John Stephenson

Funny to think there's a timeline in which Brexit, Covid, Ukraine and two terms of Trump never happened and where I'm typing, "Funny to think there's a timeline in which Brexit and Trump happened..."

One thing I've found myself saying a lot recently: *Both can be true*.

Lots of interesting folks here. #humanism

YouTube video by Mary Spender This Just Makes Me Angry

Independent musician Mary Spender has an interesting discussion of the state of the #music industry up on her YouTube channel. Questions: Would you let your child sign a contract at 13? How about if it took 100% of their income for years? Hmm.

YouTube video by Garbage Garbage & Screaming Females - Because The Night (Official Video)

I heartily recommend Garbage and guest Screaming Females's cover of Patti Smith's 'Because the Night'. Just when you think it's done and dusted, Marissa Paternoster does an *incredible* guitar solo. (This was 11 years ago but I've only recently discovered it.)

Pupils enjoying reading at lowest level in almost 20 years Children’s reading is at ‘crisis’ point, the National Literacy Trust warns, after a significant fall in the number of young people who report enjoying reading

Reading enjoyment on the decline in the UK. Interestingly, the article doesn't mention phonics.

I was up for Liz Truss! The Prime Minister who lasted six weeks while crashing the economy... enough said.

4:59am: Labour slip into a majority at exactly the same time as part-time ventriloquist dummy Jacob Rees-Mogg loses his seat. Bliss.

Brexit, Partygate, pandemic chaos, austerity, the country run by psychopaths... Tonight, relief at getting the Tories out, tempered by the UK/US/Europe all swinging towards right-wing populism. These people destroy everything, including themselves, but until they do we are in for a rough ride.

Infuriating, isn't it? For years I thought it was at least partly deliberately faked, but it's a real east coast accent of the early 20th century with the additional influence of British and theatrical actors. Plus the myth suppresses the actors who spoke differently throughout the era.

80,000 Hours is a nonprofit offering free research-based help on careers that make a difference. Get their in-depth guide at https://80000hours.org/drgeoffli... Hollywood's "Fake" Mid-Atlantic Accent DEBUNKED!

No, Hollywood didn't fake an entire 'Mid-Atlantic accent' and force actors of the 30s and 40s to use it in films. A phonetician explains...

#linguistics #accents #English #Hollywood #film

Watched 'The Wolfman' (2010) last night and am still trying to take in its majesty. A bad film with a lot of very good actors in it... but *why* is it bad? Probably the plot and pacing, combined with a lead actor who (spoiler alert) looks like a werewolf *before* he actually gets bitten by one.

Followed lots of people I was following on The Other Place using the Sky Follower Bridge extension for Chrome/Edge/Firefox. It *kind of* works: kept failing a few hundred accounts in and it sometimes links the wrong accounts, but it's the best option I've seen so far.

Why AI is Harder Than We Think Since its beginning in the 1950s, the field of artificial intelligence has cycled several times between periods of optimistic predictions and massive investment ("AI spring") and periods of...

Mitchell (2021)'s fallacies in artificial intelligence:

*Narrow intelligence on continuum with general;

*Easy = easy, hard = hard [cf walking vs chess in humans vs robots];

*wishful mnemonics [way we discuss AI];

*intelligence only in brain [eg perceive via sensory input: embodied cognition].

Bertrand Russell - Wikiquote

For more wisdom, see below:

Black-and-white screenshot of text quoting Russell on love and hate, beginning : "When you are studying any matter, or considering any philosophy, ask yourself only: What are the facts, and what is the truth that the facts bear out."

The footage survives and you'll find it on-line, but it's nice to read #BertrandRussell speaking from 1959.