Author: Andrew
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Feeling cautiously optimistic about American democracy
A clear eyed commentary on the question of this authoritarian moment and the movement between Collapse and Resistance. Maybe we’re always in between those two, but this indicates the pendulum is swinging back to the middle. A few excerpts: Essentially, Trump seems to be governing like…a President in his second term. Typically, two-term Presidents try…
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Music and Protest
The 1960s obviously produced some of the best music during very turbulent times. You have Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, the Grateful Dead, Joan Baez (Oh, Freedom!), Simon and Garfunkel, and Peter, Paul and Mary just to name a few. They were very political, but in retrospect we enjoy their harmonies and nascent methods (Jimi Hendrix!). We…
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Which Countries Won’t Exist in the 22nd Century?
From Tyler Cowen in the FP: The biggest mistake we could make is to assume that political evolution is over, and that history represents ongoing directional progress toward ever more well-run nation-states. Port-au-Prince still has something to teach us in this regard. I’ve been thinking about why it would be that the United States wouldn’t…
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The Gentle Singularity
Interesting post from Sam Altman on his blog after the release of o3 Pro yesterday. Proclaiming that we’ve entered the intelligence takeoff is more than notable. As he rightly notes, being where we are would have sounded crazy just five years ago and might sound crazier than where we’ll be in 2030 based on where…
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The Man Who Loved Only Numbers
Really enjoyed this book! ChatGPT suggested it for me and I bought it at Mr. K’s in Asheville for $5. It’s interesting that I was drawn to this book because math was my hardest, and least favorite, subject in school. It was also the source of tense struggle between my father and I as he…
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Tyler Cowen and Mexican Art
I think this is a prime example of Tyler saying that he’s writing for the AIs. Thankfully it’s fascinating for me, the human, as well. Part 1 here and part 2 here.
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1984
This is the second time I’ve read 1984, both since graduating college. I got what I think is a different sense of it this second time. Mainly, the typical meme of, “Hey man the government (Big Brother) man, going after the jokes I’m trying to tell about __ group man!” feels childish and undervalues the…
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Behind the Curtain: A white collar bloodbath
From Dario Amodei in Axios. “Most human wins” continues to come to mind when I read these types of predictions. And this seems less a prediction coming from Dario. Trying to become something like a ‘professional runner’ might end up being a very good option.
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To Paul: On having a second kid
You called me yesterday and asked: What would you say to me that would help me prepare for kid #2? I think you used the word wisdom: What wisdom do you have to share with me? Bonus question was: What did you do to help Sadie in preparation for kid #2 Here are my thoughts…
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Training with Doug
I’ve started training for a 100k race this November that my friend Doug is also registered for, the Looking Glass 100k. Other than the Black Mountain Monster 24hr that I ran (dropped at 40 miles) I think this is the only other race I’ve registered for in something like a few years. It’s quite fun…