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When did “privacy issues” start to mean “too much privacy”?
Clubhouse draws the ire of journalists
Topics /
Society, Policy & Culture
The most popular blog posts about society, policy & culture on Hacker News. 629 posts.
572
Big Brothers Has Privatized
A Short Story
573
UFOs shows government competence as either surprisingly high or low
Sometimes I pride myself on my taking an intellectual strategy of tackling neglected important questions.
574
My values, howled into the wind
I’m about to leave for a family vacation—our first such since before the pandemic, one planned and paid for literally the day before the news of Omicron broke. On the negative side, sta…
575
People are realizing that degrowth is bad
The mad schemes degrowthers advocate are a fantasy that distracts us from real efforts to save the planet
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577
Pay toilets and NYT: a free market microcosm
Nicholas Kristof in Sunday's New York Times asks a pressing -- often quite pressing -- question. Why are there no public toilets in America? He is right. He calls for a federal infrastructure plan to fix the problem: "Sure, we need investments to rebuild bridges, highways and, yes, electrical grids, but perhaps…
578
The Costs of Requiring Accounts
Should online communities require people to create accounts before participating? This question has been a source of disagreement among people who start or manage online communities for decades. Re…
579
Murray's jailing is latest move in a battle to snuff out independent journalism
The supreme court’s refusal to hear Craig Murray’s appeal against his unprecedented conviction for ‘jigsaw identification’ means the British state is now effectively credentialising journalists. Only corporate journalists will be safe from state retribution.
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Passport
Announcing Passport, the new infrastructure supporting Stratechery.
582
How Homogeneous Is Japan?
It depends on what you mean by homogeneity.
583
I, Token: The untold story of the hole in Bitcoin's heart
The untold story of the hole in Bitcoin's heart
584
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The Third Web
(This text is very long. Maybe too long. You can find a PDF and an EPUB of it below.The current version of this text will always live at https://web3.tante.ccSatya has created an audio version of this essay. Eine deutsche Version findet sich hier. Una versione italiana di questo testo è qui – grazie Nebbia! En […]
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University of Oregon will monitor students' social media statements
We have been discussing the expanding monitoring and sanctioning of teachers for their political commentary on social media. We have also discussed such actions taken against college, high school …
588
Apple's Texas-Sized Problem
Link to: https://popular.info/p/apples-texas-problem
589
Robots Must Be Ephemeralized
There is a subfield of robotics research called “sim-to-real” (sim2real) whereby one attempts to solve a robotic task in simulation, and the...
590
The digital natives are not who you think they are
I have heard the term "digital natives" applied to todays youth, but when it comes down to the meat and potatoes, they do not know jack shit.
591
Congress demands tech CEOs censor the internet even more aggressively
The repressive objective of the Democratic-controlled Congress is to transfer the power to police and censor political discourse from these tech giants to themselves.
592
The 74,000 numbers of Barclays Bank
The UK faces an epidemic of telephone scams. Fraudsters are constantly calling people up pretending to be their bank. But how can you be sure the number displayed on your screen in genuine? You can't. The telecom system is hopelessly insecure and shouldn't be trusted for anything more complicated than dialling the…
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Big problems at the timezone database
The last time I wrote about the timezone database on this blog, the database was under threat from a lawsuit. Fortunately that lawsuit w...
595
Apple’s New ‘Child Safety’ Initiatives, and the Slippery Slope
The stakes are incredibly high, and Apple knows it. Whatever you think of Apple’s decision to implement these features, they’re not doing so lightly.
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Rust is not a company
Last year, as an occasional contributor to the Rust project, I did not think much about the organisational structure of the team behind the project. I saw a hierarchy of teams and groups, team leaders, etc. Just like any other organisation. This year, after getting more involved, becoming a library team member and…
598
Alexander von Humboldt: the first Solarpunk
Humbolt was captivated by lush nature but loved humanity and the new technological developments. He believed that if we understand Nature and the laws governing her, we can create a sustainable future. He was the first Solarpunk and here are his ideas
599
Sputnik V: fraudulent clinical trial data
Sputnik V clinical trial data seems as trustworthy as Putin’s election results.
600
We moderns are status-drunk
Twelve years ago I posted on how our era is a rare unique “dreamtime” of fast growth, wide cultural integration, and delusional beliefs.