{"id":7101,"date":"2023-01-06T23:19:43","date_gmt":"2023-01-07T07:19:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=7101"},"modified":"2023-01-06T23:26:14","modified_gmt":"2023-01-07T07:26:14","slug":"things-glen-found-interesting-volume-384","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2023\/01\/06\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-384","title":{"rendered":"Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 384"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-4396\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=300%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=1024%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=1200%2C1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?w=2048&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?w=1680&amp;ssl=1 1680w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 85vw, 300px\"><\/a>     On Fridays I share articles\/resources about broad cultural, societal and theological issues. Be sure to see the explanation and disclaimers at the bottom. I welcome your suggestions. If you read something fascinating please pass it my&nbsp;way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is volume 384, which is 8!! (8 double factorial). <a href=\"https:\/\/mathworld.wolfram.com\/DoubleFactorial.html\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/mathworld.wolfram.com\/DoubleFactorial.html\">Double factorial<\/a> is a concept I learned today. Instead of multiplying 8 \u00b7 7 \u00b7 6 \u00b7 5 \u00b7 4 \u00b7 3 \u00b7 2 \u00b7 1 you instead skip down by twos, so 8 \u00b7 6 \u00b7 4 \u00b7 2 =&nbsp;384.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Things Glen Found Interesting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"simple-list wp-block-list\">\n<li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/scottaaronson.blog\/?p=6823\" target=\"_blank\">My AI Safety Lecture for UT Effective Altruism<\/a> (Scott Aaronson, personal blog): \u201cIf you had asked anyone in the 60s or 70s, they would have said, well clearly first robots will replace humans for manual labor, and <em>then<\/em> they\u2019ll replace humans for intellectual things like math and science, and <em>finally<\/em> they might reach the pinnacles of human creativity like art and poetry and music.The truth has turned out to be the exact opposite. I don\u2019t think anyone predicted that. GPT, I think, is already a pretty good poet. DALL\u2011E is already a pretty good artist. They\u2019re still struggling with some high school and college-level math but they\u2019re getting there. It\u2019s easy to imagine that maybe in five years, people like me will be using these things as research assistants\u2014at the very least, to prove the lemmas in our papers. That seems <em>extremely<\/em> plausible.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Recommended by a student.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smithsonianmag.com\/history\/how-unorthodox-scholar-uses-technology-expose-biblical-forgeries-180981290\/\" target=\"_blank\">How an Unorthodox Scholar Uses Technology to Expose Biblical Forgeries<\/a> (Chanan Tigay, Smithsonian Magazine): \u201cAfterward, the amateur archaeologist, who would become an eminent scholar and a member of the Institut de France, tried to negotiate with the Bedouin to acquire the stone, but his interest, coupled with offers from other international bidders, further irked the tribesmen; they built a bonfire around the stone and repeatedly doused it with cold water until it broke apart. Then they scattered the pieces.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Interesting throughout. Recommended by a student.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/arxiv.org\/abs\/2212.14402\" target=\"_blank\">GPT Takes the Bar Exam<\/a> (Michael Bommarito II &amp; Daniel Martin Katz, arXiv): \u201cFor best prompt and parameters, GPT\u20113.5 achieves a headline correct rate of 50.3% on a complete NCBE MBE practice exam, significantly in excess of the 25% baseline guessing rate, and performs at a passing rate for both Evidence and Torts. GPT\u20113.5\u2019s ranking of responses is also highly-correlated with correctness; its top two and top three choices are correct 71% and 88% of the time, respectively, indicating very strong non-entailment performance. While our ability to interpret these results is limited by nascent scientific understanding of LLMs and the proprietary nature of GPT, we believe that these results strongly suggest that an LLM will pass the MBE component of the Bar Exam in the near future.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Source code: <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/mjbommar\/gpt-takes-the-bar-exam\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/github.com\/mjbommar\/gpt-takes-the-bar-exam<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>One of the authors (Katz) is a law prof at Illinois Tech, and the other (Bommarito) is a tech dude as well as an assistant law prof (Michigan State).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Related: \u201cExtraordinary new paper from Google on medicine &amp; AI: When Google tuned a AI chatbot to answer common medical questions, doctors judged 92.6% of its answers right \u2026 compared to 92.9% of answers given by other doctors.\u201d Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/emollick\/status\/1610261628607512576\">https:\/\/twitter.com\/emollick\/status\/1610261628607512576<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/2022\/12\/19\/palantir-algorithm-data-ukraine-war\/\" target=\"_blank\">How the algorithm tipped the balance in Ukraine<\/a> (David Ignatius, Washington Post): \u201cThe power of advanced algorithmic warfare systems is now so great that it equates to having tactical nuclear weapons against an adversary with only conventional ones,\u201d explains Alex Karp, chief executive of Palantir, in an email message. \u201cThe general public tends to underestimate this. Our adversaries no longer do.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Follow-up: <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/2022\/12\/20\/ukraine-war-russia-tech-battlefield\/\" target=\"_blank\">A \u2018good\u2019 war gave the algorithm its opening, but dangers lurk<\/a> (David Ignatius, Washington Post): \u201cFor the Army and other services, the impetus for this technology push isn\u2019t just the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but the looming challenge from China \u2014 America\u2019s only real peer competitor in technology.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/news\/annals-of-inquiry\/the-conservative-who-wants-to-bring-down-the-supreme-court\" target=\"_blank\">The Conservative Who Wants to Bring Down the Supreme Court<\/a> (Jeannie Suk Gerson, The New Yorker): \u201cOne of Mitchell\u2019s close friends from law school is a female lawyer who is married to a woman. She recently told her teen-age daughter that, if their family ever needed someone to donate an organ, she knew they could call on him. \u2018But, at the same time, his views, the results of his views, and his politics felt not nice, to put it mildly,\u2019 she said. \u2018I always assumed that, since Jonathan is such a good person, that when he aged and knew more people, his views would evolve. I really have trouble reconciling these two parts of him, given my politics and my view of the world, because I just find him to be such a kind, loving person.\u2019 But Mitchell doesn\u2019t strike her as \u2018a true believer who will marshal his arguments to justify the outcome,\u2019 she said. \u2018I think he actually believes these legal arguments.\u2019&nbsp;\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Less Serious Things Which Also Interested\/Amused Glen<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smbc-comics.com\/comic\/real-life-3\" target=\"_blank\">Math and Real Life<\/a> (SMBC)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=LFE4wNg4kd4\" target=\"_blank\">Men\u2019s Bodies Are Way More Disgusting Than Women\u2019s<\/a> (Dry Bar Comedy, YouTube): four minutes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ZssPAUVLosc\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ZssPAUVLosc\">Miranda Hart Can\u2019t Believe Jack Whitehall\u2019s Cat Painting Ability! <\/a> (Would I Like To You?, YouTube): five minutes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Things Glen Found Interesting A While&nbsp;Ago<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Every week I\u2019ll highlight an older link still worth your consideration. This week we have <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/newrepublic.com\/article\/158058\/coronavirus-conservative-experts-scientific-counterrevolution\" target=\"_blank\">The Coronavirus and the Right\u2019s Scientific Counterrevolution<\/a> (Ari Schulman, The New Republic): \u201cThat so many views tut-tutted as the irrational defiance of expert consensus actually became the expert consensus in the span of just a few weeks vividly suggests that we need to reexamine just how our culture talks about expertise. The problem is not mainly that the experts were wrong\u2014that is to be expected. It is, rather, that our lead institutions and public information outlets continually treated the assurances of experts as neutral interpretations of settled science when they plainly were not.\u201d Interesting throughout and still relevant. From <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2020\/07\/17\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-259\" target=\"_blank\">volume 259<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Why Do You Send This&nbsp;Email?<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In the time of King David, the tribe of Issachar produced shrewd warriors \u201cwho understood the times and knew what Israel should do\u201d (1 Chron 12:32). In a similar way, we need to become wise people whose faith interacts with the world. I pray this email gives you greater insight, so that you may continue the tradition of Issachar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Disclaimer<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Chi Alpha is not a partisan organization. To paraphrase another minister: we are not about the donkey\u2019s agenda and we are not about the elephant\u2019s agenda \u2014 we are about the Lamb\u2019s agenda. Having said that, I read widely (in part because I believe we should aspire to pass <a href=\"http:\/\/econlog.econlib.org\/archives\/2011\/06\/the_ideological.html\">the ideological Turing test<\/a> and in part because I do not believe I can fairly say \u201cI agree\u201d or \u201cI disagree\u201d until I can say \u201cI understand\u201d) and may at times share articles that have a strong partisan bias simply because I find the article stimulating. The upshot: you should not assume I agree with everything an author says in an article I mention, much less things the author has said in other articles (although if I strongly disagree with something in the article I\u2019ll usually mention it). And to the extent you can discern my opinions, please understand that they are my own and not necessarily those of Chi Alpha or any other organization I may be perceived to represent.\n\nAlso, remember that I\u2019m not reporting news \u2014 I\u2019m giving you a selection of things I found interesting. There\u2019s a lot happening in the world that\u2019s not making an appearance here because I haven\u2019t found stimulating articles written about it.\n\nIf this was forwarded to you and you want to receive future emails, sign up <a href=\"https:\/\/theglendavis.substack.com\/\">here<\/a>. You can also <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/category\/links\">view the archives<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Fridays I share articles\/resources about broad cultural, societal and theological issues. Be sure to see the explanation and disclaimers at the bottom. I welcome your suggestions. If you read something fascinating please pass it my&nbsp;way. This is volume 384, which is 8!! (8 double factorial). Double factorial is a concept I learned today. Instead \u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2023\/01\/06\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-384\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> \u201cThings Glen Found Interesting, Volume 384\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"More AI stuff this week than I expected.","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-of-random-interest"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Ded-1Qx","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7101"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7101\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7107,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7101\/revisions\/7107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}