AGI => we don’t need to worry until AI systems can recursively improve themselves. Then we gotta call the terminator!
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/cLC2HcQbFZ5pFAgqC/eric-schmidt-on-recursive-self-improvement
Eurasian Genetic Migration and Allele Mutations
These articles were first discussed on Anthropology. net by Kambiz Kamrani where the articles in Nature were discussed and referenced. I wish Nova would make a movie showing graphically the migrations and associated SNP mutation growth. I also wish we could figure out how to eliminate the negative health issues caused by these various alleles.
https://www.anthropology.net/p/unraveling-european-genomic-mysteries
Nature
Population genomics of post-glacial western Eurasia
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06865-0
Nature
100 ancient genomes show repeated population turnovers in Neolithic Denmark
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06862-3
Nature
The selection landscape and genetic legacy of ancient Eurasians
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06705-1
Nature
Elevated genetic risk for multiple sclerosis emerged in steppe pastoralist populations
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06618-z
– Bi-sexuality
https://www.anthropology.net/p/unlocking-the-genetic-secrets-of
– Neanderthal @ 408,000 ya
https://www.anthropology.net/p/unveiling-our-neanderthal-connection
Eco Fascism is a Real Problem
This is a zine so it’s got some comics in the beginning but later on it gets into more informative myth busting that we think you’ll find really interesting.
The Pdf is attached here.
Against-the-Ecofascist-Creep.pdf
Be sure to check out the resources shared at the end about 40 ways to fight fascism.
The five truths Trump hopes you will forget about 6 January 2021
Don’t come running next year when it is too late.
2FA for 2
Many companies, including financial institutions, now require Two Factor Authentication (2FA) to enhance login security. After initial password entry, most 2FA systems send verification codes to your phone or email.
Multiple users for ancestry accounts create 2FA issues. For instance, as the family genealogist, accessing my wife’s 23andMe account meant relying on her email for verification codes. This was troublesome, especially when she was away. While I could use her email password, forwarding verification emails to me seemed simpler. Text verification wouldn’t solve this, but email forwarding offered a convenient workaround.
Whenever possible, opt for email-based verification codes over text. They’re easily accessible across devices, eliminating the need to keep your phone close. Gmail makes forwarding these codes effortless: simply create a filter to automatically forward them to your desired address.
Setting up the filter in Gmail takes just two steps:
Match emails from: (donotreply@23andme.com).
Forward to: your.name@gmail.com (replace with the desired forwarding address).
Now, when either of us logs into her 23andMe account, we both receive the verification code, ensuring seamless access for whoever needs it.
The “from address” for Ancestry.com is: (ancestry@email.ancestry.com).
“I’ve often said, if you can’t explain what you’re doing to a bunch of bright undergraduates, you don’t know what you’re doing.”
Daniel Dennett
Revising Human Evolution: How New Methods Are Reshaping Our Ancestral Timeline
Paul Ryan said, “Trump’s not a conservative.”
“Look,” Paul Ryan said, “Trump’s not a conservative. He’s an authoritarian narcissist. So I think they basically called him out for that. He’s a populist, authoritarian narcissist.
“All of his tendencies are basically where narcissism takes him, which is whatever makes him popular, makes him feel good at any given moment.
“He doesn’t think in classical liberal-conservative terms. He thinks in an authoritarian way. And he’s been able to get a big chunk of the Republican base to follow him because he’s the culture warrior.”
Historians searching for the roots of Trumpism have generally looked to the 1990s, when another Republican speaker, Newt Gingrich, turned Congress into a scorched-earth battleground; to the rise of Fox News; or to opposition to Barack Obama, the first Black president, particularly through the Tea Party movement.
Cop28 landmark deal agreed to ‘transition away’ from fossil fuels
Despite the urging of more than 130 countries and scientists and civil society groups, the agreement did not include an explicit commitment to phase out or even phase down fossil fuels.
Instead, it reached a compromise that called on countries to contribute to global efforts to transition “away from fossil fuels in energy systems in a just, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade, so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science”.
Wake Up Dorothy
The Open Data Institute (ODI) commissioned what may be the first documentary about AI made with AI. This short (19 minute) film by Alan Warburton is cute, hip, and thoughtful all at once. You can google The Wizard of AI or watch it here at Vimeo.
Change is coming. The question is: what kind of change will it be?
But here is the other simple truth. None of that happens if we are not prepared to stand up and fight together against the forces that work so hard to divide and conquer us. This is a moment in history that cannot be ignored. This is a struggle that cannot be sat out. The future of the planet is at stake, democracy is at stake, human decency is at stake.
Bernie Sanders
World on pace to blow past Paris climate targets, UN says – POLITICO
net worth is the difference between a person’s assets and liabilities.
When to buy airline tickets ?
Eating schedules anyone?
Roger Penrose thinks consciousness might be created by gravity induced phenomenon !
Roger Penrose was recently interviewed by Andréa Morris.
For decades, Penrose has been working with anesthesiologist Stuart Hameroff on a theory of consciousness called Orchestrated Objective Reduction (Orch OR).
Penrose’s theory proposes that consciousness originates at the quantum level inside neurons, rather than the conventional view that it is a product of connections between neurons. The mechanism is held to be a quantum process called objective reduction that is orchestrated by cellular structures called microtubules. It is proposed that the theory may answer the hard problem of consciousness and provide a mechanism for free will.
When it comes to the suddenly salient question of whether or not AI could be conscious, Penrose draws again from Gödel and Goodstein’s theorems. Computer science is built on formalized systems. They’re confined by computation. For Penrose, AI built on classical computers today isn’t capable of true understanding or consciousness. After some consideration, he adds a caveat when it comes to quantum computers: “You put wave function collapse into its process somehow….”
You can see the full 34 minute interview here.
DMV eLearning
Every so many years we have to renew our drivers license. The DMV in California has a new option for the written test that is sometimes required at renewal time. It is only available when renewing online, called eLearning. I am highly recommending that you do the eLearning, if it is available to you.
The other options for the written test are taking the test inside DMV, or taking the test online with a proctor watching. In both of these cases you can flunk.
The eLearning program is an self-directed course with 7 parts with quizzes after each section. This option takes longer, but you can’t flunk! eLearning can be done on a PC, tablet or smartphone and is available anytime. It can be paused or restarted if needed. I recommend a PC because of screen size. It is estimated to take 45 minutes, it took me an hour to take the test. 5 years ago I took 5 hours taking the online practice tests preparing for the written test!
Renewing online is easy and there are no lines. You enter your profile data, pay the fee, take the eLearning course, upload your Real ID proof documentation. You still have to go to DMV to be finger printed, take the eye test and have your picture taken. The CA DMV renewal procedure is finally anxiety free!
a quick trip to Los Angeles
We recently did a mini vacation to Los Angeles to see the Getty Museum and the La Brea Tar Pits. We wanted to stay someplace convenient to both and found a couple of eating places that I want to commit to memory and share with you all too.
Plaza La Reina 10850 Lindbrook Drive Los Angeles, CA 90024 310-986-6888
It is centrally located in Los Angeles, steps from Hammer Museum and within a 5-minute walk of University of California, Los Angeles. This is a 4.5-star hotel, expensive but worth it. But no breakfast! Starbucks is a block away!
Directly across the street is probably the best Chinese restaurant I have ever eaten in. You should give this place a try even if you don’t stay at Plaza La Reina.
First Szechuan Wok Chinese Restaurant 10855 Lindbrook Drive Westwood, CA 90024 310-208-7785
Another great home cooking style restaurant is about 3 blocks away. They have turkey meatloaf and mashed potatoes!!
Fresh Corn Grill 1266 Westwood Blvd. Westwood CA 90024 Tel. 310-470-0414
The Plaza La Reina is about 3 miles from the Getty Museum and about 7 miles from the La BreaTar Pits Museum. I recommend both, but you should a lot a full day for Getty and half day for the Tar Pits.
For a real delight in eating, a great French inspired café is called République. It has a casual bakery, café, and bar in the front with a more formal dining area located in the rear. We had pastries and coffee before we went to the Tar Pits which are only ¾ mile away. We parked in the Tar Pits Museum lot ($18/day) and then walked to/from Republique.
République, located in Miracle Mile, is owned by Chefs Walter and Margarita Manzke. Centered in the heart of Los Angeles, the historic building in which it resides was originally erected in 1929 by Charlie Chaplin, and later transformed into the iconic La Brea Bakery and Campanile Restaurant.
Republique 624 S. La Brea Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90036 CHEF MARGARITA WINS 2023 JAMES BEARD AWARD! MICHELIN Plate 2022
‘Gobsmackingly bananas’: scientists stunned by planet’s record September heat
Thoughtful
Woke
Jims BBS 