#parlor trick

The first thing to note is that, if I am right about idolatry—namely, that it is an image which animates itself (through the agency of a demon to which it is bound)—then this is a wonderful description of what it is that we are making with AGI. Google and OpenAI are on the hunt for an image of the human mind which is not merely automaton, not merely a parlor trick, but which truly convinces us that it is human apart from any direct human input or prompting. Of course some hieratic ritual must first be undergone (called “training”) before the animation occurs; but once man has made the god, the god can move itself. The Turing test is, seen from this perspective, just the same as Psellus or Iamblichus describing statue animation: we are waiting for a moment when the machine speaks to us like a human but without humanity; it is the test of whether the “demon” is present, whether it “animates,” or, as the official OpenAI language has it, acts like an “agent.”

Hoo boy, this starts out SWEET. 

Wet on skin, it’s like... almost a boozey sweet. There’s... I think it’s rose? I can taste it more than smell it. It reminds me of, like, rose syrup on vanilla ice cream, but like... with a splash of liquor.

As it dries down, it’s, like, just straight up vanilla to me. 

Here’s what Solstice Scents says about it:

Parlor Trick opens with a blend of ivory lace accord, dripping white wax, aged paper and a puff of steaming black tea. A glossy white smoke infused with delicate spices and vanilla undulates around these notes, weaving softly - arising and receding. A faint trace of rose flits around the edges. A creamy blend of blonde woods, teak, traces of Manor and bone musk melds together at the drydown with flutters of lace. Parlor Trick is a smooth, sweet but not foodie, elegant unisex blend. The smoke note is not a campfire or incense smoke; it's instead a glossy spectral fog infused with a very soft spiced vanilla. This blend also contains a medley of notes that are carefully restrained and not readily identifiable that contribute to the body. In addition to the focal notes, these include conservative additions of cognac, tobacco, bois de rose and a touch of soot. Parlor Trick is a chameleon of a fragrance. It shifts and morphs throughout the wear time. At one moment, you grasp a set of notes only for the scent to shapeshift and reveal additional layers. This scent has an overall atmospheric effect created from many moving parts. The sum of the composition is a balanced wearable blend that reads as very smooth and creamy with well-blended aspects of wood, wax, spice, aged paper and musk, wrapped in a comforting sweet shawl of vintage lace.

Wow, okay so. I am delighted that I was able to sniff out the rose and cognac! On the other hand, I sure do wish I could smell any of the other notes described. I do get some of the smokiness, but it’s mostly just a vanilla scent to me.

I hear you knocking

but you cannot come in