"According to Weber's psychological theory of the finite pool of worry, people avoid dealing with multiple negative events at the same time. Consistent with this theory, as people worry more about the COVID-19 pandemic, they tend to neglect the problem of climate change. Here, we examine the number and content of climate change discussions on … Continue reading The Finite Pool of Worry Hypothesis
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N of 1 Experiment: Hafnia Alvei for Weight Loss
"An experimental probiotic aids weight loss in overweight people following a calorie-control diet. Previous studies by Pierre Déchelotte at Rouen University Hospital in France and his colleagues suggest that orally administering the gut bacterium Hafnia alvei helps obese mice lose weight. The probiotic produces a molecule called ClpB that mimics the appetite-reducing hormone alpha-MSH. Now, the researchers have found that the bacterium has similar effects in … Continue reading N of 1 Experiment: Hafnia Alvei for Weight Loss
Simulated Selves
"This Mum and Dad live inside an app on my phone, as voice assistants constructed by the California-based company HereAfter AI and powered by more than four hours of conversations they each had with an interviewer about their lives and memories. (For the record, Mum isn’t that untidy.) The company’s goal is to let the living communicate with … Continue reading Simulated Selves
Sudowrite: Writing with Artificial Intelligence
Robin Sloan described a process for "writing with the machine" back in 2016 that I tried in 2019. The interesting part of doing it yourself is that you could select the corpus that the A.I. was trained on and get writing in that style of subspecialty. But, it took a bit of work to set-up … Continue reading Sudowrite: Writing with Artificial Intelligence
Cargo Cult X
"Good listeners do often reflect words back—but not because they read it in a book somewhere. Rather, it’s cargo cult advice: it teaches you to imitate the surface appearance of good listening, but misses what’s actually important, the thing that’s generating that surface appearance. The generator is curiosity. When I’ve listened the most effectively to people, it’s because I was … Continue reading Cargo Cult X
Ideological Amazon & Punk Nazis
"The words are violence crowd is right about the power of language. Words can be vile, disgusting, offensive, and dehumanizing. They can make the speaker worthy of scorn, protest, and blistering criticism. But the difference between civilization and barbarism is that civilization responds to words with words. Not knives or guns or fire. That is the bright … Continue reading Ideological Amazon & Punk Nazis
US Approves Google Plan To Let Political Emails Bypass Gmail Spam Filter
"The US Federal Election Commission approved a Google plan on Thursday to let campaign emails bypass Gmail spam filters. The FEC's advisory opinion adopted in a 4-1 vote said Gmail's pilot program is permissible under the Federal Election Campaign Act and FEC regulations "and would not result in the making of a prohibited in-kind contribution." The FEC said Google's … Continue reading US Approves Google Plan To Let Political Emails Bypass Gmail Spam Filter
DARVO
"DARVO is an acronym for "deny, attack, and reverse victim and offender". It refers to a reaction that alleged perpetrators of wrongdoing, particularly sexual offenders, may display in response to being held accountable for their behavior.[1] Some researchers and advocates have indicated that it can be as a common manipulation strategy of psychological abusers.[2][3][4] An abuser (or alleged abuser) denies the … Continue reading DARVO
A Cyclic Theory Of Subcultures
"During Involution phase, many counterelites are trying to slice off adherents and resources at the same time. Some people even become meta-counter-elites, complaining that the counterelites themselves have strayed from the true principles, etc. The actual elites realize their status is also precarious, and some of them side with the counterelites in order to get … Continue reading A Cyclic Theory Of Subcultures
Let Go With Grace
"Once you accept that as a fundamental boundary on your capacity as a manager, it's going to set you free. Free from centering on the self-serving anguish over what you could have done differently, and on to the acceptance that these outcomes are inevitable when dealing with the opaque potential of strangers. The redeeming realization is that … Continue reading Let Go With Grace
