that word, bespoke, which we will use a lot. 

This review was of a brief time period. We will dive deeper in the next goaround, as the 250th is a month away so that both interest and attention will be higher than normal. Except, as we mention, the 250th kicks off an eight-year perriod. That will be interestintg to watch. 

Remarks: Modified: 05/28/2026

05/28/2026 --

Genealogy Trails

TL;DR -- Memorial Day will be a main theme for a while, especially as the 8+ years associated with the 250th unfold in the foreseable future.  We ran into Genealogy Trails today (again) and were intrigued for many reasons that we discuss. Of course, we love the "retro" look which isn't; rather, this site has been consitent over the years which we hope continues. 

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We may have run into this website before, in our 15 years of research. But, we honored there request for not using their data beyond personal research. Of course that brings up the question of including the site in the reference list. 

As described below, looking at an Honors list for a State with casualties expeience during the Vietnam conflict found this site and got our interest. So, here is a link to the site prior to further exposition here: Genealogy Trails. Also, we note that we found this link via searches and backtracked at the site back to the starting page. Too, we noted the 2026 update of the Copyright. 

Incidently, we love that they have continued the older format. Why? The cute methods brought by the use of 'tAIn't methods is irritating. Underneath, there are table-like structures that get filled in. Then, there is some rearranging (within limits) for some semblance customization. But all of the sites using the ML approach look and feel the same. Actually, the convergence to a norm seems to be an apropos description. 

On the other hand, our portal notes our intent to foster and support "bespoke" methods in software. So, we're slow about it. Well, that's the human way. Those that run after the quick modes allowed by computation are perpetuating something that will not be pleasant in the future once the underlying errors start to creep up and bear out their potentials for negative influence. 

Okay, this year the discussion on Memorial Day was about service during the time of the Vietnam conflict. In particular, known casualties were identified. And, "known" means classmate or other, as this is that time of year for classes from the past to meet (this year, it's the 50th of the class of 1966.

Where were you then? As we were searching using names, we were gathering reports, such as the "Honors" listings for Counties and their States. Given our normal approach, we then looked at New England heritage with a focus on Essex County of Massachusetts our ground zero. 

Will not point to anything specific yet, but as we looked at the names New England families popped up. Lots of them. Well, let's use one example: Katy - western railroad. That was motivated by a postcard from early in the 1900s which was prior to the horseless approach. And, some of the buildings in the view had legible names. One name (Holbrook) popped out as it's part of an extended familythat we know. So, we followed up and reported the name of the owner/builder. 

We will do the same for some of the Honorees that ought to get attention on Memorial Day. We might merely have a table of the name, location and the information from New England about ancestors. There is no specific plan as of now. This post is to raise the link to the site plus attempt to use it for research when we help people with the family history that matches up with names on the Honores lists. 

Site: Genealogy Trails - this is sponsored by the

Genealogy Trails History Group

Their search engine: Our Freefind Search Engine

Page we landed on when doing our search: 

U. S. MILITARY FATAL CASUALTIES OF THE VIETNAM WAR 

FOR HOME-STATE-OF-RECORD: KANSAS

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This weeks
finds ...

Finding this site is encouraging for many reasons. My favorite site was one from UCalRiverside and dealt with "weekly finds in mathematical physics" which looked 1995ish for a long while. It's still there for reference even though a new site has taken up prominence with updated material handled wisely with updated methods. 

The new site (Azimuth) points to lots of modern discussions (What are atoms made of?) and new data points. 

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We will be using this genealogy trails site on a regular basis to check out material in the early stages of research where we would use Wikipedia and WikiTree early on just to see what work has been done on the topic. What we know of the modern computational system is that, done right, it will be a great boon. Unfortunately, there has been more bane than boon in my view for the past two decades. However, there are signs that some effort at maturity might be at hand. 

Remarks: Modified: 05/25/2026

05/25/2026 --

Memorial Day, 2026

TL;DR -- Memorial Day is just what it claims that it is. We try to do a task related to Find A Grave for a family during this time. This year, we follow up on an in-law family, the Kallens. 

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Since 2019, we have had task of  updating FindAGrave for a family. Our first year for this, 2019, filled in some missing information about a Civil War vet buried near Logan International in Boston. His name was Walter A. Ingalls who married a Lunt in-law. As we were getting the links in order, we looked at the siblings of that generation and found their profiles. Too, we did several posts: Problems with Find A Grave; Resources and work; and Henry Lunt lot. That last post was to tie into the 1634 arrival of the Lunt forebear. But, we had seen many of these maps while researching Sidney Perley who walked around Salem and reported measurements so that we could look back at the 17th Century with facts from the 19th Century. 

The Jewish Herald
4 Mar 1938

A few weeks ago, we looked to document an American who went to Israel after the First World War in order to help build the country. Deborah Kallen was an educator and had audited classes at Harvard where her brother was a student as well as classes at Radcliff. We will be looking for more material, but add this article to today's post: Untold Stories, American Jewish Women in Yishuv and the Early State of Israel. 

In our post, we mentioned her brother, Horace Kallen, who was a philosopher. He spent some time in Israel which we will write about. But to set the context of his sister's efforts, this paper is an overview: Horace Kallen’s Expanding Vision of Cultural Pluralism: Nationality, Race, and Democracy on the World Stage, 1918–1939. 

The image is from an interview with Deborah who was visiting her brother and looking for support for her educational activity in Israel which was under a British mandate in the 1930s. She is asked about the Arab Uprising and its effect on her educational efforts. Deborah noted that "We need scholarships for our school --  American will provide them." She returned to Israel where we will pick up the story in a later post. 

We have found the grave profiles for her family. Deborah and her siblings are listed in the order reported in Horace's obituary. 

• Rabbi Jacob David Kallen 
• Esther Rebecca Glazier Kallen 
• Horace Meyer Kallen (Wikipedia)
• Frieda Ida Kallen
• Dora Anna Kallen
• Mildred K. Kallen Lunt 
• Deborah J. Kallen (Hadassah - Women's Zionist Organization of America, Inc.)
• Frances E. Kallen (obituary) 
• Professor Miriam Kallen (A Primary Teacher Steps Out) 
• Leo Avrom Kallen, MD (Papers 1916-1981) 

Our post for Memorial Day, 2025 has a listing of the prior posts. 

Remarks: Modified: 05/22/2026

05/22/2026 --

Educational Pioneer, Deborah Kallen

 TL;DR -- After WWI brought the U.S. to the world's attention, organized activity spread from the U.S. to the world. This is one example. Deborah Kallen, ventured to Israel to found a school. We learn a little about her with some information coming via her brother, Horace Kallen. 

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The Jerusalem Post, in 2023, had an article: Which American Jews helped establish Israel? 

In 1920 Deborah Kallen, sister of famed Zionist thinker Professor Horace Kallen, moved to Palestine. Prof. Hillel Blondheim was brought to Eretz Yisrael by his mother in 1928 for eight months. She enrolled him in Miss Kallen’s School. He wrote about his experiences in his autobiography. He told me once when we met, “Every week we had a trip somewhere in Eretz Yisrael near Jerusalem. As I walk around Jerusalem today, I see streets bearing the names of our guides back then.” Blondheim made aliyah in 1951 and lived in Jerusalem until his 100th birthday. He became a noted scientist and won many prizes.

Kallen’s goal was to establish the Parents Educational Association School. Immediately, housed in old Arab building in Jerusalem, she made her educational theories come to life through the creation of classes in painting, carpentry, and athletics. Daily gardening, crafts were part of the regular curriculum, and nature walks. Yigael Yadin, the world-renowned archaeologist, was one of her students.

This post, on Deborah Kallen, is introductory as we will have more information on her and her brother, Horace Kallen, the philosopher. 

Deborah Kallen
courtesy of The Forward 
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.

For now, here is an article that provides information from several sources, including Horace talking about his sister. 

Nashim: A Journal of Jewish Women's Studies & Gender Issues

Deborah Kallen and the Palestinian Yishuv: The Personal Tragedy of an Educational Pioneer

DEBORAH KALLEN AND THE PALESTINIAN YISHUV: THE PERSONAL TRAGEDY OF AN EDUCATIONAL PIONEER Sarah Schmidt A Personal Note 

The first time I heard the name Deborah Kallen was in 1972, while interviewing her brother, the social philosopher Horace M. Kallen. Our subject was his contribution to the formulation of a specifically American concept of Zionism, and he began by telling me, with evident pride, of his most meaningful Zionist connection , his sister Deborah, who had moved to Palestine in 1920 and had contributed her American perspective to building the system of education there. A quarter of a century later I was teaching a course on "The Israeli Woman: From Myth to Reality" to North American students at Tel Aviv University and looking for material on American women who had contributed to building the yishuv, especially those American women who had tried to extend the American value system to the model society they assumed was then in the process of formation. 

Aside from works by and about Golda Meir and Henrietta Szold there was little to be found. And so I decided to look for Deborah Kallen.1 Nashim:A Journal ofJewish Women's Studies and Gender Issues, no. 4. © 2001197 Sarah Schmidt 

The Beginnings Deborah Kallen, born in Boston in 1888, was one of eight children in a large Orthodox Jewish family that had recently emigrated from Germany to the United States. She was educated in the public schools of Boston and, hoping to develop a career as a painter, as a young adult attended classes in drawing and painting at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. As a way of rounding out her education she also audited courses on art and design at Harvard College and on education at its then sister school, Radcliffe. Her studies there proved to be the decisive influence on her life, for early on she became an exponent of a new system of art education for children, one that emphasized her conception that the key to character building lay in teaching young children the principles ofgood design. As a result, she was appointed to the staff of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, responsible both for classes for children and for instructing other teachers in her methods of teaching design. 

In 1920 Deborah took a two-year leave of absence from the museum and accepted an invitation from the Va'ad hahinukh, the official supervisory body for education in Palestine, to help train students at the Zionist teachers' seminary in Jaffa and at the British government seminary for Arab teachers in Jerusalem. Since she had previously shown no particular interest in Zionism, what impelled her to take this step is not entirely clear. A contributory factor was surely the struggle she had waged in the United States to have art accepted as part of the elementary school curriculum. In order to prove the worth of art in the school curriculum as quickly as possible, many art teachers began by having their pupils copy pictures from textbooks, often without any consideration of the picture's intrinsic artistic value. Art instruction focused not on what the children saw but on what they saw in picture books, on exercises in copying without any aesthetic or creative contribution on the part of the student. 

Deborah Kallen developed her own system in direct opposition to this, stressing that children, rather than being required to copy, must be helped to develop their powers of observation. She considered this the most appropriate means to guide them in learning how to think critically and express an independent point of view. But she found herself waging a lonely fight, isolated in her perspective regarding what art education was about.  

Deborah Kallen and the Palestinian Yishuv Deborah had also come to realize that her goal of becoming an artist in her own right was unlikely to be realized. Her talent was not distinct enough, and she lacked the requisite forcefulness to bring her work to the attention of the public. Possibly most discouraging was the evaluation of her art teacher and mentor at Harvard, Professor Denim Ross, who (as she recalled almost a half century later) told her that he...

Several themes motivate this post. Per usual, we have the 250th and 400th as motivation as we look at American History from the start to now, while celebrating an important event. On July 4th, with the commemoration finally coming about, we will have seven years to review all aspects of the U.S., New England, Massachusetts, and Essex County with its Cape Ann. People arrived here over the whole time. Some left to go back to the Old World. Others took off for the interior or for any of the locations accessible by water since New England was a nautical region. 

Remarks: Modified: 05/23/2026

05/15/2026 -- Did post on Lunt in-law, Deborah Kallen on our Henry Lunt blog. 

05/23/2026 -- Minor edits.