The Privatization Scam Goes Postal 0
Farron discusses how the Republican Party is working, and has been working for a long time, to destroy the U. S. Postal Service, which was established according to the Constitution of the United States.
Today’s Republican Party is a vile and loathsome thing which no longer embraces the concept of the common good.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
As we all know, one must practice one’s politeness.
One more time, “responsible gun owner” is an oxymoron.
Stray Question 0
Is it not ironic that the very persons who have long claimed that the federal government can’t be trusted have given us a federal government that can’t be trusted?
But, as Professor Shade was fond of saying, “History is irony.”
Dis Coarse Discourse 0
At the Psychology Today website, T. Alexander Puutio explores how partisanship (he uses the term “politics,” but partisanship would be more accurate term) debases dis coarse discourse. He makes four main points (emphasis added):
- Politics hijacks identity, making us protect group belonging over truth or accuracy.
- Partisan cheerleading leads us to knowingly defend false claims to signal loyalty.
- Motivated reasoning lets us justify beliefs first, then construct logic afterward.
- Better thinking starts with distance, deeper reading, and seeking opposing views.
Methinks his piece a timely read, as we are seeing what he describes happening even as I type this.
Devolution 0
Farron looks at the damage that the Trump maladministration has done to medical research and the public health.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society’ 0
Yet another “responsible gun owner” performs a random act of politeness.
All the News that FIts 0
The EFF is joining the fight against the Trump maladministration’s attempts to turn television news networks into its personal P. R. pimps.
QOTD 0
John Nettles, in the voice of DCI Tom Barnaby:
When killing become entertainment, we all lose touch with reality.
Think Donald Trump’s war on Iran.
“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes”* 0
David listens to Markwayne Mullin’s confirmation testimony and hears a rhyme.
__________________
*Mark Twain.
Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0
Truthful? At that Psychology Today website, New York University professor Vasant Dhar argues that truthfulness and accuracy are not their creators’ primary concerns.
Here’s a bit from his article:
We shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that LLMs are not designed to be truthful, but to ensure that the narrative “makes sense” in any context. Given a context, LLMs are trained to generate what should come next in the developing narrative. Confabulations—plausible- sounding distortions or fabrications—are part of its repertoire, regardless of whether they correspond to truth or facts in our world.
Given the hype about (and the unquestioning faith that some are placing in) AI, I commend it as a timely and worthwhile read.