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Clive Thompson
6ab97c0046cb1aff364554baa3d2bceb50439ce93572ba2abd2a135faf82bb8e
Writer, musician/songwriter, hobbyist coder. Contributing writer to New York Times Magazine and Wired. Author of "Coders". Blogging at clivethompson.medium.com, archive of writing at www.authory.com/clivethompson -- email: clive@clivethompson.net; Signal: @clivethompson.98 -- #science #technology #coding #software #writing #literature #poetry clive@clivethompson.net

Cool book illustrating the highest points in US states: https://lordofmaps.com/pages/the-highpoints-book

nostr:npub1cz5304fhpp0cf6k8t5fnkt8qqxsk2xcxjnp99yxgkpws2d0l94fse7ss6v nostr:npub1egccu5vthhststz3l20fwde086rr64dwcewhqq2jetygmcxls7hsdgxlhk

Yep -- one cannot *rely* on Amazon for next-day delivery ... it fails in enough cases to be considered not terribly rock solid

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Aha, didn't know that about the writer!

True about no stone skyscrapers

The actual science of "The Meg": https://theconversation.com/meg-2-the-truth-about-the-extinct-mega-shark-and-why-even-this-ridiculous-film-could-inspire-future-palaeontologists-210751

Fun fact: The disappearance of the real-life meg, tens of millions of years ago, meant that whales could evolve to be larger and larger, because they weren't getting eaten by megs

Replying to 6eae4cc6...

nostr:npub1typ5we79rr527q30467hfz8ptfy0h8gxpmfn7j64ak6pk6pv4rfszzc8hh One of my students used some of this garbage writing for a reference in a research paper. I had to go find it to believe that the shoddy information came from and actual "published" source.

Replying to 53922396...

nostr:npub1typ5we79rr527q30467hfz8ptfy0h8gxpmfn7j64ak6pk6pv4rfszzc8hh Why anyone uses them for books where there are so many independents online, and bookshop.org, I don't understand.

nostr:npub17d03hxlj5vakwl2ssa8krc4dyqx2j4qlk8jn5vxrgd46ul6xpcxqxvhyaw

Yeah

It you’ve got a bookstore anywhere near you they can usually order a book in 24-48 hours

Replying to cbde2b73...

nostr:npub1typ5we79rr527q30467hfz8ptfy0h8gxpmfn7j64ak6pk6pv4rfszzc8hh the entire amazon experience is so openly hostile other than the incredible logistics backend - if someone else can send things to my door without hassle, they’ll have my money instantly.

nostr:npub1egccu5vthhststz3l20fwde086rr64dwcewhqq2jetygmcxls7hsdgxlhk

Yep — that logistics ability is basically keeping it in business now

Replying to 08924631...

nostr:npub1typ5we79rr527q30467hfz8ptfy0h8gxpmfn7j64ak6pk6pv4rfszzc8hh The reporter seemed a bit credulous when using a proprietary AI detection tool to detect what text was written by AI or not. Good marketing for Originality.ai I guess tho... (aside: what is it with silicon valley and quirky TLDs?)

I personally prefer the "Zoe" test, where I read something and decide by myself if it's worthless garbage or not without asking an AI at all.

Overall good article though.

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Yeah, I had the same thought when they used that detector — I’ve tried them myself and followed that sector, and those wares can’t do what their creators promise

But the overall research was great

Replying to dbb536e4...

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It's amazing how many Republican Christians really do believe in bringing about the End of Days / End Times, because they assume they'll come out on top.

And, how many of their leaders are willing to use that to treat the globe the way a private equity uses a company it just bought: extract all value for their own benefit, leverage as much debt as possible, then just...walk away.

Top investors can do that, you know. Just walk away. They can afford to live out the remainder of their lives in comfort, in the last pockets of livability, no matter how fast they bring about the destruction of the ecosphere for the rest of us. Most of them have between 5 and 20 years left. After that is irrelevant.

This is the natural outcome of building a society on competition instead of cooperation.

Amazon is crawling with travel guides written by AI -- vague, crappy, and pushed up in search results by astroturfed fake five-star reviews: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/05/travel/amazon-guidebooks-artificial-intelligence.html?unlocked_article_code=Gmcb6fkRXSAX7JUdbTpFyhH1lSBWBcI0RuiXgcku3gVTdQV7s_SPvl1tKw76F_txTehAmHdU0bZ3PUoPyH0h-dybeb8_bGL7UzysZynt-SFcx9yByC4wr37_65cVodjr_Z-sRcqUfioeOsUAKJpEECejhG2SlL4jPCoaBG8PFnu_YLKDXA0hkzvhrJnGuD5kw59N8Bz7T7D7UOeJXLkowJnnoB6IDt6bHn6XiBvlH--t6M_9xmGCkNlYdtiiScdbS3ebGG5C3xKkCxwacaT96yLi9NK5dx9YHwhHSPdoVJPqslvVGAwQFvpSQvDvgHZGOFxW09EeUVAHYZl6uI-aSYS0_UfYhcXjDi6J2-M1oFlpWg&smid=url-share

That's a "gift" link so you don't need to be a New York Times subscriber to read it

It's a great investigation, and highlights the real problem, which is ...

... unsurprisingly by now, Amazon seemingly does little-to-nothing to stop this

The site is just soiled top to bottom with fake crap in every category

Replying to Avatar Brian Dear

nostr:npub1typ5we79rr527q30467hfz8ptfy0h8gxpmfn7j64ak6pk6pv4rfszzc8hh It's a slow-motion Fascist coup aligned with Putin (who must be thrilled), Brexit, Orban, etc. They're completely and totally against the American Constitution and what's left of democracy, hell, they don't even want America anymore and if they get power again, they'll make sure it's gone for good.

Gilead is coming.