Mar 22How Does a Bad Film Win Seven Oscars?3.6K272John DeanConsider the possibility that you and a statistically irrelevant random sample of a few other…Consider the possibility that you and a statistically irrelevant random sample of a few other people not liking the movie doesn't mean it's a "bad movie." A lot of people in our culture won't understand, let alone appreciate, less so like, a movie that breaks so many conventions, tropes, trite…1 min read1 min read
Feb 25Anxious And Overwhelmed Or Pathologies And Excuses?1.3K38Argumentative PenguinIt's true - whining is not particularly effective, as a personal response to increased anxiety.It's true - whining is not particularly effective, as a personal response to increased anxiety. And, there's other contexts to factor in - what we've done and are doing to ourselves that contributes to increased anxiety (and more serious mental pathologies) quite beyond what an individual can conquer with a…1 min read1 min read
Feb 3How Do Gifted Adolescents See Themselves?63311Grant H BrennerWho decides what 'gifted' is and who has it?Who decides what 'gifted' is and who has it? It would be useful to provide context for what is meant by "gifted" here, including who created the definition, and who applies it, where, how, and why. And kids this is done to - meaning, kids who are singled out for…1 min read1 min read
Jan 5The Internet Is Breaking Up — What Will Replace It?1.7K35Peter BurnsThe magical thinking of the early internet was just that.The magical thinking of the early internet was just that. Projections of hope for change in society onto the new medium. But social patterns didn't change, so neither did how we used the internet. It's the same progression as most all new-at-the-time technology in the history of our industrial world…1 min read1 min read
Nov 24, 2022Why Adults Are Unacceptable In Positions of Authority Over Policy2044Ray KatzAnother way to frame our dilemma is that there's no adults in the room.Another way to frame our dilemma is that there's no adults in the room. Not in any of the rooms of power anyhow. This assumes a different definition of 'adults' - which has only trivially to do with biological age. Adults take responsibility rather than dodge it. Adults act, guide…1 min read1 min read
Nov 13, 2022Don’t fall for the climate clickbait. The 1.5°C target is achievable and necessary.40815Karl BurkartOne thing so-called "feasible" climate models have in common is that they assume people in power…One thing so-called "feasible" climate models have in common is that they assume people in power, and even people in general, will suddenly behave very differently than they have been behaving for centuries, millennia even. They assume this implicitly, by not taking socio-cultural factors into account. These factors may be difficult, if not impossible, to model in any useful way. That's not an excuse to pretend they are not dominant factors.1 min read1 min read
Nov 7, 2022Voters’ Pamphlet BluesElection day is nearly upon us — my ballot is already in. In the mail, that is — I live in a state with mail-in voting for all. Before my ballot went in the mail, before it even arrived, the Voters’ Pamphlet arrived. I didn’t crack it open for at…Voting5 min readVoting5 min read
Sep 28, 2022“The Dead Internet Theory” is New and Spreading Everywhere4.2K104Isaiah McCallRe: "People who lived through the 90s to 00’s probably never thought soft censorship and a hostile…Re: "People who lived through the 90s to 00’s probably never thought soft censorship and a hostile corporate takeover would happen via search engines, but it sure did." I have been in tech/IT and online since before the web existed, and even a bit before mass public email availability. I…1 min read1 min read
Sep 12, 2022Going Meta1.4K19Douglas RushkoffThey are terrified of AI.They are terrified of AI. Yet still they cannot help but try and create it. Dr. Frankenstein's story, writ modern...only worse. Frankenstein's 'monster' was at least made of re-animated human biology, thus with inherent potential to perhaps experience compassion, wisdom, love... Fleshless, bloodless, digital AI lacks that potential. They are wise to be terrified of it.1 min read1 min read
Aug 13, 2022Vaccines Aren’t Stopping COVID And We Need To Talk About It89915indi.caThe intense focus on vaccines, and the concurrent avoidance of focus on social responsibility…The intense focus on vaccines, and the concurrent avoidance of focus on social responsibility (test/trace/isolate, ventilation, hygiene, wastewater testing, etc.), is an effective way to maintain a hyper-individualist, consumption-based culture. As you say, COVID doesn't give a rip about our feelings, or our politics. Or our sayings, like "what doesn't…1 min read1 min read
