August, 2023 archive
Republican Family Values 0
Texas Republicans bring new meaning to ride-sharing.
Freedom of Suppress, Updated 0
Read more from Wichita, Kansas, NPR station KMUW.
Addendum:
And here’s an update from the Kansas City Star.
It’s All about the Algorithm 0
Speaking of “social” media, Dr. Michael Birnbaum, writing at Psychology Today Blogs, points out that more and more young people are turning to Dr. TikTok (emphasis added):
(snip)
Social media-based algorithms may impact and influence help-seeking in ways that were previously impossible and unimaginable (both for the better and for the worse). As a mental health professional working with young people, who are nearly constantly connected to the Internet, my job is often to help them navigate the wealth of information available online to determine what’s good and what’s bad. A critical question for me and many others in this field is how might a person’s social media feed change or evolve as a result of their online activity and if that change can influence important decisions, like the decision to seek mental health care.
Given that “social” media companies seem to act without considering the implications of their actions and that persons seem willing to believe anything they read on a screen (and the more dubious the source, the more credence they give it), I agree with him that more research is needed. And I think his article is well worth a read in the light of the current state of dis coarse discourse.
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*Methinks he might have found a more appropriate word than “exciting.” Maybe “compelling” or “urgent.”
Twits Own Twitter 0
Self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist” Elon Musk demonstrates that actions proclaim louder than words:
(snip)
On Tuesday afternoon, hours after this story was first published, X began reversing the throttling on some of the sites, dropping the delay times back to zero. It was unknown if all the throttled websites had normal service restored.
Details at the link.
And, in case you needed more evidence that “social” media isn’t . . . .
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Another responsible gun owner exercises his responsibility, this time at the King of Prussia Mall.
At this time, investigators believe a gun accidentally went off in one of the two men’s pockets.
As I have said before, “responsible gun owner” is an oxymoron, and “accidentally” and “negligently” are not synonyms.
Aside:
When I lived on the Main Line, many years ago, I would occasionally shop at King of Prussia Mall, but I could usually find what I wanted much closer to my home.
Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much, No Place to Hide Dept. 0
Bruce Scneier comments on the Zoom lens. Read his article, entitled
Zoom Can Spy on Your Calls and Use the Conversation to Train AI, But Says That It Won’t
Aside:
I’ve participated in a few Zoom meetings.
Take it from me, Zoom meetings are not inherently a training ground for intelligence, artificial or otherwise.
Stray Question 0
As I observe my household, I have to wonder, did humans domesticate cats or did cats domesticate humans?
Geeking Out 0
Mageia v. 8 with the Fluxbox window manager. KeePassXC, Thunderbird, and Firefox are shaded. Thunderbird and Firefox are joined in a tabbed window (the ability to tab windows is one of the things that keeps me using Fluxbox).
