Category Archives: Technology

Harari on the Dangers of AI

Posted on Friday 24 March 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Also: reflecting on Arthur C. Clarke and John Brockman, wondering if there is a permanent limit to human cultural education. NY Times, Yuval Noah Harari, Tristan Harris, and Aza Raskin, 24 March 2023: You Can Have the Blue Pill or … Continue reading →

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SF and AI in MSM

Posted on Sunday 5 March 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Items about Isaac Asimov and AI, Adrian Tchaikovsky and octopuses and AI, SF magazines and AI-generated stories. The Atlantic, Jeremy Dauber, 3 Mar 2023: What Isaac Asimov Can Teach Us About AI, subtitled “The science-fiction writer imagined artificial intelligence—and what … Continue reading →

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More About the 747

Posted on Monday 6 February 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

For decades the Boeing 747 was the largest passenger airliner in the world, and it debuted (in 1968) just a few years before I had occasion to take a plane flight anywhere, or pay attention to different kinds of planes. … Continue reading →

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Optimism about Science and Tech, Alternative Math, and Political Topics

Posted on Thursday 19 January 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Another optimistic take on part of current affairs (not politics). Plus: alternative math, and political items.

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Never Ending

Posted on Thursday 6 October 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Big Think, Nirit Weiss-Blatt, 4 Oct 2022: Bombastic eulogies: Let’s put an end to cynical “The End of” headlines. Subtitled: “We can never hope for a future with no problems. The solutions to problems create new problems, which in turn … Continue reading →

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Admitting When You’re Wrong

Posted on Thursday 21 July 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Here is something that honest journalists (and scientists) understand and do, but which conservatives and the religious never do: admit they were wrong, and change their minds. That’s intellectual honesty. Today’s NYT has a set of eight essays by its … Continue reading →

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Kids These Days, Bauerlein and Will Style

Posted on Saturday 9 July 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Beware cranky old men complaining about kids these days. Surely George F. Will, a renowned (conservative) political commentator, knows better. Washington Post, George F. Will, 8 July 2022: How millennials became aggressively illiberal, censorious young adults

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Vaclav Smil, NUMBERS DON’T LIE

Posted on Friday 3 June 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

This is a 2020 book by a writer I had never heard of, until reading a pre-publication review in PW of his 2022 book How the World Really Works, which was just published in May. Smil is something of a … Continue reading →

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LQCs: Grievances, Envy, Government & Technology, Sleeping at Night

Posted on Sunday 20 March 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

What I discussed yesterday is in today’s NYT. NYT, Charles Homans, 19 March 2022: Trucker Protest Moved by More Than Opposition to Covid Mandates, “The demonstrators camped outside Washington are rallying against Covid restrictions, but are fueled by a far … Continue reading →

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Ls&Qs&Cs: Kids with Lice; Grifters; Moral Panics; USA #1; Backward We Go

Posted on Monday 7 February 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Catching up on current links I’ve saved from web-browsing over the past few days. First a Facebook meme: Kids with Lice

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Links & Comments, Science, Technology | Comments Off on Ls&Qs&Cs: Kids with Lice; Grifters; Moral Panics; USA #1; Backward We Go