Assorted links XVI

Published on .

  1. Pizza Hut Gorbachev TV Spot Commercial

    We should adjudicate all disputes about political legacies this way:

    Millienial: It is Obama!

    Boomer: Because of him, we have death panels!

    Millenial: Because of him, we have health care!

    Greatest Generation: Because of him, we have many things… like Taco Bell’s Doritos Cheesy Gordita Crunch.

  2. Vicious Cycles: Theses on a philosophy of news

    This is my favorite piece of writing on the news.

  3. Successes in Biological Control

    Originally brought to the US to breed with the native silkworms, the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar L., escaped through a broken window in Medford, MA in 1868-9 and began defoliating deciduous forests and shade trees in many regions of North America. […] In the late 1980s and early 1990s, scientists noticed gypsy moth cadavers hanging from trees in the northeastern forests and identified the cause as a fungal infection. This discovery renewed interest in using fungi for control.

  4. What explains voter aversion to carbon taxes and what can be done?

    Pairs well with an earlier post. See also State and trends of carbon pricing in 2019.

  5. Principles for the Application of Human Intelligence

    However, the replacement of algorithms with a powerful technology in the form of the human brain is not without risks. Before humans become the standard way in which we make decisions, we need to consider the risks and ensure implementation of human decision-making systems does not cause widespread harm. To this end, we need to develop principles for the application for the human intelligence to decision making.