Here is a follow on to my new blog. This time a brief nod to when surgery went too far...pragmaticnotes.substack.com/p/when-action-went-too-f...

I have started a short series called Pragmatic Notes from a Grandad. First post here: pramaticnotes.substack.com/publish/posts/published

I stumbled upon an entry in the Barber Surgeons Company of London Court minutes from 1600 relating to a master's conduct. 'Refused to appear before the Masters to answer a complaint (breaking the apprentice's head). Overdone it methinks!

Really interesting point. The risk may not be AI itself, but losing skills if no new ones are gained in return. Used well, AI could work like a talking whiteboard or part of a conversation. If it controls you rather than aids you, then something has been ceded.

As a PhD student, that feels oddly reassuring. They worried about whether they had done the right thing. They justified their choices carefully. They knew judgment was never purely technical. Four hundred years later, that still feels familiar.

One thing that has surprised me whilst reading seventeenth-century barber surgeons’ case notes is how openly they reflect on doubt, fear, and responsibility. They appear to be deeply aware of the weight of their decisions. It will be interesting to see if this revelation continues.

Would you buy a used car from these three dodgy geezers? At Winchester Cathedral for our MA History graduation ceremony, only a year after we finished it. Worth waiting though for this wonderful venue.

I think we could all learn from the Surgeon Richard Wiseman's epistle to the reader in 1676 introducing his treatise.