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Society, Policy & Culture
The most popular blog posts about society, policy & culture on Hacker News. 913 posts.
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Microsoft will be carbon negative by 2030
The scientific consensus is clear. The world confronts an urgent carbon problem. The carbon in our atmosphere has created a blanket of gas that traps heat and is changing the world’s climate. Already, the planet’s temperature has risen by 1 degree centigrade. If we don’t curb emissions, and temperatures continue to…
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The Patent Office is “adjusting” to a Supreme Court ruling by ignoring it
In 2014, the Supreme Court decided the landmark Alice v. CLS Bank case. The Court held generic computers, performing generic computer functions, can’t make something eligible for patent protection. That shouldn’t be controversial, but it took Alice to make this important limitation on patent-...
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Zero-sum thinking on immigration will make America poorer
ZERO-SUM THINKING ON IMMIGRATION WILL MAKE AMERICA POORER Beatrice Magistro Nicolas Wittstock On June 23rd 2020, President Donald Trump imposed restrictions on several categories of visas for foreign workers until the end of the year. The proclamation his administration issued explaining this decision suspended…
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Covid-19 precautions for Stripe employees and customers
Online payment processing for internet businesses. Stripe is a suite of payment APIs that powers commerce for businesses of all sizes
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The Now-Defunct Firms Behind 8chan, QAnon
Some of the world’s largest Internet firms have taken steps to crack down on disinformation spread by QAnon conspiracy theorists and the hate-filled anonymous message board 8chan . But according to a California-based security researcher, those seeking to de-platform these communities may have overlooked a simple legal…
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Was there PTSD in the ancient or medieval world?
Hey folks! Fireside this week, but next week, to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the blog (the first post went up May 3rd) we’re diving into a look at Helm’s Deep in both the book…
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Beginner's Guide to Arguing Constructively
How to turn arguments from vicious battles into productive dialogues.
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Banks, QE, and Money-Printing
Published November 2020 Lately, it has become fashionable to debate what is, or is not, “money-printing” by central banks. This debate is natural, due to the extreme policy nature of 2020, with massive fiscal expenditures, huge increases in central bank balance sheets, and changes in central bank inflation targets…
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The biggest competitor to your digital service? The Mars Bar
This post has been languishing in my drafts folder for about a decade. It has recently become relevant again. When I was at Vodafone, selling ringtones was our top priority. They cost almost nothing to produce, supply, and market. Yet people would pay through the nose for them. I say people. I mean kids. We saw a huge…
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The coming IP war over facts derived from books
Facts are friends not food
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That’s not why I did it
It has been a very long time since I’ve dealt with a major loom screw up. A really long time. Like I don’t remember the last time? And it isn’t because I’m so very good at this whole weaving thing, but it sort of is. I’ve been weaving since the mid 70’s. If there is a mistake, or screw up, I can assure you I made it…
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US internet speeds 91% faster in 2020 according to user speed tests
Internet speeds in the US were more than twice as fast as Europe's in 2021.
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Drivers who keep their windows down are exposed to 80 percent more air pollution
Discover how Surrey researchers show driving with windows down increases exposure to air pollution by around 80%, with implications for health.
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Monopoly Technology Platforms Are Colonizing Education
Perspectives is an opportunity for Fellows and others to share their ideas in short, accessible essays. IPE/BC Fellows hold a range of views and interests relative to public education.
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Leave Facebook
One vote doesn’t seem like much. On its own, it hardly matters at all. But if you think of yourself as part of something bigger — America, let’s say — then that one vote can make a difference. Many…
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Assange Hearing Day 15
When Daniel Ellsberg released the Pentagon Papers, the US Government burgled the office of his psychiatrist to look for medical evidence to discredit him. Julian Assange has been obliged to submit himself, while in a mentally and physically weakened state and in conditions of the harshest incarceration, to examination…
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Looking for Voter Fraud (In Old Elections) with Data Visualization
The 2020 US election is finally over, and all the election excitement of the last week reminded me of something I had been meaning to look into: Sergey Shpilkin’s data visualizations that cle…