Deep dive into the terms and concepts mentioned in Chapter 13

Blackout episode, or transient loss of consciousness (T‐LOC), is characterised by a sudden and temporary loss of awareness and responsiveness. It occurs because of a disorder of the circulation—syncope; a disorder of the brain—epilepsy (or other rare neurological condition); a disorder of the psyche—psychogenic seizures. The majority are cases of reflex syncope, with up to 50% of people suffering from it during their lives. In most patients, this presents as simple fainting.

Carte Blanche is a French phrase that translates to “blank paper” in English. It generally refers
to the authority to act freely or make decisions without restrictions. In various contexts, it
can imply giving someone complete discretion to do as they see fit within a particular area
or for a specific purpose. For example, a manager might give an employee carte blanche to
develop a new project, allowing them to make decisions without needing approval for every
step.

Core Processing Unit, commonly called Central Processing Unit (CPU), is the primary component of a computer that performs most of the processing inside the system. It is often considered the computer’s “ brain, “ executing instructions from programs, managing data processing tasks, and coordinating other hardware components. A CPU retrieves instructions from memory (fetch), interprets the fetched instructions (decode), performs calculations or operations as specified by the instructions (executes), and writes the results back to memory (stores). Two Examples of Modern CPUs are Intel Core i9-13900K: 24 cores (8P + 16E), 32 threads, base clock of 3.0 GHz, boost clock up to 5.8 GHz, L3 cache of 36MB, TDP of 125W and  AMD Ryzen 9 7950X: 16 cores, 32 threads, base clock of 4.5 GHz, boost clock up to 5.7 GHz, L3 cache of 64MB, TDP of 170W. These specifications can vary across CPU models, brands, and target markets (e.g., desktop vs. mobile).

Hallucinations are false perceptions of sensory experiences. Some hallucinations are typical, such as those caused by falling asleep or waking up. Hallucinations seem real, but they’re not. Chemical reactions and/or abnormalities in your brain cause hallucinations. When a person thinks their hallucination is real, it’s considered a psychotic symptom. Auditory (sound) hallucinations are the most common type of hallucinations. They involve hearing sounds that aren’t real, like music, footsteps, or banging doors. Some people hear voices when no one has spoken. The voices may be positive, negative or neutral. They may command you to do something that may cause harm to yourself or others. Visual (sight) hallucinations involve seeing things that aren’t real, like objects, shapes, people, animals or lights. Presence hallucinations: These hallucinations make you feel that someone is in the room with you or standing behind you. Proprioceptive hallucinations make you think your body is moving, such as flying or floating, when not. Experiencing hallucinations in these ways is usually not a cause for concern. Hallucinations are also common in an infection or a fever. Schizophrenia is the leading mental health condition that causes hallucinations. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kbqmP_Xrh4).

The same concept also applies when any AI system starts to give stupid, unrelated and absurd responses.

Hoi Hai soi ji ram rach rakha is a line from Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas (1. 52. 7). Perplexed
seeing Lord Shiva paying respect from a distance, his wife, Sati, wants to test if the ascetic
prince Shri Rama with his brother wandering in the forest looking for his wife in desperation
is Lord Vishnu. Lord Shiva consented, saying there is no point in arguing as fate will roll out
according to God’s will. This phrase reflects the deep faith in divine will and the
understanding that surrendering to a higher power can lead to peace and protection. It
embodies devotion, trust in God’s plans, and the belief that everything unfolds according to
divine intention.