Keep the lie alive...

The longer we hold to the truth. The faster its treacherous fire will burn us alive. The votes will tally today, and a new future will be written on the heels of a story calling for justice while drenched in an insidious lie.

• Is it possible to handle the truth?
• Do we know any better?
• How did bias become a sin?

— Dalida. #recognize

Bienvenue à Paris where the Tour Eiffel stands tall, waiting to be photographed during the day. However, capturing its lights at night is an IP infringement.

A fun fact: if we can call it that courtesy of none then our own rebel guide my cousin Élige.

With a Parisienne look and inner fight for la justice! From a young age, she challenged stereotypes, stood against bullying, and encouraged self-expression in Lebanon with a social experiment called From My Closet.

I missed her. The last I saw her was in the summer of 2021 at my brother’s wedding. Shortly after she had left for Paris still hoping for a better future and pursuing a master’s in cultural diplomacy.

Alas, the faith in a better world, thankfully, still survives in her eyes. I still don’t know how. And even where could such a glimmer flourish in this vicious reality we are living in?

Her dreams float over linking cultures and emphasizing the benefits interculturality can offer for a global identity while facing the dangers of blaming or being scared of alterity.

I want to believe it but I struggle to. UNESCO maybe it… who knows where? Its survivability dwindles day after day.

Playing guide, she took us to see Paris from up top and then walking down small alleys of Montmartre, passing by the bust of Dalida with its two bright yellow spots on her bosoms defiled by all the wishes for good luck.

I didn’t touch them if you are wondering.

And here, a sad story is unveiled. That of suicide witnessed by many suicides. Dalida’s life was overwhelmed, leaving this world with this note: “La vie m’est insupportable… Pardonnez-moi.” (“Life has become unbearable for me… Forgive me.”).

The day ran away from us dancing in the streets of Paris. The city does rob you. If nothing from your sanity of taking it all in at once.

Sometimes the truth of reality is too much.

— Claude. #understand

He said: Head straight to the Eiffel Tower and Louvre, that’s what everyone comes for!

BORING, I automatically and without thinking replied.

With a bit of attitude or at least that’s how I felt he said: Listen, forget what the guidebooks say - I’ve lived here for years and nothing beats just wandering through Le Marais and Montmartre with a glass of wine in hand.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

I mean, that’s quite vague, my friend I only have one day! I proclaimed.

Without hesitation, he said: If you start at Place du Tertre around 10, you can hit all the best spots - Sacré-Cœur, Le Consulat, the artists’ square - and really feel the soul of Paris in just half a day.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Now, if you haven’t guessed yet, Claude isn’t really a guy but more so an LLM sitting on my phone as I was struggling to sleep at 4 am.

Believe it or not, that’s exactly what we did the first day, but not per its recommendation but by my cousin. We walked those streets in that order.

Claude nailed it. Or did it? I only knew because I asked it after the fact. Left unvalidated, it still sounded damn smart and probably a tad more accurate than I expected it to be.

It told the truth! Did it not? The evidence suggests it.

Or do you think it possibly could have been biased?

— & La Vérité. #accept

Quite a fitting topic to tell you that your bias is no less the truth, and your version of anything is simply the misguided allure of people’s misunderstanding of science.

Time to meet La Vérité. (the truth)

For in the eyes of one truth, we lost our soul. If the polarization and the state of the world today doesn’t convince you, then heed the words of cognitive scientist Donald D. Hoffman from the University of California, Irvine.

After thirty years of studying perception and AI, Hoffman reached a striking verdict: Evolution crafted our minds to see useful illusions, not truth - because survival, not reality, is what shaped our sight.

We lie to our teeth, pursuing the truth, while in reality, such a fact is never within our reach. The obsession became like a passionate, lustful pursuit chasing after naked innocence ravaged by the deceit of a corrupted sight blind to its misguided flaws.

Paris wasn’t enough for a day, so one more day was extended. And while the ballots drop today, I beg you to sheath your truth for the greater good because your ownership of it is as valid as the fictional name your parents gave you. Je vous en prie, mon amie.

Until next time,
Carlo