Really enjoyed this coverage of Josh’s work! I haven’t ever done Bayesian work, so it surprised me how closely the ideas in the article resembled thoughts I’ve been having about positivism and other research paradigms.

Worrying ideas here—American democracy feels more and more tenuous.

A terrifying teminder that content moderation can easily overreach.

Fitting that I’m reading this the day after booking Acela tickets. Fits with what I’ve said in the past: Northeast Corridor is great, but lets bring trains elsewhere too.

I had no idea about this history, and I think it’s fun!

Gun violence can’t be solved with educational technology—and make no mistake, all of this is edtech.

Good writing here. Vague Sinophobia drives a lot of media and political concerns, and I appreciate Bode’s challenging of that here.

‘I just know in my heart’ is terrible and terrifying reasoning for posing this level of a threat to democracy.

Good example here of how content moderation can absolutely overreach. Arguments that platforms shouldn’t moderate are nonsense, but I appreciate Masnick’s emphasis on the need to be very careful about how we moderate.

Yet another example of why I’m wary of smart devices.

I get that some of this is bluster and posturing, but that doesn’t make it any less worrying. This is the same state GOP that leaned into Gab a year or two ago.

I have never understood the panic about burkinis. It’s one of many examples where French laïcité goes further than appropriate and desirable secularism.

Good for the court, though the narrow majority is disappointing.

This is more worrying to me—and more damning for the GOP—than anything that happened on January 6th.

Pence deserves credit for the steps he took on January 6th, but I agree that he has responsibilities to do more right now.

All of this is worrying, but not as worrying as the possibility that it won’t make a difference in the minds of people who should be outraged.

Really appreciated George’s post here. Looking forward to trying these out in future slide decks.

Well this is terrifying.

I mean, there’s still plenty to be worried about when it comes to targeted advertising and smart TVs, but this is a good reminder to take a step back.

So, so many wild things in this article. I grew up loving this hymn and had no idea it had roots in blackface minstrelsy. Hope the Church will take it out of its next hymnbook, but I’m not holding my breath. The real kicker is Brigham Young’s concern about blackface—not because it’s racist but because it’s degrading to white people.

I remember the first Floppotron, and 3.0 continues to be delightful. I may have to show this in class next year.

Doctorow is spot on here. Apple may be the most benevolent of the big tech companies, but it still has far too much power over its users.

Yes please.

Given the aggressively queerphobic language I’ve read on Gab, events like this are worrying but not surprising. More worrying is the way that this queerphobic language is increasingly used in the mainstream GOP. How do Republican politicians and voters feel about these events?

I’ve been plenty spooked by Ring’s video capabilities, but apparently I haven’t been worried enough about its audio surveillance.