- Surprise (not): Wind turbines are not nearly as deadly to birds and wildlife as oil and gas. Read this.
- Read: OpenAi tries to make ChatGPT a platform, as Facebook’s did.
- Read: Substack tries to do Facebook 2.0, i.e., “social media” — and people are not happy. Read my post on free speech.
- Read this brutal takedown of dishonest universities.
-
Cory Doctorow explains how he syndicates his thoughts and newsletters. I agree (I host my own website, etc.) but read the article for its insightful critique of the “data barons” who set our visibility, sell our dreams, and limit freedom of speech.
- Read this 1876 (!) article on the Mafia in Sicily, which is somewhat historic and somewhat contemporary: …above all, the conviction among the mass of the honest people, especially among the peasantry, that the protection of the liberal Italian government is more manly, honorable, and safe (and the government should endeavor to make it so) than that of the mafiusi, can with time destroy this vast association.
- Can a Nation Plunder Its Way to Wealth? No. Listen in.
- So you think you’re in charge of your use of the internet? Think again: Over time, they can make people assume that they have less in common with one another than they actually do. They can make commonality itself seem like an impossibility. This is how the wonder of the web—all of that wisdom, all of that weirdness, all of that frenzied creativity—can give way to cynicism.
- Bad news. Snow will disappear slowly… then ALL AT ONCE. Read more.