Kings, popes, and doges all found themselves gasping for air under a deluge of memorandums and correspondence. Philip II of Spain was frequently driven to despair by ‘these devils, my papers’, with up to 16,000 separate petitions sent to his desk over the course of a single year. - Engelsberg Ideas
Well, why not? People’s moods improve when they receive stamped letters - and “stamps provide 'an amazing body of material to study the history of communication, art, design, but also humanity.’” - The Atlantic
One crafty crafter says customers "were buying the yarn that was inspired by the tour. And then they were going and knitting a sweater … and then they were then wearing that to Eras tour concerts. The music informs the yarn which informs the project.” - North Country Public Radio
“We’re a long way from the ‘wow’ moment of that first iPhone. It’s not all vibes, either" - some of it is legal decisions imperiling Apple’s monopolistic dominance. - The Verge
As a citizen waking up to this terrible truth, as the situation becomes more and more desperate, does the obligation to take desperate measures – in terms of the tactics we’re prepared to undertake, not just the policies we’re looking to bring about – increase? - Aeon
When viewing larger or less-cluttered scenes, participants were more likely to experience time dilation; thinking that they had viewed the picture for longer than they actually did. The opposite effect — time constriction — occurred when viewing smaller-scale, more cluttered images. - Nature
LLMs have begun to disrupt the traditional relationship between writer and reader. Type how to fix broken headlight into a search engine, and it returns a list of links to websites and videos that explain the process. Ask an LLM the same thing and it will just tell you how to do it. - The Atlantic
Nick Bostrom – who popularized the theory that humanity may be living in a simulation, one that Musk often repeats – spoke about the closure of the institute in a lengthy final report published on its website this week. - The Guardian
From vinyl records to film cameras, all manner of apparently written-off technologies have been making a comeback, including modular synthesizers – one of the earliest types of this now-ubiquitous electronic instrument. - The Conversation
Growing research shows regular exposure to even relatively subtle prejudice and discrimination degrades physical and mental health, leading to outcomes like high blood pressure, chronic stress and depression." - Phys
"Tananarive Due, who won ... for her novel The Reformatory, used her speech to add: ‘As we face the horrors in our cities, in Gaza and elsewhere, and witness true-life racism, homophobia, Islamophobia and antisemitism, let us honor the courage of young people.’" - Los Angeles Times
Cool and deeply creepy at the same time: “The artist's AI voice was trained on voice samples taken from archival interviews Dalí did in English over his career. (He spoke four languages — Catalan, Spanish, French and English — sometimes interchangeably.)” We’re ready for the four-language answers. - NPR
It would be a mistake to think that the algorithms in the room will remain mere observers. AI is more like an ambitious virtual worker seeking a promotion, or at least a more active role in the proceedings. One day an AI-powered service might actually run the meeting for you. And why not? - Wired
