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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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Neil Armstrong's reply to a Moon landing skeptic
In a letter recently published in a new book, A Reluctant Icon: Letters to Neil Armstrong, a teacher wrote a letter to the first human to set foot on the Moon a
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Getting a 787 back in the air after a diversion
On Wednesday, 12 October at 38,000 feet over the North Pacific Ocean, American Airlines flight 288 developed an issue with its number 2 engine, the General Electric GEnx-1B engine on the right hand side of the aircraft. The crew decided the best course of action was to divert the aircraft, but over the Pacific…
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Sci-Hub users cost ASA journals thousands of downloads
UPDATED to include Sci-Hub data from six months: September 2015–February 2016, and correcting a coding error that inflated download counts. Well, they might not have lost the downloads, but t…
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Ways to think long-term: a cognitive toolkit for good ancestors
None of these six ways is enough alone to create a long-term revolution of the human mind — a fundamental shift in our perception of time. But together — and when practised by a critical mass of people and organisations — a new age of long-term thinking could emerge out of their synergy.
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Help Make the 19th Century Searchable
In 1847, Frederick Douglass started a newspaper advocating the abolition of slavery that ran until 1851. After the Civil War, there was a newspaper for freed slaves, the Freedmen’s Record. The Internet Archive is bringing these and many more works online for free public access. But there’s a problem: Our Optical…
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The case for national paid maternity leave
Stanford psychiatrist Amy Alexander and colleagues report that women, children and society receive numerous benefits from 12 weeks of paid maternity leave.
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The harmful impact of Audible-exclusive audiobooks
Amazon's creeping monopoly on the audiobook industry through Audible pushes bookshops and libraries out of audiobook distribution.
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The Great Asshole Fallacy
On Michael Jordan being a jerk to make the Bulls great…
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Me on Covid-19 contact tracing apps
I was quoted in BuzzFeed: “My problem with contact tracing apps is that they have absolutely no value,” Bruce Schneier, a privacy expert and fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, told BuzzFeed News. “I’m not even talking about the privacy concerns, I mean the efficacy. Does…
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United Kingdom to introduce security labelling on connected devices
In a press release from the UK government on January 27th 2020 called “Government to strengthen security of internet-connected products”, the new law and i
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What Happened in the 2010s
My friend Steve Kane suggested I take a longer view in my pair of year end posts this year: What, no decade end/decade ahead posts? 😕 — Steven Kane (@stevenkane) December 26, 2019 And so I will. Here are the big things that happened in tech, startups, business, and more in the decade that is […]
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Apple commits to be 100% carbon neutral for supply chain and products by 2030
Already carbon neutral for its operations, Apple is unveiling a roadmap to achieve zero carbon for its supply chain and products by 2030.
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A day using money in Cuba
Cuba is a puzzling country, especially when it comes to money. It is the only country in the world with a dual currency system.
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Our Long Bets and Predictions about 02020
Our bets and predictions about 02020, evaluated.
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Web of Documents (2019)
It was called Xanadu . It was a grand, holistic vision: of documents that, once published, are available basically forever; of bidirectional links that could glue together not just documents, but parts thereof; of managing copyright and royalties. It was complex. And it never really came to fruition.
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Contractors use shell games to hide owners, cheat taxpayers
We dig into the law, the Constitution, and public policy to give decision-makers in government the data and policy solutions they need enact reforms that ensure our government answers to the people.
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Inefficient, but Smart
Comparing the process of furnishing two apartments—one in Ecuador, the other in the U.S.—was a reminder: order and efficiency aren't always what they're cracked up to be.
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Google files opening Supreme Court brief in Oracle v. Google copyright lawsuit
We’re asking the Supreme Court to reaffirm the importance of the software interoperability that has allowed developers to write millions of applications for billions of …
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US Postal Service data suggests significant population decline in San Francisco
PengelKeluaran SGP Hari Ini Resmi Togel Singapore Pools Tersedia Melalui Data SGP Prize dan Menyalin Pengeluaran SGP Hari Ini Untuk Pemain Toto SGP.
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Prediction Markets Beat Polls
I Fought the Market, and the Market Won
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Update on My Situation
It’s been two and a half months since I deleted the blog, so I owe all of you an update on recent events. I haven’t heard anything from the New York Times one way or the other. Since no…
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Book publishers call on Apple to match 15% commission granted to developers
(Manhattan Beach, CA - December 2, 2020) -- On November 18, Apple announced the App Store Small Business Program to help small businesses and independent developers. The program reduces Apple’s commission from 30% to 15% for small software publishers earning up to $1 million in proceeds in the Apple App Store.
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AI that mistook a bald head for a soccer ball
Second-tier Scottish football club Inverness Caledonian Thistle doesn’t have a camera operator for matches at their stadium so the club uses an AI-controlled ca
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Why FSF Endorsing PureOS Matters
Purism makes premium phones, laptops, mini PCs and servers running free software on PureOS. Purism products respect people's privacy and freedom while protecting their security.
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Anti-climate action statements get more visibility in news coverage, study finds
Analysis by assistant professor of environment and society and sociology at Brown found that press releases expressing opposition to climate action were twice as likely to receive news coverage as those supporting action.