Society

It’s tempting to think of the Great Enshittening – in which all the inter­net services we enjoyed and came to rely upon became suddenly and irreversibly terrible – as the result of moral decay. Tha…

The FBI has warned that technology used to create pornographic deepfake photos and videos was improving and being used for harassment and sextortion.

An ex-Googler wrote a 1,500-word letter criticizing the firm and CEO Sundar Pichai's lack of "visionary leadership."

Nick Hanauer and Joan Walsh explain how rich people lie to benefit themselves.

Perhaps more than ever, there is an urgent need for a clear understanding of liberalism.

The European Privacy Regulation is changing the game.

In the future, of course, there are no handshakes. Star Trek, Star Wars, even Spaceballs… no one shakes hands. And handshakes haven’t been the standard default for as long as we think&#…

Thiel claims to prefer “Star Wars,” but his philosophy may be Trekkier than he’d like to admit.

Chris Blec asks the following question: Source: Twitter Chris's premise is that it is "not illegal" for him to get together with a bunch of ...

In my post, Blockchains and the Opportunity of the Commons, I explored the potential of blockchains to create new commons: Blockchains and tokenization are a way to incentivize the creation of a commons. A commons is an unowned place, platform, or protocol that helps people to meet, communicate and transact. Commons underlying modern life include […]

Tyler asks which goods and services are most likely to be bought and sold on a blockchain that is paid for with token issuance and appreciation? The services with high mark-ups? Low mark-ups? Big consumer bases? Well informed and well coordinated consumer bases? “Influencer” consumer bases, in the Gladwellian sense? “Trivial” consumer bases, that you […]

All of these smart Republicans who frankly did not understand how thoroughly corrupted their party had become, or the fact that if you cave in over and over again, you develop a muscle memory of su…

Life as a Signal Corps weatherman was dangerous, and not only because inclement weather could, and did, inflict occasional casualties. For observer-sergeants, “other duties as assigned” could include dealing with labor riots, conflicts with Native Americans, outbreaks of yellow fever, fires, or other, stranger, tasks.

Internet speeds have come a long way since the days of the dial-up modem, but sometimes you can’t beat the millennia-old method of carrier pigeon.

In a lot of ways, Lincoln Heights, Ohio, sounds just like any other suburb. If you walk around town, you’ll hear kids playing outside the local elementary school. You’ll hear the highway that takes commuters down to Cincinnati. At the woods on the edge of town, the birdsong is delightful. The town feels calm and

The multibillion-dollar Effective Altruism movement makes rich people feel good about being rich — to hell with the bad publicity.

The death of liberal-conservatism, and the rising potential for revolution. Greta Thunberg’s path toward radicalization and her potential as a revolutionary leader.

Many people have a to-do list so long that it’s not clear that there’s an end to it, and when important tasks linger unfinished, it’s easy to start feeling guilty or ashamed about what you have not yet completed. But are those useful emotions? The answer is: it depends. Shame is almost never a useful emotion. In fact, it likely hurts your productivity. Guilt, on the other hand, can motivate you to get something done, but only if you’re in a position to take action. You’re probably better off avoiding these emotions altogether, especially when you’re away from the office. How? Exercise self-compassion. Focus on what you have been able to achieve. And practice acceptance. Failing to get some work completed does not make you a bad person. It just makes you a person.

The pharmaceutical market is in turmoil. On the one hand we have what looks like a golden age of medicine with millions of lives saved by COVID vaccines, a leap in mRNA technology, excellent new obesity and blood sugar drugs, breakthroughs in cancer treatments and more. On the other hand, the Inflation Reduction Act includes […]

Japan wants to learn how to code. Over the past 15 years software development in Japan has changed from low-level clerical work to a mission-critical skill, and the Japanese government and industry as scrambling to find programmers and develop new talent. Yan Fan came to Japan on a mission to teach everyone how to code.