- Stephen Hardy on “Modar” is a Thing: “Oops. COJCOLDSDAR” Apr 24, 23:52
- on 19th-21st Century Mathematician and Logician Disciple Scholars: “I’m late to the party, but Thank you, Stephen! This was a delightful diversion into nerd-dom.” Apr 24, 20:09
- on “Modar” is a Thing: “I asked ChatGPT to create some art for my blog. I asked it to create a painting in the style of realism of an LDS man, no symbols. No white shirt. I prompted it with several descriptions of LDS countenances and asked AI to also extract its knowledge of LDS faces, descriptions from text of LDS countenances, as well from photos of the Tabernacle choir, general authorities, famous saints, etc. to create a compilation. I told it to try and capture the countenance and unique LDS spirit in the eyes. I did specify a middle aged male for the purposes of this project. It drew a white male with hazel greenish eyes and dark blonde/brownish hair and a receding hairline who wasn’t fat, but not thin, with somewhat of a full face-maybe a little overweight but not much. (Have you ever noticed how we’re never depicted as tall/thin people? People look at us as the chubby nerdy Elder or the overweight, but jovial ward clerk or bishop with a pot belly. Never the lanky President Eyring.) He had an innocent gaze with somewhat of a wide-eyed, perplexed/hopeful look. I noticed that the eyebrows were raised near the furrow and lower on the outsides, like a “worried” emoji”. When I kept telling AI “more” the eyebrows became more “worried” and the eyes larger- more doe-eyed and innocent/concerned looking. There wasn’t a smile, nor was there a frown. Serious. Hopeful/concerned. My painting looked like every young dad you’d ever meet in Elder’s Quorum. I suppose we have a lot to be innocent about (no R rated movies or wild drunken parties). We are often naive about a lot of things. We’re also hopeful in our interactions with people. And we’re also worried. We’re supposed to mourn with others, to be sober and serious, be concerned with welfare and charitable issues etc. It was an interesting experiment. I’d link the url, but it would put my comment in moderation.” Apr 24, 14:22
- on “Modar” is a Thing: “A decade ago, before self-scanning took over, if I went to Safeway after 9 PM on a Saturday night, I would often find myself in line for the cashier with someone else from my ward. Once three of us in a row. Another time the DC North mission president picking up a few things on his way back to the mission home. Dividing the count on the ward list by census tract totals I once came up with 1.1% latter-day saint. If I wanted to find random latter-day saints, I might try looking around a grocery store on a Saturday night.” Apr 23, 17:33
- on “Modar” is a Thing: “Last time I checked, missionaries have never worn white sleeveless shirts. Did you perhaps mean white short-sleeved shirts?” Apr 23, 16:30
- on “Modar” is a Thing: “MODAR was described this way in 1860-1870s in a report filed by the US Senate: “The yellow, sunken, cadaverous visage; the greenish-colored eyes; the thick protuberant lips; the low forehead; the light, yellowish hair; and the lank angular person, constitute an appearance so characteristic of the new race, the production of polygamy, as to distinguish them at a glance.” https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/conference_home/august-2015/rethinking-the-mormon-racial-story I find this funny as he’s just trying to say white pioneer stock LDS folks look like a Danish, Scandinavian, English mix. We still kind of look like this unless we go EX and then it’s the same look but with tattoos and more internet posting for men or a nose ring and more shoulder bearing for women.” Apr 23, 15:25
- on “Modar” is a Thing: “Stephen C, since there aren’t Cafe Rio locations in the metro areas outside the Intermountain West, Costa Vida is the closest we can get :)” Apr 23, 14:07
- on “Modar” is a Thing: “Maybe I have to turn in my temple recommend, but I never got the Costa Vida thing; now Swig I can get behind.” Apr 23, 12:03
