Brain Ticklers, Ed. 39
Links for April 2023 that [carnivas thinks] will tickle the brains of his [purportedly] intelligent friends (and his future-self if AGI lets him live). Includes a summary by ChatGPT.
Howdy, folks!
Running a bit short on time. So, no small talk this time. OK? But if you want to know what this set of links contain, ChatGPT tells you this:
The article presents a collection of interesting perspectives on various topics. It includes insights on history, society, science, and technology. Some of the topics covered include the impact of colonization on language and culture, the influence of parking requirements on city design, and the limitations of small dogs as pets. Other topics include the decline of face-to-face relationships, the challenges faced by small Chinese dogs, and the impact of the Green Revolution on global health. The article also discusses the impact of social media on our lives, the challenges of virtual friendships, and the importance of critical thinking in a world full of information.
I have no clue where the “small Chinese dogs” came from. Maybe the stochastic parrot in you will understand. On to the links now.
History
The modern nationalist narratives about language departed radically from how Iranians and Indians had for centuries before conceived of language, of themselves, and of their relationship to Persian. (Pretty interesting note on several languages, from Persian, Sanskrit, Arabic, Hindi, Urdu, and beyond)
The ‘dominance’ of English in the world; plus the concomitant loss of other languages, identities and cultures are direct consequences of the very significant inequality that exists in the world, which is a direct consequence of colonization and its long-lasting effects. The English ‘monster’ is a symptom of a serious disease, not the cause of it.
Parking requirements are the invisible forces that shape much of American cities, almost always for the worse. They take up space and encourage environmentally destructive sprawl. (So, I used to think we need such rules by the Government in Bangalore, maybe not? But, why not basements, multi-level parking etc.?)
Watch Xi Jinping slowly strangle the Deng-ist economic paradigm. (Well, I, personally, am not a fan of this "big man" view of history; it is more "big events" and these people are just there at that time).
The Green Revolution saved a billion lives, but it left a legacy of homogenous diets and distorted agricultural markets. What impact has this had on global health — and how can we move forward?
(Satire) Aliens taking away historical artifacts from the UK and to their own museums, justifying it.
Society
Harmful people often lack explicit malicious intent. It’s worth deploying your social or community defenses against them anyway.
Gen Z kids apparently don't understand how file systems work. They see it like one bucket, and everything's in the bucket.
The wealthiest people earned their coveted places by investing in risky assets like their private businesses and then multiplying the returns, regardless of whether they had initial wealth from rich parents. In fact, accumulating savings from employment earnings by investing in safe assets like housing is not the best route to become of one of the wealthiest. (Okay, sure)
LinkedIn is bizarre because it tries to make a hostage situation fun. The platform might be less alternate universe and more down to earth if the truth was acknowledged: performative professionalism, job hunting, and networking are extensions of work, not play. As long as LinkedIn pretends otherwise, we can also pretend that we’ll never be desperate enough to use it in earnest. (Haha, exactly my use of it)
Algospeak refers to code words or turns of phrase users have adopted in an effort to create a brand-safe lexicon that will avoid getting their posts removed or down-ranked by content moderation systems. (I vaguely remember reading this earlier, but I am uncertain whether I had linked it here or not, so excuse me if this is a repeat)
On elite overproduction: We can gently guide young people away from the notion that the only life worth living is one where they’re a writer or musician or influencer. Instead, demonstrate that the security of ordinary jobs can be joined with the fulfillment of creating on the side.
YouTube has created a multimillion-dollar dubbing economy. (Call me names. But I think this will cause more of this 'universal culture thing')
‘Best Friends’ are a surprisingly recent phenomenon
How the Great Recession paved the way for influencers to inherit the earth
For urban Chinese youth today, Xiaohongshu (Known as China’s “lifestyle bible,”) has become the go-to guide on how to live better by buying more (!).
Facial emojis that replace a verbal expression increase ambiguity and therefore reduce persuasion, whereas those that reiterate a verbal expression decrease ambiguity and therefore enhance persuasion.
Contrary to popular perceptions (at least in my circles), Americans work nights and weekends the most (among countries surveyed)
The quick culture guide for global businesses (Interesting insights)
Interesting-Perspectives
If we think we are also just "stochastic parrots", so an AI is the same as us. We would then have a world in which grown men, sipping tea, posit thought experiments about raping “talking sex dolls”, thinking that maybe you are one too.
Why Chinese and Chinese Americans have done less well becoming top CEOs of American companies compared to Indians and Indian Americans? Apparently, it boils down to the ability to communicate. (The article itself is broad, and this is one part that I found more interesting)
The very attributes that make small dogs cute and popular are slowly strangling their ability to function as real animals
The grade-school report card is the first full-stack thing you master. It is the stack of the basic literacies of modernity.
The more our virtual friends replace our face-to-face ones, the more our Dunbar number may shrink. Related, corroborating it: Fewer friends, relationships on the decline, delayed adulthood, trust at an all-time low, and many diseases of despair. The prognosis is not great.
Testing readability tests: Flesch–Kincaid, ARI, and Gunning Fog, the lousy powers behind Hemingway Editor, Grammarly, and Readable.com.
Critical thinking is great, but in a world full of information we need to learn 'critical ignoring'
Are coincidences real? I don’t believe the Universe contains supernatural forces, but I feel it might.
The idea of the soul is obviously a nonsense, yet its immaterial mysterious nature has deep hooks in the human psyche
Science & Technology
50 years later, we're still living in the Xerox Alto's world (A neat history of personal computing, sans the usual Jobs hype on this – which I enjoy, btw). Related: PLATO: How an educational computer system from the ’60s shaped the future
As Putin began his invasion of Ukraine, a network used throughout Europe—and by the Ukrainian military—faced an unprecedented cyberattack that doubled as an industry-wide wake-up call. (Fascinating & scary story)
Samsung caught faking zoom photos of the Moon. (Not so much a stock photo, but not real for sure! But hey, user feels good, haha). And Samsung responds to it.
Searching for friends in Mark Zuckerberg’s deserted fantasy land. Interesting review of using Quest.
RSS is still widely used among a technically stubborn segment of internet users. (I am one of them. Post Google Reader's demise, I used Feedly for a long time, but just a few months back, switched to Inoreader because Feedly app on my phone had trouble always.
Perso-Dev
Whether you spend your days knee-deep in sawdust, paperwork, or diapers, by adopting and living the traditional values of the craftsman you’ll find more personal fulfillment and meaning
Personal transformation can start with a whisper (through dreams, even the ones when you are awake)
A parable of forecasting under model uncertainty
"Attention" is achieved by two extremes: Deep focus (to look for answers), or Deep relaxation (to let answers come to you).
To index or not to index, that is the question (and this is not about indexing in investing, but about your life)
Forget body positivity (which is kind of fake). Embrace body neutrality – that self-worth isn’t tied to the body at all.
How to be an unsuccessful thinker: Failure modes to be aware of.
The art and science of spending money. (If nothing, read the 10 bulleted headlines there!)
Random
We still can’t get enough pi. (Good collection of cultural references to Pi. Remember this month had the Pi day – well, in the US)
The "Rust is safe" is not some kind of absolute guarantee of code safety. Never has been. Anybody who believes that should probably re-take their kindergarten year, and stop believing in the Easter bunny and Santa Claus. (Rant by Linus Torvalds)
This concept of Interoception (the collection of senses understanding the internal state of the body) is fascinating.
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