{"id":7254,"date":"2023-08-12T08:12:37","date_gmt":"2023-08-12T15:12:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=7254"},"modified":"2023-08-12T08:12:37","modified_gmt":"2023-08-12T15:12:37","slug":"things-glen-found-interesting-volume-415","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2023\/08\/12\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-415","title":{"rendered":"Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 415"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" 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 width=\"300\" height=\"300\" 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 Fri\u00addays (or lat\u00ader when I\u2019m busy) I share articles\/resources about broad cul\u00adtur\u00adal, soci\u00adetal and the\u00ado\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal issues. Be sure to see the expla\u00adna\u00adtion and dis\u00adclaimers at the bot\u00adtom. I wel\u00adcome your sug\u00adges\u00adtions. If you read some\u00adthing fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00ading please pass it my way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is vol\u00adume 415, which is the sum of suc\u00adces\u00adsive squares (7<sup>2<\/sup> + 8<sup>2<\/sup> + 9<sup>2<\/sup> + 10<sup>2<\/sup> + 11<sup>2<\/sup>).<\/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 target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/magazine\/2023\/08\/08\/age-law-online-porn-00110148\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">A Sim\u00adple Law Is Doing the Impos\u00adsi\u00adble. It\u2019s Mak\u00ading the Online Porn Indus\u00adtry Retreat<\/a>. (Marc Novi\u00adcoff, Politi\u00adco): \u201cThough the first of its kind, Louisiana\u2019s age-ver\u00adi\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion bill was not the last. Near\u00adly iden\u00adti\u00adcal bills have passed in six oth\u00ader states \u2014 Arkansas, Mon\u00adtana, Mis\u00adsis\u00adsip\u00adpi, Utah, Vir\u00adginia and Texas \u2014 by sim\u00adi\u00adlar\u00adly lop\u00adsided mar\u00adgins. In Utah and Arkansas, the bills passed unan\u00adi\u00admous\u00adly. The laws were passed by over\u00adwhelm\u00ading mar\u00adgins in leg\u00adis\u00adla\u00adtures con\u00adtrolled by both par\u00adties and signed into law by Demo\u00adc\u00adra\u00adt\u00adic and Repub\u00adli\u00adcan gov\u00ader\u00adnors alike. In just over a year, age-ver\u00adi\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion laws have become per\u00adhaps the most bipar\u00adti\u00adsan pol\u00adi\u00adcy in the coun\u00adtry, and they are cre\u00adat\u00ading hav\u00adoc in a porn indus\u00adtry that many had con\u00adsid\u00adered all but impos\u00adsi\u00adble to actu\u00adal\u00adly reg\u00adu\u00adlate.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/ct\/2023\/july-web-only\/ai-chatgpt-exegetical-tool-bible-scripture-sermon-mount.html?share=3uB5sFv0SInAx5PURCiKiPAOmc5po6WX\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mis\u00adread\u00ading Scrip\u00adture with Arti\u00adfi\u00adcial Eyes<\/a> (John Boyles, Chris\u00adtian\u00adi\u00adty Today): \u201cFirst, Chat\u00adG\u00adPT metaphorizes and indi\u00advid\u00adu\u00adal\u00adizes Scrip\u00adture with\u00adout a clear method for when and why, with\u00adout war\u00adrant, and often in direct con\u00adtra\u00addic\u00adtion to the text itself. Sec\u00adond, the bot\u2019s inter\u00adpre\u00adta\u00adtions are igno\u00adrant of the inter\u00adpre\u00adtive tra\u00addi\u00adtions that pro\u00adduce them. Third, because the bot is dis\u00adem\u00adbod\u00adied, its inter\u00adpre\u00adta\u00adtions are nec\u00ades\u00adsar\u00adi\u00adly disembodied\u2014and thus a bot is unable to rec\u00adog\u00adnize the real\u00adi\u00adties of Scrip\u00adture and inter\u00adpre\u00adta\u00adtion. Each of the above ten\u00adden\u00adcies present in AI\u2019s respons\u00ades is in some way a reflec\u00adtion of his\u00adtoric weak\u00adness\u00ades in our own human inter\u00adpre\u00adta\u00adtion.\u201d\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Unlocked.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/chinas-latest-problem-people-dont-want-to-go-there-7d17a83a\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">China\u2019s Lat\u00adest Prob\u00adlem: Peo\u00adple Don\u2019t Want to Go There<\/a> (Wenx\u00adin Fan, Wall Street Jour\u00adnal): \u201cNation\u00adwide, just 52,000 peo\u00adple arrived to main\u00adland Chi\u00adna from over\u00adseas on trips orga\u00adnized by trav\u00adel agen\u00adcies dur\u00ading the first quar\u00adter, the lat\u00adest peri\u00adod for which nation\u00adal data is avail\u00adable, com\u00adpared with 3.7 mil\u00adlion in the first quar\u00adter of 2019. As in past years, near\u00adly half of the vis\u00adi\u00adtors came from the self-ruled island of Tai\u00adwan and the Chi\u00adnese ter\u00adri\u00adto\u00adries of Hong Kong and Macau, rather than far\u00adther-away places like the U.S. or Europe.\u201d\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>That\u2019s almost a 99% drop in num\u00adbers!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/08\/02\/opinion\/trump-meritocracy-educated.html\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">What if We\u2019re the Bad Guys Here<\/a>? (David Brooks, New York Times): \u201cDoes this mean that I think the peo\u00adple in my class are vicious and evil? No. Most of us are earnest, kind and pub\u00adlic-spir\u00adit\u00aded. But we take for grant\u00aded and ben\u00ade\u00adfit from sys\u00adtems that have become oppres\u00adsive. Elite insti\u00adtu\u00adtions have become so polit\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly pro\u00adgres\u00adsive in part because the peo\u00adple in them want to feel good about them\u00adselves as they take part in sys\u00adtems that exclude and reject. It\u2019s easy to under\u00adstand why peo\u00adple in less-edu\u00adcat\u00aded class\u00ades would con\u00adclude that they are under eco\u00adnom\u00adic, polit\u00adi\u00adcal, cul\u00adtur\u00adal and moral assault \u2014 and why they\u2019ve ral\u00adlied around Trump as their best war\u00adrior against the edu\u00adcat\u00aded class. He under\u00adstood that it\u2019s not the entre\u00adpre\u00adneurs who seem most threat\u00aden\u00ading to work\u00aders; it\u2019s the pro\u00adfes\u00adsion\u00adal class.\u201d\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/danieldrezner.substack.com\/p\/david-brooks-means-well-but?utm_source=%2Finbox&amp;utm_medium=reader2\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">David Brooks Means Well, But\u2026<\/a> (Dan Drezn\u00ader, Sub\u00adstack): \u201cAt a super\u00adfi\u00adcial lev\u00adel this is a qua\u00adsi-plau\u00adsi\u00adble analy\u00adsis of what hap\u00adpened in 2016, even if some of his evi\u00addence does not quite show what he thinks it shows. If this had been pub\u00adlished sev\u00aden years ago, it would have been tren\u00adchant. In 2023, there\u2019s so much to pick apart. The most impor\u00adtant point is that the gen\u00ader\u00adal cor\u00adre\u00adla\u00adtions Brooks takes for grant\u00aded are not nec\u00ades\u00adsar\u00adi\u00adly true, as the 2020 elec\u00adtion demon\u00adstrat\u00aded.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eddieyang.net\/research\/DDD.pdf\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Dig\u00adi\u00adtal Dictator\u2019s Dilem\u00adma<\/a> (Eddie Yang, PDF host\u00aded on his web\u00adsite): \u201cI sug\u00adgest that auto\u00adcrats suf\u00adfer from a \u2018Dig\u00adi\u00adtal Dictator\u2019s Dilem\u00adma,\u2019 a repres\u00adsion-infor\u00adma\u00adtion trade-off in which cit\u00adi\u00adzens\u2019 strate\u00adgic behav\u00adior in the face of repres\u00adsion dimin\u00adish\u00ades the amount of use\u00adful infor\u00adma\u00adtion in the data for train\u00ading AI. This trade-off pos\u00ades a fun\u00adda\u00admen\u00adtal lim\u00adi\u00adta\u00adtion in AI\u2019s use\u00adful\u00adness for serv\u00ading as a tool of author\u00adi\u00adtar\u00adi\u00adan con\u00adtrol \u2014 the more repres\u00adsion there is, the less infor\u00adma\u00adtion there will be in AI\u2019s train\u00ading data, and the worse AI will per\u00adform. I illus\u00adtrate this argu\u00adment using an AI exper\u00adi\u00adment and a unique dataset on cen\u00adsor\u00adship in Chi\u00adna. I show that AI\u2019s accu\u00adra\u00adcy in cen\u00adsor\u00adship decreas\u00ades with more pre-exist\u00ading cen\u00adsor\u00adship and repres\u00adsion. The drop in AI\u2019s per\u00adfor\u00admance is larg\u00ader dur\u00ading times of cri\u00adsis, when peo\u00adple reveal their true pref\u00ader\u00adences. I fur\u00adther show that this prob\u00adlem can\u00adnot be eas\u00adi\u00adly fixed with more data. Iron\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly, how\u00adev\u00ader, the exis\u00adtence of the free world can help boost AI\u2019s abil\u00adi\u00adty to cen\u00adsor.\u201d\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>From the abstract. I have skimmed but not read the whole arti\u00adcle. The author is a PhD can\u00addi\u00addate at UC San Diego.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tabletmag.com\/sections\/arts-letters\/articles\/david-garrow-interview-obama\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Oba\u00adma Fac\u00adtor<\/a> (David Samuels, Tablet Mag\u00ada\u00adzine): \u201cSo the con\u00adclu\u00adsion I\u2019ve come to in time is that that best way to under\u00adstand Barack Oba\u00adma is that he is a lit\u00ader\u00adary cre\u00adation of Barack Oba\u00adma, the writer, who authored the nov\u00adel of his own life and then pro\u00adceed\u00aded to live out this fic\u00adtion\u00adal char\u00adac\u00adter that he cre\u00adat\u00aded for him\u00adself on the page. Which is remark\u00adable.\u201d\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This is super long but utter\u00adly fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00ading if you remem\u00adber Oba\u00adma\u2019s pres\u00adi\u00adden\u00adcy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/07\/28\/opinion\/uyghur-china-internment-authoritarian.html\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Let the Tragedy in My Home\u00adland Be a Les\u00adson<\/a> (Tahir Hamut Izgil, The New York Times): \u201cLit\u00adtle atten\u00adtion was paid as, in the ear\u00adly 2010s, sur\u00adveil\u00adlance cam\u00aderas were installed in every nook and cran\u00adny of our cities. When the police began ran\u00addom cell\u00adphone checks on the street, peo\u00adple were alarmed at first, but grad\u00adu\u00adal\u00adly grew used to it. Not long after, when high\u00adway check\u00adpoints expand\u00aded and mul\u00adti\u00adplied, folks pri\u00advate\u00adly expressed con\u00adcern but ground their teeth and bore it. When, in 2016,police posts were con\u00adstruct\u00aded every 200 meters along city streets, peo\u00adple ignored them and hur\u00adried past. As time passed, we adapt\u00aded to these changes and to this new, more author\u00adi\u00adtar\u00adi\u00adan way of life.\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=\"simple-list wp-block-list\">\n<li><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gocomics.com\/pearlsbeforeswine\/2023\/08\/05\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Air\u00adport Dis\u00adcrim\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtion<\/a> (Pearls Before Swine)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-us-canada-66446697\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Texas woman injured after hawk drops snake on her<\/a> (Max Matza, BBC News): \u201cThe snake wrapped itself around her arm and began strik\u00ading her face as the bird sunk its talons deep into her flesh.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Why Do You Send This Email?<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the time of King David, the tribe of Issachar pro\u00adduced shrewd war\u00adriors \u201cwho under\u00adstood the times and knew what Israel should do\u201d (1 Chron 12:32). In a sim\u00adi\u00adlar way, we need to become wise peo\u00adple whose faith inter\u00adacts with the world. I pray this email gives you greater insight, so that you may con\u00adtin\u00adue the tra\u00addi\u00adtion of Issachar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Disclaimer<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chi Alpha is not a par\u00adti\u00adsan orga\u00adni\u00adza\u00adtion. To para\u00adphrase anoth\u00ader min\u00adis\u00adter: we are not about the donkey\u2019s agen\u00adda and we are not about the elephant\u2019s agen\u00adda \u2014 we are about the Lamb\u2019s agen\u00adda. Hav\u00ading said that, I read wide\u00adly (in part because I believe we should aspire to pass <a href=\"http:\/\/econlog.econlib.org\/archives\/2011\/06\/the_ideological.html\">the ide\u00ado\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal Tur\u00ading test<\/a> and in part because I do not believe I can fair\u00adly say \u201cI agree\u201d or \u201cI dis\u00adagree\u201d until I can say \u201cI under\u00adstand\u201d) and may at times share arti\u00adcles that have a strong par\u00adti\u00adsan bias sim\u00adply because I find the arti\u00adcle stim\u00adu\u00adlat\u00ading. The upshot: you should not assume I agree with every\u00adthing an author says in an arti\u00adcle I men\u00adtion, much less things the author has said in oth\u00ader arti\u00adcles (although if I strong\u00adly dis\u00adagree with some\u00adthing in the arti\u00adcle I\u2019ll usu\u00adal\u00adly men\u00adtion it). And to the extent you can dis\u00adcern my opin\u00adions, please under\u00adstand that they are my own and not nec\u00ades\u00adsar\u00adi\u00adly those of Chi Alpha or any oth\u00ader orga\u00adni\u00adza\u00adtion I may be per\u00adceived to rep\u00adre\u00adsent.\n\nAlso, remem\u00adber that I\u2019m not report\u00ading news \u2014 I\u2019m giv\u00ading you a selec\u00adtion of things I found inter\u00adest\u00ading. There\u2019s a lot hap\u00adpen\u00ading in the world that\u2019s not mak\u00ading an appear\u00adance here because I haven\u2019t found stim\u00adu\u00adlat\u00ading arti\u00adcles writ\u00adten about it.\n\nIf this was for\u00adward\u00aded 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 Fri\u00addays (or lat\u00ader when I\u2019m busy) I share articles\/resources about broad cul\u00adtur\u00adal, soci\u00adetal and the\u00ado\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal issues. Be sure to see the expla\u00adna\u00adtion and dis\u00adclaimers at the bot\u00adtom. I wel\u00adcome your sug\u00adges\u00adtions. If you read some\u00adthing fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00ading please pass it my way. This is vol\u00adume 415, which is the sum of suc\u00adces\u00adsive squares (72 + \u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2023\/08\/12\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-415\" class=\"more-link\">Con\u00adtin\u00adue read\u00ading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> \u201cThings Glen Found Inter\u00adest\u00ading, Vol\u00adume 415\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_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Need fascinating things to read? Have I got good news for you...","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[16],"tags":[219,125,136],"class_list":["post-7254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-links","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-china","tag-pornography"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Ded-1T0","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7254","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=7254"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7254\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7256,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7254\/revisions\/7256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}