The teens who have made friends with chatbots.
Scott Siskind looks into the people trying to eliminate pain and suffering via biomedicine.
Liam has been the most popular boys' name in the US every year since 2017.
Isaaac Asimov's predictions of the future, from 1981. Another reminder that things haven't happened as science futurists imagined.
Tara Donovan, sculptures made from discarded cds, kind of cool.
Interesting review of a book about the intersection of radical left politics with mental illness: "Your therapist is right: You are a social deviant, a hopeful freak, a heretic. And your burning desire to change the world is making you suffer, contributing to your feelings of alienation and even your actual ostracization."
Photoset of Venice, focusing on glass, very impressive. On Flickr.
Chuck E. Cheese is phasing out their creepy animatronic band (NY Times, Hoodline)
Interesting sculpture-park-type art installation from the collective known as HYBYCOZO.
Multi-Lingualism and language study in the later Middle Ages.
Last year Democrats in Congress said that the US was facing a "child care cliff" when pandemic aid expired, and that millions of women would have to leave the workforce as their child care options disappeared. Nothing was done, but there was no child care crisis, and the number of women in the workforce continues to rise.
Interview with author Diana Pasulka about the spiritual side of belief in UFOs and aliens. It is indeed interesting that many high-functioning people report encounters with non-human beings, but it is also interesting that the nature of those encountered beings changes with the culture.
Interesting review of the work of British historian Raphael Samuel, who liked marginal groups like poachers and itinerant workers. He was also interested in all the British industries that did not mechanize in the 19th century, from sewing to brick-making.
Long, rather grim essay comparing the current global military situation to the the late 1930s, which led to world war, and the 1950s, which did not. In the current situation, "I believe the anti-American partnership has probably decided to double down. They are probably preparing in earnest for a period of major confrontation."
Large Language Model artificial intelligence is fundamentally vulnerable to hacking, because it makes no separation between data and commands. Thus, somebody was able to trick a car dealership's AI into selling it a car for $1. As LLMs are currently configured, there is no easy fix.
Detailed study finally published on the Roman woman found in a lead coffin in the Netherlands in 2001.
Many Americans want the government to do something about housing, but many have no idea what that would be. Those who do have ideas don't support free mark solutions: "homeowners and renters alike support price controls, demand subsidies, restrictions on Wall Street buyers, and subsidized affordable housing."
The US Marines have announced a comprehensive strategy for combating light drones.
Many Americans want the government to do something about housing, but many have no idea what that would be. Those who do have ideas don't support free mark solutions: "homeowners and renters alike support price controls, demand subsidies, restrictions on Wall Street buyers, and subsidized affordable housing."
ReplyDeleteWhen the free market fails to provide / actively deprives large swathes of the nation from obtaining affordable, good quality housing, then you can't rely on the free market - at least, not in full.
We're not strangers to socializing vital aspects of society, either in part or in full. The Post Office is a classic example - getting the mail delivered accurately and in a timely manner is simply too important to rely on the whims of market forces alone. Ditto for police and fire and ambulance services. And while we're extremely behind the curve on socialized healthcare, every other affluent country on the face of the planet has some form of it, and I expect we'll eventually arrive at a socialized model, although it may take a lot more grief to get there.
Housing is utterly vital to the well-being of the nation, and if "The Free Market" isn't up to the task of providing it properly, then what other option is there than for the government to step in and take control itself to some extent?