Category: articles

The Resulting Fallacy Is Ruining Your Decisions – Issue 55: Trust – Nautilus

~ cafebedouin

"In life, it’s usually even more complicated because in most real decisions we haven’t examined the coin. We don’t know if it is a fair coin, if it has two sides with a heads and tails on it and is weighted properly. That’s the hidden information problem. We can’t see everything. We haven’t experienced everything. … Continue reading The Resulting Fallacy Is Ruining Your Decisions – Issue 55: Trust – Nautilus

We’re at Peak Newsletter, and I Feel Fine | Vanity Fair

~ cafebedouin

"'No one needs more shit to read,' wrote Erica Buist in a widely circulated Medium post entitled 'The Personal Newsletter Fad Needs to End,' citing Twitter, print magazines, and her nightstand book stack as competing entities. It’s true that my Pocket app, Chrome tabs, bookshelves, and feeds are all crammed with reading material. Yet somehow … Continue reading We’re at Peak Newsletter, and I Feel Fine | Vanity Fair

Safety or Stalker App?

~ cafebedouin ~ 2 Comments

"...Life360, a location-sharing app aimed at families, is apparently ruining the lives of teenagers all across the United States...Parents can now remotely check their child’s browsing histories and social media accounts, watch their movements via motion-sensing cameras, and track everywhere they go with location-sharing apps. In a Pew Research Center study last year, 58 percent … Continue reading Safety or Stalker App?

With Little Training, Machine-Learning Algorithms Can Uncover Hidden Scientific Knowledge

~ cafebedouin

"Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have shown that an algorithm with no training in materials science can scan the text of millions of papers and uncover new scientific knowledge."—Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, "With little training, machine-learning algorithms can uncover hidden scientific knowledge." Techxplore.com. July 3, 2019.

Scientists Are Giving Dead Brains New Life. What Could Go Wrong? – The New York Times

~ cafebedouin ~ 2 Comments

"But there was a worst-case scenario: A partly revived post-mortem brain, trapped in a feverish nightmare, perpetually reliving the very moment of its slaughter. 'Imagine the ultimate sensory-deprivation tank,' a member of the N.I.H.’s Neuroethics Working Group told me. "No inputs. No outputs. In your brain, nobody can hear you scream.'" —Matthew Shaer—Scientists Are Giving … Continue reading Scientists Are Giving Dead Brains New Life. What Could Go Wrong? – The New York Times

What to Do When an Artist You Admire Reveals Something About Themselves Which You Feel Casts an Unhappy Shadow Across Their Work…

~ cafebedouin

"I think perhaps it would be helpful to you if you saw the proprietorship of a song in a different way. Personally, when I write a song and release it to the public, I feel it stops being my song. It has been offered up to my audience and they, if they care to, take … Continue reading What to Do When an Artist You Admire Reveals Something About Themselves Which You Feel Casts an Unhappy Shadow Across Their Work…

Election Security 2020

~ cafebedouin

The Cyber Policy Center's report, "Securing American Elections: Prescriptions for Enhancing the Integrity and Independence of the 2020 U.S. Presidential Elections and Beyond" makes for some discouraging reading. In short, our election are as secure as most everything else these days, i.e., not very secure.