Category: ideas

“Certainly the promise of continual human progress and improvement is alluring. But there is a danger there, too — that in this more perfect future, failure will become obsolete.”

“Russians have become more conflict-prone, angrier and ruder and have largely lost the ability to control themselves, according to the findings of research into the psychological profile of a typical Russian from 1981 to 2011. Andrey Yurevich, the deputy head of the Institute of Psychology at the Russian Academy of Sciences, talks about the study’s results.”

“Nobody hates writing papers as much as college instructors hate grading papers (and no, having a robot do it is not the answer).”

“Since facial-recognition algorithms rely on the identification and spatial relationship of key facial features, like symmetry and tonal contours, one can block detection by creating an ‘anti-face.'”

“Unlike machines, humans operate on a cyclical basis, which means our energy and motivation fluctuate in peaks and troughs. Cognitive workers tend to be more focused in the late morning, getting another energy boost in the late afternoon when lung efficiency peaks.”

“Coke, if I may extend my musings further, is the closest thing that exists to a religion of Americana. Not an American religion, but a religion devoted to the idea of America – which is to say, to those Norman Rockwell scenes of homecoming, fly fishing, and presents under the tree.” Paula Marantz Cohen visits the high temple: The World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta.

“Jesús Zazo stood in the ancient plaza in a throng of other pink-clad members of the Colla Vella dels Xiquets club. He had everything riding on this grudge match in the Catalonia region’s signature competitive event: human-tower building.”

“If the best experience we can have with technology requires an American-designed platform, we’ll get an American experience: Buy an Apple iPhone, and in a thousand quiet ways, we interact with it the way Cupertino wants us to.”

In the 21st century, can a language survive for long if no one uses it on the Internet?