2021-10-29
Readings
Interesting re-analysis of a groundbreaking biochemistry study about 70 years ago showing organics originating from non-organics. Results were stronger than originally realised. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1161527
What creatures sleep? It doesn’t always take a brain, and I’m guessing we’ve been adding new functions to it as life evolved towards greater complexity. https://www.science.org/content/article/if-alive-sleeps-brainless-creatures-shed-light-why-we-slumber
The structure of ice can take a number of different forms depending on how it forms and what pressures persist. Interesting to see exotic environments made in the lab corresponding to previously-unknown states - states that are probable elsewhere in the universe. https://phys.org/news/2021-10-scientists-strange-black-superionic-ice.html
Linguistics studies show bonobo communicate in highly contextual ways. I’m glad that other apes have survived into this era - there’s a lot we can learn about our species in studying other primates like them. https://phys.org/news/2021-10-chimps-context.html
I think this was an interesting explanation of the exploration of third-wold politics in the game Far Cry 6; it provides some more context for why the series as a whole tends towards bleak endings. I wish this were longer, or I wish I could go over the topic in a lot more depth in a discussion group.
I haven’t started this yet, but I’ve heard a number of people talk about Jean Meslier’s 1732 writings about faith and atheism; it’s on my reading list. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/17607/17607-h/17607-h.htm
Unprompted Thoughts
Walking home in the rain on Tuesday, I had an amusing idea while walking over a slippery grate; if I were to tell someone I passed who was about to walk across the grate, then just after the end he were to tall someone else walking the other way, perhaps a long chain of such warnings would acrrue, unknown to basically everyone in the chain. A self-sustaining pattern, so long as the grate remained slippery and the sense of civics drove it. Or perhaps on the other end, an insult delivers its own echoes. Consumed by the thought, I didn’t offer the warning (and the person I was thinking of warning was on the phone). But perhaps I should’ve. The paths we don’t take.
One of the ways I often find myself getting in trouble is that when I see something that strikes me as a bad argument, even if it’s feel-good and supports causes I believe in (or at least are commonly held to be really good), my instinct is to rip it apart. One such common argument is people trying to make the case for diversity (of various kinds) based on business interests. This is rarely substantiated, and what little mechanism is stated or implied is generally very flimsy. “We need diversity to have real creativity”, for example. It doesn’t mean there’s never a case for diversity, just that it’s generally pretty limited - if you want to sell stuff to a lot of subcultures, having people in-the-know for those subcultures can be useful. And a cosmopolitan would generally do almost as well.
I believe it’s good that America’s population distribution shift towards big cities - I think it’s better for the environment and it’s easier to provide good services for people when done at scale. The loss of remote small towns to this is positive; I similarly hope to see suburbs largely dry up. I recently came across an article in FastCompany speculating on how to reverse rural decline, and I don’t understand the motivation. Their solution might work, although I would be surprised if people in urban centres would be keen to fund it, whether they share my everyone-into-cities preferences or not. https://www.fastcompany.com/90687380/how-an-1862-law-could-revitalize-rural-america
Current Events
Can Meta be successful? Facebook is renaming itself to Meta to focus on an idea of the Metaverse - a VR-centred persistent digital space. In this context, the Oculus acquisition makes a lot of sense. I think there are interesting technical challenges to overcome, but wearable AR technology is ready and Facebook is probably as able as Google (which tried and fled somewhat from the space with their Glass product) to give it a shot. Is it desirable? Possibly. Imagine being able to make stable personal or public annotations in real spaces. Imagine replacing public adverts with private ones in people’s vision. Imagine being able to capture and annotate a lecture easily. I think it could be good (see also Vannevar Bush’s “As We May Think” essay). The biggest barrier is getting people interested and willing to bring these big concepts and changes into their lives, including the devices needed.
Interesting to read about political instability in Thailand; a recent-ish military coup still casts a shadow over their politics, just as in neighbouring Burma. A heavier hand by the military to try to quell protest has given protestors more reason to protest. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/29/battlefield-din-daeng-the-thai-protesters-with-nothing-to-lose
It’s interesting, as some far-left perspectives on never calling the police have led to problems in many poor neighbourhoods, to see police taking other approaches to hear about gunshots for investigation. This article digs into some controversy around it, including at the end one very near to quantifying the value of life - whether it is worth the cost based on implementation price versus lives saved. As I’ve stated before, I’m for police reform, but generally respect police individually and see them as filling a necessary and noble role in society. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-59072745
Chip manufacturing continues to pose challenges to a lot of major tech companies, with device shortages becoming more common. I’ve been surprised to see how often recently I’ve needed to compete with a number of other buyers to get things, and a little surprised that the companies selling things didn’t bump up prices as a response. The current Chinese pressure on Taiwan probably doesn’t help, even though it’s primarily on a big-PR level right now. https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/10/no-end-in-sight-for-chip-shortage-as-supply-chain-problems-pile-up/
Reviewlets
Yoga Tab 13 (tablet) - I recently replaced my (relatively new) Kindle Fire with this, and it’s actually pretty great. The tablet is fast, has decent (if not amazing) storage, a good screen, and is good at playing videos. The only small annoyances I have for it are that it has an awkward shape, and that (related) so far I haven’t found a good protective case for it. And if that’s the only bad thing I have to say about a product, it’s pretty good. For those that care, for a tablet it’s a bit on the expensive side. Doesn’t bother me, but it may bother you.
Endless Space 2 (game) - This is one of my favourite civ-in-space type games, significantly because it has deep and interesting mechanics combined with a lot of compelling plot for each civilization (most of which play pretty differently from each other). It has high replay value, and also good music (“The We” is probably my favourite). The only downsides are that it has a few annoying bugs, the galaxy generation isn’t flexible enough, and it can be difficult midgame, depending on the civilization you pick, to be competitive in combat; some civs have a really strong edge
Machine Man, by Max Barry (book) - Author is good at entertaining thought experiments and writing; this one is about obsession, alienation, and how sometimes these things can be a path to (difficult to manage) love.
Shild’s Ladder, by Greg Egan (book) - I’d be reluctant to review something I’m only a little ways into, but this is the usual hard sci-fi novel, exploring the false vacuum hypothesis and how far-future civilizations might react to it. I’m looking forward to see how it ends up
Amusements
I love this old clip from Spaceballs (film) on Ludicrous Speed; there are a number of fun little amusements included, but there’s a certain deliciousness in watching an idiot do something stupid and suffer from it that’s right up front.
Sometimes just well-acted surprise and disappointment can be quite funny. This scene (many variants) from the Hitman 3 series of games is an example of that.
Interesting to see that cats and monkeys can (kind of) form a social group together, with expected mutual behaviour.
Recent Music
Watershed’s “If That’s How You Want It” — they have strong themes in their songs tied to disappointment, adulthood, and things not going to plan without getting too dragged down by it. It’s a very Columbus Ohio kind of sentiment, and reminds me of my time there; I so rarely remember those years of my life.
Danny Elfman’s main titles for Beetlejuice (1988 movie) are something I’ve repurposed for use as the last thing I listen to before I fall asleep, for years; the song and some of the associations I have with it to the movie make it good for imagining travel in strange realms. I’ve built my own set of associations to particular dreams.
Covenant’s “Sound Mirrors” - many years back when I frequented goth-industrial clubs, I enjoyed this band’s hits; I recently came across this song, which I don’t have a long history with but which is nostalgic in flavour. I’m enjoying the strange juxtapositions that makes for me. (a song of theirs I have real nostalgia for is “Dead Stars”)
Cyndi Lauper’s “I’ll Kiss You” is something I first heard many years after it came out; it’s a song that’s hard to forget because all the parts are wrong and awkward but as a whole they work. Maybe like a relationship with a difficult person.
Parov Stelar's "Chambermaid Mash-up Swing" is very new, and it's another really fun swing piece that would be fun to dance to someday. He has a lot of songs like this, each a joy