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An Actual Hack

Every new idea or workaround is called a “hack” nowadays, even if it’s a technique that doesn’t involve technology. Some of the hacks listed in this “100 Home Hacks That Will Improve Your Life” could be considered engineering 101 hacks, but really they are just weird ideas that solve a problem or make something easier. An Actual Hack

Photos: Massachusetts

We took a trip to Massachusetts. Here are some photos. The ducks and geese at Hager Pond in Marlborough. They have been here for as long as I can remember: Webster Lake in Webster, MA. The real name is Lake Char­gogg­a­gogg­man­chaugg­a­gogg­chau­bun­a­gung­a­maugg. The “shortened” name is Lake Chaubunagungamaug, which manageable but ridiculous for normal English-speaking mortals: Photos: Massachusetts

Betting on Consciousness

Interesting. “Decades-long bet on consciousness ends — and it’s philosopher 1, neuroscientist 0“: The findings from one of the experiments — which involved several researchers, including Koch and Chalmers — were revealed on Friday at the ASSC meeting. It tested two of the leading hypotheses: integrated information theory (IIT) and global network workspace theory (GNWT). Betting on Consciousness

C.S. Lewis on Educated Readers

From That Hideous Strength: “Why you fool, it’s the educated reader who can be gulled. All our difficulty comes with the others. When did you meet a workman who believes the papers? He takes it for granted that they’re all propaganda and skips the leading articles. He buys his paper for the football results and C.S. Lewis on Educated Readers

Story: Quarantine V

The story below is a work of fiction. One of three birds has been waking me up in the morning. Windows open–rude awakenings are my unjust reward, straight from the bosom of Mother Nature, for allowing her to get closer to me. Their calls are words. One says “Germany, Germany, Germany.” The other says “I Story: Quarantine V

Links of Possible Relevance, Part 27

What Are Heuristics? A very brief but good overview: the “world violence” ratio the video mentions is a good example of the spotlight fallacy. But the unspoken conclusion is that heuristics are bad at knowing large scale phenomena because human beings qua human beings are bad at knowing large scale phenomena. When to Trust the Links of Possible Relevance, Part 27

Italicizing Foreign Words in Fiction

The dialogue in my current work in progress uses three languages: English (most of it), German (here and there), and Franco-Arabic (it is what you probably think it is). I was under the impression from previous reading that some or many foreign words that were actual foreign language words and not common loanwords (i.e., “taco”) Italicizing Foreign Words in Fiction

Only Neil Knows How Women Are

I was listening to one of my favorite Rush albums, Counterparts, the other day, and a line jumped out at me. From “Cold Fire”: She said, “Just don’t disappoint me You know how complex women are” It seemed like the second line could be taken two different ways, and it’s best to describe the difference Only Neil Knows How Women Are