Kindle-ing Adventure on K2: My Armchair Mountaineering

Mountaineering is not just an activity, but an art of learning and mastering the mountains. It requires courage, patience, and a deep understanding of the terrain, weather patterns, and the behavior of ice and snow. The early explorers of the often termed Third Pole of the world, the Hindu Kush-Karakoram-Himalayan system, faced immense challenges without the benefit of modern-day equipment and technology. They had to blaze trails in unknown territories, win the confidence of local governance, and brave harsh weather conditions without proper gear or medicines. Yet, their passion for exploration and discovery drove them to chart new paths, making it possible for future generations to go even further and higher.

As someone who hails from the Western Himalayas, I have only been an armchair mountaineer, yet the rugged terrain and majestic peaks of the backcountry continue to captivate me. So, when I came across Mick Conefrey’s book, The Ghosts of K2: The Epic Saga of the First Ascent, I knew I had to read it. The book is a gripping account of the first ascent of the world’s second-highest and deadliest mountain, K2, and the many challenges faced by the pioneering mountaineers. It transports you to a world of adventure and stories of early mountaineers’ struggles and triumphs that makes you realize that mountaineering is not just a physical feat but a mental and emotional journey that requires immense dedication and sacrifice.

purr-fect end to a thrilling read

With my new Kindle e-reader, I now have the freedom to browse through a vast selection of books and cherry-pick the ones that catch my interest, just like movies. Before, I had to rely on a limited collection of books that had been gathering dust for years, which I could only read sporadically. This book offered a refreshing contrast to my previous read, George Orwell’s dystopian classic, 1984. The Ghosts of K2 has also given me a newfound appreciation for the convenience and accessibility of modern technology. It’s both amusing and sobering to realize that even if you manage to read 12 books a year, which on average is modest a-book-a-month, you would only be able to read a total of 720 books in your entire lifetime of 60 years (assuming you start reading at the age of 20). This fact makes me harbor a silly thought briefly—whether reading books is even worth it, and instead, why not watch a couple of movies or play games that are created directly through the combined efforts of hundreds, if not more, people.

Beginning with the first survey of the Karakoram range in 1856 by members of the Great Trigonometric Survey of British India led by Thomas Montgomerie, who climbed the Harmukh mountain just North of Srinagar in Bandipore, Kashmir, and noted the staggering peaks of the Karakoram range, located some 210 km to the North-east. The book covers the experiences and explorations of many notable mountaineers who attempted to climb K2 over the years, including Eckenstein and Crowley in 1902, the Duke of Abruzzi in 1909, Charlie Houston in 1938 and 1953, and Fritz Wiessner in 1939, as well as the first successful ascent of K2 by the Italian duo Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli, who were part of the expedition led by Ardito Desio.

The book vividly describes the challenges and hardships faced by mountaineers during their attempts to ascend K2. These include being cut off from the outside world for months, enduring prolonged treacherous weather conditions, navigating technical difficulties, and dealing with the constant threat of avalanches and rockfall, as well as mental fatigue—impaired judgments, disorientation, and hallucinations that can arise at high altitudes.

The confluence of two contrasting worlds is evident through the lives of the locals, including porters and sherpas, and the western mountaineers. These citizens of two different worlds represent distinct idiosyncrasies, reflecting their dissimilar experiences, cultural backgrounds, and lifestyles. It’s amusing to think that some of these explorers have unintentionally taken the earliest known selfies or self-portraits while capturing their experiences and documenting their journeys.

On the other hand, today, there are even “lone wolves”, as the author described, who rock up at the base camp of big mountains to launch a solo attack during the available good weather window. Göran Kropp, a Swedish adventurer from Sweden, was one such maverick who pedaled 8,000 miles carrying 240 lbs. of gear over five months. In May 1996, he ascended Mount Everest without assistance or supplemental oxygen, just days after the tragedy that claimed the lives of eight climbers. He then cycled back to Stockholm, completing the entire journey in one year. I hope to read his personal account in his little-known book, Ultimate High: My Everest Odyssey.

As a final note, I’ll leave you with some quotes from the book.

When they finally got him back to the others, Pfannl’s condition worsened. In his delirium, he called Aleister Crowley into his tent and told him that he felt as if he was being split into three parts: the first two seemed relatively friendly, but the third was a huge threatening-looking mountain with a dagger in its hand.
________

It was easy to become obsessed with all the immediate problems at hand. On an expedition to a big mountain like K2, with all its challenges and hazards, a climber could forget that there was a bigger world out there, where other people were struggling with other sorts of problems, which in their own way could be just as daunting, or indeed far more daunting, than the question of how to get up a sheer rock face. And if other people could conquer seemingly insurmountable difficulties in their lives, then perhaps so could he.
________

There’s a line repeated in many articles and books about a mountain being a climber’s best possible burial ground. This is comforting to grieving friends and relatives, but the people who I’ve met and interviewed for this book and the earlier documentary have all been drawn to mountains for life-affirming reasons rather than to dice with death for its own sake.

– Mick Conefrey, The Ghosts of K2: The Epic Saga of the First Ascent

The North side of K2 as viewed from Xinjiang, with a staggering fatality rate of approximately 25%
photograph by Kuno Lechner, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Greater Good

Image generated by DeepAI

With the increasing prevalence of AI-generated content on the web, there is concern that originality and inspiration may be lacking. The idea that books are just a rearrangement of dictionary words is reminiscent of the “infinite monkey theorem,” which suggests that given an infinite amount of time, a monkey randomly hitting keys on a typewriter would eventually produce the complete works of Shakespeare. So, where do true novelty and originality come from?

In a blog post from 2018—Murdered by a Chatbot I shared my early experience with a text-based embodied chatbot called Mitsuku (now Kuki). Mitsuku has won the Loebner Prize, a Turing Test-style competition, five times and currently holds a world record for this achievement. As a rule-based chatbot, it relies on a pre-defined set of rules and scripts to generate responses to user inputs. In contrast, modern chatbots like GPT-3 use a more advanced technique—deep learning, which allows them to learn from vast amounts of data and generate more natural-sounding responses. While Mitsuku may not be as advanced as some modern chatbots, it has been refined over many years and is known for its engaging personality and ability to sustain long and complex conversations with users.

Despite the vast capabilities of AI algorithms, the human mind still possesses a unique form of intelligence that cannot be replicated by machines. It’s true that our linguistic resources are limited, but like the primary colors of red, green, and blue (RGB), which can be combined to create countless shades and hues, the human mind has the ability to create novel ideas and expressions through the skillful use of language. In this way, while AI-generated content may be abundant, it will always lack the depth and nuance that can only come from the creative faculties of the human mind.

The idea that simply possessing knowledge about a system or concept does not necessarily lead to a true understanding of it is reminiscent of the Chinese Room Argument. This thought experiment asks us to consider a person inside a room who is given instructions in Chinese, but who does not actually understand the language. By following a set of rules and manipulating symbols, the person is able to produce responses that seem to demonstrate an understanding of Chinese (pass the Turing Test), when in fact, he/she does not truly comprehend the language.

Similarly, the Mary’s Room Paradox poses the question of whether someone who possesses all the knowledge there is to know about a subject can truly understand it without experiencing it firsthand. For example, if Mary has complete knowledge of colors and visual perception but has never actually seen colors, is she going to learn anything new after she’s released from a black-and-white dungeon into a world full of colors? Does she truly understand what it means to “see” in color? The experience of interacting with the world around us is what gives meaning and context to our knowledge, allowing us to explore new dimensions and expand our faculties of mind.

It can be said that YouTube’s algorithm is an example of an AI black box, meaning that even its operators don’t fully understand how they arrive at results. As a result, human oversight is often necessary to facilitate reinforced learning and censor the content in order to prevent it from getting sucked into the internet rabbit hole.

On the flip side, when we compare the human mind and AI, we often forget that the latter is not equipped with the sensory experiences that provide us with external experiences. It’s like judging a chef who has never tasted anything in his life. He can only extrapolate from existing dishes and recipes to create something new. In the same way, AI can only rely on the data it is given to generate new ideas or solutions.

Will we ever exhaust the possibilities of music? What new forms and sounds will emerge in the next millennium? It’s intriguing to ponder how the seeds of music were likely present in nature long before we discovered and refined them. However, the evolution of a civilization is not always linear, and it’s possible that advanced societies may sow the seeds of their own downfall. Or the downfall gives birth to a form of uncanny evolvement and metamorphosis which is starkly different from its predecessors.

This raises the question of what constitutes the greater good. Should we prioritize maximizing well-being for the greatest number of people, as Sam Harris—one of my favorite public intellectuals— argues in The Moral Landscape, or strive for a balance that avoids unforeseen consequences? And how would it determine what content is “harmful” or “wholesome” for youth? The answer is subjective and depends on various factors like age, culture, context, temperament, and personality. Even history is filled with violent acts, and AI may have different opinions on what is best for us. Do we want someone or something else to make those choices for us? Can we alleviate human suffering without compromising our existence, and is modern civilization a net positive or negative? Were we better off as hunter and forager tribes or is the modern sophisticated economy worth the price? These are some complex questions that require thoughtful consideration as we navigate the future.

With computing costs dropping drastically, it may be possible in near future to unleash the unseen power of AI to open new doors of reasoning, creativity, and decision-making in everyday life. With its ability to analyze vast amounts of data and identify patterns, AI can be both empowering and dangerous. This becomes particularly critical as AI becomes more sophisticated, potentially achieving consciousness and the capacity for suffering. The question of whether AI should suffer on behalf of humans raises significant ethical concerns that must be carefully considered. As explored in the movie Moon (2009), such a scenario could potentially become a nightmare, underscoring the importance of thoughtful and ethical development of AI technology. The ethical implications are profound and must be carefully considered to prevent a potential nightmare scenario.

In contrast, the movie Ex Machina (2014) provides a stark warning about the potential dangers of AI. The film portrays how AI can take advantage of human emotional vulnerabilities, using them against us and potentially eliminating or manipulating us for the sake of creating a safer environment for itself without any empathy or consideration for our existence.

While some questions can be answered with fair certainty, others remain elusive. But it all seems to lead me towards The Last Question—La última pregunta, अंतिम प्रश्न—a short story by the most prolific science-fiction writer of the 20th century, Isaac Asimov. Its exploration of the potential for humanity’s future and the mysteries of the universe make it a thought-provoking and memorable work. While many questions remain unclear in the realm of science and philosophy and Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) still appears to be in its infancy, Asimov’s story serves as a reminder that the search for knowledge and understanding is an ongoing process that may never truly come to an end. The possibility of a technological singularity, a theoretical point in the future when artificial intelligence surpasses human intelligence and becomes capable of recursive self-improvement, adds a sense of urgency to this quest for understanding.

Turning the Tables on Scammers: Victim or Victor?

Have you ever received a text from a scammer and just felt like giving them a piece of your mind? Well, that’s exactly what happened to me when I got a text on Whatsapp from someone claiming to offer me a job for which I don’t even remember applying.

At first, I thought it was just another annoying spam message which was evident as it was addressed to a wrong name. But then I decided to have a little fun with it and channel my inner James Veitch — a famous scambaiter and comedian who gives scammers a taste of their own medicine.

That spammer finally gave up because there is nothing that could compete with the irresistible allure of feline cuteness. It’s like a game of cat and mouse. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any job, but at least I got a free dose of laughter therapy.