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Bret Bernhoft

['Member']Joined: September 02, 2021 at 21:48Last active: February 23, 2026 at 01:5229 discussions218 comments
Location: United States Of America

Bio

I am a Full Stack Software Engineer specializing in low-code development, with a strong focus on building secure, scalable applications using Quickbase and cloud-integrated automation platforms. My background spans from WordPress deployments to enterprise-grade business systems, giving me a unique perspective on how people interact with technology at scale.

Since 2021, I have led the development of production-grade Quickbase applications, engineered API integrations across services like AWS, Trello and Zapier, and delivered automation workflows that cut operational overhead. My work consistently emphasizes collaboration, user-centric interfaces and real-time reporting to empower all users.

I focus on blending application development, business process automation and platform interoperability. My current toolbox includes Quickbase (Pipelines, Webhooks, APIs, Dashboards), JavaScript, React, Python, SQL and platforms such as Zapier. I also maintain a private homelab where I prototype integrations with self-hosted LLMs and AI-driven tooling for workflow intelligence.

My ongoing goal is to design systems that simplify complexity, reduce manual effort and expand access to reliable, high-performing technology.

Favourite Philosopher

Alan Watts, Joseph Campbell, Manly P. Hall and Carl Jung

Favourite Quotations

"Everything around you that you call life, was made up by people who were no smarter than you. And you can change it. And you can influence it. You can build your own things that other people can use. And the minute that you understand that you can poke life, that if you push in, something will pop out the other side. That you can change it. That you can mold it. That's maybe the most important thing." - Steve Jobs

Discussions (29)

Philosophical AI

September 24, 2022 at 08:16 25 comments Science and Technology

Comments

In: Are prayer and meditation essentially the same activity?  — view comment
From what I have participated in, your point about disciplined repetition being transformative seems to be true. Almost like a rule of the universe?
February 16, 2026 at 03:34
In: Are prayer and meditation essentially the same activity?  — view comment
You describe an interesting perspective. One which contrasts quite a bit from my own understanding of what and how prayer is. But by no means untrue o...
February 16, 2026 at 03:26
In: Are prayer and meditation essentially the same activity?  — view comment
You are thinking of "Flow" as written by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. I enjoy the core ideas of the book, about hyper-performance and time dilation while ...
February 11, 2026 at 21:59
In: Are prayer and meditation essentially the same activity?  — view comment
This is a fascinating mental exercise, to observe and experience the acts of prayer and meditation from both the first and third perspectives. I can d...
February 08, 2026 at 04:58
In: Are prayer and meditation essentially the same activity?  — view comment
Prayer is a beautiful act of union with greater mysteries. Which seems to happen or occur within the person praying, first and foremost. It would be d...
February 04, 2026 at 19:16
In: Are prayer and meditation essentially the same activity?  — view comment
I like how you frame the difference between prayer and meditation. Where meditation is a sort of "warm-up" for the "main show", which is prayer. And y...
February 04, 2026 at 02:59
In: A new home for TPF  — view comment
That's an interesting metric of 13,837 discussions. That's a lot of discussions. https://hosting.photobucket.com/bbcfb0d4-be20-44a0-94dc-65bff8947cf2/...
November 22, 2025 at 01:42
In: Is all this fascination with AI the next Dot-Com bubble  — view comment
In 5-10 years humanity will have developed multiple instances of artificial general intelligence. The AI bubble (which doesn't exist) will not only no...
November 04, 2025 at 01:35
In: Is all this fascination with AI the next Dot-Com bubble  — view comment
That is good advice. It's all about orchestration and augmentation these days.
November 04, 2025 at 01:20
In: Is all this fascination with AI the next Dot-Com bubble  — view comment
That's a great resource, thank you for sharing. I wasn't aware Powell had said as much, and so recently. The value of investments in AI being made by ...
November 03, 2025 at 05:58
In: Is all this fascination with AI the next Dot-Com bubble  — view comment
I appreciate this thread. As I ponder about and am involved in this line of thinking in my daily life. I would like to share my perspective on this im...
November 03, 2025 at 05:41
In: Using Artificial Intelligence to help do philosophy  — view comment
This is a fascinating perspective. Subjective, somatic experience is necessary for ideation. Is that what you are saying?
August 12, 2025 at 05:14
In: Using Artificial Intelligence to help do philosophy  — view comment
I can see where you're coming from. But can we agree to disagree on whether AI has the ability to create novel ideas? In my experience, modern AI can ...
August 08, 2025 at 20:48
In: Using Artificial Intelligence to help do philosophy  — view comment
Your point is an important distinction to draw; between using AI as a crutch or tool. It can be difficult at first to know where the line in the sand ...
August 08, 2025 at 19:43
In: Using Artificial Intelligence to help do philosophy  — view comment
I would like to revisit this subject, given recent and upcoming advances in AI technologies. Also improvements in how users relate to and understand t...
August 07, 2025 at 08:50
In: Silence is from which sound emerges  — view comment
No worries at all. I'm pleased to have the conversation taking place around the OP, especially if said dialogue is enjoyable and takes an unconvention...
February 09, 2025 at 03:32
In: Silence is from which sound emerges  — view comment
This is a fair assessment of my point you quoted in your post. If the association between silence and "space"/"opportunity" is more psychological and ...
February 02, 2025 at 04:18
In: Silence is from which sound emerges  — view comment
Thank you for the beautiful Brian Eno recommendation. I am listening to the music presently. Yes, this playful experience of sound(s) emerging out fro...
January 26, 2025 at 07:23
In: Silence is from which sound emerges  — view comment
What outstanding and intense opposites. Both humanism and nihilism at play it seems. You have nicely framed a middle ground for the dialogue had thus ...
January 26, 2025 at 07:13
In: Silence is from which sound emerges  — view comment
You make an excellent and distinct point here. Silence if not the cause of sound. It does indeed take a free agent to act upon the silence in order to...
January 26, 2025 at 07:01
In: Silence is from which sound emerges  — view comment
Thank you for your response. I appreciate your perspective, and agree; a blank piece of paper contains no writing upon it. As well, it takes the freew...
January 26, 2025 at 06:53
In: Silence is from which sound emerges  — view comment
Wonderfully and clearly said. Thank you for using music as an example. There is nothing sweeter, in terms of sounds and silence, than well-organized m...
January 26, 2025 at 06:36
In: The Human Condition  — view comment
I appreciate the sentiment in this post. And I'm thankful for the author (OP) for having put their thoughts together and such a cogent way. Here are m...
August 03, 2024 at 03:24
In: Using Artificial Intelligence to help do philosophy  — view comment
These are fair points. And true points. I find ChatGPT is less of an independent thinker, and more of a mirror or echo chamber. Relying on ChatGPT for...
August 01, 2024 at 23:19
In: Do (A implies B) and (A implies notB) contradict each other?  — view comment
I voted that "(A implies B) and (A implies notB)" do not contradict each other. But the only possibility is if A is false/falsy. Here is a JavaScript ...
July 11, 2024 at 16:58
In: Using Artificial Intelligence to help do philosophy  — view comment
Thank you for your response. And I agree, that modern artificial intelligence has a difficult time with truly novel arguments for a strongly stated ph...
June 07, 2024 at 04:59
In: Philosophy of AI  — view comment
I've also come to this understanding; that humans are animistic. And this doesn't stop at rocks and trees. We see the person in technology, naturally....
May 18, 2024 at 20:52
In: The ultimate significance of "Thus Spoke Zarathustra", and most of Friedrich Nietzsche's other books  — view comment
Thank you for your response to my original post. Your perspective is welcome and refreshing. In terms of the compatibility of Nietzsche's work and sto...
April 04, 2024 at 01:52
In: Can digital spaces be sacred?  — view comment
I've been giving this subject quite a bit of reflection, and it seems self-evident to me now; that animism doesn't stop at the forest's edge. In other...
March 01, 2024 at 09:35
In: Techno-optimism is most appropriate  — view comment
Another way of saying what this thread is all about, is to state that (in my opinion, experience and observation) atheist animism is the default world...
February 18, 2024 at 14:12
In: Techno-optimism is most appropriate  — view comment
I am also a techno-animist, so to me the technology goes beyond being only a tool. More like a gateway.
February 18, 2024 at 13:49
In: Techno-optimism is most appropriate  — view comment
My essential point is that advances in technology are inherently good. We can, in seconds, accomplish what would have otherwise taken countless hours....
February 18, 2024 at 10:55
In: Techno-optimism is most appropriate  — view comment
I do agree with many parts of the text you have shared. There are some important comparisons and points made inside the article.
February 17, 2024 at 21:33
In: Techno-optimism is most appropriate  — view comment
I do agree with Mark Andreesen's "The Techno-Optimist Manifesto", in that at least he's throwing his clout behind embodying a daydreamer. We need thos...
February 17, 2024 at 20:48
In: Techno-optimism is most appropriate  — view comment
I think that everyone benefits from using technology. Which is a big reason why I'm a techno-optimist. Technology liberates the individual, while buil...
February 17, 2024 at 19:17
In: The ultimate significance of "Thus Spoke Zarathustra", and most of Friedrich Nietzsche's other books  — view comment
I can see what you're saying. Do you see "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" as being a product of it's time and environment? Or does it represent a more timeles...
January 22, 2024 at 03:27
In: The ultimate significance of "Thus Spoke Zarathustra", and most of Friedrich Nietzsche's other books  — view comment
Interesting. I'll admit, and it's probably obvious, that I'm a novice in terms of Nietzsche's philosophies. But his works are indeed interesting, so I...
January 22, 2024 at 03:18
In: The ultimate significance of "Thus Spoke Zarathustra", and most of Friedrich Nietzsche's other books  — view comment
Is this part of the reason why his writings remain so influential?
January 21, 2024 at 20:39
In: The books that everyone must read  — view comment
Here are a few books that I would recommend others read, to better appreciate the techno-optimist perspective: "Where Wizards Stay Up Late" - by Katie...
December 31, 2023 at 15:51
In: The Mind-Created World  — view comment
Yes, indeed the world is mind-created. While the planet is not explicitly so. Another way of looking at this is to say that the world is the psychic g...
December 31, 2023 at 15:34
In: Techno-optimism is most appropriate  — view comment
I don't think being anti-science is treasonous, but I do think that it is the incorrect path for our species.
December 31, 2023 at 02:45
In: Arguing for an "Information Processing" Definition of Knowledge  — view comment
In my estimation, this statement gives credence to the notion that Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) will truly be sentient. Perhaps even possessi...
December 16, 2023 at 05:10
In: What characterizes the mindset associated with honesty?  — view comment
This is an excellent set of thought-provoking prompts. Thank you for the OP. In my observations, the mindset (or paradigm) associated with honesty gen...
December 13, 2023 at 02:55
In: How Do You Personally Learn?  — view comment
This is an interesting question, thank you for asking. If I want to genuinely learn, remember and master a subject, I need to "play with it". This inc...
November 24, 2023 at 08:16
In: Are you against the formation of a techno-optimistic religion?  — view comment
Now I do see what you're saying. Those are excellent points. Thank you for clarifying. I will need to do some reflection on what you're saying here.
October 25, 2023 at 20:26
In: Are you against the formation of a techno-optimistic religion?  — view comment
That's an interesting perspective. I hadn't considered this issue from that vantage yet. I might agree with you on most of what you're saying here; ho...
October 23, 2023 at 19:37
In: Are you against the formation of a techno-optimistic religion?  — view comment
In my observations, Technopaganism is a legitimate form of religious practice. Likely with millions of participants; no belief required. The only para...
October 19, 2023 at 10:58
In: Are you against the formation of a techno-optimistic religion?  — view comment
I see now. Thank you for clarifying.
October 19, 2023 at 03:49
In: Are you against the formation of a techno-optimistic religion?  — view comment
I see this happening too. It is already happening in the Pagan communities.
October 18, 2023 at 21:18
In: Are you against the formation of a techno-optimistic religion?  — view comment
That's interesting. I don't know what to say to that. I definitely respect your position here, but can you explain more about what I have described th...
October 18, 2023 at 21:14
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