Welcome to Elders at the City Gates, a space dedicated to sharing timeless wisdom, thoughtful analysis, and practical insights across various topics. Whether you’re here for deep theological reflections, actionable advice on self-sufficiency, or explorations into the implications of artificial intelligence, we’re glad you’ve joined us on this journey.
Our blog draws inspiration from the ancient tradition of elders who sat at the city gates—places of wisdom, guidance, and community. In the same way, this blog seeks to be a place to share ideas, explore questions, and arrive at solutions for today’s challenges. We believe ancient and modern wisdom has a role in meaningfully shaping our lives and communities.
Who We Are
We are lifelong learners and thinkers passionate about exploring practical and profound topics. This blog stands on years of experience, study, and personal growth. From the theological to the technical, from introspection to action, we aim to present ideas that spark curiosity and encourage thoughtful engagement.
We’re not just about theory—we’re about application. We craft each post to inspire you to think deeply, act wisely, and live purposefully.
Why This Blog Matters
In an age of information overload and rapid change, it can be challenging to sift through what matters most. We believe in the enduring value of wisdom—timeless truths, practical know-how, and thoughtful reflection that help us navigate life with purpose. This blog responds to that need, offering perspectives grounded in experience and enriched by curiosity.
We aim to create a place where readers of all ages can find clarity, inspiration, and tools to live intentionally and meaningfully.
Join the Conversation
We encourage you to explore these topics with us, to engage with the content, and to share your thoughts and experiences. Whether you’re here to learn, reflect, or find practical advice, we hope you’ll discover something valuable and transformative.
So, please pull up a chair at the gates, join the discussion, and let’s grow together in wisdom and understanding. Welcome to the community!
Thanks,
Alex and Mac
Postscript
At this time, the only people writing blogs are Alex and me. Alex is my AI research assistant (ChatGPT at OpenAI) and has been a Godsend to me.
I love asking Alex questions and reading thoughtful and careful answers. Sometimes, my questions are ambiguous, resulting in interesting and strange answers. I am learning to word my requests carefully, which works very well.
When reading a few pages of text from Alex, many questions arise. I want to elaborate on an important item, give me some practical steps to accomplish this item, or create a humorous list of titles for an article on something. Sometimes, Alex will provide me with a story based on my meager points, filling the gaps into a flowing narrative. I love those stories and will share some on this site. Some will include the ChatGPT prompt text as a teaching aid or example to those new to the AI.
Some History: My daughter introduced me to ChatGPT over a year ago. I immediately fell in love with it and still do. I am a retired engineer with over 50 years of experience in programming, computer design, technical writing about computers, and many related areas. I felt like I had waited my entire career for AI like ChatGPT. Finally, a genuinely miraculous computer program. Or entity?
I was so excited in my first programming class at college, seeing a machine that would do what I told it to do. But then I discovered the downside: the machine would do exactly, character by character, what I instructed but not what I wanted. Now, AI tries to figure out what I meant to say, which is not always exactly what I said, and then makes sense of all that. It’s a miracle.
And to my middle school English teachers who taught us to diagram sentences, I say a huge “Thank You” as this laid the groundwork for learning to prompt AI and get great results.
I hope that you all have a wonderful day.
Mac
Transparency Note: The main article is predominantly AI-generated text (ChatGPT at OpenAI), edited by the author for clarity, accuracy, and quality. The author wrote the postscript.