Link Archive 9/18/14 – 11/7/14

I haven't done this since 9/18? Blarg!

Flow chart of AI results. Every now and then it's nice to have a reminder of what we're working for/to avoid.

Eliezer's writing a series on how to write Rationalist Fiction, and it's really good. Most of it is applicable to writing all forms of good fiction.

"If you’ve ever typed anything into a Google Doc, you can now play it back ...This is possible because every document written in Google Docs since about May 2010 has a revision history that tracks every change, by every user, with timestamps accurate to the microsecond"

The first self-identified Less Wrong (aspiring) rationalist has just been elected to a state rep position. This feels weird. Is this what hope feels like? (It is a very small district, one of 400 in NH. Still... step 6 of Bayesian Conspiracy - complete!)

This is awesome. I <3 humans, so much more fun to watch than puppies or cats! "The oil paintings were initially thought to be the work of renowned forger Elmyr de Hory. But they actually turned out to be "fake fakes"... they had really been painted by London bookmaker Ken Talbot. Both paintings were promptly removed from sale."

Maybe you want to maximise paperclips too. For anyone familiar with the threat of a universe tiled in paperclips, this is hilarious!

I don't care what they say about Philosophy majors, I think this is good news. "Education Secretary Arne Duncan says the Education Department wants to make sure loan programs that prey on students don't continue their abusive practices. Now Kimberly Hefling reports that for-profit colleges who are not producing graduates capable of paying off their student loans could soon stand to lose access to federal student-aid programs."

OK GO kicks ass again. One take. Used a drone, due to high-altitude shots. Choreography was done at half-speed (accompanied by half-speed score), and the video is played double-time to make it match the original music speed. " Kulash says the dancers "were like automatons. One of [Airman's] deputies would shout something to this whole battalion of Japanese schoolgirls, and they'd run like they were in military school, and nail it every time."

Look, even Bryan Caplan says you should read Scott Alexander (of Slate Star Codex)

Gotta love humans. "There is a war raging within Dogspotting — a war that is shaking the very foundation of the sport and replacing the friendly sharing of cute dog pics with bitterness and vitriol."

Can't leave out GamerGate: We really need to acknowledge that the "internet troll" problem is a cute name to gloss over what is becoming a festering pit of the most violent and vile people alive. Somehow they managed to get stalking and death-and-rape-threats under the radar (freedom of speech??) and they've moved on to actual terrorism. "Even if they’re able to stop me, there are plenty of feminists on campus who won’t be able to defend themselves," he wrote. "One way or another, I’m going to make sure they die."

From Felicia Day: "I was walking around downtown Vancouver on Saturday, sampling all the artisan coffee I could get my throat around. At one point I saw a pair of guys walking towards me wearing gamer shirts. Black short-sleeved, one Halo and one Call of Duty. Now in my life up until this point, that kind of outfit has meant one thing: Potential comrades." If you know anything about GamerGate, you already know where this is going. I'm trying not to get sucked into the echo-chamber, but seriously, fuck these terrorist assholes. Also - 50 minutes after she posted this, she was Doxxed. /sigh

OK so, in the interests of honesty - yeah. You got us. Or at least me. "regardless of the merits of the proposal [Basic Income Guarantee], there’s a lot to learn from the fact that it’s becoming popular today."

Why I Stopped Writing Recommendation Letters for Teach for America. "faculty allow these well-meaning young people to become pawns in a massive game to deprofessionalize teaching [...] the more TFA has become aligned with [the corporate reform movement], the more it has also become a union-busting organization."

The fact that there is a niche as specific as Stand-up Economist fills me with happy. And the jokes I did understand were hilarious.

What The Hell Was Megadeth, Arizona? A bit scattered, but a very interesting story about what the early internet was like. Hearing stories about shapers of the primordial web is fascinating.

Japan: 40,000+ protesters (and at least one self-immolation) against re-militarization. I didn't even realize remilitarization was a thing Japan was doing, but apparently it's been a major issue for years.

Ducktales Meets Metal. Really quite good!

geekiarchy created a sonnet about me! :)

Scott Alexander writes about what real tolerance actually looks like. At this point I wouldn't be uncomfortable nominating Scott as King of All Humans. "There are certain theories of dark matter where it barely interacts with the regular world at all, such that we could have a dark matter planet exactly co-incident with Earth and never know. [...] This is sort of how I feel about conservatives." "my hypothesis, stated plainly, is that if you’re part of the Blue Tribe, then your outgroup isn’t al-Qaeda, or Muslims, or blacks, or gays, or transpeople, or Jews, or atheists – it’s the Red Tribe." "My arguments might be correct feces, but they’re still feces. I had fun writing this article. People do not have fun writing articles savagely criticizing their in-group."

I learned of a new (to me) ideology - Qutbuism. Keep it on your radar, might be the known as the next Leninism in the history books. Or: A very short history if ISIS.

A short comic about stripping.  <3 treating people like people. Favorite line: "Then you are seriously in the wrong club"

"The number of individuals who know how to make a can of Coke is zero. The number of individual nations that could produce a can of Coke is zero." And he didn't even go into everything that's required to make the machines that make the coke!

Apple’s “warrant canary” disappears, suggesting new Patriot Act demands. This was a good idea that needs spreading. I, for one, have not been served any sort of secret warrant by the government. I'll post a Transparency Report yearly saying basically the same thing.

Hey, if you live near Denver, we're having a Less Wrong meetup next week, and maybe monthly.