Theodore John (Ted) Kaczynski (/kəˈzɪnski/ ⓘ kə-ZIN-skee; May 22, 1942 – June 10, 2023), also known as the Unabomber (/ˈjuːnəbɒmər/ ⓘ YOO-nə-bom-ər), was an American mathematician and domestic terrorist.[1][2] He was a mathematics prodigy, but abandoned his academic career in 1969 to pursue a reclusive primitive lifestyle. Kaczynski murdered three people and injured 23 others between 1978 and 1995 in a nationwide mail bombing campaign against people he believed to be advancing modern technology and the destruction of the natural environment. He authored Industrial Society and Its Future, a 35,000-word manifesto and social critique opposing all forms of technology, rejecting leftism, and advocating a nature-centered form of anarchism. M<

A quantum computer is a computer that exploits quantum mechanical phenomena. On small scales, physical matter exhibits properties of both particles and waves, and quantum computing leverages this behavior using specialized hardware. Classical physics cannot explain the operation of these quantum devices, and a scalable quantum computer could perform some calculations exponentially faster[a] than any modern "classical" computer. In particular, a large-scale quantum computer could break widely used encryption schemes and aid physicists in performing physical simulations; however, the current state of the art is largely experimental and impractical, with several obstacles to useful applications. The basic unit of information in quantum computing, the qubit (or "quantum bit"), serves the same function as the bit in classical computing. However, unlike a classical bit, which can be in one of two states (a binary), a qubit can exist in a superposition of its two "basis" states, which loosely means that it is in both states simultaneously. When measuring a qubit, the result is a probabilistic output of a classical bit. If a quantum computer manipulates the qubit in a particular way, wave interference effects can amplify the desired measurement results. The design of quantum algorithms involves creating procedures that allow a quantum computer to perform calculations efficiently and quickly. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_computing

Andy Matuschak: How Might We Learn? Your ideal learning environment... Talks about learning technology often center on technology. Instead, I want to begin by asking: what do you want learning to be like—for yourself? (more)

Andy Matuschak and Michael Nielsen: How can we develop transformative tools for thought (thinking tools)? Part of the origin myth of modern computing is the story of a golden age in the 1960s and 1970s. In this story, visionary pioneers pursued a dream in which computers enabled powerful tools for thought, that is, tools to augment human intelligence E.g., Douglas Engelbart, Augmenting Human Intellect... retrospectively it's difficult not to be disappointed, to feel that computers have not yet been nearly as transformative as far older tools for thought, such as language and writing. We believe now is a good time to work hard on this vision again. In this essay we sketch out a set of ideas we believe can be used to help develop transformative new tools for thought (more)

Quantum computing for the very curious by Andy Matuschak and Michael Nielsen, Presented in a new mnemonic medium which makes it almost effortless to remember what you read. https://quantum.country/

see modernism

Arroost is a ridiculous music-making tool... Go to https://arroost.com/ on a device with a microphone. https://github.com/TodePond/Arroost by Lu Wilson (more)

John Luttig: When Tailwinds Vanish. The Internet tailwinds that propelled Silicon Valley’s meteoric growth for decades are stalling out. The ripple effects will jolt the tech industry. (more)

Incubator created by Paul Graham (more)

Director of the White House United States National Economic Council for President Barack Obama from January 2009 until November 2010, where he emerged as a key economic decision-maker in the Obama administration's response to the Great Recession. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Summers (more)

Debt Financing crisis of 2008; aka Great Recession https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007%E2%80%932008_financial_crisis (more)

aka RFKJr

Zvi Mowshowitz On the UBI Paper. Would a universal basic income (UBI) work? What would it do? Many people agree July’s RCT on giving people a guaranteed income, and its paper from Eva Vivalt, Elizabeth Rhodes, Alexander W. Bartik, David E. Broockman and Sarah Miller was, despite whatever flaws it might have, the best data we have so far on the potential impact of UBI. (more)

Azeem Azhar: Turning UBI on its head. UBI should not be just about survival or consumer spending. Instead, it should be seen as a catalyst for driving technological change. A kind of long-form state support could shore up social cohesion and lead to better governance. That would have a halo effect. (more)

Venkatesh Rao: The New Systems of Survival. About a decade ago, I was briefly obsessed with Jane Jacobs’ Systems of Survival model from her 1992 book of that name. (more)

Nick Bostrom (/ˈbɒstrəm/ BOST-rəm; Swedish: Niklas Boström [ˈnɪ̌kːlas ˈbûːstrœm]; born 10 March 1973 in Sweden)[4] is a philosopher known for his work on existential risk, the anthropic principle, human enhancement ethics, whole brain emulation, superintelligence risks, and the reversal test. He was the founding director of the now dissolved Future of Humanity Institute at the University of Oxford[5] and is now Principal Researcher at the Macrostrategy Research Initiative.[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Bostrom

Explicit knowledge (also expressive knowledge)[1] is knowledge that can be readily articulated, conceptualized, codified, formalized, stored and accessed.[2] It can be expressed in formal and systematical language and shared in the form of data, scientific formulae, specifications, manuals and such like.[3] It is easily codifiable and thus transmittable without loss of integrity once the syntactical rules required for deciphering it are known.[4] Most forms of explicit knowledge can be stored in certain media. Explicit knowledge is often seen as complementary to tacit knowledge.[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Explicit_knowledge (more)

The concept of tacit knowing comes from scientist and philosopher Michael Polanyi. It is important to note that he wrote about a process (hence Tacit Knowing) and not a form of knowledge. However, his phrase has been taken up to name a form of knowledge that is apparently wholly or partly inexplicable...as opposed to formal, codified or explicit knowledge. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacit_knowledge (more)

Michael Nielsen and Shan Carter: Using Artificial Intelligence to Augment Human Intelligence (Augmenting Human Intellect). What are computers for? Historically, different answers to this question – that is, different visions of computing – have helped inspire and determine the computing systems humanity has ultimately built (more)

Michael Nielsen on Collaboration, Quantum Computing, and Civilization's Fragility (Ep. 213) (with Tyler Cowen). (more)