Various web links I found to be of interest recently.
As we came to master language, I think we underwent a phase transition in our intellectual abilities that set us apart from other animals. Besides language, I don't see much that sets us apart from other animals-in particular, most other cognitive differences seem explainable as consequences of either language or scale, and I don't think the cognitive mechanisms that allow us to master language are particularly unique or difficult to acquire. Overall, I don't see much reason to believe that human brains have significantly more innate complexity than the brains of other animals.
open access, peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary journal specifically created to promote free inquiry on controversial topics.
The Journal of Controversial Ideas offers a forum for careful, rigorous, unpolemical discussion of issues that are widely considered controversial, in the sense that certain views about them might be regarded by many people as morally, socially, or ideologically objectionable or offensive. The journal offers authors the option to publish their articles under a pseudonym, in order to protect themselves from threats to their careers or physical safety. We hope that this will also encourage readers to attend to the arguments and evidence in an essay rather than to who wrote it.
An infectious-disease expert's long crusade against some of humanity's most virulent threats.
The Zuckerberg Files is a digital archive of all public utterances of Facebookâs founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, spanning 2004-2020. Over 1,000 full-text transcripts and 200 video files are available for researchers to download, analyze, and scrutinize.
Back in the day, I played Go with him during lunch at the labs.
For a profile of the man see John Horgan's reminiscences Philip Anderson, Gruff Guru of Physics and Complexity Research, Dies.
I joined the Howard Dean meetup in 2003! Hopefully meetup.com will survive the coronavirus pandemic unlike Google's Shoelace which is shutting down.
Also see,
Meetup Spins Off From WeWork
and
WeWork sells off social network Meetup to AlleyCorp and other investors.
Bob Dylan's epic new song isn't just about the assassination of JFK. It's about how an event takes on meaning beyond itself, and the role of spirit in the national life.