Various web links I found to be of interest recently.
Cutting-edge research shows language is not the same as intelligence. The entire AI bubble is built on ignoring it.
The problem is that according to current neuroscience, human thinking
is largely independent of human language - and we have little reason
to believe ever more sophisticated modeling of language will create
a form of intelligence that meets or surpasses our own. Humans use
language to communicate the results of our capacity to reason, form
abstractions, and make generalizations, or what we might call our
intelligence. We use language to think, but that does not make
language the same as thought. Understanding this distinction is the
key to separating scientific fact from the speculative science fiction
of AI-exuberant CEOs.
...
If you'd like to independently investigate this for yourself, here's
one simple way: Find a baby and watch them (when they're not napping).
What you will no doubt observe is a tiny human curiously exploring the
world around them, playing with objects, making noises, imitating faces,
and otherwise learning from interactions and experiences.
"Studies suggest that children learn about the world in much the same
way that scientists do-by conducting experiments, analyzing statistics,
and forming intuitive theories of the physical, biological and
psychological realms," the cognitive scientist Alison Gopnik notes,
all before learning how to talk. Babies may not yet be able to use
language, but of course they are thinking!
Lithium orotate, a lesser-known form of lithium supplementation, has been gaining attention for its potential benefits in supporting mental health and cognitive function. Unlike the more widely recognized lithium carbonate, which is prescribed at high doses for the treatment of bipolar disorder, lithium orotate is available as an over-the-counter (OTC) supplement and is typically taken in much lower doses.
Also see Eric Topol's detailed analysis Lithium and Its Potential Protection from Alzheimer's Disease which has the warning:
Should people start taking lithium orotate, such as the low dose of 5 mg now, widely available as an unregulated supplement? The answer is no, even though we'd anticipate it would be safe, without worrisome side effects as seen with considerably higher doses of lithium carbonate used for BD. Yes, it's tempting, with the body of evidence presented here that exceeds supplements in common use, but we need a clinical trial to prove that the new study translates to a human benefit. If lithium orotate does work, we don't know the right or optimal dose.
"These findings suggest that the perceptual foundations of individual
differences in face recognition ability may originate at the earliest
stages of visual processing - at the level of retinal encoding,"
Dunn and colleagues write in their paper.
...
The study builds on previous work from the same team, which found that
super-recognizers turn a face into something like a jigsaw puzzle:
They divide new faces into parts, before their brain processes those
parts as composite images.
"When 70% of Millennials say they are pro-socialist," wrote Thiel,
"we need to do better than simply dismiss them by saying that they are
stupid or entitled or brainwashed; we should try and understand why."
...
There is some kind of authenticity to Trump and Mamdani. I'm not sure that
they're perfectly coherent, nor perfectly authentic. But this is what the
establishment Republicans and establishment Democrats really don't like
about Trump and Mamdani, is that they can't even call them inauthentic,
because both are somehow more authentic than what the parties have.
Over a third of the United States federal government's revenue comes
from the country's four most-populous states, but they often get back
less than they contribute.
...
Known as "donor states," 19 states contribute more in federal taxes than
they receives back in federal spending, according to data compiled by
USAFacts, a non-partisan nonprofit that tracks government spending.
Fourth Edition by K. Thompson, D. M. Ritchie
Read X/twitter if you don't have an X account.
Nitter is a free and open source alternative Twitter front-end focused
on privacy and performance.
...
Using an instance of Nitter (hosted on a VPS for example),
you can browse Twitter without JavaScript while retaining your privacy.
Casual free-form dance in NYC at Prime Produce Apprentice Cooperative.