What's the difference between the two?

What is a twin flame? When I met my twin flame, Mike, for the first time, a special connection was made that was different from the others. It had a kind of depth that was unusual for a first meeting.

Ive had instant connections with men before, and one led to anintimate relationship with a soulmate named Peter, whom I traveled to England to visit and be with on several occasions. We had an incredible romance, and I was crushed when that relationship ended.

As time passed, it had become obvious that Peter was not emotionally available to be in a committed relationship with me, even though he had indicated otherwise.Everyone has experienced heartbreaks and that was a big one for me and for him.

RELATED:What Is A Twin Flame & The 6 Stages Of This Fated Relationship

A soulmate is someone you have known before this incarnation, and you may find you have a wonderful and instant connection with that person. You likely have friends and lovers who are soulmates.

A twin flame relationship with a significant other, however, is said to be eternal. There is often more of a spiritual connection (not necessarily religious) and an innate desire to support each other unconditionally in all aspects of your life. It is the most amazing relationship one can imagine.

When my husband and I said our wedding vows, we vowed to be together forever and ever, beyond "death do us part." Those thoughts came through us from a place of higher knowing.

On a conscious level, we did not know the term "twin flame" at that time, yet we had this unusual desire to be together for the remainder of our evolution.

We had only known each other a year when we got married. Yet on our honeymoon, another couple told us they thought we had to be celebrating our 10-year anniversary. That is because it seemed like we had known each other forever. It appeared that way to them and felt that way to us as well.

It's likely you also set the intention at some point in your evolution to have this kind of relationship with your twin flame. Perhapsyouve had a number of unhealthy relationships and heartbreaks, and are wondering if its possible. Join the club.

Maybe youve given up on thinking the man of your dreams is out there or that you deserve or are capable of having a great, healthy relationship with a partner. Or, maybe, you are in a place of readiness.

RELATED:4 Signs You've Found Your 'Twin Flame' & Why It's Different Than Soulmate Love

Prior to meeting my forever husband, I had many unhealthy relationships, one of which was emotionally abusive, one was with a habitual liar, many were with men who were "asleep" and not open to doing their own personal or spiritual development, and some relationships were just for physical reasons.

After divorcing my ex-husband who was an alcoholic, I thought that if I ever got married again, I would live next door to my husband and in a separate house. Thats where my mindset was.

We talk about most everything, support each other in our dreams unconditionally, gave up fixing each other for Lent, and are best friends.

So how do you go from having unhealthy relationships to having an amazing loving, committed relationship with your twin flame? Here are some suggestionsin attracting and creating an amazing, loving relationship that you can apply to your own life:

The above are some of the things I learned over time. But these are skills you can learn as well.

My husband and I met when I was 40 and have now been married over 16 years. Our love grows stronger all the time. If I can create ahealthy, loving relationship after all the unhealthy relationships, you can too.

RELATED:If You Feel These 5 Things, You're In A Twin Flame Relationship

Stacey Mayo is a Master Coach, a high-level intuitive, and an award-winning author.

Link:
What Is A Twin Flame? How To Find Your Twin Flame And What Makes It So Different From A Soulmate - YourTango

The first new car for the 2020 F1 season to appear has a lot riding on it. Haas stumbled badly last year, slipping to last-but-one in the constructors championship.

An upgrade package at the Spanish Grand Prix made things worse rather than better. It took a long time for the team to discover the fundamental problems with its car which had caused the problem. Once they had been identified, the team reverted to a specification not too dissimilar from the launch images of the car you can see below.

Haas admitted it would take until the new season to address them properly. The VF-20 is the product of last years painful lessons and as a result there will be many anxious faces at Haas not only when it tests for the first time but, just as importantly, over the opening races.

With little change in the technical regulations compared to last year the VF-20 is a clear evolution of its predecessor. And while teams are likely to hold back their major aerodynamic changes until later, the cars front wing already sports a noticeably different shape, following the trend for outswept designs which its fellow Ferrari users preferred.

At the rear of the car there is little indication of any significant changes in the layout of its Ferrari power unit, which was widely thought to be the best in the championship last year. However the cars air intake is noticeably different to last years, adopting a triangular shape more similar to that used by the factory team.

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Use the sliders below to transition between images of the 2020 and 2019 Haas F1 cars.

Note these images may have been altered for ease of comparison and should not be used as a reference for measurements.

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Interactive: Compare the new Haas VF-20 with last year's car - RaceFans

PUBLISHED: 10:28 02 February 2020 | UPDATED: 11:29 02 February 2020

Thomas Chapman

Norfolks bishops, including the Rt Rev Graham Usher, Bishop of Norwich, have apologised for a Church of England statement saying sex is only for married heterosexual couples. Picture: Archant

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Speaking on behalf of the county's bishops, the Rt Rev Graham Usher, Bishop of Norwich, said he was "deeply sorry" for the hurt caused by the Church of England report.

In its latest guidance, published last week, the church's House of Bishops stated that sex in gay or straight civil partnerships "falls short of God's purpose for human beings".

The pastoral guidance prompted widespread uproar, including among the clergy as 800 members signed an open letter calling the Church of England a "laughing stock".

And now Norfolk's Anglican bishops have written to all clergy and lay ministers to make their own apology.

Bishop Graham, who became Bishop of Norwich last year, told BBC Radio Norfolk: "I'm very conscious of the hurt that the statement has caused.

"Its tone and how it was written was one that many people found deeply offensive, hurtful and upsetting - as I did myself.

"I personally want to pledge to move forward in a positive way through good conversation and good listening, find a way forward for the Church of England on these hugely complex and potentially divisive issues."

The House of Bishops' report came in response to the recent introduction to mixed-sex civil partnerships, the first of which were registered in December.

The Church of England does not allows same-sex marriage, and only allows the clergy to be in same-sex civil partnerships if they are sexually abstinent.

In its report, the House of Bishops said marriage was the "lifelong union between a man and a woman" and remained the "proper context for sexual activity."

It added that the church "seeks to uphold that standard" when it comes to civil partnerships", and to "affirm the value of committed, sexually abstinent friendships" within those partnerships.

While the guidance will have delighted more conservative members of the church, Bishop Graham highlighted the need for continued conversation and evolution within Christianity.

He added: "Their (conservatives) view is important, but one that needs to be part of an ongoing conversation bringing together people from different perspectives about these deep, personal question of identity, human sexuality and marriage."

See original here:
Norfolk bishops apologise for Church of England guidance on sex | Latest Norfolk and Suffolk News - Eastern Daily Press

As the stuntman Cliff Booth in Quentin Tarantinos Once Upon a Timein Hollywood, Brad Pitt laid down a performance of vintage Hollywood dudeness. His character is equally at ease being a human security blanket for his B-list-actor boss, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, as he is subduing murderous Manson family members while tripping on acid.

In James Grays Ad Astra, Pitt used the same tools he wielded so deftly in Tarantinos film laconic cool; understated emotion to build an entirely different version of masculinity. In it, hes Roy McBride, an astronaut on an interplanetary mission to find his absentee (in multiple senses of the word) father.

Brad Pitt on getting older: "You become more aware of your shortcomings. You look into starting to break some of that open, which is not always comfortable. "Credit:Micaiah Carter/The New York Times

But McBrides imperturbability is rooted in repression and hurt, nothing like Booths so-it-goes acceptance. The two characters could be connected, says Pitt, who is now 56 years old, in the sense that you have to go through an evolution to get to a place of comfort. You have to go through profound internal hardships.

Theres such stillness and ease to your work in Once Upon a Timein Hollywood and Ad Astra. Those qualities werent always there earlier in your career. Is that because youve gotten better at picking roles?

No, because I dont know what the outcome of the work is going to be. But in the 90s I did become aware that there was this kind of leading-man role that you could plug any of us into and it didnt even matter. We would all have the same result. So as Ive gotten older, Ive become more conscious of thinking, If I am the one to play something, what can I bring thats unique?

What did you bring to Cliff Booth and Roy McBride?

With Cliff its connected to my dad, the way he carries himself. Its also the iconic figures like Butch and Sundance and in Clint Eastwood movies. Then its where I am in my life. I dont care who you are, life is struggle. Its how you perceive those struggles. As Ive gotten older, I take them more as another day in the office, acceptance of what the day throws you. And in Ad Astra, we were looking at this idea of being older, being a dad.

You become more aware of your shortcomings. You look into starting to break some of that open, which is not always comfortable. I said to James Gray, I see this as very still, and I want to see how much truth and honesty can read on camera, can resonate. Its what they say: the camera doesnt lie. Though I dont know if thats true. Ive seen some people lie on camera, and it looks pretty good.

I dont care who you are, life is struggle. Its how you perceive those struggles.

Have you lied on camera?

I must have somewhere. Some days youre drowning on set. You just cant quite get there.

Was there a performance where you never got your head above water?

My first 15 years of them.

Those 15 years include films like 12 Monkeys. You got an Oscar nomination for that one.

I nailed the first half of 12 Monkeys. I got the second half all wrong. That performance bothered me because there was a trap in the writing. Its not the writings fault, but it was something that I couldnt figure out. I knew in the second half of the film I was playing the gimmick of what was real in the first half until the last scene and it bugged the [expletive] out of me.

Looking at the arc of your career, it seems as if a real shift happened somewhere around 2004. You started working more exclusively with higher-calibre directors. And maybe as a result, your acting had this new depth to it. I can see a line from then to now. Sorry, I realise thats an observation and not a question.

But youre absolutely right. Im happy someone could read that. It was really a turn on Troy. I was disappointed in it. When youre trying to figure things out in your career, you get a lot of advice. People are telling you that you should be doing this, and other people are saying you should be doing that. There was this defining film I never got to do, a Coen brothers film called To the White Sea. We had an opportunity to go, and then it was shut down. Then another interesting opportunity arose, and instead I was talked into: No, you need to be doing this other thing. You can get to your art project later. I ended up taking that advice.

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And you made Troy?

No, it wasnt Troy, it was another thing. But that really made me think, Im following my gut from here on out. I had to do Troy because I guess I can say all this now I pulled out of another movie, then had to do something for the studio. So I was put in Troy. It wasnt painful, but I realised the way that movie was being told was not how I wanted it to be. I made my own mistakes in it. What am I trying to say about Troy? I could not get out of the middle of the frame. It was driving me crazy. Id become spoiled working with David Fincher.

Its no slight on [Troy director] Wolfgang Petersen; Das Boot is one of the all-time great films. But somewhere in it, Troy became a commercial kind of thing. Every shot was like, Heres the hero! There was no mystery. So about that time I made a decision that I was only going to invest in quality stories, for lack of a better term. It was a distinct shift that led to the next decade of films.

You didnt get much opportunity to do comedy until fairly deep into your career, and now its a real strength; Cliff is such a sly, funny character. Was developing that side of what you do also part of the effort to get away from the straightforward leading-man stuff?

Well, I was very conscious of that when I did Kalifornia. Its kind of a B film, but it was important for me. I was going against the things I was getting at the time. I got to do character work in it, and theres humour laid in there, too. Ive gotten to do a few comedies. Theyve just been subtle. Im better at behavioural comedy than jokes.

Its interesting that you mention Kalifornia. I see that as a very method-y, flashy performance. It doesnt strike me as pointing toward the kind of work youre doing now.

But it was another big turning point for me. After Thelma & Louise I was offered hitchhiker roles, which is no surprise but you would be surprised at how many hitchhiker roles there were. I was also being offered romantic leads. For me in the 90s, there was this strict imprint of what a leading man was. It felt limiting. So what Im pinpointing with Kalifornia is a moment in which you can tell yourself that the box is bigger than the one youre being defined in.

Brad Pitt, right, with Leonardo DiCaprio in Once Upon a Time ...in Hollywood. Pitt plays stuntman Cliff Booth. Credit:AP

An example of the kind of behavioural comedy you just described is Cliffs LSD scene in Once Upon a Timein Hollywood at least before he starts bashing heads. Actually, wait, Im curious: have you taken LSD?

Who, me?

Yeah, you.

Oh, sure. Oh, sure.

The way you said that suggests more than a passing familiarity.

[Laughs] Im microdosing right now.

Youre holding it together nicely.

By the way, that was brilliant of Quentin. He came up with that a couple of weeks before we started shooting. We already had the script, and then he said, Youre going to be on acid in that scene. I said, Great! It gives you so much room. The clichs of acid trails; its always funny. Everyone gets it. But the scene mightve played the same way without acid: Cliff would find it so damn funny that he was having a normal night and then these bozos show up at his house. He was feeling the opposite of fear. There would have been humour for Cliff regardless. It was just amplified on acid.

A film like Once Upon a Timein Hollywood is so much about how certain kinds of cultural figures and images evoke particular associations and memories. And along those lines, its not some brilliant leap of interpretation to suggest that our and the movies awareness of a Brad Pitt persona affects our feelings about Cliff Booth. As an actor, are you aware of how the audiences idea of you can resonate with a role?

No.

Really? That resonance feels so central to the pleasure of the movie.

The answer is no. I mean, Im aware of when a director is using my persona really well. Fincher in Fight Club was twisting it. In Jesse James, it was pretty blatant. But no, Im not really aware, and Im not sure I should be.

I stopped reading all press about 2004. Not just reviews. I mean any magazine in the doctors office. Because some of it would bounce around like a rat in the skull. It would stay there, and it would inform some of my decisions and choices in work, in life, and I didnt find any of it helpful.

People always say they dont read about themselves. I never believe it.

I dont go out of my way to avoid it; I just dont seek it out. I dont know how many women theyve said Ive been dating the last few years, and none of its true I just flashed on something, but maybe it doesnt mean anything.

What?

When I first started my career, I was in USA Today. I was pretty pleased with myself. Two days after it came out, I go over to a friend-of-a-friends house. In the kitchen I look down and theres a litter box for the cat and theres my piece in USA Today with a cat turd on top of it. That pretty much defines it. This is a different, probably more embarrassing version of the question about your persona: are your looks a tool you can use or subvert to particular actorly effect?

No.

Brad Pitt in Ad Astra where he plays Roy McBride, an astronaut on an mission to find his absentee father. Credit:AP

How could the answer be no? What of all this business about actors and their instrument?

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Yeah, but you dont know how you read. Ive had moments where Ive seen pictures of myself from years ago and gone, That kid looks all right. But I didnt feel that way inside. I spent most of the 90s hiding out and smoking pot. I was too uncomfortable with all the attention. Then I got to a place where I was aware that I was imprisoning myself. Now I go out and live life, and generally people are pretty cool I just flashed on something else: when I was a kid, I loved the Harlem Globetrotters. When they came to my town, it was a big deal. We had seats up in the bleachers, but I sneaked down and sat in the front row, and Meadowlark pulled me out of the crowd. I was the kid for the thing when they threw the bucket of water, you know?

Youre talking about Meadowlark Lemons famous Globetrotters bit where his water bucket is filled with confetti?

Yeah. And I remember how when that happened I felt as if I had been touched by someone great. So what Im getting at is that after I stopped hiding out, once I got back out in the world, I realised that you have that ability to make someone feel good for a moment. Im not trying to say anyone is being brushed with my greatness. Im trying to say that I have the opportunity to brighten someones day. Thats a rare thing.

Edited version of a story first published in the New York Times Magazine. The interview has been edited and condensed from two conversations. The New York Times Company

To read more from Good Weekend magazine, visit our page at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and Brisbane Times.

Excerpt from:
'I decided to only invest in quality stories': The moment Brad Pitt found his groove - The Sydney Morning Herald

We are coming closer to the centennial celebration of Atatrks establishment of the modern Turkish state while 100 years have already passed since the Ottoman Empires sunset. During the last decades, under Recep Tayyp Erdogans leadership as prime minister or president, Turkey has continuously grown economically and, in spite of certain domestic divisions (see the aborted coup of July, 2016), succeeded in strengthening an important regional geopolitical position and sought to become a global geopolitical power. Although Ankara denies officially it seeks the restoration of the Ottoman Empire, president Erdogans political and military moves prove otherwise.

In an article published at the end of last year by a Turkish journalist specialised in foreign affairs, Atatrks principle evoked in his celebrated speech concerning the battle of Sarakaya according to which not only a single line should be defended but an entire area was recalled.

Consequently, Turkey must reconsider presently its defense zone which spreads from Qatar to Libya with Cyprus in the middle.

Assessing this fact, one finds that Turkeys general policy of the last decades was circumscribed to this purpose and that political, military, economic and of other nature steps were taken to this end. The establishment of Turkeys military bases abroad starting with the invasion of Cyprus in 1974 until the beginning of 2020,whenthemilitaryinvolvment in Libya was decided (with a number of troops for training and cooperation; certain sources mention the readiness of sending around 2,000 men who fought on the Syrian front)underlines the said policy. In fact, sustaining such a number of troops in Libya generates tough logistical problems for Turkey as it has no efficient means for that yet. The display of a Turkish drone which left the country and reached Libya after landing in Cyprus only is not enough and, on the contrary, highlights the difficulties of securing the logistical support of an important number of troops in Libya.

EstablishingTurkeysmilitarybasesabroadwasdonebyskillfullyusingthe regional political and military developments. The most telling example besides Libya is the Tariq Ibn Ziyad base in Qatar completed in 2019. In Iraq, Turkey has around 20 small-scale military bases predominantly for intelligence gathering. Six bases were established in northern Syria with a publicly unknown number of military assigned there. Most probably each of them are equaling at least an infantry company with additional units of artillery and tanks. The intent of setting up a military base in Georgia did not materialise.

Turkish diplomacy plays an important part in materializing president Erdogans geopolitical plans and when Ahmed Davudoglu was minister of foreign affairs (2009-2014) important steps were adopted for expanding the diplomatic component of Turkish foreign policy. It seems that now the diplomatic apparatus put in place by Turkey and its quality represents an efficient support for the foreign policy Ankara is currently promoting.

On the military component which is supposed to play an even more important role in strengthening and preserving the influence area wished for by Ankara leadership, one should mention that although Turkey has one of the strongest armies in the world (NATOs second and the 19th worldwide, according to Global Fire Power) it is not fully equipped to meet that challenge. After the aborted coup of July 15th, 2016, the management capacity of the army was severely damaged by the arrests, sentencing and dismissals that followed thereafter and even in 2019 (163 generals and admirals 45% of the armys total) the effects of which could be offset within around 5-10 years.

President Erdogan (prime minister between 2003-2014, president thereafter and re-elected in 2018) rules with a firm hand the country and, through the constitutional amendments that were adopted, he succeeded in concentrating the executive power in his hands and to compete for a third term in 2023. Hakan Fidan, the powerful head of MIT (National Intelligence Organization)who secures the presidents position played a pivotal role in annihilating the 2016 coup attempt and is considered one of the presidents main proponents.

Notwhistanding the achievements and the long political career, president Erdogans regime begins to present some signs of weakness and the most recent and important one was the presidential party AKP loss of Istanbuls mayorship which was taken over by the candidate of the main opposition party, The Peoples Republican Party (CHP)EkremImamoglu. The latter opposes the Istanbul Channel project, an idea launched by president Erdogan in 2011 and which materialisation the government intends to get started as of 2020.

The current Turkeys economic condition is relatively healthy although in 2018 the economy contracted shortly and the national currency devaluated by 30%, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development assessed in May 2019 a gradual recovery and an economic growth of 2.5% in 2020.

Turkey, which is dependent on energy imputs, cares about making best use of its geostrategic position by building gas pipelines (Turkish Stream started in 2017 and was commissioned on January 1st, 2020) and seeks favourable conditions for exploiting the Mediterranean Sea resources in spite of the tense situation resulted from delineating the marine economic zones (see the map bellow).

Moreover, in a move intended to make it an unavoidable arbiter in the Mediterranean, Ankara signed with Libya, on November 27th, 2019, a MoU on delineating the continental shelf of the two countries which would practically divide the Mediterranean in two.

The move could hinder the 1,900 km EastMed pipeline to be built by Greece, Cyprus and Israel for which the final decision should be taken by 2022 and to be completed by 2025.

Libya represents an important pole for carrying out Ankaras plans. The situation in the country is complicated and fluid not only as a result of the domestic developments but also especially due to the conflict between the two powerful groups of prime minister Fayez al-Serraj who heads the Government of National Accord (GNA), recognized by the UN and General Khalifa Haftar who, supported by Russia, France and the United Arab Emirates, controls a great part of the country and who, during the Berlin conference, suspended most exports of Libyan crude in order to have a stronger negotiation position.

Furthermore, in spite of the recent agreement reached in Berlin with provisions prohibiting arms deliveries and foreign intervention in Libya, an important trafic including weapons and ammunition deliveries and foreign counselors was noticed at Tripoli Airport at the end of January. Turkeys consolidation of its presence and influence in Libya is seen by certain forces as a danger that may lead to the establishment of an Islamist regime in the country given that GNA has the backing of several Islamist groups as well as the well-known support Turkey extended to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. It is believed that if there is no international intervention for a cease fire which I dont see materialized in the coming future the most probable result of the Turkish intervention will be the establishment of another Islamist regime in the Mediterranean.

The accomplishment of Turkeys plan of restoring an important influence area from the Gulf to the Mediterranean, between Doha and Tripoli, seemsdoablegiventheuncertaingeopoliticaldevelopmentsregionallyandglobally. Ankara used to this end the most modern means and international media outlets emphasized that cyberattacks in 2018 and 2019 that would have originated in Turkey against around 50 state and not only institutions in Greece, Cyprus and Iraq were recently exposed.

The latest developments by the end of January 2020 prove once more the fragility and complexity of the situation in the Mediterranean and the inefficiency of the Berlin Agreement: France accuses Turkey of not observing the agreement signed in the German capital and sent to Libya Syrian mercenaries landed off Turkish vessels while Turkey accuses France of supporting Khalifa Haftar in search of benefits in the oil field. Moreover, France decided to dispatch military frigates to the east of the Mediterranean to assist Greece, a decision applauded by the Greek prime minister while visiting Paris.

Under Erdogans leadership, Turkey moves resolved towards maximizing its geopolitical role and position capitalizing on great players hesitations (the US, China, Russia).It is difficult to estimate to what extent it will accomplish such plans.

If you are not fighting for what you want you deserve what you have, a renowned American speaker and writer said. How great it would be if this phrase were put into practice with due regard for all principles and norms of international law. Unfortunately, the right of force is still stronger than the force of rule and therefore vae victis.

Link:
What the Deal of the Century Tells Us About the World We Live In - Modern Diplomacy

Whoever wins it will have an advantage in every conflict around the world.

Graham Allison alerts us to artificial intelligence being the epicenter of todays superpower arms race.

Drawing heavily on Kai-Fu Lees basic thesis, Allison draws the battlelines: the United States vs. China, across the domains of human talent, big data, and government commitment.

Allison further points to the absence of controls, or even dialogue, on what AI means for strategic stability. With implied resignation, his article acknowledges the smashing of Pandoras Box, noting many AI advancements occur in the private sector beyond government scrutiny or control.

However, unlike the chilling and destructive promise of nuclear weapons, the threat posed by AI in popular imagination is amorphous, restricted to economic dislocation or sci-fi depictions of robotic apocalypse.

Absent from Allisons call to action is explaining the so what?why does the future hinge on AI dominance? After all, the few examples (mass surveillance, pilot HUDs, autonomous weapons) Allison does provide reference continued enhancements to the status quoincremental change, not paradigm shift.

As Allison notes, President Xi Jinping awoke to the power of AI after AlphaGo defeated the worlds number one Go human player, Lee Sedol. But why? What did Xi see in this computation that persuaded him to make AI the centerpiece of Chinese national endeavor?

The answer: AIs superhuman capacity to think.

To explain, lets begin with what I am not talking about. I do not mean so-called general AIthe broad-spectrum intelligence with self-directed goals acting independent of, or in spite of, preferences of human creators.

Eminent figures such as Elon Musk and Sam Harris warn of the coming of general AI. In particular, the so-called singularity, wherein AI evolves the ability to rewrite its own code. According to Musk and Harris, this will precipitate an exponential explosion in that AIs capability, realizing 10,000 IQ and beyond in a matter of mere hours. At such time, they argue, AI will become to us what we are to ants, with similar levels of regard.

I concur with Sam and Elon that the advent of artificial general superintelligence is highly probable, but this still requires transformative technological breakthroughs the circumstances for which are hard to predict. Accordingly, whether general AI is realized 30 or 200 years from now remains unknown, as is the nature of the intelligence created; such as if it is conscious or instinctual, innocent or a weapon.

When I discuss the AI arms race I mean the continued refinement of existing technology. Artificial intelligence that, while being a true intelligence in the sense of having the ability to self-learn, it has a single programmed goal constrained within a narrow set of rules and parameters (such as a game).

To demonstrate what President Xi saw in AI winning a strategy game, and why the global balance of power hinges on it, we need to talk briefly about games.

Artificial Intelligence and Games

There are two types of strategy games: games of complete information and games of incomplete information. A game of complete information is one in which every player can see all of the parameters and options of every other player.

Tic-Tac-Toe is a game of complete information. An average adult can solve this game with less than thirty minutes of practice. That is, adopt a strategy that no matter what your opponent does, you can correctly counter it to obtain a draw. If your opponent deviates from that same strategy, you can exploit them and win.

Conversely, a basic game of uncertainty is Rock, Scissors, Paper. Upon learning the rules, all players immediately know the optimal strategy. If your opponent throws Rock, you want to throw Paper. If they throw Paper, you want to throw Scissors, and so on.

Unfortunately, you do not know ahead of time what your opponent is going to do. Being aware of this, what is the correct strategy?

The unexploitable strategy is to throw Rock 33 percent of the time, Scissors 33 percent of the time, and Paper 33 percent of the time, each option being chosen randomly to avoid observable patterns or bias.

This unexploitable strategy means that, no matter what approach your opponent adopts, they won't be able to gain an edge against you.

But lets imagine your opponent throws Rock 100 percent of the time. How does your randomized strategy stack up? 33 percent of the time you'll tie (Rock), 33 percent of the time you'll win (Paper), and 33 percent of the time you'll lose (Scissors)the total expected value of your strategy against theirs is 0.

Is this your optimal strategy? No. If your opponent is throwing Rock 100 percent of the time, you should be exploiting your opponent by throwing Paper.

Naturally, if your opponent is paying attention they, in turn, will adjust to start throwing Scissors. You and your opponent then go through a series of exploits and counter-exploits until you both gradually drift toward an unexploitable equilibrium.

With me so far? Good. Let's talk about computing and games.

As stated, nearly any human can solve Tic-Tac-Toe, and computers solved checkers many years ago. However more complex games such as Chess, Go, and No-limit Texas Holdem poker have not been solved.

Despite all being mind-bogglingly complex, of the three chess is simplest. In 1997, reigning world champion Garry Kasparov was soundly beaten by the supercomputer Deep Blue. Today, anyone reading this has access to a chess computer on their phone that could trounce any human player.

Meanwhile, the eastern game of Go eluded programmers. Go has many orders of magnitude more combinations than chess. Until recently, humans beat computers by being far more efficient in selecting moveswe don't spend our time trying to calculate every possible option twenty-five moves deep. Instead, we intuitively narrow our decisionmaking to a few good choices and assess those.

Moreover, unlike traditional computers, people are able to think in non-linear abstraction. Humans can, for example, imagine a future state during the late stages of the game beyond which a computer could possibly calculate. We are not constrained by a forward-looking linear progression. Humans can wonderfully imagine a future endpoint, and work backwards from there to formulate a plan.

Many previously believed that this combination of factorsnear-infinite combinations and the human ability to think abstractlymeant that go would forever remain beyond the reach of the computer.

Then in 2016 something unprecedented happened. The AI system, AlphaGo, defeated the reigning world champion go player Lee Sedol 4-1.

But that was nothing: two years later, a new AI system, AlphaZero, was pitched against AlphaGo.

Unlike its predecessor which contained significant databases of go theory, all AlphaZero knew was the rules, from which it played itself continuously over forty days.

After this period of self-learning, AlphaZero annihilated AlphaGo, not 4-1, but 100-0.

In forty days AlphaZero had superseded 2,500 years of total human accumulated knowledge and even invented a range of strategies that had never been discovered before in history.

Meanwhile, chess computers are now a whole new frontier of competition, with programmers pitting their systems against one another to win digital titles. At the time of writing the world's best chess engine is a program known as Stockfish, able to smash any human Grandmaster easily. In December 2017 Stockfish was pitted against AlphaZero.

Again, AlphaZero only knew the rules. AlphaZero taught itself to play chess over a period of nine hours. The result over 100 games? AlphaZero twenty-eight wins, zero losses, seventy-two draws.

Not only can artificial intelligence crush human players, it also obliterates the best computer programs that humans can design.

Artificial Intelligence and Abstraction

Most chess computers play a purely mathematical strategy in a game yet to be solved. They are raw calculators and look like it too. AlphaZero, at least in style, appears to play every bit like a human. It makes long-term positional plays as if it can visualize the board; spectacular piece sacrifices that no computer could ever possibly pull off, and exploitative exchanges that would make a computer, if it were able, cringe with complexity. In short, AlphaZero is a genuine intelligence. Not self-aware, and constrained by a sandboxed reality, but real.

Despite differences in complexity there is one limitation that chess and go both share they're games of complete information.

Enter No-limit Texas Holdem (hereon, Poker). This is the ultimate game of uncertainty and incomplete information. In poker, you know what your hole cards are, the stack sizes for each player, and the community cards that have so far come out on the board. However, you don't know your opponent's cards, whether they will bet or raise or how much, or what cards are coming out on later streets of betting.

Poker is arguably the most complex game in the world, combining mathematics, strategy, timing, psychology, and luck. Unlike Chess or Go, Pokers possibilities are truly infinite and across multiple players simultaneously. The idea that a computer could beat top Poker professionals seems risible.

Except that it has already happened. In 2017, the AI system Libratus comprehensively beat the best Head's-up (two-player) poker players in the world.

And now, just months ago, another AI system Pluribus achieved the unthinkableit crushed super high stakes poker games against multiple top professionals simultaneously, doing so at a win-rate of five big blinds per hour. For perspective, the difference in skill level between the best English Premier League soccer team and the worst would not be that much.

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Explained: The Artificial Intelligence Race is an Arms Race - The National Interest Online

Published Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2020, 8:45 am

Front Page Business Artificial intelligence in the arms race: Commentary by Avi Ben Ezra

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Artificial intelligence is at the epicenter of the arms race, and whoever has superior AI will win.

For most people, the threat of AI has been limited to economic dislocation and the sci-fi robotic apocalypse. Yet, AI advancements are taking place in the private sector, outside governments control or scrutiny, and there is speculation that it is quietly being used for defense. Experts believe that a new arms race is developing particularly between United States and China.

The Chinese president realized the power of AI, and its superhuman capacity to think, after AlphaGo defeated the number one Go player. He obviously foresees, like some experts, AI evolving the ability to rewrite its own code in a few years time and exploding its IQ as high as 10,000. Humans will be like ants compared to such intelligent giants.

Achieving this artificial superintelligence will require breakthroughs in transformative technology whose circumstances and timing cannot be predicted at present. However, President Xi and other presidents saw the possibilities of AI in the global balance of power when AlphaGo won in Go, a game of strategy.

Strategy games come in two types. First, there are games of complete information, such as Tic-Tac-Toe, chess and Go in which players see all the parameters and options of the other players. Such games are generally easily be won with practice. Then there are games of incomplete information, such as Rock, Scissors, Paper, in which players can learn the rules and know the optimal strategy. However, no one is certain how the opponent will play so there is no definite winning strategy and winning is left to chance.

Humans used to win games against computers at one time and there was belief that humans ability to think abstractly and to narrow down decision making to a few good choices would always beat the computer. Then in 2016, AlphaGo, an AI system, defeated the Go world champion 4-1. In 2018, AlphaZero, a new AI system with ability to self-learn, defeated AlphaGo 100-0 by accumulating knowledge and inventing unheard-of strategies within 40 days. In 2017, AlphaZero was pitted against Stockfish in 100 games and, within 9 hours of learning the chess game, it won 28 games, drew 72 games and lost none. No chess grandmaster has ever beaten Stockfish yet AI superintelligence beat it.

In 2017, Libratus, another AI system, beat the best poker players in No-limit Texas Holdem, a poker game. In 2019, Pluribus beat multiple top professional poker players at the rate of 5 big blinds per hour. Poker is a game of incomplete information, uncertainty, and complexity that combines strategy, mathematics, psychology, timing and luck.

By the beginning of 2020, AI had beaten all human players and the best computer programs ever designed.

Avi Ben Ezra the CTO of the SnatchBot chatbot platform says It is normal that most analysts talk about the US and China, but actually, with the military chatbots that we created you have in excess of 40 countries who tackle a range of issues from information warfare to cybersecurity and fraud detection with clever AI chatbots that are integrated with robotic process automation (RPA).

Poker mimics life because of uncertainty. In the US-China rivalry, Chinas objective is to replace America as the dominant superpower. It knows Americas defense budget, force development plans and probably its military resources, capabilities and specifications to a certain degree. However, Americas alliances keep shifting, its capabilities and projects are classified and international crises are unpredictable. Therefore, the best that China can do is to invest optimally in order to exploit Americas weaknesses while managing its own risks and weaknesses. The US will do the same. Both countries defense planners are compromised in their outcomes by bureaucracy, internal rivalry, politics and vested interests. Theres obviously a lot of uncertainty.

Since AI beats the best humans in poker, its capability is obviously being tested in defense. In a few years, AI systems will be making all military decisions as generals that never tire, have no fear, are never distracted, and always perform at their peak. No human decision makers can compete.

Under those circumstances, the country with slightly worse AI will lose every battle and the winner will control AI. No one knows how its going to play out, but its certain that AI will lead the arms race as each nation places it at the very core of national achievement.

Bringing AI and RPA together from a military perspective is just like with any other organization: it improves efficiency and drives down cost. Yet the key issue is obviously that maintaining a technological edge, is at the heart of the strategy for several opposing players in the game.

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Artificial intelligence in the arms race: Commentary by Avi Ben Ezra - Augusta Free Press

Julie Kanner @jfkanner Friday Feb7,2020at1:08PM

Chief Retail Services Specialist Seth A. Lowry, from Jacksonville, was named as a 2019 Military Instructor of the Year finalist.

Chief Retail Services Specialist Seth A. Lowry, a native of Jacksonville and a 2002 graduate of First Coast Academy, was recently named as a 2019 Military Instructor of the Year finalist for the Naval Education and Training Command.

Lowry was recognized during a ceremony at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola on Jan. 23. The finalists were congratulated by Rear Adm. Kyle Cozad.

Lowry is a course supervisor at Naval Technical Training Center in Meridian, Miss., and is qualified as a master training specialist. He provides training to over 200 students. He was one of 10 sailors competing for the NETC Military Instructor of the Year title. They represent the top achievers out of over 8,000 military members in MyNavy HR Force Development.

Lowry was awarded a Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal for his achievements.

Related | Read more good news stories from the Jacksonville area

The Naval Education and Training Command Military Instructor of the Year program recognizes sailors who exhibit sustained superior performance, leadership, mentorship, knowledge and teaching of military history and heritage, self-improvement, command and community involvement, and exemplary military bearing.

Have good news? You can mail to The Florida Times-Union, P.O. Box 1949, Jacksonville, FL 32231 or email jkanner@jacksonville.com.

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Good News: Sailor from Jacksonville named Military Instructor of the Year finalist - The Florida Times-Union

How I Lost 10 Pounds in a Month With Orangetheory Fitness

Ever since I graduated college six years ago, my weight has truly been all over the place. When I left school, I weighed in at about 120 pounds. And while I was certainly thin, I wasn't exactly taking the best care of myself. In the years since, thanks to working out inconsistently and having a desk job, I packed on 32 pounds. Because it was a gradual gain, I didn't notice it at first. But when I stepped on the scale in late December and realized I was 152 pounds, I knew something needed to change.

While I knew at 5'4" I wasn't disastrously overweight, the fact that I had been getting a little too much into the wine and cheese since my July wedding hit me like a burst of cold water. As a former college athlete, I knew I could do a lot more to improve my overall health, and I desperately wanted to carve out new healthy habits.

While my foray into Orangetheory Fitness started with the goal of simply shedding some pounds, it quickly became much, much more. I first learned about OTF when POPSUGAR's Senior Editor Kate Schweitzer made it a regular habit. After having two gorgeous daughters, she started hitting classes five times per week at her local studio. And while she's always been in good shape, it was hard to deny how toned her arms had gotten during our weekly meetings.

Fortunately, Kate wasn't the only person who was drinking the Orangetheory Kool-Aid; Sarah Wasilak, our fashion editor, also went to class a few times per week. And thankfully, she not only attended our local studio in Jersey City, but she also enthusiastically offered to take me to my first class. As a person who had generally loathed group exercise classes in the past, I was eager to try an OTF class but overwhelmed. Why did they need to track your heart rate the entire time? What in god's name are Splat points?

Nervous but cautiously optimistic, I headed to my first class with Sarah one day at 7 a.m. As soon as we arrived, we were greeted by studio employee Wesley Barranco, who had one simple question for me: "What's your goal?" After confessing my love of cheese I kept the wine out of the convo for obvious reasons and telling him about my weight-loss goals, he gave me a confident smile and the rundown. While his spiel was certainly informative, I didn't at any point feel intimidated, which is key for those trying to get back on the fitness horse.

Eventually, I was introduced to Herlentz Mesidor, the head coach of the studio and the person who'd no doubt be bossing me around for an hour. As the big kahuna, Herlentz is obviously a very fit man. It's also worth noting that he is one of the few people on god's green earth who can pull off wearing a sweatband on his head.

Herlentz spent 15 minutes teaching me how the class is formatted and had me jump on a rowing machine to evaluate my form. (Spoiler alert: I've been rowing incorrectly for my entire life!). After getting set up with an OTbeat wearable device, we got to it, and honestly, I was amazed.

While I normally get bored in classes that just focus on cardio, the three-pronged format OTF offers time spent running, rowing, and lifting weights really suited me. Additionally, Herlentz didn't scream into the microphone the entire time. On top of pumping us up, he also made his rounds to ensure we were lifting with the correct form and using the treadmills properly.

At the end of my first class, I'd burned 650 calories. I've never had a more efficient workout since I played lacrosse in college. On top of that, I truly felt great. Maybe it was the endorphins, but I immediately signed up for a package of classes and have been going two or three days per week ever since.

While my initial goal was to lose weight and hey, it still very much is! in just five weeks, my body has begun to transform. I have noticed more muscle tone in my legs, and I've lost considerable weight in my face. I feel more confident in a bathing suit, and when I sit on a hard chair, my tush feels . . . perkier? Although the sensation is hard to explain, it sure feels good!

More importantly, my fitness goals have been turned on their head. Thanks to the treadmill portion of Orangetheory, I've cut a full minute off my mile time. In fact, on a six-mile run earlier this week, my average pace clocked in at 8:26. That's pretty good for me! Feeling more confident than I have in years, I officially bit the bullet and signed up for a half-marathon. Although I've toyed with the idea in the past, injuries have always gotten in the way. Because of OTF, I'm very much looking forward to running my first race.

Thanks to the welcoming and nonintimidating community I've found at OTF, I've learned that there's something powerful about testing your physical limits. Sure, I've lost 10 pounds, but it's not just about getting in a good sweat. Rather, it's about self-improvement and conquering goals, whether you're trying to beat your personal 2,000-meter row record or simply get back into jogging again. Have I met my official weight-loss goal yet? No, but Orangetheory gives me the confidence to keep on trying.

Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Murphy Moroney

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Sure, I Lost 10 Pounds Doing Orangetheory Fitness, but It's Not Always the Scale That Matters - POPSUGAR

Hoda Kotb fulfilled a lifelong dream on Friday: meeting Oprah Winfrey. The two shared the TV screen on NBC's Today Show this week in a moment that fans will not soon forget. Viewers shared in Kotb's excitement as Winfrey took the stage.

Winfrey is back in the press these days promoting her 2020 Visions Tour. Her visit to Today was perfectly timed, however, as Kotb and co-host Jenna Bush Hager are celebrating their first week on a new set, with a live studio audience.

That crowd cheered wildly as Winfrey walked out on the stage. She embraced Hager at the table, then paused for a meaningful smile at Kotb before they hugged as well. As she made her entrance she said: "It's happening! You manifested it!"

The three women took their seats, and Kotb was clearly fighting back tears of joy. She said she needed "a moment," adding: "do y'all feel like you need a moment?!" to the audience.

Winfrey and Hager then explained how Winfrey had come to be on the show. Hager had seen Winfrey at a previous stop on her Vision Tour last month and had asked her to be on the show. She admitted that one of the main reasons was to give her co-host a chance to meet a lifelong idol.

"Thank you. I can't tell you, Oprah, I feel like I've been in this business 100 years...you know when people say, like, 'You mean to much to me,' but they've never met you and I know maybe it does seems a little weird, but this is really one of those moments for me," Kotb said to Winfrey.

"I watched you over the years, I've watched you lift people up," Kotb continued. "There's only a couple people on the Earth who you want to emulate in our business. I watched you like, hold people's hearts in your hand, and I remember thinking, like, how does she do that? And you did it in such a way that was always so tender and real, and the fact that you're sitting here on this day is really kinda blowing my mind."

Winfrey's career and her larger-than-life screen presence has inspired many journalists and interviewers in recent years. She rose to national fame in the 1986 with her syndicated daytime talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show, which was on for 25 years before it ended in 2011.

Winfrey's show changed the face of daytime TV and had a profound effect on interviews and media criticism in general. It also highlighted self-improvement, self-help and empowerment methods that got a huge response from fans. It was all the more powerful because Winfrey is an African-American woman, bringing much-needed representation to the industry.

Many acclaimed stars have since cited that show as a profound influence in their early lives. That includes Kotb, who said that she felt a rush of childhood excitement when Oprah arrived on set.

"I mean, I'm 55 or 56, nobody knows," she joked. "Who cares. But it doesn't matter. It just shows you like, the kid in you in still in there when you walk in the door."

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Watch 'Today' Co-Host Hoda Kotb Lose It After Meeting Hero Oprah Winfrey - PopCulture.com