2022-09-24
Readings
The James Webb Telescope captured a stunning image of Neptune that makes its rings very clear (and pretty) - https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/new-webb-image-captures-clearest-view-of-neptune-s-rings-in-decades/
An upcoming test of our planet’s defenses against rogue asteroids - cool that we’re in an era where we can seriously try things like this: https://phys.org/news/2022-09-nasa-gears-deflect-asteroid-key.html
(some) Virii may have the ability to sense immune activity and change their behaviour accordingly: https://phys.org/news/2022-09-viruses-eyes-ears.html
(more) Large-scale weather events in Jupyter’s atmosphere: https://phys.org/news/2022-09-planetary-scale-jupiter-atmosphere.html
A possible biodegradable wood-derived substance that could replace a lot of plastics: https://phys.org/news/2022-09-wood-based-alternative-single-use-plastic.html
Mozilla on Youtube’s ineffective user controls - This captures something I fundamentally hate about Google’s media platforms; they’re not designed to really let me control what I see. Ages ago we had the ability to blacklist things on Usenet (by keyword, manually) and we’re far worse off now - https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/youtube/user-controls/
Thoughts
I’ve recently been thinking about a quirk of human cognition when we’re handling an event - that during such things we temporarily become radically less sensitive to a lot of stimuli. This is a principle that’s stressed WRT physical motion on videos on how pickpocketing works, and it seems to probably also be the case when we’re listening to sound (e.g. opening a door we know to be creaky means we’re likely to miss someone calling out to us at the same moment). It seems to be a vulnerability; I wonder if it’s necessary, how it works, and if there are benefits to it in terms of managing distribution of our attention to things (and maybe preventing overlearning)
Thinking about Haidt’s examination of categories of professor about halfway through the linked article:
Professor A: while I think a little bit of preference for a work that’s kept current is understandable (and maybe even something we might indulge), if the professor doesn’t put in the work it eventually becomes a disservice to the students and should be reigned in. We could take a stance that professors should never use their own textbook if we wanted to avoid this, but I’d rather mark a workable preference for one’s own textbook as acceptable, if the textbook is current
Professor B: I think this would be difficult to prove (certainly to the level of potential punishment), but it’s unethical and will/should give a professor a bad reputation if discovered
Professor C: This also would be difficult to prove, but provided the work also stands up to reasonable other quality bars and isn’t part of a pattern of work that seriously disadvantages nonchristian students of that prof, is part of the variety in perspectives that should be seen in a university
Professor D: Just like with any other ideology, I think provided it doesn’t seriously disadvantage students who disagree with the prof (perhaps vocally), it should be part of the variety in perspectives that students see in a university
This notion of perspective diversity is something that I think merits the broadest respect at the University level, being reduced in High School and almost nonexistent in earlier education, because students have less of a reasonable ability to challenge views of their teachers (or adults in general) before University; I think it’s desirable for High School teachers to only offer their views when prompted and then making sure to make it clear that disagreement is okay, and in earlier grades to try to keep politics out of the classroom to a large extent
The article: https://heterodoxacademy.org/blog/the-two-fiduciary-duties-of-professors/
Current Events
Russia’s losses in its invasion of Ukraine led it to introduce a draft, as well as create fake referenda for areas it occupies to join Russia, threatening nuclear retaliation for continued resistance; the draft efforts appear to be meeting mass resistance
Civil unrest in Iran continues, that was sparked by their morality police killing a woman whose outfit was seen as insufficiently modest; it’s unclear whether the protests have the potential to create long-term change, and if this happening at a time when the Supreme Leader is believed to be ill makes any change more or less likely
Italy is set to vote tomorrow between a centre-left alliance and a fascist-led one, with the fascists likely to win, placing Giorgia Meloni as the next PM
Reviewlets
Differently Morphous (book) - This feels (so far) similar to Charles Stross’s Laundry Files series, but with a much more comedic take; I gave it a shot after having enjoyed some of the review work the author does on Youtube and am glad that I did. I also enjoy the ribbing of an annoying “DEI consultant” type
Lost in a Good Book (book) - More rereading as I work my way back through Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next series. The weirdness ramps up in this novel, with time travel and fantasy realms playing a heavier role, and I’m ready for it. The Neanderthal element is less heavy handed than in his later work “The Constant Rabbit”, which I found unreadable.
Amusements
A fun, old Zulu story told by a man with an amazing voice:
A skit collaboration between two Youtubers that turned out pretty well - my kind of silliness -
Exploring whether Leonard Cohen’s self-references in “Hallelujah” make sense:
A breakdown of whether growing plants on Mars could work, as depicted in “the Martian”:
Recent Music
One Night in Bangkok - Murray Head - This came up in conversation recently - There are not too many songs that can pull off a long instrumental leadup like this; the spoken parts remind me a bit of “Love Shack”
Us of Lesser Gods - Flogging Molly - The tempo variations in this are interesting, while the nostalgia it brings probably has a lot of specific meaning for me that’s personal.
Money for Nothing - Dire Straits - It’s a classic that had a really cool music video for its time, and a fun interplay between the guitar and lyric parts. Unforgettable