August, 2023 archive
The Pusher Men 0
Mike and Farron discuss the “ghoul calculation.”
Aside:
Apropos Mike’s description of drug companies’ sales techniques: I was married to a nurse.. She told me that the staff where she worked always looked forward to visits from drug company reps, because it meant treats all around.
Still Rising Again after All These Years 0
Francis Wilkinson considers Donald Trump’s slogan and asks, “‘Make America great again’ for just whom, exactly?”
Follow the link for her answer.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Yet another “responsible gun owner” exposes another child to politeness.
Caught in the Act 0
From my recent visit to my dentist (who is excellent, by the way) to have some old fillings repaired:
Dentist: Now let’s numb this other tooth. Be ready for a sting–maybe worse than last one. This may hurt a bit.
(Dentist applies syringe. I hardly feel a thing, but I still flinch, as years of evolution tell us not to allow others to stick pointy things into our bodies.)
Me: I barely felt a thing. Is that some kind of psychological tactic to make me think it wasn’t as painful as it might have been?
Dentist. Well (long pause) yes.
By the way, he is a highly skilled and extremely competent dentist and I am very happy to be among his patients.
It’s Bubblelicious 0
Thom talks with Wayne State University professor Seth D. Norrholm about the dynamics of the “cult bubble.”
Decoding de Code 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Ravi Chandra offers some guidelines for recognizing mis- and disinformation is dis coarse discourse. Here’s a couple that seem particularly pertinent; follow the link for the complete list.
7. Are they primarily out to benefit themselves?
8. If you think they are trying to primarily benefit themselves or a particular demographic or socioeconomic group or faction, what risk do they pose to those outside their group or faction?
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Be polite to your significant other.
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.
What’s in a Word? 0
At the Bangor Daily News, Ellen Dohmen tries to make sense of the fuss over “woke.” A bit of her article:
Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0
Howard J. Rankin suggests that we need to be wary of AI. He makes three main points (emphasis added); follow the link for a detailed exploration of each one.
- The biggest risk of AI comes from the potential manipulation of people: brainwashing.
- Fake news is a tool for divisiveness and brainwashing.
- Humans are using AI to create and spread fake news, not the other way around.
Just Another Day at the Office, Reprise 0
At Above the Law, Liz Dye reports on Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s response to claims by certain indicted members of the Trump Administration that overturning an election was part of their jobs.
No excerpt or summary can do their report justice. Just go read it.
Recommended Listening 0
Bad Voltage episode 3×60. It starts with an interesting discussion of “artificial intelligence” and “Large Language Models.”
If you are looking for good tech podcast, Bad Voltage is worth a listen. The podcasters know what they are talking about and they have a sense of humor.
In other geek news, my Zareason Media Box died after many years of faithful service. As Zareason is no longer with us (they were a victim of supply chain issues in the early years of the pandemic), I’ll likely replace it with a ThinkPenguin machine, as my ThinkPenguin laptop works very nicely thank you very much.
I must say, though, I miss Zareason. I’ve had several Zareasons (I’m typing on one now); they did quality work.
It’s All about the Algorithm 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Nigel Barber takes a look at mounting evidence that “social” media isn’t. A snippet (emphasis in the original):
The Hateful Algorithm: Do Lots of Evil and Get Richly Rewarded
Contrary to the “do no evil” motto, social media companies can, at times, amplify political divisions and hatred. Their algorithms promote content that grabs attention, and the most effective way of doing this is often by boosting hateful speech that garners outrage and engagement. So, social media platforms are not just giving a megaphone to paranoid conspiracies but generally profiting from such dangerous rants because greater engagement translates into more advertising dollars.
I commend his piece to your attention.
