Basement Whatever
Escape the algorithm
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Category: Post
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Somewhere I recall reading that for elite athletes, the winning combination was genetic talent, the will to succeed, and the presence of a father or close family member with the capability and drive to act as a secondary coach. I thought about that when reading this interview with Rudy Kraft, one of the earliest writers…
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The Fermi Paradox is essentially this: If the odds for intelligent life are so good, then why haven’t we met any aliens? The Paradox lists theories why. Personally, I think either they’re here and we don’t know about it, or we don’t know how to look. Casey Handmer has a new theory – we can’t…
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We got, not transhumanism (as deliberate, informed, rational decision to self-consciously go beyond natural human capacity), but surreptitious transhuman behaviour, without the weird philosophy or the new aesthetics….Playing god – but using these new, unfathomable powers to… become more normal. So call it transnormalism. — Read on www.gleech.org/enhance
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What’s actually important to me is that you really understand that this is a real possibility, for you, in your life. If you practice with honest diligence, with tenderness and patience and determination, one day you will understand that you were completely wrong about everything. And you will be so, so happy about that. More…
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I love how art-world denizens dress when they come to Los Angeles. The collector class interprets “dressing for/with/about fine art in LA” differently than I’ve ever seen elsewhere in the world, applying vast economic resources to fashion interpretations that I can only describe as “downstream from 1960s CIA experiments.” — Read on freakpalace.substack.com/p/the-freakiest-outfits-we-saw-at-frieze
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Today, we’re introducing Spectre I, the first smart device to stop unwanted audio recordings. We live in a world of always-on listening devices. Smart devices and AI dominate our world in business and private conversations. With Deveillance, you will @be_inaudible . — Read on x.com/aidaxbaradari/status/2028864606568067491
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Can AI be used to analyze Powerball data? With the right dataset, it sure can.
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A more straightforward tactic: talk to your children often about the kind of working lives I’m outlining here, and the age of AI more broadly. Make them understand that the kind of single-track careers they see on TV or hear about in school — the kind that many of us have had — aren’t really…
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I wanted to see if AI could provide insight into local government. AI does analysis really well, those datasets are available, and it’s not something a normal person can do, unless they have hours to spare. Can AI simplify government bureaucracies so we can better understand our government. The answer? Yes, it can.
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Before carrying out any plan, actually do the obvious things. When you’re about to make a big decision, pause, and ask yourself what obvious things a reasonable person would do before making this sort of decision. Would they spend a full five minutes (by the clock) brainstorming alternative options before settling on a decision? Would they…
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“High-level sports,” according to Wallace, “are a prime venue for the expression of human beauty,” and this beauty’s “power and appeal…have to do with…human beings’ reconciliation with the fact of having a body.” Beautiful. Worth reading the whole thing.
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Although it’s still very much in beta, the cold approach revival is signaling something hopeful: young people want to get outside and meet each other! Both sides of the gender divide are clearly starving for connection, and no matter how clumsy it’s looking in Miami, flirting in the wild is a massive step in the…
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Generative deep learning improves reconstruction of global historical climate records. It uses, as you might guess from the title, generative deep learning to reconstruct global historical climate records. It does temperature and precipitation — Read on diagrammonkey.wordpress.com/2026/02/28/from-noise-all-this/ It will be interesting to check in on this project in a few months to see what they’ve…
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I’ve been paying €20/month for an AI chatbot. Not the free tier — the premium one. The one that remembers things. The one that thinks with you. I used it for everything. Career decisions. Travel planning. Creative projects. Emotional processing. I treated it like an oracle, a thinking partner that never judges, never forgets, never…
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James Miller on X: “Massive real money bet on Kalshi that US will confirm that aliens exist before 2027. Bet was 20 min ago for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Wonder if was someone with inside info in Trump administration. Market now at 37.7% for yes with 8 million volume.” / X — Read on…
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Gorsuch takes just about everyone on the court to task. Addressing the liberals, he suggests that Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson are hypocrites for upholding Biden-era executive actions but striking down Trump’s. Thanks for agreeing with me about Trump! But then why didn’t you agree with me on Biden? Addressing the dissenting conservatives, he suggests that…
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I tapped “verify.” I scanned my passport. I took a selfie. Three minutes later — done. Badge acquired. I felt a tiny dopamine hit of legitimacy. Then I did what apparently nobody does. I went and read the privacy policy and terms of service. Not LinkedIn’s. The other company’s. — Read on thelocalstack.eu/posts/linkedin-identity-verification-privacy/
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The behavior of 9 in mathematics borders on the absurd. Multiply any number by 9. Add the digits of the result. You get 9. 9 × 7 = 63. 6+3 = 9. 9 × 253 = 2277. 2+2+7+7 = 18. 1+8 = 9. 9 × 8,471 = 76,239. 7+6+2+3+9 = 27. 2+7 = 9. This…
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