"It’s a charming reminder that Facebook isn’t just the place you go to see pictures of your friends’ kids or your racist uncle’s latest rant against the government—it’s also an exciting research lab, with all of us as potential test subjects."
Yeah, if you want to be an unwitting guinea pig, sure, I guess it's charming and exciting.
http://www.avclub.com/article/facebook-tinkered-users-feeds-massive-psychology-e-206324
Saturday 28 June 2014
Friday 20 June 2014
The BICEP2 result was a dud
If nothing else, this is a lesson that you shouldn't do science by press release (unknown unknowns and all that). Or by using "data" from a PDF of a presentation slide.
On the other hand, it did get a lot of people very excited and generated a lot of interest in a relatively obscure idea.
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-27935479
On the other hand, it did get a lot of people very excited and generated a lot of interest in a relatively obscure idea.
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-27935479
Sunday 8 June 2014
Seven Kingdoms - Free Mercia !
Seven Kingdoms - Free Mercia !
Thought-provoking article, but ends up unwittingly making a stronger case for an independent Scotland than against it.
My own view is that smaller nations have less influence on global events and are more influenced by them. Britain is a stronger world power as a single United kingdom - better to be a mere cog in a significant machine than an merely an insignificant machine. The article barely touches on this, but I think it's one of the most important points. Breaking up the UK into seven kindgoms might make seven small, progressive, happy kingdoms, but they'd also be seven small, unimportant kingdoms.
Even though an independent Scotland (or more personally, Wales) would be able to escape the clutches of the Tory party, it would also rapidly cease to matter to the rest of the world. Britain isn't a global superpower any more, but its voice still carries real weight. And no matter how much I may dislike the current Westminster government, they are hardly an oppressive regime that goes around burning Scottish villages and villagers.
There are differences in English and Scottish and Welsh identities, yes, but we're not talking about diametrically-opposed viewpoints (e.g. Republicans vs Democrats). I'd rather maintain the current, politically diverse landscape, even if I don't agree with the Tories about 90% of the time. Having some clout of the world stage is more important than avoiding the petty squabbling of British politics (see USA if you want to see real political debates, those guys know how to throw a properly ugly argument).
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-27731725
Thought-provoking article, but ends up unwittingly making a stronger case for an independent Scotland than against it.
My own view is that smaller nations have less influence on global events and are more influenced by them. Britain is a stronger world power as a single United kingdom - better to be a mere cog in a significant machine than an merely an insignificant machine. The article barely touches on this, but I think it's one of the most important points. Breaking up the UK into seven kindgoms might make seven small, progressive, happy kingdoms, but they'd also be seven small, unimportant kingdoms.
Even though an independent Scotland (or more personally, Wales) would be able to escape the clutches of the Tory party, it would also rapidly cease to matter to the rest of the world. Britain isn't a global superpower any more, but its voice still carries real weight. And no matter how much I may dislike the current Westminster government, they are hardly an oppressive regime that goes around burning Scottish villages and villagers.
There are differences in English and Scottish and Welsh identities, yes, but we're not talking about diametrically-opposed viewpoints (e.g. Republicans vs Democrats). I'd rather maintain the current, politically diverse landscape, even if I don't agree with the Tories about 90% of the time. Having some clout of the world stage is more important than avoiding the petty squabbling of British politics (see USA if you want to see real political debates, those guys know how to throw a properly ugly argument).
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-27731725
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