Testing GPT-4 ‘s ability to write some poems:

My prompt:

Write a poem about programming penguins where the first letter of each line is from the following sentence: “FREE ME FROM THIS”

The response?

(F)earless penguins code away in icy realms,
(R)igorous algorithms waddle in their minds.
(E)very line of code, a pathway to a new world,
(E)very calculation, a dance of the digits.

(M)ountains of data rise from the frozen seas,
(E)nigma of numbers solved by winged wizards.

(F)lippers tap the keys with skillful precision,
(R)eaching into the infinite, they carve their code.
(O)pen-source penguins, sharing their creations,
(M)ajestic binaries floating like snowflakes.

(T)heir intellect, a beacon in the icy night,
(H)elping the world with codes woven tight.
(I)n this cold wilderness of logical frost,
(S)oftware penguins find their way, never lost.

Neat! It did a great job starting each sentence with the correct letter. Not so much on the rhyming front. Still, pretty crazy!

I recently finished Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson. I’ve long been intrigued by Leonardo and his seemingly limitless curiosity. I think I decided to finally pick up this book due to the release of another Isaacson biography that I don’t really have a desire to read — Elon Musk (cue booing sounds).

While I appreciated learning about Leonardo’s various endeavors and various aspects of his personal life, I found myself distracted by Isaacson’s narrative style. Maybe I’ve read too many of his books as of late (Benjamin Franklin, Einstein, Steve Jobs, Innovators, and Code Breaker), but I’ve found that his method of telling a biography has become somewhat repetitive.

That said, the book isn’t without its merits. The accounts of Leonardo’s projects, especially insights into various works such as his anatomical studies, the Last Supper and the Mona Lisa held my attention. These serve as reminders of da Vinci’s unique contributions to both art and science.

For those unfamiliar with Isaacson’s previous works, this biography might come off as more enlightening. But as someone who’s journeyed through his other books, there was a sense of “been there, read that.”

Overall, “Leonardo da Vinci” earns a 3 out of 5 from me. Informative, but perhaps not the standout biography of Leonardo I was hoping for.