October 12, 2011 – 5:47 pm
Here’s a short video from Ray Kurzweil, in which he outlines his view of our progress thorough six “epochs” of the evolution of intelligence. I’m inclined to think he’s overlooking or ignoring some serious possible impediments to this progression, going forward (not to mention some unwelcome possible outcomes), but this is of course just a […]
October 11, 2011 – 12:59 pm
I’m working a long day today, so for now, just a few links: A fold in the brain seems to have something to do with distinguishing reality from imagination. A collection of “coffins” — math problems with relatively simple solutions that are hellishly difficult to find — used by Soviet schools to keep out Jews. […]
October 10, 2011 – 10:36 pm
Just ran across this clip, and enjoyed it too much not to post it here: Richard Thompson playing his classic 1952 Vincent Black Lightning. What a voice. What a song. Enjoy.
October 10, 2011 – 4:04 pm
It seems unthinkable, but a familiar species that once could be found almost everywhere in the U.S. now stands on the verge of extinction. Story here.
October 10, 2011 – 10:09 am
Charles Krauthammer, of all people, shares a joke inspired by recent doings at CERN: “We don’t allow faster-than-light neutrinos in here,’ says the bartender. A neutrino walks into a bar.
October 9, 2011 – 10:08 pm
The Northeast has been enjoying a fantastic spell of weather lately. Here in the Outer Cape, today was simply perfect: low humidity, cloudless azure skies, warm sweet sunshine, and temperatures in the upper seventies, with a fragrant, balmy breeze as gentle as a baby’s breath. At Newcomb Hollow Beach, it felt more like August — […]
October 7, 2011 – 10:59 pm
In our previous post about OWS, we linked to an item that’s been making the rounds today: this Huffington Post grumble from lesbian “electronic punk” musician JD Samson, who has become dissatisfied with how things are working out for her, affluence-wise. NRO’s Daniel Foster has add some pointed commentary over at the Corner. An excerpt: […]
October 7, 2011 – 3:10 pm
The weather being particularly fine here in New York this week, with Gotham’s hibernal sleet and snow still well over the horizon, the occupation of Wall Street is humming along nicely, and has the attention of everyone in the chattering classes. (Including, obviously, my own.) As longtime readers will know, the lovely Nina and I […]
October 5, 2011 – 10:58 pm
Richard Feynman on beauty, and doubt. Here.
October 5, 2011 – 6:54 pm
I’ve just heard sad news: Steve Jobs has died at 56. How brilliant he was.
October 5, 2011 – 1:05 pm
Did you see this summer’s box-office smash, Fast Five? Me neither. But my sources tell me it was one of the best yet. If, like me, you’ve been wondering about the creative process behind a blockbuster like this, you should watch this fascinating interview with the film’s screenwriter, Chris Morgan.
October 4, 2011 – 5:20 pm
In case you haven’t heard, the good folks at OccupyWallStreet have made public a list of their demands. Given their youthful zeal, I had been worried that their expectations might be excessive or unrealistic, but as you’ll see, it’s all modest, reasonable stuff. Here it is: Demand one: Restoration of the living wage. This demand […]
October 4, 2011 – 12:06 pm
Among the more interesting feeds to follow on Twitter is @GreatDismal, which belongs to William Gibson, the visionary sci-fi author and founder of “cyberpunk”. Today he linked to a story in Wired about something I’d never heard of: the enigmatic Soviet-era short-wave transmitter known to aficionados as “The Buzzer”. Learn more here.
October 3, 2011 – 8:36 pm
Poking around at NRO just now, I ran across some solid pessimism from PayPal founder Peter Thiel. In a piece called “The End of the Future“, he argues that the steady technological progress that pulled the world’s economy upward for a very long time has stalled. The essay seems a shade too gloomy, even for […]
October 2, 2011 – 11:41 pm
Rings shall vanish from our noses, And the harness from our back, Bit and spur shall rust forever, Cruel whips no more shall crack. I can already taste those mangel-wurzels. All must toil for freedom’s sake! Learn more here.
October 1, 2011 – 11:14 pm
Here’s something I’m in no hurry to see on the road: the mind-reading car. Scientists at the EPFL have already developed brain-machine interface (BMI) systems that allow wheelchair users to manoeuvre their chairs by thought transference. Their next step will be finding a way to incorporate that technology into the way motorists interact with their […]
September 30, 2011 – 9:27 pm
What’s the worst thing a person can be? No, no, not that. Way worse than that. Oh, that? Not even close. Once upon a time, maybe… What, that??? You’ve got to be kidding. That’s about the best thing you could be, these days. Want to get into college? Want a government job? Want to be […]
September 30, 2011 – 12:07 pm
I see we’ve just managed to annihilate Anwar al-Awlaki, who was hiding in a compound in Yemen. Good work. I often criticize president Obama, but I’ll gladly give him praise and credit for this, and for having steadfastly maintained the pressure on al-Qaeda throughout his term in office. The same also, of course, to the […]
September 28, 2011 – 7:12 pm
This is good: a uniquely reliable source has finally got round to calling out Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad for his crackpot 9/11-conspiracy theories. Story here.
September 27, 2011 – 11:15 pm
Chris Christie made a speech today at the Reagan Library. Mr. Christie has until now made it quite clear that he will not be running for president in 2012, saying that he isn’t ready yet, and also that he owes it to the electorate in New Jersey to do the job they gave him. Now […]
September 26, 2011 – 8:04 pm
I have to admit: this looks like fun. Thanks JK for the link.
September 25, 2011 – 9:37 pm
With a hat tip to Dennis Mangan: the organization Genocide Watch has declared South Africa to be in stage 6, “preparation”, of the progression toward genocide (the last stage — genocide itself — is stage 7). Of course you probably already knew this, because the mainstream media always pay extra-special attention to hate crimes against […]
September 25, 2011 – 5:40 pm
In the wake of new evidence of ISI support for Haqqani attacks in Kabul earlier this month, our official relationship with Pakistan has become very tense indeed. Here’s John Mcreary’s summary, from the September 22nd NightWatch: Pakistan-US: US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mullen said on 22 September that Pakistan is exporting violent extremism […]
September 25, 2011 – 11:17 am
A friend sent us a link to this video clip of twin pre-verbal toddlers having what appears to be a lively conversation: Fabulous. Look at them! Gesturing, listening attentively while the other is “speaking”, with rising and falling inflections and cadences — all the attributes of spoken communication. But what’s their subjective experience? Are they […]
September 24, 2011 – 9:57 pm
Diana West argues that our COunter-INsurgence strategy in Afghanistan — in which we order our soldiers to dismount from their armored vehicles and mingle with the locals, in the chimerical hope of “winning hearts and minds” — has exacted a terrible toll in blast injuries to the feet, legs, and genitals of our troops. Here.
September 24, 2011 – 12:44 pm
That last item introduced me to the Prelinger Archives, which I’d never heard of. It looks like a fantastic resource, especially for geriatrics like me who actually remember this stuff when it was new. Here’s a good place to start. Also, there are list of most-downloaded items here and here.
September 24, 2011 – 12:28 pm
My friend Danny Fisher over at Wish I Didn’t Know directs us to a montage of harsh moments from vintage coffee commercials.
September 24, 2011 – 12:13 pm
Do you have asthma? Do you depend on an over-the-counter inhaler to cope with it? Well, you may want to stock up. (You can keep them in the basement, next to your hoard of incandescent bulbs.) Megan McArdle comments here.
September 24, 2011 – 11:59 am
Back in May, it looked as if Dmitry “Darth” Medvedev might be so daring as to try to keep the Russian presidency for himself, rather than handing it back over to his Sith overlord at the end of his term. No longer.
September 22, 2011 – 2:43 pm
These are, to put it mildly, worrisome times. The global economy is collapsing before our eyes, the core of Western civilization has rotted to the point that it can no longer stand erect, and the Middle East, that ancient cauldron of strife and woe, is about to boil over once again. The vile, snake-eyed Mahmoud […]
September 22, 2011 – 2:16 pm
New results from CERN have the boffins scratching their heads. Story here.
September 21, 2011 – 7:04 pm
When you’re launching a business, or bringing out a new product, one of the most important choices you have to make is what to call it. If, for example, Dodge had named its line of heavy-duty pickup trucks “Daffodil” instead of “Ram”, sales would surely have suffered. A cheesy snack called “Ratbait” will struggle for […]
September 20, 2011 – 10:18 pm
For tonight, here’s a pair of caustic items: Barry Rubin on the Palestinian gambit at the U.N., and a scathing editorial from the National Review on the President’s tax proposal. Comments are open, and readers may rant if they feel the need to, but I’m headed into a busy couple of days and am unlikely […]
September 20, 2011 – 8:47 pm
U.S. building secret drone bases in Africa, Arabian Peninsula, officials say
September 19, 2011 – 8:46 pm
Here’s a good piece by Sam Harris — who is becoming, these days, something of what the marketing folks call a “brand” — on overcoming one’s fear of public speaking.
September 17, 2011 – 11:26 pm
I just watched this clip again: Gavin Harrison playing Porcupine Tree’s Futile. As one of YouTube’s commenters said: “this is like porn for drummers”.
September 17, 2011 – 10:05 pm
A story that attracted some attention a while back, but which seems to have gone quiet, is the curious death of one John P. Wheeler, which we mentioned in this January post. I wonder how that investigation is going. I have a feeling it’s going to be rather like O.J.’s search for the real killers.
September 17, 2011 – 9:57 pm
Another nugget from Eric Hoffer: A discrepancy between trivial motives and weighty consequences is an essential trait of human uniqueness and is particularly pronounced in the creative individual. Not only in the marketplace but also in the world of thought and imagination, men who set their hearts on toys often accomplish great things. — Before […]
September 17, 2011 – 12:16 am
Here’s a video of a drive from Seattle to Maine, with a frame taken every 90 seconds.
September 16, 2011 – 5:02 pm
Here’s an amusing remark from Lawrence Auster on conservatism, liberalism, and the Hegelian dialectic process whereby, as the liberal thesis moves leftward, the liberal/conservative synthesis tends to follow: In the Hegelian Mambo, as the left become more left, the right, in defining itself in opposition to the ever-more threatening extremism of the left, and not […]
September 16, 2011 – 1:49 pm
Speaking of Bill Vallicella’s excellent blog, here’s another fine post of his, just published.
September 15, 2011 – 10:58 pm
Our friend Dr. Bill Vallicella, the Maverick Philosopher, has written a post arguing that numbers have an eternal, mind-independent existence as Platonic abstracta. This is of course a respectable and widely held opinion, with an ancient pedigree. I’m leery of it, though: I think numbers are what minds invent to make useful models of certain […]
September 15, 2011 – 3:29 pm
How To Artificially Inseminate A Rhino. “Shameless Filler” seems about the right category for this one. (HT: Derb.)
September 15, 2011 – 10:42 am
Here’s an encouraging item from Science Daily: Older Musicians Experience Less Age-Related Decline in Hearing Abilities Than Non-Musicians ScienceDaily (Sep. 13, 2011) ”” A study led by Canadian researchers has found the first evidence that lifelong musicians experience less age-related hearing problems than non-musicians. While hearing studies have already shown that trained musicians have highly […]
September 15, 2011 – 10:01 am
Front page of today’s New York Times: Islamists’ Growing Sway Raises Questions for Libya TRIPOLI, Libya ”” In the emerging post-Qaddafi Libya, the most influential politician may well be Ali Sallabi, who has no formal title but commands broad respect as an Islamic scholar and populist orator who was instrumental in leading the mass uprising. […]
September 14, 2011 – 10:48 am
Or perhaps a better title would have been Sauce For The Gander. Here.
September 14, 2011 – 10:26 am
This from John McCreary of NightWatch, on yesterday’s Taliban attack in Kabul (my emphasis): Afghanistan: Special comment: The details of the five-hour complex attack in Kabul have been reported all day. An extremely knowledgeable, well-informed and brilliant Reader provided feedback that most of the news coverage is factually wrong, but NightWatch will provide more details […]
September 14, 2011 – 10:22 am
Well, it appears Anthony Weiner’s vacated House seat has gone to Republican Bob Turner, in what various media outlets are calling an “upset” (despite polls consistently having shown Turner as the front-runner). The race was widely seen as a referendum on the Obama presidency, and is sure to foment further dissent within the already restive […]