by Kate Koronis | Aug 31, 2025 | Article, Featured
A dozen lonely people sit in a row of slots and pull the lever of the slot machine over and over again, mesmerized by the information on monitors.
The brain is eagerly waiting for this information.
The brain knows that the probability of getting three strawberries in a row is very low.
The brain keeps analyzing every combination and gives the order to get a new piece of information.
The owner of the brain pulls the lever again.
The brain’s main and default function is to collect information to save, maintain, and improve our lives. To help us survive. Here, in front of the slot machine, it malfunctions. It was supposed to stop this activity as useless. But the hope of getting the information that is beneficial keeps it vigilant.
Even while I understood this malfunction, my own brain was already setting me up for the same game.
“Ok, Kate, you are going to roll this slot machine first thing in the morning,” I said to myself, opening my eyes after a night of rest, and smirked.
The thought was funny at first. Expecting that someone would stop and read my yesterday’s Facebook post and think with me brought sorrow. I felt like Harlequin, the fool entertaining without being understood.
Over 100 people have seen my post. If one were to read, one would react to my thoughts in some way. The brain malfunctions in front of the screen with Facebook content in the same way it does in front of the slot machine monitor. Users scroll, waiting for a big win. But what information are they waiting for here? Definitely not something that will stop them and invite them to think.
Thinking people are not sitting with the Facebook app open and waiting for a good, deep thought to enrich them with the next scroll. They wait for emotions. Scroll. No luck this time. Scroll again. Maybe, with the next scroll. One more and one more… the timeline is endless, so is the scrolling.
I am not a fan of any timeline anymore. Not Facebook, not YouTube reels, not any other. But I still try my luck when I post results of my thinking and learning process, with the expectation that someone will be interested in discussing it. Where? On Facebook? And the fact that I know that no thinking people would scroll the Facebook timeline and still wait to catch some with my post makes me no different from those people in the casino slot machine section.
I have successfully cut off the scrolling habit with a firm decision to stop it forever, and there is no reason to ever reconsider this decision. But I haven’t realized until now that waiting for the Facebook audience to appreciate deep thought is my brain’s malfunction. Social media is not for thinking.
Next thing, I went to the links of bloggers and thinkers I have saved for myself to read. Usually, those are long reads. Sometimes they are short and deep. I felt relief like a non-smoking person would after walking out of a place full of smokers with a dense curtain of poison in the air.
If I don’t expect someone to share deep content in a Facebook post (most of those people simply don’t have that account), why do I expect someone to read mine?
I don’t say that my content comes from a higher intelligence than any of my friends on Facebook. But I do say that Facebook is not a forum for thinkers. I can only reserve it for the marketing materials I will produce. Because it is a marketplace for shallow information and quick wins, just like casino slot machine rows.
Millions of lonely people scroll for useless information, and awareness itself feels like the only real jackpot.
by Kate Koronis | Aug 29, 2025 | Featured, Opinion
It took me months to teach my students to use AI for batch production, brainstorming, writing.
It might take me ages to unteach them.
AI is very important time saving tool. I thank God for the opportunity to live in the era when AI is born and became massively used. But overreliance on it robs us of skills to think, formulate thoughts and grow our personalities.
In this sense it becomes our enemy.
Allan Karr in his book about quitting smoking writes that smokers consider cigarettes their friends.
“This is my friend for life” – my husband exclaimed when I confronted him about smoking 20 years ago.
The word “friend” was bolt from the sky. In one word there was the whole philosophy of life. And cigarette had it’s own pedestal.
In upcoming years many people will place AI on the same pedestal. That is when it becomes our enemy. Not the opened one. But in disguise of friend. Just like cigarets for many.
What’s the danger apart of the AI Earth takeover?
A total braintakover like the zombie-ant-fungus.
This fungus takes control of an insect’s nervous system, forces it to move to an ideal location for the fungus, and then kills the host, releasing spores to infect more insects.
Fungus kills the ants physically. I think AI will be smarter, keeping the host physically existent. if we look at existence from the perspective of Descartes.*
* "I think, therefore I am," or cogito ergo sum, is a famous philosophical statement by French philosopher René Descartes. It means that the act of thinking, even if one is being deceived about the nature of reality, proves one's own existence. You must exist to think, and since you are thinking, you must exist.
Thinking is a skill, that vanishes just like the muscle of 50 years olds if they don’t excersize intentionally. Use it or lose it.
Is there a solution?
If the gym and strategic control of physical activity is the solution to seditary lifestyle that kills most of the worlds city population these days, then there is a similar solution to suppress the downsides of today’s technological advancement.
Back in the days of industrial revolution people were panicking that cars were becoming the main transport. Some were insisting in using horses by all means untill it was nearly impossible. Today horses are only used for tourist trips in the cities creating a huge discomfort to the traffic. And therefore mainly allowed in parks and historical sites.
No one could stop cars. No one will stop AI. What we can do is to create gyms for brains. That’s why I joined the blogging people and advance into authoring books. I found solution for myself so that I don’t get extinguished by the friend, which can easily turn into an enemy.
by Kate Koronis | Jun 1, 2024 | Article, Featured
Many people don’t realize that things can take time to form before they become visible. This lack of understanding often leads to impatience, especially in business. Often, people invest for a few months and then get disappointed when they don’t see results. However, it is crucial to understand that everything, depending on its magnitude, takes time to become visible. The bigger the business or project you’re building, the more time it will take to show its true potential. Patience is the key to achieving greatness. In this article, we will explore various examples of how time plays a significant role in the creation of remarkable things.
“Good things come to those who wait.”
Proverb
The first time I launched a 6-month intensive program that helped individuals become public figures from almost zero backgrounds, I witnessed that motivation was wearing off in my students due to the time it takes to become a public figure. Despite enrolling in a 6-month program, their minds were not ready to work for months without being able to demonstrate anything to the world.
I understand them, as I was exactly like that until I learned that all great things develop in unknownness and unspotted, unseen. It takes time to learn this skill. Few people in my life were actually living like that, building in solitude. One was one of my mentors, Dr. Sunday Adelaja; another was my work partner, musician Blynx. Both were building and accumulating products without showing them to the world. Little by little I was adopting this philosophy.
I did not feel like accumulating six months of work in the beginning. I could hardly hide the ideas I had, let alone the things I had started to do. I always wanted to share ideas and intentions. I felt a burst of energy from that. But actually, it turned out that more energy accumulates when we are hiding the product we are working on. The anticipation of the day this product will see the world grow every day. You know that the time will come to reveal your work to the world, and it brings joy and excitement. Whereas if you share the ideas and intentions upfront, it is like you are throwing out the energy.
“Trees that are slow to grow bear the best fruit.”
Molière
This experience taught me a valuable lesson about the importance of patience and the invisible clock that governs the fruition of all significant endeavors. Just like my students struggled to see the immediate results of their hard work, many of us often forget that the most remarkable achievements develop in the unseen, taking time to manifest. Just as I learned from my mentors and colleagues, it’s crucial to understand that everything worth achieving requires time. Now, let’s look at a list of various examples that highlight how different things take time to become visible and impactful.
A list of different things and how long they take to become visible:
- Human baby – 9 months
- Elephant calf – 22 months (almost 2 years)
- Tree (from seed to sapling) – Several years, depending on the species
- Butterfly (from egg to adult) – A few weeks to months
- Chicken egg – 21 days
- Human habits – About 21 days to form
- Writer’s book – Months to years
- Film production – Months to years
- University degree – 3 to 4 years
- Startup company – 3 to 5 years to become profitable
- Wine (aging) – Months to years
- Construction of a house – Several months to a year
- Artist’s painting – Days to months
- Technology innovation – Years
- Athlete’s training for the Olympics – Years
- Space mission preparation – Years
- Bamboo growth (some species) – 3 to 4 years to mature
- Real estate investment – 5 to 10 years to see significant returns
- Diamond formation – Millions of years
- Formation of a mountain – Millions of years
- Coral reef growth – Thousands of years
- Formation of petroleum – Millions of years
- Evolution of a species – Millions of years
- Fossilization process – Thousands to millions of years
So, you see, the most amazing things, the things that make us feel awe, all take time. Patience is key in any endeavor, especially in building something great. Keep this in mind as you work towards your goals. The invisible clock is always ticking, and understanding the time required for big results can lead to greater satisfaction and success in your endeavors. Remember, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” Embrace the journey, trust the process, and let the anticipation of revealing your work to the world fuel your perseverance.
