It's called "EVIL," kid.

So today has brought about a spate of good news, which has been, in my opinion, a bit overdue. For one, tomorrow is my interview with Best Buy. But you already know that. The other is that I am interviewing for a potential job as a technical writer. This excites me, as it would provide some interesting experiences for my future career. Plus, it would be with a company that works with AI. Those of you who have taken philosophy of mind will understand my interest in the subject. While Chalmers's response to Searle's Chinese Room (dancing and fading qualia) is an interesting take on things, I am not entirely convinced. That being said, even if AI can only ever achieve the level of a simulacrum of consciousness, it must be stated that it is a very convincing simulacrum, as the field continues to progress. We shall see what comes of this. Hopefully I get the job, but I'm not betting on it just yet.

In other news, I went into a bookstore today and decided to just sit down and do some reading. I picked up a new novel entitled The Historian, and found myself thoroughly engrossed. As many of you know, history is my secondary field of study and something in which I am a passionate dabbler. The novel itself is the tale of a girl who follows her father around the world on a quest to uncover the mysteries of Vlad Tepes (aka Vlad the Impaler, or more popularly, Dracula). I won't say that it is particularly deep in the intellectual sense, but the story is immensely fascinating, and the characters invite the reader to empathize with them in the best way. The relationship between the girl and her widower father is particularly poignant and warm, even as there are deep gulfs between the two of them. I haven't finished it yet, but at this stage, I recommend it to fans of horror, fantasy, history, or any combination thereof.