Paul Allen: The Singularity Isn't Near Futurists like Vernor Vinge and Ray Kurzweil have argued that the world is rapidly approaching a tipping point, where the accelerating pace of smarter and smarter machines will soon outrun all human capabilities. They call this tipping point the singularity, because they believe it is impossible to predict how the human future might unfold after this point. Once these machines exist, Kurzweil and Vinge claim, they’ll possess a superhuman intelligence that is so incomprehensible to us that we cannot even rationally guess how our life experiences would be altered. While we suppose this kind of singularity might one day occur, we don’t think it is near. So we won’t experience 100 years of progress in the 21st century—it will be more like 20,000 years of progress (at today’s rate). By working through a set of models and historical data, Kurzweil famously calculates that the singularity will arrive around 2045. This prediction seems to us quite far-fetched. The Complexity Brake Paul G.
Open Letter to that 53% Guy In the picture, you’re holding up a sheet of paper that says: I am a former Marine. I work two jobs. I don’t have health insurance. I worked 60-70 hours a week for 8 years to pay my way through college. I haven’t had 4 consecutive days off in over 4 years. I wanted to respond to you as a liberal. First, let me say that I think it’s great that you have such a strong work ethic and I agree with you that you have much to be proud of. I have a nephew in the Marine Corps, so I have some idea of how tough that can be. So, if you think being a liberal means that I don’t value hard work or a strong work ethic, you’re wrong. I understand your pride in what you’ve accomplished, but I want to ask you something. Do you really want the bar set this high? Do you really want to spend the rest of your life working two jobs and 60 to 70 hours a week? And what happens if you get sick? Do you plan to get married, have kids? Look, you’re a tough kid. Ah, the halcyon days of the 1950s!
Chicken Cacciatore I am a lover of braised meats, whether it be pot roast or short ribs or beef brisket…or the chicken dish I’m sharing with you today. Just give me some meat, a pot with a lid, some combination of liquid ingredients, and I’ll be eating out of your hand…as long as your hand is holding braised meat. That might have been the weirdest introductory sentence of any recipe I’ve ever posted. This is a delightful meal, and a comfort food classic. And magic does happen. I use chicken thighs for this recipe because I happen to love chicken thighs. Not that I’m dramatic or anything. Let’s make Chicken Cacciatore! Here’s what you need: salt, pepper, butter, olive oil, flour, chicken, onion, bell peppers, garlic, mushrooms, canned tomatoes, wine, ground thyme, turmeric, Parmesan cheese, and parsley. And noodles. Begin by heating butter and olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. The start to any good meal! Generously salt and pepper both sides of the chicken. Dredge both sides of the chicken in flour. Yum.
Understanding Occupy Wall Street Critics of the growing Occupy Wall Street movement complain that the protesters don’t have a policy agenda and, therefore, don’t stand for anything. They're wrong. The key isn’t what protesters are for but rather what they’re against -- the gaping inequality that has poisoned our economy, our politics and our nation. In America today, 400 people have more wealth than the bottom 150 million combined. Most of the Occupy Wall Street protesters aren’t opposed to free market capitalism. Sure, bank executives may work a lot harder than you and me or a mother of three doing checkout at a grocery store. The question is not how Occupy Wall Street protesters can find that gross discrepancy immoral. According to polls, most Americans support the 99% movement, even if they’re not taking to the streets. Ironically, the original Boston Tea Party activists would likely support Occupy Wall Street more as well. Americans today also support taxes.
Google Engineer: “Google+ is a Prime Example of Our Complete Failure to Understand Platforms” Last night, high-profile Google engineer Steve Yegge mistakenly posted a long rant about working at Amazon and Google’s own issues with creating platforms on Google+. Apparently, he only wanted to share it internally with everybody at Google, but mistaken shared it publicly. For the most part, Yegge’s post focusses on the horrors of working at Amazon, a company that is notorious for its political infighting. The most interesting part to me, though, is Yegge’s blunt assessment of what he perceives to be Google’s inability to understand platforms and how this could endanger the company in the long run. The post itself has now been deleted, but given Google+’s reshare function, multiple copies exist on Google’s own social network and elsewhere on the web. Google+ Is a Knee-Jerk Reaction Here is the meat of his argument: “Google+ is a knee-jerk reaction, a study in short-term thinking, predicated on the incorrect notion that Facebook is successful because they built a great product. Ha, ha!
The Broken Contract Iraq was one of those wars where people actually put on pounds. A few years ago, I was eating lunch with another reporter at an American-style greasy spoon in Baghdad's Green Zone. At a nearby table, a couple of American contractors were finishing off their burgers and fries. The Iraq war was a kind of stress test applied to the American body politic. To continue reading, please log in. Don't have an account? Register Register now to get three articles each month. As a subscriber, you get unrestricted access to ForeignAffairs.com. Register for free to continue reading. Registered users get access to three free articles every month. Have an account?
Tiramisu Pancakes : Parentables - StumbleUpon A few days ago, I put a call out on Twitter for help. Marscapone help, to be specific. Many people came to the rescue, however it was @Ivoryhut her responded with a recipe idea that went beyond delectable. Tiramisu Pancakes. oh. hell yeah. Why not have dessert for breakfast? huh?! And while you're at it, come visit Ivory Hut food blog - This woman can make bread, the most beautiful striped bread even! These photos and recipes are from Ivory Hut - enjoy! ~Jaden These amazing Tiramisu Pancakes started out as a casual idea spurred by a tweequest for things to do with half a cup of mascarpone, and the fact that I had just posted a pancake recipe on my blog. The maple-butter glaze is optional, but it gives the pancakes a nice boost of sweetness and extra maple flavor to remind you that these are, in fact, pancakes. I also maintain that, as decadent as it sounds, it might be a tad healthier than regular pancakes because you're not drowning it in syrup. ~Ivory Hut Tiramisu Pancakes Instructions:
plucky tree: the last time I saw Steve Jobs I worked at Apple from April of 1999 through July of 2011. I’ve never written publicly about that experience, but I wanted to share a little moment that will always be with me, even though it’s not of any great significance. After leaving my job at Apple, I dropped in for lunch one day. I was exiting the main building, Infinite Loop One, and just ahead of me was Steve Jobs, walking with the usual spring in his step that never seemed to go away even as he started looking more frail. Bumping into Steve was a surprisingly common occurrence for such a large company as Apple. Steve was heading towards a car parked next to the curb with its door open, waiting for him. Steve paused for a moment as an iPhone was extended to him, realizing that they didn’t seem to know who he was. Steve took a great deal of care composing the photo, backing up a few steps several times, tapping the iPhone screen to lock focus, then said “Smile!” And that was the last time I saw Steve Jobs.
Who Runs the World ? – Network Analysis Reveals ‘Super Entity’ of Global Corporate Control Business Published on August 28th, 2011 | by Michael Ricciardi In the first such analysis ever conducted, Swiss economic researchers have conducted a global network analysis of the most powerful transnational corporations (TNCs). Strongly Connected Component (SCC); layout of the SCC (1318 nodes and 12,191 links). [Note to the reader: see the very end of this article for a ranking of the top 50 'control holders'] When we hear conspiracy theorist talk about this or that powerful group (or alliance of said groups) “pulling strings” behind the scenes, we tend to dismiss or minimize such claims, even though, deep down, we may suspect that there’s some degree of truth to it, however distorted by the theorists’ slightly paranoid perception of the world. But now we have the results of a global network analysis (Vitali, Glattfelder, Battiston) that, for the first time, lays bare the “architecture” of the global ownership network. Two generalized characteristics were identified: and End Notes: