Surprise They Are Only Seemingly Innocent
Yesssss! It's Real Future Fair time. Last year, we had the most interesting technology conference I've ever seen, and this year, it should be just as good. The event takes place NOVEMBER 15 at the Oakland Museum of California. The full line-up will be out later in the week, but trust us, it is a unique and brilliant group of speakers and attendees. PLUS Mars in VR, a Meme Gallery, and a musical performance from the most intriguing rapper in the game. We love this event because it helps us connect with our community, so please get tickets!
1. Fun, weird profile of the futurist/economist Robin Hanson, who would enjoy 5it.
"Like much of the George Mason economics department, Hanson leans libertarian, but he has also dreamed up his own form of government, called 'futarchy.' An enthusiastic student describes his true political philosophy as 'meta, meta-everything': questioning how we arrive at political philosophies in the first place. To the dismay of his wife, Peggy Jackson, who has worked in hospice care, he is a member of the Alcor Life Extension Foundation, paying a monthly fee so that one day his head will be cryogenically frozen. He thinks he may live a long, long time — if not forever, then possibly at least long enough to participate in the em future."
"Endace says it manufactures technology that allows its clients to 'monitor, intercept and capture 100% of traffic on networks.' The Auckland-based company’s motto is 'power to see all' and its logo is an eye. The company’s origins can be traced back to Waikato University in Hamilton, New Zealand. There, in 1994, a team of professors and researchers began developing network monitoring technology using university resources. "
3. Neural network explorations of NSFW and SFW images result in substantial weirdness.
"This program produces the most remarkable results. The images generated range from the garishly explicit to the subtle. But the subtle images are the most fascinating as to my surprise they are only seemingly innocent. These are not adversarial examples per-say. The NSFW elements are all present, just hidden in plain sight. Once you see the true nature of these images, something clicks and it becomes impossible to unsee. I've picked a few of my favorite results for show here."
4. As far as I'm concerned, you can't beat this headline: The Unlikely Hippies of the USSR.
"Unlike Western hippies, Soviet hippies emulated the Communist Youth, 'writing statutes and anthems and demanding membership dues.' But the emergent hierarchies, which might have been anathema to their American cousins, were born out of the same restless challenge to authority. Hippies in the USSR were stereotyped, arrested at concerts, and hassled for their drug use and Western values. But by turning to an international youth movement, they proved that East and West had plenty in common, long before the Iron Curtain fell."
5. A fascinating reflection on the color ultramarine and its synthetic semi-replacements.
"Michelangelo couldn’t afford ultramarine. His painting The Entombment, the story goes, was left unfinished as the result of his failure to procure the prized pigment. Rafael reserved ultramarine for his final coat, preferring for his base layers a common azurite; Vermeer was less parsimonious in his application and proceeded to mire his family in debt. Ultramarine: the quality of the shade is embodied in its name. This is the superlative blue, the end-all blue, the blue to which all other hues quietly aspire."
1. chronicle.com 2. theintercept.com 3. theparisereview.com 4. daily.jstor.org 5. open_nsfw.gitlab.io
Surprise They Are Only Seemingly Innocent