First Looks category archive
Recommended Reading 0
Anti-intellectualism in American Life by Richard Hofstadter.
I have had a copy of it on my bookshelf for (mumble) years. If anything, it’s more relevant now than when he wrote it.
Recommended Viewing 0
Gilligan’s Island, Season Three, Episode Four, “The Producer.”
The whole Gilligan’s Island series is a lot of fun, silly for the sake of silly, but that episode is an absolute hoot. Plus, it includes one of my favorite pieces of music, the “Habanera” from Bizet’s Carmen, one of my favorite operas, worked into a pastiche of Hamlet.
I watched it on Tubi, but you can likely find it on other streaming services.
“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes”* 0
At the Washington Monthly, Roger Kerson makes a strong case that “Musk” rhymes with “Ford.”
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*Mark Twain.
Diagnosis 0
The subject is unquestionably suffering from a severe case of psychopathic psychological projection.
Break Time 0
Off to drink liberally.
Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0
A glutton? Gobble gobble gobble.
At Psychology Today Blogs, Nigel R. Bairstow reports. Here’s a bit:
(snip)
It feels paradoxical. In our personal lives, AI helps us become more efficient, more informed, and even more productive. But zooming out, this same efficiency comes at an environmental cost that’s anything but efficient for the collective. The irony is stark: In the name of productivity, we may be undermining the very ecosystems that sustain our long-term prosperity.
The Rule of Lawless 0
At Above the Law, Joe Patrice argues that the Trump maladministration has gone full sovereign citizen.
No excerpt or summary will do his article justice. Just go read it.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Yet another “responsible gun owner” exposes a portable phallus to a child.
According to deputies, Kabrel Patterson was asleep in bed when the child somehow gained access to his firearm and pulled the trigger. Patterson later died from his injuries. . . . .
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Guns and stupid, guns and stupid.
They go together like love and Cupid.
Let me tell you brother,
You can’t have one without the other.
Sporadic Blogery 0
Family matters. I shall be attending a nuptial ceremony.
What passes for normal in these parts will resume in a couple of days. In the meantime, QOTD will hold down the fort.
Break Time 0
Off to drink liberally.
“Fight Fiercely, Harvard”* 0
Der Spiegel spoke with Harvard Professor Ryan Enos about Donald Trump’s crusade against universities, particularly Harvard, America’s oldest institution of higher education. The interview is worth a read; here’s a tiny bit:
DER SPIEGEL: Why has Harvard become the main target?
Enos: I think there are three reasons. First, Trump is following the classic pattern of authoritarian leaders who want to destroy democracies. He is attacking the institutions of civil society that could potentially limit his power: judges, broadcasters – or, indeed, universities, as places of free thought. Second, Trump thought it would be popular to attack elite universities because parts of his electorate were critical of them. He miscalculated, but more on that later.
DER SPIEGEL: And third?
Enos: Donald Trump now harbors a personal grudge against our university because it openly opposes him. Harvard is the beacon of resistance against Trump. No other institution in the U.S. opposes him so openly. Trump wants to break this resistance.
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*With apologies to Tom Lehrer.
Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0
Simple-minded? It’s starting to look like it.
John Nosta points out that (emphasis added)
- An Apple study finds AI reasoning collapses as task complexity increases.
- LLMs often simulate logic without truly understanding it.
- Fluency isn’t thought, and while AI may sound smart, it can fail where it matters most.
Follow the link for a detailed exploration of each point he points out.