Various web links I found to be of interest recently.
Jon Stewart Accidentally Slices His Hand.
"How about we just take $3 billion in subsidies we give to oil and gas companies that turn billions in profits," Stewart said. "How long did that take? Oh, wait! How about we just close down the carried interest loophole on hedge funds? That's $1.3 billion a year. Or how about we stop the $2 trillion dollars we've given to defense contractors to build a fighter jet that blows, when everyone knows the next war is going to be fought with drones and blockchains, whatever that is! Holy shit! I can't believe it! I just saved us billions of dollars in 11 seconds!"
Simons Foundation co-founder Jim Simons - an award-winning mathematician and widely regarded as the father of modern quantitative investing - led an extraordinary life, championing new ideas and ways of thinking as a mathematician, an investor and a philanthropist. On May 10, 2024, Simons died at the age of 86, leaving behind an unparalleled legacy.
A more interesting insight to the man is American Institute of Physics - Oral History Interview (2020).
And to enjoy some of what he's left behind, check out Simons Presents Friday monthly discussions.
A new blood test may help detect pancreatic cancer in its early stages with up to 97% accuracy, according to a recent study. This test looks for specific genetic markers released by pancreatic cancer cells, offering hope for earlier detection and better survival rates.
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the company Guardant Health's Shield blood test for colorectal cancer screening in adults, 45 and older, who are at average risk for the disease.
"The test, which has an accuracy rate for colon cancer detection
similar to stool tests used for early detection of cancer, could offer
an alternative for patients who may otherwise decline current screening
options," Grady said in the news release.
...
The test was found to have around 83% sensitivity and 90% specificity
in a study, which included nearly 8,000 people, published in March in
the New England Journal of Medicine. Sensitivity refers to a test's
ability to accurately identify people with disease, designating them
as positive. Specificity refers to its ability to accurately designate
people without a disease as negative.
Economists are in raptures, but they should be careful.
Should you shell out $200 a month for Deep Research? Mr Cowen has hyped fads in the past, as he did with Web3 and Clubhouse, a once-popular social-media network. On the other hand, if Deep Research approximates a form of artificial superintelligence, as many believe, then $2,400 a year is the greatest bargain in the history of the world. To help you decide, your columnist has kicked the tyres of the new model. How good a research assistant is Deep Research, for economists and others?
Ed Zitron
Where is the money that this supposedly revolutionary, world-changing industry is making, and will make?
The answer is simple: I do not believe it exists. Generative AI lacks the basic unit economics, product-market fit, or market penetration associated with any meaningful software boom, and outside of OpenAI, the industry may be pathetically, hopelessly small, all while providing few meaningful business returns and constantly losing money.